Senior Exhibits 2021

Sophia Cannistraci
Woven Embrace

In a time of distance, removal from contact with others, and extreme loneliness, this project is an offering of closeness. Using aesthetic qualities of color, shape, and abundance to create feelings of intimacy, joy, and comfort, this project is meant to be a gift of encouragement for the viewer.

Cloth is particularly intimate, something worn on the body, formed to a human’s shape, chosen according to their taste. Cloth is a visual expression of personality, priorities, and affection. It has many roles, from favorite sweater to picnic blanket: cloth is associated with physical connections, memories, and cherished occasions. 

The images in this abstract photography project are minimally edited, presented as seen through the lens. My hope is to share the intimacy we all are craving with beautiful and close images of cloth that blur in and out of focus as the human eye does when in varying proximity to people we love.

There are also postcards available for visitors to take with them: a way to carry the project with you and also to offer it to someone else in the mail, potentially closing the divides of loneliness further with that thoughtful communication. 

So come and rest in the comfort and beauty of this woven embrace. You are not alone. Bring a postcard with you, send one, and savor the connection. 

Emily Ciccarello
Frameworks

Interior spaces are invitations to connect, to reflect, to grow and to work. The framework and design of a space sets the stage and helps to dictate its purpose. Much of the time we can overlook these nuances in architecture and take these elements for granted. However, design is a tool that invites the viewer into solitude, reflection or community.

Frameworks is a piece based on tile designs from various parts of my life. My time traveling, experiences designing kitchens, as well as my interests in interior design all play a vital role in my work as a future designer. For me, tile design can be such a powerful tool that can add either subtle or dramatic definition to a space. I love how tile design and patterns are all based on relationships that are always building and growing with each additional piece. Similarly, our relationships are the frameworks in our own lives and these connections are continuously growing. They make up who we are and where we are going, piece by piece. I hope that Frameworks is a piece in which you feel welcomed and comforted by the space it is in, and can relate to the nuances in each of the pieces wood.

"A special thanks to Fireclay Tile for supplying the hand painted tiles" 

Nicole Valli | nicolevalli.myportfolio.com
Live Aloha

Series of 3 Abstract Paintings

Materials: Metallic Acrylic Paint and Spraypaint on Canvas
Ocean, 48” by 48”
Rainforest, 36” by 48”
Sunset, 36” by 48”

Most of my inspiration and what I am drawn to comes from my deep connection to the oceans of my two homes, Cape Cod and Hawaii. My motto in life has always been “Live Aloha” which is the Hawaiian phrase that describes a way of living. “It is a way of living, an attitude and expresses guidelines to help us in our lives – kindness, patience, compassion, respect, togetherness, affection, empathy, peace, & love”. My paintings were created to evoke the sensory details and emotions that are felt during an encounter with a special place, specifically in nature. I believe color and texture play an important role in emotion and how we make connections to people, places, and things. When we let our eyes, ears, nose, and hands truly experience an environment, we are given a surge of emotions and sensations that belong only to that present moment. This trio of paintings each represent an ecosystem local to Hawaii. Viewers are invited to rest their eyes on the pieces for as long as they like, allowing them to let their imagination run wild or take in some deep breaths and be reminded of the tranquility and comfort that is brought through nature.

Erika Hall
Pineapples to Posh 

Florida is best known for being the Sunshine State. Even though it is often viewed as a slice of paradise with miles of beautiful beaches, offers leisure living and is a prime tourist destination, to me it is home. Growing up in Boca Raton has meant a lot to me. I am inspired by my home town and want to share what I love about it. Between the warmth, vibrant colors, and amazing views, Boca Raton has a reputation of being a luxurious place to live. I decided to take pictures of historical buildings and landmarks that tell of the town’s history. When looking at the photos, I chose to focus on the shapes that were created within the frame and combine the history that was represented within the objects. From the photos, I designed two modern graphics to represent both the modern elegance side of what the city has to offer while still honoring the historical elements of Boca Raton. Through this book, my hope is that you will discover my thinking process of design, what I think is important to highlight in design, and the love I have for Boca Raton. Come enjoy a slice of paradise with me from the Japanese immigrants in the 1900’s to resort living designed by the father of Boca Raton, Addison Mizner, Pineapples to Posh.

Timeus Mulinge
I STAND 

The subject of inequality, racial, and social injustice, has been imminent in America today due to the consistent sunlight illuminating America’s shadow. In the previous years, many issues have been kept hidden and often neglected by a vast majority causing a disconnect and division between communities. Nonetheless, the consistency of these events has divulged every aspect of it. The world can no longer overlook the evident presence of these extensive forms of inequality within our communities.  

This sculpture, designed off Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling posture, stands as a monument that not only calls us to pick a side to stand for but to locate a common ground that brings us equally to our desires for freedom, individuality, a celebration of diversity, and respect for each other. This upright monument represents a movement forward, a presence of action and change. A path towards reconciliation and RE-CONNECTION through the acknowledgment of history, apology, repentance, and forgiveness. A piece that poses the question, "What are you standing up against; what are you standing up for"? 

