Watching students hustle across campus with giant art portfolios is a common sight, although one might not think they are walking past the artwork of students every day. Strolling through Russell Hall, one can expect to see a variety of student artwork.
Depending on the time of the year, you may even catch artworks pertaining to the holidays such as Day of the Dead and the approaching Valentine’s Day. The handmade designs can be paintings, sculptures and even rough sketches. Produced by the many arts and crafts classes, student class submissions are subject to being displayed. The artworks are confined not only to Russell Hall, but art can be viewed all over campus, including Lynn Library and the Advising Center.
Projects such as the landscape photography gallery in the library display the detail that goes into photography.
“This group of images represents a small part of the work of the students in the Landscape Photography class,” said Brent Cavanaugh, a photography instructor. The shots include pictures taken from locations all around Amarillo in the wee hours of the morning.
Working in the classroom environment, or in this case finding time in one of the painting studios alone, is not a problem.
“The issue is perfection,” said Billy Thorson, a fine arts major who explained his focus on his first project. Even when one is stuck with an artistic writer’s block, viewing the many art pieces “gives me motivation to try harder,” said TJ Williams, a biology major and former photography major. The exhibits and displays around campus give students something to strive for while also giving inspiration to those who need it.
The hanging artwork in Russell hall is graded but also is shown equality by being displayed along with the work of classmates. The numerous art classes on campus take turns showcasing their works. One week you may see the work of Drawing 2 and the next, Design 1. Showing one’s art and allowing it to be displayed for all to see gives the students and staff the opportunity to share criticism in an open environment. It enables art students to create a portfolio of numerous art styles with different media, preparing them for finding work outside school and increasing their general knowledge of the arts. Continual circulation of art pieces guarantees that every student has a chance to show Amarillo College what he or she can do.
[slideshow_deploy id=’3851′]Photos by SONNET RELPH | The Ranger
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