Students Marti Rossdahl and Vanessa Harrison showcase their artwork

North Central College presents “Inner Expressions,” a student art exhibit featuring the work of junior Marti Rossdahl, majoring in studio art and entrepreneurship and small business management, and senior Vanessa Harrison, majoring in studio art.

Their exhibit will showcase paintings, drawings, ceramics and sculpture through March 2. “Our work reflects our evolution as young women and our self-expression of ourselves as we’re growing and figuring ourselves out," says Harrison. The free exhibit is open to the public in the College’s Meiley-Swallow Hall Gallery, 31 S. Ellsworth St.

Rossdahl, of Bartlett, has always used art to share and express her experiences. Inspired by the dark and light elements of human nature, she seeks to emphasize this inner turmoil of mankind through her paintings, sculptures and ceramics. “I believe we find ourselves and grow as people in our conflicts and journeys, which I intentionally express through art,” says Rossdahl.

Harrison, of Bolingbrook, focuses on “ethereal, elemental and rhythm-based themes to bring the viewer’s focus to a moment of beauty or joy.” Many of the themes and subjects in her paintings and drawings are representative of the journey into womanhood. For Harrison, being comfortable in our own skin and letting go of societal expectations are part of this process.  

Christine Rabenold, assistant professor of art, is faculty advisor for the exhibit. For more information about the exhibit or gallery hours, contact Rabenold at 630-637-5543 or cmrabenold@noctrl.edu.

Art students at North Central College learn traditional and contemporary media; engage in analytical, critical and abstract thinking; and learn to communicate ideas visually. Students attend gallery and museum openings and exhibits in Naperville and Chicago, meet visiting artists, enter juried exhibitions and gain an academic foundation for graduate study in studio art, art education, art history, art therapy, arts administration, art criticism and visual communications. Visit northcentralcollege.edu/majors/art to learn more about North Central’s art program.