Is there a science to art? And is science an art? Crystal
Ellis '06 (Potsdam Central School), of Hannawa Falls,
New York, can answer both questions. She is both a science researcher
and an artist.
A 2005 St. Lawrence University Fellow, Ellis spent a summer
working with Associate Professor of Psychology Ronald Sigmundi on
her research, titled "Reading Illustrations," after taking
a research methods course taught by him. She wrote two stories and
illustrated each with either positive, neutral and negative illustrations,
creating six books in all. After receiving approval from the University's
Internal Review Board and the New York State Department of Health,
Ellis worked with local third-graders "to investigate how illustrations
affect how children read. I studied how the illustrations affected
the memorization of facts from the stories, facts from the illustrations
and the perceived mood from the illustrations and the stories," she
says. "I found that the students memorized more facts from the
illustrations as the illustrations became more positive."
Although her major is in fine arts (with a minor in education),
Ellis says she knows that her research experience will help her in
the future. "“I want to be an art teacher," she says.” I
know this research will play into art units in my career."
