Mt. Hood Faculty featured in campus Visual Arts Gallery

On Oct. 31, the Visual Arts Gallery debuted its newest exhibit: Faculty art. The exhibit features a variety of media, from paint to charcoal, sculpture to encaustic wax – even a piece that features chocolate – all made by Mt. Hood faculty members.

Steve Mauldin teaches basic design, and painting intermittently.  He also taught color theory for several years, and it shows in his work.  His pieces in the exhibit are titled “Poles” and feature paints recalling the electromagnetic spectrum, contrasted against space. His style is reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, albeit a little more cohesive.

Theresa Redinger’s work centers around the idea of contrast, comparing dancers and boxers to highlight the similarities in things we typically name “opposites” rather than focus on the differences. She uses a variety of media; though her background is in drawing and painting, she’s branched out into sculpture in the past few years, and ultimately aims to create a seamless synthesis of the two. Her works include bettas (the fish), chocolate mouthguards, silk boxing gloves, and charcoal.

Janet McIntyre uses a technique known as “encaustic painting” in her works. She says of the process, “You’re never really able to know exactly what you’re going to get, so there’s this self-discovery in the process… you turn off your brain and let something else happen.”

Discussing the forces driving them to create art, the artists have varied, but similar answers:

Said Mauldin: “Follow your own muse, do what you feel compelled to do. [Artists aren’t] doing it to make pictures, they’re doing because of an intense need to say something about the world.”

Redinger: “Trust the thing that makes you work: If it’s an idea or material, if it’s making you get in there with your hands just do it and trust it. A lot of times you might say to yourself, ‘this is dumb, no one will be interested in this material, this isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing that kinda thing’… trust anything that gets you working.

“Also, always eat the free cookies,” she said.

McIntyre: “Opening yourself up to the creative process will inform everything you do in life.” On making time for art, she said, “You just have to change your priorities. Make sure the dog gets walked.”

Though pursuing a career in art can seem daunting or financially challenging, teaching art can offer a way to integrate a love of art and of creating with security, passion, and the lifelong pursuit of personal expression.

That passion is on display in the faculty exhibit, which continues through Dec. 1. The Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with free admission to anyone.