Holly Nichols
I am inspired by the intersection of texture and vibrancy. My artwork celebrates this connection through whimsical, colorful landscapes and energetic illustrations. Through these works of art, I am seeking to merge adulthood and childhood.
While I use a variety of materials and media, my approach is consistent. I build my paintings with several layers of carefully applied brush strokes. I often combine traditional media with digital media to produce more interesting compositions, and to push my work further. As my work often takes shape in series, I enjoy creating dialogues within my work, not only with visual text, but also through visual story within my illustrations. For the past two semesters, I have been building a visual and written thesis exploring Children’s Book Illustration. Most of my illustrations function as pages from a picturebook- some are even part of an ongoing picturebook. My art is an encouragement for the adult to seek and embrace the inner child, which is what I am doing in the creation of my work.
While I use a variety of materials and media, my approach is consistent. I build my paintings with several layers of carefully applied brush strokes. I often combine traditional media with digital media to produce more interesting compositions, and to push my work further. As my work often takes shape in series, I enjoy creating dialogues within my work, not only with visual text, but also through visual story within my illustrations. For the past two semesters, I have been building a visual and written thesis exploring Children’s Book Illustration. Most of my illustrations function as pages from a picturebook- some are even part of an ongoing picturebook. My art is an encouragement for the adult to seek and embrace the inner child, which is what I am doing in the creation of my work.
Valentina Hannigan
I am a Creative Art Therapy student and a visual artist with strong skills in drawing who is willing to learn as much as possible when put into new situations. Being from Hawaii I have developed a pas- sion for nature and the true beauty that surrounds us. Discovering truth in everyday life inspires me to further develop my art. With my at- tention to detail I am able to tell stories that have yet to be heard.
I hold a relationship to nature and natural forms; specifically, what I create and what is close to me. For years my artwork has incorporated a tree. The Tree symbolizes a very intimate connection between my experience and personal growth. This element is still prevalent within my artwork this semester. For the past four months, I have been experimenting with different materials while focusing on the topic of pain and passion. A significant as- pect of my artwork is a natural element composed of the human body, human skeleton, trees, and natural wood. Certain elements within my art can be anthropomorphic, my trees look like humans and my humans look like trees. My art has a cyclical pattern due to the topic and the materials. Current- ly, I have been observing natural patterns and rhythms in nature. I am study- ing and recreating them so that I can apply them into future works of art.
Valentina's work can be found at her website: http://www.behance.net/valentinahannigan
I hold a relationship to nature and natural forms; specifically, what I create and what is close to me. For years my artwork has incorporated a tree. The Tree symbolizes a very intimate connection between my experience and personal growth. This element is still prevalent within my artwork this semester. For the past four months, I have been experimenting with different materials while focusing on the topic of pain and passion. A significant as- pect of my artwork is a natural element composed of the human body, human skeleton, trees, and natural wood. Certain elements within my art can be anthropomorphic, my trees look like humans and my humans look like trees. My art has a cyclical pattern due to the topic and the materials. Current- ly, I have been observing natural patterns and rhythms in nature. I am study- ing and recreating them so that I can apply them into future works of art.
Valentina's work can be found at her website: http://www.behance.net/valentinahannigan
Rebecca Skrabely
My paintings are currently exploring ideas behind structure. My work grows from the relationships of exterior walls and roofs of buildings, houses and barns and where they meet. By working from memory I am able to reconstruct the relationships between the structural planes of these sites. When the photograph is gotten rid of, I am able to depict an abstract architectural landscape solely by recollecting memory. These found memories of the landscape allow my paintings to grow from one to another.
My paintings are both geometric and organic due to the way I apply paint. Using a palette knife on stretched canvas and paper, I’m able to create both of these concepts. I create hard edges where the walls and roofs of the structures join together while an organic quality arises from creating subtle shifts in color due to layering paint.
The compositions of the structures are centralized with the landscape surrounding. This allows for the viewer to clearly recognize the abstract structural building set into a landscape, which is a strong memory I have with all the buildings, barns and houses I have drawn my inspiration from.
Examples of Rebecca's work can be found on her website: http://rebeccaskrabely.com/home.html
My paintings are both geometric and organic due to the way I apply paint. Using a palette knife on stretched canvas and paper, I’m able to create both of these concepts. I create hard edges where the walls and roofs of the structures join together while an organic quality arises from creating subtle shifts in color due to layering paint.
The compositions of the structures are centralized with the landscape surrounding. This allows for the viewer to clearly recognize the abstract structural building set into a landscape, which is a strong memory I have with all the buildings, barns and houses I have drawn my inspiration from.
Examples of Rebecca's work can be found on her website: http://rebeccaskrabely.com/home.html
Yasmin Azel
As a fine art student with a concentration in creative arts therapy at Endicott College, I have encountered the power of art as a transformative tool. For my visual thesis I have been exploring the link between nature and art and how the both exist within my being. Artwork is a way for me to translate the profound experiences I have in nature. I am moved by the natural world to create, as if to capture these moments as keepsakes. Landscapes emerge quickly when using watercolors and with out thinking I have begun to create a new space on paper. My watercolors often work as studies to experiment with composition, color, and content. They become preliminary sketches for larger and fuller acrylic versions. The environments on paper are a way for me to explore my internal landscape and the places of my past. In a state of flow, I am transported to the places I am creating. I hope witnesses of my artwork are similarly transformed and sense the beauty of nature.
