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Ohio Wesleyan Graduating Seniors Share ‘Ongoing’ Artistic Evolution

Ohio Wesleyan’s graduating fine arts seniors will exhibit their works in ‘Ongoing,’ on display April 18 through May 10 in the Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The exhibit will open with a free artist reception at 5 p.m. April 18.

Fine Arts Students to Display Works in Juried Ross Art Museum Showcase April 18-May 10

DELAWARE, Ohio – The artistic creations of 15 Ohio Wesleyan University graduating seniors will be on exhibit April 18 through May 10 at OWU’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. The exhibition, titled “Ongoing,” will open with a special Saturday reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 18.

“We chose the title ‘Ongoing’ because we wanted to emphasize the commonalities of our collective body of work – a body which is diverse by nature,” said graduating senior Leah Budde, chair of the exhibition committee. “We all agreed that, while what we are presenting is our most mature work to date, we are only at a point in our artistic development. It is an ongoing process, and one we all plan to continue.”

All pieces in the exhibit are selected by a jury of Ohio Wesleyan fine arts faculty. Graduating seniors participating in the “Ongoing” exhibition are:

Jenna Becker of Louisville, Kentucky, whose concentrations are drawing, painting, and sculpture. “I play with notions as intricate as engineering and as intimate as fleeting emotion,” Becker said. “There’s rarely any planning; as soon as an idea materializes, it’s rendered. When the idea loses appeal, the work is done. The fuel for creating essentially lies in the curiosity and desire to know what could be. Because of this approach, I don’t consider any of my work to be necessarily finished – it’s more of an exercise of an idea or style. I’m a vehicle for creative trial and error, and these pieces reflect that experimentation.”

Ruby Bemis of Bexley, Ohio, whose concentrations are metals, photography, drawing, and handmade books. “I go about my art with a conscious desire to create a harmony in matter and life moments,” Bemis said. “I often find my photographic content on the sides of highways in old and newly neglected structures. My compositions capture the tension between what was once symmetric and pristine and now has been shifted and altered over time. … My metal work focuses on repetition of organic forms based on the geography and nature found in places important to me. … I know a piece is complete when I feel a balance between my material, content, and self.”

Colleen Bodee of Flossmoor, Illinois, whose concentrations are drawing, ceramics, and handmade books. “I choose to focus on imagery that is not only fun and interesting to me but that will also give my work a distinct cohesive style,” Bodee said. “In terms of interpretation, I prefer to let others decipher what the meaning of my artwork is rather than give them what I think is the correct answer. Much of this carries over to my work in book arts as well, where I aim to create a harmony between my unique images and the materials used. Ultimately, regardless of what it is I am creating, I want viewers to look at a piece of work and know it’s mine.”

Brandy Booth of Mount Vernon, Ohio, whose concentrations are metals and photography. “In my photography, I enjoy conveying the unconventional beauty of urban decay,” Booth said. “Through light, shadow, and various angles, I am able to present my view of overlooked aspects of the world to others. … My metals works tend to evoke a sense of nature as well as concepts of weathering and time, much like my photography. I am able to create delicate leaf forms from copper that convey nature while the patinas combined with heat treatments give each piece a unique color that cannot be perfectly replicated.”

Leah Budde of Roscoe, Illinois, whose concentrations are drawing and ceramics. “In the development of my collegiate work, what continually catches my interest is the mutually inclusive nature of form and function,” Budde said. “Through my figural art, I attempt to portray the intrinsic balance of the two within the human body. I respond to how the body converses within a given space, how light and shadow work together to illustrate it, and why each part appears as it does. In my ceramic work, I seek to prompt a visual and tactile dialogue between the elements of form and function. My goal, in doing so, is to create well-designed utilitarian objects that are also visually elegant.”

Ben Danielson of San Ramon, California, whose concentrations are painting and drawing. “My artwork comes from a place of inner peace and solitude,” Danielson said. “With every mark I make, I hope to convey the romanticism I feel when executing the work. It is also a place where I continually challenge my understanding of the world around me. I utilize the figure as my subject because every person inherently knows and recognizes a figure, like a universal language. And every figure has an inner harmony, which I take pleasure in discovering and, in turn, rendering. … While viewing my work, I hope to promote curiosity, a place to escape to, and exactly what I feel when rendering my works: a sigh of relief.”

Marta Del Cid of Washington, D.C., whose concentrations are metals, ceramics, drawing, and painting. “Fluidity, movement, and a particular moment captured in time is what I wish to convey to someone viewing my work,” Del Cid said. “Many of my pieces throughout the last several years have demonstrated symbols reflecting my family background, the way I was raised, which reflects bringing in symbols and influences rooted to El Salvador. … My influences are first and foremost everything I see around me, the people I meet, the difficulties and predicaments I have had to experience. These influences are responsible for sparking my interest in nature, conjuring confusion and mystery regarding the significance, and having a clear and understandable meaning in my work.”

