News Article

ELKTON, MD: Cecil College will reveal its fall 2023 Art & Design Student Exhibit with a reception and pottery sale on Friday, December 1, at 5 p.m. in the Elkton Station Gallery at 107 Railroad Ave. This year’s exhibit will feature Capstone Projects from Abby Graham, Ethan Kellum, Taylor Kohlbus, Logan Pinder, and Reid Wooten. Capstone Projects are long-term investigative projects culminating in a final product or presentation.

This exhibit will feature drawings, paintings, designs, sculptures, and ceramics selected by the art faculty, representing the range of work created in the program. Some of the artwork is available for sale, with proceeds benefiting art students. Visitors can purchase pieces during the opening reception and throughout the exhibit. This exhibit runs through January 10, 2024, and is part of Elkton’s First Friday Art Loop.

Abby Graham is an independent artist from Chester County. Her primary mediums include acrylic, oil, and collage. Graham also works with various styles, including surrealism and fantasy. She aims to express herself through her work and create eye-catching and meaningful illustrations for a wide range of audiences.

“Creativity is a way for me to escape reality, but it’s also a way to comprehend reality through symbolism and narration. It’s also a form of communication, a way in which real-world situations can be presented through the lenses of my characters,” said Graham. “I desire to tell stories through my detail-oriented art style. My work examines how people think, behave, and make decisions based on internal and external conflict. Inspired by dreams, fantasy, and surrealism, I take real-life scenarios and mirror them on canvas or paper through meaningful illustrations and paintings, but in a fairytale style.”

She graduated from the Center for Performing and Fine Arts in West Chester and is working towards an Associate of Fine Arts in Art and Design with a concentration in drawing and painting from Cecil College. Working as a freelance artist, her work is in private and public collections. Graham’s work was displayed at the Elkton Station Gallery in Elkton, MD, the Center for Hope in Baltimore, MD, and the Newark Arts Alliance in Newark, DE.

Ethan Kellum can be found drawing or sketching his favorite characters and those subjects around him. With a passion for drawing people and faces in particular, he is inspired by the duality of life and its complex emotions. He is simultaneously inspired by the dark and macabre as well as the joy and kindness found in the world. He tries to represent that duality in his work.

“Art has always been my one true passion. I love drawing people through an angular and uniquely stylized lens. I work mostly in digital mediums because they provide flexibility and versatility,” said Kellum.

He is an Art and Design major with a concentration in Graphic Design at Cecil College. Kellum will graduate from Cecil in the Spring of 2024 and plans to transfer to UD in the Fall of 2024 to pursue a major in Graphic Design.

Taylor Kohlbus is a multi-media artist who uses traditional mediums such as gouache, colored pencils, and acrylics. In her body of work, she explores mythology, folklore, and concepts of characters. Inspired by the natural world, Kohlbus also creates plein air paintings. This inspiration can be seen in her character compositions as well as her landscape paintings. Form, movement, and texture are emphasized to create dynamic illustrations and feminine portraits.

A freelance illustrator from North East, MD, Kohlbus was recognized at the Art and Design Student Exhibit at Elkton Station Gallery in 2023. She was an art instructor at Cecil County Public Library in 2023. She will graduate with an Associate of Fine Arts in drawing and painting and interactive and motion arts in December 2023.

Logan Pinder creates a wide range of art, designing wearable works from second-hand clothing. The exhilaration of exploring for the perfect piece of clothing and then bringing it new life drives this artist to create.

“It is an honor to have my work on display for the world, not only on a wall in a gallery or someone’s house but also as living art in the form of tattoo which is viewable to everyone’s eyes that pass by. I have been introducing a new company known as “Moves” which has been a great hit in the community, but I have plans to take it even further,” said Pinder. She is working to expand and refine her skills to pursue a career in tattooing.

A native of Annapolis, Reid Wooten was introduced to the art world by his parents, both artists, and photographers, and lived in the Philippines for some time before settling in Cecil County. In one of his art classes at Rising Sun High School, he discovered the medium he would come to enjoy the most: digital artwork. Wooten started digital artwork in 2019 when he bought himself an iPad and has been working with digital media ever since.

“One of the things I strive for with digital artwork is to blur the lines between what looks like digital work and traditional mediums. To achieve this, I use various textures and brush strokes to create the illusion of being a traditional drawing or painting. I use a recurring character that serves as a through line in many of my pieces, displaying different emotions caused by mental reflections on certain events or situations,” said Wooten.

Most of his work is inspired by music, from which he creates original pieces that are self-reflective in nature and often have elements of dramatic lighting or emotion. Wooten plans to graduate from Cecil College with an associate degree in Graphic Design and Drawing and Painting.

The Elkton Station Gallery is open for visitors Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information on all the exciting art events at Cecil College, visit https://www.cecil.edu/campus-life/galleries-theaters. Or check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/CecilCollegeArtandDesignProgram/.