By Nella Letizia, WSU Libraries
PULLMAN, Wash. – Kaylin Wells has sketched and doodled as long as she can remember. Her primary subject – horses – galloped surreptitiously across class notes, book margins and scraps of paper at school.
“I never realized how much I drew them until I ran into a couple classmates in separate instances, and they both asked me if I still draw horses,” said the fourth-year Washington State University veterinary student. “I guess that’s not the worst way to be remembered.”
Starting next week, Wells’ work will be on display through mid-May at the WSU Animal Health Library’s twice-yearly Art in the Library exhibit. A free, public reception is planned 4:30-6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at the library in Wegner Hall 170.
Gentle giants, historic symbols
Wells grew up in Federal Way, Wash., but spent time at a family farm in Buckley, Wash., where her interest in large-animal veterinary medicine began. While taking full class loads at Central Washington University she trained horses and worked three jobs. She also started producing commissioned paintings of her four-hooved muse.
“I’ve always been so in awe of their physique, form and grandeur,” she said. “They’re such a wild yet trusting animal, and I’m always calmed when I am with them. They’re incredibly gentle but amazingly fierce.
“They are also working animals, although maybe not as much these days,” she said. “They are a symbol of a way of life and a symbol of human history, so I like to re-create that history in my work.”
Art sought for future exhibits
Wells will graduate in May with a veterinary medicine degree and, not surprisingly, hopes to practice equine medicine.
“But I foresee the occasional small animal in my future as well,” she said. “It would be nice to return to central Washington, but we’ll see where the job offers take me.”
Art in the Library features animal-themed works, typically from artists with a connection to the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information, visit http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/news/art/.
The Art in the Library selection committee is soliciting nominations for future exhibits. Those interested in displaying their art can contact Claire Miller at cmiller@vetmed.wsu.edu.
Contacts:
Kaylin Wells, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, 253-632-8772, wellsk@vetmed.wsu.edu
Claire Miller, WSU Art in the Library committee member, 509-335-6343, cmiller@vetmed.wsu.edu
Ed Odell, WSU Animal Health Library supervisor, 509-335-6729, eodell@wsu.edu
Nella Letizia, WSU Libraries public relations/communications coordinator, 509-335-6744, letizia@wsu.edu