Earlier this month, students gathered for Inherited Impressions, a collaborative evening hosted by the Dittmar Gallery’s Crafting Community Workshop series in partnership with The Block Museum Student Associates. Led by Maggie Munday Odom ’26, Student Supervisor of Programs & Engagement at the Dittmar Memorial Gallery, and Block Museum Student Associate Tyree Walton ’27, the program began in The Block’s Living Room, a new drop-in space built around the idea of slowing down with one artwork at a time. The program’s development was supported by Erin Northington, Susan and Stephen Wilson Associate Director, Campus and Community Education and Engagement at the Block, and Kimberly Mills, Assistant Director, Arts & Programs at Norris University Center.

Students settled in with Dyani White Hawk’s They Gifted (Day) and They Gifted (Night), the abstract prints featured in The Living Room as the final selection this quarter. White Hawk often reflects on forms of giving and community, so the artworks created a natural beginning for discussion. “I thought we’d spend just a few minutes with the prints, but people kept noticing new details and the conversation kept growing,” Tyree said. Students stepped closer to the works, compared surface textures, and traded ideas about how the marks might have been made. “It felt special to experience the work together,” she added. “Everyone arrived ready to look and think alongside one another.”

All Photography by Juliet Allan

The evening continued at the Dittmar Gallery located in the Norris University Center, where Maggie Munday led an art-making activity focused on abstraction and shaped by the idea of gifting. Students began with a short drawing prompt that asked them to consider someone who had given them something meaningful. These sketches became designs for small carved stamps, which were then printed onto blank postcards. Students were invited to take their stamped postcards home to share with someone else, mirroring the process that White Hawk highlights of receiving from the past and passing on gifts to the future. Participants experimented with ink, exchanged stories, and tested out their stamps. “People relaxed into the process,” said Tyree “It wasn’t about perfection. It was about being present and creating something with intention.”

Maggie Munday shared that developing the Crafting Community workshop series has prompted her to think deeply about the role of creativity in student life. “Being at a university like Northwestern comes with a lot of pressure to focus on achievements,” she said. “In my life and in my work putting together this workshop series, I’ve been thinking about how to prioritize time for gathering together, thinking about art, and being creative with an emphasis on the process more so than the outcome.” She noticed moments of “childlike wonder” emerging throughout the evening as students reflected on gifts they had received and created prints to pass on.

This collaboration between Dittmar and The Block reflects the purpose of The Living Room: to foster slower encounters with art and create opportunities for dialogue and reflection among students. The Living Room showcases one artwork each month, inviting visitors to take their time, settle in, and follow their own curiosity. Workshops like this one extend that approach into moments of making and community building.

For Tyree, the event expanded her sense of what the museum can offer. “I’ve spent many hours looking at art at The Block, but not as much time creating something in response,” she said. “It was encouraging to see how quickly students shaped the space once the opportunity was there.”
Dittmar plans to continue the Crafting Community workshop series throughout future Living Room rotations. We look forward to sharing details about the next gathering and welcoming more students into this ongoing practice of creativity and connection.