PC|Bluestocking

Last, but certainly not least in the PC Artistic Talent Series, is Ms. Nancy Cooper.  Here is an interesting fact: in some countries, the subject of Ms. Cooper’s work would actually be served on a dinner plate.  This was something Ms. Cooper discovered when she started researching for her art project.  Ms. Cooper’s artwork was done using all acrylic paints and was an extension of her first half of the semester study focusing on birds; this time she decided to focus on peacocks.

One student commented that one of the pieces was interesting because “…of the fact that everything is not revealed pulls the viewer in even more.”  Ms. Cooper declined to be photographed with her work.  This was most likely a result from her wanting all the attention to be focused on her work instead of her.

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Nancy Cooper

For those who believe that Ms. Ballew’s work was created solely through the use of a computer, do not be ashamed in your assumption for I too was mistaken.  Ms. Ballew’s work is unique in the fact that it is a hand painted pixilated work of art which incorporates 2,304 squares worth of art.  One student commented that “…from a distance, it has a stained glass effect.”  Personally, I have a great love of anything that requires someone to work or think in order to experience its full effect and view its entire beauty.

Ms. Ballew’s statement of purpose for her final project was the following: “I wanted to create a work where it became clearer as you walked away.”

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Renee Ballew

Mr. Putnam’s work is unique in many ways, the most prominent being that Mr. Putnam decided to do his art project as a series of portraits based off his earlier semester’s black and white art study.

The most interesting piece of art in Mr. Putnam’s collection, in my opinion, was the last one in which the portrait with the black background seems to be made of cut out pieces, but is in actuality entirely painted.  The eyes in this work are completely entrancing for me.  One student commented that his favorite piece of the collection was the portrait with a yellow background because it “…looks like an album cover.”

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Lance Putnam

First off I would like to apologize for those who have been following the Artistic Talent series.  I was swept up in the holiday season and spending time with friends and family.  Now, moving on…

The next, long overdue, artist is Ms. Elizabeth Roberts.  Ms. Roberts’ subject of choice was a tree located next to the Harper Center, right here on campus.  Her art project consisted of three pieces of art that focused on one subject.  The first work was created using watercolors, the second focused on split compliments, and the third imitates the dreaming Aborigine style.

Personally, the third work was one of my favorites and the class thought so as well.  The professor commented that the third work, “…possesses a dream-like quality.  It appears like a page from a storybook.”

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Elizabeth Roberts

Today’s artistic spotlight focuses on Maggie Wyman.  Ms. Wyman’s work had many comments from her classmates.  Professor Stoddard, the instructor of the One Hour Studio course, commented that her work used “…different colors, but features movement and energy.”  Another student of the course, Ben Simms, stated that the spray-painted mounts for her work “…has a picture frame effect.  It reminds me of home.”

Ms. Wyman had this to say about her own work: “I originally started out with circles and flower designs from my last project, but I wanted something bigger yet looser.  The pictures are different, but you can tell that they work together.”

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Maggie Wyman

Next up in the PC Artistic Talent Series is the talented Ms. Gabrielle Ballenger, whose presentation could be viewed separately, but makes the greatest impression when joined together into one collaborative piece.  Ms. Ballenger’s work was an investigation into monochromatic studies and evolved from her art project earlier in the semester.  According to the artist, she focused on variation of colors for the smaller aspects of her piece.  The artist stated that she was excited about her project because “…sometimes people forget the things you can do with just the basic colors.”

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Gabrielle Ballenger

The first person up is Ben Sims.  According to Mr. Sims, his overall goal was to explore how paintings change when an artist plays with color values.  The first three sets used card suits to show depth and were inspired by a game of bridge during the artist’s Thanksgiving break.  Of these three sets, the first set showed depth through the use of overlap, the second used bigger shapes and contrasting colors to create a day and night effect, while the third set used looser paint brush strokes and primary and secondary colors.  The process behind the development of the third set was said to be like “a science project where you tweak something in order to see the results.”  The fourth and final set was created through the use of a hands-on technique in which the artist used his hands to create the background and a combination of paint and gravity to create the foreground’s streaking effects.

Photos by Akeem Favor

Artwork by Ben Sims

About two weeks ago, the One-Hour Art Studio class presented their work for critique and I was able to sneak in to watch the event.  Five minutes into the event, I realized that I didn’t even need to sneak in the first place.  While generally the event acts as a way for art students to get honest feedback for their artwork, I was greeted warmly and allowed to not only ask questions, but also take photos.  Despite the severe bad weather outside at the time and the tornado warning that sent us all scrambling for the basement, everyone was very excited to show off their work.

Which brought me to my first conundrum: how do I best go about showing their work to the rest of the PC campus community?  Secondly, what format should I use to draw in the maximum amount of readers?   The best way I could think of doing this would be to give each artist their own article with as little text as possible in order to highlight their artwork more than my writing.  The reasoning behind this is that people are more inclined to read short articles. I waited till now to post this string of articles so that people would not be distracted by exams and school work.

So to conclude, starting tomorrow there will be one article up for each of the presenters I was able to watch present per day.  The text will be minimal in size and feature some of the comments made by fellow One-Hour Art Studio artists.  I hope you will enjoy the students’ respective artwork as much as I enjoyed the presentation.

As you may or may not know, last night was the Creative Writing Poetry class’ public reading.  As a former participant in this event, I can tell you that you missed much if you did not have the honor of attending.  Last night was the moment in which students of the Creative Writing Poetry class are able to share their work with their friends, family, professors, and interested members of the campus community.

I cannot do justice to the works read last night, but I will attempt to do so.  The interesting thing about last night was the sheer spectrum of human emotion the poetry covered.  At moments I laughed and at other moments I was deeply moved.  I was tossed into the mind of Mr. Potato Head, experienced the love/addiction a man has to his beloved Mary Jane, felt the bittersweet memory of the passing of a loved one, learned how a woman can “get her man,” visualized Michael Jackson busting one final move, listened to the inner thoughts of a reluctant hero, felt one man’s fascination with romance, compared my own father/son relationship to another’s, remembered the intense heat and passion that comes from writing, and felt sympathy for someone else who has challenged the dreaded writer’s block.

One of the traditions that continued from class to class is the nomination of a classmate for the prestigious Creative Writing Poetry Award.  This semester’s winner was “Dani” Daniela Pennington.  Members of the class are required to select the winner of this award via a formal nomination system in which they are required to justify their nomination.

All in all, it was magnificent event that I am glad to have attended.  I also feel as if this is the perfect chance for me to mention that their poetry will be featured in PC’s literary magazine, Figs and Thistles.  If you would like to submit to Figs and Thistles please feel free to email your work to thistles@presby.edu.  Another reminder: if you are an open or secret lover of literature please remember that public readings are held every semester.  Come out and support your friends and future bestselling authors!

Photos by Akeem Favor