Everything is Waiting for You: A Moment for Focus and Peace
Reported & Photographed by Luci Lettau
For five weeks, the Minthorn Art Gallery housed an invigorating aroma of citrus and a vibrant display of color and texture on canvas. These elements formed the collective works of an artist’s call to the importance of attention amid the busyness of modern life.
Within the bustling hallways of the Hoover Academic Building, students and faculty could find peace and reflection through a visit to the gallery exhibit Everything is Waiting for You. The artist, Rebecca Sandberg, is a George Fox University professor known for her passion for literature and critical thinking.
Sandberg works across multiple programs at GFU, including the Division of Humanities, the Honors Program, and as an Education Faculty Fellow. However, within the Minthorn Gallery, she is an artist of reflection, drawing inspiration from the comforting sensations of her orange-grove hometown.
In the exhibition summary, Sandberg described her inspiration: “I was mesmerized by the vivid hues, tactile textures, and intoxicating aroma of oranges.”
Each step of Sandberg’s creative process is rooted in this initial memory. From ideation to creation to viewer experience, citrus plays a central role. Upon entering the exhibit, visitors were greeted by a platter of oranges, their scent engaging the senses and immersing them in the artwork.
The Grove Collection is most reminiscent of Sandberg’s inspiration. The artwork portrays an orange grove composed of 15 separate canvases. Vibrant colors create unity while each canvas bleeds into the next, forming a continuous image. However, each piece can also stand alone. This dual nature mirrors real orange groves, where repetition and individuality coexist. Sandberg compared this process of intense repetition to memorizing poetry.
The gallery, composed of three collections, extends beyond citrus themes to incorporate other childhood memories and influential experiences from Sandberg’s adulthood.
The Summerland Collection pays tribute to foundational moments in Sandberg’s youth that first instilled her sense of wonder and creativity. Rather than presenting these memories explicitly, Sandberg uses still-life paintings of flower vases, inviting viewers to interpret the emotions and memories behind them.
The final collection in the gallery, the Sicily Collection, draws inspiration from Sandberg’s recent summer visit to the Mediterranean island. Struck by the vivid colors of the landscape, she translated this experience into still-life compositions.
“[This collection is] still life in its purest form, objects thoughtfully arranged on a fixed line,” Sandberg said. Her return to classic art forms aligns with the exhibition’s goal: encouraging a slowed, attentive appreciation of the natural world.
Through its complexity of thought and emotional depth, Everything is Waiting for You offers viewers a reminder to pause and reflect. The visuals of eternalized orange groves and carefully arranged compositions serve as an antidote to the hurriedness of modern life. As art often does, the exhibit gives its audience a renewed appreciation for the beauty found in stillness.