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EXHIBITION SHOWCASES ALUMNI ARTISTS
 Jaime Gustavson is among 16 alumni artists with works showing in the EOU Art Program Alumni Exhibition that will open Saturday in Nightingale Gallery. (The Observer/PHIL BULLOCK). Ravens, crows, pig heads and worms these are the current subjects of interest for artist Jaime Gustavson. "The animals are symbols, each representing a piece of society," Gustavson says. "These paintings are intended to be whimsical but also serious." Gustavson is among 16 alumni artists with works showing in the EOU Art Program Alumni Exhibition that will open Saturday in Nightingale Gallery. Works will include glass, metal sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and mixed media. The opening reception for the alumni exhibition will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday in Nightingale Gallery. An opening reception for the Grande Ronde Valley High School Art Exhibit in the Hoke Lounge Gallery will be held the same day, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Hoke Center. One artist in the high school exhibition chosen by the EOU Art faculty will receive a scholarship award. The winner will be announced at 6 p.m. Gustavson, 27, who works olut of a sun room or "greenhouse studio" built off her garage, is in her fourth year of teaching seventh through 12th grade art at Union High School. "I feel very lucky to teach art," the La Grande resident says. "Art tends to be placed behind other priorities in mainstream society. Teaching the importance of art, and helping students find their path (their comfort zone) is a challenge and a pleasure." Her specialty is using oil paint on wood panels. Her work won in the Jurors Choice Show as one of five selected winners last August in Nightingale Gallery. "I feel that my greatest artistic accomplishment is that I still create art," she says. "So many people graduate with a degree in art and don't continue to make art. I feel fortunate to have a small but active art community in La Grande that supports the arts and artists." Gustavson is a member of the La Grande Artists Critique Group and is regional director of the Oregon Arts Education Association. The juried show spans a wide range of EOU graduates, including 1977 graduate Robert Hodges, who will show two of his blown glass pieces, and Jo Topholm, a 2004 graduate who is pursuing her MFA degree in printmaking at Washington State University. The two judges for the show, Dale Lindman and Holly Gilchrist, both have extensive backgrounds in the arts. Lindman, who is from Seattle, is a graduate of St. Cloud University in St. Cloud, Minn. He received his MFA in painting from the University of Washington in 1982 and is currently a professor of art and director of exhibitions at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Wash. Notable collectors of his art include the Boeing Corp., Microsoft, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. The Foster White Gallery in Seattle also represents his work. Holly Gilchrist, of Boise, received her MFA in printmaking from Indiana State University in 1998 and has taught both studio and lecture courses at Texas Wesleyan University, Northwest Nazarene University, and currently teaches at Boise State University. Gilchrist is an advocate for the arts with the Idaho Commission on the Arts. The Stewart Gallery in Boise represents her work. In addition to the exhibition, the art program will host a discussion panel titled "Life after EOU" with alumni at 5 p.m. Friday in Hoke 309. Panelists include Adam Fah, '96, an art foundry patineur Gustavson, '00, who maintains an active studio and teaches at Union High School and is currently applying to graduate school with hopes of getting a masters in fine art. Robert Hodges, '77, a professional glass artist Andy Myers, '95, a drawing instructor at OSU Amy Poor, '94, a professional wildlife artist Jo Topholm, '04. Myers and Topholm will present drawing and printmaking workshops Saturday for area high school students in conjunction with the high school art exhibition. |
