Now showing in the Delmar Riney Art Gallery at Pratt Community College is an exhibit of painting, drawing, photography and ceramics by Audra Ricke Shelite. Audra is originally from Medicine Lodge and is in her second year of teaching art at Augusta High School. She graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in art education. In the summer of 2006 Shelite studied art with a Mixed Media class from an art school in Florence, Italy and had the opportunity to see Italian Renaissance artwork, Paris and London museums. She has also continued her art education by taking summer ceramic workshops at PCC. This past summer she completed an internship with Gina Dreher Photography where she worked as a second photographer for Dreher. She gained skills in digital photography and editing.
Because of the time demands of teaching Shelite says that most of her artwork is now done on weekends although she says she is often inspired by her students. "I get motivated to make my own artwork when I create assignments and examples for my students" says Shelite. She also finds inspiration from photographs she has taken of landscapes with bright colors or interesting composition and from studying the work of Impressionist artists.
The exhibit at PCC is a mix of medias and subject matter. The exhibit also includes ceramic pieces by her mother, Carol Ricke, who Shelite credits as her original inspiration in art. Carol teaches business classes at PCC and takes Ceramic classes there as a personal interest.
