The best student artwork from the past academic year is on display at the Amelia Center Gallery from April 22-May1 Monday through Thursday 10AM-6PM and Fridays 10AM-4PM

The art in the exhibit consisted of several different media including digital photography, ceramics, paint, markers, pencil sketches, and some with mixed media. The subjects of the pieces were just as diverse as the media used to create them. I spoke to Associate Professor Pavel Amromin about the various perspectives displayed at the gallery. He said “It’s all student work made during this academic year so from fall to spring and it represents all the students from the various art classes we teach here at Gulf Coast and a lot of these are art majors but some of the works here are also not art majors as well so it’s a nice mix of people, a nice mix of classes, and different projects, and ideas and media etcetera.”

I also spoke with Macie Smith an art major at Gulf Coast State College and an artist featured heavily in the exhibit. She hopes to one day work with ceramics as a career. I asked her about what inspires her to make art she said “Normally I try to be inspired by what I see outside… A lot of times when I feel like I want to create something it’s when I catch myself being caught up like on the phone or like being distracted, I’m like I could be doing something different right now and I’ll start doing it….I feel like it’s a big thing to be yourself and do what you want to do.” One of her ceramics pieces “Broken by Life” was one of my favorites in the whole gallery.

Some of the artwork was simply aesthetic and some addressed current political issues or personal issues such as depression or religious exploration as well as more abstract concepts. Professor Amromin said most of the works were created in introductory art classes so the focus was on technique and form but I asked if artists were encouraged to share their particular viewpoints and use their art to speak he said “A lot of times we try to introduce the ideas and say you have a voice as an artist let’s find that voice, let’s see how you can develop it and how you can apply the techniques you just learned to express that voice.”

 

 

The exhibit will remain on display until May 1 and is free and open to the public in the Amelia Center Gallery at Gulf Coast State College