The Maryhill Museum of Art will be showing the work of six students from Nixyaawii Community School for the opening of their 2010 tourist season. The exhibition will be on display from March 15 through May 31.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Brian Purnell, Nixyaawii art instructor, said. “We have two art shows every year (at Crow’s Shadow) ... but this is the first time someone has noticed the prints and asked them to travel to a new venue.”
Specifically, the exhibition will feature self-portrait relief prints made in the Crow’s Shadow Press studio as a part of Purnell’s ongoing printmaking course. Students spent several weeks honing their drawing skills before translating them to the printmaking process, with the help of Master Printer Frank Janzen.
“What I did was teach the basics of self-portraiture,” Purnell said. “We used mirrors and practiced for about a month.”
Each of the students are receiving a special invitation to travel to the museum for a special reception.
“They get to be luminaries for the day,” Purnell said. “I think for everybody it’s very affirming.”
The Maryhill Museum of Art is located near Goldendale, Wash., along the Columbia River gorge. Their telephone number is (509) 773-3733.
Make sure to visit the beautiful art museum this spring and check out the students’ work.