Student Art Gallery

The purpose of the Student Art Gallery is to provide a public space to display rotating collections of Campbell student and alumni artwork within Wiggins Memorial Library. We believe that art is present in all academic disciplines and are committed to displaying student work representing a spectrum of subjects across campus.

The idea for the Student Art Gallery stemmed from a careful review of library user feedback conducted through a campus-wide survey in 2018. Several years later, Wiggins librarians capitalized on an opportunity to renovate the library's second floor by incorporating a Student Art Gallery into the plans. A guiding principle of the entire renovation project was to create a library space that centers students, showcasing their work and allowing students to see themselves reflected in this environment. To do this, we incorporated student voices throughout the renovation project, including a collaboration between librarians and HONOR 207: Inventions and Innovation, where students, using the design thinking process, were impressed with a professional-grade proposal for this versatile gallery space. In Fall 2021, construction was complete!The Wiggins Gallery, managed by librarian Dan Maynard, is located on the second floor of Wiggins Memorial Library. We encourage you to visit and view our rotating exhibits featuring student and alumni artwork representing a diversity of disciplines across Campbell University.

Artwork must be created by a Campbell student or alumnus. A Loan Agreement Form must be signed in order for the artwork to be displayed within Wiggins Memorial Library. This form can be emailed to Dan Maynard at maynard@campbell.edu.

Juried
Open call for submissions, jury selects which submissions will be displayed in the gallery
Group
Whole classes or groups are invited to share their works all together
Invitational
Specific students are invited to share their work
Transitional
Retrospective student art pieces from the Wiggins Memorial Library archives are displayed

"In my ceramic work, I draw inspiration from my childhood, nature, friendships, and familial relationships, creating small pieces that pay homage to the people in my life and the memories we’ve created.

Growing up with my great-grandparents and great aunt, I was exposed to all types of ceramic and porcelain figurines/dolls, plate settings, and vases with themes rooted in Southern Black culture and Christianity.

I like to incorporate and recreate some of these themes in my work, with brown glazes that symbolize the skin tones of my elders, pink glazes in reminiscence of Sunday service dresses, and whites & blues that pay tribute to the china my great-grandfather used every morning for breakfast.

Each piece I make includes a memory of someone or something, present or past."

Cassandra Burgett, raised in Coats, NC, is familiar with small town life from an objective point of view. From a young age, Cassandra started shooting sports photography for The Daily Record in Dunn, NC. With experience with student publications, this has led Cassandra down a path for showcasing passion in the visual arts and telling stories.

"I strive to create a reflection of others and the stories they tell. Whether I am developing the brand for a new company, or painting the face of a favorite musician, I want to approach every project with a humanistic appeal."

The Fourteenth Annual Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium took place on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. This event showcased 111 student research projects and creative works from over 29 disciplines across campus, featuring 182 student presenters. Nine of these were artistic creations from artists Simon Osbourne, Breonna Tolson-Tucker, Jamari Cannady Pratt, Ariana Aguila, Joshua Sledge, Noah Lucas, Litzy Patterson, Brooklyn Collins, and Karly Smith. Ariana Aguila received a High Merit Award for her work, Living Pages, which is a photo montage of an old turf house brought to life on the pages of a book with birds flying above. This artwork depicts how a person is absorbed into the story on the pages.

Jamari Cannady Pratt and Simon Osbourne, both received Merit Awards for their artwork, Nigerian Flora and Birds Crossing: A Humorous Traffic Sign.

An outstanding thanks to Professors Rachel Hamaie and Dejan Mraović who served as faculty mentors.

"I want my art to glorify God, and give the viewer a sense of beauty and a new way to look at things. By depicting scenes of storms or still moments in nature, I want my art to reflect God's magnificence.

When the viewer looks at one of my landscape paintings, I hope to spark a sense of beauty and the sublime. In the busyness of life, people often miss out on the quiet, still moments. I hope my paintings can inspire those quiet moments and help connect the viewer with their Creator.

Gouache is my preferred painting medium. I love the paint's versatility and finish. The opaque, yet watercolor qualities of gouache work well with my style and the images I use. Working in detail is important to me and I have found gouache to be the best medium for this. When not using gouache, I like to work with acrylics and watercolor."

Litzy Patterson: A Dystopian Setting Through the Eyes of An Artist

By Daria Parker, Circulation Assistant

Litzy Patterson is a junior, Graphic Design major. Litzy is the first exhibit to be up in the Student Art Gallery for the Spring 2024 semester. Litzy has always had a passion for the Arts in some form. Originally wanting to major in photography, Litzy made the decision to study Graphic Design after the major was not offered here. This allowed for an unknown talent to blossom, as she first learned how to create art here at Campbell University.

