The one-of-a-kind artistry of Lone Star College-CyFair students Desiree Calderon de Fawaz, Solomon Rowry, Sarah Silver and Sydney Tran is being showcased as part of Pearl Fincher Museum of Arts “Fresh Perspectives”, a youth art exhibition featuring "Visionaries of the Next Generation” on display now through May 10.
“We are excited to have our students selected for this exhibition in collaboration with the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts,” said LSC-CyFair Art Professor Renee Justiss. “Our studio faculty carefully selected several prominent students from past and current fall and spring semester courses. We are proud of their creativity and hard work and to see these students share their work with a broader public audience in a formal museum setting.”
Artwork from these four artists as well as those from LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball and LSC-University Park will be included in the museum exhibition in the “Lone Star College Student Highlights” collection. From painting and printmaking to sculpture and ceramics, the collection offers a dynamic snapshot of the artistic energy thriving across the Lone Star College system. In addition, the works feature a range of media and styles, highlighting the diverse perspectives of a student body that includes both traditional college students and lifelong learners from the wider community.
There will be an opportunity to meet these college student artists in a community reception at the museum from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. April 17. However, another chance to visit with LSC-CyFair’s artists will be at a 5:30 p.m. April 24 reception, awards ceremony and wearable art fashion show kicking off the Student Art Showcase April 22 - May 2 in LSC-CyFair’s Bosque Gallery.
LSC-CyFair Artists – At a Glance
Tran, a very shy child growing up, said “art was the only way I felt comfortable expressing myself. I let the art speak for me in ways I cannot through words.” With plans to transfer to the University of Texas this fall, she said being part of the museum exhibition is “an extraordinary opportunity” and “a huge milestone” as a young artist that has solidified her desire to pursue a career in the arts.
With a Prismacolor piece titled “Something Akin to Holiness” and an alcohol inks and watercolor pencils piece titled “Happy Birthday to Me”, she said “I’ve been having a blast experimenting with funky color palettes and how I can utilize color to express themes and messages in my art.”
Often a very private person, Rowry said being considered for this exhibition was a “huge honor” and “a chance to become more comfortable sharing my work with others” and in this case, with two of his paintings titled “The Water I Give” and “Visionary”.
With a passion for art since his mid-teens and plans to transfer to Prairie View A&M University in pursuit of a Digital Media degree, Rowry said “Inspiration causes me to push myself to learn new things. That's how I discovered two of my favorite mediums, oil pastel and acrylic painting.”
Art has been Calderon de Fawaz’s career goal since she was 9 years old - even when others dismissed it as “just a hobby.” Her journey took several turns: she earned a degree in microbiology/bacteriology from UT-Austin in 1998, followed by an AA in Foreign Languages from Austin Community College. After years dedicated to family life, she became a full-time creative writer in 2017, eventually publishing a YA novel and an award-winning children’s book during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Fall 2022, she finally returned to her first passion, enrolling in two art classes per semester at LSC-CyFair. Now working toward an AA in Fine Arts by 2026, she’s thrilled to have her ceramics and mixed media piece “Despised” featured in this museum exhibition.
“Besides the written word - a form of art - I’ve found that I seem to gravitate towards mixed-media,” said Calderon de Fawaz, whose journey began with oils and finds pastels to be a go-to medium that sparks joy. “Apart from that, I love creating sculptural ceramic works, the kind without functionality (that can't be sold at Saturday markets) but that shock viewers, make them think, and are great conversation starters for crucial subjects.”
Silver, who began sculpting in her late teens, is a polymer clay and ceramics artist and co-owner of an online sculpture business with her twin sister since 2015. Her artwork looks at fantastical aspects of myths and folklore, notably Celtic, and how they relate to real-world lives. She earned her LSC-CyFair associate degree in 2019 and continues taking art classes to explore techniques and add skills. Her piece that will be featured in the Pearl Fincher MFA exhibition is titled “Echoes of Folklore”.
For information on the art program available at LSC-CyFair, go to LoneStar.edu/art-dept-cyfair. To enroll in classes, go to LoneStar.edu/cyfair .