Fire and Film: Ceramicist Sandy Frank, photographer Olivia Woolf present senior art shows

Sandy+Franks+ceramics+sit+on+a+pedestal%2C+while+Olivia+Woolfs+photographs+hang+on+the+wall.+Though+their+art+shows+were+separate%2C+both+seniors+shows+discussed+leaving+home+and+entering+a+new+chapter+in+their+lives.+

Sandy Frank’s ceramics sit on a pedestal, while Olivia Woolf’s photographs hang on the wall. Though their art shows were separate, both seniors’ shows discussed leaving home and entering a new chapter in their lives.

Two artists, two disciplines, two narratives, one space. The Eastern Star hosted two senior shows on May 7: Sandy Frank’s “Home Sweet Home” and Olivia Woolf’s “Nostalgia.”

Frank focused her art show on how her dogs make her feel “love, support, happiness and more.” Her show consisted of a series of bowls as well as sentimental sculptures of her domestic pets.

“[My work] has a deeper meaning of my house,” Frank said. “I can use [my pottery] in the future, not just [as] something that’s going to sit on a shelf.” 

Similarly, Woolf’s photography is more than a series of images. According to Woolf’s artist statement, her show is focused around “[engaging] the viewer with … an experience of longing and sentimentality.”

“All my photos are filmed, so it takes longer to develop and you don’t always know what you are going to get from the results,” Woolf said. “These are photos from the last two years of high school, and [the photos] represent nostalgia.”

Even the medium of film photography that was used was a conscious choice in Woolf’s work: she used film as a symbol of the “patience” and “focus” required in life.

“Film photography requires immense focus and strategy, paralleling to how one approaches life and the importance of patience,” Woolf wrote in her artist statement.

Like Woolf, Frank wanted to connect her show with the “uncertainty” surrounding leaving for college. She also wanted her pieces to be “gift” to her family and a testament to home as a place of “comfort” and “joy.”

“I will be leaving for college soon, and decided I wanted to gift my family with tangible pieces of my education,” Frank said. “I created pieces that my family uses every day [and] items that can be found around my household with a sentimental intention.”