As students and faculty wander through Terry Ratzlaff’s exhibit in the Nordstrand Visual Arts Gallery, they are greeted not only by images, but a philosophy. Ratzlaff’s showcase, titled “Take Your Time,” is open to the public from now until March 19. The showcase invites viewers to explore the intersection of time, memory and the creative process through a rich blend of artistic techniques.  

“The exhibition was a stunning display of color, emotion, and storytelling,” Ella Hostetler, a WSC senior said. “Each piece invites us to see the world in a new way.”

Terry Ratzlaff is both a photographer and a book artist. Ratzlaff’s showcase is comprised of photography and artwork that features different photographic processes. The showcase features processes like gum bichromate, silver gelatins, cyanotypes, digital pigment prints and artist books.  

“I thought the art was interesting. The different prints made me think about how time and things can change in different ways,” Tyler Lucas, a sophomore on campus, said.  

The processes are used as a way to explore the complexities of time, change and perception by creating layered visual narratives that challenge the viewer to engage with the nuances of time, both within the image and its underlying meaning. 

“The gum bichromate process uses something called a dot matrix, that are made of multiple colors. I think these images speak to ideas of change, movement, and alienation. These images appear as refractions or echoes, but the gum aesthetic distorts and deconstructs the image,” Ratzlaff said.  

The cyanotypes have a blueprint-like appearance and contribute to the idea of fragmentation and unification. The fragmentary works convey the sense of assembling a larger, more cohesive whole. The artist’s book, located outside of the main walls of the show, shows a series of errors that Ratzlaff encountered while photographing the train watcher. Embracing the errors that occurred and using them as part of the creative process rather than flaws is an important part of the process for Ratzlaff. 

 “Most people, when they encounter errors or mistakes, usually remove them from a body of work. You don’t see them. And here, I embraced the error to isolate it and enlarge it to make it an event in itself,” Ratzlaff said.  

Ratzlaff’s biggest inspiration for the showcase was trains. The pivotal moment that led to the exploration of trains was observing a train watcher who cataloged trains with incredible attention to detail. The train watcher was an 80-year-old widower who spent hours watching trains, filling notebooks with records of train activities, cargos and destinations. Through conversations with him, Ratzlaff developed a deep connection between trains and mindfulness.  

“Through talking to him, I started to kind of think about trains as a substitution for time and the way we structure time. It wasn’t about the trains to him, it was more recognizing the kind of beauty in a moment where every moment is unique,” Ratzlaff said, “No moment is the same, nothing is really boring. It’s all about perspective, just like how no train is the same train.”  

Ratzlaff offered advice for young artists just starting their path. “Try not to get hung up on efficiencies, on things being economical, in the sense that you have to go through the process, and the process takes time.”