Nancy Young, a CSULB student, is wrapping up her final semester at the university and will be graduating with her BFA in print making. This is Young’s second attempt in shooting for a CSULB degree. Young admits to failing grades as a result to substance abuse and bipolar disorder in 1984 that got her disqualified from the university her first time in college, but was motivated to challenge herself and accomplish her dreams.
Young works in Orange County as a programmer and simply enjoys art as a side passion with no desire for financial gains. Her degree is a symbol of success for her. Nancy Young is a passionate soul, and with extra love for her dogs, who have have supplies her with artistic inspiration. She also adds that this is her final exhibit for the art program at CSULB, and she was especially excited to reveal her recent final work to her supportive family.
Youwng’s exhibit had an obvious focus on black crows. Her work is a reflection of loss and grief after losing her beloved husband nine years ago who continues to be an inspiration to her expressions, and the loss of one of her dogs. Young used various methods within her art . She shares a passion for the true process of her art, and informed her guests with descriptions of each on the wall. A few she presented in her art and explained were intaglio, photopolymers, and lithography; intaglio is a form of etching where the image is etched or incised into a surface and the ink is held in the sunken areas. Photopolymers are played exposed to an photograph using UV lights and tap water. Young likes that this method is non toxic and safe as acids and solvents are not required. Lastly, lithography is a process using a greasy crayon on limestone or aluminum plates, the surface is then etched so that image surface attracts the ink and non image areas repel the ink.
I very much enjoyed Nancy Young’s exhibit, and share a deep appreciation for the various methods she has studied in printmaking. Her quality in work shares great attention to detail. My favorite pieces in Young’s exhibit were the images carved in wood. I liked the texture. I also admired the photopolymers. Although her work expressed grief, the image of a crow still carries a sense of beauty.