Five senior art majors will put their artwork on display in their exhibition “Through Your Eyes” April 17 to 21.
Claire Bowers, Abigail Palubinskas, Rin Schlueter, Michelle Soukup, and Carolyn Spangler have each chosen 20 to 25 pieces that they created in the past four years to display at the art show. The exhibit is in the Daughtrey Art Gallery in the Sage Fine Arts Building with a reception to begin the show on April 17 at 6 p.m.
Palubinskas’ current favorite piece on display is a painting she created just last week. She said she often favors her most recent pieces.
“I did a portrait of my best friend when she went to Japan, she got all done up in this incredible wig, and she got a professional photo shoot done,” Palubinskas said. “She just looks unreal. So I asked her if I could paint a portrait of her from those photos, and it’s been my favorite one so far.”
Over half of the paintings Palubinskas will display are from the past year, including at least seven from this semester.
“You’re not learning as much as a senior. You’re more honing and distilling your skills,” Pulabinskas said. “So everything that I’ve made this year, I’ve really enjoyed.”
Soukup said her most meaningful piece is a carbon and white chalk portrait of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a ship that sank on Lake Superior. Last summer, Soukup attended a 50th anniversary memorial for the sinking.
It’s about evoking a feeling, the essence of what’s happening,” Soukup said. “So for the ships, I tried to make them look very grand, even the Fitzgerald. I tried to depict it as strong and proud, because she did have a really grand history, and it unfortunately ended very tragically. I just like being able to use art to tell people about stories and keep memories alive.”
Palubinskas said as she has grown as an artist at Hillsdale, the art major has taught her humility and integrity. Her display will include a sketch book she began in 2023 to show the growth she has had as an artist.
“People can see, this is when I started to be an art major, and this is when maybe I wasn’t at my peak or this was me learning,” Palubinskas said. “So even though those things are really hard to show and share, because I don’t think they’re the best, I think it’s important for people to see that art is a lot more than just what’s on the wall. It’s all the work that you don’t see as well.”
Palubinskas decided to be an art major after taking Drawing 1, where she learned about the weight of art, and the conversation that it creates over many years.
“When someone looks at what I’ve created, it’s no longer something that I hold my own,” Palubinskas said. “It’s a conversation and a memory between the two of us, and it’s one that I’ll never understand completely. I want them to take whatever they want. My goal is to create something beautiful and to have a conversation and connection with other humans. And what you take from that is completely up to you. The fun part is you take from it something I will never understand.”
