February 23, 2022
From left, Kaitlin Kirchmeir, LaSontia Sharlow, Barbara Murname
By LaSontia Sharlow
By Kaitlin Kirchmier
By Barbara Murname
The three prize winners in the Ursuline College Women’s Center 4th annual Student Art Showcase are all students in the College’s graduate Counseling and Art Therapy program. Their works respond to this year’s theme, Unapologetic Wellness: Embracing Freedom, Accepting Responsibility and are on view in the College’s Florence O’Donnell Wasmer Gallery through March 17.
First place winner LaSontia Sharlow created “Heart Mind Connection/ Conscious & Unconscious.” She said of the piece, “When I contemplated the theme, I knew that I wanted to do something with this two-tiered box that represents the connection between the heart and the mind as well as the way one stores memories and experiences, both consciously in the top tier and unconsciously in the bottom tier.”
Second place winner Kaitlin Kirchmeir created “Girl in Gold.” She said, “My art piece represents the freedom to be one’s true self. Nowadays with social media and the standards that society establishes, we often put on different façades to the world. I wanted to showcase the capability that women have when they portray who they really are. It is time to take off our masks and express how unapologetically beautiful we can be.”
Third place winner Barbara Murname created “Body of Water.” She said, “In creating this, I was able to experience a feeling of wellness, a feeling of wholeness that I haven't been able to tap into since COVID began. I also feel that the painting’s deviation from reality might be something that, in the past, I might have apologized for and be abashed about; but at this point in my artistic and life journey, I refuse to apologize for the varied colors and weaving lines that compose the painting; the painting represents an experience I had in the past and the freeing experience I had in creating it, and I will not apologize for the aesthetics of a piece that has brought me freedom and peace.”
Judging the more than 50 submissions to this year’s Student Art Showcase was Felice Kahan, senior administrative assistant to the dean of the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions. Ms. Kahan holds a master’s degree in art therapy from Wright State University and a bachelor’s degree in art education from Case Western Reserve University.
The Wasmer Gallery is in the lower level of Ursuline’s Monsignor Mullen Building, facing the quad. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12:00 pm -5:00 p.m. Masks are required in campus buildings. For appointments: Contact Gallery Director Anna Arnold at aarnold@ursuline.edu.
