This year’s annual Smoky Hill art show displayed many works of art, that took a lot of time and effort. Art is more than just paint streaks on a page and these many talented artists proved just that. With many different mediums, thought processes and struggles (both expression wise and for the piece itself) all of the artists did an amazing job and showed everyone that art has more depth to it than what people may think.

While some believe that art is best explained within the individual looking at it, it should also be known how the artist him/herself feels about it and what they went through to get to that masterpiece standing in front of the viewer. Only a handful of these artists were able to be interviewed. It was wonderful to meet them and see through their eyes, what they thought and felt about their pieces.

Ria Kim completed her work within a span of three years, which totaled up to be twenty pieces. Her art included several graphite and water color pieces, including couple with mix-media.

The famously known yarn art work that’s hanging up in the hallway by the green dean’s was created by Elizabeth Nichols (along with the help of several friends). When asked about the experience she had while making this Elizabeth said, “It was a lot, [and] it took forever but it was so great to see it come together. It was so fun!”

Along with this she completed about ten other pieces within these past two years. Her other piece was an “interactive portrait piece” as she put it.

Elizabeth drew pictures of random people that she would she in public. Afterwards she would give them the portrait that she drew along with a typed letter instructing the stranger to doodle around the portrait, write on the back what was going on in their lives, who they are, and then send it back to her once they were done.

When she received their portraits in the mail, she put the letters, the portraits, and the envelopes onto a mobile.

After explaining so many times that her artwork was not photo shopped, Cassidy Ingram decided to do a scene to demonstrate that she painted actual people for her pieces.

Overall, Cassidy created about seven other pieces. The scene Cassidy had created for the show took around six hours to paint the person, and 15 to create the set itself. The longest “painted people” style that she did, took almost twelve hours.

When Quinn Owens finished his seventeen different works of art, a full two years have gone by. After being asked what he wants his viewers to know he said, “Most of those two years were about getting the technical skills to actually create the art.”

Once he got the hang of knowing how to create the piece, Quinn was asked what the meaning behind some of his pieces are, “[I am] trying to convey how integrated we are with technology now.” he responds, as he pointed to one of his pieces called Fading Into the Matrix. 

Noah Francis’ tool of choice was a camera and his six best nature shots, along with the help of Photoshop. After Noah was questioned on what he was trying to portray  through his pieces he said, “I like to show how life is kind of a cycle or a journey.” Noah used a D3200 and D7100 to help him acquire these breathtaking photos.

Unfortunately, the day came to an end along with yet another fantastic art show. These many artists did an amazing job of showing their inner selves and emotions, while bringing out the same in other people. They definitely showed that there is more to art than just a splatter of paint and maybe a bowl of fruit. Hopefully all of these talented people spread their imagination and continue to inspire others with their heart-stopping work.