From clay to canvas: Art brings students’ stories to president’s office

After installing the President's Art Selection Award winners in the Harper College President's Office, Professor Jason Peot, alum Ana Roussev, student Isabel Guerrero and Dr. Avis Proctor, Harper's president, pose in front of Ana's "Ancestral Threads."

A burst of orange and blue, the curve of a ceramic form and the excited chatter of young children recently filled the office of Dr. Avis Proctor, Harper College’s president. Two-year-old King Kanye – the subject of one of the artworks – curled up in his aunt’s arms, sneaking a peek of his portrait that had just been hung on the wall.

The vibrant oil painting was created by his aunt, Isabel Guerrero, a 21-year-old Harper student from Mount Prospect who is working on her Associate in Fine Arts degree. Isabel is one of the recipients of the 2025 President’s Art Selection Award, an annual tradition in which Dr. Proctor chooses two works from Harper’s Student Juried Art Exhibition to be displayed outside of her office for the academic year. This time, the honors went to two artists whose art is linked by themes of care and connection.

“King Kanye” is situated a few feet from “Ancestral Threads,” an installation made of ceramics, wood and metal by Ana Roussev, 43, from Barrington. Ana was carefully hanging each of the sculptural clay components with layered textures and weathered surfaces when Dr. Proctor began to chat with the artist about her work, family and experience at Harper.

Ana, who is transferring to Northern Illinois University this fall to pursue her bachelor’s in fine arts, was born in Bulgaria, lived in Russia and immigrated to the U.S. in 2002. She has since built a family (a husband, two kids, three dogs, three cats and 24 chickens) in the northwest suburbs while exploring an array of careers and business projects, seeking a role that would truly inspire her.

Having previously studied industrial design, fashion and cosmetology (she currently works as a hairstylist), Ana enrolled at Harper with a plan to become an interior designer. Instructor E-B Garcias helped her realize that she actually wanted to specialize in fine arts. With the help of Professor Jason Peot and adjunct instructor Kristen Walk, she found her place.

“Ceramics let me be myself,” Ana said. “I’ll give a lot of credit to the faculty here. They gave me space to grow without boundaries, and the courage to take the next step in my artistic journey.”

Ana calls her award-winning installation “a tribute to the lives that shape us and the shared thread that runs through us all.” “Ancestral Threads” features tactile, worn surfaces and forms that appear to protect each other.

“I saw the impressions on the individuals and just thought we all have different experiences, yet we have things that are in common with each other,” Dr. Proctor told Ana about why she selected her piece to be installed outside her office. “And we need community more so than ever before.”

Harper’s president also spent time discussing Isabel’s painting with the student-artist and how she was drawn to the contemplative expression on her nephew’s face: “The vibrancy in the eyes got me. He’s staring into something and there’s a calm about it.”

Indeed, King Kanye looks calm against a background of expressive orange and blue brushstrokes, which Isabel said were inspired by tree shadows. She is more than an artist or a student – and King Kanye is more than her nephew. Isabel is his caregiver, helping her brother raise three kids under the age of 6.

“They call me ‘mom.’ At 19, I didn’t expect I was going to be taking care of three little boys,” Isabel said. “Caring for them has changed how I see the world – and it’s made me a better painter. It’s taught me how to plan ahead.”

A graduate of Prospect High School, Isabel took a gap year and applied to art schools. She ultimately chose Harper for its affordability and proximity – and because her sister is an alum. In Harper’s studios, Isabel rediscovered her passion for painting. In Professor Perry Pollock’s classes, she gained the confidence to pursue a career path in the arts.

“Art is hard work. It keeps me up at night – wondering what am I going to do” with a painting, she said. “But when the brush hits the paint – I love that feeling. I’d rather do something I love than be stuck doing something I don’t.”