Ohio Wesleyan’s Fine Arts Students Shine at Senior Show
‘Refraction’ Exhibit Opens with April 15 Reception at Ross Art Museum
DELAWARE, Ohio – When light is refracted through a prism, it reveals its cornucopia of hidden colors. Similarly, when Ohio Wesleyan University’s 2017 fine arts graduates share their artworks in a new exhibit, they will reveal the many facets of their OWU fine arts educations and the trove of talents they will take into the world.
Their exhibit, “Refraction,” will open with an artist reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 15 at the university’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The exhibit, featuring works selected by a jury of Ohio Wesleyan fine arts faculty, will run through noon May 13 – when the student-artists will don caps and gowns for their 1 p.m. commencement ceremony.
Graduating seniors participating in the “Refraction” exhibition include students earning either a Bachelors of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree or Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in art. This year’s graduates and their areas of interest are:
Kristen Canda of Independence, Ohio, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in figure drawing, ceramics, and painting. “In each piece, I include only what I detect to be visually significant for comprehension of the form,” Canda said. “My drawings are often done from direct observation of a model. My paintings and ceramic work are explorations of personal imagery regarding family, religion, and nature.”
Trasina Diazmunoz of Champagne, Illinois, a B.A. student. “When I look through the viewfinder, I tend to search for specific aspects in relation to what’s around me.” Diazmunoz said. “I like to believe that I share a symbiotic relationship with what I photograph. … A lot of my work throughout these years has developed around my fascination with self-identity, the human body, and landscapes.”
Anne Edwards of Gold, Illinois, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in graphic design and metals. “I have already started to create a brand, Taksheeva Designs, which is meant to blur the line between art and wearable jewelry,” Edwards said, “and to create unique contemporary pieces that allow individual expression.”
Paige Gardner of Tucson, Arizona, a B.A. student. “In nature, some of my subjects are quite beautiful while others are less so,” Gardner said. “Nevertheless, I want to capture these candid realities and to portray them as such. My goal is to cause an observer to pause and stare at my artwork in the same concentrated fashion [that] I find myself observing the world around us.”
Louise Goodpasture of Norfolk, Virginia, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and metals. “I strive to shed light on the unsaid tensions that arise between people,” Goodpasture said. “This interest is most evident in my printmaking and drawing, where I have employed highly lineal drafting techniques to articulate the strain and discontinuity behind human emotion.”
Wyatt Hall of Delaware, Ohio, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in metals and bookmaking. “Craft is essential to my practice,” Hall said. “Handmade books, portfolios, and book objects allow me to organize my photographic work into physical groupings which explore concepts through series as well as interact with the paper surface in a conceptual and physical manner.”
Sharon Hayes of Waynesfield, Ohio, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in printmaking and figure drawing. “Through printmaking and working with charcoal and oil pastels, I seek to better understand relationships between people and themes from my Christian faith,” Hayes said. “The considerably extensive processes of creating a print or a drawing guide me to a deeper appreciation and understanding of my own relationship to the subject matter.”
Abi Care Horvat of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a B.A. student. “I will attend law school this fall with aspirations to eventually start my own nonprofit that focuses on using the arts to steer children and young adults away from encounters with the justice system,” Horvat said. “In my own artwork I focus in abstract expressionism. … Through my paintings, I hope to emulate the emotional connections and nostalgic elements of scenes that cannot be captured through photographs alone.”
Lexy Immerman of Chanhassen, Minnesota, a B.F.A. student with a concentration in graphic design. “Design has the unique and wonderful ability to make everything better,” Immerman said. “Good design can bring attention to something that otherwise would have been overlooked, provide surface explanation for a deeper topic, streamline a learning process, or reach out to people in new and interesting ways.”
Samantha Johnson of Clay, West Virginia, a B.A. student. “My time at OWU has allowed me to experience several mediums, rekindling past affairs with embroidery and ceramics,” Johnson said. “It has instilled in me an intense appreciation for art that I hope to keep with me in my endeavors to work with artists in a legal setting.”
Emily Lee of Columbus, Ohio, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in graphic design, photography, and metals. “My work celebrates diversity and unification,” Lee said. “Simplicity is essential to much of my work; however, I am also greatly interested in acute detail. Because of these conflicting approaches, I describe my artistic style as ever-changing. I do not focus on a certain practice because the possibilities to create are endless.”
Leah Mizas of Thessaloniki, Greece, a B.A. student. “I find both film and digital photography very appealing, and make an effort to encapsulate both,” Mizas said. “The darkroom feels like a second home to me and the variety and control available through silver gelatin printing never ceases to amaze me.”
Tanisha Murphy of Delaware, Ohio, a B.F.A. student with concentrations in ceramics and metals. “[My] work is both decorative and political, which is motivated by personal incidents, nostalgia, social events, and the intimate relationships within organic forms and characteristics,” Murphy said. “Not only does [my] work exhibit aesthetic qualities, but it also carries emotional experiences felt through the common African American woman.”
Hannah Rawlings of Denver, Colorado, a B.F.A. student with a concentration in art history. “I came into Ohio Wesleyan knowing that I would major in art history,” Rawlings said. “There is something timeless and mysterious about understanding an object, its context, and the impact it can have for centuries from the time of its creation.”
Created in 1864, Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Fine Arts was one of America’s first college art departments. Learn more about the department and its faculty at www.owu.edu/finearts.
During the academic year, Ohio Wesleyan’s Ross Art Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Monday and Saturday, with the exception of the upcoming April 15 artist reception. The facility is handicap-accessible and admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 or visit www.owu.edu/ross for more information.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers nearly 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.