Ohio Wesleyan's Senior Show in April

The artistic creations of 18 Ohio Wesleyan University

graduating seniors will be on exhibit April 12 through May 11 at OWU¹s

Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The exhibition,

titled "Happenings," will open with a special Saturday reception from 5

p.m. to 7 p.m. April 12.

"Happenings" celebrates our moments ­ both the ones that happened at

Ohio Wesleyan, and the ones that happen continually in our work, said

Suzy Stephens of Columbus, Ohio. "Though we say a bittersweet goodbye to

our OWU peers and professors, our art keeps the memory of our collegiate

experience alive."

All of the pieces in the exhibit were selected by a jury of Ohio Wesleyan

fine arts faculty. After the works were chosen, the exhibit was designed

by Justin Kronewetter, director of the Ross Art Museum; Tammy Wallace,

first assistant of the museum; and students in Kronewetter¹s gallery

management class. The students also helped to install the exhibit.

Ohio Wesleyan graduating seniors participating in the "Happenings"

exhibition are:

Hannah Appelbaum of St. Louis, Mo. "My pieces vary from expressive

portraiture to meditative carving and sculpture," said Appelbaum, who is

studying ceramics and painting. "I'm drawn to very detailed images and

designs. Recently I have had the opportunity to work in metals, and I get

a lot of gratification from creating intricate piercing and soldering

designs. My inspiration comes from artists such as Dürer and Cezanne, and

forms from sea life."

Hazel Barrera of Juarez, Mexico/El Paso, Texas. "As a U.S. citizen raised

in Mexico, my work speaks of my Mexican identity and values," said

Barrera, who is studying metals and jewelry. "I use mineral pigments to

bring into my artwork the colors from the Mexican culture. My artwork

also raises conversations about femininity influenced by Frida Kahlo, and

makes a comment on the ideal Mexican woman."

Challen Brown of Cardington, Ohio. "My art is about conveying certain

ideas and aspects to people through photographs," said Brown, who is

studying photography. "It's about showing people the things they do not

normally notice, by using certain angles and highlighting small details

that people often disregard in their daily lives. I often like to

photograph subject matter and places that are not necessarily considered

beautiful by the general public, to convey the value that I see in them."

JaeMin Chung of Seoul, South Korea. "I use Photoshop, Illustrator, and

InDesign to design advertising and marketing materials," said Chung, who

is studying graphic design. "This includes logos, posters, booklets,

info-graphics, and pamphlets. I¹m also interested in book making, because

my graphic design skills allow me to create unique artist books. I

believe that art is the language of emotions. Through art, I am trying to

express my innermost feelings, and I wish to communicate my thoughts and

emotions with people around the world."

Danielle Haley of Toledo, Ohio. "I am always bouncing back and forth

between using a digital camera, a 35 mm, and a Hassleblad," said Haley,

who is studying photography. "Sometimes I print in the dark room, but

mostly I upload my digital photos to the computer or scan my film and

edit the images in Photoshop. Some of my pieces are based on texture, and

some of them are landscape. One thing they all have in common is that

they are usually simple. Some of my work was done in New Mexico, which

has inspired me to want to travel to other places out West and even other

countries to take photographs."

Sanaa Hazratjee of Dayton, Ohio. "Born in Texas to a Greek and British

mother and Pakistani father, I am a graduating senior with an art major

and economics and philosophy minors,² Hazratjee said. "I mostly define

myself as a hyper-realism drawist; however, I also enjoy building 3D

elements with ceramic and metal medium. I like to showcase my cultural

heritage through my art, and often reflect adopted styles from Pakistan,

such as Arabic calligraphy, both in the literal sense of creating art

with text, as well as with the curvature nature of my artwork itself."

Ha Le of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. "My art owes its intricacy, linear

quality, and warm color palette to my cultural background ­ Vietnam," said

Le, who is studying drawing, painting, and printmaking "My figurative

work centers on describing to the fullest extent the personality and

expression of my models. ... Recently I'm moving toward abstraction and

focusing more on exploring composition, line quality, and interaction of

shapes and lines in space. Through close investigation of structural

elements and their possibilities, I want to move away from the narrative

track and take on the challenge of creating compelling images that

communicate with the audience on a stronger visual level."

Ngoc "Allie" Le of Hanoi, Vietnam. "Currently, I have been self-teaching

motion graphic, which takes a big role in the commercial/communication

world nowadays. I have also experienced all aspects of design ­ from

logos, banners, website interface to flash, iPhone apps, and

videos/motion graphic," said Le, who is studying graphic design and

photography. "I enjoy working with both film and digital camera. My hobby

is to travel and do landscape photos. I focus on creating harmony and

simplicity in my work. My palette is commonly pastel colors. My work

shows my longing for nature and the beauty around me."

