Emily Booth gets the chance to display her art work at the River Campus Art Gallery

Every year a faculty member in the Department of Art at Southeast Missouri State University gets the chance to use the River Campus Art Gallery to display his or her own work or bring in an exhibit from another artist.

The department rotates through the faculty alphabetically to select who gets the slot.

This year, the slot landed in Emily Booth's hands. Booth is an instructor of art at Southeast as well as the exhibitions coordinator of the River Campus Art Gallery. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting at Virginia Commonwealth University and her Master of Fine Arts in painting at the University of Delaware.

"Art was always a part of my life," Booth said. She said she regularly attended museums, theaters and concerts as a child.

As she grew older her love for art developed into the idea to teach art. She enjoys teaching art because it helps her with her own artistic growth.

Booth decided to use the exhibit to showcase her own recent artwork.

The theme of her exhibit is what it means to create a household, since she just purchased her first home.

This was a big step for Booth because she has never committed to one place of residence before. She would rent and move from place to place.

The purchase of the new house sparked the examination of what it means to craft a household and how everyone has different ideas of what a household means.

"All the paintings were scattered throughout my house," Booth said about where she kept her artwork before it was placed in her exhibit.

Most of the paintings are of her two adopted dogs and some family members. Booth likes seeing all her recent artwork showcased in one place and how it all works together.

"I never realized how colorful they really are until I saw them in the gallery," Booth said.

The exhibit will be at the River Campus Art Gallery Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. until Feb. 17.