Senior Thesis Student Art Show to celebrate independent creativity

The show including paintings, graphic designs, prints, glass and sculpture will run through April 18 with a reception for the artists April 11 from 4-6 p.m. in the Memorial Hall Lobby.

Featured artists are Julya Briseno of Kenosha, Wisc., Christina Ferrero of Bayard, Neb., Robby Lee Heckman of Crawford, Neb., and Macee Kellner of Bucklin, Kan.

The purpose of the Senior Thesis course is for students to organize, publicize, label, light and hang a body of work that represents what they have learned throughout their undergraduate career at CSC. This show may include work that they have been required to submit to the All Student Show each spring the past several years.

Briseno, an art major with a gallery/museum option, said she looks forward to hanging the show with her fellow students in a modified salon style in which vertical series of framed pieces are suspended by wire from the ceiling. She said the salon style was popular up through WWI partially as way to fully utilize space.

With the exception of Briseno, the other seniors have not been involved in hanging previous shows. The Senior Thesis class gives students this opportunity in addition to preparing their resumes and portfolios for pursuits after graduation.

“The show is a way for us to showcase for the campus and the community the skills we've developed over the past several years,” Briseno said.

Ferrero, an art major with a studio option, said when the group was planning the show “we were brainstorming our similarities as artists and decided our strongest point was in our diversity from one another. We all have very different goals and make a variety of work.”

“The show is the best way for us to get honest feedback about our work and see how it will be received,” Ferrero said.

Heckman, an art major with a studio option, said, “It's helped quite a bit to go back and look at all the projects and pieces I've created over time and evaluate how I've grown and changed over the years. It helps you to evaluate where you are as an artist and how you'd like to be represented. The show will be nothing, if not interesting to see.”

Kellner, an art major with a graphic design option, said the show allows the students to experience all of the effort and planning that goes into a gallery show, minus interviewing with the gallery to obtain the show booking in the first place.

She said the Graphic Design Practicum, the American Advertising Federation Meet The Pros conferences she has attended, designing posters in her work for the music department and the pro-bono work she has done have helped her graphic arts portfolio more than the show, but she is still grateful for the experience.

“I'm really excited because we are doing something different than most students do with their show.  I like that we are experimenting with a different style and feel.  We are all very unique and extremely independent.  Having a show that is as unique as we are really showcases our talent as well as our creative spirit,” Kellner said.