Amy LeFebvre of Granville, Mass. "For a long time I was content with the

beautiful, variable, and strong lines that pencils can make," said

LeFebvre, a studio art major and sociology-anthropology minor. "I adapted

these lines to photography, metals, charcoal, ink, and ceramics, but oil

paint was conflicting with its historical roots with the great masters.

When I started, I realized oil paint was flexible and swam its beautiful

lines across the canvas whereas pencils were solid and strong. These

beautiful lines, my beautiful lines, help me explore and learn about

humankind, human culture, and the world around me."

Maddy Mavec of Hunting Valley, Ohio. "Geometric shapes fascinate me and

are a large part of both my paintings and ceramics," Mavec said. "When I

am working, the decisions I make are based on impulse. Each shape,

including its size, orientation, color, and application, is affected

based on the reaction I have to what came before. I find myself obsessed

with how these shapes naturally interlock. I am intrigued by how such

simple forms are capable of becoming complex compositions when put

together. My works are not just random colorful geometric forms;

instead, they are visual displays of myself."

Alex Michener of St. Louis, Mo. "My practice revolves around the

obfuscation of Dionysian principals through observing the temporality and

discreetness of form and gesture," said Michener, who paints in oils. ³I

find my work fits in the trajectory of art historical traditions of such

masters as Mathew Day Jackson and Jocelyn Hobbie.²

Sonja Petermann of St. Louis, Mo. ³I enjoy working from the figure in an

indoor space and strive to create interesting compositions using shapes

made by light and adding layers of texture to create depth," said

Petermann, whose concentrations are in printmaking and drawing.

Katasha Ross of Dublin, Ohio. "Much of my metal work contains a small

shape or pattern that repeats based on a rule," Ross said. "Even if I use

the same pattern on another piece, the effect will always be different by

the end, because the entirety of the design is a response to the unique

first shape that I began the pattern with. As I work, it looks as if the

pattern is alive as it grows naturally across the form, reacting to

itself. It is this concept of self-awareness that inspires me to create

the piece. This urge to design based upon self-reflection of the design

is drawn from my own life philosophy, highly valuing inner reflection and

conscious living."

Suzy Stephens of Columbus, Ohio. "Fear, anxiety, memory. I needed a way

to visualize feelings that were at once both wordless and restless,"

Stephens said of works submitted for the "Happenings" exhibit. "I was

looking to my family history for answers ­ specifically in the form of an

old box wrapped in faded pink, stashed silently in my parent¹s closet.

Vernacular photography is one thing, loaded recollections are another.

How could I make ordinary pictures of my family interesting to a

stranger?"

Tyler Travis of Delaware, Ohio. "When I begin an art piece I rarely know

what I am trying to create," said Travis, who is studying painting and

printmaking. "Generally, I make a few marks and respond to what I see

before me. My process is intuitive and at times subconscious. I try hard

not to fit myself into an art movement of the past, but instead strive to

create an art movement of the now. I feel strongly about making art

that is relevant to my specific unique time and setting on this planet.

Therefore, I aim to create art that transcends conventional

classifications, intrigues the art folks, and introduces something new

into the world."

Melissa Ward of Delaware, Ohio. "I work in charcoal and ink to create my

drawings," said Ward, a fine arts major and health and human kinetics

minor. "My works focus mainly on the figure as well as the beautiful

mistakes that can happen within the mediums themselves while making a

piece."

Elizabeth Warner of Plain City, Ohio. "I am moved to create art through

digital photography in the forms of photographs, artist books, and

digital imagery," Warner said. "My artwork is inspired by the simple

intricacies I find in everyday life as well as by color, texture, line,

and movement. ... I have also found new interest in the form of airplanes

and the line and movement they create. Using their form along with other

images dealing with airplanes, I have created digital images that are

more abstract than the plane itself. With each new discovery, my artwork

takes on new form and I can¹t wait to see it grow throughout my lifetime."

Matt Wasserman of Weston, Conn. "My work incorporates my interest in the

eye and brain by creating art that provokes the viewer into both

appreciating and solving the puzzle that is my work," said Wasserman, a

photography major and psychology minor. "Photography is my preferred

medium, but I also exhibit work in mixed media."

Learn more about the Ohio Wesleyan artists and their creations on a

website they created at http://owu-senior-artists-2014.weebly.com.

Ohio Wesleyan's Richard M. Ross Art Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday,

and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and

Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is handicap-accessible and

admission is always free. Call (740) 368-3606 or visit

http://ross.owu.edu/ for more information.