Art show draws young and old alike

Ryan Willoughby ran into the Commons Area of Clovis Community College Friday on his way to take a test when he saw a photo that reminded him of home.

CMI staff photo: Christina Calloway

Joy Simon looks at her first place sculpture proudly Friday at the Pintores Art League Spring Fling exhibition on Clovis Community College's campus.

"I was on my way to take a test and it just caught my eye," said the farmer of Farwell about a photo of a cowboy at sundown.

The photo was one of about 100 pieces of artwork at the Pintores Art League Spring Fling at CCC this week, an exhibition of professional and student works by regional artists.

Willoughby said the art was a nice distraction before his test. He said he's studying agribusiness.

He was also drawn to a photo of a toddler mounting a horse in cowboy gear.

"I like the use of the black and white," he said. "It reminds me of growing up on the farm."

Artist Joy Simon hasn't been in the area too long but when the retired citizen moved to Clovis from Austin, Texas in July, she said it didn't take her long to find the art community.

Her sculpture tilted "Ms. P.C. Meltdown" won first place for sculptures, a project that literally used the anatomy of a computer, from its memory to the keys on a keyboard. She also spared her son's old computer monitor screen from being trashed and used it as the base.

"I had so much fun doing that one," Simon said. "It means in the computer world we are so attached to our computers and at times we become so overloaded that we have a meltdown."

Retired dairy farmer Don Van Dam of Portales said he read about the art exhibition in the newspaper and thought it would make a good lunch date for him and his wife.

CMI staff photo: Christina Calloway

Retired Air Force veteran Ed Martinez shows off his wooden sculpture named "Jeremiah," which garnered him a second place ribbon. The sculpture is made out of cottonwood tree bark.

"I saw it in the paper and said, 'Ah man, I 'd like to see that,'" Van Dam said. "Now that I'm getting older, I can appreciate the arts."

Van Dam said his favorite pieces are the paintings because the details are so fine.

"You get up close and you can see all the different swipes of the brush and then you stand back and you go, 'Whoa, how'd they do that?'" Van Dam said. "I really appreciate this."

Ed Martinez of Clovis, an Air Force veteran, said his art skills are self-taught. His second-place piece "Jeremiah," is a wooden sculpture.

"It's unique because it's made out of cottonwood tree bark, it's nearly 100 years old," Martinez said. "The reason I like to work with this medium is because it's so soft."

Martinez said these projects he carves is a form of stress relief. He enjoys making art because he never knows what his hands will lead him to create.

"When I start carving, I never know where it's going to lead me," Martinez said.