POULSBO — Poulsbo artist Gerald Wright creates his art according to his desires.

But as Olympic College Poulsbo recently purchased three of his encaustic wax covered color paintings, OC students have been finding their own artistic desire during the school day.

“I do art for me, and I do art that makes me feel good,” Wright said. “If it makes other people feel good, I’m glad; but art is an expression of who I am and I go for that.”

Wright’s works — Winter Sunrise, Community and Northwest Winds — have graced the walls of OC’s main building during October and already, students are finding themselves subtly enriched by their presence.

“I’m not an art lover, so I didn’t pay much attention to the detail, but I thought it was pretty because it was colorful,” said student Cheila Garcia. “Kelly (Woodward) helped me to look at the art in a different way. She showed some details that I hadn’t seen before.”

“Now I can feel the art — something that I couldn’t do before,” she added.

Woodward, director of OC-Poulsbo, said Garcia’s experience with Wright’s artwork is a perfect model for the goal behind the idea. In addition to giving students and staff something to look at, she feels art also creates a more educationally enhancing environment for all.

“It ties in really well with our desire to be a reflection of our community, and it’s good for students,” Woodward said. “Students surrounded by artwork will have better critical thinking skills.”

Along with the local artist — Wright’s — work, OC also purchased a Coastal Salish glass etching entitled Four Brothers created by John Goodwin. The Native American art was purchased and hung in the student commons in honor of retiring board of directors member Naomi Pursel who has served at OC for 12 years, Woodward said.

“She was very active in diversity issues, so we wanted honor her,” Woodward said.

The school also wanted to stay local with the artwork it chose in order to enhance the building’s sense of community.

One of Wright’s pieces, Community, even depicts the actual setting of OC in the woods of Olhava.

“I was invited out here, given a tour and was asked to do a custom piece to integrate what I saw (in the campus),” Wright said. “I saw the trees, the beautiful cedar statues and the blue sky; I integrated the idea of the building structure in the rectangles and the elders to where it made sense to me.”

Wright’s vision now hangs in the foyer of OC-Poulsbo.

“That’s what’s great about art is that you bring your own idea and say that’s what it means to me,” Woodward said, noting that she consulted faculty, staff and student support input in the art selection. “It’ll be different every time we do a procurement.”