April 1 through April 23, student artwork can be found on display in the Lyet Gallery, located on the second floor of Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. Junior Grace Fernandez had a piece of her art selected for the show. She entered the show because her professor encouraged all of the students in his class to enter. Each student could enter up to three art pieces, but Fernandez only chose to submit one. A judge then determined which pieces would be in the gallery and which would not.
Fernandez had submitted a collage representing fashion. She sketched out a model walking down the catwalk. The dress the model is wearing is a collage of magazine cutouts, the remainder of her piece she filled in with watercolor paint.
“I was just interested in fashion. The collage part was the assignment, but [the professor] wanted us to have an element of drawing. It didn’t have to be colored pencil, so I chose watercolor because I’m a lot better with it,” she said.
“I feel like I picked up watercolor the best and practiced it more. It’s interesting how when combin[ing] pigment with water [the artist is] not always in control where the water goes,” Fernandez said. Due to that, watercolor paintings have become her favorite style of art to create.
When it comes to art, Fernandez looks up to Frida Kahlo, who inspires her both her personal life and her work. “Her pictures are really colorful and I like my work to be full of color too,” Fernandez said.
Another student at the College, sophomore Alice Lucas, also got her work on display in the Lyet Gallery. Instead of one piece, though, both of her sculpture submissions were accepted. The one is “‘Becca Bot’ – she’s made of leftover material that was broken. She can even glow in the dark to express her emotions,” Lucas said.
Lucas’ other piece on display is a combination of a swan and a shoe. It was initially made out of wax and turned into bronze.
In making her two designs, she was mostly inspired by her sculpture class and other projects she had done and seen before.
“When I heard about the show, I was debating about entering because I didn’t think my work was good enough. My sculpture teacher influenced me to enter and I decided to try it and see what happens. This is the farthest I got in any art show, so I’m really happy,” Lucas said.
There are many forms of art and Lucas loves doing any type. She is open to trying new styles, too, and learning more about creating art.
“I really like sculpture and taking things you wouldn’t consider art into art. It influenced me to look at things in a different way, like trash,” Lucas said. She likes finding ordinary things that would be thrown out and turning them into art.
With her love for sculpture, Lucas sees Edgar Degas as her role model. “The Petite Ballerina” is her favorite of his work. When Lucas was little, she used to dance ballet and found his piece spoke to that version of herself.
Lucas is not sure yet where her artistic gifts will lead her in life. “I haven’t decided what my main purpose or desire in art will be, but hopefully I’ll find out in the rest of my time here at Etown,” Lucas said.
