While many Dixie State University students are stressing out over finals, several are being celebrated for their hard work and artistic accomplishments.
Senior art students at DSU have one last chance to showcase their talents before they graduate and head toward the rigors of professional life.
The DSU Art Department Senior Show opening gala was held Nov. 20, and the exhibit is on display in the North Plaza Building through tonight. The show features multiple works of graphic design, drawing and painting, using several different mediums. Featured artists are Emma Schaub, Rachel Kjar, Scott Garrett, Lindsay Rose and Thomas Stirland.
Schaub, a senior art major from Gilbert, Arizona, said it’s awesome having her work on display.
“I think my exhibition shows how far I’ve come,” Schaub said. “I’m also fairly relieved that it is up, and nothing has fallen off the walls yet.”
Schaub has a passion for graphic design history, and she said layout design is by far her favorite form. She included invitations in her display because they showcase all she has learned at DSU. Her emphasis was in graphic design, and she hopes she can continue with it professionally when she moves to Arizona the day after finals.
McGarren Flack, an art department adviser and lecturer, said the exhibit is the pinnacle show for seniors and should be representative of all their work while at DSU. The shows provide an opportunity for the students and university to network with people in the industry and make contacts with possible future clientele.
Flack said it is difficult for students to gain exposure for their artwork, and campus shows are invaluable for gaining experience.
“It’s a relief to have it all done, but it is also very gratifying to be able to share some of my projects in more of a public setting,” said Rose, a senior graphic design major from Orderville. “It’s a bit of a new experience to have people approach me with questions about the things I have on display in the exhibition that they otherwise wouldn’t have seen.”
Rose started to draw at a very young age and is a self-taught artist. She likes to use a variety of mediums, but her specific interest is in modifying electric guitars with digital design. Her focus now is on learning about the limits of guitar customization and plans to pursue a career in graphic design in St. George after graduation. She said the most important thing she has learned while studying at DSU is persistence.
“The things I do are a constant process of refinement,” Rose said. “Some of my best projects have been the ones I’ve dedicated the most time to.”
Flack said the spring senior show will be divided in two separate exhibits with nine artists on display at each showing, including painters, graphic designers and ceramicists.
