Featuring the work of 6 BFA students as well as a full student exhibition. Refreshments will be served and the event is FREE + OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
BFA Opening Reception will take place at Royce Hall for the Fine & Performing Arts, 150 Gillett Street, Painesville, Ohio
Student Exhibition will take place next door at the Lincoln Library, 391 W. Washington Street, Painesville, OH
Read below to get to know the BFA students and their artist statments. >>
Emotions are shown in our everyday lives, from feeling sad because your meeting with your boss didn’t go as planned to feeling happy because you went to a concert held by your favorite artist. In any situation, we have the ability to feel a specific emotion. I have always been interested in how color can make an individual feel. Emotion can be connected with color. For example, happiness is connected with yellow symbolizing sunshine, positivity, and energy.
My current project “Color and Emotion” involves paintings that capture the relationship between emotion and color. I chose to represent happiness, calmness, sadness, and anger because these are the most typical. I used photography to capture the model's emotions and then painted it. I added thick paint and texture to give the painting depth. My intention for the audience is to encourage them to feel the emotions through the paintings.
Shown: Happiness, Acrylic on Canvas
My intent for this show was to use a variety of media to convey a theme that not only interested me, but one that would be interesting for my audience. Folklore is present worldwide and has been around for centuries. Everyone has experienced the feeling of being “watched in the woods” or has avoided the “haunted house” on the block. Once you begin to look into folklore, it is hard to stop. My subject matter covers a span of topics including cryptids, the supernatural, and superstitions. My goal with this show is to shine the spotlight on some of my favorite cryptids; Mothman, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Flatwoods Monster, the Jersey Devil, and Aliens. I use acrylic paint, watercolors, ink, photography, and even live performance to bring my theme to life. A majority of my pieces are in black and white with only the creatures in focus and in color. This is to mimic the blurry nature of some of the most famous monster photographs. I want my show to be a nostalgic reminder that we may not be alone on this earth.. Or in this universe.
Shown: Mothman Cometh, Acrylic on Canvas
A woman’s proper place is in the kitchen. This is a fact that modern society has a tendency to forget with all these… kitchen liberators running around poisoning young female minds. For proper women, their place isn’t outside of the home or rallying against the superior men. A woman in touch with her true self knows she belongs to her husband. Between serving lunch and preparing dinner, however, when not folding clothing a woman needs a hobby. So why not use the arts to explore feminine creativity on a broader spectrum than the usual culinary methods passed down through generations of women? With the blessing of a man, I have proceeded to create a body of work reflecting my own interests in regards to: gender representation, those evil kitchen deserters, and the true place of women. To do this I used the inspiration from my own home, and with the consent of a man, I collected the necessary tools. I chose to use paint as a major focus, as that what serious men use when doing their serious art. As such, I thought it would be a fun way to explore this male oriented task. Of course I did not want to limit myself, so I attempted to explore several types of media, to get a more holistic experience. In the end, this hobby is my guilty pleasure, and how I express my displeasure with what those ‘big thinking’ women started oh so many years ago. #BackToTheKitchen #AprovedByAMan
Shown: Femminile, Acrylic on Canvas
We are all connected by a transparent liquid that runs through our bodies; water. As human beings, we all share a relationship with this substance. Without water, this world filled with wonder and mystery would not be a reality. I have noticed that water can be perceived in many ways. The objective of my BFA is to showcase water in different, interesting perceptions. We can all relate to water in one way or another. It is a part of everyday life! Even if you don't realize it, water is always there. This liquid can either divide us or bind us together.
In my BFA showcase there will be a combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of art. My goal within these pieces of artwork is to create a sense of community by having relatable pieces that will provoke personal thoughts, emotions, and discussions.
Shown: Dark Coke,
There’s uneasiness to the mystery of what lies in the crevices of our own minds, and dreams are our only hints to these unconscious thoughts. I have always been fascinated with the false reality that the surrealism of dreams can produce. My intention for the BFA is to showcase my work with a theme to which everyone can relate. We all dream, it is fundamental to our nature to be curious about these mind projections.
I used a combination of two-dimensional paintings and three-dimensional props to set a tone of phantasmagoria, meaning a blend of real and imaginative works. My goal for this project is to create an atmosphere that cultivates thought and discussion on personal dreams and revelations.
Shown: Inevitable, Acrylic on Canvas
People today are becoming so reliant on technology especially the millennial’s. They can be addicted to video games, Instagram, Youtube, Netflix, the list goes on. But technology has also revolutionized everyone’s lives, making it easier and faster. My art symbolizes just that, the idea of how technology has become a part of our everyday life, the good and the bad. Steven Spielberg said, “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party poopers of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because were too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.” This inspired me to create my artwork; a combination of drawings, paintings and graphic design to show the way technology can affect the way of life. My goal is to cultivate the minds of the audience and change how they view technology.
Shown: Untitled