BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: ME/MSE junior Grace Hsu finds a unique language of expression in her art work. It's a hobby that's also an important outlet.

ME/MSE major finds full expression with her artwork

During Engineering Week last spring, junior Grace Hsu exhibited two of her drawings in the engineering art show. Her figure drawings, done simply in magic marker, were haunting and compelling. Each drawing (pictured in the photo to the left) was charged with a strong sense of emotion.

“Drawing is a form of expression for me. When I feel emotional I start drawing. It’s how I express my feelings privately. Some people journal to make sense of their feelings. I draw,” says the ME/MSE major.

Grace says her favorite art subject is the human form.

“Human figures are the most beautiful thing in the world to me. They are nature’s perfect machines.”

The art gene runs strongly through Grace’s family. All her siblings draw and her sister is a professional artist.
Grace moved to the U.S. from Taiwan when she was 10 and, during her early struggles to learn English, she always turned to art to express the things she couldn’t say in words.

“I don’t feel I can fully express myself in either Mandarin or English like I can with art. Drawing is a language I can find full expression in,” she says.

Though she’s been drawing since grade school, Grace decided to study engineering instead of art in college.

“Just because I was good at art didn’t mean that I had to do it professionally. I was also very drawn to science,” she says.

Her art skills have been an asset in studying engineering. Being visually inclined has helped her understand problems in physics and geometric math by picturing the problem and solution, says Grace. That way, she says, she can see the answer faster than some other students.

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