Kellogg Community College this month will exhibit more than 60 works by retiring educator and KCC arts alumna Joanne Colyn.
Colyn, a process specialist in the College’s Davidson Visual and Performing Arts Center, will exhibit “Reflections: The Wonders of Creation,” through June 22 in the Davidson Center’s Eleanor R. and Robert A. DeVries Gallery, on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek.
The exhibit, which opened May 17, is free and open to the public during regular gallery summer business hours, which are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
“Reflections” includes works in mediums including drawing, painting, photography, graphic design and ceramics, including several works created as part of assignments from classes taken as part of KCC’s Photography and Multimedia Program. Colyn graduated from the program in 2011.
Colyn calls it “a two-fold retrospective,” with the earlier student work being “a reflection on the education and skills gleaned at KCC, enabling me to create and wonder at the process. These acquired skills have strengthened my creative process and enabled me to grow as a photographer and artist,” she said.
The latter work focuses on “the wonders of creation,” Colyn said, reflecting her religious faith.
“In the beginning God created the world and all that is in it,” Colyn said. “As my husband and I traveled across the US and Canada, Europe and South Africa, I have continually wondered at the vastness and intricacies found around the globe, and how infinite and creative our Maker is.
“And on the sixth day God created mankind, in his image he created us. We are co-creators on this Earth, and we are all given individual and unique gifts with which we create.”
The exhibit is also a farewell of sorts for Colyn, who retires in June after 10 years of working in various capacities at the College.
“It has been my pleasure to work at Davidson, where I can impact students’ lives, where I can encourage, where I can come alongside both student and faculty to strengthen the programs and where I can instruct and guide students to grow in their creative abilities,” Colyn said. “This time at KCC has enabled me to grow as an artist, and I look forward to seeing where this takes me in my retirement.”
For more information about the exhibit or other KCC arts events and initiatives, contact KCC’s Arts and Communication Office at 269-965-4126.
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