"I never really pay attention to my art. I have been pointed out that my art style is to have fun with the lines and not exaggerate too much but enough that it isn’t realistic in detail, but resembles more of a funny cartoon." said Litzy.

The idea of Litzy's exhibit came from a class project that was assigned in Professor Rachel Hamaie's class. This was to write a digital journal and create a clay piece to go along with it, that gives a story on the pieces that were made. During the time of the project, Litzy came across a video on how to bind books. This sparked her interest and inspired the product of an apocalyptic journal.

"Ever since I was a child, I have been enticed with cryptics. From the boogeyman to slenderman, part of me wants to create monsters, but I dont them to be monsters, I want them to be my own," said Litzy.

Litzy's exhibit is based on a fictional apocalypse that was created by her. She has created an 18 page journal, with prints that were created on handmade paper along with ink and paint. In her journal she shares the story of what her character is being faced with, as they are documenting all the bugs that they come in contact with. The experience is thrilling and genius.

Litzy made sure to give each bug their own individual characteristics that can be hindering the characters within this story. Out of the seven creatures featured in her work, she speaks of one specifically known as the Sunbug. The 'Sunbug' was the first creature created during this project that inspired the rest of these creations. The Sunbug are described as small scavengers that if consumed enough food, their bottom will start glowing producing a sun-like effect. They are hard to find in this world, but they can multiply in number if one finds a dead body. Litzy has mentioned she wants to keep the Sunbug as vague as possible to keep the suspicion of the creature going.

The 'head-movers' are based on the bug, known as the praying mantis. They were created to make human-like faces and they could possibly replicate a human voice to lure their target in, Litzy teased. It is recommended by Litzy that visitors actually read the journal to gain a greater understanding of the story and the creatures within.

Litzy plans to possibly make a second volume to the proclaimed story, whenever inspiration sparks again. To view the exhibit and these unique and interesting creatures, one can visit the Student Art Gallery on the second floor of Wiggins Memorial Library. Litzy Patterson's exhibit will run until February 8th, 2024.

Soraya Sanchez-Hernandez is a senior mathematics major at Campbell. Taking ceramics courses has offered her an opportunity to develop her artistic expression and apply elements of her major to other fields. The works presented in this exhibit are a taste of some of Soraya’s pieces that explore the intersections between art and mathematics, colors and textures, heritage and new identity.

"Soraya es una estudiante de último año en la universidad Campbell. Tomando clases de cerámica le ha ofrecido la oportunidad de desarrollar su expresión artística y le ha ofrecido la oportunidad de aplicar elementos de su especialidad a otros campos. Las formas que se presentan aquí son una muestra de algunas de las piezas de Soraya que exploran las intersecciones entre el arte y matemáticas, colores y texturas, herencia y nueva identidad."

An Artist's Journey: Finding Spiritual Formation Through Creativity

By Daria Parker, Circulation Assistant

The Wiggins Memorial Library Student Art Gallery has been home to various student exhibits since it was created in October 2021, a permanent new feature of the second-floor renovation made possible by the generous donation of longtime Friend of the Library Mrs. Ester H. Howard.

One outstanding recent exhibit featured the work of Joshua Sledge, a junior Graphic Design and Studio Art major with a minor in Marketing. His work captured the imagination of library patrons with pieces that showcased his talent in different media. Three of six pieces Joshua chose for his exhibit were mono-chromatic self-portraits; the other three were sculptures. In the self-portraits, Joshua used a white pencil on black paper to create a harsh contrast effect. He said of the works, called "Harsh Lighting 1,2, and 3," "An artist creating an accurate self-portrait can be comparable to a person accepting themselves for who they truly are."

Joshua's sculpture pieces all reference his attitudes, feelings, and interests. The sculpture Life is Breaking depicts feelings of being set apart financially, religiously, or emotionally. In Complete and Total Isolation, Joshua created an island from sand and a fish tank water filter. The rising water in his piece symbolizes loneliness and isolation such as what might be experienced by a stranded survivor isolated from the sea. The last sculpture, Unnerving Static, a Sculpture Based on Little Nightmares, is based on a video game. In it, Joshua created a television set and sculpted two ceramic characters from the game, laid back watching the television. The piece represents two characters set apart from their environment as the only normal beings in an otherwise misshapen world.

During an interview with the artist, Wiggins Memorial Library Circulation Assistant Daria Parker learned how Joshua's art education at Campbell has impacted his development as an artist, teaching him to recognize imperfections for what they are and allowing him to express himself as a Christian who is set apart.

