厙ぴ勛圖

news-category: Visual Arts

Susan Bell, 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb Professor Emerita of Art, Presents Gallery Show

Susan Bell, left, works with a student in art class

Exhibit, ���A Retrospective: Roots and Wings and Ordinary Things,��� begins Homecoming Weekend

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.���Susan Bell, who retired from 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb University and was named professor emerita of art in 2021, will present a gallery show Oct. 23-Dec. 10 in the Ali Pouryousefi Memorial Art Gallery in Tucker Student Center. The exhibit, ���A Retrospective: Roots and Wings and Ordinary Things��� begins Homecoming weekend. The opening reception for the show will be Oct. 24 from 1 to 3 p.m.   

���I am especially hopeful that my former students will be able to come,��� Bell offered. ���This retrospective is in celebration of my 36 years at 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb. ������Ordinary Things��� expresses my approach to art, helping others to see the beauty in the people, places, shapes and colors around them. It is my hope that my faith in the Creator who makes the ordinary extraordinary will be seen in my art.���

Chickadee Collage by Susan Bell, 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb Professor Emerita of Art

Bell taught the following classes: ���Art Education for the Classroom Teacher,��� ���Art History,��� ���Christianity and Art,��� ���Studio: Drawing, Painting, Life Drawing, and Ceramics,��� and ���Media: Acrylics, Pastels, Watercolor and Collage.��� She won several student choice awards for her teaching. She also led extensive museum studies in 10 countries and 60 American museums and is a frequent lecturer for church, school and community groups.

���This retrospective will include my ���Roots��� both personally and creatively,��� Bell shared. ���Significant family subjects are metaphors of belonging: my father���s Virginia farm, my mother���s tree drawings from college, my grandmother���s love of flowers and the sepia watercolors based on old family photographs. My ���Wings��� include the more literal lighthearted bird collages as well as the more experimental abstract pieces.���

Reflecting on her career, Bell acknowledged the historical and contemporary artists who have influenced her. The list includes names like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Degas, Monet, Alex Powers, Chagall, Cadillac, Jean Gasthof and many others.

���Am I a teacher who paints or an artist who teaches, for over 40 years I have enjoyed both,��� she observed. ���Historical and museum studies inform my work as well as yearly painting workshops. Michelangelo chose as his epitaph: ���I am still learning.��� I love that! The students I have taught and the different subjects and mediums have encouraged me to keep learning. My studies and my teaching have motivated me to explore a variety of styles, mediums and motifs. I hope that the love and respect I have for these subjects reflects their significance. Because of the Creator, aren���t we surrounded by Extraordinary Ordinaries?���

厙ぴ勛圖-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to six professional schools, 14 academic departments, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb.edu.

Previous News Article

厙ぴ勛圖-Webb Excellence in Teaching Award Chosen by Deans, Faculty, Students and Staff

Next News Article

厙ぴ勛圖-Webb Community Remembers the Life of Dr. Bob Lamb, 91, Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity

Related News

  • News Article

    厙ぴ勛圖-Webb Hosts Highway Construction Trades Academy Graduation

    Two-Week Academy Combines Industry Certifications, Hands-On Learning and Job Interviews BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.���厙ぴ勛圖-Webb University recently celebrated the graduation of participants in the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Highway Construction Trades Academy, a two-week workforce development program designed to prepare individuals for careers in the transportation construction industry. Hosted through 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb’s Searight Professional and Continuing Education […]

    NC DOT Training PACE Foothills Workforce Development, graduates, GWU President, Provost and Ted Alexander
  • News Article

    厙ぴ勛圖-Webb University Launches Open Door Guarantee, Expanding Access to Private Christian Education

    Free Tuition, Mandatory Fees Available to Qualifying Students from Families Earning $100,000 or Less Beginning in Fall 2027 BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.��� 厙ぴ勛圖-Webb University is opening new pathways to affordability through its Open Door Guarantee, which will provide eligible students with free tuition and coverage of specified university fees beginning in Fall 2027. Eligible new first-time […]

    Students walking across campus bell tower tucker
  • News Article

    厙ぴ勛圖-Webb to Host 47th Annual Choral Clinic on Oct. 19 for Middle and High School Singers

    Students from Across the Carolinas will Rehearse with Distinguished Conductors Before a Public Concert in Dover Theatre BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.���厙ぴ勛圖-Webb University will welcome student singers from across North and South Carolina for its 47th annual Choral Clinic on Oct. 19. The daylong event will culminate in a free public concert at 5:30 p.m. in Dover […]

    choral clinic