Ekphrasis II Exhibit at Linn-Benton

Van Gogh said, "I dream my painting and then I paint my dream."

Rosalie Lingo 

Rosalie Lingo is a 20-year-old student, earning her Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree, and she plans to transfer to Oregon State University to get a degree in Graphic Design and/or Applied Visual Arts. 

Lingo said, "I've always been driven to paint, draw, and create art." 

It took her about eighteen months to create this piece. Each of her pieces has anywhere from six to 20 hours of work put into it. Lingo is currently creating a drawing for her art class with Analee Fuentes. She is also creating a new painting for the Student Show. 

Lingo said, "I don't see myself ever not making art...I just can't go long without my sketchbook."

Lingo said, "I don't know where the impulse comes from."

Rosalie Lingo -- My Night Student Smokes on the Break 

To celebrate National Poetry Month, Linn-Benton students and staff are having an exhibit featuring 27 paintings in a variety of media along with the poems that inspired all the artwork. The poetry and art will be on display until May 2.  

SSH Gallery -- Ekphrasis II Exhibit

The SSH gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8-5 pm. There is no charge to view the artwork. However, the artwork is not free. The art on display varies in price. If you would like to get your hands on a piece of art contact the secretary in the SSH, or the NSH building.

On April 15 from 3-4 p.m. a reception and book release was held in the gallery. Poets read from their work, and were available to sign copies of the exhibit catalog.

The theme for the gallery is a response to a poem written by a member of the Linn-Benton poetry club, in commemoration of National Poetry Month. Inspiration for the poems came from the book Ekphrasis.

"Love. It's a tired word, let's change it to passion fruit," New Poem by Dari Lawrie

Kiera Lynn, Linn-Benton's student Poet Laureate, writes: “The art of Ekphrasis is the process of using grand description and rhetoric to represent a work of art. In the case of this project, the poems were created first, leaving the artist to render a visual interpretation from the words upon the page. A picture may be worth a thousand words--but how many pictures are the words worth?”

Caitlin Little is a 19-year-old art major student with the goal of becoming a tattoo artist. Little said, "I was inspired by the poem, words, and the details that the author used." It took her roughly five hours to complete Cold and Lonely In the Street. Little said, "I don't ever plan on not making art." Little is currently creating a piece for the Student Art Exhibit starting April 24. 

"They say I'm too tall to be an astronaut. But I'll keep growing taller and reach the galaxy on my own," Dear Dreamer Part II by Crash. 

All but one artist is a student. Most of the students art was created in Dori Litzer's drawing class; last term.

Litzer created the piece called Apple Picking, and the poetry was created by Robin Havenick, the poetry club adviser.

Kiera Lynn mentions a few of her favorite poems included in the gallery: Chris Riseley's For Artists Who Think It Is Cool To Destroy Books, Karelia Stetz-Waters My Night Student Smokes on the Break, and Josh Lowe's Cold and Lonely In the Street. Lynn said, "None of these three poems are anything like each other, but they all have something that really hooks me." 

Henry David Thoreau said, "This world is but a canvas to our imagination." 

Caitlin Little -- Cold and Lonely In the Street 

Apple Picking --  Artwork was created by Dori Litzer and was inspired by Robin Havenick's poetry.

Cesar Jensen -- New Poem

Claire Denning -- Dear Dreamer 

At a glance box:

Exhibit Coordinator: Rich Bergeman

What: Ekphrasis II Exhibit

Where: SSH Gallery 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW Albany, Oregon 97321

Reception: Tuesday April 15, 2014 from 3-4 p.m.

Phone: 541-917-4247

Email: bergemr@linnbenton.edu