Painting with Light
01/05/09 12:13 Filed in: Benedum Gallery
The Benedum Gallery features
Painting with Light
Presented by Students and Alumni of Belmont Technical College’s Building Preservation and Restoration Program
May 1-31, 2009
Opening Reception Friday, May 1, 2009 6-9:00 P.M.
Exhibit Sponsors:
Allegheny Restoration
Croft & Son Mfg, Inc.
Belmont Technical College Building Preservation and Restoration Student Society
“People are like stained glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within."
-- Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
PRESS RELEASE BELOW
___________________
Morgantown Woman Organizes Stained Glass Show
by Phil Rhein
[304-830-1815]
For someone who doesn't wear a watch, Sarah Armstrong Hoblitzell is going to spend the month of April acutely aware of exactly what time it is.
As the month begins, she has 25 days to not only handle all the details of organizing a show featuring student-produced stained glass work at the Monongalia Arts Center - Hoblitzell also has to find time to finish an ambitious, six-foot wide stained glass piece of her own.
Not to mention surviving a class load almost twice the size of many full-time students.
"I'm just not gonna sleep, ever," she says with a laugh on a sunny afternoon in late March.
Hoblitzell, 24, of Morgantown, is beginning her last quarter of classes in the Building Preservation Program at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio. A 2007 graduate of WVU, Hoblitzell is used to taking on tough challenges: while majoring in history during college, she routinely signed up for additional classes in order to take the maximum class load allowed.
"I loved English, so anytime I had an extra class I could take in my schedule, I took another English class and, at the end, wound up with enough for a second major," she said, explaining her dual Bachelor's degrees.
After graduation, Hoblitzell moved to New York for about six months to "get away from being in school for a while." With an interest in cultural resource management, Hoblitzell was considering graduate school when she learned about the intensive hands-on program in St. Clairsville.
"It's was either go back to school to be a teacher or pursue this and I just thought, Boy, this'd be a lot more fun," Hoblitzell said.
As someone who enjoys working with her hands, Hoblitzell has found the coursework and training in various historic building and preservation techniques to be fascinating. The small class sizes and a diverse student population drawn from all over the country have also been a plus.
"Every single student in the program is someone I can consider a friend," she said.
Dave Mertz, program chair of the Building Preservation Program, said that while students regularly have opportunities to show their work on campus, this is the first time anyone has organized a professional exhibition of student work outside of the college.
While students are trained in a wide variety of artistic and decorative techniques in the program, he said stained glass has a natural appeal that makes it perfect for this sort of presentation.
"You can look at pictures of stained glass all day long but nothing can compare to the experience of actually seeing it in person with the light coming through," said Mertz.
Ro Brooks, executive director of the Monongalia Arts Center, where the exhibit will be held during the month of May, agreed with the appeal of the art form.
"People just fall in love with stained glass," Brooks said. "This is a perfect opportunity for people to come and see that all stained glass doesn't look alike. Each student is different and there is a variety."
"A lot of people see stained glass but it's all in church windows and those kinds of things," Hoblitzell said, noting that, for all the delicacy and precision required of the work, it can be a surprisingly forgiving medium.
"You don't have to be perfect at the craft to make things people think are beautiful," she said.
Organizing this show fulfills a capstone graduation requirement and offers Hoblitzell a chance to show off some of her work, but also provides her with an opportunity to both help some fellow students and also raise the profile of the preservation program.
"People should know about this place," Hoblitzell said. "No one in Morgantown, hardly, has heard of this and we're just an hour away. There are so many artists and craftwork-orientated people in Morgantown that I think would do well up here."
Roughly a dozen current and former students from the BPR program have signed on to place work in the show but Hoblitzell has found out the hard way that overseeing all the little details has a way of snowballing into a larger time commitment than she expected.
"I know it's hard, with work and everything else. Some people have real jobs and aren't around every day, for me to harass," she said. "A lot of students only have one really big piece at this stage and a lot of people don't have experience with this kind of stuff. Right now, I'm just focused on pulling everything together."
"It's an enormous effort," said Vicki Burton, one of Hoblitzell's instructors at BTC. "There are people who do this sort of thing for a living, full-time. This is a lot of work to take on."
In addition to managing all the details involved in getting the show organized, Hoblitzell also has to find time to complete a prestige project of her own for inclusion in the show. Featuring a stylized apple tree, the piece is designed to be roughly six feet wide and made up of about 300 different pieces of cut glass. Hoblitzell estimates that it might take as much as 120 hours to complete.
"I'm trying not to think about the glass stuff too much," she admitted with a laugh. "It's a good thing I have three weeks, huh?"
But in addition to everything else, Hoblitzell also has class work to keep up with. Despite needing only two courses to complete her preservation requirements, she once more finds herself taking a full slate of classes.
"I'm taking five material sciences this quarter," Hoblitzell said, ticking off a list that includes plastering techniques, historic documentation, decorative finishes such as gilding, the making of ceramic tiles, even blacksmithing - oh, and a public speaking class, too.
"Every quarter, this happens," she said with a laugh before heading back to class. "I want to get everything I can out of this school."
If You Go:
Where - Monongalia Arts Center, 107 High Street in Morgantown, in the Benedum Gallery on the lobby level
When - Opening Reception on May 1, 7-9pm; regular gallery hours, M-F 11am - 7pm, Sat. 11am - 4pm
For more information, contact the Monongalia Arts Center by phone at 304-292-3325 or on the Web at [CHECK] www.monartscenter.com
--- ### ---
Painting with Light
Presented by Students and Alumni of Belmont Technical College’s Building Preservation and Restoration Program
May 1-31, 2009
Opening Reception Friday, May 1, 2009 6-9:00 P.M.
