Students recently got to showcase their art pieces in an exhibit based around the theme of “Angels, Demons and Monsters.” The pieces dealt with broad themes related to Halloween and the supernatural.

“Its really cool to see how under one common theme of ‘Angels, Demons and Monsters’ people can create all this different stuff and come up with all these different ideas,” said Michael Hellard, 19, Art major and MC Art Club president.

The exhibit, which was curated by the club, opened on Oct. 26 and ran until Nov. 2. The gallery was free to the public. Submissions were open to all Moorpark students, and not limited to traditional mediums.

“There are a lot of different types of pieces, whether they’re masks or big cardboard pieces or paintings or drawings,” said Hellard. “We’re hoping in the future that a lot more people, even photographers, graphic designers, poets and anybody who wants to, can submit pieces to the art show so that we can have a collaborative experience that everybody can learn from and grow from.”

Most submissions came from members of Art Club and students in art classes, according to Hellard. Ivan Cisneros, 19, Art major, contributed a drawing of a skull that he made prior to the exhibition.

“When I heard about this art show I obviously wanted to be a part of it,” said Cisneros. “[The drawing] is the only previous drawing I have that correlates to the theme we have going on”.

Students of all varieties found something to appreciate in many of the art pieces made by their peers. For some, a particular piece stood out.

“I really liked Oscar’s piece ‘The abandonment of Saint Michael Archangel,'” said Ira Irvani, 20, Film major. “It was kind of like a dream because it was an angel statue in this long, deserted, desert-y place. It reminded me of Salvador Dali.”

“My favorite piece was probably the notebook in the middle of the room,” said Kaylee Slingluff, 18, Philosophy major. “I really liked it because it was eclectic in the things that it showed. Some of the things in there were very cartoony and some were very naturalistic and [there were] a lot of things in between.”

According to Hellard, Art Club has much more in store this year. Members are currently working on a mural of the first level of Super Mario Bros. in the game design room, and are planning more murals. Art Club also intends to bring more galleries and artist lectures to campus.

“This is our first push to be a larger presence on campus,” said Hellard. “This is only the beginning of a great many projects that Art Club will be putting on.”