Barbara Duval, studio art professor, printmaking and drawing, has made an impact on her students during her 42 years teaching at the College of Charleston.
Amongst her printmaking students, Duval has fostered a family.
“We have had such a great time in my classes that it is hard to get them out of my classroom at the end of the semester,” chuckles Duval.
One such student is Petyon Cochran ’04.
“Barbara gave me the freedom to explore and create in a controlled environment with support and encouragement,” says Cochran. “She was tough but understanding, and I had a deep connection with her in a way I cannot pinpoint, but she felt like home to me and a comfort and challenge all at the same time.”
Inspired by his daughter’s experience as a studio art major, G. Moffet Cochran established the Barbara Duval Endowed Scholarship of Studio Art. The honor was beyond Duval’s expectations.
“I was astonished when I learned about it,” says Duval. “Peyton really has made a difference for countless students, helping them navigate their time here with ease. It’s truly a great thing.”
Cochran’s generous gift enables the studio art faculty to select a hardworking student each year to receive the scholarship. Faculty gather around a table to review nominations and discuss each candidate and then collectively select a student. This year they had enough funds to choose two worthy students: Thomas Hicks ’25 and Ella Waldron-Noren ’26.
Hicks, a Greenville, South Carolina native, has taken all three of Duval’s printmaking classes. The photography- and sculpture-focused major grabbed her attention with his passion to learn and thoughtful criticism that led to inspiration throughout the classroom.
“While I was studying printmaking, I was also enrolled in an Egyptian art history course,” says Hicks. “I found the floor plans and other elements that the Egyptians used particularly inspiring, and it was enough for me to apply these ideas to my printmaking class. I experimented with linear mark-making, using repetition and numerous lines to build a larger picture with my work.
“I realized that all my classes have gone hand-in-hand with each other,” he adds. “My art history inspires my printmaking techniques and then that correlates into my photography skills, which inspire my sculptures, which in turn create a bigger picture.”
Notes Duval, “He was always working hard, focusing on his tasks at hand and doing his best in an area where he had no previous experience – printmaking. Not to mention when we did critiques, he would always have feedback for all his classmates, which pleased me. It is a hard thing to do, and he did it compassionately. He took to printmaking and is a very talented student.”
Hicks has been a featured artist in the Young Contemporaries since his freshman year. Last year, he received the Norton M. Seltzer Prize and has been recognized as a YoungArts Winner twice. He also completed a residency at the Redux Contemporary Art Center.
For Hicks, who plans to pursue his photography and sculpture focus in graduate school, the scholarship validated that he is on the right path.
“I remember when Professor Duval told me the good news — I was thrilled,” he says. “It meant a lot to me that she noticed and acknowledged my hard work. I’ve built a strong bond with her and really value her support. Receiving the scholarship has boosted my confidence in my art and reinforced my belief that I can truly succeed as an artist one day.”
Like Hicks, Waldron-Noren loves to understand connections between subjects, specifically between nature and art.
“My art is a response to the natural world, illustrating how we are intertwined with its ancient cycles and patterns,” says the studio art major and geology minor. “As I further my understanding of our planet through my scientific studies, my artwork becomes a mirror. My work uses visual connections to serve as a reminder that no matter how much we may feel separate from the natural world, we are an integral part of it.”
Waldron-Noren has had three paintings accepted into the Young Contemporaries Exhibition at the Halsey Gallery and currently has multiple works on display in the Hill Gallery.
While Duval has not had her in class yet, she has had the opportunity to see Waldron-Noren’s art.
“I look forward to having Ella in intro to printmaking next semester,” says Duval. “I have seen her paintings in the students’ shows and the gallery — she is incredibly talented; you can see the passion in her pieces.”
Waldron-Noren is using her scholarship to support her extra year at the College.
“I was ecstatic to learn I had received the Barbara Duval Endowed Scholarship,” says Waldron-Noren. “Without the financial support it wouldn’t even be plausible to stay another year.
“In the future, I want to find or create a job that combines both of my main passions, nature and art. I am unsure what that looks like right now, but I am confident with this extra year to build on my knowledge and with the support of the art community, I will find a way.”
Cochran hopes that this scholarship will continue to inspire students and give them opportunities.
“I hope my small contribution will give students the chance to do something they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do,” says Cochran. “I want students to know that they are talented and have an incredible future ahead and to use this scholarship to discover and unlock those talents at the next level. I want them to lean into the hard areas and explore the uncomfortable. Challenge your creativity and find a mentor like Barbara Duval who can teach you life lessons that will leave an imprint on your artistic future — the way she imprinted mine.”