Technology Teacher Armanda Klimavičiūtė: Creativity Opens More Opportunities and Allows You to See the World from a Different Perspective
Armanda Klimavičiūtė, a technology teacher at Kaunas Erudito Licėjus, began her teaching journey with after-school activities—she led creative workshops for elementary school students at the lyceum. Over the course of a year, her achievements as both a teacher and a specialist grew: Armanda was recognized as the most eco-friendly teacher in Kaunas, graduated in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Arts and Education at Kaunas College, and was awarded the Eugenija Mikšytė-Lašienė Art Prize for her diploma work “The Brand and Visual Design of the Justinas Vienožinskis Memorial Museum.” Next year, she will continue her studies in the master’s program at the Kaunas Faculty of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. Once having switched from biology studies to art, today Armanda is perhaps the only one in Lithuania deeply engaged in scanography, and she is also interested in electronic music, synthesizers, and more.
Armanda, tell us how a young and active artist found herself at Erudito Licėjus?
I was invited to Erudito Licėjus to lead creative workshops as part of after-school activities. After a year, I started working as a technology teacher. Previously, I only organized art exhibitions for my friend’s nephew, and I had no experience working with students. However, I realized that I wanted to gain more experience—I really enjoy working with children. It feels great to receive feedback from them—all those smiles, enthusiasm, and excitement. The children’s joy fills me up.
Many people saw potential in me for working with children, even though I had never thought about it. So I thought, “Why not?” And I really liked it! At first, I worked with elementary school students, organizing creative workshops for them. We engaged in not only visual arts but also audio arts: sometimes we played music and created various sounds. Last year, we made “zines” (from the English word “magazine”) with the children. These are like smaller versions of magazines, with graphic illustrations. I designed them, and we printed them using risograph printing at “Hands on Press.” The result was very fun.
For older students, I conduct graphic design sessions once a week as part of the after-school group. I try to showcase as many aspects of graphic design as possible—this encompasses modern technologies, is widely applicable, and useful; everyone should learn at least the basics. We learn to work with the Canva platform, where one can gain basic skills in composition, color, and font matching.
My life is full of various activities. I come from the field of graphic design and have been involved in various cultural projects, all of which aim to cultivate culture. My goal is to increase people’s awareness and expand their understanding of culture and art.
You are a truly active promoter of cultural life: you and a friend are creating an art gallery, organizing exhibitions, and educational events…
“The Other Gallery” is the idea of my colleague Agnė Survilaitė-Urbutė. While Agnė was working, I would take care of her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She shared with me the challenges of setting up the gallery, and we discussed them together. Our work processes are similar, and our views align, so we thought we could try doing something together. We started working together very organically.
We got a space in the courtyard of the National Drama Theatre’s smaller stages—during the summer, when the theatre is on vacation, they rent out these spaces. So, our unconventional gallery operates only in the summer. We focus on young artists who do not yet have official artist status, and it is very difficult for such young artists to find a gallery where they can exhibit their work. Our first exhibition was of digital illustrations. We sought out niche but promising young artists for whom this opportunity to showcase their work might be the first. The result was wonderful—the creators and visitors were happy, and we received a lot of attention, with various cultural institutions writing to us, saying that such a place was much needed. We organized not only exhibitions but also poetry readings, sound performances, and I led scanography workshops.
You are probably the only person in Lithuania who is passionately interested in scanography and creating scanograms, having even organized an exhibition titled “Rėva” and conducting scanography workshops. This creative way of capturing the world around us is still quite rare in Lithuania. How and why did you become interested in scanography?
Scanography is a photography technique that does not use a camera—images are captured with a scanner. It is sometimes called scanned photography. I have been intensely involved in this art form for a year now and am very interested in it. I discovered it unexpectedly: I just tried scanning some plants at home. After some time, I returned to this mysterious but increasingly popular photography genre and began creating a series of works. My first solo exhibition was of scanograms. It’s a very niche art form, but I see its potential, so I strive to explore it as much as possible and try to interest others in it, hoping to create a community of scanography enthusiasts. In Lithuania, scanography is indeed little known. I know just a few people who practice it. I challenged myself to explore as much as possible what can be done with this photography technique.
