By Brianna Holcomb – Arts and Entertainment Editor

The foundation for any building is meant to be strong. Its purpose is to hold up whatever is on top of it. Although the foundation is associated with the idea of strength, it is naive to think that the foundation has no faults.

Hayley Blomquist’s FORM Gallery “Foundations” looks at the idea of failure and how any strong foundation needs to have some faults in order to become strong.

Blomquist said, “Last summer I went to the dentist for the first time in five years and came out with seven cavities. My teeth looked healthy because I brushed them daily, but it was the foundation of my oral health that needed attention.”

She utilized this experience as her inspiration for her gallery “Foundation.”

All of the materials used in the creation of the pieces in this gallery were things that could not hide the mistakes made underneath them. Blomquist used plaster to create several pyramid-shaped pieces that sat on the floor of the gallery.

Upon first viewing the pieces I thought of Christmas trees covered in snow, probably due to the current change in seasons. As I looked closer at the pyramids, I noticed there were pieces of plaster falling off of them.

Beneath the falling plaster were shimmers of gold glitter.

The touch of glitter added to the concept of failure being the strength to any concept.

The plaster allows for you to see every mistake and cover-up that she made when creating each piece. Despite the mistakes under the falling plaster, the glitter shines through.

Along with the pyramids were three canvases sitting on the floor. All three canvases resembled a pair of jeans.

Despite the material looking like denim, it appeared that bleach was spilled over it.

This turned the canvas into a bleached jean look, a style that many of us have seen on campus.

The artist continued the idea of showcasing her faults using this medium. It is known that pouring bleach on any form of clothing, a mistake many of us have made, will result in a permanent stain.

By using a material that resembles denim and covering it with bleach you clearly can see where a mistake was made.

Blomquist highlights her failures in both mediums, drawing attention to them instead of away from them.

She recognized that she has a tendency to run away from tough situations. She only, like many of us, likes to showcase her success and not her failure.

This self-reflective gallery shows that failure is just a part of life and that despite the failure, it can be seen as glitter.