ROSEBURG, Oregon – As you enter the Sue Shaffer Learning Commons and Library, you may have noticed something new greeting you at the door. To each side of the Library’s main entrance sits two large, handcrafted, wooden boxes with glass fronts. These two-foot by three-foot wooden display cases were the culmination of a project proposed by Leadership UCC.

Leadership UCC is a program that sends a representative from different departments of the school to learn to grow, do a project for the school, and learn good leadership, John Fett, Training Services Coordinator of Community and Workforce Training, and member of the program, said. The project chosen by the 2018-19 Leadership UCC team was to create the two wooden boxes that are present in the UCC Library.

The project’s goal was to Celebrate the students with the project by letting other students know what the art students are doing, and Incorporate the project into the college’s goals ; the College goals included ‘Improving the College’s culture and the pride of the school’, Fett said.

Throughout each year, art will be chosen from students in the Fine Art Department and displayed for a period of time.

Member of the 2018-19 team included; Fett, Steven Moldenhauer, Rebecca Attaway, and Freddy Gompf. The team coordinated with Susan Rochester, the Director of Performing and Visual Arts, to have art displayed in the boxes. The team were allowed to solicit art submissions from students in art classes. Rochester also assured the team that she regularly has art on hand from previous students that can be displayed. Additionally, the team decided to present this project because it also represented sustainability by making use of locally-sourced recycled wood. Both the wood and wood work were donated by Larry Turner, a local craftsman. The donation motivated the team and led them to complete their ideas and goals.

Each and every art piece has a meaning behind it, even the wooden cases have a meaning behind them. They say that a person can gain immortality through stories and legends of themselves, so let us give the art pieces immortality and remember the meanings of them.

Story by Jude Mai
Student Contributor

About Umpqua Community College

Nestled in the beautiful North Umpqua River Valley, Umpqua Community College is the regional center for higher education in Douglas County, Oregon. UCC provides high quality college degree programs, workforce development, and community learning opportunities.

Contact

Susan Rochester
Chair, Associate Professor, Art
Phone: 541-440-4692