By SAM WEBER
STAFF WRITER
Paintings, and sculptures, and prints, oh my! These are just a few of the diverse aesthetic delights that await viewers at the new exhibition, “North of the Blue Line,” featured in the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery. The most interesting part? All of the featured pieces were created by twenty five art and design professors from the surrounding four colleges.
Last Thursday marked the official opening of the show, as well as a reception for the contributing artists. Professors from St. Lawrence, Clarkson, SUNY Potsdam, and SUNY Canton along with students and community members joined in admiration of the exhibition, flooding the gallery with myriad talents and creativity. “This really shows you where the art world is right now. We’re all in about a ten mile radius, and we have this incredible variety of work,” said SUNY Canton Graphic and Multimedia Design Assistant Professor Matthew Burnett. As a native of Saranac Lake and SUNY Potsdam alumnus, Burnett has developed as an artist in the shadows of the Adirondacks, which inspired his paintings featured in the show, he remarked.
Visiting Professor Naomi Falk, a recent addition to St. Lawrence’s Art and Art History Department, is just beginning her tenure as a North Country artist. “I’ve never thought of myself as someone who would use the natural world traditionally in my work, but it sneaks its way in there sometimes,” Falk said. Her multi-media pieces are created from materials ranging from felted objects, to wooden blocks, to dazzling pink glitter.
Many of the featured contributors were quick to respond to the difficulty of being both a professor and an artist—most with a self-deprecating grin. Steven Pederson, an Assistant Professor at Clarkson who deals primarily with video installations, addressed the juggling act. “When I’m interested in something—it sounds cliché—but I really need to get into that creative zone. Holiday breaks are a good time to gather that momentum.”
Professor Amy Swartele, of SUNY Potsdam, who added three whimsical paintings to the exhibition, agreed that teaching and creating is definitely a balancing act, but one with advantages, nonetheless. “It’s wonderful to be working in a field where you get to work with and discuss what you’re passionate about,” she said.
Next time you are sitting in a studio art class, perhaps pondering the fact that you will spend twice as many hours on your drawings as all of your other homework combined, consider the time commitment needed to produce an exemplary, creative project. Then, remember that your professors often dedicate even more persistence and passion to their own work, on top of teaching and inspiring their students full time. You have until February 21 to go check out the work of our resident art super heroes in the gallery and I strongly encourage all to do so.