73-year-old Photography student wins top honors at WCC Student Art Show

April 5, 2025 Rich Rezler

Photography has been one of Bob Rickman’s primary hobbies since the 1970s. But only recently did the 73-year-old Washtenaw Community College student start taking steps to turn his passion into an enterprise.

It was a recent revelation to Rickman that people might be interested in purchasing his artwork, so he’s building a website and applying for the appropriate business licenses to sell his images at art fairs and markets around the area this summer.

Winning first place in the 2025 WCC Student Art Show for his portrait, Mysterious Hallway, should give Rickman added confidence that others appreciate his artistic vision and photographic skills.

Rickman completed a WCC Photographic Technology associate degree several years ago but continues to take classes in the program.

“I’ve gotten amazingly better since starting the WCC program. It’s exponential how much you learn,” Rickman said. “But there’s always more to learn. I keep taking classes with (WCC faculty member) Don Werthmann because his portrait classes are legendary. They’re very difficult because he’s a stickler for detail, but you always learn so much.”

In fact, Rickman’s winning art show piece was taken for Werthmann’s PHO 216: Environmental Portraiture class. The image shows his wife, Birgit, leaning against a wall at the entrance to a dark hallway.

Alejandro Acierto, an Assistant Professor in Digital Arts at Wayne State University, served as judge for the art show and selected Rickman as the overall winner, had the following to say about the image:

“I was immediately struck with the way light is working in this photograph. The ease with which the subject stands for the photograph is also notable, where her position and stance feel comfortable and effortless. She returns her gaze with a sense of humble strength while still remaining confident with the photographer. With the lighting and overall composition, the light of the exit sign offers a nuanced kind of depth that is smartly framed by the worn green edges of the door frame. Both the artist and subject should feel good about this portrait!”

MORE ART SHOW WINNERS

SECOND PLACE

Student: Kristine Stewart

Entry: “Aloe and Friends,” painting

Class: ART 114: Painting I

Judge’s comment: “This still life offers a lovely study of color, light, and form. While not overworked, there's an economy of color and shading that render the plant and its surrounding fruits in a way that keep the eyes moving across the composition. Light and shadow are addressed well and the reflection of the light source on the planter and the table exemplify the artist's ability to study and render how light, color, shading and texture shape the composition.”

THIRD PLACE

Student: Paige Durr

Entry: “This is How I Really Feel,” collage & self-portrayal

Class: ART 111: Basic Drawing I

Judge’s comment: “This work is very exciting. I'm particularly drawn to the dancing figure in the foreground that is meticulously rendered and shaded. But what is most striking about the figure is the way that its feeling exudes off the page. Conceptually, I understand what is happening behind her, and am excited about how the artist is building contrast between the foreground and background imagery. Yet the movement of the figure, the subtle shading of her hair just behind her left shoulder, and the texturing of her skirt and top make this work move off the page.”

PROMISING ARTIST,
TWO-DIMENSIONAL

Student: Meg Stoker

Entry: “Consume,” drawing

Class: ART 111: Basic Drawing I

Judge’s comment: “This assemblage of natural (and pseudo-natural?) forms are meticulously drawn and shaded. Their hyperrealistic renderings make this work even more uncanny and create a surreal image that is both exciting and horrific (in a Guillermo del Toro kind of way). I also appreciate the necessary movement of the forms that pull the viewer's attention across a number of different axes and the central area from which the forms emerge is strategically placed to manage the ways a viewer might further engage the image. I'm also glad that I get to see the floral forms from different angles, which allows me to imagine even more depth and shape to them.”

PROMISING ARTIST,
THREE-DIMENSIONAL

Student: Blue Binks

Entry: “Ice Cream Man,” sculpture

Class: ART 108: Three-Dimensional Design

Judge’s comment: “I really appreciate the attention to detail with this work. From the way colors are mapped and coordinated to the necessary wrinkles on the forehead and under the eyes, there's a specificity and commitment to the unsettling that work really well here. Similarly, the ice cream scoop that functions as a hat is smart and really sells the idea that this imagined masked figure could be found in an episode of American Horror Story (I'm thinking of Freak Show, season 4, in particular). The choice of colors work well for the depiction of the character's mask and the cherry on top is serving a double function.”

PROMISING ARTIST,
GRAPHIC DESIGN/PHOTOGRAPHY

Student: Logan Fookes

Entry: “Moss,” photograph

Class: PHO 111: Photography I

Judge’s comment: “This image has a really exciting combination of colors and depth. The photographer's use of framing helps keep the vibrant green moss in productive tension with the reddish stalks that seem to consume most of the image. Yet that moment of green on the right side of the frame feels all the more special and keeps me engaged with the detailed focus of the forms in the foreground. I'm also particularly excited about how this work feels like abstraction even in its detail and am encouraged by the movement happening across different registers of foreground, middle-ground, and background. The twig on the left side of the frame that stretches from under the frame through an undefined background exacerbates this feeling of depth and challenges the viewer about the kind of space they are accessing through the photograph.”

PROMISING ARTIST,
VIDEO/ANIMATION

Student: Fozia Ramouni

Entry: “Parallels,” video

Class: VID 105: Foundations in Video Production I

Judge’s comment: “The video uses a smart and economical combination of editing and framing to poetically establish the meaningful relationship between two siblings. With a creative use of distinct and important shot types, angles, and framing, alongside a set of focused performances, the video clearly shows the artist’s intention. The strategic use of special effects works well and provides enough subtlety to the larger work without being heavy handed – a delicate line to straddle but was done effectively.”

PRESIDENT’S CHOICE AWARD