It was a hard choice for professors Grant McConnell and Clint Hunker to chose pieces for the St. Peter’s College Student Exhibit.
Together they chose around 30 pieces from the Fine Art Department classes with McConnell teaching drawing and Hunker teaching painting.
McConnell says that it is a big step to put work out in public as an artist and he hopes people take the time to see what his students can do.
Karlee Frank’s collage To Create is dedicated to her own creative process and how she felt creating the piece.
Having the opportunity to tap into her creativity is very important, says Frank, and McConnell’s drawing class is one of her favourite classes she is taking right now.
McConnell says when it came to picking pieces for the exhibit he wanted to show the range of work especially when it comes to work spanning the entire school year.
“You’ll see works that are more abstract and some that are more representational. For the people coming in to see the exhibition, it gives them a sense of what goes on at St. Peter’s.”
For McConnell’s drawing classes, the traditional forms of drawing are there with pencil and graphite but there are also pieces of ink drawing, sculpting and collage work.
The physical elements in his class helps students with composition by having the students physically make their piece.
“That’s what I like to get into my students is that if you’re flexible with your drawing materials and your approach to the medium, you’re a lot more resilient with coming to subject matter or formal elements that are challenging to you.”
This approach is very different to what students expect when coming into McConnell’s class.
Hunker wanted to portray the best work that each of his students have done so he discussed choices with the students themselves.
Having this space to show off his students’ work is important in just showing of the importance of providing these classes to students, says McConnell.
“People forget that a big part of how we live our lives is the enjoyment of the things around us.”
Both professors have said that few of their students will go on to be professional artists but both Hunker and McConnell are glad they are providing their students with the opportunity to learn how to look at all of the arts differently.
Hunker has had many students come up to him and say he has changed the way they look at the world.
McConnell wants to see high school art classes protected because in times of economic stress, the arts are the first things to be cut.
Working at the College for the last 25 years, there is always a call for drawing and art classes, especially lately where McConnell is experiencing the biggest classes he has had in 10 years.
“There is a real desire to have the background to be able to read the cultural indicators which is the whole of our visual culture.”
Jean Price of the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery says that they are proud to provide this space to the students. Everyone has to start somewhere, she says.
“They’ve worked so hard and they’ve done all this studying and practicing and done all this and they’ve created something that’s beautiful or expressive or creative. It’s worth showing to people.”
Price would like to thank Grant McConnell and Clint Hunker for putting the show together.
The student exhibit will be up until Mar. 31.
