By Margaret Barr

Gallery hops and art shows are not just for professionals — they’re for students too.

The UK Studio Major Student Council is showcasing its third annual Spring Student Art Show. The show will be held through April 9 in the Rasdall Art Gallery, located in the UK Student Center. A reception and silent auction will be held Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the artists as part of UK’s Campus Gallery Hop.

The gallery hop, which will take place after the auction, is designed to allow the surrounding community to come to campus and see the art being made by students. Galleries that will participate in the Gallery Hop include the UK Art Museum, the Tuska Center for Contemporary Art, the Barnhart Gallery and the Rasdall Gallery.

The Studio Major Student Council was founded in 2005 to promote and showcase art being made by UK art studio majors and to increase art awareness at UK and in the Lexington community. The Spring Student Art Show is held to give the art students a place to showcase their work from the spring semester.

“The show is open to UK students, but you had to apply about a month ago,” said Lee Ann Paynter, president of the SMSC. “Around 104 works were submitted and 37 were chosen from those.”

Paynter said half of the proceeds from the silent auction will go to the SMSC and the other half will go directly to the artists.

Hilary Brown, a second year art studio graduate student with a concentration in photography, will display her art at the show.

“The work I submitted is part of a series I had been working on that focuses on abandoned buildings in the central Kentucky area,” she said. “I’m excited that this show will be displayed in a central area of campus, and hopefully will create some buzz about the art department.”

Some of the art showcased will be similar to what you would see on a family mantle.

“My photography is very traditional and straightforward,” said Mallory Blair, a senior art studio major. “I concentrate on documenting my family, so I was also thrilled that it worked out to where I could show my mom, dad and sister individually.”

One of the judges for the show will be Centre College professor Stephen Rolfe Powell. Powell will judge art from many different categories such as photography, oil and spray paints, etchings, sculpture and many others. He will decide first, second and third place for the show. Those artists will receive cash prizes.

“When I evaluate student work, I try to take a more objective approach by concentrating on the balance in the work between technique and creativity,” Powell said.