One hundred and fifty submitted pieces, over 60 selected pieces, seven categories, and one art show flooded the walls of Barber Library during the annual Student Art Exhibition.

Large ceramic pieces containing light bulbs [pictured**], small intimate handmade jewelry, detailed stippled surreal pieces, and large-scale traditional acrylic paintings were all displayed at the exhibition.

“Pieces are chosen based on individual merit, but at some point the pieces have to come together as a show. Thus, a work that might be juried into one exhibition will not fit into another show. Not happy news for an artist, but it comes with the territory,” the juror for this years show, Lloyd McMullen, explained.

McMullen was invited by Bill Hoppe, Art Gallery Director, to jury the show.

The two have worked together on projects and shows in the past and McMullen will be showcasing her work in one of next years one-person exhibitions in Pence Pickney Gallery.

This year’s juror has an expansive background with art, with many years of painting, as well as experimenting.

“Today my work mixes acrylics and mediums with found objects, image transfers, snatches of text, upcycled glass and metal. These scavenged materials lend their own stories to the narrative in two and three-dimensional paintings/constructions,” McMullen explained.

Currently,McMullen is a member of ScaleHouse’s Programming Committee and she has worked with local art groups like Central Arts Association, Atelier 6000, and The Regional Arts Council of Central Oregon and artists’ co-op: 135 Up.

“This [being] a student show, I looked at each discipline for the work’s evidence of technical skill, strength of composition and attention to detail.  Second, I look for what the work reveals about the artist.  I want work to go beyond the predictable or ‘easy answers’. The artists need to push themselves and their work,” McMullen added.

Students interested in all genres of art attended the annual Student Art Exhibition on May 11 in the Central Oregon Community College Barber Library.

Three dimensional, sculpture, ceramics, metals, film photography, water color, and painting/drawing were the categories that students could enter. To enter work to be judged, student artists had to have taken an art class at COCC within the last year.

This year, a large part of the exhibition contained pieces done by film photography students taught by Paula Bullwinkle.

Student, Ty Farrell,s, had a portraiture piece that made it into the exhibition [pictured***].

“Film photography I really didn’t get into until I took a class with [Bullwinkle], and after that it changed my whole way of taking photos.”

Prior to taking a class with Bullwinkle, Farrell wasn’t very into film photography, but after her class it changed his whole perspective of taking photos.

“With film it really makes you look at the composition, the lighting, it really makes your mind think, it puts restraints on me,” Farrell explained.

Most of the pieces that were in the exhibition were part of an assignment from earlier in the year in each of the categories.

Meghan Lummis, another film photography student, had entered a piece called Dream [pictured***].It was based off of her interest with the idea of madness and her love for psychology.

Lummis explained the process of making the piece explaining that her inspiration stemmed from the film photography classes double-negative assignment.

“I found netting, layered it over and it created this really cool effect. I tried to get one with just her doing something simple and one with her doing some crazy expression and I layered them. I want to continue doing more with them because I think it’s really dream like and weird, ” she stated.

The Best in Show Prize was given to one of Paula Bullwinkle’s film photography students, Rachelle Jeffers, for a shadow assignment picture.

Out of the pieces chosen for the exhibition, there were first place winners, honorable mentions, best in show, and recommended for purchase prize winners who were announced by each art instructor.

Although not every piece that was entered was chosen for the exhibition, McMullen still wanted to encourage every student to be active with their art and keep going.

“The road to success is often built on lessons learned by gambles taken. There were some compelling and well done pieces in this show,” explained McMullen.

By Katya Agatucci | The Broadside

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