Employee highlight: Chance Drummond
November 1, 2023
Engineer and mixed media artist
Collaboration isn't just something Facilities Management's Chance Drummond does at work, it's an important part of his creative process at home, too.
Drummond, who works as the electrical engineering associate on the Capital Construction & Renovations Design Services team, has been an artist all his life. At work, he helps create the blueprints that are used for smaller renovation projects at UVA, and at home he continues to pursue art as a hobby while raising a family.
Recently, Drummond, who joined FM in the fall of 2022, has felt a push to share his artwork more widely as his creations now involve the help of his two-year-old daughter. Two of these collaborative works are currently on display through Nov. 27 in the UVA Fralin Museum of Art's “Little Museum of Art.”
“Since I do mixed media there's really no mistakes that can't be undone or improvised,” he explained. “With this work [on display,] I gave [my daughter] a really mushy, nasty looking blackberry and she grabbed it and just wrecked the canvas with it.”
Drummond let the blackberry dry and outlined where it was before cleaning it off. This isn't the first time he has used food in his art.
“I put a little bit of food in everything,” he said. “It sounds gross but it's not that bad.”
In addition to blackberries, he has incorporated peanut shells into another piece of art that he created for former coworker Theo Diamond.
“The type of art that I do — it's really good for a person with a busy life,” he said. “I can put a layer down of whatever and I can let it sit there for a week or two and come back to it to see if there is anything interesting there. I never feel rushed with it.”
To see more of his artwork, visit Chance Drummond's Instagram page.
The Little Museum of Art is currently featuring artwork by 11 different UVA faculty and staff members. In addition to Drummond, Director of Sustainability Andrea Trimble's artwork is also currently on display.
Jane Centofante
Communications senior generalist
UVA Facilities Management
(434) 982-5846
janecentofante@virginia.edu