This relatively new art direction has aesthetic qualities characteristic of visual art, graphic design, illustration, or advertising. The most interesting part is that you can use various objects found in the environment—dried plants, etc. A high-resolution scanner can capture microscopic details of objects, their textures, and graphic elements. Scanograms create an illusion of realism, though you are limited by space—you cannot scan beyond the scanner glass. However, this alternative art form helps you discover and create your relationship with the environment; you feel like a true explorer, and scanograms allow you to see the world from a different perspective, something that traditional photography cannot provide. My knowledge and skills as a graphic designer come in handy here too: sometimes the images need to be processed with editing programs to clean up visual noise, though I try to alter the image as minimally as possible. I would like to link my future master’s work with scanography—I enrolled in the master’s program in graphic design at the Kaunas Faculty of the Vilnius Academy of Arts.
Your diploma work “The Brand and Visual Identity Design for the Justinas Vienožinskis Memorial Museum” was awarded the Eugenija Mikšytė-Lašienė Art Prize this year. What does this award and recognition mean to you?
I had envisioned the Justinas Vienožinskis Memorial Museum as my subject for a long time, as I was interested in the history of Justinas Vienožinskis. He was the main initiator of the Kaunas Art School, and we should be grateful to him for its establishment. In 1920, it started as a drawing course and became the Kaunas Art School in 1922, which later gave rise to the Kaunas Faculty of the Vilnius Academy of Arts. This school was like the cradle of high art in Kaunas. Once, I asked my classmates if they knew anything about Justinas Vienožinskis. I was surprised that they could barely say anything, even though they were studying at a faculty established thanks to him. I realized that I wanted to link my final work with his name. I found out that the name Justinas Vienožinskis is associated with the Vilnius Art School and a memorial museum in the Rokiškis district, in Dačiūnai. After delving deeper into these two objects, I saw that the Vilnius Art School had some visual identity, so I focused on the memorial museum. It seemed significant to create a visual identity for it, as Justinas Vienožinskis spent his entire childhood there, and most of his paintings were created there. I read a lot of literature, and the painter’s daughter Nijolė shared in the memories of contemporaries: “For my father, this homestead was his entire life and all his dreams.” All the landscapes, the Dačiūnai scenery were very important to him. I got really excited and contacted the museum, and it turned out that the museum is now curated and managed by the painter’s granddaughter Nijolė Šiaučiūnienė—I find it beautiful, valuable, and meaningful that the same family is taking care of the museum. They were very happy to hear that I wanted to create a logo and visual style for them because they had no visual identity, and it is very effective in helping to be seen. I wanted to help them, so this visual style would attract more visitors. I’m glad I managed to create a successful piece.
What determines the success of a brand’s visual identity?
First, it’s essential to conduct thorough theoretical research, analyzing and studying the object in question. I read a lot about Justinas Vienožinskis, researched the identities of other museums, and examined their context. I compared the visual identities of museums both in Lithuania and globally, focusing on the logos they used. Given my previous observations of logo trends, I noticed that solid, conceptual, and modern solutions are dominant—they are long-lasting, effective, and recognizable. I wanted to create something similar for the object I was studying, something that didn’t yet exist in Lithuania.
Next comes the creative process: developing several concepts to choose from. The client (if it’s a commission) then selects one, and compromises may be necessary to align with their vision. There’s even a specific exercise for this: you take the logo icon, squint at it, and the mark should still be recognizable and visible. Some logos, when too detailed, might just look like a smudge when you squint and lose their identity.
What determines the success of a logo and brand mark? It’s not just the work of one person; it involves the opinions of multiple people, and sometimes finding a consensus is required. In my case, everything went very smoothly, just as I had hoped—the museum liked my solutions. I am satisfied with the final result. This concept works effectively when applied to other objects, and the logo looks conceptual, professional, original, and modern.
