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Senior Visual and Graphic Art Shows Cap Off Undergraduate Careers at McPherson College

McPherson College visual art students achieve an amazing amount of work over their years of study, and their senior shows represent their opportunity to put all of that hard work on display.

Currently on display in the college’s Friendship Hall through Dec. 9 are more than 75 works of art including ceramics, paintings, photography, drawings, and graphic design.

This work represents their final assignment before receiving their bachelor’s degree for seniors Monica Ewy, McPherson, Kan.; Jordan Hoffman, McCordsville, Ind.; Jared Krivin, Sun City West, Ariz.; and Crystalyn Myers, McPherson, Kan.

Ewy started out at McPherson College in art, but eventually added a major in the college’s world-class automotive restoration degree as well. As a result, much of her artwork is focused on classic cars and other vehicles.

“The design of automobiles is captivating and provides for endless artistic possibilities,” she said. “Working on cars has helped me in my artistic skills, similar to how art has helped me in working on cars. Both require patience, skill, and practice.”

Hoffman said his relationship to art has been something of a roller coaster over the course of his life, with him giving up on drawing entirely in high school. Fortunately, he decided to give it another shot – this time as a graphic designer – and has stayed with it ever since.

“My time at McPherson has allowed me to take steps as an artist that I never thought I would get the opportunity to have,” he said.

The entrance to the art world for Kirvin, meanwhile, was through an unusual route – he wanted to be an inventor.

“I wanted to create things no one had seen before. Maybe I just liked the thought of making things for others,” he said. “The feeling of coming up with an idea or finding some solution to a problem is one that I relish.”

Now as a graphic designer, that desire to invent has often manifested in a particular interest in packaging design – making something interesting and complex that consumers will want to interact with.

Myers said she’s wanted to create art ever since she drew in her childhood books. At McPherson College, she studied graphic design and studio art, with a particular focus on ceramics.

“As I am expanding my skills, my entire life is expanding,” she said. “I never realized the patience that I would learn or need to wait on a kiln to cool. This massive undertaking called ‘college’ has been more than interesting. I can’t wait to see where life takes me after this.”