Art professor showcasing her talent
Fifty-four pieces of ceramic artwork fill up the Martha Fenstermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery and Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s (TAMUK) Associate Art Professor Fulden Sara-Wissinger is the creative artist behind it all.
Every piece in this exhibit reflects her culture, ethnicity and background of being a Turkish woman. In Turkey, more than 99 percent of the population is Muslim and Wissinger did include her religious background in this exhibit and in her largest piece, Evil Eye.
“I have pieces that represent the mal de ojo, which is a big thing in your culture as well as mine,” Wissinger said. “Many people don’t know the beads we use are protection against evil eyes. A lot of my pieces have eyes on them and everyone was saying the evil eyes come from their cultures. My show represents that we are not different from each other and each other’s cultures.”
Although Wissinger teaches at TAMUK, her exhibit is showcased in Laredo. Laredo College has an entry portal called EntryThingy that allows artists to submit their work, and that’s exactly what Wissinger did.
“The way EntryThingy is artists submit their work and are looked at by our gallery committee who looks over all the proposals and determines who to choose,” Visual and Performing Arts Chair and professor at Laredo College Eva Soliz said. “We chose Ms. Wissinger because we were interested in having a full ceramic exhibit and loved the images she creates through ceramics.”
The initial plan was for the exhibit to take place this upcoming summer, but Wissinger was surprised when she got an early “we’re ready if you are” phone call. After that, she had a week to get all 54 art pieces to Laredo on time for her exhibit.
Based on the size of the gallery alone, Wissinger’s hardest job was figuring out what pieces she wanted to show and how many she needed to fit in the area.
“Finalizing pieces to put in a show could normally take three to six months depending on the size of the gallery, but I was lucky I have enough pieces because I always make art,” Wissinger said.
This exhibit is one of the first shows the Martha Fenstermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery is hosting after the height of the pandemic, and it is completely a one-woman show. Most of Wissinger’s pieces are new too, which is something she said she is proud of.
Wissinger views art not just as creating something, but as problem solving.
In her classes she likes giving students a project: use vertical and diagonal lines and in a 6×6 square make a composition, using only those two types of lines. The purpose of this is to show her students art teaches people to come up with thinking skills.
“Not everybody can read or write well or become an engineer. Some people can express themselves and solve problems using various art elements,” Wissinger said.
During her time at TAMUK, Wissinger has offered advice and wisdom to students who still carry it with them, especially students who have a similar background as her.
“She has always taught us to work hard, which is something I admire from her,” art major Nelson Saldana said. “[Wissinger] comes from another country just like me and she’s come a long way, which I’m in the process of doing. Even though we’re not originally from here, we can still be somebody in another land, that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned from her.”
The ceramic exhibit will continue to be open from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday until April 1 at the Martha Fenstermaker Memorial Visual Arts Gallery in Laredo.
Face coverings and social distancing are highly recommended. For more information, call 956-721-5224.