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Gail Hashemi-Toroghi opens exhibit at MCC

T-R PHOTO BY NICK BAUR Gail Hashemi-Toroghi next to one of her pieces of art featured in an exhibit in the Ray Frederick Gallery on the MCC Campus. Each piece uses an artistic technique to melt crayons and shape them into distinct designs and images.

It was a colorful kickoff Monday afternoon as local artist Gail Hashemi-Toroghi ushered in the launch of her new exhibit at the Ray Frederick Gallery on the MCC Campus.

The display features a wide variety of artwork which were primarily composed using an artistic technique where Hashemi-Toroghi melts crayons onto canvas and shapes them into structured designs and visuals.

A unique and compelling medium, Hashemi-Toroghi shared that her original inspiration for the crayon-centered art came from a coincidental incident at her family’s home.

“It was just a fluke,” she said. “My grandkids had made a mess in the basement, and there’s melted crayons all over. I don’t even know how they got there, but then I thought, I have to clean and then I thought, you know, that was kind of cool… I took a bunch of blue and greens and whites and just tried doing an ocean scene on the floor.”

It was here in which she created her first piece, and since then, she has gone on to produce a wide-ranging,

Having no previous formal training in the visual arts, Hasemi-Toroghi said the process involved in creating each art piece required “a very steep learning curve,” but the artistic technique attracted her because “It’s not really been done that I’ve seen.”

Particularly challenging, Hashemi-Toroghi says, is the very slim margin to make mistakes while creating her art. Due to the volatile nature of liquefying the waxy crayons on canvas, some artistic slip ups may become permanent and fixing previous errors might wash away other finished aspects of the piece.

“It is high stakes because that was part of the learning curve,” Hashemi-Toroghi said. “Where I’m thinking, ‘Oh, I’m just gonna fix this.’ And then I look behind, everything’s gone. Which is a little frustrating.”

Yet, through these ups and downs presented, Hashemi-Toroghi says her approach to art can, at times, be “a little relentless” and ascribed her creative habits to growing up with her ever-resourceful parents.

“That’s how I grew up in the family of 12,” she said. “My parents made things out of nothing. My mom used to make these amazing birthday cakes long before the TV shows, books, all the molds and things that you can use. My dad could make anything, farm implements, tools, all kinds of things. So it’s just one of those things where if you need it, you make it work.”

Though Hashemi-Toroghi said she’s not always a “front and center kind of person,” having her own exhibit and art installation at the MCC campus has brought before her a whirlwind of well-wishers and admirers from around the area.

“Today here was amazing,” she said. “I was shocked how many people came… I was very pleased with the support so far. It was lovely.”

Hashemi-Toroghi’s untitled exhibit will be on display at the Ray Frederick Gallery until Friday, March 31 at noon. Some of the pieces featured in the exhibit will be for sale. The Ray Frederick Gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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Contact Nick Baur at 641-753-6611 or nbaur@timesrepublican.com.

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