As the Brazos Art gallery prepares to close its doors at the end of the semester, the works of professors across campus will be taken down. However, the pieces themselves have a great deal of time and effort behind them, and their inspirations, both visual and representational, tell the story of the artist and their background, history and much more.
Amy Henson, adjunct faculty at Dallas College and Southern Methodist University, runs two community studios, which are Creative Arts Center in Dallas and FCS Clayworks, which is near downtown Garland. She has been teaching across Dallas College for years, and only recently settled into Richland Campus.
Henson sees the gallery as a great way to observe numerous creative art styles. “I think a mixed media gallery is a great thing because you don’t want people to think all you can do is draw. All you can do is paint,” she said. The gallery shows various styles and techniques, allowing students to see what kinds of artworks are out there.
Stephanie Kim, the gallery assistant for Richland Campus’ art gallery, appreciates the mindfulness of the staff for the gallery. “The preparation for the gallery, for specifically the staff show, is just kind of like communicating. This is our timeline of when you can drop off works. And then faculty and staff are really great getting their works here and making sure it’s all labeled and identified,” she said.
From here, they get to organize and place the pieces in a way that best exemplifies the message of the gallery. Marian Ichaso de Lefeld, an art professor teaching painting, design and art appreciation, has spent over a decade at Dallas College. “I have essentially two backgrounds. First as a student, I started at Brookhaven College first. and then I transferred to SMU for my bachelor’s and then my master’s. I’ve been here at Richland since 2014,” she said.
Lefeld views her position at Dallas College as fruitful, allowing her to explore her artistic interests alongside her students and faculty. “In a school like this, where we have beautiful facilities, wonderful resources, especially knowing where I come from where resources are quite limited, I feel very privileged to be here and it feels quite stimulating, with other faculty members in this community.” Lefeld views the gallery as a way for students to see what art can be and how much variety there truly is in art. “There’s many ways of being an artist, not just as straight painters or photographers or printmakers, etc. Also, you can work in mixed media too. So, it just feels incredibly challenging and stimulating working with other quite high skill, high level artist,” she said.
Brian Zimmerman, the department chair for arts and humanities, previously taught sculpture, 3D design and art appreciation for three years before becoming department chair. He sees the gallery space as a great way for faculty to see what their co-workers are doing. “I get to see what they’re doing. They get to see what I’m doing,” Zimmerman said. Many campus professors do not get to see each other’s works due to conflicting schedules and creative spaces not being on campus. “We make work in our studios, at home, wherever, or in our spare time, sometimes in classes, that kind of thing,” he said. These galleries break the barrier of distance for faculty to view their art alongside their peers.
Zimmerman also sees the gallery as a way for students to see the work their professors are doing in a wider context. He said, “I think it’s always a healthy thing to be able to understand if someone’s trying to teach you or lead you, where are they going? What direction are they going on their own? And are they someone you want to follow?” Lefeld sees the campus as housing a formidable arts program fostering the work of its students. “We here on Richland Campus, the art department is sort of tucked away at the northeast part of the campus and also we’re not a big school, but we’re small but mighty, and this is an opportunity to see what the professors are working, investigating, and creating in their own studios and their own spaces,” she said.
