Associate professor Patrick Martin works in the glass blowing studio Tuesday afternoon at the Art Annex. Alissa Miller/ The Bulletin
For engraving professor James Ehlers, the Faculty Art Show is an opportunity to see evidence that professors are working artists and a motivating factor for students in their own work.
“I remember when I was an undergrad and I would see the faculty show, it kind of gave me something to aspire to,” Ehlers said.
This year’s show opens on Nov. 2 with a reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Eppink Gallery in King Hall. The exhibit will feature work created by Emporia State faculty as well as three Emeritus faculty members. Professor of sculpture and gallery coordinator Roberta Eichenberg said there will be art of all mediums, including paintings, drawings, print-making, glass, sculpture and ceramics. The show will run until Dec. 10.
“I invite the entire faculty, and not all of them participate, but they are definitely all invited,” Eichenberg said.
Ehlers said the show is exciting for him because he gets to see what other faculty members are working on.
“I’m curious to see what’s going on. Everyone gets so busy you don’t really have time to see what other people are doing and every once in awhile there is a surprise,” Ehlers said.
Glass blowing professor Patrick Martin also said the opening reception is an opportunity for the faculty to get together because they don’t always get a chance.
“It’ll be a nice event, a lot of times we’re all spread out working, so it’s nice to kind of come together and see where we can get together and see the work,” Martin said.
This year, Martin is putting the third installment of his “flip-flop” series, which plays on the political term, in the show. His flip-flops are made to look like the shoe, with the bottom part as glass and the straps made out of metal. Martin used figures George Bush and Larry Craig in the past, but for this piece the politician is Louisiana Senator Trent Lott.
“(Flip-flop) is such a Republican terminology and such part of their propaganda, I tend to use Republicans, though I am looking into working on Democrats, but I’m not really sure yet,” Martin said.
Ehlers said his work is centered on “death and decay,” with a subject matter of an animal carcass surrounded by foliage. The two pieces he is putting in the show are a wood-cut print and a relief- engraving print.
“I mainly make prints. One of them is a relief engraving, so the plate itself is engraved and then I pull the print off of it, so I’m squeezing the engraving in there,” Ehlers said.
Martin said that because the gallery is open for about a month, people have the opportunity to come in any time and see the work.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to see the talent here at Emporia State, that there are many faculty members full-time and part-time that work really hard and do an excellent job at teaching and, for many students, they don’t get to see their work in person,” Martin said.
Lauren Walbridge
Loading ...
