Delicate yellow paper flowers were hung from the ceiling of the Greenwood Center for the Arts to represent the fragility of memories. Nearby, Charlotte, a menacing 12-foot creature from the fantasy land of Volucris, stood guard.

Just a few blocks away, photographs showed the everyday, yet magical, world around us.

The second annual Lander Art Walk in Uptown Greenwood showcased student art in five cities and is a testament to the University’s Art + Design department attracting the best students and talent.

“These students are amazing. I am simply blown away,” said Department Chair Sandy Singletary as she viewed the student exhibit at the Center for the Arts. “There’s such a ‘wow factor’ here. This is quality work for graduates.

She praised faculty in the department and the BFA programs for enabling undergraduate students to pursue their artistic dreams. “These programs give students more time with the materials they love, and they thrive. You can see it on display here.

Tien Hai Mai, of Greenville, was surrounded by friends and family as they stood under the yellow flowers she made by hand and walked on yellow flower petals splattered on the ground. The room also contained brightly colored steel sculptures, which the art major had created for her family, who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in 2010.

“Here you step into my memories,” she said.

Her portion of the exhibit, which included representations of porcelain sculptures from her own life, showed “the good times and experiences that have helped me and also suffocated me… in a state of bewilderment, disappointment and sadness. ‘uncertainty”.

In Vietnam, a flower called “Mai”, the same as her surname, is held in high esteem. For May, the flower keeps “good memories”, while the petals “represent wealth, peace, health, longevity and love of virtues”.

The eldest, whose arms were appropriately filled with flowers to celebrate her artistic debut, said she plans to pursue a master’s degree in sculpture.

Victor Santos created a body of work to “imitate the academic atmosphere of a natural science museum displaying specimens while functioning as an art exhibition displaying sculptures”.

Santos designed “sculptures of creatures” living on his imaginary exoplanet, Volucris, to showcase his art and design skills. He incorporated steel, foam insulation, cardboard, iridescent cellophane, paint and faux fur to produce his creatures, including the stunning Charlotte, who towered over guests visiting the gallery.

A graduate in art from Cheraw, Santos also created a “vultwil, scientifically named Volucris nox,” for his exhibition. The creature, sporting two pairs of eyes and iridescent wings, is most active before sunrise and just after sunset, Santos said.

To lend added authenticity to his work, Santos constructed a vultwil skull to demonstrate the creature’s structure. He researched the zoology of Earth and used his artistic reimagining of life to build the sculptures. He hopes to use the painstaking skills he used for his senior exhibit in a future career as a prop or exhibit designer for a science museum.

Santos was drawn to Lander because of the reputation of the art department. “I saw an opportunity for me to benefit greatly from the art program,” he said.

Lander art teacher Jon Holloway, whose own Sundance gallery was filled with student photographs, led the effort last year to create the art walk. “It’s a great collaboration between Lander, the community and the city,” Holloway said. “The quality of the show at the Arts Center is comparable to that of gallery exhibitions in any major city in the United States.

More than 40 photographs were exhibited at the Sundance Gallery. “Students taking introductory photography classes showed their photographs with advanced students who had self-directed projects,” Holloway said.

Art lovers also had the opportunity to stop at food trucks along Main Street and view art exhibits at Main & Maxwell, Flynn’s on Maxwell and Good Times Brewing.

“I think the Art Walk can grow every year,” Holloway said, “We are already looking for a date for our 2023 event.”