SJRCC PRESS RELEASE February 2005 Florida School of the Arts Presents the Faculty Gallery Show Florida School of the Arts Presents the Faculty Gallery Show Florida School of the Arts (FloArts) will present the Faculty Show Gallery Opening with a reception on Feb. 23rd. The exhibits will be in the Main Gallery at the Florida School of the Arts located on the Palatka Campus of St. Johns River Community College. The show, which centers on faculty works, will be on display through March 25th. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (386) 312-4300. According to David Ouellette, instructor and gallery director at FloArts, the Faculty Show highlights the best faculty pieces from the last year. "It shows that the instructors are active artists in their field," he said. Ouellette said the show is a classic display on college campuses throughout the country, and he finds artists for FloArts' shows by attending such faculty events. Ouellette will be featured in the show along with Graphic Design Instructor Aaron Alexander, Graphic Design and Photography Instructor Charles Marsh and Art Adjunct Sarah Alexander. Ouellette will present six non-objective enamels on canvas. Marsh will be displaying two types of work: color photography and digital photo collages involving nature and the natural world. "I look for intimate portraits of nature or things that are normally overlooked by the casual observer, sometimes focusing on the extremely small world just under out feet and sometimes looking for abstracts in nature," said Marsh. For the digital images, Marsh incorporates such diverse objects as maps, signs, leaves, bugs and any other objects that have interesting shapes, textures, color or character. "The theme of this work often revolves around the circle of life, from birth through death and decay," he said. Alexander describes the theme of his most recent work as "the Blurring of Art and Life." The phrase is borrowed from writer Allen Kaprow. "My intent is to investigate everyday events, objects and relationships, magnifying even the most mundane into a celebration of the physical and spiritual qualities that make life as an Artist so rewarding. In other words, images of ordinary things and events that are seen in an extraordinary way," he said. Sarah Alexander will be featuring some landscape pieces in the show and some figure paintings. The paintings reflect Sarah's Florida landscapes, and several are from a trip to Ontario, Canada. These paintings are inspired by the prairies and farmlands of the area around the town of Coldwater, she said. "I am very pleased to be a part of this show. It is a chance for the students to see what their instructors teach and do every day-to see us in action. I think it is very interesting that the faculty is so diverse in their approach to art making," said Sarah. Sarah said she is currently interested in landscape art, primarily because, "geographically speaking, we are in the middle of a region of Florida that has not seen the type of industry that has destroyed the landscape such as in South Florida or the along the coasts. The beauty of our parks and natural areas draws me to paint there. The climate and natural beauty of the area are conducive to painters who wish to paint 'en plein aire', or outside, as opposed to painting in the studio," said Sarah. For more information on FloArts at St. Johns River Community College, call (386) 312-4300 or visit online at floarts.org. PHOTO CAPTION: Examples of what will be seen at the Faculty Show. One of David Ouellette's non-objective enamels on canvas titled "Down by the River." Aaron Alexander's picture, a silver gelatin print [a black and white photo] Chuck Marsh's nature photo Sarah Alexander's landscape piece