Writer’s Choice: Hidden talents from skillful hands at Ebling Library

The corpus callossum is a thick bundle of neural fibers connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain. The term itself is Latin for “tough body” — an apt description for a medical student.

With grueling clinical rotations, long stretches on their feet, and hours filled with both reading and hands-on study, students pursuing a career in the health sciences are used to asking a lot from their muscles and brains. Even the most dedicated hobbyists find little time to pursue their passions.

The rewards, however, are well worth the effort.

With this in mind, Micaela Sullivan-Fowler hatched a plan. As curator of exhibits in the Health Sciences Learning Center’s Ebling Library, she had the space and connections to give students a chance to exercise their more artistic side. The corpus callossum connects the left side of the brain — logical, analytical — to the right side, seen as more creative.

For these students, accustomed to exercising the left side, the show represents a chance to not only encourage dormant skills but remember the gifts that creativity brings to their lives — and remember that they, and the people around them, are more than the job in front of them.

Sponsored in part by the School of Veterinary Medicine, the fifth annual “Corpus Callosum” exhibition features nearly 80 works of art by students from the Schools of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine & Public Health, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and Pharmacy. The exhibit will be on display in the Ebling Library Historical Reading Room and Third Floor Gallery from Thursday, April 7-Friday, April 29. An opening reception, with refreshments, will be held from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, April 7.

Sullivan-Fowler loves seeing hidden talents appear, appreciating them even more for the effort it took to share them. This was never more evident than in the past week: after soliciting for submissions since last summer, she received nearly all of the 80 submissions in just three days.

“They rallied!” she says. “It’s such an amazing community. Almost to a person, they come in and say, ‘Now all my classmates will see that I’m also an artist.’”

Each show features a wider array of media, a level of adroitness that gets higher each year.

Whereas photography typically makes up the largest fraction of submissions, the photos have risen to a more compositionally engaging level. Pencil and charcoal sketches have a stronger presence, as do more unique pieces such as wirework and sculptural turned wood. One self-framed work, an acrylic of a Wisconsin barn, has a frame made from the wood of the barn itself, which collapsed shortly after the painting’s completion.

The show’s themes reflect the strong values driving students to become health practitioners.

“A lot of these students travel because of their interest in global health,” says Sullivan-Fowler. “There’s a whole series from Kenya and Cuba. The other groups were just as adept, but the social conscience is very strong this year. I’ve never had such edgy art.”

She points out the work of a first-year veterinary student. The four massive pieces stand out among the show’s mostly small submissions, but not just for their size.

“The subjects are all animals: amazing colors with polar bears, pandas and cheetahs. But within them, there’s strong ecological and environmental themes. One of them is of a dogfight and another is of a dead polar bear. So I’m not sure how it’s going to go over with all of the polar bear fanciers out there! It’s incredibly evocative.”

With animal themes popular this year, another work has a much more lighthearted background. One second-year medical student, also with a background in art, created what might be termed the most lovable work: a ceramic cookie jar, nearly three feet tall, shaped like a penguin.

“Everybody wants to hug it; it’s big and round and has those blue feet,” says Sullivan-Fowler.

From distant clinical rotations to kiln fires, every artist had a story. Some pieces came in bedsheets; others were dropped off by friends. The chaos makes Sullivan-Fowler reflect on the intensity of these students’ lives and the dedication necessary to create each work.

“If they never do art again in their busy clinical lives, they’ll realize how important it was to have done it,” says Sullivan-Fowler. “They also support the arts. But finally, they also know that someone standing in front of them, as a patient, isn’t just a body. If you do art, you might remember that just as you create things that people don’t always see, your patients might also have these amazing hidden lives. They pick up on all of those things.”

Information here.