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Senior Artists Display Work
by Kristalyn Bunyan
Paintings distill "artificial truths" of the media, while prints of yellow rubber duckies recall the simplicity of childhood. Unfired clay vessels symbolize the self. Floating cartoon-like figures invite inspection.
The works of Mars Hill College Seniors Jennifer Hume, Elizabeth Hart, and Kaylon Cochran are on display this month at the college's Weizenblatt Art Gallery.
The community is invited to meet with the artists and view their work during a reception at the gallery on April 15 from 4:50 to 6:00 p.m. The senior art exhibit will be open after the reception on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until May 7.
The senior art majors began preparing for the spring exhibit far ahead of time. "Usually during the spring semester of the junior year, students are beginning to build a visual vocabulary of images and ideas," said Associate Professor of Art Scott Lowrey. "By this time their stylistic identity is becoming established.
"The summer before their senior year they are asked to begin working on ideas and sketches that give them a starting point for the actual Senior Exhibitions course taken in the fall semester of the senior year," Lowrey said. "They continue to work with their faculty mentor during the spring semester, which of course culminates with the exhibition."
Lowrey plays a vital role throughout the creation of the senior exhibits. He is, as he describes himself, "a facilitator and gadfly."
Kaylon Cochran's Shadow of Truths exhibit expresses a fascination with myth and folklore that has been with him since early childhood. When viewing Cochran's drawings one is drawn to take a closer look to try to disentangle possible meanings in the chaotic placement of cartoon art figures. But as Cochran describes his work, "Imagination is not slave to concrete order."
Cochran plans on getting a job in graphic design where he can also continue to take art classes and eventually create his own comic or children's book.
Elizabeth Hart's I Awoke exhibit concentrates on her own personal journey and growth. She uses clay vessels to represent experiences and feelings of anger and hurt from her father's absence in her childhood. "Essential to my work, my vessels are unfired, therefore, fragile, representing my vulnerability towards my father," says Hart.
This exhibit is a long reflection for Hart. "For me, my creative process has been a healing experience. I am able to free myself from the need to control the clay. In the beginning, I felt the need to smooth out any imperfections of the clay. Now, I see the beauty in them."
After graduating Hart plans to continue her art education through the Mars Hill College Adult Access Program. "I hope to become certified as an art educator and teach art at a high school level. Also, I would like to attend graduate school to earn my Master of Education, as well as pursue a Master of Ceramics."
As for earning money Hart says, "I will earn money through my art - not only in the classroom. I plan to attend and stay involved with the many art related festivals and arts and crafts shows in North Carolina and surrounding areas."
Jennifer Hume's display consists of both acrylic paintings and prints. Her ideas for the content of her work originate from her childhood and reactions to the media's images. "To me these images from magazines symbolize the "artificial" truths that our culture is selling us." Through her art work Hume shares her reaction to these "artificial" truths and gives the viewer a glimpse into her process of becoming aware of the flaws of life.
After graduation Hume plans to move to Spartanburg, S.C. and take a semester off from school. Following her break, she will get her teaching certificate, get married, and begin teaching.
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