Dear Reader:
Each term, student editors have the opportunity to see the creative works being produced in District 502 by people of many ages, ethnicities, and life experiences. The student editors of The Prairie Light Review’s spring 2008 issue, “The Passage of Time,” went through a blind-submission process when they juried artwork, poetry and prose submitted for publication during class time in English 2210.
Competition among works of art is high. The selection process of artwork for the magazine is a democratic one that is student-based, and students arrive at their content decisions through discussion and voting. This unique opportunity to select work for publication is one that the student editors take very seriously, establishing criteria at the start of term with which they will judge what work they think will engage the magazine’s readers. The magazine can only accommodate 16 pages of color, so the student editors had to make many tough choices.
One piece that stood out was David Beeching's "The Passage of Time", which was selected for this issue's cover and title. The students found the digital collage very engaging. An editor said, “we thought it was cleverly done, thought-provoking, and eye-catching.” They'd like to share David Beeching's artist's statement with you:
As a young child I found myself with a powerful desire to create art and to take photographs. I began taking pictures using my Mother’s Kodak “Brownie” so long ago it is embarrassing to contemplate. After a few false starts I ended up in the camera manufacturing business with Bell & Howell. When I retired a few years ago, I decided to become a practicing artist.
Digital Photography coupled with computer software has opened a stunning new array of tools to any artist or photographer – putting the most powerful darkroom imaginable in your lap for less than $1500. I decided to study this new science at COD’s Photo Department and began taking pictures daily at the behest of Glen Hansen, the co-guru of that area. Among my assignments: create a project demonstrating “The Passage of Time” such as the now famous frozen slice of time showing a bullet smashing through an object.
After giving the project some thought, I noticed a set of plates depicting
various spices including the spice “Thyme”, and I had the idea of
transforming the project with some humor. I shot the “Thyme” plate
and as well as my artist’s mannequin in various positions with my Nikon
D-70 and using Adobe PhotoShop layered the various shots on to a hazy background
into the final picture showing the mannequin throwing the plate across the frame.
This kind of picture is proof that taking the photo is just the beginning not
the end of image creation. I use the skills learned in at COD in two semesters
of Digital Photo study every single day in my image creation work and the photograph
“The Passage of Time” is one of my favorite pictures.
--David C. Beeching
As always, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and The Prairie Light Review student editors. We receive messages from you at plre@cod.edu. We appreciate your feedback and hope we will continue to receive and engage with your work in the future.
Liz Whiteacre
Adviser