Lydia Gittins of Perry will graduate next month from Grand View University in Des Moines with a degree in studio arts. One of the last assignments in her four-year career was to host a senior art show, and Gittins brought her show to downtown Perry, where she will exhibit her work through Sunday in the exhibition gallery of Betsy Peterson Designs at 1121 Second St.
“Most students have their senior show at Grand View,” Gittins said at Friday night’s opening, “but I decided to have mine off campus.”
Friday night’s exhibition drew a large and appreciative crowd to see Gittins’ mixed-media works, which run the gamut from block prints to oils on canvas. Among the more striking pieces is a series of three-dimensional works that stand in the center of the gallery as colorfully as flower beds but are made of intricately interwoven pieces of fabric and yarn.
“Lydia is a colorist,” said Rachel Schwaller, assistant professor of art and design at Grand View. “We’ve put her through a lot in these four years and produced a real talent.”
Professor Schwaller was one of the many wellwishers attending the opening exhibition along with family members, friends and fellow students.
Gittins’ friend and mentor Betsy Peterson said she was proud of her protege.
“Lydia has been a huge help for three years now at our art camps for kids,” Peterson said. “We’re so lucky to have her help in the summers.”
Gittins said her journey after college is as yet unknown, but she plans to continue working in the art field and also with youngsters interested in art.
