Skylar Sheput, Student Work

LOOK PARTY

Canvas, ink, paper, soft chalk pastels, water, frames, gesso.

74" x 57" 

 

Ellie Bowman, Student Work

Plaything

Pastels, chalk, yarn, aper.

6ft 8in x 1ft 9in

Statement:

In my work, Plaything, I wanted to make a piece discussing women's bodily autonomy. As a woman, I've often felt that others seem to believe that they deserve to have control over my body, whether it be the government controlling what I can and cannot do with my own vessel, or men who believe I owe them to look a certain way, or feel as though they have the right to use my body for their own pleasure. The marionette does not have control of herself; her every movement is determined by a puppeteer. The white chalk and pastel are soft and dainty, just like her. The circle below her is her stage from which she cannot escape. The marionette hangs and waits for her puppet master, she cannot be allowed to function on her own.

 

Marysa Gunter, Student Work

 

The Observer

Charcoal on Charcoal and Bristol paper. Fishing hooks. Fishing line. 

6 ft. Wide x 5.3 ft. Height.

\/  Details Photos \/

Artist Statement 

        The Observer is an example of the natural world that I see and interact with daily. My love and appreciation towards animals are from my personal experience of living on a farm, where I have many interactions with wildlife. The Observer in question is a Great Blue Heron, my personal favorite of birds that I see at home. These large, magnificent birds are found near marshes and other shallow waters hunting patiently for fish, amphibians, snakes, and sometimes small rodents. I chose the Great Blue Heron because of its unwavering patience and watchful eyes that observe the surroundings.  

There are times when we get a call informing us that cattle have gotten out during the night, and we must retrieve them as soon as possible, often right after the call. During these nighttime drives, we will see other animals such as White Tail Deer, Raccoons, Opossums, and our own horses and cows. The multiple charcoal drawings hanging beneath the wings of the heron depict these mentioned animals that I have observed through trail cameras and going outside during the night. Their eyes reflect to us, a sign that they know we are there, and they are comfortable yet apprehensive with our presence. These images of animals hanging by fishing lines and fishing hooks act as a commemoration of family ties and memories of fishing with my grandfather. My grandfather, who I call Papa, is the reason for my love of animals, and my love of working on the land. 

The Observer is meant to show the oppressive quiet the night can emanate and how even in the dark you can feel a sense of calm while being watched by the animals. However, it is notable that not everyone that goes outside at night feels the same calmness that I have discussed. Since I live in the woods, I am constantly surrounded by trees, ponds, animals of all species, and the ever-present state of natural quiet. Even though the “quiet” of the night is often filled with sounds of Cicadas, Crickets, Frogs, and other creatures active at night, it is a quiet found in nature. In this quiet, I find myself in the utmost peace surrounded by the sounds and watchers of the night.  

In process

Reflection/Notes:

        The heron is taped together panels of charcoal paper. The smaller images of animals are Bristol paper that has the edges ripped to create an organic border. 

        I chose to use charcoal due to its ability to be more forgiving as a medium as well as its ability to create darker images, making it easier to achieve a nighttime scene.

        I used water to spread the charcoal and to make it adhere to the paper more in order to create a darker layer with a lower chance of smudging. I used both compressed and vine charcoal. For the details I used different erasers (Pink Pearl, Staedtler, and an electric eraser) to get the different quality of highlights I was trying to achieve. 

Aliyah Molina, Student Work

Digital drawing, printed in panels, various components of 

the face and the glasses are adhered with magnets. 

Mounted on foam board.

24" x 36"

 

Emily Lacour, Student Work

Babygirl

Charcoal and gesso on paper, yarn, fabric installed on the wall. 

12' x 5' x 3"

 

Ruth Coffman, Student Work

Frank Porter 

Tea stained cotton, sheer nylon, thread, fabric marker

79"x69"x22"

Memory and family are frequent subjects of my work, and in frank porter, I explore how I mourn and remember my grandfather. My grandfather died when I was quite young, and I have spent far more of my life without him than I did knowing him. With such few clear memories of him, each one is a treasure that I wanted to capture in this work. The sheer curtain hanging above is a shroud between reality and memory, pulled back for a moment to reveal what time does to everything. My fabric drawings are a collection of the few objects and moments that I retain about my grandfather: the house he always showed me how to draw, his can of diet coke, his old bb gun that my brother and I lost in the woods one day, a bluegill caught on a cane pole, a photo him when he was young. The sheer drawings are hazy versions of these things touched by time. Others memories float above, caught for a moment in the net of a dream. In this piece, I invite others to visit their own loved ones in the memory-spaces of their minds.

In process #1, using tea to stain the cotton fabric. 

In process #2, drawing with fabric marker. 

In process #3 - drawing with fabric marker. 

Reflection/Notes:

I used tea to stain the cotton fabric. I wanted to use fabric because I felt the tactile quality and the association we have with this material visually communicates moments of nostalgia. I also wanted a sense of time and the layering of fabric allowed me to achieve this concept. 

 

Brandon Santiago, Student Work

Finding My Way

Paper, Fabric, Charcoal, Paint, Rope, Wood

Installed on the wall

3' x 5.5' x 2"

In Process:

 

Kariel Rivera, Student Work

Resilience

Digital drawings, printed, stitched with thread

30" x 26"

 

Statement:

My work explores the interplay between memory, healing, and identity through the lens of fragmentation and repair. I aim to communicate the beauty and complexity of healing, showing how fragmented experiences can unite into something uniquely profound and cohesive. This work invites viewers to reflect on their own journeys of breaking and rebuilding, where chaos and resilience coexist.

The drawing, Resilience, is a compilation of drawings that reflect a loneliness and isolation. The scribble marks are suggestive of anxiety and the turmoil of an unsettled mind. Many copies are torn apart and put back together again through the act of sewing, a sense of mending. The chaotic arrangement of sewn pieces, placed randomly and sometimes overlapping, mirrors the disorder of an anxious mind while embodying the act of repair and reassembly. The result is a piece that feels torn from a larger, unseen whole, reinforcing themes of disruption and transformation.

  

In Process:

Screen Shot of the digital drawings. 

One of the many arrangements. 20" x 18"

Reflection/Notes:

I was inspired by kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. I am drawn to its symbolic resonance with the way painful memories can become integral to our growth and self-understanding. Kintsugi embodies the idea that the process of repair can create something more beautiful and meaningful than the original.

In the beginning, I planned to experiment with ceramic resin, painting, and physically breaking pieces to reassemble them. However, this approach felt detached from my personal experience. Shifting mediums allowed me to preserve the essence of fragmentation and reconstruction while expressing something more personal and emotional.

The project evolved further through an act of literal fragmentation. I printed multiple copies of these illustrations in varying sizes, tearing them apart and sewing them back together. Some reconstructed pieces combine fragments from different color schemes, creating new compositions. 

 

Zach Jaques, Student Work

Paper installed on wall, wood, paint. 

Molly Wiley Art Building

Assignment: Multiple Panel 

Rachael Koelker, Student Work

Paint on Paper

All panels together measure 36" x 42"

John Quick, Student Work

Paint, pastel, graphite, paper on cardboard. 

5' x 7' x 6"

Assignment: Multiple Panel

John's work for Ceramic Sculpture was included for the installation.