Anthea Williams and Ruth Murray, both students in Maia Dery’s Photo II Class, recently received impressive recognition at the Durham Art Guild’s 52nd Annual Juried Art Show. What makes Williams and Murray’s accomplishments so noteworthy is that not only did they have works selected by juror Petah Coyne to be entered into the show, but they each received special honors beyond simply making the cut.
Coyne liked Anthea William’s print so much, Coyne decided to purchase it. Murray’s prints made it into the show as well, but Murray’s other submission (ten slides that showcased her work on a larger scale) were given the penultimate approval of the Guild, granting her a solo gallery show in 2007. Murray is hard at work to fill the gallery’s walls and take advantage of the reaffirming opportunity.
Williams said of her achievements, “the most valuable thing I’ve learned is to trust my own instincts. Next time I’ll have more confidence.” Williams has earned that confidence, and plans to price her prints respectably in the future; Coyne’s purchase was one of the better bargains in the art world.
“Petah Coyne gave one of the most fascinating lectures I’ve ever heard,” said Williams about the juror of the show. All of Dery’s Photo II students were required to submit work to the Guild’s show and had the opportunity to hear Coyne speak during a class field trip.
“(Coyne) was hilarious, I liked the dead fish work she did,” said Murray about a social art piece involving hanging fish that had been dead for months on a stranger’s front lawn. Coyne cited it as a lesson learned in the aesthetics of beauty and how individuals appreciate different things. Murray said, “She was really warm and really encouraging.”
Murray is using that encouragement to fuel many exciting endeavors. She hopes to teach photography to the youth of the Glen Haven apartments and document the process. She said that the kids there were very enthusiastic to have their picture taken for the annual show, and she was looking forward to the prospect of teaching them more about photography.
Murray is a Spanish major and photography minor, and she has an opportunity to combine those talents at the Lightfactory in Charlotte, NC. The Lightfactory is a government-funded gallery and photo studio where the public can take classes and learn about photography. Murray plans to teach a class to ESL students that combines photo essays with essays in English. Maia Dery, the photography professor at Guilford, led a field trip to the Lightfactory to see an exhibition on self-portraiture.
Both Murray and Williams cited Dery as a favorite and important resource in Guilford’s photo department.
“This year we were lucky to have the opportunity to hear the juror, Petah Coyne, speak,” said Dery. Coyne shared advice about the ups and downs of the art world; how one minute the world receives your work with enthusiasm, and then the next, your work is out of style. Coyne has been through that cycle many times and said that the trick is to persevere – not let them get to you. By keeping true to yourself, there will be someone who will take notice eventually.
“She is such an articulate, enthusiastic, talented, and just plain sweet-natured woman. I was thrilled that my students had the opportunity to interact with her,” said Dery, who frequently makes time to enrich students’ learning outside of the classroom.
Lisa Morton, a Guilford graduate who works at the Durham Art Guild, said, “Guilford student involvement in our juried art show is serving as a model for other area colleges to make participation part of their curriculum. Maia Dery is the driving force behind this and we thank her for it.”
Dery leads nature trips with other professors as well as class and photo club field trips. She plans to lead students on an experiential learning trip to the Pacific coast during the summer.
While the photo students are concerned about resources and facilities available to future photo students at Guilford, their recent and exciting success proves that hard work can, in Dery’s words, “[teach] how to do more with much, much less.”
“The photography department might grow in the future but I’m much more interested in the growth of the people who are in it right now,” said Dery.
“Now that I’m a teacher, I think I’m finally beginning to understand what true accomplishment is, [to] recognize the beauty in your own life and in the world around you so that you can help someone else do the same,” said Dery.
Ruth Murray and Anthea Williams are prime examples of that accomplishment. Their work will hang here at Guilford in the Gallery and Boren Lounge for the remainder of the semester, as well as at the Durham Art Guild until Dec. 17.