Power of Object is evident in MHCC’s Visual Art Gallery

When it comes to art, anything is possible – as shown from the work of four artists now displayed in the MHCC Visual Arts Gallery.

Showing this month are selected pieces of glass/steel, jewelry, clay, and mixed media arranged in an eye-grabbing fashion. The main theme of “The Power of Object” is not the work, however, but the artists themselves: each is an art technician, most of them from the MHCC campus.

Jen Fuller is a self-taught glass artist from Portland who now works with steel sculpture.

“Glass is a wonderful medium. It’s very transparent like humanity, but at the same time it can be really strong and resilient,” she said. “Steel

is an awesome juxtaposition and it is important to have as a structure. I learned to weld a couple years ago. I really like how the materials pair together.”

Fuller said she never originally thought about going into welding, but about four years ago was introduced to her friend and mentor Steve Tomlin, a 72-year-old metal artist. She asked him collaborate with her on a project for the city of Portland. He told her she could do it and gave her a two-day workshop on welding.  She has been incorporating the two mediums since.

Being a technician keeps Fuller in her “zone of genius,” she said. Her teaching has been enjoyable. “I really love my field. The education format is new to me and I really love the inspiration and  enthusiasm of the students.”

The art chosen for the gallery exhibit is her most current work, each piece making some statement. Yet Fuller said she wants to let visitors have their own perspective of what that statement is to them.

Nes Demirdag is a sculpture technician for MHCC. She had always had a fascination with clay and the workings and science behind it, she said.

As a young adult in Turkey, Demirdag studied to work in clays and other raw materials, before she moved to America. She said she likes her job at Mt. Hood, which allows her to work with the medium that she loves and allows time and creativity for the artist in her to thrive. Her displayed ceramics work shows the basic progression of the clay at an elemental level and possibilities.

The Mt. Hood Visual Arts Faculty Exhibit runs through Nov. 20.

The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.