Contact:  Melissa Reifert
October 27, 2006

Art Professor Displays Work in MECC’s Slemp Gallery

Edinburgh Studies, the current exhibit in the Slemp Gallery at Mountain Empire Community College, originated when artist Ray Stratton spent a month in Scotland while his wife finished her master’s degree at the Edinburgh College of Art. Stratton, Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, spent a lot of time in Edinburgh studying the architecture of the city.

“The age of the buildings, the textures, patterns, and lines that they created was something that I wanted to explore visually,” he says. “To this end, I took a number of photographs for reference. As I looked at these photographs in preparations for this exhibition, I was fascinated by the kind of layering of the buildings, one behind another.”

This “layering” is evident in Stratton’s art featured in the Slemp Gallery. “This work was both about exploring the visual possibilities of the subject matter and to try new working methods and media while doing so,” he states.

The mixed media that Stratton used in the exhibit is displayed on various items including depictions of the city on panels, assemblages on matchbooks, and on paper that the artist made by hand using items such as abaca, flax, cotton rag, and grass clippings.

Edinburgh Studies will be on display at MECC until December 15. The Slemp Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. It is located in the Wampler Library of Robb Hall.

“Quilt Block Ib” is just one of Ray Stratton’s works currently on display in the Slemp Gallery at MECC. Stratton, Assistant Professor of Art at UVA-Wise, will be the featured artist in the gallery through December 15.

“Paper Study VII” is one of the works by Ray Stratton, Assistant Professor of Art at UVA-Wise, that is currently on display in the Slemp Gallery at MECC. His exhibit, Edinburgh Studies, will be at the gallery until December 15.

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