by Mikal J. Harris

DE Campus Life Editor

Andrea Torrence’s summer journey to Scotland conjures images in her memory of a place where the sun sets at 11 p.m. only to return shining brightly just four hours later a land complete with a fairy tale landscape of picturesque thatched cottages, Gothic castles and gently rolling hills.

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Torrence, a graduate student in drawing and painting from Carbondale, participated last year in an annual Study Abroad program in Scotland offered by SIUC’s School of Art and Design. Her trip provided her not only with treasured recollections, but it also provided her with a way to transform those recollections into art.

Some of the pictures forever seared on the canvas of her memory juxtapose evidence of Scotland’s history and beacons of its progress into modern times. This is one of Scotland’s most disarming charms.

The landscape is gorgeous, she said, but then you enter a city and you might think you’re on [Chicago’s] Michigan Avenue or something. And then you look up and see a castle rising over the city. It’s a remarkable thing. Scotland is really beautiful.

Participants in a sixth expedition to Scotland May 14 to June 4 will live on the eastern coast of Scotland in Hospitalfield House, a scenic castle overlooking the North Sea. From this base, participants are able to take 3- to 4-day trips across the country. Group members are allotted a large amount of free time to plot their own adventures.

Eight people currently are signed up for the 12-person trip. Michael Onken, head of graduate programs at the School of Art of Design, said the small group and the Scotland experience provide more enrichment than a typical jaunt for tourists.

There is a certain chemistry you can have with a dozen people that you can’t have on a crowded tour bus, he said. You get to feel the rhythm of things. You’re not just jumping from hotel to hotel.

And with this trip you sort of absorb history through your skin because it’s everywhere.

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Onken coordinates this study abroad program with the aid of Hospitalfield House directors. Hospitalfield House, originally a 13th century hospital for victims of the Black Plague, was rebuilt by Scottish painter Patrick Allen Fraser in the 19th century as a haven for artists and scholars.

The house often is used by students and scholars from renowned U.S. and European art schools such as The Edinburgh College of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Onken is enthusiastic about the wealth of opportunities provided for program participants at Hospitalfield House, as the establishment has Scottish antique furniture, art and literature collections rivaling those found at many museums and libraries.

It’s all as it was when Patrick Allen Fraser left it except for the student rooms, he said. It’s kind of a unique institution.

The cost of the trip is $2,500 plus tuition. Airfare, food, lodging and most group travel is included in the package, and financial assistance is available for many students. Non-students and out-of-state students may enroll at SIUC for one hour at the in-state rate of $80 per credit hour.

Torrence said the expense involved in participating in this trip to Scotland is negligible.

The trip may sound costly, but it’s actually a bargain, Torrence said. Once you pay for your package you don’t spend a lot of money.

Graduate and undergraduate credit is available for the program, and students and non-students alike all can receive an enriching experience by immersing themselves in all Scotland has to offer.

Torrence said her own experience is one she hopes to repeat again when she completes her studies.

It’s a very educational and mind-opening experience for a lot of students, Torrence said, but art is for everyone, not just for students.

Factoid:An informational meeting about the School of Art and Design’s Study Abroad trip to Scotland is scheduled for 5 p.m. March 19 in Room 102 in the Allyn Building. For information, contact Michael Onken at 453-7760.