PASCO, Wash. – Columbia Basin College faculty members are stepping into the spotlight with their creative talents on display at the campus community art exhibition.
This annual event celebrates the artistry and hard work of the college’s staff. The exhibition, now in its third year, features artwork from over two dozen artists across the campus.
Rachel Smith, one of the event’s organizers, expressed her excitement about uniting the campus community under one roof. “We can get stuck in our buildings teaching our classes, know on our hamster wheel. So this is a cool opportunity just to see what you know, what people that you email with every day, every day, what they do or what they’re interested in or have a conversation about,” she said.
Chiarra Lohr, who works in program support for the School of Career and Technical Education, shared her creation at the exhibition. Lohr, who spends her days working in Excel, showcased a dress she designed and made. “It’s based off of, book that my friend wrote called A Dance of Light by Brittany Arena. It just came out. And in it, the main character is a performer who does a dance as the goddess of death and fate. And this is her costume piece,” Lohr explained.
The dress features a contrasting design symbolizing the duality of fate, life, and death. Lohr described the piece, saying, “We went for a design that was kind of like light on one side and like sunrise on the other, for the kind of duality of fate and life and death and all of that… And then all of these panels are meant to look like, you know, stained glass in a sunrise.”
Lohr spent 150 hours creating the dress, which was previously hidden away in her closet. “It was hanging in my closet and I was like, I’m obsessed with it, but what do I do with it? I don’t want it to just sit here,” she said. Now, the dress stands tall in the Esvelt Gallery, alongside the work of her colleagues.
Smith emphasized the importance of expression and self-understanding through art, saying, “I think it’s about expression. It’s about mastering your craft, and it’s about, trying to understand yourself within the greater context of society, culture and history.”
The community can view the exhibition, including Lohr’s work, until August 15. For more information on the gallery and the artwork on display, visit Columbia Basin College’s website.
