Welcome to the DOMA Insider! We are here to share stories and information about the art museum at Ball State University.  We created the DOMA Insider this year because there are many changes coming to the museum and we want to share our experiences here at the museum as these transformations occur.  Before we begin sharing our stories with you, allow us to introduce ourselves.

My name is Nicole Griffetts and I am a senior public history student at Ball State. I first became acquainted with the David Owsley Museum of Art as a curious visitor in 2009.  Since then, I have become involved in the museum’s docent program, where I lead various tours and discuss art with a diverse group of people within the Muncie community.  As a student of history, I know that art is an integral part of understanding the past, and connections between the two have helped me prepare for a career in the museum industry.  I am passionate and excited about the role museums play in society and local communities, and I look forward to sharing updates about our museum with the blogosphere.

I am Ashley Wehmiller, the other contributor for the DOMA Insider. As a junior at Ball State and student of art history, I am eager to share with the Ball State and Muncie community the exciting changes happening at the museum. I have volunteered as a docent at the David Owsley Museum of Art since the fall of 2011, where I share ideas with other docents at meetings and lead tours. The more I become involved with the museum, I find myself more interested in my studies and look forward to my future career in museums. Through this blog, I plan to share with readers my passion for art, particularly the collection here at DOMA.

Our current role with the museum involves interpretive planning. As Interpretive Planning Assistants, we are working with the professional staff to interpret the museum’s collection as we continue with renovating the galleries.

In addition to our work as Interpretive Planning Assistants, we also serve as the museum’s research assistants. We are available to assist you with your research questions every Monday and Wednesday from 2:00-4:30 p.m. in the Brown Study Room.

Stay tuned for further entries as we describe more about our role and the process of museum interpretation.

Don’t worry, environmentalist artist Lila Katzen actually intended her sculptures to be sat on! Stay tuned for an entry on Maxi-Antecedent II, an outdoor sculpture by Lila Katzen.