Addition of Virtual Sandburg Student Art Show a Welcome Sight for Nichols
Aaron Frey
Friday, April 9, 2021 2:55 PM
Campus News
Galesburg, IL
One of Jennie Nichols’ favorite memories of growing up was attending art shows with her mother, carefully examining each piece and sharing their thoughts with one another.
When Nichols and her mom, Mechelle Rylander, viewed last year’s Carl Sandburg College Student Art Show, it was just like old times, albeit in a very different setting.
Because of COVID-19, the show’s opening reception wasn’t held in person. Instead, the College created a virtual space for the show on its website, unveiling it at the same time the reception was supposed to begin. Rather than seeing works in Sandburg’s Lonnie Eugene Stewart Art Gallery, Nichols and her mom discussed them while looking at photos on a laptop on Rylander’s dining room table.
“It was like, ‘Oh, wow, look at this,’ and then I got to show off. ‘This is my friend, and here’s what they did,’” said Nichols, who had three ceramic bowls featured in the show. “It was nice. It was like when I was younger and her health problems weren’t as bad.”
RELATED: Sandburg Student Art Show Goes Virtual Once Again
Those health problems are her mother’s fibromyalgia — a chronic nerve pain condition — and chronic fatigue syndrome. While canceling the in-person opening was a disappointment for many, the transition to a virtual reception gave Rylander an opportunity to experience one of her daughter’s shows like everyone else for the first time in years.
Nichols, who will graduate this spring with her Associate in Arts, said chronic fatigue syndrome is her mother’s biggest obstacle from being able to attend her events. She described the condition as an average person being handed a bag of coins at the start of each day to spend on their energy for the next 24 hours. The more energy they use at a given time, the more money they fork over.
“With my mom,” Nichols said, “it’s like it’s a Monday and somebody hands her two nickels and says, ‘That’s your energy for the week.’ So physically leaving her house to do things like this takes a lot more coins for her overall than it would for everyone else.”
RELATED: Read this story and more in the 2021 edition of "Sandburg"
Typically, Nichols would show photos of her pieces to her mom and then take the physical items over to her once the show’s run had ended. The virtual format also meant Nichols’ 76-year-old grandmother, who has knee trouble and mobility issues, could view from the comfort of home as well. Additionally, Nichols, who has been accepted to attend Monmouth College in the fall and plans to become a college art instructor, received digital versions of the photos of her bowls to include in her portfolio.
“For situations like mine or family members that don’t live in-state, it was really nice to be able to include them in this,” Nichols said. “I know that if it helped me in some way, other people definitely had to benefit from it.”
View the Sandburg Student Art Show at sandburg.edu/StudentArtShow
