For the Love of Art: Majors at UW
April 28, 2022 | Women's Rowing
Olivia Bratzke leaves her mark at Porter Boathouse
MADISON, Wis -- The City of Madison is rich in the arts as much as it is rich in college students and Badger sports pride. With two museums within walking distance of campus and four performing arts centers, downtown Madison alone provides an abundance of places for creative people to go for inspiration. Senior Olivia Bratzke has taken full advantage of this fact.
"It's really cool - Madison is one of the smallest big cities I have ever been to with the most community-based art opportunities available to artists," said Bratzke.
As a fourth-year rower and integral member of the team, Bratzke has become the current go-to art expert at Porter Boathouse.
"Every four years it seems the rowing team picks up another art girl, which is actually really comforting because it keeps the creativity alive in the boathouse," Bratzke said, smiling.
At the center of her interests, though, are people. Double majoring in both sociology and art (graphic design emphasis), Bratzke gets to study people through ethnographic studies, as well as use her detailed eye to create posters and social media posts for people to learn from and enjoy.
"I love creating art on a daily basis, but I also love reading about different societies and why we [as people] do the things we do. It also never gets boring - I'm always getting messy, which is very fun," said Bratzke.
While her classes tend to be serious, Bratzke always tries to keep life lighthearted.
"I go out to get ice cream with my friends a lot and I never shut up about my dog [but] when I first came to campus I just tried to keep an open mind and [embrace] looking really silly and messing up a lot - it's just par for the course," said Bratzke.
Outside of sport, Bratzke creates graphics for @badgerwrowing social media pages and even spent 80 hours of her winter break painting a beautiful mural in the erg bay of the Badgers' boathouse. Off-campus, she has gotten experience as a graphic designer with Stem to Stern, a USRowing partnered program that works to eliminate the barriers to participation and increase representation in the sport of rowing.
"I got to create a more playful, child-like set-up for pictures, which always makes my art even more interesting," said Bratzke.
On top of it all, Bratzke serves as the marketing chair for SAAC and donates her time to Badgers Give Back.
In the end, Bratzke knows she is playing to her strengths and following her passions along the way.
"I have always excelled in visualization and presentation. Usually, I can present my ideas better in pictures than I can in words - art is great for that," said Bratzke.
After graduating this May, Bratzke plans to stay in Madison. She will be attending the School of Business working towards her master's in creative enterprise and leadership. Through the program, she looks forward to working with nonprofit organizations as a graphic designer doing community outreach. But first and foremost, catch her on a lake near you finishing up her final season as a Badger rower!
"It's really cool - Madison is one of the smallest big cities I have ever been to with the most community-based art opportunities available to artists," said Bratzke.
As a fourth-year rower and integral member of the team, Bratzke has become the current go-to art expert at Porter Boathouse.
"Every four years it seems the rowing team picks up another art girl, which is actually really comforting because it keeps the creativity alive in the boathouse," Bratzke said, smiling.
At the center of her interests, though, are people. Double majoring in both sociology and art (graphic design emphasis), Bratzke gets to study people through ethnographic studies, as well as use her detailed eye to create posters and social media posts for people to learn from and enjoy.
"I love creating art on a daily basis, but I also love reading about different societies and why we [as people] do the things we do. It also never gets boring - I'm always getting messy, which is very fun," said Bratzke.
While her classes tend to be serious, Bratzke always tries to keep life lighthearted.
"I go out to get ice cream with my friends a lot and I never shut up about my dog [but] when I first came to campus I just tried to keep an open mind and [embrace] looking really silly and messing up a lot - it's just par for the course," said Bratzke.
Outside of sport, Bratzke creates graphics for @badgerwrowing social media pages and even spent 80 hours of her winter break painting a beautiful mural in the erg bay of the Badgers' boathouse. Off-campus, she has gotten experience as a graphic designer with Stem to Stern, a USRowing partnered program that works to eliminate the barriers to participation and increase representation in the sport of rowing.
"I got to create a more playful, child-like set-up for pictures, which always makes my art even more interesting," said Bratzke.
On top of it all, Bratzke serves as the marketing chair for SAAC and donates her time to Badgers Give Back.
In the end, Bratzke knows she is playing to her strengths and following her passions along the way.
"I have always excelled in visualization and presentation. Usually, I can present my ideas better in pictures than I can in words - art is great for that," said Bratzke.
After graduating this May, Bratzke plans to stay in Madison. She will be attending the School of Business working towards her master's in creative enterprise and leadership. Through the program, she looks forward to working with nonprofit organizations as a graphic designer doing community outreach. But first and foremost, catch her on a lake near you finishing up her final season as a Badger rower!
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