Ever heard the saying “those who can, do; those who can’t, teach?”

Well, that doesn’t apply to some community college art faculty, who both teach and do and you can see their works in “The Art of Teaching Art” exhibition now in the Hans Weiss Newspace Gallery on the first floor of the Manchester Community College Arts, Sciences and Technology building. The charming show includes works by several of MCC’s Visual Fine Arts faculty as well as faculty from other Connecticut community colleges.

MCC faculty featured are Patricia Carrigan, who teaches drawing; Tim Kussow, who teaches sculpture; Brett Eberhardt, who teaches painting, Daniel Long, who teaches photography and Kate Oggel, who teaches ceramics.

Maura O’Connor, who teaches graphic design at MCC and is also the gallery director, put the show together. The idea for the show “came from working with colleagues across the system—looking at what we’re teaching,” she said.

MCC faculty who are presenting work in the show are, from left to right, Tim Kussow, Brett Eberhardt, Patricia Carrigan, Kate Oggel, Maura O’Connor and Daniel Long. Photo by Brian Lombardo of MCC.

This exhibition gives visitors an inside look into how these professors take a blank canvas and create a compelling contrast between abstract and realism; use clay to embody movement; capture the brief beauty many craved and held onto during the unknown beginnings of the pandemic through photographs; build surfaces, giving us fascinating textures and so much more. It’s impossible to describe it all—you must experience the wonder firsthand.

Hare Start I-IV – Charcoal drawing by Patricia Carrigan. Photo by Ileana Alvarez-Diaz of Live Wire.

For example, Carrigan’s Hare Start I-IV, is a captivating rectangle featuring multiple outlines, colors and viewpoints of an active rabbit. The juxtaposition between charcoal, blank space, and reddish-brown, as well as the numerous eyes pull you alongside the hare’s frantic pace. It reflects what she called “frenzied thinking.”

“The idea came from Irish hares I’ve seen in Ireland. First time I saw one I didn’t know what it was,” she said, adding that there’s something intriguing about how so much is happening in so little space.

Affirming (triptych) – Mixed materials by Janet Nesteruk. Photo by Ileana Alvarez-Diaz of Live Wire.

Northwestern Community College’s Janet Nesteruk’s Affirming, (triptych), is also an arresting piece that interrogates the reflections of the viewer. Three round mirrors are etched with the words “I am Loving, I am Loved and I am Lovable.” We can clearly see ourselves in “I Am Loving” and “I Am Loveable.”  There’s so much to love in this world: music, books, art, dogs, cats, home-cooked meals, etc. We give so much love to our parents, significant others, siblings, pets, our work, our art, etc. We appreciate those who mean so much in our lives. They matter to us, and we show that through our preferred love languages.

However, we can’t see much in “I Am Loved” because the glass there is frosted, not clear. Perhaps, this is Nesteruk’s way of showing how clouded our minds are when we show love to everyone but ourselves. This piece begs us to confront self-destructive beliefs.

Covid Garden/Four Photos, by MCC’s Long reveals what some people did when, as he put it, “the world shut down” when the pandemic began in March 2020.

“A lot of people started gardening…a lot of plants sold out—I made do with what was in my yard,” he said of the resulting photos.

Each of the four photos feature beautiful flowers and their leaves and what appear to be morel mushrooms. These photos look so alive that it’s borderline unbelievable. You know when you look up at the sky and it looks like a painting? The colors and clouds are blended in a way that looks unknown. It’s so beautiful that for a moment, you feel as though you’re in a video game—that feeling is what these photos possess. If you look closely, you’ll see dates: April 28th, May 18th, May 24th, and June 3rd.

Long said the dates helped him keep track of what he took when.

“Things had to be photographed because they wilted. That’s what the date is about—because they wouldn’t look good the next day,” he said.

In those brief months, Long decided to highlight the temporary beauty that even a world on pause still had.

I urge you to visit and see all the wonderful works featured in “The Art of Teaching Art” exhibition. Oggel’s ceramic sculptures look like soft drops of clouds, while Kussow’s playful display of rocks, bamboo, colorful balls, plastic bags, and Styrofoam containers will bring out your inner child. Don’t miss out.

The “Art of Teaching Art” exhibition runs through March 11. The gallery is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information about the exhibit or the gallery visit https://www.manchestercc.edu/hans-weiss-newspace/ or contact Maura O’Connor, gallery director, at 860-512-2692 or moconnor@manchestercc.edu.