There will be a reception for the double senior show, “Crowded Table,” pottery by Edel Miller, and “Solace in the Story,”mixed media by Rachel Geyer, Thursday, Dec. 7, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The exhibits, which comprise the first of two senior shows of the 2023-24 school year, are up through Thursday, Dec. 14. However, Geyer’s show is normally open by appointment only, so the reception time slot is a chance to see it at a scheduled time.

Miller’s exhibit is in the Regier Art Gallery and Geyer’s in the Drama Lab, both in Luyken Fine Arts Center. 

Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday 2-4 p.m. There is no admission charge.

Thursday, Dec. 7, is a special arts evening in Luyken Fine Arts Center: both “Crowded Table” and “Solace in the Story” will be open, with the artists present, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., when Gala Jazz begins in Krehbiel Auditorium.

Miller gave her exhibit the same title as a song by the Americana group The Highwomen, part of her playlist while working in the studio.

The song “reminds me of my friends and family, … the people who inspire me, teach me and show me every day what it is to be loved,” Miller says in her artist statement, “[and who] I thought about as I created the show.”

Miller wants her pottery to be “functional and accessible … to allow [it] to be a point of community building.

“For the centerpiece of this show, I decided to make dish sets [that] would allow the users to share the experience of a meal together, echoing my own fond memories of sharing food with those I love.”

Miller is a fifth-year student from Goessel, Kan., majoring in art with an emphasis in ceramics. During her time at Bethel, she has participated in Concert Choir, dance team and theater, “among other activities and shenanigans.”

She calls her path to the potter’s wheel “a surprise,” as she had originally intended to focus on graphic design, and ultimately fell in love with pottery during a two-year detour into social work. 

Following graduation in December, Miller plans to embark on a three-month residency early in 2024 at Gallery Mostaza in Harper, Kan., with hopes to pursue a career as a functional potter.

Geyer says of “Solace in the Story”: “I have often wondered … if I’ve put more hours [while at Bethel] into my work in the art studio or in the theater, so it’s perhaps no surprise that I decided to combine my two worlds for this show, by bringing my art into a theatrical space and by using theater to enhance it.”

She has been involved in all aspects of theater over four-plus years at Bethel, and “Solace in the Story” incorporates lighting and set design along with book art.

“The concept for ‘Solace in the Story’ came about rather naturally,” she says in her artist statement. “I’ve always had an affinity for taking a space and making it my own, whether it be an old combine cab in our back lot or my studio space in the art building.

“I liked the idea of my book forms holding space for rest, and I wanted to illustrate what other settings would both provide rest and engage storytelling.

“The pieces themselves are made from books I thrifted from Crowded Closet [in Iowa City] or saved from … book recycling. I much prefer to use materials already destined for the trash if I can. My style and inspiration for this show was developed in the context of historical and contemporary book artists, as well as the work of some phenomenal storytellers.”

Geyer, Oxford, Iowa, is also a fifth-year student majoring in art.

She has been involved in creative practices from an early age. Her collegiate focus in art has been on book arts while also enjoying many forms of visual art, including printmaking and jewelry-making.

Geyer plans to continue making art after college in the context of theater or personal studio work.

Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel ranks at #23 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of “Best Regional Colleges Midwest” for 2023-24. Bethel was the first Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see https://www.bethelks.edu

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