“Wallflower,” through March 29

Exhibit: Through Friday, March 29

Closing Reception and Artist Talk: Wednesday, March 27, 4 – 6 p.m.

Black Hawk College's ArtSpace Gallery, 6600 34th Avenue, Moline IL

A collection of arresting ceramics by a talent who grew up along the Mississippi River will be on display at Black Hawk College's ArtSpace Gallery through March 29, with Laura Vincent-Arnold's Wallflower revealing its artist's continued interest in, as she says, "creating in multiple mediums, exploring where my mind takes me, solitude, and nature … always a nod to nature."

Vincent-Arnold received her Master of Science in Art Therapy from Mount Mary College in 2002, and as she states in her artist biography, life after graduation "became quite focused on helping others find their creative voice and healing from trauma and living with different mental health symptoms. I met the most amazing, strong and insightful people through that work, who confirmed how interconnected we all are as living beings here on Earth.

"As time passed, it became clear to me that I needed to focus on my own art making once more. I decided to focus back on my own art making through painting in 2017 and in 2018 moved into a studio space at Bucktown Center for the Arts. In 2020, Bucktown closed its door permanently as the world shut down with COVID. I moved my studio space home and set up shop to work in clay. It is important for me to work in both 2D and 3D mediums so that I can fully express myself as an artist. Just as there are words and phrases in different spoken languages that best describe an experience, I find that painting and drawing give my internal self a space to speak, while ceramic and sculpture making allow me to explore and better understand the outside world. I look forward to where my art takes me next as I explore my inner and outer spaces."

Regarding the works on display in Wallflower, Vincent-Arnold says, "My art is a visual representation of my relationship to the natural world around me. This show reflects solitary journey of art making through organic form. I feel most comfortable sitting along fringes of everyday existence and have come to value this part of my process. There were countless times though out my life where I questioned this part of me. A deeper understanding of the nature world has been and continues to be an important part of my art and my creative process.

"The Wallflower exhibit represents my ever expanding and changing wall reliefs made through a spontaneous sculpting of the clay surface using my fingers and ceramic tool. I’d like to say it is meditative three-dimensional finger painting. Natural organic forms both visible with the eye and microscopic inspire the ceramic shapes I create. They are reminiscent of foliage, flower, fungi, and underwater vegetation. Accompanying the wall reliefs are abstract vessels built using a combination of slab, coil, and pinch pot techniques. These are all low fire ceramic pieces that are glazed through a process of layering washes and rubbing away glaze applications."

A closing reception and artist talk for Wallflower will take place at Black Hawk College on March 27 from 4 to 6 p.m., with light refreshments provided, and the exhibit itself will be on display through March 29. The ArtSpace Gallery is located on the first floor of Building 4 at the Quad Cities campus, admission is free, and more information is available by e-mailing ArtDesign@bhc.edu and visiting Facebook.com/BHCArtDesign.