Joshua discovered his artistic talent in middle school, when he began to feel it as a calling, even if he did not label it as such then. It was not until he took Campbell's Connections 100 class (COC 100) that he identified what he now recognizes as his vocational calling. This spiritual formation class allows students to experience what nurtures the spiritual life from a Christian perspective and helps build a strong sense of community. With one of Campbell's primary goals being to encourage students to lead with purpose through faith and vocation, they are supported in discovering who they are, who God is, and who God is calling them to be. For Joshua, that meant fully embracing his identity as an artist and learning to rejoice in that talent.

Joshua is quick to thank three important mentors who have assisted him during his time here. He credits Associate Professor of Art Breck Smith with teaching him the importance of framing a subject and the importance of patience in creating and viewing art. Adjunct Professor of Studio Art Rachel Hamaie led Joshua to think outside the boundaries of normal life and see the beauty of imperfections. Assistant Professor of Graphic Design Dejan Mraović trained Joshua's eye to create and perfect the details that make up a whole piece, and to value visual consistency. Professor Mraović also encouraged Joshua to explore art magazine competitions that could lead to his work being published and his artwork becoming known.

Self-portraits are a medium that allowed Jamari to develop a sense of self and confidence in his work. Having the ability to see oneself in a different perspective was an eye opening experience that Pratt had exposure to when creating these pieces.

The pieces were created using images to portray aspects of his life. The use of Photoshop and hand drawn sketches in Procreate, allowed for layered moments of Jamari's life to be experienced through these pieces.

"Portraits have become one of my favorite works to create and display. Self-portraits are important to me due to my self-confidence getting the much needed 'TLC' it deserves. I believe seeing oneself in different lights is extremely eye opening. These pieces were created using images throughout my life up until now. Some were created and layered in photoshop, others were hand drawn in procreate."

Brooklyn Collins is a junior majoring in studio art and graphic design with a minor in communications. Originally a native of Crown City, Ohio, Collins' family now resides in Thomasville, NC. Collins has always had a creative spirit and cherishes art for its ability to capture memory. In her words, "Materialistic things can wither but memories last forever." She states that people are creative in their own ways and plans to continue her creative journey after graduation in her pursuit of a career in animation. Brooklyn describes her artistic style as random and takes inspiration from manga art and horror films. In many of her works, she includes eyeballs and swirls and opts for a black and white color scheme for the allusion of drama.

In this exhibit, Brooklyn showcases the coping mechanisms and self-medication that humans utilize in life to cope with the trauma of being. Brooklyn states that we seek pleasure in those actions and substances that soothe the pain of inadequacy, loss, and self-loathing. These coping behaviors lead to addictive practices and self-destruction. Continuing, she says often those who are most insecure seek to please others by destroying their sense of self. Those emotions are expressed in actions that will please others in hopes of being accepted. Through these works, Brooklyn attempts to understand the addiction of emotional eating and heal herself rather than continue to destroy and despair the beautiful soul that she is.

The Thirteenth Annual Wiggins Memorial Library Academic Symposium took place on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. This event showcased 120 student research projects and creative works from over 30 disciplines across campus. Six of these were artistic creations from artists Jamari Cannady Pratt, Abby Caron, Joshua Sledge, Jackson Hennessey, and Sandy Dong.

Abby Caron received a High Merit Award for her work, Perfume, which features two ceramics pieces shaped into functional perfume bottles with lids. They are made of stoneware clay and glazed with two different colors.

Jamari Cannady Pratt received a Merit Award for his work, Enamored 2022. This piece reflects themes of self-love, image, and awareness, and was created with aid from an Artificial Intelligence (AI) generator, which is a commentary on the current debate of the use of AI.

Special thanks to Professors Rachel Hamaie and Breck Smith who served as faculty mentors.

In ENGL 410 Shakespeare, students are encouraged to convey their research in a format other than the traditional academic essay. While academic writing is important, it is a narrow genre that can't always capture the depth or breadth of what is learned through research. Students can work in any medium they wish as long as it is used to communicate their research about Shakespeare and/or his theater. In the past, students have created short films, board games, and children's books to name a few. These projects demonstrate the students' remarkable creativity as well as their curiosity and love of learning. Along with the creation of the project, students are also given the freedom to define how their project will be evaluated. This exhibit is a collection of student UnEssay projects from Dr. Dunnum's Fall 2022 class.

Emeli Dion is an English Pre-Med student graduating in 2024. For her UnEssay, Emeli researched and created a time accurate model of the Shakespearean stage, complete with costumes, a drop door, food, and more. This project is hand-made with cardboard, felt, and clay.

