On Nov. 27, 1926, the Ball brothers donated $150,000 to a Masonic Temple - now known as The Cornerstone Center of the Arts - so a public auditorium could be built within. The Muncie Star Press quoted Frank C. Ball that day. He said the auditorium would be built so "... the whole community might benefit, and its influence may be far reaching and everlasting."
Over the years, the Masonic Temple has reached out to artists, and now five Ball State art students are having their art put on display in one of the building's galleries.
Robby Tompkins, director of education at Cornerstone Center of the Arts, said he wants to give young artists exposure so they can develop their skills.
"I'm very pleased with the quality of the work that's coming from students that are being involved," Tompkins said. "We chose to have a student gallery. We expect that there will be students who are learning and are progressing in their art forms, but these [Ball State students'] works are bona-fide art."
The five students being showcased are painter Megan Baldwin, photographer Laura Hruska, photographer Danielle Krapinski, photographer Jon Faloon and book manipulator Mary Barczak.
"I realized I had an affinity for art for a while, but to have a specific talent in painting [abstract art], that's just come to me recently in the past year," Baldwin, a senior, said.
Baldwin said her paintings are abstract because of the way they can be viewed by others.
"One person may see a different thing than someone else, and I may see something different than everyone else in the art work. That is something that I find to be a joy," Baldwin said. "I don't title my work for I don't want them to have a certain meaning per se. I want people to find their own meaning in my art work."
Krapinski, a senior, said she doesn't consider herself to be much of a painter or drawer, but still does photography because she loves art. She took photos using a technique called double exposure in which two images overlap one another, but both are visible.
"[The photos on display] are more from my final project last semester," Krapinski said. "I love using double exposures. I love how the two different images come forward and fight for dominance over one another. I like to think that I see things in different ways from others, and I try to use my [style of] art to show people the way I see things."
Hruska, a senior, said she has been involved in art her entire life, but got into photography her senior year of high school. The other students with art on display said Hruska spearheaded the process of all of their work getting on display.
"Cornerstone contacted the art department and they were looking for students to have a show and our professor told the class," Hruska said. "Everybody knew about it, but I sent out the e-mail to other students saying that this is a free show and we should do it. I got some responses and [worked things out] with Cornerstone. Everybody else helped too though. If I didn't have their images to send to Cornerstone, there wouldn't be a show."
The Cornerstone Center of the Arts has been showcasing students' art for several months and will continue to do so, Tompkins said.
"We're already booking shows for the Spring Semester," Tompkins said. "We're probably going to be booking a year in advance to have more art work on display."
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