my first solo show

So, here it is! My very first solo show (and probably last for quite a while) is opening next Monday. This exhibition is the senior project for my International Arts minor, and is therefore meant to incorporate my semester abroad in Barcelona last spring. It's a contemporary craft approach including photography, metalwork, textiles, and found objects.

The show itself is addressing questions of travel, tourism, and the ever-mindless pursuit of the souvenir. Whether it's a photograph, a postcard, a map, or a tabletop plastic replica, when we return home with our collection, did we actually experience the place we visited, or only stop there long enough to hoard some momentos? It's incredible what can happen when you put down the camera, take a breath, and actually look at the thing that was so important to stop and photograph. Take time. Soak it all in. Who cares if you don't see every monument and museum? If you're rushing past you may as well be staring at a postcard.

One of my favorite quotes is by Miriam Beard, "Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." Give travel enough time to change you. Trust me, it's worth it.

Reclaiming the Souvenir: A Semester in Western Europe opens Monday, April 7th at 6:00pm in the Patterson Gallery (Patterson Building on Penn State's University Park campus), and will remain on display until April 11th.