By Brittany Greer

For The Observer

Artwork by Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Art faculty will be showcased during the Faculty Art Exhibition from March 1 – 31 in the Art Gallery on the Senatobia campus. An opening reception will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 4.

The exhibition will feature works from Lawayne House, chairman of the Art Department; full-time faculty members Ashley Chavis and Eunika Rogers; along with adjunct faculty members Danita Barrentine and Becky Hiter.

The exhibition will feature paintings, works on paper, ceramics and other media, according to House.

“The exhibition reveals the breadth of interests and investigations by the Art Department's diverse studio faculty,” said House. “This biennial exhibition is another vital expression of the faculty's commitment, offering students the chance to directly witness the close relationship between classroom activity and creative practice while affording the larger community an inside look at significant art being produced here at Northwest.”

For Chavis, this exhibition displays mostly drawings that were started as classroom demonstrations and completed over the last several years. 

“These drawings utilize typical drawing materials like graphite, charcoal, color pencil and chalk pastel on different types of paper,” Chavis said. “I often juxtapose seemingly unrelated iconic objects or visual metaphors to create a relationship that is meant to tell a story.”

According to House, the Northwest faculty strives to instill the personal dedication and drive it takes for students to succeed in a highly competitive field.

“Undoubtedly, we are doing it right, simply because our students tend to be awarded substantial scholarships to four-year institutions," said House. "We are pleased to announce that sophomore John Pennington has been awarded a $42,000 scholarship to the Memphis College of Art."

Pennington is just another in a list of students yearly who leave Northwest prepared to move forward in seeking their bachelor of fine arts degree, according to House.

The Northwest Art department offers courses for traditional as well as non-traditional students in such areas as drawing, painting and ceramics, among others.

The Art Gallery is open to the public free-of-charge Monday – Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays. The gallery is closed on school holidays.

For more information, contact House at 662-562-3399 or e-mail house@northwestms.edu