Kathryn Deringer of Westerville, Ohio, whose concentrations are photography, handmade books, metals, and computer imaging. “My computer work focuses on photography as a means of capturing images,” Deringer said. “I am drawn to the outdoors, where compositions of light and shadow unfold. I love capturing the unexpected glimpses of life – giving small discarded items the same voice as sweeping landscapes. A strong influence in my work comes from my Japanese mother. I value the Japanese concept called wabi-sabi, finding beauty in the imperfect. This aesthetic appears in my recent work, which includes intaglio, metalwork, and book arts.”

Taimur Elahi of Lahore, Pakistan, whose concentrations are drawing and graphic design. “Growing up in Pakistan provided a completely different cultural experience from that of many of my peers – an experience, unfortunately, where my expressive nature was suppressed,” Elahi said. “I lacked the opportunity to explore my artistic capabilities and my emotions. Coming to America changed that. I found a new perspective on life, and with it came the need to explore myself, both as an individual and an artist. This ongoing exploration of many different media, and the unique expressive qualities that they provide, is at the foundation of my artwork.”

Kim Lewis of Madison, New Jersey, whose concentrations are metals and fiber arts. “Combining metals and fibers allows me to explore the contradictions between the two mediums,” Lewis said. “I love mixing the two because of the obvious difference in material qualities. I’ve noticed that fiber arts and metals can have a reputation as women’s crafts or seen as lesser forms of art, so using the two allows me to play with the perceptions of these mediums. Many of my fiber-influenced works evoke shielding forms, transforming delicate fibers into something that can be seen as protection. Taking a women’s craft and making it into a protecting form is a contradiction within itself. Aligning this form and medium creates a symmetry that is not usually associated with a women’s craft.”

Abigail Love of Bainbridge Island, Washington, whose concentrations are photography and handmade books. “As a documentary photographer the majority of my work is made up of captured moments and stories from the world around me,” Love said. “What started out as a strict focus on street photography has been broadened to include the environment and our relationship to it. My work is seemingly straightforward, allowing the subtle connections and nuances to resonate. Growing up in Washington State I spent many years observing the slight changes in clouds, making me very attentive to light, a key element in most of my photographs.”

Ben Quick of Delaware, Ohio, whose concentrations are sculpture, ceramics, and painting. “I am lucky to have such a supportive fine arts faculty,” Quick said. “When I started at OWU, most of my work had a stagnant, two-dimensional origin. However, this soon changed upon personal discovery of many new techniques and approaches to producing artwork. Art history has also largely influenced how I compose myself as an artist and a critic. I identify myself as a sculptor; however, the pursuit of printmaking, panel painting techniques, and encaustic painting are modes that I still feel passionate about.”

Mackenzie Schroeder of Columbus Grove, Ohio, whose concentrations are ceramics and painting. “My art is about the process and the expressionistic opportunities that ceramics and paint allow,” Schroeder said. “To get my hands covered in the medium in which I am creating is the same as a journal entry in a book. Like reading a handwritten story, there’s an intimacy I try to create between the art and the person reading it. When I am creating my work, I do not like to think of the final product, I let it push me instead of the other way around. By letting my pieces breathe and take their toll, I am able to create works that are not only personal for me, but can also possess personal meanings for the viewer.”

Vrinda Trivedi of Bangalore, India, whose concentrations are photography and graphic design. “My art inspiration comes from my Indian culture, which focuses on patterns and textures,” Trivedi said. “I incorporate these into different mediums, including my concentrations, graphic design and photography. I mainly shoot landscapes and people in my photography. While photographing landscapes, I try to look for interesting patterns being created by nature. Heavy lighting contrast illuminates intriguing shapes and lines within nature and the human body. When shooting people, I am fascinated by what they are wearing and their body language. I then incorporate my photography into my graphic design work, as it allows me to better present the message I am trying to portray.”

Wenjing Wu of Fujian, China, whose concentrations are painting and metals/jewelry. “As a visual artist, my practice is mostly about being aware and making sense,” Wu said. “I believe art is another kind of reality. … I pay attention to what is around me, not just myself. My primary medium is painting. By transforming everyday imagery into a new experience on a two-dimensional surface, I hope to question and initiate conversations on the unfamiliar within the familiar. Recently, I am interested in how the precarious identity of individuals relates to the collective cultural representation. … My works are not simply representational or abstract. They derive from concepts and involve a very personal perspective and nonlinear narrative.”

Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s fine arts program at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/department-of-fine-arts/.

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 https://www.owu.edu/about/offices-services/richard-m-ross-art-museum/ for more information.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.