Being highlighted for her work in reflecting the blue-green hues that ripple throughout each ocean, Savannah Gallery at IUN opened art teacher Elena Lopez’s installation “Wave Therapy,” lasting from Nov. 19 to Jan. 23.

The piece was inspired by Mrs. Lopez’s home coast, along with the various coasts she’s lived on and traveled to through her life.

“I was born in New York and before I moved to Indiana, I lived between there and Miami. It was always 15 minutes or so away from the ocean. When we moved here, no ocean.” Mrs. Lopez said. “I know it’s part of physics and geology, but there’s that electromagnetic force from the ocean that you don’t get with the lake and, for me, being near the ocean makes me feel calm.”

Inspired by the serenity absolving the coastlines, the piece is not just one canvas, but a multitude of canvases, covered in various techniques that called to Mrs. Lopez at the moment. Being entirely spontaneous, she said the tacked canvases are interchangeable, rather than sewn together.

“I wanted it to stay sort of unlocked, you know. I like that, and this way, it’s kind of like a living thing,” Lopez said.