A pile of tattered sketchbooks says it all.
At the center of the Atrium Gallery, filled with more than 40 creations from the past two decades, art professor Marilynn Derwenskus sits a display case holding a dozen open notebooks containing drawings, journal entries and photo clippings.
Derwenskus said she stresses the importance of keeping a sketchbook to promote thought and process when doing art.
These sketchbooks are at the core of her world of award-winning watercolor and encaustic paintings on display in the gallery to celebrate her artwork and retirement from the art department after 20 years of teaching. The exhibit, "Life, Whispering Glimpses, Alive," presents a variety of art Derwenskus has made during her tenure at Ball State University and will remain in the gallery until Saturday.
Originally from Detroit, Derwenskus was called to the university in 1988 to teach watercolor, and she now also teaches encaustics, which is hot wax painting, and sometimes drawing and oil painting.
She said she has a zeal for watercolor.
"People think it's easy because children are given watercolors when they're young," she said. "But I think it's the most difficult painting medium. Every so often, I feel that I've got to compete with those canvas painters, and I have to make some big images that shout and say watercolor is important."
Her four-part series "Suffering" seems to do just that. Derwenskus paused as she walked past these dark watercolor paintings from 1988. "Suffering" shows the figure of an anguished man with twisted legs. The man in the watercolor paintings is her husband, who had multiple sclerosis. Derwenskus said she feared the pieces were not "pretty" enough to appeal to viewers.
"I said to myself, 'Wow, these are so ugly. No one's going to want to look at them,'" she said. "This is the first time they've been hung and shown."
A walk through the gallery shows development in her work and diversity in her experiences. Derwenskus said she can sometimes agonize over decisions while painting.
"On many of these paintings I will paint something and then decide it's not working, and I partially obliterate it," she said. "While it is an enjoyable thing, as much as writing is to the writer or experimentation is to the scientist, what we do is also frustrating sometimes, and we have to think about what we're doing and research it and explore it."
Derwenskus' experiences as a professor are featured in her most recent work, "The Art of Living," which shows former students and her reminders of department trips to Italy. Derwenskus said her most memorable experiences at Ball State have been on trips abroad, seeing her students' expressions while looking at masterpieces in European museums.
"Seeing these events and just watching their sense of awe at getting to see these great things, that's pretty wonderful," she said. "I think [art] adds a kind of richness to one's life. It's fun for others to look at work and try to understand what the artist was trying to make or why the artist might be making it."
After retiring from Ball State, Derwenskus plans to move to Chicago to be near a family member and teach workshops throughout the year that allow her to travel.
"I can't stop teaching - that's my life," she said. "I'm leaving behind the responsibilities of being affiliated with a large university, such as meetings and reports, but I'm so happy I was able to teach here."
Derwenskus said she often corrects people who congratulate her on retirement. Instead, she said they should be offering condolences.
"My life has been very rich because of my experiences with the students," she said. "I think of them as my kids. I'm not leaving to get away from here; it's sad I have to give this great life up. Maybe I can have a new chapter that can somehow be exciting, too."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
