Eleanor A. Vaughan ‘Victoria Street, 2006’; Emily Hardy ‘Self Portrait’; Jack Cote ‘A Stroke of Luck’; Lucia L. Wilson ‘Self Portrait.’ 

COURTESY | LUCIA BOSCO 

 

Four seniors –Lucia Wilson, Jack Cote, Eleanor Vaughan, and Emily Hardy– displayed their artwork March 28 – April 1 for their exhibit “To Whatever Variation” in the Daughtry Art Gallery’s first senior exhibit of the year. Each senior contributed roughly 20-35 pieces of their artwork they had been working on during their time at Hillsdale College.

The various mediums of art such as charcoal, oil painting, water color, and digital art showcased in the exhibit is telling of the students’ years of dedication, passion, and growth as art majors. 

Senior Anna Baldwin, who attended the opening reception, said all of the pieces were  unique in their own style. 

“I love how everything is different. I think the title really captures the variations,” Baldwin said. “It’s fun to see their personalities.” 

The entrance of the exhibit displays two self portraits by Wilson and Hardy, accompanied by an oil painting by Vaughan, and a photograph by Cote. 

According to Vaughan, neither she nor Cote wanted their self portrait front and center, so Cote chose a photo of Rome, and she chose a painting of her grandfather which she completed this year.

“The one of my grandfather matched really well with his one of Rome because it’s another cityscape,” Vaughan said.

Vaughan said motifs in her art include plants, childhood, family, and growing up. The painting on display at the front of the exhibit was the perfect introduction to her art as it showed her love for family. 

“It is one that I’m really proud of and meant a lot to me,” Vaughan said. “I painted it for my dad and my grandma and neither of them knew I was painting it, and so it was nice to have it right in the front.”

According to Vaughan, she framed three of her pieces with wooden frames, carved by her great-great-grandfather in 1902 and 1903.

“I had those at home and wanted to use them for my artwork, so those are very meaningful,” Vaughan said.

Chairman and Associate Professor of Art Julio Suarez said he loved the use of the wooden frame in Vaughan’s watercolor of a radish. 

“I love this one, and I think it’s just beautifully done with the frame,” Suarez said.

Hardy said her family similarly inspired her work. She and her family visited Disney theme parks when she was young, and she hopes to work for Disney as an illustrator one day. 

“My family really loved Disney, the stories that were told by them, and the theme parks really connected us,” Hardy said. “I really want to tell stories to families and give them that union, those feelings that my family was able to have.” 

Hardy’s style is best seen in her watercolor master copies of Beatrix Potter, writer and illustrator of “The Tales of Peter Rabbit” children’s series. 

 “I really enjoyed doing the Beatrix Potter master copies — the Peter Rabbit and the Benjamin Bunny were just so fun for me,” Hardy said. “That’s kind of like the character design aspect that I really want to go into.”

Cote’s inspiration comes from his mother, Shanna, the college’s senior art director, in the form of graphic design and photography, he said. 

According to Cote, they have often swapped advice on coloring and formatting for whatever art projects they are working on. 

“It’s a very special relationship I have with her that I am very grateful for,” Cote said.

Cote’s predominant theme in his photography is travel, which he said takes up two thirds of his collection. 

“A lot of my pieces are from Italy, from out West in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, and then all sorts of random cities past that,” Cote said.

According to Cote, he always wanted to travel outside of Michigan. 

“I grew up in Hillsdale the majority of my life and being in this tiny little town there was a part of me that wanted to get out since I was in high school,” Cote said.

According to Cote, he has worked with musicians, taking photos of their concerts and their album covers, specifically the local band Lost Mary and the student band, Schizmatics. 

“I would say music and art are the primary things that I’m interested in pursuing post grad,” Cote said. “I’ve done all sorts of concerts in Lansing, Ann Arbor, and Detroit for certain musicians, and if the opportunity were to arise where I could be a tour photographer for a musician or work for a music agency that would be really wonderful.”

Wilson, whose expertise is in charcoal drawings, said the culmination of her work throughout her time at Hillsdale is a simple mantra. 

“I tend to like drawing ordinary things in extraordinary ways,” Wilson said. 

According to Wilson, she does this by being messy and enjoying the process more than the product. 

“I really like high contrast art, like dramatic lights and shadows, and I also like the messiness of it,” Wilson said. “I come away with the idea that there is not an exclusive definition to art or to beauty.”