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March 8, 2023 | By Marcos Crespo ’23

Katie Lee ’23 displays her Best-of-Show winning artwork, a collection of Coptic-bound books, during Ohio Wesleyan’s recent Spring Show. (Photos by Marcos Crespo ’23)

Spring Show 2023

Ohio Wesleyan Department of Fine Arts Recognizes Outstanding Student-Artists

One of the first signs that winter is melting away from campus each year is Ohio Wesleyan University’s Spring Show, sponsored by the Department of Fine Arts.

The annual show is open to all students, with monetary prizes awarded to the “best of” OWU artists. Professor Kristina Bogdanov announced the 2023 Spring Show winners at a recent reception held in the Werner Gallery in Edgar Hall. All artwork selected for exhibition was juried by professional artists from around central Ohio.

Lily Davis ’25 earns the 2023 Best of 2D Art award for her charcoal drawing, ‘Shadows in the Alley,’ at OWU’s Spring Show.

Katie Lee ’23 of Chardon, Ohio, earned the Best of Show award for her piece, “Why Don’t You Come Home More Often?” Lee describes the piece as “a collection of four short Coptic-bound books housed in a handmade box, and each book included drawings of reflective writings about each of the places called ‘home’ in my life.”

“The collection as a whole gives a sense of melancholy memory,” Lee said, “with wishes of returning home, yet not knowing where that may be. … It is exciting to see people around me soaking in the ideas I present.”

Reeve Metcalf ’23 shows off her 2023 Best of 3D Art award for her ceramic candle holder.

Best of 2D Art and Best of 3D Art honors were awarded, respectively, to Lily Davis ’25 of Dayton, Ohio, for her charcoal drawing “Shadows in the Alley” and Reeve Metcalf ’23 of Huntersville, North Carolina, for “Candle Holder,” a coiled-and-thrown ceramic piece.

Of her drawing, Davis said: “When I first started, I felt really overwhelmed. … I was focusing too much on the tiny details instead of the big picture. I talked to my professor, Frank Hobbs, and told him I wasn't feeling motivated or inspired. He gave me a pep talk and showed me some different techniques that helped to engage my mind again.”

OWU student-artists earning Merit Awards for their work included:

  • Daniel Eilert ’23 of Loveland, Ohio, for “Sealed Earth,” made of pit-fired coiled and altered ceramics
  • Areli Hernandez ’26 of Menlo Park, California, for “Construction”
  • Brooke Hoffman ’24 of Oregon, Ohio, for an untitled, Raku-fired kurinuki ceramic box
  • Katie Lee ’23 for “New Friend at Coney Island”
  • Teddy Mitchell ’23 of Wilton, Connecticut, for “W. 39th Street”
  • Jenna Nahhas ’24 of Dayton, Ohio, for “Alley”
  • Hannah Nelson ’23 of Delaware, Ohio, for “House Necklace,” made of laser-engraved aluminum

The Spring Show has concluded, but art lovers also will be able to see student art during “Kaleidoscope, the graduating senior show, which will run from April 15 to May 13 at the Richard M. Ross Art Museum.

Learn more about studying Fine Arts at Ohio Wesleyan at owu.edu/finearts.