Exhibits usually showcase the finished work of an artist, but the pieces in a show titled Hodgepodge: Prints, Sketches, and Drawings on display in Patterson Gallery in Patterson Building show how an artist practices his craft.

Joshua Stulman (senior-painting and anthropology) began his solo exhibit of 18 to 25 pieces of work on Sunday with a reception at the Patterson Gallery.

His exhibit will be on display until Saturday.

"I assembled bits and pieces from classes that are different media," Stulman said. "I took a bunch of unrelated pieces and am showing them for the sake of showing them."

Stulman's idea for the exhibit came from the fact that when taking an art class, he only comes out with two or three pieces that he likes.

He said in art class, he is taught to practice aspects of figure drawing, still life or prints.

"Now I know how to draw these things," Stulman said. "This work being displayed is what you do with the stuff you complete in class. It's not full of heavy content."

Stulman participates in Penn State's Hillel: Foundation for Jewish Campus Life in addition to creating art.

Tuvia Abramson, executive director of Hillel, said Stulman's exhibit shows that people truly have talent.

The university is the place to explore this talent, and it is not always found in a textbook, Abramson said.

"The students are in an age group where they have the time and space to grow: you might decide to study pre-med, but maybe you're a dancer," Abramson said. "[Stulman] has talent, and this institution provides the place and the ability to expand his horizon."

From the perspective of a fellow artist, Kelly Cline (junior-drawing and painting) said seeing an artist display the work that is not necessarily his best work is very interesting and admirable.

"It is a show about the concept of improving; you can see his stuff getting better," Cline said. "The work shows the necessary skills and things you have to do to become a better artist."

Many different types of art will be on display in the exhibit, including the study of the hind of a horse, a view from a guy in a bathroom stall and a nude man leaning against a janitor's broom, Stulman said.

"I am a very serious, classical artist, but the things on display I don't think you would expect from a serious artist," Stulman said. "They have a humorous edge to them. It's something to keep me entertained when class gets repetitive."

Abramson said Stulman is a talented singer and painter. He also said he likes the way Stulman expresses himself, in color or charcoal sketches.

"This work is a description of different situations," Abramson said. "It shows experimenting and movement."

Stulman also has learned much about artwork and art shows from participating in this exhibit. He said that it is very interesting to learn about hanging a show.

"All the individual pieces may have nothing to do with each other, but the minute you put them all together they begin to react with one another," Stulman said.

The creation of Stulman's own style is an important facet to his work and exhibit, Ronen Lahat (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said.

"It is a great thing to see in an artist, to see how [Stulman] created things from scratch," Lahat said. "He taught me a lot about what it takes to create art."

Students who enjoy looking at some interesting work will enjoy this exhibit, Stulman said.

"This is a trial exhibit to see how things work," Stulman said. "My next exhibit will include some serious art that has heavy content to them, with politics and culture, which is where the anthropology comes in."