It was an honor to be included in the 108th SoVA Student Exhibition this year at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. I received the Excellence in Painting Award, selected by this year’s juror Jennifer Scanlan, for my painting 100 Years of Progress. The work depicts a solar eclipse and includes stars from the taurus constellation in the same position as the 1919 eclipse used to prove Einstein’s theory of relativity.

This spring it was absolution thrilling to be back in person for an exhibition, albeit in a limited capacity, the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The 106th University of Oklahoma student exhibition was 100% online, a disappointing experience for my first student show at the university. Since 1915 the School of Visual Art at the University of Oklahoma has been preparing students for success as artists, designers, scholars, teachers, and influential patrons of all the arts. I’m excited to participate in this tradition during the second year of my MFA program.