WBU presents student art show

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) -– The 2022 Student Art Show at Wayland Baptist University presents artwork from Madeline Alison, Bill Bridgewater, and Evan Puckett.

The exhibit opens on April 14, at the Malouf Abraham Family Art Center, in the basement level of the library.

A reception will be held for artists at 7:00 p.m. on April 22, in the library atrium.

Alison’s exhibit, “Starting Over,” is a cathartic experience that shows everyone has the chance to pull themselves up from the stranglehold of addiction.

“For me, joining the art department at Wayland was a big part of restarting my life because I struggled with heroin addiction,” Alison said. “When I came here, I was about a year sober.”

Through the support of her family and art professor Dr. Candace Keller, Alison pursued a degree in art. Her focus is primarily on graphic design, but she will also have sculpture, drawing, photography, and painting on display. While graphic design is a little more commercial, she can expand her art within the other mediums.

In contrast to Alison’s past battle with addiction to illegal substances, Bill Bridgewater draws inspiration from his 18 years in law enforcement as he completes his degree in three-dimensional art.

Bridgewater’s work is mostly ceramics, cast iron, and jewelry, and several of his pieces are related to law enforcement. His favorite piece is called “Six” and addresses mental health issues for peace officers. He also has several badges and other details that focus on law enforcement. For Bridgewater, the art is a way to expand on his favorite pastime.

Bridgewater started taking ceramics classes as electives while working on a criminal justice administration degree. When he completed the criminal justice degree, he realized that he was close to having enough hours for an art degree.

“In addition to ceramics, I got into painting and drawing and metal casting,” Bridgewater said.

Bridgewater attended an iron casting class at Mesalands Community College in New Mexico with Wayland’s then three-dimensional art instructor Mark Hilliard. He loved the experience and was instrumental in constructing Mordor, a metal casting kiln, on display as part of his show.

Evan Puckett rounds out the senior participants in this year’s show. Puckett has already seen some success with his graphic design artwork, as three of his pieces were selected for an international art show in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Puckett focuses on the humor and unusual in his artwork.

“My show is titled ‘Characters and Concepts’ because a lot of the stuff I like to do is create fictional characters for fictional worlds,” Puckett said. “My show will range from semi-serious to comedic and from horror to just weird.”

Puckett’s show will include paintings, digital art, graphic design, ceramics, tacky coffee mugs, and leaches.

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