How do you, as a professional and certified graphic designer, evaluate the Erudito Licėjus’ logo?
I rate it very highly! It’s very recognizable, well-composed. Often, my eye catches on logos, especially those of schools, and I feel the urge to tweak this or that (laughs). But I wouldn’t change anything about the Erudito Licėjus logo. It has its own style, looks modern, and professional.
How important is creativity in the field of technology? What opportunities does it open, and what does creativity mean to you?
Everyone should have a bit of creativity within themselves. It’s beneficial because it allows you to look at situations creatively, to solve and navigate them. You don’t necessarily have to be an artist for creativity to be relevant—it’s useful in everyday situations as well. Creativity broadens understanding, perspective, and thinking; it liberates. I believe creativity can even be applied in mathematics, not to mention technology. Creative thinking is valuable everywhere.
What do you strive to teach the children, what knowledge and skills do you wish to pass on?
My friends always say how positive I am. It’s my natural state; I don’t try to be that way. I probably enjoy bringing joy to others, showing them beautiful things—I have a lot of warmth to give. I grew up in the countryside, knowing little about the existence of certain things, so my goal is to reveal as much of the world’s diversity to children as possible, to show them what I might not have seen or had in my own childhood. I want the children’s development and self-discovery processes to be faster, for them to experience a richer and more beautiful world through art and culture. I think that seeing and spreading beauty is very important.
Since I wasn’t familiar with the arts before, their introduction sparked what felt like a second adolescence for me—I want to experience and figure everything out. In the future, I would love to teach at a higher level, which is why I chose to pursue a master’s degree at the Academy of Arts. I also hope that other teachers or lecturers are passionate about their subjects—when they are, they can ignite that passion in their students, which is highly motivating. I want to show students the importance of having a goal, pursuing it, and not giving up. I would like to explore all stages of human life through teaching—starting with working with younger students, then moving to middle school, and now I dream of teaching at a higher level. It’s fascinating to understand pedagogy at different life stages—what a person requires as they learn.
This year, you were recognized as the most eco-friendly teacher in Kaunas. What does this award mean to you? Does it oblige you to follow sustainability and ecological principles in daily life? What are those principles and habits?
I used to be more interested in ecology, but now it has become a natural state: I always sort plastic, paper, and use reusable bags in stores. I love giving clothes a second life; I have reworked some of my grandmother’s clothes and even wear them, and I find treasures in the attic at my parents’ house from their youth and repurpose them. My students often tell me, “Wow, those are some cool shirts!” And they’re actually my dad’s (laughs). I avoid fast fashion and strive to use long-lasting items.
I think that in the face of global warming, which is happening increasingly rapidly, eco-friendliness should be a concern for everyone. A couple of years ago, I went through a serious phase—I felt like I wouldn’t buy anything anymore and would make everything by hand (laughs). Now, I may not be as radical, but I still support and nurture sustainability ideas. I try to follow my parents’ and grandparents’ principles: they would sew, repair, and wear things for a long time. This is very close to my heart.
At school, during the first half of the year, we have textile classes with the students: everyone brings various unused materials, and we sew something out of them. Last year, these were Christmas decorations and textile bags. The children were surprised at how old materials could be turned into something new. We often talk with the students about waste sorting; during the nutrition course, we discuss food waste: we learn to recognize expiration dates in stores and critically evaluate labels, making appropriate choices. A lot of food is wasted—according to the United Nations, about a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. In Lithuania, on average, each person throws away 60 kg of food per year that could still be consumed.
What else don’t we know about you? What are your hobbies, and how do you spend your leisure time?
I am interested in many art forms. But now, I’d like to highlight my interest in analog photography and music. I experiment with different film cameras, develop film in a photography lab. As for music—I explore sounds created by artists with my ears, and sometimes I experiment myself; I even have a few tracks uploaded on Spotify. And if you want an even bigger surprise—I’ve worked as a solderer (laughs), soldering electronic boards. I also used to be a Samsung device technician and specialist.