Exhibit Sponsors:
Allegheny Restoration
Croft & Son Mfg, Inc.
Belmont Technical College Building Preservation and Restoration Student Society
“People are like stained glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within."
-- Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
PRESS RELEASE BELOW
___________________
Morgantown Woman Organizes Stained Glass Show
by Phil Rhein
[304-830-1815]
For someone who doesn't wear a watch, Sarah Armstrong Hoblitzell is going to spend the month of April acutely aware of exactly what time it is.
As the month begins, she has 25 days to not only handle all the details of organizing a show featuring student-produced stained glass work at the Monongalia Arts Center - Hoblitzell also has to find time to finish an ambitious, six-foot wide stained glass piece of her own.
Not to mention surviving a class load almost twice the size of many full-time students.
"I'm just not gonna sleep, ever," she says with a laugh on a sunny afternoon in late March.
Hoblitzell, 24, of Morgantown, is beginning her last quarter of classes in the Building Preservation Program at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, Ohio. A 2007 graduate of WVU, Hoblitzell is used to taking on tough challenges: while majoring in history during college, she routinely signed up for additional classes in order to take the maximum class load allowed.
"I loved English, so anytime I had an extra class I could take in my schedule, I took another English class and, at the end, wound up with enough for a second major," she said, explaining her dual Bachelor's degrees.
After graduation, Hoblitzell moved to New York for about six months to "get away from being in school for a while." With an interest in cultural resource management, Hoblitzell was considering graduate school when she learned about the intensive hands-on program in St. Clairsville.
"It's was either go back to school to be a teacher or pursue this and I just thought, Boy, this'd be a lot more fun," Hoblitzell said.
As someone who enjoys working with her hands, Hoblitzell has found the coursework and training in various historic building and preservation techniques to be fascinating. The small class sizes and a diverse student population drawn from all over the country have also been a plus.
"Every single student in the program is someone I can consider a friend," she said.
Dave Mertz, program chair of the Building Preservation Program, said that while students regularly have opportunities to show their work on campus, this is the first time anyone has organized a professional exhibition of student work outside of the college.
While students are trained in a wide variety of artistic and decorative techniques in the program, he said stained glass has a natural appeal that makes it perfect for this sort of presentation.
"You can look at pictures of stained glass all day long but nothing can compare to the experience of actually seeing it in person with the light coming through," said Mertz.
Ro Brooks, executive director of the Monongalia Arts Center, where the exhibit will be held during the month of May, agreed with the appeal of the art form.
"People just fall in love with stained glass," Brooks said. "This is a perfect opportunity for people to come and see that all stained glass doesn't look alike. Each student is different and there is a variety."
"A lot of people see stained glass but it's all in church windows and those kinds of things," Hoblitzell said, noting that, for all the delicacy and precision required of the work, it can be a surprisingly forgiving medium.
"You don't have to be perfect at the craft to make things people think are beautiful," she said.
Organizing this show fulfills a capstone graduation requirement and offers Hoblitzell a chance to show off some of her work, but also provides her with an opportunity to both help some fellow students and also raise the profile of the preservation program.
"People should know about this place," Hoblitzell said. "No one in Morgantown, hardly, has heard of this and we're just an hour away. There are so many artists and craftwork-orientated people in Morgantown that I think would do well up here."
Roughly a dozen current and former students from the BPR program have signed on to place work in the show but Hoblitzell has found out the hard way that overseeing all the little details has a way of snowballing into a larger time commitment than she expected.
"I know it's hard, with work and everything else. Some people have real jobs and aren't around every day, for me to harass," she said. "A lot of students only have one really big piece at this stage and a lot of people don't have experience with this kind of stuff. Right now, I'm just focused on pulling everything together."
"It's an enormous effort," said Vicki Burton, one of Hoblitzell's instructors at BTC. "There are people who do this sort of thing for a living, full-time. This is a lot of work to take on."
In addition to managing all the details involved in getting the show organized, Hoblitzell also has to find time to complete a prestige project of her own for inclusion in the show. Featuring a stylized apple tree, the piece is designed to be roughly six feet wide and made up of about 300 different pieces of cut glass. Hoblitzell estimates that it might take as much as 120 hours to complete.
"I'm trying not to think about the glass stuff too much," she admitted with a laugh. "It's a good thing I have three weeks, huh?"
But in addition to everything else, Hoblitzell also has class work to keep up with. Despite needing only two courses to complete her preservation requirements, she once more finds herself taking a full slate of classes.
"I'm taking five material sciences this quarter," Hoblitzell said, ticking off a list that includes plastering techniques, historic documentation, decorative finishes such as gilding, the making of ceramic tiles, even blacksmithing - oh, and a public speaking class, too.
"Every quarter, this happens," she said with a laugh before heading back to class. "I want to get everything I can out of this school."
If You Go:
Where - Monongalia Arts Center, 107 High Street in Morgantown, in the Benedum Gallery on the lobby level
When - Opening Reception on May 1, 7-9pm; regular gallery hours, M-F 11am - 7pm, Sat. 11am - 4pm
For more information, contact the Monongalia Arts Center by phone at 304-292-3325 or on the Web at [CHECK] www.monartscenter.com
--- ### ---