When the pandemic hit last year, artists Janna Arnold and Dig Devine were left asking “what are we going to do? How are we going to get through this?”

They had both lost their jobs, and the pandemic had made doing what they loved even harder.

Despite the unprecedented future, one thing was for certain. They had each other.

“[It] was a bond that is unlike any other,” Arnold said. “We were a huge support system to each other the whole time.” 

The artists, who met in 2019 working at the Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh, became “quarantine buddies.” According to Arnold, they kept reminding one another to be kind to themselves. 

“Making art during a pandemic is really hard and having someone else that understands you, who is also an artist, who knows what you’re going through … we could do that for each other,” Arnold said.

During that time, they began collaborating and sharing ideas and goals with one another. This collaboration eventually turned into an art show which is currently being displayed in Waynesburg University’s Benedum Fine Arts Gallery.

Rachel Pellegrino - The Yellow Jacket

Emily Wiedner, a life-long friend of Arnold and director of the Benedum Fine Arts Gallery, said she was inspired by Arnold and Devine’s story and reached out to Arnold to host a guest artists exhibition at Waynesburg this fall. 

“I was super humbled [and] we were both really excited,” Arnold said. 

Devine said they knew from the start that the collaboration would be something special. 

“Ever since we met … we instantly clicked,” Devine said. “When Janna invited me to collaborate with her, I had already known in the back of my head that it would be really easy for us to work together.”

“Easy,” however, was not always the case for their collaboration.

“The significance of Dig and I is that we have extremely different work, which was kind of scary at first,” Arnold said.

According to Wiedner, the collaboration celebrates the intersection of functional ceramics and repurposed industrial sculpture, two very different mediums. 

Rachel Pellegrino - The Yellow Jacket

Arnold, who is a graduate of Carlow University, said ceramics has been her form of art since high school.

“I was really drawn into the art of ceramics and the functionality of it and the sustainability of it,” she said. “It was 2011 when I threw my first pot on the wheel and then the rest is history. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Devine, on the other hand, said art has always been a part of their life, but they did not dive into sculpture until college. 

“I’ve always loved creating things ever since I was really little,” Devine said. “When I was in high school and found out that you could go to college for art, I was like ‘that’s what I’m going to do.’ So,  I went to the University of Cincinnati, Ohio and that’s where I found sculpture.”

Even though intertwining these two art forms was something new for Arnold and Devine, Arnold said she is always willing to learn and better herself.

“One of the reasons why I enjoy being an artist so much is that I’m always learning,” she said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not learning something new [or] I’m not making myself a better artist … I just want to constantly keep learning and doing new things.”

They hope that their art show also encourages students to learn and get out of their comfort zones.

“Looking at the art world in a different way than you are taught and finding solace in the weirdness,” Arnold said. “The unorthodox can be scary and weird, but it can also be very beautiful.” 

Devine’s favorite art piece in the show is the cast iron shelf that has the little skirt around it and light coming up from the burners. It’s not because it is the best piece, but it is because it was the most challenging.

“It was the one that gave me the most trouble and required the most problem solving. It was extremely aggravating but the end result was totally worth it,” they said.

According to Arnold, her favorite art piece is the one-person teapot and cup. Usually tea cups come in a set of two, but Arnold wanted to show the beauty of being alone, especially during the pandemic.  

Rachel Pellegrino - The Yellow Jacket

“The idea of being okay to be with yourself and taking that time to have a cup of tea by yourself,” Arnold said.

The Department of Fine Arts’ guest artist exhibit features several other pieces created by Arnold and Devine. The show will be available for viewing in the Benedum Fine Arts Gallery through Friday, Oct. 8. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.