SRU academic departments join forces for art exhibition
Mikaela Leonzio’s etching of a liverwort is one of 70 pieces to be featured in the “Little Known Plants” exhibition beginning Dec. 11 in the Slippery Rock Student Government Association Art Gallery, located inside Room 204 of the University Union. Leonzio is a a freshman art major from Pittsburgh.
Dec. 8, 2017
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - A new art exhibition featuring the joint efforts of students from Slippery Rock University's upper-level printmaking and botany classes will be on display beginning Dec. 11 in the Slippery Rock Student Government Association Art Gallery, located inside Room 204 of the University Union.
LEONZIO
Titled "Little Known Plants," the exhibition is the result of a unique interdisciplinary research collaboration between the classes throughout the fall semester.
Facilitated by Barbara Westman, associate professor of art, and David Krayesky, associate professor of biology, the exhibition is comprised of six-by-six inch prints, each featuring liverworts, a division of non-vascular land plants.
Westman began this initiative in November when she invited Krayesky's botany class to present their research on seven species of the plants to her printmaking students.
The results of that presentation inspired Westman and her students to adopt the botany students' research and repurpose it into a printmaking project.
"We took the research that (Krayesky's) students provided us and created our own interpretations," said Mikaela Leonzio, a freshman art major from Pittsburgh.
Leonzio, one of 10 printmaking students involved in the exhibition, crafted seven of the of 70 pieces that make up "Little Known Plants."
While Leonzio's prints include colorful depictions of microscopic liverworts, many of her classmates utilized black and white techniques, depicting the plants in groups as they are normally found in nature.
"It was a fun project because it allowed us to all begin with the same materials, the same pictures and the same research yet finish with totally different interpretations," Leonzio said. "It allowed us to view a subject through someone else's eyes."
Other student artists whose works are featured in the exhibit include:
-Ashley Bennefield, a sophomore art with K-12 certification major from Sandy Lake.
-Araycia Byers, a sophomore art major from New Castle.
-Kyle Leisie, a sophomore art major from Cranberry Township.
-Rachel Peterson, a freshman art major from Russell.
-Allyson Schultz, a sophomore art major from Enon Valley.
-Ashli Barron, a senior psychology major from Greensburg.
-Emily Geisheimer, a junior social work major from Chardon, Ohio.
-Alexis Walker, a freshman art major from Pittsburgh.
-Zachary Rutter, a senior art major from West Mifflin.
An opening reception will be from 5-6:30 p.m., Dec. 11, with the exhibition on display through Dec. 15.
MEDIA CONTACT: Maizee Zaccone | 724.738.2091 | mxz1016@sru.edu