POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — College of the Ozarks is hosting the “Melt” Art Exhibit through Oct. 4, 2024. The exhibition is on display in the Boger Art Gallery in the Jones Learning Center, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
This exhibit is open to the public with no admission fee.
Dr. Richard Cummings, professor of art at College of the Ozarks, uses heat to melt and recycle plastic into beautiful works of art. Artists and College of the Ozarks professors Michael Ashley and Laura Ashley work with ceramics and pottery. Their pieces must be fired twice in a kiln to create their unique and inspired pieces.
“‘Melt,’ on one level, embodies the physical and chemical processes of fire and heat that are necessary to make the art we make,” Cummings said. “Mr. and Mrs. Ashley’s work requires two firings in a kiln to first solidify the vessel forms to prepare the surfaces for glazing, and then to create and vitrify the glazed surfaces that unify form and surface. In my own work, I use heat to melt and form recyclable plastics into abstract compositions of dimension, texture, and color. On another level, ‘Melt’ can refer to the blending of all the work represented in the exhibition into a unified aesthetic work of its own.”
The “Melt” exhibit also displays artwork by adjunct professor of art and C of O alumnus Cletus Johnson.
Each artist gave a brief talk on Thursday, Sept. 5, where they discussed the inspiration and motivation behind their own pieces. Cummings shared that his pieces are meant to highlight the fact that individual pieces of “trash” may not be beautiful, but melted together they have a new purpose, creating a beautiful work of art. He shared that the same is true of individuals.
“The influence we share as a community among individuals, and through common experience, is all in the goal of creating something better than we have known,” Cummings said.
Sophomore Monique Dinsmore, graphic design major, attended the exhibit.
“The fact that people from all over campus, and from various ages and backgrounds, came through the art exhibit also contributes to the meaning of ‘Melt.’ To see the artwork of our professors, and to understand the thematic inspirations behind the pieces displayed, was an inspiration,” Dinsmore said.
Email bogergallery@cofo.edu or call 417-690-2255 for inquiries regarding the “Melt” art exhibit.
About Richard Cummings
Dr. Richard Cummings is a professor of art at College of the Ozarks where he has taught art and design since 2001. He has been the director of the College's Boger Art Gallery since 2004, and he spent numerous years on the board of the International Art and Faith Organization: Christians in Visual Arts [CIVA]. Cummings has organized many national and international exhibitions, has extensively exhibited his own artwork, and has had his artwork and writings on art and faith published in numerous books and scholarly journals. He received his B.A. in English Literature from Milligan University, his MFA in studio art from the University of Leeds in England, and his DWS from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies.
About Michael Ashley
Michael Ashley grew up on a farm in Green County, Missouri, where he explored the rivers and streams of the Ozark Mountains. He graduated from College of the Ozarks with a B.A. in Painting and Ceramics and then moved to Tachi, Taiwan, where he did a one-year residency at Tainan National University for the Arts. In 2010, he graduated from the University of Mississippi with an M.F.A. in Ceramics. He has taught at Missouri State University, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He currently serves as associate professor of art at College of the Ozarks teaching ceramics, sculpture, and design.
About Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley has served as assistant professor of art at College of the Ozarks since 2022. She was previously an instructor of art at The University of Mississippi and executive director of the GumTree Museum of Art in Tupelo, Mississippi. She was a resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and has exhibited her artwork nationally. She received her B.F.A. in Studio Art with an emphasis in Ceramics from The University of Mississippi and her M.F.A. from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.