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Senior´s tiny drawings are a big accomplishment

Adrienne Mennitt ´08 poses near her miniatures pencil drawings on display at the Strathmore Fine Art Museum

December 04, 2007

Senior Adrienne Mennitt loved her little elephants. She loved them so much, she thought others might as well, and submitted them for inclusion in the 74th Annual International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature at the Strathmore Fine Art Museum near her hometown of Rockville, Md.

Strathmore´s miniature exhibit features tiny works by artists from around the world - and this year it includes Mennitt´s 1.5 by 2 inch pencil drawings of Indian elephants.

"These drawings are the first pieces I´ve shown off campus, so it is a really big honor to have them on display at Strathmore," Mennitt said.

The miniature drawings, an assignment for Mennitt´s advanced drawing class, were inspired by photographs she took while studying abroad in southern India. "I just thought the elephants were beautiful," Mennitt said, "and I knew it would be interesting to contrast their huge proportions with such a small-scale piece."

Mennitt said the exhibit opening on Nov. 17 was an exhilarating experience. "It was really cool to see how international the crowd was," Mennitt said. "I felt like a real artist for the first time."

So real, in fact, that one of Mennitt´s miniatures sold within the first few hours of the exhibit opening. "That was really exciting, although it will be hard to part with it," Mennitt said. The museum stipulated that at least two of the pieces must be for sale, but Mennitt says she will keep her favorite piece.

Miniature is a new medium for Mennitt, a history major and art minor. Recently, Mennitt was honored when a holiday card she designed was chosen as Connecticut College´s institutional holiday card.

Although she is unsure of her plans after graduation, Mennitt says she will continue designing and drawing. She is considering completing more works in miniature. "I really love to draw," she said, "and working in miniature is fun and challenging."

For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu