Senior art student explores inner self
By Max Bonem, Staff Writer
March 2, 2008 | 11:29 p.m.
Blair-Wilson is a fourth year studio art student here at Ohio University and has been creating quite a buzz with her self-explorative paintings that depict both her spiritual and sexual sides. “All of my works are self-portraits, and they depict various personal issues I’ve encountered in the past or discomforts I have experienced,” she said.
Before coming to OU, Blair-Wilson attended Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, where she ultimately made the decision to take her love of art and turn it into a profession. However, once leaving the small pond of the high school art scene, Blair-Wilson encountered adversity upon entering the college art world.
“When I first met Avery, her skill level was far below what it is now,” said Julie Dummermuth, an assistant professor and the chair of painting in the School of Art. “But through hard work and perseverance, she has surpassed many of her peers.”
Fellow art students have also commended Blair-Wilson on her rigorous work ethic. “She works hard and is very involved with the art community here in Athens,” said Sarah Soled, a second year art history major.
But it is her style for which Blair-Wilson is receiving the most attention. “Avery has a certain style of rendering within figuration that is very convincing,” said Dummermuth. “The realism in her images and her ability to push color around is what makes her work so captivating.”
There is also a shock factor to Blair-Wilson’s work that can stop a fellow student dead in his or her tracks. “I mean, it’s not every day you see a girl in a nightie tied up to a bed,” Soled said.
Blair-Wilson’s style revolves around her inner self and her methods of expressing various personal thoughts and beliefs. Arising from her Catholic upbringing and an obscured relationship with her parents, her depiction of women’s bodies is evident in almost every one of her paintings. But it is not just anyone’s body that she uses as a model: it is her very own. “I started using myself as the model as a convenience, but then it became a way for me to reveal struggles,” Blair-Wilson said.
Additionally, she wants her figures to look a certain way and invoke certain feelings, which she cannot always get with another model. “It’s hard to get models to be provocative, to pose in certain ways,” said Blair-Wilson. “My family wasn’t thrilled, but I try to be respectful of my parents.”
Blair-Wilson is not only being praised for her work in the studio, but her work as the gallery director of Cube 4 is also receiving plenty of attention. Cube 4 is a student-run gallery on the fourth floor of Seigfred Hall, managed by the Undergraduate Art League (UAL), of which Blair-Wilson is the president.
The gallery is not a new development, but it is now being used more than ever before. “We try to have different students show their work each week,” Blair-Wilson said. “It gives people experience in learning how to hang their art [and] proper lighting, and it makes students’ art more accessible.”
Since coming to OU, Blair-Wilson has changed her major from art education to studio art and is now hoping to go to graduate school to become a professor. When she graduates in the near future, Blair-Wilson will leave behind friends and mentors that have helped shape her into the artist that she now is. At the same time, however, Blair-Wilson has set a new standard for excellence and dedication among the Seigfred faithful.
“The kind of energy that Avery has is consistent and exciting,” said Dummermuth. “Her dedication to studio work, the UAL and her craft are all spectacular to see, even from a faculty standpoint.”
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