Booth Library held a reception for students who created paintings aligned with the theme, “On The Shoulders of Giants: The Moon and Beyond,” on Thursday.

The theme was chosen because of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, so Booth Library faculty wanted art to accompany to the exhibit and reached out to the students.

Chris Kahler, the art department chair, teaches the painting and drawing class the students are in.

Kahler said the library started the theme but he wanted students to be able to use their imagination to think differently and basically transport themselves back into the 60s when the first man landed on the moon.

Every student took a different approach when creating their work and no two pieces were similar.

Graham Highland, a junior studying 2D Art, contributed to the exhibit.

He chose his piece, “So Close, Yet Very Very Far,” because he said he wanted to take the assigned theme and explore it.

He said he enjoyed brainstorming ideas, exploring new ways to make the art and trying to do different things.

Highland said the most challenging thing about his piece was trying to keep the planets from looking solid.

He said every planet has its own atmosphere, so it is difficult to give it dimension, and he said the most enjoyable thing for him was to work with the colors to make sure nothing looked flat.

But he said the most fun thing was painting the stars.

Ashley Colter, a senior 2D Art major, had a different interpretation with her piece.

She chose to do a rendition of the movie “To The Moon,” which is what she also named her piece.

She said she wanted to do the rocket landing into the eye of the moon, causing it to “bleed.” Colter said her challenge was painting the facial features, especially the nose, and toning the color of the blood.

She said favorite part was painting the stars because it was one of the easiest parts, but also very satisfying. She said she enjoyed taking the paintbrush and splattering the stars to the canvas.

She said her goal for the work was people to see the work and feel sorry for the moon because he has a rocket in his eye.

When asked what she enjoyed most about being an artist, she said that she gets to take what she is feeling and put it into work. She likes to use her hands as her own form of therapy.

“If you ask my classmates what makes me unique as an artist, they would say that my work combines cute work with gore,” Colter said.

Kahler said the students did a really great job with their task.

“As you walk through the exhibit you can see the varying levels of skill in every work,” Kahler said.

He said that he saw a consistent level of commitment and interest in all of the students and everyone took the theme and made it their own.

The exhibit is located in the atrium of Booth Library. Kahler said the students’ work will remain in the library until the last week of April, but the exact date is to be decided.

Leah Goldstein can be reached at 581-2812 or ljgoldstein@eiu.edu.