Eve Peppler
Artist Statement

I love having people come into my studio to sit for a drawing. I try to make it as non-threatening as possible - “You can bring homework, tv or a book; you don’t have to look at me; it’s very relaxed”. These drawings have been a good use of my time and effort as I finish my college career. They have allowed me to be present with my artwork, and to be in the company of other people. When someone devotes a few hours out of their day to come in, it naturally helps me to focus more. By the time our session is finished, I want to have achieved some representation of them. However, these drawings aren’t just about me accomplishing my own goals; I choose to include others into this process, because that gives more meaning to the work I make. I confess that one of the most important moments of the process for me is still showing the drawing to the model at the end. I’m aware that they’ve been sitting there for hours, wondering what the paper looks like, which is slightly intimidating. I don’t want them to feel pressure, so sometimes I go to the sink or start cleaning up so they can view the drawing without an audience.

My favorite part of this work, other than watching my strengths grow as I continue to draw, is giving the model a chance to feel seen. Some models come into the studio feeling nervous about being watched for an extended period of time, and fear they will not like the way they look when it’s finished. Everyone has their own reasons for having those fears. But it is rewarding for me when the drawing gives the person a feeling of confidence. The risks I have taken and work I have put into these drawings have opened a door for work that I would like to continue to develop for the rest of my life.

Anna Hailstone
Please Like Me

We’re all familiar with how emotive different colors are; green is often tied to jealousy as yellow is with happiness, etc. But I think shades of the same color can have a similar emotive effect. For me, each of these shaded blue squares represents a different emotion. It felt important to me that the color be hand mixed each time, that a wide array of tools would be used for creating them (ie. hands and feet and bubble wrap) and that some of them have several layers.

This is a piece that wrestles to reconcile the whole and the individual. All of these squares together comprise a large breadth of emotions, and yet as you get closer to the piece itself, you realize how different, how distinct each puzzle piece and each emotion really is. I wanted to display this fabric of squares in a way that felt overwhelming, all-encompassing, but not suffocating. A space you could enter into and feel the immensity of blue since that is how emotions can and do typically feel.

I needed a project that would flex with me throughout this semester. I needed something that I could always come to and feel good about making and enjoy the process of being with. Something that would reflect this time of my life, something contemplative to the thoughts going on in my head, something that would serve me therapeutically. These squares, these 250 odd-ball, unforgiving, 9.5 inch blue squares do this for me.

Michelle Ya Xu
Godd

"I am the Lord your GOD,
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything,
You shall not bow down to them or worship them”

These are the first three commands of the ten commandments.
God’s people, are you following?

Kari Holcomb
Journey

I think we’ve each been given a gift to be able to play with creativity. When we create with a playful perspective in mind, I believe we get to see a sweet side of creation shared. “Go with child like play, the “don’t even come in for dinner because you’re playing so hard kind of a play””. That was advice I got from Bruce Herman, a wise mentor of mine, when it came to these pieces. After time was found to produce the work, I got to run with a lot of that child-like play. Letting the brush sweep over canvases with various tones and hues brought joy to my heart- it most often times does. I think mainly it’s because I get to connect with my Creator in this time. It’s Him who’s allowed me such a precious gift to get to share, and Him I get to give all the glory to for giving me eyes to see and the hands to shape with. Sometimes I’m not sure what is going to be made when I put the pencil to paper and the brush to canvas. That’s one of the best parts of being an artist I suppose, that excitingly eventful (and sometimes unrestful) momentum that pushes me to create for the sake of creating something that never existed before- to bring a smile to someone’s face, and hope to another.

Linzie Ann Ciarcia
Identity

When was the last time you were within 6 feet of a stranger? Sat next to someone on a train and let your bodies share the overlapping space between you? Grazed your shoulders with a passerby on a crowded sidewalk? What about shared a smile with someone you'd never met before? Saw the curves of their mouth? The crinkle of their nose? The angles of their teeth or arch of their tongue as they let out a burst of laughter?

Some of us have become far too comfortable removed from raw human interaction and it is unlikely that we have gotten genuinely close to strangers in a long time. I desperately want to push the societal norms that I see cementing themselves in our daily lives. We wear masks and maintain 6ft by 6ft bubbles which adds to societal norms and forcing us even further into the electronic devices we wear like skin. I want to create a space where the viewer is surrounded by "strangers" with which they must get up close to in order to truly experience the intimacy of the encounter.

I want this space to push people out of their comfort-zones and force them to confront certain elements that they tend to shy away from, especially during this time in the pandemic. There is a real disconnect occurring in our society where people avoid what is different from them and what they do not know or understand. We hide behind screens and actual masks in order to maintain both a metaphorical and physical distance from each other. Upon entering room decorated with pieces that aim to confront these tendencies and concepts, I hope the audience experiences discomfort. This discomfort may be attributed to an uneasiness surrounding the unfamiliarity of the figures in the pieces or the reflection we see of ourselves and others in the work. Regardless of the cause, my desire is that we are able to embrace the emotions experienced in this space and allow ourselves the freedom to cross the 6ft barrier we are so used to maintaining with strangers.

Walk up to a work of art, introduce yourself, and then be still and listen. And maybe, just maybe, they will respond.

Jessica Guan | https://lavenwinkle.wixsite.com/myportfolio
Bypass

As an artist, and as a Christian, but most importantly, as a human, I question. 

My work asks questions. It just asks the questions. It does not answer. It does not assign blame. I’m just asking questions. 

Read full rhetoric here