Vancouver, WA

Art, particularly drawing, was the driving force in my life, until I hit college, that is. I was extremely timid back then and, when I found myself in an art class I had no interest in, I stopped taking courses. Now, when I would like to be able to draw so I could illustrate my own books, I have found the talent just barely alive. So, for me, the Art Student Annual at Clark College was an interesting venture into the past.

As I viewed each piece of artwork at the Archer Gallery at Clark College, which opened May 14 and will run through June 10, 2008, I could not be sure what impressed me most, talent or imagination. I know intrinsically they are all rolled into one, but I also know that for some of us it is difficult to imagine how we want a unique piece of artwork to look, let alone have the talent to successfully finish what we see in our minds.

The exhibition presents work completed in the photography, painting, drawing, design, metal arts, sculpture, computer imagery, and pottery classes of the Clark College Art Department. This year, Dominique Horn’s ceramic piece, Acorn, is the featured artwork for the printed announcements. There is humor, wonderfully imaginative paintings and drawings, pottery representing the beautiful to the macabre, silver jewelry; several photographs and even a couple of works made with cardboard.

Some of my favorites included: a couple of ceramic heads in the entry, be sure to read the “paper” stuffed in the mouth of one, a vase with a jagged tear down the side requires a closer look, I was fascinated by a collage featuring a child, and what looked like a wonderful painting of clothes-lines against a large city background which was actually executed with small scraps of cloth.

I spoke to Joe Creager about his photo exhibits, Child’s Shoe and I Hear My Train, taken with a 35 mm camera on black and white film. He found the words, “I hear my train” written on a piece of plywood in the lower right corner of a wall at the old academy. “I took the picture because I saw the writing on the wall and when I looked up I also saw the sun underlining the cross.”

Archer Gallery is located at Clark College, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way in the Penguin Union Building on the ground floor. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. The event is free, open to the public, with parking available where there are no M-F signs. (Try the front row, closest to the college buildings).