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ARTS & CULTURE
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KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, DEC. 7, 2015
HOROSCOPES >> WHAT'S YOUR SIGN?
Aries (March 21-April
New income is possible,
or a delightful discovery.
Attend to finances over
the next two days. Follow
your grandmother's advice. Put your money
where your heart is.
Taurus (April 20-May
save some and invest
some. Make happy
plans. Count blessings.
Strategize to determine who's the best one for the job. A partner or friend can get in where you can't. Work together for a common goal today and tomorrow, it's a good time to get messages across.
Gemini (May 21-June 20)
Don't get overwhelmed There's plenty of work today and tomorrow.
and it could seem intense. Postpone what you can. Close a deal or sign papers. Make sure the numbers balance. Relax in peaceful priva-
cv to celebrate.
Marissa Shell creates 3-D sculptures using light and textiles
Cancer (June 21-July 28)
The next two days are reserved for fun. Get
The next two days are reserved for fun. Get creative and playful. Practice your arts. Generate sparks with someone hot. Instigate something worth detailing in your journal. Focus on your heartbeat.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Dive into domestic projects over the next two days for satisfying results. Handle repairs
that have been languishing. The gentle approach works best. Spend sweet time with family. Do something nice for someone.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept.
22)
Creative writing and publishing projects go well. Study and practice today and tomorrow. Music is a wise investment. Finalize the design. Use and grow your skills and artistry.
--you creative intuition A loved one or sibling inspires you.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22 The next two days can be lucrative. Schedule carefully to avoid missing opportunities Show your appreciation to those who share Harmony is a necessity. The impossible seems accessible. Accept an invitation.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov.
You're confident and strong over the next two days. Use your power responsibly. Step into a leadership position. Listen to what others want. Meditation and prayer are useful, especially when pessimism creeps in.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22- Dec. 21)
Peace and quiet soothe your spirit over the next few days. Clean, sort and organize. Do the filing, and clear space for what's next. Listen to your creative intuition. A loved one or sibling
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan.
19)
Prepare to launch your next adventure. Confer with friends and allies today and tomorrow. Committees are especially effective. Together, you have the necessary resources and enthusiasm. Do the homework. Leave nothing to chance.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb.)
18)
A professional goal is within reach over the next two days. Someone's watching your performance, so smile
and put on a good show. Friends can help.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March
20)
Conditions are better for travel for the next two days. New opportunities present themselves. Your next adventure reveals new perspectives. Study your destination's cultural and academic treasures. Plan for the territory ahead.
ZOE LARSON/KANSAN
ARTIN FOCUS
NATALIE CRAIG
@naticraig
Displayed on the fourth floor of Chalmers Hall, a hanging form of wire and textiles dwindles, reflecting its shadow on the stark white background.
This is the work of Marissa Shell, a University graduate student from New York City.
"With the piece downstairs, I want to make it big to make the viewer feel as if they are walking into this natural environment which makes you question the importance that human kind gives to itself," Shell said.
Nature is a source of inspiration for Shell. In a majority of her work, she focuses on different structures and systems in nature.
"That piece was based on the peristalsis, which is how your digestive track moves food through your body," she said. "I was looking for a way to use this totemic structure and connect it to a natural system in nature."
Shell is specializing in textiles and fibers in her graduate program. Her current piece comprises several different tootem structures, in which she utilizes lighting and shadow for the display.
One of Marissa Shell's art pieces is displaved in Chalmers Hall.
"I've never really worked with lighting and shadow before, so I am still figuring out the quirks, but every time I install it I learn as little bit as I go on," she said. "I want them to multiply; I look a lot at cells and organisms and bacteria multiply very quickly, and I want my work to be like that."
The artist uses all black plastic mesh materials to create the structures in her current piece
"My previous work was very colorful and people loved the colors," Shell said. "I think that I am just trying to eliminate color because I am trying to move from 2-D to 3-D. I think by eliminating color it just eliminates variables, which make it a little bit easier for me to kind of transition from making two dimensional work to three dimensional work."
Shell added: "I did not want color to become a crutch; I hate when people tell me that they love the colors. I would rather somebody tell me that
this is not working. A lot of people want people to praise them for their work, but I feel like you do not get anything out of that, you do not grow from that."
Shell has always been interested in art, but her true passion for art started when she was 16. Before coming to the University, Shell received her Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Purchase College in New York.
"When you are in school you have all this space but when you are in New York, your space gets smaller and you have to go smaller. You cannot make the same work in a small scale that you can in a big scale because it is just very different. That is how I ended up doing those," she said, pointing to some objects on a table.
For her senior project at Purchase, she created large-scale paintings based on abstract expressionism. After graduating and moving to a studio, she realized that her artwork needed to change.
