After losing several family members in a short period of time, Fort Lewis College graduating art major Karina Rubio turned to her senior project as a way to honor their lives and preserve their memory.
“I’ve had many family members pass away in recent years, very close, one after the other,” Rubio said. “So I wanted to do a portrait series, kind of a show exploring what they were all about and being able to honor them. I wanted to express Mexican ideas of life and death and how we think about it. We grieve our family members, but we also get together and celebrate, because they would want us to do that. I really wanted to do something for my family.”
Rubio’s work is featured in the 2026 Fort Lewis College Art & Design Senior Show, a capstone exhibition showcasing final projects by graduating seniors in studio art and communication design. For Rubio, the show represents more than the completion of a degree — it reflects a deeply personal creative process shaped by grief, reflection, and resilience.
As he looked at the artwork, Rubio’s father, Luis Rubio, smiled as he remembered his father-in-law, Ramon Palomino. Parlmino’s yard, he said, was often filled with junk cars and discarded appliances.
“You could go to his place and find anything,” Luis Rubio said. “If you could think of it, he had it, car parts, refrigerators, washing machines, whatever. He used to recycle, and he actually made a lot of money doing it,” he said, pointing to one of the sculptures.
The Art & Design Senior Show runs from April 9 through May 2, 2026, in the FLC Art Gallery. The exhibition is part of Arts April, Fort Lewis College’s monthlong celebration of creativity across campus. The show is free and open to the public.