FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04/18/2008

Fifteen Art Majors/Minors Exhibit Senior Thesis Work

BRIDGEWATER, Va. — Thirteen Bridgewater College senior art majors and two minors will exhibit their work, "I'm Sorry, What are We Talking About?" in the annual Senior Art Thesis exhibit on campus April 28 to May 11.

Art majors include Charlotte L. Beach of Staunton, Va., Phillip Carter of Spotsylvania, Va., Ashleigh E. Chadwick of Greensboro, Md., Nolan Chase of Largo, Md., Rebecca A. Downor of Salem, Va., Caitlin Eckroth of Weyers Cave, Va., Lindsay Fagan of Crozet, Va., Angela Flage of Harrisonburg, Va., Heather R. Houff of Bethel, Pa., Jessica Hyler Rapert of Staunton, Va., Karen Vaughan of Vinton, Va., Jocelyn K. Willbanks of Annapolis, Md., and Virginia A. Williams of Hayes, Va.

Art minors include Laura M. Daniel, a communication studies major, of Madison, Va., and Corey Lynn Payne, a family and consumer sciences major, of Sperryville, Va.

A reception for the artists will be held from 5 7 p.m. Monday, April 28, at each exhibition site. Site maps will be available in the Cleo Driver Miller Art Gallery located on the second floor of the Alexander Mack Memorial Library. Hours are 8 a.m. to midnight Monday Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 3 to 11 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 540-828-5684. The receptions and exhibits are free and open to the public.

Beach will exhibit work on the first floor of the Alexander Mack Memorial Library. She is showing how art as graphic design can be applied to everyday life by designing business cards, letterhead and signs for a reading organization to help with children's literacy.

Downor and Vaughan will hold their exhibit in the Cleo Driver Miller Art Gallery. Downor has produced advertisements using a series of logotypes, photography, manipulations and layouts that are formatted into a 48-page magazine. The exhibit deals with sexual innuendos within the media, combining real-life questions and issues, while at the same time, providing humor toward art. Vaughan will show promotional photos of models wearing apparel in front of graffiti backgrounds for marketing a clothing line. The main focus is on presenting the product in an engaging and fashionable way. "Although advertising is not art that is found in a museum," says Vaughan, "it is art that is seen by the public and it is art with a purpose."

Houff and Flage will exhibit their work in Moomaw Hall Houff in the lounge and Flage in the

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dining room. Houff's display of Raku vessels are unique, one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces. The Raku process is a method of glaze firing that create copper shine and black matte surfaces. Many of her pieces have been inspired by Steve Branfman, an American Raku potter. Flage is showing functional pottery with tree-based designs. "In a world filled with identical, mass produced objects," says Flage, "I value the differences in pottery which make them unique." While her pieces are similar, they vary in weight, detail and color.

Fagan will showcase her work, photography combined with text to form close relationships about time, in the first floor lounge of Bowman Hall. Her photography exhibit, an exploration of the relationship between words and images, is based on Alan Lightman's novel Einstein's Dreams. "In a society so influenced by media where text and image is most often used to manipulate consumers," Fagan says, "my work uses text and image to spark imagination."

Chase's work will be on display in the Eagle's Nest on the lower level of the Kline Campus Center. He is showing acrylic paint on canvas inspired by the Hip-Hop culture. He uses vibrant color to unify his compositions bringing together movement and rhythm. His work is influenced by the black American painter Jacob Lawrence.

Rapert will show sculptures made from welded scrap metal on the Eagle's Nest Patio. The artist wants the viewer to see that metal does not have to be dirty and rough, but can be delicate and beautiful. Her work has been influenced by Bruce Gray, Georgia O'Keefe and Michael Hough, associate professor of art at Bridgewater College.

Carter will exhibit his work, photography of the time, dedication and emotion that goes into football and weightlifting, near the coach's offices in Nininger Hall. Inspired by his love of athletics, Carter captures his thoughts and emotions behind the sport of football. Instead of the typical action shot, Carter invites the viewer to look deeper into his photos and discover the formalist characteristics, intense emotions and great determination.

Chadwick's exhibit, a photography show that centers on the ecological devastation in Centralia, Pa., is set up in the second floor lounge of the McKinney Center for Science and Mathematics. Centralia, a once prosperous mining town, has become a growing sinkhole as an underground mining fire is slowly consuming the land from the inside out. The show includes 180 to 360 degree panoramic edited views of the town, enhancing important ecological concerns.

Willbanks will exhibit her work in the first floor lobby of the McKinney Center. Her compositions are abstract landscapes using acrylic paints mixed with water to produce transparent vibrant colors. Willbanks says she is interested in shapes, how they interact with each other to form positive

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and negative areas. Adding vibrant colors to the shapes adds energy and interest to her work.

Williams' digital photographs will be on display in the Kline Campus Center near the main dining hall. The show looks at the personal relationships people build with food. The growing unawareness of how society treats nourishment has influenced Williams' work. "Food is not looked at for the nutritional value it holds," says Williams, "but simply as something we eat because we must in order to live."

Eckroth will be exhibiting her work at Books-A-Million in Harrisonburg, Va. An artist reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, May 5, at the bookstore. For her exhibit, Eckroth is presenting advertising ideas she created for her employer, Joe Muggs Café at Books-A-Million. The show, which focuses on the café's overall advertising campaign, includes redesigned cups, napkins, syrup labels and other paper products. Also included are two larger-than-life posters. Some of her designs will be used during the reception.

Daniel, a communication studies major with minors in art, business administration and family and consumer sciences, will exhibit graphic design pieces in the first floor east stairwell of Rebecca Hall. Daniel has produced a branding strategy for a fictitious bed and breakfast, incorporating writing, typography, photography, logo design and slogan, to create a consistent image for the business. The show includes rack cards, postcards, business cards, stationery and note cards.

Payne, a family and consumer sciences major with a minor in art, will have her show set up in the first floor landing between the stairs leading up to Cole Hall. She is exhibiting enlarged objects, both man-made and from nature in 3-D clay sculpture and 2-D drawings. One of her favorite pieces is a "squished" bumble bee about the size of a small cantaloupe with torn and broken wings. Payne says "Being able to take a single small seed of an idea and watch it grow and blossom into actuality is what truly inspires me."

Bridgewater College, a private, four-year liberal arts college, enrolls more than 1,500 students. Founded in 1880 and located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it was the state's first private, coeducational senior college.

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