The members of the Art and Visual Communications faculty at Utah Valley State College were challenged to try new and experimental things with their work.

The outcome is now on exhibit for the annual faculty show at the Woodbury Art Museum.

"We kind of set the challenge for the faculty to one-up themselves," said Marcus Vincent, Woodbury director. "They've come up with quite good work. Everyone is trying to do their best to show that you can get a good education here."

The exhibit is also to show off what faculty members have been doing creatively, Vincent said.

"This show shows very well," he said. "I went to BYU and University of Utah's faculty exhibits, and this is very comparable, if not stronger in some aspects."

The exhibit will have a variety of pieces as the work is contingent upon the medium the professor teaches. Some of the mediums include jewelry, ceramics, photography, sculpture, textile, installation and paintings.

There also are a wide variety of styles, everything from tight, representational to more gestural work, Vincent said.

Catherine Downing, a professor of arts who will have the most pieces in the exhibit, agrees that the teachers expanded their talents.

"Most professors have pretty much a set style, but we all decided it might be pretty interesting to push the envelope and do a variety of things," Downing said. "I have both realistic and abstract pieces in the exhibit."

Downing said she decided to explore more in her art because she was ready to do it in artistic terms.

"You have to be ready," she said. "You have to let the art lead you, or you end up with things that don't look authentic."

Some of Downing's paintings on exhibit focus on nature.

The expressive paintings include a series of landscape-themed paintings of springs in Florida. She wanted to express her feelings about water, transparency and how springs come alive. She also will have a realistic piece of New Orleans burning, showing the destruction and power of nature.

The Woodbury Art Museum is an extension of Utah Valley State College.

Art and Visual Communications Faculty Exhibit

When: Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m., now through Feb. 17

Where: The Woodbury Art Museum, located on the second floor of the University Mall in Orem

Cost: Free

Info: 426-6199