02/08/08

With a collection of 22 prints and six ceramic pieces, Art Affair’s opening for its new show last Friday drew an assortment of people.

“It was a diverse selection this time,” Lesley Gillaspie, the student director of the Art Affair, said.

Gillaspie said the show had a good turnout, and a lot of artists came to support the gallery and their work, usually located at the John Talleur Print Studio and Lawrence Arts Center.

Jimmy Eddings, an artist from the University of Kansas, thought the Art Affair was a good place for the show.

“It’s a nice little gallery,” Eddings said. “It’s a good mix of work here with simplicity and humor.”

Many students agreed with the artists.

“It’s nice that Baker has a studio like this,” senior Laura Poskochil said. “There are some pieces I like and others that are interesting. There’s a lot of variety; you can see a lot.”

This year’s collection of prints was a new display for Art Affair.

“The show is different,” freshman Esther Grear, an Art Affair employee, said. “It’s more contemporary.”

Most of the patrons of the opening were under a similar impression.

“There’s a variety of different methods used,” Professor of Art Inge Balch said.

Special Projects Coordinator Joanne Tolkoff also attended the opening.

“It’s a nice mixture of prints and ceramics,” she said. “It kind of focuses your attention on both media. There aren’t any I don’t like.”

The process of putting up the appealing display was not easy for the workers at Art Affair. The group who set up the show had a difficult time hanging up all the pictures.

“It was difficult lining up the frames,” Grear said. “When you have all the same frame you have to have everything level.”

Twelve artists were involved with this opening, but many of the artists only brought a single piece for display.

“What they brought was really strong,” Gillaspie said. “But I wish they would’ve brought a little more.”

The show will remain open until March 7.