While preparing for his art show, it’s not been unusual for senior Isaac Dell to be in the studio for 12 hours a day. Dell has been working many, many hours to get all of his pieces ready for his senior art exhibit.
Dell’s artwork will be on display in the Daughtrey Gallery in the Sage Center for the Arts Wednesday through Sunday, with a reception held on Feb. 17 from 3 to 5 p.m. Most of the sculptures that Dell has created during his time at Hillsdale will be displayed as well as some of his drawings, a few paintings, some of his graphic design, and even some of the furniture he made in high school.
With most of his pieces, he will also display the sketches so everyone can see the process he went through in his creations.
“You don’t necessarily have to like art to appreciate the creative process and the end product. And I think that’s something that my senior show will display,” Dell said. “Creating is a challenge: to conceive an idea and then have the skill set to create and make that idea manifest itself into a physical object.”
His younger sister, Joanna, a sophomore at Hillsdale, said she has been proud to watch her brother’s hard work.
“It has been really neat to see the progress and meticulous work Isaac has put into every detail of this show over the past months,” she said. “He has really aimed to use this opportunity to the fullest and represent who he is as an artist.”
And now all of campus will have the opportunity to see Dell’s hard work, creative process, and talent.
Associate Professor of Art Anthony Frudakis said he has been surprised by Dell’s abilities in everything he creates.
“I am amazed with the quality of really all his work,” Frudakis said.
Frudakis mentioned several of Dell’s sculptures — his life-sized male figure, the female figure he carved from limestone, and his three-figure sculpture of football players. Each of these pieces required a lot of time, patience, and care. With each piece there was a narrative and an idea that Dell communicated beautifully.
“He’s really expressing the concepts very well,” Frudakis said.
Frudakis has enjoyed teaching Dell over the past several years and watching him set the bar very high for himself as he realized his talent and made a decision to develop it.
“He has committed himself to excellence,” Frudakis said.
One of the qualities that Frudakis has really appreciated in Dell is that he has remained the same, “terrific young man,” as he pursues his passions and ambitions in art.
“He can have this ambition and determination and yet, along with it he hasn’t changed,” Frudakis said. “He is still friendly and a good person.”
Frudakis said there is a feeling that the whole art department is really cheering for him because of his character.
With graduation coming up for Dell in May, he is still making decisions about his future. For now he is planning on returning home to Ohio for the summer to work and design for the steel company his dad owns.
Further down the road, Frudakis said he really believes Dell could go far.
“The sky is the limit,” Frudakis said. “He has he ability and opportunities to do some really wonderful things in sculpting.”