Freshman art major Emily Rose Hirtle has something not many other freshman art majors have: a gallery showing.
Gallery 202, a nonprofit arts organization in Uptown, is displaying Hirtle's artwork, starting today, until April 30.
Hirtle, with a drawing concentration, said she hadn't even considered an art major before her fall enrollment.
"I never did art in high school," said Hirtle, whose birth name is Emily Sammons. "When I was accepted at Otterbein, I was hoping to be accepted in theatre, but I wasn't accepted into the program. Then I thought, ‘Well, what else should I do?'"
After briefly considering a broadcasting focus, an Otterbein admissions counselor suggested Emily go a different route.
"Teri Devlin said I should try for the Otterbein art scholarship, and I said OK."
Hirtle got the scholarship. Since then, she has also designed banners for Serendipity Ice Cream & Coffee House.
"I love to keep busy," Hirtle said. "I love to work. I like to put myself and my ideas out there. I'm not the kind of person to just sit around."
Hirtle prides herself on wearing her inspirations on her sleeve, citing van Gogh, the macabre works of Edward Gorey and Charles Addams as major influences to her own stylistic, hand-drawn works.
But what is "stylistic" exactly? "Well, it's not abstract, nor is it representational," Hirtle said.
"You know what it is, but it's not realistic. I want people to see this distinction visually."
Those who attend the gallery, which will be located in the loft establishment of Amish Originals, can expect to see 12 of Hirtle's "stylistic" hand-drawn pieces, all black-and-white illustrations.
The gallery is open to the public with no cover charge, and students are welcome to arrive at any time between 7 and 9 p.m. for the reception, today.
"I'm curious to see what people will think about my work now that it's starting to get out there," she said.
