Life > April 26, 2007

By By Lucy Zimmerman | Contributing writer

The advanced painting class' May 4 show will be anything but ordinary.

Majoring in everything from art to business, each artists' work exudes a different personality.

The advanced painting class, taught by Page Laughlin, professor of art, is made up of 11 students.

The show will consist of their artwork from this semester.

Meredith Bivens, a senior studio art and French double major, started off using hot glue in order to create a three dimensional surface to translate the role of light in the astronomical atmosphere to the canvas.

Throughout the process, she replaced the hot glue with caulk in order to achieve a smoother surface and more complex dimensionality to the entangled spaces.

"I have been able to explore this complexity of color as well as the ability of color to create form, movement and energy through this series," Bivens said.

Her use of color is made more intriguing by the varied texture.

"Taken as a whole, this series is meant to contemplate not only the role of light, color and space in the natural world, but also to reflect upon the beauty that is inherent in natural wonders and in their creation," she said.

Martha Napier, a senior majoring in studio art and journalism, also toyed with the surface she painted on to connect with her chosen subject matter.

"Patterns are all around us," Napier said. She carefully chose different swatches of fabric to emphasize her point.

Napier's goal was to "visualize the connection between visual pattern and familial pattern," she said.

Asking herself questions about the stages and transitions in life and what remains the same and what changes, she created unique works that are loosely linked to one another through the original fabric and its patterning.

These paintings may stand alone, "visually exemplifying the different transformations and paths which can take place in various lineages and pedigrees," Napier said.

Each work takes on its own personality - some have an air of femininity and whimsy, others seem coarse and debased.

Taken collectively, her body of work focuses on the aesthetic interest in textiles, particularly in clothing and furniture fabric, as something that we surround ourselves in and find comfort in.

"Ultimately, I have attempted to link the comfort of this aesthetic beauty to the familiarity of paternal roots. Genealogies allow us to know where we have come from but still understand that we ultimately possess the power to morph or change into our own unique and unbridled entity," Napier said.

Jumping from what is familiar and comfortable, Ali Carroll, a junior communication major, created a group of paintings inspired by travel.

Carroll was infected with parasites on a service trip to India in December 2006.

Her work deals through abstraction with how the people of Calcutta helped her through this illness.

These are only three of 11 students whose art will be displayed on May 4.

The rest of the artwork will be exhibited at the opening of the event from 7 - 9 p.m. at the Downtown Arts District Association Community Center for the Arts at 526 N. Liberty St. in Winston-Salem.

Refreshments and hors d'oevres will be served.