Painting from the Dreamscapes Series, by Jesse Hoff
Truckee Meadows Community College welcomes the public to its 41st Annual Student Art and Design Exhibition, which will be on display April 6 through April 30.
“There is so much variety, so many different artists at their own stages of development and learning,” said Aimee Kelly, Fine Arts major at TMCC. “These pieces of diverse mediums are unique and most are for purchase and very affordable.”
An artists' reception will be held on Wednesday, April 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the TMCC Main Art Gallery in the V. James Eardley Student Center. Tia Flores, juror, will give a special presentation, “Skill Sets of the Contemporary Artist,” at 5:30 p.m. Presentation of awards are to follow. Refreshments will be served and the reception is free and open to the public.
There will be 194 works exhibited in this juried art show.
The works of student artists represent categories including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and printmaking. Graphic Design pieces include both print and digital media. Awards are funded by TMCC Galleries and Nevada Fine Arts.
Kelly said that she has always loved to create both artwork and useful objects.
“I’ve always had a creative bent, and if I have needed something, I don’t go buy it at a store, I make it,” she said. “I knit, sew, and have done pottery and jewelry-making. I’ve tried every format.”
Angela Chan, a Fine Arts Major specializing in illustration, helped Kelly put up the part of the exhibition which will be displayed in the Main Art Gallery.
“I started drawing comics and manga in middle school and I’ve stuck with it,” Chan said. “The process of creating art is fun for me. You get to experiment, spend your time and energy on it. The end product is also satisfying for me.”
Tia Flores Will Judge the Exhibition Entries
The juror this year is Tia Flores. She works with pyrographic techniques, which is the creative burning of designs into wood or gourds. A stencil is made from refined pencil sketches. Then, the stencil is traced onto the wood or gourd. She burns her designs into the surface with a wood burner. Dyes and oil pencil details are applied for color.
Flores said that her designs are a reflection of her two families. She is greatly influenced by the harsh beauty of the Nevada desert and is drawn to the rich cultures of the Aztec and Navajo people and their love of nature. Spurred by a desire to know more about her ancestors, her creations have evolved into a new area of culturally themed works, including vessels, drums, mask, and totems.
Tia Flores is also an educator and teaches Advanced Placement Art and Graphic Design at Coral Academy of Science. She is an advocate of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).
For more information, please call 775-674-7698 or visit the TMCC Art Program and artgalleries.tmcc.edu.