“Clay Pots” by Adrienne Zinn
“The Turquoise Door” by Joyce English
Norcross Gallery and Studios is presenting a new exhibit, “As We See It”, another of the series of Spotlight Shows which concentrate on a few select artists and their works. Opening Friday May 13, continuing through Saturday June 18, the participating artists are Beth Arnold, Joyce English, Micah Goguen, Gail Lenahan, Michael MacManus, and Adrienne Zinn.
- Beth Arnold’s paintings reflect her long career of teaching and she now paints for pleasure, drawing from multiple sources, including landscapes from her travels and flowers from her gardening hobby.
- Joyce English continues to paint from a variety of observations. The painting “The Turquoise Door” was inspired by a trip to Sicily; the brightly -colored door stood out amidst all the subtle tones of surrounding buildings.
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“Faintly Remembered” by Micah Goguen
Micah Goguen who has taught classes in the gallery and teaches workshops throughout the Southeast. His mesmerizing multi-media painting in this exhibit is “Faintly Remembered.”
- Gail Lenahan excels in fabric collage with added elements such as twine or beads to create her fantasy, fun paintings of fish and animals. A very appealing one in this show is a bright, cheerful blue fish titled “Fantasy Bluegill #2” that may swim into your heart.
- A portrait artist, Michael MacManus, paints for pleasure and relaxation away from a busy professional life. His painting in the exhibit is “Mountain Flowers” and is from a hike to Arabia Mountain. He has commendably donated a painting of Zelinsky which he offers for sale for a $500 contribution to Ukraine.
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“Fantasy Blue Gill #2” by Gail Lenahan
Widely traveled Adrienne Zinn gives us an intimate portrayal of people and places in Africa, notably Zanzibar and Tanzania, also impressions of India and Antarctica.. Her painting in the exhibit is “Clay Pots” which was inspired by visits to street markets in Jaipur, India.
Norcross Gallery and Studios (a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization) is located in downtown Norcross at 116 Carlyle Street. Open hours are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The website is www.norcrossgalleryandstudios.org and phone is 770-840-9844.
Gwinnett Tech graduates 550, all at school during pandemic
More than 550 students won degrees, diplomas and certificates at Gwinnett Technical College last week on the successful completion of their studies.
Keynote Speaker and 2022 Rick Perkins Award Instructor of the Year for the State of Georgia, Jeff White, spoke about being a person of value, stating, “There are three keys to being a person of value. The first key is education. No matter what situation you find yourself in, more education gives you more choices, and it provides more opportunities to make the right choice for you. The second key to being a person of value is hard work, and the third key is respect.”
The Class of 2022 enrolled and attended their entire College career during a pandemic. They met adversity head-on and marched forward through sheer will and self-determination through the many barriers put in front of them. Many of them with full-time jobs, families, and financial hardships, yet still walked across this graduation stage and staked their claim to a great career with a great company or are beginning their own companies.
Students at GGC put research on full display
Research was on full display at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) recently at the college’s Science, Technology and Research Symposium (STaRS). This in-person event came back in full force with more than 80 exhibits featuring sleek posters, unusual artifacts and interactive activities. It was postponed for two years during the Covid outbreaks.
Dr. Charles Pibel, associate dean and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry in GGC’s School of Science and Technology, says the event allows budding scientists to present their work in a familiar environment.
“They are presenting science as a scientist,” he explains. “It’s a very important skill that students need to learn and communicate to their peers and the public. Even if they are not going to be a scientist, the event helps students practice communication and answer questions on a topic on which they have expertise.”
Pibel says that the event helps student researchers as they go on to present at research conferences and meetings. The hope is that after they’ve practiced presenting their work, they will be able to communicate effectively about complicated topics with prospective graduate mentors and eventually, prospective employers.
“They can talk about real science they did while they were in college and present the results and demonstrate their proficiency to scientific and non-scientific audiences.”
Alexander Merryman, 19, of Lawrenceville is a biochemistry major who graduated last year from the Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology. Someday, Merryman hopes to be a surgeon, but currently, he’s spending his freshman year at GGC researching ways to analyze the elemental composition of different materials using a more cost-effective process. Merryman explained that similar to each person’s unique fingerprint, each element has its own wavelength or spectrum. Scientists use a spectrometer to identify and analyze those elements, but commercial spectrometers can cost upwards of $40,000 to purchase.
So Merryman built his own spectrometer in GGC’s Optics, Photonics and Laser Laboratory using an inexpensive tattoo removal laser, which, when combined with a less expensive pocket spectrometer, essentially achieves the same result. He says: “Using a cosmetic pulsed laser, you can just order off of Amazon, it costs a lot less with fewer resources involved. We were able to use engineering, physics and chemistry to make our own system.”
Joining students were faculty, who highlighted their research collaborations during the event. Dr. Ajay Mallia has worked with student Joel Suazo as part of the American Chemical Society’s SEED project when Suazo was a senior at Grayson High School in Gwinnett County. Now a biochemistry student at GGC, Suazo is continuing to research with Mallia. The pair is studying thixotropic ‘self-healing’ soft gel materials, which Mallia said can potentially be used in pharmaceutical materials and drug delivery vehicles.
Mallia said along with helping students communicate about their research, the STaRS event helps faculty to identify future research collaborations within and beyond the college.
“This is a great venue to present the importance of research to students, administrators and external partners.”
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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