Winners of the Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition share meaning behind their works

The annual Juried Student Art Exhibition was held on Jan. 28. There were overall winners and first place winners for the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional categories.

Kelly Richards, senior at the University of West Georgia, won first place in three-dimensional with her sculpture “Home Sweet Home.”

Richard’s sculpture featured a ceramic dinosaur statue standing on a brick pedestal. It took her about a month to construct the entire project. The dinosaur was inspired by a recurring nightmare she had, and it came back to haunt her after she attended a children’s camp; at the camp, the kids played with dinosaurs, which caused her dreams to resurface.

“My future art projects are all focused on dinosaurs and phobias humans have,” said Richards. “There will be a dinosaur with a clown and a circus scene. There will also be an obese dinosaur, who is reaching for a cupcake on a refrigerator, but he cannot reach because his arms are too short.”

Richards plans to continue her art, hopes it will speak to other students who share these phobias.

“I really haven’t swayed much from art in my life,” said Richards. “I’m always drawing or painting in my spare time. I took all the art classes I could in high school, and when I came to college, I continued to do so. Once I took my first ceramics class, I knew that I would never be able to stop.

Kristin Patrick, another senior at UWG, won first place in the two-dimensional category with her drawn etching, “Severance of a Rising Sun.” Patrick’s piece deals the theme of being one with nature and features a naked individual holding a fungus and surrounded by nature.

“This piece was inspired through spiritual connection and to find meaning in life,” said Patrick. “Realizing how small you really are as a means to not feeling small .”

Patrick is actually currently working on her senior expedition art project. Her pieces will focus on a series of women in horror movies and compare the relationship between human sexuality and monstrosity. Her art will be up for display in the Humanities building along with fellow senior art from April 18 to April 22.

“Creating had always been something that I loved,” continued Patrick. “It’s very freeing. I love being an artist because there are no right or wrong answers, but at the same time, I am encouraged to think critically about my decisions. For me, it’s stimulating in every way.”

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