Unique student art exhibit at Microscopy Lab

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

 

 

Ten OSU students are presenting “Minor Details,” an art exhibition of original oil paintings based on images from the Microscopy Laboratory (at the corner of Sangre Road and Highway 51 in Stillwater). The exhibit can be viewed by appointment only through March 23 (phone 744-8087).

The students in Associate Professor Liz Roth’s Oil Painting 1 course, have been working with Dr. Charlotte Ownby and Lisa Whitworth at OSU’s Microscopy Laboratory. Each student selected samples that the laboratory prepared and digitally photographed with a scanning electron microscope, according to Roth. The students used the digital images as inspiration to create oil paintings. “My students had a great time driving the SEM, and were really inspired by what they saw through the microscope,” said Roth, who describes the project as a unique intersection of art and science, and the first opportunity for all the students to use the sophisticated equipment.

Based on their comments, the art students clearly appreciated the opportunity:

“I thought having the opportunity to work with the technology and create a work of art with the pictures of the objects I found was absolutely amazing, almost breath-taking,” said Lezley Deese.

“I got a lucky break with the item I chose to use for the project—a wasp’s nest,” said Bret Kaupilla. “I had had it in mind since the project was announced, but couldn't figure out how to get one until I found a piece of one lying on the ground one rainy morning. No other object I took to the lab was as intricate and interesting as that wasp nest. Working with the equipment was a treat, and I have to thank the scientists for their cooperation and friendliness. This piece would not be what it is without them—in more ways than one—and I'm very grateful.”

Michele Holman also had some unexpected surprises: “I picked an old used sponge. I incorporated it into a cave-like back ground. Through the microscope it did look like a sponge, but I could also see growth, bacterial growth, and I thought that was cool. “

“It was pretty easy to use the SEM, I picked an eraser as my subject. I was expecting to see a lot of pieces of pigment, but I didn’t.  It really looked like a landscape, like a mountainside, and I imagined a bunch of little pieces of pigment living in the landscape, “ said Zack Miller.

Dr. Ownby, director of the lab, worked with the students and says she appreciates their talents. “Art students are refreshingly different, since they often see things from a very different perspective, compared to a scientist.”

The students will have an opening reception for “Minor Details” to display their paintings on Friday, Feb. 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Microscopy Lab. The Lab is located at the Oklahoma Technology & Research Park on 1110 S. Innovation Way in Stillwater. The event is free and open to the public.