While at the Institute, "I got really into weaving so I took a lot of weird weaving classes that were not in my curriculum," Shell said. "I decided I didn't want to do another undergrad, so I decided to finish the semester and then I decided I am not going to do the degree — I am just going to weave."
After attending Purchase, the artist attended the Fashion Institute of Technology.
The artist used her weavings to apply to graduate school. Her interests in weaving were inspired not only by the art of weaving itself, but also by materials used by musicians.
"I want to come back to the weaving. It may just end up being a side thing but I am trying to collect strings from musicians to do a weaving project," she said. "I am not sure where it is going to go yet, but I need to collect strings first. It would be a way to incorporate music into my work as well as other artists and other musicians."
Shell works hard and often creates well into the night. Her dedication for her art carried through from New York to Kansas, said Alex Atta, a former classmate at the Institute.
"She was always working."
Shell explains her process of creating her artwork.
ZOE LARSON/KANSAN
Atta said. "She would be weaving until, like, three in the morning."
Along with her artwork, Shell has a spunky personality that attracts people to her. "Marissa and I always have a good time together, working with her is effortless," Atta said. "She moves to the beat of her own drum, which is why I like her." Shell said that she found the University on a whim. When she had been out of the city previously, she was persistent because she did not have any distractions.
"I really wanted to go somewhere different than New York, I really wanted to be in a completely different environment," she said. "This is a nice break for me. I can breathe and go out for a run and not see too many people."
"She works best when she is able to concentrate on her work and be inspired by other creative artists or people who truly appreciate art," said Steven Shim, an art collector who knows Shell.
Mike Piergrossi is a friend and a fellow artist of Shell's from New York. He said he would come visit her while she worked at his local bar in Greenwich Village. He noticed that she was very productive and passionate about her work.
"She turned her time at work into time in the studio without slacking off on the job," he said. "Martissa's work prompts us to consider our own relationship to the environment, and to where and how we live, what we consume/discard, where we surf."
Piergrossi said Shell's work is narrated through her choice of materials.
"Her work is inspired by her surroundings and her relationship to nature and the environment," Piergrossi said. "Marissa constructs objects and installations that employ collected and found objects, as well materials that tell personal stories."
in the future. Shell said she intends to expand on her existing piece. She is inspired by artists Ruth Asawa and El Anatsui to make bigger pieces.
"I just like to work large, I want to do more installation," Shell said. "That piece is so tiny to me, I want to fill the room with like a hundred of those. But it takes time."
Edited by Derek Skillett
Some of Shell's materials sit on a desk in her studio.
Review: 'Reckless' tells a darker Christmas story
SAMANTHA SEXTON
@Sambiscuit
Audible gasps, bellowing laughter that drowned out a few lines, and shocked silence were part of Saturday night's performance of "Reckless," written by Craig Lucas and directed by Jim Dick.
The story opens with Rachel, the main character, cooing over her perfect Christmas tree and raving about how much she loves Christmas. Suddenly, her husband, Tom, bursts out in tears and exclaims he took a contract out on her life.
Rachel is flung into a
The dark comedy had audience members laughing one moment and holding back tears the next. One audience member, Kimberly Rovrahn, who has been a longtime friend of the actress who plays Rachel, Jacquelyn O'Connor, said the performance kept her on the edge of her seat.
confused adventure where she meets new friends, sees a myriad psychologists, and eventually comes to terms with who she is as a person.
"I kept trying to guess what was going to happen next, and some of my guesses were right, but a lot of them were wrong," Rovrahn said. "The whole performance was quite
clever how everything lead to something else and everything happened for a reason, which was one of the themes."
enjoyable and fascinating.
Rovrahn was accompanied by a friend, Jim Stukey, who was one of O'Connor's directors when she was at Burlington High School.
"I thought it was very unexpected," Stukey said. "I came into this thinking it was just going to be a drama or something and it was funny. I feel great now. It made me laugh, and I love to laugh."
While there were plenty of jokes, and Rachel kept the energy light and fun, there were plenty of moments when the audience was stunned
The play spun and twisted through many different directions that explaining the plot to someone who hadn't sat through it would be a challenge. However, Stukey said he found the writing
with how surreal life was portrayed.
"It really isn't your typical Christmas story," Ravrahn said. "But I think that's the point. Christmas and the holidays are supposed to be this magical time when you're with family and the ones who love you, but at the same time it is often full of heartbreak and trauma because you're with family and the ones who love you. I related very much."
"I loved how you didn't know what was going to happen, but you also saw how everything came back full circle, and despite going through some really awful stuff, Rachel came into her own at the end." Stukey said. "Which makes me even happier seeing Jacquelyn playing her after watching her grow in high school. It is a great role for her."
Reckless, the last play of the semester, will be performed on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, all at 7:30 p.m at the William Inge Memorial Theatre in Murphy Hall.
— Edited by Minami Levonowich