On Thursday, March 12, the grand opening of the Student Art Exhibition occurred along with a reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Individuals in the community were welcome to come and eat appetizers, relax, and view art from AU student artists. Additionally, the exhibition gave out awards in various art categories. 

The categories included: digital media, drawing and ceramics, graphic design, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. $1,300 was given in awards to the artists for Best in Show, Dean’s Award, Everett S. Caldemeyer Award, and People’s Choice Award. 

Senior Tricia Dasco, who is a Digital Art major, showcases the theme of “negative emotions” throughout her work. 

For her, art is an outlet to express herself freely. She had two works submitted. 

She noted the step-by-step process for how she created one of her works that was shown in the gallery. 

“Eli: EMT is a mixed piece [in which] I use pieces of flowers that I scanned in and I use those images in Photoshop to create the piece. When I print it out, I print it on canvas and then I use stem pieces to create a heartbeat line that goes up and down and then it flat lines,” Dasco said.

Junior Rachel Yaeger, an Art Education major, creates artwork based on how she is feeling. She ultimately uses personal experiences from her life and applies it on canvas. Although she did not have any work submitted this semester, she described the connection she formed with her favorite piece. 

“I definitely saw a lot of personal-life imagery and sculptures. One of the girls, who won the juror award for “Tough Being a Girl,” that has to be something that portrays how she feels at times. I think that is great; it lets the world know how she feels,” Yaeger said.

John Hunting Hansen, the outside juror for the student exhibition and also an artist himself, described what his job exactly as a juror entailed and how selecting various works from all of the categories was a little tougher than expected. 

“There were 140 works. So basically, it was a process of eliminating. I attempted to be fair and I think in the end, we got most of everybody into the exhibition. It was a really fast process trying to eliminate and just get down, and then to pick the awards,” Hansen said.  

Yaeger applauded AU students for really stepping out of their comfort zones and continuing to work hard throughout the semester and produce strong pieces. 

“I thought a lot of them were really interesting; I’ve seen some of the students working on their paintings and I think the pieces that the judge picked overall made everything come together and create a really nice show,” Yaeger said.

Dasco explained how her initial fear of failure did not stop her from really channeling all of her energy and passion into her work, which allowed her to accomplish so much more than she ever thought was possible.

“As I progressed with my work and I met other artists, I became very self-conscious. I never really thought that if I entered into the student exhibition, I would make it in, because the outside juror has the final say. I never thought it was possible until I took a chance,” Dasco said.

Hansen noted what he admired about the Coburn Art Gallery and how fortunate AU students are, that they have the opportunity to portray their creativity, uniqueness, depth, emotion, and individualism, all in one convenient art gallery on campus.

“I think it is a wonderful space for students to have and to show their work. I think it is spectacular that you have a venue that you can exhibit both artists from around the country and some regional, local people as well. In that way it is unique, because not all schools have that opportunity,” Hansen said. 

Hansen as an artist attempts to take materials that others throw away, also known as waste, and turn it into something that individuals can admire. 

He has traveled to various locations around the globe in which showcase his talent in group exhibitions, including: Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin, as well as numerous colleges. 

Hansen gave advice regarding how one will succeed in the art field.

“Basically, you have to keep trying. You don’t necessarily have to go to school to become an artist, but you do learn a lot. 

All of the great artists started by doing what their teacher told them to, and they became bigger and better later on. 

They jumped through the hoops and they did what they needed to do to learn the basics of design. Keep working, and working hard; it is tough, sometimes you don’t always get “Best of Show” or a prize, but stay true to yourself and keep moving forward,” Hansen said.      

Both Dasco and Yaeger have been dabbling with art-related projects since a young age and both plan to continue doing something in the art field after college, in one form or another. 

Dasco hopes to do an art-residency and spend her days traveling, creating works of art before she settles into a job. 

Yaeger wants to take all that she has learned as an artist and share it by teaching children about art. The gallery will be open until April 1 Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday through Sunday, noon until 4 p.m.