The Rose Garden art gallery at CBU hosted the elegant opening reception for the Honor Exhibit ceremony on Feb. 27, which presented the works of students studying visual arts.
The honors exhibit displayed between 75 and 100 works of art whose materials vary from clay, found objects, thread, cardboard in different media of painting, collage, ceramics, printmaking and toy design in a variety of genres.
“I am very happy to have the opportunity to organize the event for an 11th consecutive year,” said Kristine Lippire, professor of fine arts, in an interview with CBU Marketing and Communication. “The purpose of the exhibition is to help students see their work in a more professional setting.”
“One of the goals was to elevate the work that students have made to a status that is to be reflected upon and seen by people outside of the class,” Lippire said. “The whole exhibition is meant to be an honor.”
“The students have responded very humbly about the experience,” Lippire said. “Some students really try to make work to be accepted into this exhibition, and we are just thrilled at how dedicated our students are in our courses.”
Lippire and Duncan Simcoe, who are both professors of visual arts, along with the ceramic professor Rachel Jorgensen, picked what they considered to be the strongest works from their class projects. They selected assignments that went beyond what was expected and demonstrated exemplary craftsmanship and design.
“It’s a big surprise that I won the award. I did not expect it. It’s a big honor. Really, really awesome to be recognized by these professors. I admire them so much,” said Malea Valdez, junior fine arts major, to CBU Marketing and Communication.
Valdez won overall best prize, with six pieces in the show, which were all different mixed media, among which were embroidery, oil pastel, chalk pastel, image transfers and acrylic.
“I think you should continue putting in an effort even when you don’t feel like trying, knowing that your efforts are seen and that there’s always a season for everything, even if it’s not what you expect it to be,” she said.
Lauryn Hall, freshman art education major, had a selling booth at the event and three pieces of artwork included in the exhibition.
She shared that her main inspiration was nature.
“It’s definitely humbling to have your art displayed,” Hall said to CBU Marketing and Communication. “It gives me a sense of belonging on campus. I feel like a lot of the arts kind of have what it feels like to have an event like this, which is really helpful.”
She had a selling booth at the event and three pieces of artwork included in the exhibition.
Her main inspiration was the nature.
“I wanted to display something imperfect in his art that was really different from the other pieces, and that is why I chose this unconventional model,” said Micah Badgett, freshman illustrator major.
Badgett had an extraordinary exhibit at the event, which was a stippling ink portrait of a homeless person. It was presented on a wall full of other stippling portraits.
Pagdilao’s work was influenced by the Bible, philosophy, history and took elements from Roman mythology.
Those interests are reflected in his artwork. He received the award for best sculpture. He won with his piece, “The Man Who Dared to Look Into the Face of Sun,” and briefly described the roots of his inspiration.
The story behind the piece consists of philosophy and Roman mythology and was preceded by another piece of art, The Sycilian Who Never Looked at the Sun.
“I think art for a lot of people is something mysterious and difficult and aspirational,” Lippire said. “There’s just so much appreciation offered by the people who see the show to these individual students who get to participate in it.”
“It’s just a great professional development experience for students, and they seem to really rise the occasion more and more every year,” Lippire said to CBU Marketing and Communication. “Some students try to make work to be accepted into this exhibition, and we are just thrilled at how dedicated our students are in our courses.”
Anyone can enjoy the pieces displayed at the Rose Gallery on CBU’s campus, as the Fine Arts Gallery is available to all students.
It is located near Brisco’s sandwich shop on campus, which makes it convenient for students to appreciate the artwork of their peers while it is on display.
The Fine Arts Gallery is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Tuesday.
