'Nature' and 'Interstices' show artists' skill

By Lauren Rothering
Cardinal Staff

Rarely does one find a ceremonial robe standing in front of a speeding train.

But until Oct. 5 at Saint Mary’s University’s Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries, you can see these and a variety of other unique art pieces on display during the showing of “Images of Nature” and “Interstices,” featuring artists Carol Faber and SMU’s Director of Web Communications, Monta May.
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Faber, assistant professor of art and design at Iowa State University, considers her artwork a representation of “how [she] perceives the world,” her emotional response to personal and global events.


One particular personal tragedy served as strong inspiration for a majority of this collection: the accidental death of her beloved horse Ruby. With pieces such as “Ruby” and “Above the Ice” featuring digital mixed media images of animal bones, grass, and horse hair, Faber is able to connect her audience with the reality of who Ruby once was.

As much as Faber’s pieces focus on the connection between personal emotion and reality, May’s collection serves to blur the distinctions between craftsmanship and art, ancient methods, and current techniques.


An accomplished painter, sculptor, and photographer, May uses a variety of textured supplies: fabrics, metals, beeswax, ink, clay, glass, and paper. She re-creates distinctly historical pieces with an obvious modern flair. May admits that she is “intrigued by process,” and this fascination is displayed though the incredibly intricate processes of knotting and stitching evident in much of her artwork as well as the amazingly fluid, connected quality that it seems to retain.

In addition to textiles, May is also skilled in encaustic painting, a type of artwork. Dating back almost 2000 years, encaustic painting involves melting beeswax and resin until it becomes molten, and then applying them to various surfaces, fusing them to create an enamel effect. May’s “Apocalypse” and “From the Beginning,” along with multiple others, were created using this method.

The exhibit is free and open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call the gallery at ext. 1652.