Artist, educator to display photographs in '86,400 Grains of Grace'

Oswego State Downtown will open a new window on the college’s Downtown Artist Series when it hosts “86,400 Grains of Grace: Photographs by John Sheffield” from July 22 to Sept. 2.

A free public reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 22, at the branch of Tyler Art Gallery and the College Store and West First and Bridge streets in Oswego.

Sheffield, an educator of middle school youths and teenagers for over 25 years, will exhibit photographs made on kayaking trips and in the course of encountering everyday people.

In keeping with the Downtown Artist Series’ multidisciplinary approach, SUNY Oswego art major Jessica Kummrow and human development major Alaina Perkins, both seniors, will react to Sheffield’s work in graphic design and creative writing, respectively.

With no formal training in photography, Sheffield several years ago took up kayaking and said he bought a $75 digital camera “on a whim.” Since then, he acquired a more feature-rich Nikon camera with changeable lenses, continuing to find peace in both kayaking and photography.

Sheffield’s main interest is in nature photography, but last year, according to the artist, he began taking photos of people. He is a people watcher and is able to see great beauty in what many may describe as everyday people, Sheffield wrote. 

The current Downtown Artist Series exhibition, “All Those Little Squishy Things: Illustrations by Elizabeth Hunt,” runs through July 15. SUNY Oswego senior art major Claire Wajda and junior creative writing and journalism dual major Christina Bandru reacted to Hunt’s mixed-media works in graphic design and poetry, respectively.

Oswego State Downtown is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays during Oswego Farmers’ Market.

For more information about Tyler Art Gallery exhibitions, call the SUNY Oswego art department at 315-312-2111. To contact Oswego State downtown, call 315-216-4985.