BTN.com LiveBIG Staff, August 5, 2016

Artists use a variety of mediums to express themselves. Some paint, some draw, some use photography, others use literature. But what makes them unique?

In the Big Ten, there are a myriad of artists inspiring people and students with their work. As artists, they tell stories they hope will inspire and change the world around them.

Here are some of our favorite stories of artists with a Big Ten connection.

Artist Brings Dakota Tribe?s Stories To Life At Nebraska

?I think there is a way of telling stories that doesn?t involve putting them in a book,? said Westerman, an artist who works with visual mediums like fiber and textiles. ?This is a different format to share culture, history and tradition.?

Wisconsin Artist is Up To Something Fishy

?If we give [these posters] to kids and get this thing into schools, it will show them that there?s more to these animals than Bluegills and game fish.?

Kandis Elliot, emerita senior artist in the Department of Botany, is pictured on June 30, 2015, with a poster she created that features life-size illustrations of every fish species in the state of Wisconsin. The poster hangs outside her office in Nolan Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Photo by Bryce Richter / UW-Madison)
Kandis Elliot, emerita senior artist in the Department of Botany, is pictured on June 30, 2015, with a poster she created that features life-size illustrations of every fish species in the state of Wisconsin. The poster hangs outside her office in Nolan Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Photo by Bryce Richter / UW-Madison)

Northwestern Instructor Stuart Dybek?s Road to Writing Mastery

To fully grasp the ?Dybek method,? as The New York Times called it, you kind of have to believe in magic ? or at the very least, in the power of dreams. And that informs the approach he takes to teaching students at Northwestern.

Kids With Autism Get Help From Buckeyes And The Bard

?Shakespeare gives you the opportunity to wake up to your own life,? Hunter explained. ?It?s not just about watching Shakespeare?s plays, it?s about thinking about yourself as you?re watching them and taking that one step further. [It gives] the children the opportunity to explore what it feels like to be themselves, which often in their locked-away world of autism, they don?t get the opportunity to do.?

Illinois Puts Heart and Soul Into Musical Computers

?There?s something about jazz that could provide an interesting novel model for communications,? Grosser explained. ?You?re improvising a lot with jazz. You?re thinking the music when you feel it. You?re really interpreting it through that musical space.?

By Gianna Marshall