Students in the Davis & Elkins College Division of Creative Arts are ready to showcase their talents in visual and performing arts as they take a final bow on the spring semester. The Division’s annual Arts Extravaganza is set for 6-9 p.m. Friday, April 29 throughout Myles Center for the Arts on the College campus.
The event is free and open to the public.
The centerpiece of the evening revolves around the Division of Creative Art’s Senior Art Exhibition reception in Paull Gallery. Works on display are by Elysia Cain of Clarksburg, Raven Hedrick of Upper Tract, Lavania LeMasters of Stonewood and Linsey Westfall of Keyser, who will be graduating with Bachelor of Arts degrees in May.
“Amazingly enough, my entire life has been centered around nature,” Cain says of her exhibit. “Whether that be taking day trips to go hiking or looking at the trees out the window on the drive home. Within the past couple of years, nature has become a main focal point in my mind. These incredible scenes show the grandeur of life itself and how amazing everything really is.”
Hedrick works with clay and is inspired with the functionality and beauty of ceramic vessels.
“I have grown to be infatuated with high-fired ceramics, more specifically throwing on the potter’s wheel and glazing combinations,” Hedrick said. “It is completely intriguing the things you can create with hard work and patience. All pieces in this show are completely one of a kind.”
LeMasters takes inspiration from music, specifically the tunes she writes and performs on piano.
“My paintings convey imagery that represents what I see when I listen to the music I’ve created, what I relate the song to in my life, what I was feeling in the moment I wrote the songs, and the journey that I see unfolding from start to finish of each composition,” LeMasters said. “Each song has a story to tell which I hope my visual art will bring to life.”
LeMasters will perform some of her original compositions on an electric piano in Paull Gallery during the reception.
To create her art, Westfall relies on her vivid imagination and childhood fantasy of wanting to be a mermaid.
“I realized that there’s nothing stopping me from continuing to involve that passion in my life,” Westfall said. “While my art isn’t bringing me any closer to the sparkly pink tail of my dreams, it’s bringing the naïve fantasy to life. I want people to look at my work and be a part of that world for a moment.”
The Paull Gallery show is open from 6 – 8 p.m. and will feature paintings, prints, photographs, drawings and ceramics from the four art majors.
Harper-McNeeley Auditorium will be the site of two performing arts presentations from 6:30- 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte Layman of Clarksburg will perform three dance pieces she has been working on with Adjunct Professor of Dance Laurie Goux starting at 6:30 p.m.
Following a brief intermission, theatre acting showcases will be performed on the stage by students in Assistant Professor of Theatre Aubrey Neumann’s classes.
To round out the evening, the Student Filmmaking Showcase will begin at 8 p.m. in Senate Commons. The presentation will feature short films created by students in Instructor of Theatre and Film Lonnie Martin’s filmmaking and video classes.