Senior Art Show: Mismatched Flapjacks
On Wednesday, March 20, the opening reception for senior Emily Wilkie’s art show was held in the art gallery on the third floor of the Fine Arts Center. The show, entitled Mismatched Flapjacks, featured a variety of work that Emily completed during her time at Viterbo University. The show was open to the public and was viewable at your own pace. Emily shared a few words and thanked those for attending.
Emily is a senior studio art major. Her work consists mostly of print making and bookmaking. She was drawn to bookmaking because of her own experiences of being a visual learner. “In my own experience, visual learning paired with concise information makes for better retention,” Emily explained.
She began preparation for the event nearly two years ago. However, Emily had been actively working on the show since the beginning of the spring semester. While most senior shows are put on between two students, Emily’s show was all her own. She had the task to fill the gallery with just her work, which she excelled at.
Perhaps one of the biggest preparations for the show was framing the prints. Emily had to pick frames for the pieces in her show that would both best display the art work and compliment the piece. Like most big projects, Emily experienced some inconveniences. When she shipped her frames for her artwork to her house back home, her dad was gracious enough to bring them to her. While he was here, he also helped build the cabin scene that was present in the center of the gallery.
The cabin scene in the show was representative of Emily’s own cabin, where she draws much of her inspiration from. Included in the cabin scene was a handcrafted gameboard the was made from wood. Emily shared, “My cousin is blind and to include him in family game nights, I designed and built a completely tactile game board based on all the experiences our family has had at the cabin.”
Emily also gains inspiration from books, animals, and nature, all of which you can see incorporated in her work. Her show contained several prints, large paintings, books, and other projects that Emily has completed. While she is proud of all the work she has in her show, Emily sees these pieces as disciplines. She has learned the necessary skills and is ready to move on. She looks forward to combing her skills to become even more successful and explore herself as an artist.
The evening was a wonderful time for those who attended. Friends and family were able to share their appreciation and admiration of the work with Emily. “Energetic, interactive, and friendly,” were a few words that Heather Walschinski, a junior studio art major and friend of Emily, used to describe the show.