Over the summer, Lily Grace (pictured on the far left) and Tatiana Williams-Martin (pictured second to left) were interns for Spiral Q. Spiral Q uses art to connect people, actions, values, neighborhoods, organizations, and movements to each other and to their collective creative force for change. This internship was supported by the Summer Humanities Internship Program.
Reflecting on her SHIP experience, Tatiana Williams-Martin (‘27), a Psychology major, said “Community is what you make of it and can be found anywhere, such as Puppet Planet.”
I was drawn to Spiral Q because I’m incredibly passionate about social justice and social work, and I knew that whatever internship I was doing, I wanted it to be geared towards helping people. The beginning of the internship involved organizing and cleaning the studio, helping them recover from the mess that the Blankenburg parade had left. We traveled to many different worlds while cleaning the studio: from Paper Planet to Fabric World to Paint Corner. The best place we visited during my time at Spiral Q was Puppet Planet! Puppet Planet is another name for Parkside, Spiral Q’s storage facility, where old puppets, puppet dresses, flats, and a variety of other artwork are stored.
During my internship, I was lucky enough to participate in multiple art builds. One specific art build consisted of screen-printing butterflies, which I was particularly pleased about because one of my bucket list items for the summer was to learn how to screen-print! By the end of the summer, I also learned how to paper-mache and how to harvest bamboo (a key component of puppet making). Although I’m unsure how I'll apply this newfound skill, learning how to ‘thwack’ bamboo with the Spiral Q team was one of the most memorable moments of the summer.
Overall, the best part about interning with Spiral Q was the community. The environment was incredibly welcoming and comfortable, creating a work environment where I genuinely felt cared for. Every Monday morning, we had check-ins where we would talk about how we were feeling and what needs we had that others could help with; those needs were ALWAYS honored. Since ending the internship, I've kept in touch with my Spiral Q fam and will forever cherish the handmade paper-mache "#1 intern" trophy that our lovely boss, Asa, made for us interns.
Reflecting on her SHIP experience, Lily Grace (‘27), a Communication major, said “I came in looking for a job, but came out looking for recycled materials and community.”
I was drawn to Spiral Q because of the giant puppets, obviously. In the past few years, I have not had many opportunities to express my creativity, so I was excited to reconnect with my imagination and connect with local activist groups to make art to inspire change. This organization is unique in the way it brings together various collectives, uplifting teamwork and collaboration. While I learned an abundance of art skills, such as papier mâché, screen-printing, flat multiples, and giant puppets, I also learned how to plug into a variety of societal movements and protests. I loved connecting activism with art and, after this summer, I now consider myself a puppet person.
The connections I made this summer were worth more than being able to list this experience on my resume. I was lucky enough to be in a cohort of 6 students from local universities who were all thoughtful, helpful, and hilarious. I felt incredibly safe and supported by my buddies who always listened to my cheers as well as my complaints, and we always did our best to help one another. This environment of open communication and collaboration was cultivated masterfully by our amazing supervisor who was clear about the workplace culture. At Spiral Q, we are humans first. For our last day, they hand-crafted us trophies, all reading “#1 intern,” and we all wrote nice notes to put in them. Of course, that physical award was quite rewarding, but the feeling of community was even more meaningful.
By the end of the summer, I accomplished my professional goals of seeing the inner workings of a non-profit and studying how they communicate internally and externally. My creative juices are finally flowing again! I want to inspire change in this hurting world, whether by focusing on policy changes at an institutional level or by supporting local kids who want to use art to make their voices heard. Art is powerful… especially puppets.
Interested in reading more first-hand accounts about undergraduate research? Check out the other experiences featured on our Student News Page and Social Media!
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