The Fruits of their Labor: BFA Thesis Show

It’s two days before the installation of her thesis show and Amanda Bartlett is still hard at work. Bartlett sets out the plans of a necklace and begins to punch out the desired details in metal.

Amanda Bartlett burns the midnight oil in order to meet her deadline of Sunday morning’s installation. Bartlett creates “wearable sculptures” using intricate designs on metal.

Lindsey Iverson rolls out ink for an oversized wood block print for her thesis show. Her work revolves around the traditional stories of “monsters under the bed.”

Lindsey Iverson gazes proudly at her finished product after several months of intensive labor. Iverson created a children’s book for her infant son revolving around the age-old tale of “monsters under the bed” utilizing wood block prints for the illustrations.

Lindsey Iverson prepares her table to display her thesis work. Iverson’s section will have the completed book, one continuous print of the inside contents of the book and an oversized woodblock print containing all the characters from the book.

The artists were encouraged to use tape measures and other tools to anything that was hung would be even and visually appealing. For some artists, such as Nikki Underwood, this was their first time hanging such a large body of work.

Kayla Fiore positions her work during the installation phase of her thesis show. Fiore works in mixed media and installation art. Most of her materials are organic in nature and texture.

Smiles were found all around the room during the opening reception of the first of four BFA theses shows at the Texas State Galleries, located in the Joann Cole Mitte building. Ashee Brunson, an oil painter, wore a smile from ear to ear as friends and family members captured photos of her next to her larger-than-life paintings.

Guests of the reception stop to discuss Ashee Brunson’s work. Brunson’s series for her thesis show derives from color relationships and the movement found in fire and water.

Lindsey Iverson conducts a live performance of her hand printed book “Mr. Baby & the Monsters under the bed,” to her son during the opening ceremony of the BFA Thesis show, Plus One.

Along with the pieces she had on display, Amanda Bartlett also displayed rows of mini polaroids containing photos of her friends modeling her creations. Guests of the opening ceremony were able to interact and see her pieces in varied contexts.

Fresh-faced and proud as can be, Amanda Bartlett poses next to one of her pieces during the opening ceremony of the BFA Thesis show, Plus One. “I even put my special eyebrows on for this,” Bartlett laughed.