“Art saves lives.” Ann Holderfield has a print, signed by the artist Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., on the wall of her office with that quote, and it is something she firmly believes.
Holderfield has studied art, she has created art, she has taught art, and now she is helping others discovery art and creativity, among other things, in her role as art and architecture librarian and director of the Gunnin Architecture Library.
Born in Alabama, Holderfield grew up in Columbia, after her family moved there when she was three years old. She discovered her own talent as an artist when she was in high school. She went on to the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts, where her interest in art blossomed into a true passion.
An untitled painting by Holderfield
Holderfield decided she wanted to continue learning about and creating art in college, so she studied art history at Emory University before transferring to the University of Georgia to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing and a Bachelor of Arts in art history. She worked in internships at the High Museum of Art and at Nexus Contemporary Art Center in Atlanta, held a few other jobs, and worked as a practicing artist at a studio in Decatur, Georgia, for a few years, but ultimately decided she wanted to become a teacher, so she went back to UGA to earn a master’s degree in art education.
“I thought teaching could be a way I could combine my interests in art history, the history of art education, studio pedagogy, and creativity, and do something meaningful,” she said. “I didn’t have great art experiences when I was in elementary school. I chose to take music classes in middle school, so I didn’t take art until I was in 10th grade, and then I was nominated to apply to the Governor’s School. I wanted to provide children with positive art experiences and recognize the variety of temperaments in the room in a way that was not recognized when I was young.”
After a period of working as a marketing coordinator for an architecture firm in Atlanta, Holderfield went into teaching. She taught for a year at an elementary school in Clayton County, Georgia, and then moved up to teach high school at in Fulton County. Both levels were rewarding and challenging at the same time.
“I really loved working with my students, and I learned a lot from them,” she said.
After a few years of teaching, Holderfield wanted to make a career change, so she decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and go to library school. Her mother was a librarian at the University of South Carolina. Holderfield enrolled there to earn her Master of Library and Information Science degree and prepare to become an art librarian.
After graduating, she did another stint in the classroom as an art instructor at Piedmont Technical College before making her way down to the University of South Carolina Beaufort, where she worked as a librarian, eventually becoming interim director of libraries and then assistant director of libraries. She also worked as director of the Sea Islands Center Gallery, the gallery of the USCB art department, and she taught some painting classes as an adjunct.
Despite her involvement with the gallery and teaching, Holderfield missed working more closely with art, so when she saw the art and architecture librarian position at Clemson, it felt like the perfect fit.
Holderfield’s dog, Aries
She now oversees both the Gunnin Architecture Library and the branch library at the Charleston Design Center. Every day for Holderfield is different. On any given day she might be teaching students research methodology and how to conduct research using library resources, consulting with students or faculty regarding their research or teaching, building the print and online collection at Gunnin, creating art exhibition opportunities for Gunnin and Cooper, serving in a leadership role in professional art/architecture library associations and groups, or conducting her own scholarship. She also does a lot of work with art and architecture classes that use Gunnin as a space to get hands-on experience. For example, she worked with a design-build studio in which students designed and built a table, which was installed in Gunnin.
“This has been my dream job,” she said. “I love working with all of the students, faculty and staff in this college. Everyone is so creative, and I love seeing what they create. I’m interested in the creative process, and I still think of myself as an art educator, as well as an art and architecture librarian, an artist, former gallery director and curator. I’ve been thinking a lot about meaning making lately, and I appreciate that everyone here in this college is actively working towards making the world a better place.
The research process and the creative process are very similar, if not the same. You need to be curious, experimental, and open. Helping people navigate the research process is very similar to helping people navigate the creative process. I’m not really about helping people find answers. I’m here to help them through the process in a way that is meaningful and applicable to them. We live in a very complicated information landscape,” she said.
Holderfield said she wished more students knew that Gunnin existed and that it was open to all students, not just students in art and architecture majors.
“Anyone can study here, and it’s a lot quieter than Cooper most of the time,” she said. “I think of it as a ‘boutique’ space. We’re an experimental space, which I love.”
Outside of work, Holderfield still paints, and her work can be seen on her website. She finds her inspiration in nature and enjoys taking her dog, Aries, on nature walks and spending time with her partner, Jeff, and their cat, Lucia. She also enjoys international travel, and has taken trips to places such as India, France, England, Italy, Germany and Montreal.