“Capacious can be defined as holding much; spacious or roomy,” junior Fine Arts major Teya Heller shares in her artist statement in her exhibit titled ‘Capacious’ located in room 204 in the University Union.
Heller believes capacious is the perfect word to describe the west, which she has fallen in love with.
“I had always dreamed of going to see the Grand Canyon specifically,” Heller said. “[My family and I] first visited in 2015, I believe. I had not gotten a lot of photos my first visit out there, so I decided to get more photographs, especially of the cacti because it always fascinated me, it being so different from Pennsylvania.
Heller grew up in the Poconos and started creating art about six years ago, with painting.
“I have been painting ever since I started having an appreciation for art. Photography is kind of new for me, I have been weaning myself into it. Now I am branching off and doing different versions of photography,” Heller said. Her favorite pieces in Capacious are the close-ups of the cacti since they are so different than the eastern U.S.
The SRU student hopes to one day have her own business in metalsmithing and own her own shop.
“[The hardest part] was definitely all the prepping. This is my first solo exhibit,” Heller said.
“I always hope people get inspiration when they view my art,” Heller said. “Maybe they will get a willingness to travel and see the country if they haven’t.”
As the artist explains in her artist’s statement, “I had only dreamed of how beautiful the vast lands could be when I was younger. To see the canyons, red rock, and mass amount of cacti can only be described as breathtaking… I hope that whoever views them gets a sense of warmth, as I always do.”
