A 70-Year-Old Student Earns MFA

At age 70, recent Hartford Art school graduate Arnethia Douglass, 20, M’22 has learned the art of patience, listening, and having confidence as an artist.

A resident of Bristol, Connecticut, Douglass was first drawn to HAS at the University of Hartford in 2017 for its broad program offerings, compelling her to pursue both undergraduate and graduate studies.  “I chose the Hartford Art School because it had everything—filmmaking, ceramics, digital art, and illustrations. I fell in love with their printmaking shop,” says Douglass, who earned her BFA in printmaking in 2020.

Once she enrolled in the MFA program, Douglass’s enthusiasm to further her education as the most senior student in her classes did not come without some apprehension. It was the support from her classmates, Douglass says, that made all the difference.

“I came as an older person and was afraid at first that I would not cut the mustard because of age,” says the Harlem, New York, native. Douglass says she remained motivated to pursue her education despite her perceived challenges because it was something that her mother, a pediatric nurse, and father, a navy shipyard mill worker, had always instilled in her. Being the oldest daughter among her six siblings, she always tried to be a leader who set an example.

Douglass says the encouragement of her MFA classmates, all much younger than her, gave her added confidence and a blueprint to follow.

“My classmates were very supportive. We are an extended family collective,” Douglass states. They bonded through the program’s many field trip experiences and supported each other while working on projects together.

Prior to attending HAS, Douglass first tried her hand at art in higher education in the visual arts program at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Connecticut. There, she received first-place recognition in an art exhibition at Barnes-Franklin Gallery for her digital abstract drawing of a river. Douglass knew then that she wanted to learn more and elevate her artistry.

Among the art projects Douglass enjoyed at HAS were sculptures made from wood, metal, African cloths, and masks of Yoruba gods and goddesses (a representation of a traditional group in Nigeria, their folklore and practices), as well as materials from the environment. Her creations were often made from items like garbage bags and other recyclable items found in her home. She was particularly fond of stamping with Adinkra cloth to create traditional designs from Ghana that culturally represent a person’s social status.

So, what did Douglas as an older student teach her classmates? 

“I taught them patience, to listen more, and that you have to stay open,” she says. In return, they taught her better understanding of technology formats for writing papers, drawing, and designing.

Douglass also brought her classmates knowledge as an artist and from her real-life experiences. A former dancer with an African dance company, Douglass is proud that she has met celebrities known for their significant contributions to the African diaspora, and artists such as famed dancer Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the late poet Maya Angelou. Douglass loves that she was able to share stories of her time with the women Gee’s Bend quilters of Alabama as she and her classmates worked on creating modern quilts with African designs. Her favorite art creations were her prints made with natural materials like raw fibers, rope, rocks, tree barks, and leaves.

Douglass says that her classes at HAS gave her the platform to create work that tells a story inspired by the world around her. In her collage, “Pollutions,” for example, Douglas blended images together to show that “not only are we polluting waters and forests, but also other parts of our world, leaving younger generations very little to look forward to in their future.” In another art piece depicting the ocean, Douglass explains that the dominant blue color in it “represents coral turning white and disappearing because of oil pollution.”   

A mother of two children, Sonja, 12, and Eliel, 15, Douglass wants the art skills she learned and pieces she created at HAS to have meaning for many generations. She plans to use her skills and work to teach and inspire young artists to “explore and advance in their art.”

Douglass’s studies at HAS show that an artist can do so at any age.