MCC celebrating 50th anniversary with art exhibit by retired faculty

In honor of McHenry County College's 50th anniversary, four retired faculty members from the McHenry County College art department were invited to exhibit their artwork in a group show in Gallery One through Monday, Oct. 2, in Gallery One, in the library in Building A.

The exhibit includes artwork by faculty emeritus members Susan Galloway, Art Hand, Lynn Lourie and Joe Rybacek, who have a combined service total of 118 years at MCC. Each of these artists practiced their own art while teaching at MCC and all have continued that practice post retirement, along with many other endeavors. Galloway and Rybacek started teaching at MCC soon after the college opened and Hand and Lourie joined a short time later, and all played a major role in the development and growth of the MCC Art Department.

The following retired faculty are exhibiting:

• Susan Blue Galloway of Woodstock worked for 33 years at MCC, teaching ceramics. She earned her bachelor of art degree in fine arts at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana and her master of fine arts degree in ceramics at Wichita State University, Kansas. She earned another MFA in visual arts at Vermont College, Montpellier, Vermont. Galloway states that she "spent most of (her) professional teaching life at MCC and really enjoyed it; the faculty, the students, the studio and the mission were part of (her) life for a very long time." Since retirement, she has become a limited-production functional potter.

• Art Hand of Geneva taught photography for 25 years at MCC. He earned his master of fine arts degree in photography at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. When asked about his display, Hand said "These images represent a new exploration in photography for me. Much of my previous work was done with a medium format film camera. All of these images have been made with an iPhone … I love the process of looking at the screen and seeing things unfold before me. I'm the maker. But, I am also the witness to this process. I enjoy being both. The computer is used in this process only for re-sizing the image and making the final print."

• Lynn Lourie of Crystal Lake worked at MCC for 25 years, where she taught drawing and art appreciation. She also served as art department chair. Lynn received her bachelor of science degree in art at Bradley University in Peoria and earned both a master of arts degree and her master in fine arts degree at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. Lourie explains that "every work of art starts with some kind of sketch, cartoon or drawing. My drawings have always been a stream of consciousness and/or memories. I continue to rearrange the symbols, shapes and media to reflect that."

• Joe Rybacek of Woodstock worked at MCC for 35 years, where he taught painting and 2D design. He also served as art department chair and dean of humanities. Rybacek received his bachelor of arts degree in education and his master of arts degree in painting at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. Rybacek said his art in inspired by riding his Moto Guzzi motorcycles. " … as an artist, I develop drawing expressing our feelings when we ride these machines. From that experience came these drawings and paintings."