The San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery invites students, faculty, and anybody else interested to come take a taste of student art through May 14.

The recently opened exhibit, “Art you can sink your teeth into,” is a display of Mesa students’ artwork. The gallery is presenting pieces by students enrolled in Mesa art classes for Spring 2009.

On April 30, the exhibit opened with an art sale and reception. The gallery courtyard was covered with tables set up to sell everything from ceramics to handmade jewelry.

Professors of the art department chose pieces they felt best represented their classes. Ranging from paintings and drawings to ceramics and statues, the Mesa art department is well showcased in the gallery.

“This was a collaborative project produced by the art professors and students of the Mesa Art Department,” said Alessandra Moctezuma, Gallery Director and professor of Museum Studies.

Each piece is accompanied by a statement submitted by the artist explaining his or her inspiration and why they created the piece.

One piece that draws attention from across the gallery is the dress from the Mesa Fashion Department, created by Megan Costa for last year’s Golden Scissors Awards and Fashion Show. Made entirely from non-traditional materials and no ready-to-wear fabrics, Costa won the first place in the Fantasy Category.

A new genre of art is being presented in the gallery this year. For the first time, an interactive section was set up to draw creativity from visitors. Students and faculty are interested to see its projected success.

The interactive section houses a television continuously playing a video filmed by students, of students while gallery-goers can write their feelings and ideas on the walls with chalk. The viewers are also encouraged to interact by creating their own sculptures with small white boxes on the table.

During the reception, the courtyard was also part of another interactive exhibit presented by the sculpture class taught by Wendell Kling. Students were instructed to create sculptures with a focus on shelter. The end product was a collection of clear plastic inflatable tents that visitors could walk into.

The Mesa art gallery presents student artwork as a final show to close every semester. Each show uses a different theme to present the art, produced every semester by students of Moctezuma’s museum studies class. This class also arranges and sets up every show presented in the art gallery.

Students, faculty and many of the artists brought their family and friends to the reception. According to Moctezuma, this was one of the most crowded and successful gallery openings to date.