Jaye Bumbaugh summer art exhibit opens May 28 at Goshen College; Long-time art professor to showcase bas-relief constructions

Art exhibit: Jaye Bumbaugh, sculpture, drawing and painting
Dates: May 28-Sept. 3, 2006
Reception: Sept. 3, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Location: Hershberger Art Gallery, Goshen College Music Center
Cost: Free and open to the public
Event sponsor: Goshen College Art Department
Web site: www.goshen.edu/art

GOSHEN, Ind. – After teaching art for more than 35 years at Bluffton (Ohio) University, Jaye Bumbaugh is used to nurturing the artistic abilities of others. But a new art exhibit at Goshen College will focus on Bumbaugh’s own work, which will be on display in the Hershberger Art Gallery from May 28 to Sept. 10. A reception for the exhibit will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3.

The exhibit will feature more than 50 bas-relief constructions, in which Bumbaugh uses a variety of materials such as rag mat board, paper and Fome-Core, and combines them with silkscreen printing, monotypes and hand painting to create unique visual art. All of the pieces are in shadow-box frames, and according to Bumbaugh, each of the small pieces is meant to serve as a model for a larger scale piece.

“This exhibit is all about design,” said Bumbaugh. “It’s about color and texture and pattern, which I love. It will be lyrical and easy to look at – a combination of color and patterns.”

According to Bumbaugh, all of the pieces in the show are non-objective pieces, meaning that the artwork isn’t intended to depict its title. “I love working with non-objective art,” said Bumbaugh. “It’s about the ideas in my head, in my mind.” In fact, Bumbaugh said he generally picks the titles for his pieces when he runs across a word he likes while reading a book.

After graduating from Ohio Northern University in 1959, Bumbaugh got his start in teaching at Midview Junior High in Grafton, Ohio, where he taught art for five years. From 1964 to 1965, Bumbaugh taught at Bluffton High School, before obtaining his master of fine arts in sculpture from Bowling Green State University in 1967.

Bumbaugh began his tenure as an art professor at Bluffton University in 1967, where he became the chairman until his retirement in 2005. While at the university, Bumbaugh was responsible for modernizing the art department. He introduced a variety of new courses, including airbrush, paper-making, lithography and welding. Under his direction, Bluffton University sponsored the Scholastic Art Awards program for many years.

He has worked in a wide variety of media including drawing in graphite, charcoal and pastel; painting in oils and watercolor; relief prints in linoleum, intaglio, silkscreen and lithography; and sculpture with ceramics and casting in bronze.

Bumbaugh’s work has been accepted into many juried art exhibitions, both on the state and local levels, where he has won numerous awards.

The Hershberger Art Gallery, located in the Goshen College Music Center, is open during the summer from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The building is accessible to people using wheelchairs and others with physical limitations.

- by Jennifer Rupp

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S.News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.