The first in a series of spring semester Senior Art shows at the University of Nebraska at Kearney opens on Monday, March 26, in the Walker Art Gallery.
Rylee Freeland of Oxford and Emma Fulton of Imperial, both art education majors, will be the first to have their work on display, March 26 – April 6. A reception will be held 4 – 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, in the Walker Art Gallery. The gallery, which is located in the UNK Fine Arts Building, is open 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday – Friday.
Freeland’s works will include: ink prints, “Free,” “Hands of Time” and “In Your Hands”; watercolor, “Landscape”; chalk pastels, “Master’s Copy of Skull,” “Past,” “Present” and “Still Life”; oil on canvas, “Nebraska Landscape”; and oil on wood, “Self-Portrait,” among others.
“I want to show students, parents and teachers that art is more than just crafts and production,” Freeland said. “Art can be used to express emotions, convey ideas, record moments or places in time. I want my students to realize this and use art as a way to communicate.
“I want to inspire my students to embrace art and find inspiration in themselves and ideas around them,” Freeland said. “It can be challenging, not only to look deeper within themselves, but also to put that on paper for everyone to see, but I hope to help them see the rewards are worth it.”
After graduation, Freeland plans to teach art at a rural K – 12 school.
Fulton’s works will include: acrylic on canvas, “Peacock,” “Peacock II,” “Untitled” and “Garden”; linoleum block prints, “Girl” and “Bloom”; intaglio prints, “Flowerman” and “Owl”; oil on canvas, “Apples” and “Feathers”; and pastel, “Fruitman,” among others.
“What motivates me to keep creating art is the happiness it embodies,” Fulton said. “In my art, I tend to focus on the good rather than the bad. I think we hear, see and feel too many things that get us down. I create art to make myself and others happy.”
After graduation, Fulton plans to find a job in art education.
