September 25, 2008
Pack Basket, hand woven splint, Cheryl Dow, Editorial and Creative Services
The
University Museum opens its 2008-2009 season with an exhibition that showcases the talents of UNH faculty and staff and includes woodcarvings, weavings, pottery, quilting and stained glass work in addition to traditional water and oil paintings.
More than 70 employees submitted pieces for the show In the Company of Artists: Art and Fine Crafts by UNH Staff, running Sept. 26 through Dec. 5 in Dimond Library.
“The point of the show is for colleagues to share what they do with others,” says Dale Valena, UNH museum curator. “We received submissions across departments-CIS, the languages, the sciences, admissions, housing, the president’s office. It was a terrific response.”
In fact, 73 university departments are represented in the exhibit. Holly Harris, an administrative assistant in the Spanish office, submitted her first carving endeavor, a chess set made from basswood, redwood, lace wood, black walnut, mahogany, black coral, and plywood.
Sarah Smith is a forester by training. A few years ago, she learned how to make marbleized paper and fabric. Her work “Marble Cabin II” is a collage of marbleized paper.
“I was fiddling with some of my paper scraps and it dawned on me that I could use my marbled paper to create framed paper “quilts” or collages,” says Smith,
Daniel DeVaughn, who works for Computing Information Services, and Deb Russell, a UNH Cooperative Extension employee, both submitted oil paintings.
“The ‘In the Company of Artists’ show is a wonderful venue to showcase the diverse talent among the staff at UNH and I welcomed the opportunity to participate,” Russell says. “I hope this becomes an annual event.”
The University Museum features two exhibitions a year highlighting various aspects of UNH history or current activities. Exhibits include artifacts, photographs, documents and memorabilia drawn from the museum, the university archive collections and from the Milne Special Collections.
The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the academic year and closed Saturday between semesters and during the summer. It is located on the first level of the Dimond Library.
Alan Rushing has created a blog for the current exhibit in the University Museum, Close Associations: MFA Invitational Exhibition. It features photos of the artwork, the opening reception, and reflections from the artists. 
