For senior art students, they have reached the make-or-break moment in their college career. Students have two opportunities for their art to be reviewed in the fall and accepted into the spring exhibition.
A workshop model is given in the fall, which is when the "nitty-gritty for preparing for the show is taken care of," Karen Blough, associate professor and chair of the art department, said.
She described the making of art for its showcasing in the spring exhibition as two prongs coming together.
To Blough, the students seem confident, although she knows that stress is a part of the whole process as well.
"It's exciting, but a lot of work," she said.
This semester, students had less access to Myers Fine Arts Building in comparison to past semesters because of the problems in the building. It was closed for some time, so art students were not able to work in the building, taking a lot of studio time away from students.
Aside from the unplanned closing of Myers, Blough said there should never be any surprises for students regarding the exhibition.
"I haven't heard of anyone freaking out," Blough said.
Students said the stress was pretty expected.
Prior to senior year, art major Abigail Penfold said, she always noticed how stressed the upper-classman were when it came to this time in the semester. And this year, it happened to her.
Painting is very time consuming, especially because the painter needs to wait numerous hours for his or her art to dry.
Penfold said she spends a tremendous amount of time in Myers.
"I'm in there all the time, painting all the time," she said. "And sometimes I'm still behind."
Although stressful, there is hope for all of the hard work to pay off.
"It's stressful, but in a kind of exciting way," art major Kelly Merriam said. This was her first opportunity to showcase her art professionally.
Aside from stress, cost is another factor art students have to face when their senior exhibition comes up. Supplies are not cheap.
Penfold said she spent about $250, and that was just for frames.
When Merriam was asked if cost affected her, she let out a heavy sigh and said, "Yes, definitely."
Both painters said the exhibition is important to them, as well as other participating art majors. It is a way to prepare artists for what lies ahead of them.
"Are you going to be able to do this on your own, in the real world, without help from teachers, and without people holding your hands?" Penfold said.
Penfold is already taking her next step by organizing a one-woman show at ROTA Gallery, which will focus on her art only. An artist setting up shows to display his or her art is a challenge but, "That's the real thing," she said.
The art exhibition's opening day was April 16. Ceil Esposito, art museum director, was pleased with the tremendous turn out of more than 350 people, some coming from as far as Buffalo and New York City.
All who attended showed enthusiasm, which was, "a really positive result for the students," Esposito said.
The exhibition showcased sculptures, ceramics, paintings, drawings, graphic design and print. Overall, many pieces of art were sold.
The cost for a piece depends on the amount of time and pricing of the materials used to make the art.
The exhibition's buyers consisted of mainly private individuals, rather than businesses or companies, and all sales were handled between the student and buyer. The gallery does not take commission.
"(This event is) wonderful in that it really demonstrates the in-depth talent of these student artists," Esposito said.
Student art will be displayed in Myers until graduation in May. Students and faculty said they hope more people walk through the exhibit to appreciate the accomplishments of the art department this year.
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