Central Oregon Community College Bend campus held two fabric and textile art exhibits for the month of November 2024. The first being in the Health Career Center’s first floor gallery “Stitched,” by Kansas-based artist and art teacher Eden Quispe. The second exhibit is located in the Barber Library’s Rotunda Gallery “Summer Mares,” by Portland surrealist Paula Bullwinkel. Both exhibits will be shown until Nov. 24.

Tina Hovekamp, COCC Library Director, was happy to bring in Bullwinkel’s art for this exhibit. “She(Bullwinkel) was a COCC art faculty here, but also her work has been well known, at least regionally. There is even a segment on OPB’s(Oregon Public Broadcasting) Oregon Art Beat.”

Hovekamp mentioned that Barber Library finalized a statement about their vision and mission for what the library wants to accomplish in the library itself and in the Rotunda Gallery, which is to make artists local and regional more visible to bring a variety of art.

Hovekamp said that she wanted both art exhibits to engage students on what they were seeing and hopefully inspire students in their own respective ways.

“it’s a way to show art of the community here representing the region and the community and giving-helping people to think about think different expanding people’s way of thinking beyond what they they might otherwise have if they don’t because the visual the visual communication is a different way of communicating that we otherwise don’t get to do very much,” said Kathleen Cooper circulation assistant in the Barber Library, on what the art exhibits.

Hovekamp and Cooper mentioned that the Rotunda Gallery art exhibits have been popular with the community and students in the previous years, showing that the Rotunda Gallery is booked out until 2027.