Abbey Anderson only needed encouragement and a growing interest in art to click INT185UA on Gold and enrolling into the course for her first quarter at UC Santa Barbara. Her older sister, who worked at Community Housing Office, had enlightened Abbey about what the course entailed and pushed for Abbey to hone in on her artistry and become a part of Isla Vista history. And with only the information that her sister had given her, Abbey threw herself into a world of community, artwork, and impact; her decision to enroll in that course was only one force in the entire process of keeping art alive. 

 

Like many others who were enrolled in the course, Abbey was not an art major, but she dabbled in painting and wanted to expand her interests on a community level. She believed that leaving a mark on Isla Vista through art was more than enough to impact her temporary hometown.

 

And when the first quarter of her time at UC Santa Barbara started, Abbey never would have expected to take a flexible and creative course that eventually set up her future as an artist. She was drawn to the collaborative process, and she loved that the course didn’t require professional experience for everyone to participate in creating the designs for the walls. The process of selecting was long, but the end product was what made the project worth it.