A mysterious fishing tackle box, eyes that are truly windows to the soul, and an unusual number of tentacles are some of the highlights of the final McPherson College senior exhibition now on display.
The annual senior exhibitions are an opportunity for graduating MC seniors in visual arts to show their work from across their college career. Currently about 150 pieces are on display from Jasmine Regehr. McPherson, Kan.; Michael Ramos, Sachse, Texas; Bailley McKinley, Derby, Kan.; Ste’fon Walker, Mendenhall, Miss.; Nathan Holthus, McPherson, Kan.; and Melicia Foster, McPherson, Kan.
Regehr included a number of works in the exhibition that tended to feature squid-like tentacles emerging from objects that truly shouldn’t have them – an owl, a songbird, a clay pot. She majored in both the studio and graphic design tracks at in the department and said that learning about graphic design has proven a challenge for her. She tends to prefer a brush in hand, she said, and found herself more perfectionistic when doing graphic art. She also notices art more in the everyday.
“I find that I’m a lot more aware of everything in my surroundings,” she said. “It’s a completely new feeling to be aware of all the creative ideas that are out there, as well as the ones that are waiting to be discovered.”
Walker, who is displaying multiple examples of his sharp, clean graphic design, said he developed during his education and will continue to do so.
“As a graphic designer, I am in a constant state of growth,” he said. “I am growing as an artist and also as a person.”
One wall of the exhibition hall may appear to be staring back at the observer, thanks to a number of large charcoal drawings by Ramos. Each is an extreme view of an eye, with some scene reflected in its center.
“I am very fascinated by the human eye and it amazes me how something so small can survey a world that is so large,” he said. “The iris captures everything a person goes through. Imagine being able to look in a person’s eye and see exactly what that person has seen and been through.
He said the interpretation of each piece is up to the viewer.
“Some may see tragedy. Some may see love. Some may see fear,” he said, “but it all is based on what the viewer is thinking and feeling.”
The section for Bailley McKinley’s art includes a variety of ceramic pieces but is dominated by three huge oil paintings – each a portrait completed in a different monochrome scheme. McKinley said each painting depicts a different individual she knows in real life, who encountered and influenced each other like the ripples on a pond.
“Every time we interact with each other, our ripples are transformed,” she said. “I believe these interactions change the course of our journey that lies ahead.”
The senior exhibition will continue through May 15 in Friendship Hall on the McPherson College campus, and will include with a public reception for the seniors on Friday, May 13, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.