Colleen Stein

Introducing Sir Rand Dippity and Dizzy Lizzy, accompanied by Sleep Walker, Mojo Jo Jo Sr, Flibbitty Gibbet, and Frankie. . .

All of the above are names of art pieces designed and constructed by John Peters, a visiting professor teaching Art History courses at SDSU.

Peters’ work is currently on display at the Ritz Gallery along with several other exceptional art pieces created by the eleven faculty members of SDSU’s Visual Arts Department.

Visiting professor Tom Shields, one of the two-dimensional artists, entered Ocean in the Plains and Spirit, which create brilliant colors and textures and illustrate his decorative use of oil paint .

Art Education instructor Liz Bashore also chose oil paint as her medium, with her lone piece, Ballroom Dance Instructor.

Graphic Design professor Michael “Tim” Steele prefers to work with wax and ink. Blue Slough and December Hill produce isolated shapes and paler colors.

Prof. Brett Anderson also presented intriguing images and shapes, using a variety of mediums in his displayed works Notes on Identity 5 and Fool On The Hill.

Associate professor Gerry Kruse, who teaches a course in Lithography, and chose the complex printmaking art form as the medium for his own entry. Using both grease and water based crayons with an ink roller and print compress, Kruse created a striking flower print entitled Monde.

Also representing the graphic design department, associate professor Randy Clark is featuring a colorful comic book-like silkscreen print called Fascist bourgeois, your time has come.

Professor Mel Spinar, a veteran of oil canvas displays, proves his abilities to the public once again with his painting Goose Feathers are Flying. As with many previous pieces, the painting demonstrates Spinar’s devotion to his ancestors’ Slovakian heritage.

To help viewers better understand the meaning behind his paintings, Spinar often includes a brief explanation of the myths and folklore from which most of his ideas originate. Goose Feathers illustrates the elderly Bohemian allegory that explains the snow with the words “The old woman outside is plucking the goose.”

Besides Peters, who glues his sculptures together using bits of wood and random materials, three other professors focus on artwork representing all three dimensions of the art world.

Professor Dick Edie contributed two ornately carved stoneware pieces to the exhibit, while associate professor Scott Wallace revealed that harsh materials like wood and steel could be molded into captivating works of art.

Ceramics professor Jeannie French is displaying three stoneware products, two of which are large, colorfully-glazed platters.

Some people tell French that the colors on the works remind them of Van Gogh, an artist she has always admired.

French’s third display is an eye-catching sculpture dubbed It must be a whopper ’cause it sure isn’t a bass. Construction on whopper began in October and she worked on the piece for several months.

Besides learning and incorporating a new techniques such as Adobe Photoshop into its construction, French is predominantly fond of whopper because she has always enjoyed fishing.

The picture of the little girl affixed to the piece’s surface is French.

Knowing first-hand that art requires time and effort, French’s advice to aspiring artists is said in the spirit of a true fisherman.

“Keep at it, and remember that good things take time,” French said.

Grove Hall’s Ritz Gallery will close out the Faculty Art Exhibit on Feb. 7 with a 4:30 p.m. reception. Until then, regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

For further information contact any of the professors mentioned above or Dr. Norman Gambill, Ritz Gallery director at 688-4103.

#1.887543:2326981896.jpg:mel.jpg:Art professor Mel Spinar poses with a piece from the current Faculty Art Exhibit, now on display at the Ritz Gallery. :