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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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The Arts

Watch for drool

Amy Freeman’s

Amy Freeman’s "releasing me" (2002) typifies her unique style of self-portrait.

By Hannah Pittard
Published: Friday, February 7, 2003

Professor Amy Freeman, a new addition to the Savannah College of Art and Design’s foundation studies faculty, finds joy in teaching, hilarity in painting, indulges in food metaphors and has a tendency to drool.

Most recently, Freeman’s work appeared in Pinnacle Gallery’s "First Impressions: The Art of the New Faculty," the second annual exhibition to introduce new faculty members and their work to SCAD and the Savannah community. "[My paintings] are self-portraits, so inevitably I am expressing an inner scream of sorts, a single moment of captured drama that perhaps translates as pain," said Freeman. "I personally, however, find them very funny, completely absurd."

Perhaps one reason the professor views her work as absurd is the way in which she models for herself. "I hold the pose for each piece in front of a mirror. No photographs — just me, the mirror, a strategically placed canvas and a lot of paint," said Freeman. "It becomes very much like a personal yoga but perhaps not as healthy as it sounds. It hurts. It cramps. It is absolutely ridiculous. I love it."

But performing would-be yoga and contorting her body are not the only things Freeman loves. She said she also loves being a teacher, which she insists has made her a better painter and vice versa. "I find it hard to draw a line between being an artist and being a teacher," she said. "I simply practice what I preach."

Freeman said she realized her true love for painting when she discovered herself "literally drooling … as if I had just eaten 20 SweetTarts" in front of Cezanne’s "Mme. Cezanne in a Red Armchair" at the Boston Museum of Art. As a foundation studies faculty member, Freeman said she believes that the first thing to instill in students is the understanding that the fundamentals of drawing and design are essential: "They are the oranges of orange juice."

Besides finding inspiration in teaching, Freeman said she also finds inspiration in the works of Jenny Saville, Cindy Sherman, Paula Rego, Rembrandt, Rodin, Sargent, Lopez Garcia, Vermeer and others. "I paint because I am hungry for it," said Freeman. "It is very much like eating. I gorge myself with paint, media, charcoal, oil pastels, all of my tools," she said. "I see my studio like a grand buffet, all-you-can-eat for the low, low cost of mental disability from the fumes."