NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – NCAA Convention-goers are being treated to a unique event this week as 20 student-athlete artists are displaying their work at a special show in the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center.

The one-of-a-kind show called “Statements” coincides with a feature in the winter 2009 issue of Champion magazine on student-athletes who are as accomplished on canvas as they are on the field.

“The work ethic involved with being a student-athlete has enabled me to push myself in art as well to new limits, new ideas and to be more creative,” said recent Greensboro College graduate Kurt Gardiner, who specializes in acrylics on canvases that in some cases span 12 feet or more.

“Subconsciously, my artwork offers me a relief, though I enjoy pushing myself, being challenged. That’s why my work started getting a lot larger, because I didn’t feel that I could portray my messages on smaller canvases,” said Greensboro’s three-year starting goalkeeper who helped his team to three conference tournament championships and three NCAA tournament appearances.

Artwork also offers a sense of relief for Wheaton (Massachusetts) lacrosse student-athlete Brittany King, though she’s as driven with a lacrosse stick as she is with a brush.

“I always put 110 percent into my artwork, and it’s the same in athletics – I tend to be the go-getter, the fighter. I love working hard in sports, and in art it is the same kind of attitude,” she said. “Both athletics and art have played major roles in my life. Art serves as a stress relief – a comfort zone – for me, and athletics feeds my passionate side.”

King wants to pursue advertising or design as a career, though she also might give coaching a try since she has started 31 games in two years and has scored 37 goals thus far. She scored five goals in first collegiate game in 2007, and she scored five more in one game in 2008.

Gardiner, who is familiar with balance as a student-athlete, knows that skill as an artist as well. He is an accomplished tattoo artist, having served as an apprentice for a year, but he also wants to be known by traditional terms.

“I’m trying to break the mold or the perception that you have to be one or the other,” Gardiner said.  “I want to be a tattoo artist and a traditional artist, too. I want to show my work in galleries, but still be able to do the tattoo thing.”

Gardiner and King join the following as being featured in the show:

• Robin Hextrum, Southern California (rowing, painting)

• Julia Hopson, Fredonia State (track, illustration and photography)

• Anya Rosen, Carnegie Mellon (soccer, painting)

• Karyn Jordahl, Edgewood (volleyball, photography)

• Adrienne Spivak, Occidental (soccer, painting)

• Tim Rusterholz, Virginia Commonwealth (track, sculpture)

• Nubia Garcia, Montana State (basketball, photography)

• Dexter Larimore, Ohio State (football, sculpture)

• Sarah Lee, Chapman (water polo, photography)

• Derek Cheng, Johns Hopkins (track, sculpture and illustration)

• Allison LaChance, RIT (rowing, painting and illustration)

• Kristina Baskett, Utah (gymnastics, photography)

• Julie Rader, Oklahoma State (track, fashion design and jewelry)

• Jessie Gallagher, Lycoming (swimming, photography)

• Nick Schneiders, South Carolina Upstate (basketball, graphic design)

• Whitney Taylor, Bowling Green (basketball, photography and illustration)

• Allison Papko, Bethel (Minnesota) (ice hockey, illustration and graphic design)

•  Dina Hegazy, Southern California (swimming, photography)