Enjoy a glimpse into the minds of the creative individuals who teach art to students at Northfield Mount Hermon. Currently on display at the school’s Rhodes Art Center is an exhibit showcasing the work of the visual arts faculty. 

The exhibit runs through March 6 and features ceramics, textiles, paintings, prints and a sculpture from NMH teachers Steve Allison, YeJin Han, Charley Neisner, Bill Roberts, Jamie Rourke and Mona Seno. 

Rourke, who serves as the gallery coordinator in addition to his teaching duties, said there is no specific theme to this year’s annual faculty show. What the faculty members have in common is a love of art, a passion for teaching and encouraging young artists to explore their own creativity.  

“I think each of us has strong individual visions of what art means to us and what we want it to be for ourselves,” Rourke said. “The common thread in our department is that we are all very different. We have diversity in our individual persons and a wide variety in art-making techniques. As a group I think we’re a bunch of powerful creative individuals.”

“It’s a continuation of our personal interests,” YeJin Han added. 

For the show, Rourke created a tall, moving, metal sculpture titled “Nobody Knows,” which he said was inspired by the creative process and how interpretive art can be. 

“One of the wonderful things about art is that not everybody always agrees on what they see,” Rourke said. 

He said the sculpture is the first he made without a plan. He played with ideas as he fabricated the sculpture and had no idea where the journey would end, but as he built it he felt himself being drawn to the idea of strength and stability. He created a tall bendy sculpture topped by two large moving wings of metal that looks as if it would be too heavy for the bendy frame to support.

“I think it’s very similar to the feeling of the world right now,” Rourke said. “How strong can it be with all these destabilizing forces?”

He said that he hopes his piece, as well as the rest of the exhibit, teaches students that it’s OK to try new things and that the creative process is supposed to be enjoyable. 

“I like projects that force me to stretch my thinking and operate outside my comfort zone,”  Rourke said. “When you’re being creative its OK to try something new and take a risk.”

Bill Roberts has been teaching painting and drawing at NMH for 24 years, and said his work is heavily inspired by local landscapes. On display at the gallery are paintings of scenes Roberts observed during travels to Vermont and Cape Cod, while driving through Northampton and Montague, and even just walking around the NMH campus. His said he hopes his work highlights the importance of observation and attention to detail, a key tenet of what he teaches his students. 

“There’s so much to learn from direct observation,” Roberts said. “These are certainly not photographs; I move things around and change things … but when [students] begin with observation in their work, they learn skills. Once they have skills they develop their own artistic voice.”

The exhibit will be on display until March 6. Members of the public can view the exhibit by scheduling an appointment with Rourke at [email protected].

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or [email protected].