Mexican Gold Poppy, © Susan E. Ashton

Exhibit: Portraits of Nature – Blending Science and Art

Artists: Southwest Society of Botanical Artists

Location: Polytechnic campus Library

Available: Jan. 4, 2013 – March 30, 2013 during normal library hours

Description: Join in a celebration of the beauty of nature at this juried exhibition by the Southwest Society of Botanical Artists (SWSBA). Examine the works close-up to explore the intricacy and beauty of flora and fauna.
SWSBA is the Arizona chapter of the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA). SWSBA’s members have backgrounds in fine arts, graphic arts, business, technology, and education, but they all share a love of the natural world, especially plants.

Botanical art combines science and art. Artists seek to understand the structure of plants and to communicate this knowledge in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The range of styles includes scientific illustration, usually in pen and ink, as well as realistic drawing and painting of botanical subjects in watercolor and other media. Centuries of notable botanical art created for botanists, physicians, plant collectors, horticulturists, and connoisseurs continue to inspire today’s botanical artists.

This exhibit includes a variety of artworks by local artists and includes native plants of Arizona, plants of other locales, and creatures of the natural world.

For more information about ASBA, see http://asba-art.org/

“Eve and Adam” by Enju Gerry

Exhibit: “Visual Variety”

Artist: Eunju Gerry

Location: Polytechnic campus Library

Available: Feb. 25, 2012 through May 26, 2012 during normal library hours

Description: Eunju Gerry, a native of Bussan, Korea combines her unique blend of three dimensional texture, bold colors and vibrant abstraction to her nearly 30 works on exhibit at Poly library. Her work is a departure from the more typical Asian style of soft textures and pastels and serves to convey the artists deepest emotions. Check out her portraits, abstracts, still life’s and cityscapes in this eclectic exhibit of her art.

For more information about Eunju visit: eunju-art.com.

Exhibit: “Elusive Radiance: The Prints of Olivia Timmons”

Artist: Olivia Timmons

Location: Polytechnic campus Library

Available: November 12, 2011 – February 11, 2012 during normal library hours

Description: Printmaker Olivia Timmons began her exploration of the printmaking medium at the California College of Arts in Oakland and San Francisco where she received her BFA in 2002. She obtained her MFA from ASU’s Herberger Institute of Design in 2009. Her current body of work deals with social, political, environmental, and physical issues concerning the planet today. She uses creatures of light in contrast with the deep and murky oceanic atmosphere, as a metaphor for one of the most prominent concerns of humanity: the sustainability of natural resources and the consequence of human actions on the world.

The image is composed of details of the following, from left to right: Orlando Mendoza, Aves Gloriosa, Graphite and Colored Pencil; Allison Davis, His Chair, Charcoal; Courtney Larson, Teacup II, Graphite and Colored Pencil

Exhibit: “…with my little eye”

Artists: Allison Davis, Courtney Larson and Orlando Mendoza

Location: Polytechnic campus Library

Available: November 12, 2011 – February 11, 2012 during normal library hours

Description: This exhibition features work by three senior BFA Drawing majors from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. As the title of the exhibition suggests, their work is heavily influenced by careful observation of natural and manmade forms. A variety of approaches to the creative process are presented, including representation, abstraction, and visualized imagery. The students collaborated on the selection of work, deciding to focus on two extended class projects. In the Hybrid Object drawings a pair of singular forms emulate both animate and inanimate structures and textures. Imaginative approaches to the figure and still life can be seen in the Thematic Development project, in which the students created two drawings connected by content and imagery. The opportunity for a three-person exhibition inspired a collaborative triptych in which each student created a unique variation of the same concept and visual vocabulary. The faculty advisor for this exhibition is Professor Janice Pittsley.

Exhibit: Mums From A Secret Garden

Location: Polytechnic campus Library

Available: July 10, 2011 through Nov. 4, 2011 during normal library hours

Description: “Arte Dell Acquarello” or Art of the Watercolor is the name given by New Mexican artist Gindy Farmer to her passion for creating beautiful art. A collection of twenty of her works are currently on display at the Polytechnic campus Library. Catch her brightly colored original watercolor’s and giclee’s at www.gindyfarmer.com.

“My love for watercolor began with the attraction to its fluid clarity, its demanding nature, and its resistance to control. It created a challenge for me. One painting led to another, one idea led to another and at this point, I will never have enough time to complete all that I would like to accomplish with watercolor.”