A Saluki alumna returned to her alma mater this week to display wrought iron functional art for the home and garden at the University Museum in Faner Hall.

Roberta Elliott, an SIUC graduate with a doctorate in physiology, became interested in blacksmithing through Brent Kington and Daryl Meier, members of the SIUC art department.

Elliott’s first exhibit was at the Associates Artist Gallery, 213 S. Illinois Ave. Her first show at Faner Hall in 1988 highligted pieces by local artists.

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Lori Huffman, curator of collections at the University Museum, chose the FeEtc exhibit because she has admired Elliott’s work that she has seen in Southern Illinois.

Blacksmithing is an interesting art form, something our audience would enjoy looking at, she said. We also like to feature regional artists to show the talent in this area.

Elliott said the motivations behind her work are forms of nature and the challenging aspect of the iron medium. Through observation, she tried to achieve a communion of elements within her work. An example is a piece on exhibit titled Wakremas’. It is an iron fence intertwined with construction bamboo, which contrasts mediums of nature and man.

Their mediums have a lot of contridictions, she said. Iron is strong, yet can be made light. Bamboo, a grass, gives the impression of weakness, but is very strong.

Elliott explained a technique used on another piece, Drop Leaf Table, as a barrell scroll, which looks like a crescent-shaped blade of iron.

This medium gives me the ability to push the iron to the limits and still be able to give it a fluid, feminine look, she said.

Elliott collaborates with other artists, such as glass blowers, which add a dimension of stained glass to the shades of her lamps.

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FeEtc, Elliott’s exhibit, is currently on display at the University Museum through Oct. 4.