Katie Joy Nellis
I have always been captivated by human beings. Through painting some of my friends and classmates, I hope to reveal the mystery and layers that emerge in each of us when someone takes the time to see us, when we know that we are intrinsically valued and respected.
I have known for a long time that my senior show would include portraits. But the idea of seeing developed as I considered how to combine my love of the wild and dreamlike with my love of the human face. I wanted to go beyond representational portraiture, to explore the connection between the face we show the world and the thoughts, dreams, fears, and loves behind it. Each person is full of surprises. Each character takes time to unravel. In this way we mirror our Creator, who is endlessly beautiful, terrifying, and holy, and in whom seeking leads to finding.
The biggest challenge and surprise has been finding a way of joining fantastical and abstract imagery to the portrait. I have gone through at least three ideas for this integration before settling on the use of a framing device, which will probably lead to even more changes as I continue. The process has been overwhelming and stressful at times, but already rewarding and life giving. Each of the women I am painting have gifted me by allowing me to share in their lives. And the process of painting is always a continual birthing and dying, failing and persevering, listening and loving.
I have known for a long time that my senior show would include portraits. But the idea of seeing developed as I considered how to combine my love of the wild and dreamlike with my love of the human face. I wanted to go beyond representational portraiture, to explore the connection between the face we show the world and the thoughts, dreams, fears, and loves behind it. Each person is full of surprises. Each character takes time to unravel. In this way we mirror our Creator, who is endlessly beautiful, terrifying, and holy, and in whom seeking leads to finding.
The biggest challenge and surprise has been finding a way of joining fantastical and abstract imagery to the portrait. I have gone through at least three ideas for this integration before settling on the use of a framing device, which will probably lead to even more changes as I continue. The process has been overwhelming and stressful at times, but already rewarding and life giving. Each of the women I am painting have gifted me by allowing me to share in their lives. And the process of painting is always a continual birthing and dying, failing and persevering, listening and loving.
KC Schuck
I am constantly aware of the emotional states of those around me. While these emotions cannot always be seen, I view and feel them pulsing out from an individual's body language as if they were waves. However, my interpretations are subjective, and thus my interpretations of body language differ from others. My work, as well as the subject of my senior thesis, largely deals with the concept of body language and how we interpret certain gestures, postures, and motions made by human beings in social settings.
While I work and experiment in several types of media, my preferred mediums are acrylic, tea and India ink. Water based media has the ability to create beautiful, free flowing forms without an extensive amount of manipulation or control. I enjoy using tea because of it's rich neutral color schemes and the fluid forms which help to create a surreal environment for my painted subjects. My most current work focuses on certain aspects of the body which I feel are essential to nonverbal communication. By combining the delicacy of tea with the strong, emotive qualities of colored ink, I aim to create an awareness of our natural body movements, using them to communicate to others on a subconscious level.
While I work and experiment in several types of media, my preferred mediums are acrylic, tea and India ink. Water based media has the ability to create beautiful, free flowing forms without an extensive amount of manipulation or control. I enjoy using tea because of it's rich neutral color schemes and the fluid forms which help to create a surreal environment for my painted subjects. My most current work focuses on certain aspects of the body which I feel are essential to nonverbal communication. By combining the delicacy of tea with the strong, emotive qualities of colored ink, I aim to create an awareness of our natural body movements, using them to communicate to others on a subconscious level.
Michela Kendrick-Tedesco
This work was done as a small portion of my senior thesis as a graphic designer at Gordon College.
Gordon College is blessed to be surrounded by hundreds of acres of undeveloped land. We may walk, run, bike, swim, picnic, and relax in the majesty of a New England forest while barely stepping from beneath the shadow of Frost Hall. We have the unique privilege of sharing our backyard with a thriving ecosystem- one that is constantly growing and changing. In the same sense that one should know his neighbors to better serve them, I believe knowing more about our natural surroundings can benefit how we interact with and enjoy the beautiful Creation we have at our doorstep.
With my work, I intend to enrich the relationship we can have with Gordon’s Woods through education. I created maps, signage, info-graphics, educational activities, and a design “language” to help visitors and students alike better interact with the woods. My goal is to encourage Gordon to see the potential materials they could provide to enhance the experience of our woods, not only for students, but for families, school groups, and the greater community as a whole.
Gordon College is blessed to be surrounded by hundreds of acres of undeveloped land. We may walk, run, bike, swim, picnic, and relax in the majesty of a New England forest while barely stepping from beneath the shadow of Frost Hall. We have the unique privilege of sharing our backyard with a thriving ecosystem- one that is constantly growing and changing. In the same sense that one should know his neighbors to better serve them, I believe knowing more about our natural surroundings can benefit how we interact with and enjoy the beautiful Creation we have at our doorstep.
With my work, I intend to enrich the relationship we can have with Gordon’s Woods through education. I created maps, signage, info-graphics, educational activities, and a design “language” to help visitors and students alike better interact with the woods. My goal is to encourage Gordon to see the potential materials they could provide to enhance the experience of our woods, not only for students, but for families, school groups, and the greater community as a whole.
Claire Maillefer
These are moments in which a simple pause
Brings to bear the light,
The line, the natural architecture,
The wholeness,
Or even the deconstruction of a place.
For me, it is these moments I value and remember.
Brings to bear the light,
The line, the natural architecture,
The wholeness,
Or even the deconstruction of a place.
For me, it is these moments I value and remember.