Samuel Yun is an English Pre-Law student graduating in 2023. Samuel researched the history and use of knights within Shakespeare's plays and explained how the women in the plays exemplified the knights' Code of Chivalry more intensely than the men. For his UnEssay, Samuel 3-D printed a medieval knight's helmet and portions of an Elizabethan knight's helmet to show the difference and change from before and during Shakespeare's time.

The Person Behind the Piece

By Hannah Holmes, Circulation Assistant

Shannon Towey, a 2022 Campbell graduate, studied biology during her time in the Creek and currently works in the gene therapy lab at Pfizer. As a student, she found a hobby in ceramics to balance out her rigorous biology class load. After taking Ceramics 1 as an elective, Shannon decided to pursue her artistic journey and newfound talent with an independent study in ceramics.

As she creates, Shannon tries not to set hard boundaries for herself. “It's up to the clay,” she says, describing how she simply allows a piece to form itself using her hands as the shaping tool. Despite being someone who needs to have control, she has found she is able to let loose with ceramics. In “messing up” and trying to fix things even if they seem too far gone, Shannon finds and sets her artistic limits.

Her artistic process of going with the flow has transitioned into her personal life, aiding her in struggles with anxiety and letting go of things beyond her control. She defines both her art and personal growth as works in progress, and says about her studio process, “I can get in here and think without thinking too hard about life. I'm able to Zen out and get hypnotized by the wheel.”

During the 2022 Wiggins Memorial Academic Symposium, Shannon submitted a stylized geometric teapot, which was a Merit Award recipient; she currently uses this winning teapot to water her plants every day. Librarian Dan Maynard loved her work so much that he asked her if she would be willing to make a piece to display in the library's art gallery, and she obliged.

Originally, Shannon set out to make a vase, but said that as she was throwing, “It turned into a pitcher. It just kind of comes to you when you're on the wheel - the process is so fluid, and you can only make the clay do so much.” For her piece, Shannon used a marbling process which incorporates a powder dye in with the natural color of the clay, creating a swirled pattern once folded in and the clay has been wedged. This process was outlined in Shannon's exhibit for the Student Art Gallery in Fall 2022.

Shannon wants her pieces to be functional, sturdy, and serve a purpose. When people view her pieces, she wants them to think, “Oh my God this thing is awesome,” and to want one of their own to use. She describes being tasked with creating an object with good functionality for a friend whose mother, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, struggles to hold mugs due to limited mobility. The friend asked Shannon to create a mug with a bigger-than-usual handle so there would be more space for her mother's fingers. Shannon's creativity led her to design a piece with a divot in the wall of the cup rather than a chunkier handle.

Shannon hopes viewers of her work will see how much of herself, her time and energy, she has put into it. She does not define herself as a professional sculptor, and is unsure whether she wants to sell her work in the future. She does not want the process to become a chore, but to continue to push the boundaries of what she is able to do as an artist, enjoying the process of trying to make each creation the best functional piece possible.

About the Artist

Rachel Dickerson, a 25-year-old graphic designer, graduated from Campbell in 2018 with a double major in Graphic Design and Studio Art. Originally from Maryland, she began her journey at Campbell in 2014. After experiencing a bit of a culture shock at first, Rachel grew to love the Campbell community, crediting friends and professors with creating a warm and comforting environment for her. Rachel feels she really came into her own as an artist in her senior year, able to express her creativity and solidifying her decision to begin a career as a graphic designer. Entering artistic competitions, at Campbell and elsewhere, allowed her to showcase her work while forming her own expressive identity as an artist.

Now, as a Graphic Designer and Marketing Specialist for the Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) in Alexandria, VA, Rachel manages advertising campaigns and creates graphics, illustrations, and animations for in-house productions and events. In her spare time, she ventures into the freelance art world, creating sculptures and ceramic pieces for interior design.

Rachel's exhibit showcased work from her time at Campbell, including pieces from her Senior Showcase. Much of her work depicts people of color and women, both of whom Rachel identifies as. Her self-identity is a major inspiration for her work. Of her triangle-motif "Artists of Color" piece, Rachel says the combination of different shades of brown represents the unity of minority groups during the push for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion of recent years; the paint brushes symbolize Rachel the artist. This work was created in 2016 for a club within the UNC School of Art and is still in use today. "FKA Twigs" and "Fo'" depict women of color who challenge the world around them, breaking barriers and courageously standing up for themselves. Showcasing women who inspired her in her work, Rachel hopes to inspire others, and to see more women as subjects in the print art medium.

The artist says, "Art is subjective. Not everyone has to like it, and that's okay, but if it makes you smile and think about what the artist is trying to portray, that makes me happy." Hoping to bring some of the color she sees into the lives of people who might see solely in black and white, Rachel thanks God every day for her ability to create and inspire.