From top left: Audrey Barke, Sam Cornetta, Savannah Fehn, James Landhause, (Kayla Molano), Kayla Montes, Francisca Oliveira Gomes, Benjamin Truong Zoonami, JiaHui Tsai

Senior Honors Project in Studio Art – Spring 2024

We are proud to present the Senior Honors projects. Students who complete Honors Projects in Studio Art engage in research and artistic creation, culminating in a written thesis statement and an exhibition of their artwork. The students who have undertaken the Senior Honors project are exemplary both artistically and academically. They have committed to planning and creating a substantial body of work under the mentorship of a faculty member during their senior year.

These projects often reach across disciplines to expand the conversation on a wide range of themes and issues. Students use this opportunity to challenge themselves with their ideas, techniques, and professionalism in installing their work in a public space for exhibition. The written component of the project gives the artist an opportunity to distill their ideas and articulate the themes they are exploring in their visual work. Project media used in the current projects includes drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and mixed media installation. This semester’s Honors Projects encompass a wide range of themes including personal growth, dreams, memories, and fantasy.

This semester’s Honors Projects encompass a wide range of themes including:

• “Echoes of Youth” reveals an artist’s reflections on the bittersweet process of leaving childhood behind.
• “La Invitacion” explores the process of connecting with one’s family and cultural heritage through traditional foods.
• “Saudade” is an artistic exploration of sleep and dreams. Using abstract and surreal imagery, the artist examines the themes and ideas that often repeat in her dreams and subconscious mind.
• “Zoonami” explores the creation of chimeras and imaginary creatures referencing the culture, history, and science that intertwine with them.
• “Paper Tigers” features circus animal performance as a point of comparison to human interactions and performative expectations.
• “There is a Universe in My Mind is a compilation of memories that were once buried underneath feelings of embarrassment, now resurfacing as treasured tokens of my upbringing.”
• “Being raised Catholic to separating from the church in search of a more open and inclusive view of the world, “Delicate Intricacies” is a show exploring my spiritual journey. Ranging in media from paintings and prints to an installation, the show challenges visitors to explore their own beliefs and paths through the mirror of my own.”
• “What It Feels Like to Be Me is an exploration of parts of myself that I have kept hidden from the world. By putting my inner thoughts on display I hope to cultivate an environment that encourages people to be open and honest with each other. “
• “Through surfing experiences of being both thrown around in the water after wiping out or sitting calmly on my board between sets, “Riding the Wave “is about connecting with the ocean. This body of work captures these different moments, challenges, and experiences through different mixed media pieces consisting of oil paintings, linoleum prints and installations. “

Lorena Salcedo-Watson
Professor of Practice, Senior Honors Projects Coordinator

Advisers:

Isak Berbic
Martin Levine
Jason Paradis
Patricia Maurides
Lorena Salcedo-Watson
Ezra Thompson

Spring 2024 Exhibition