The Flare
Features
Special Edition FRIDAY April 22, 2016
SECTION
B
Student artist overcomes fear of failure Armour finds freedom in artistic expression
Tiffani Branch / THE FLARE
Left: Rachel Armour sits in front of her art on display in the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts Center. Above: Armour’s original Behemoth finds new life in the halls of the student art exhibit.
Tiffani Branch / THE FLARE
TAREA WESTBROOK Staff Writer
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Victoria Gilchrist / THE FLARE
ailure is inevitable, so don’t be afraid to fail” said Rachel Armour, Kilgore sophomore. Armour’s first failure was an art piece titled “The Behemoth.” The painting started as an S shape on a 7”x11” canvas drawn in charcoal of a horse with human-like features. “My sketch for The Behemoth was turned down, it was ‘too macabre’ I learned that not everyone will be as enthusiastic about my style as I am, ” Armour said. However taking art classes has helped her with her art. “Drawing has made me work the hardest at meeting deadlines and coming up with new ideas,” she said. The critiques of other student artwork within class has also taught her that, “everyone has room to grow and there is value in everyone’s work” Armour said. Carolyn Fox-Hearne, KC art teacher, said, “Her creativity and imagination has truly blossomed”. Fox-Hearne shows the student’s artwork in the Student Art Exhibition every year in April. This year Armour has included The Behemoth. “Her drawing skills have always been great, but they continue to improve with each drawing that she does. Her skills in 3-D design are over the top,” Fox-Hearne said. Although Armour is currently an art major, once she transfers she wants to pursue a degree in psychology.
“I find the connection and sameness of humans interesting, but how in the same moment each mind is vastly different based on life experiences”. Once Armour completes both degrees, she plans to use them both as one. “My art uses specific shapes and colors to elicit relations and emotions. I also have some painting that are designed to be therapeutic”, she said. In the future, Armour would like to see her art in people’s homes. “In an art gallery there’s a disconnect from art. There’s a fear of “Am I standing too close’ or ‘Have I been hogging this for too long?’ In a home it’s more personal, you can sit and find new things about a piece, I do every day. Also I love the thought that I made someone’s home just a little more divergent from the norm than it was before,” she said. Today you can see many of Armour’s works at the Anne Dean Turk Fine Arts building. The Behemoth is certainly one of the most eyecatching pieces. “No doubt, I love the Behemoth,” she said. “The process on how it first started was a failure but the painting itself is one of my favorites. “This painting is what really solidified that I should trust my intuition. There were a lot of swings and misses along the way but what started as my biggest failure turned into one of my favorite pieces”.
A creature of found items takes up residence at the student exhibit.
Tiffani Branch/ THE FLARE
The Student Art Exhibit features work from the Visual Arts Department and the photography program on campus. It runs through April 29 in the Fine Arts Building.