A “Monster Ship” and an explosion of spikes grabbed attention at a College of Design art exhibition Tuesday.

The 27th Art and Design Student Annual showcased 77 artworks from 63 students Tuesday in the College of Design Building. The works were selected from 209 submissions by 129 undergraduate students from the college. There were cash awards for first, second and third place, four honorable mentions and two juror’s choice awards. A total of $600 in awards went to ISU art and design students.

MacNider Art Museum interim director Traci Bittner and ISU College of Design alumnus Eugene Rauch, art director for Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Media, judged the submissions.

Senior Ben Ryan used concrete and lime-green wood to create his first-place winning composition, “Monster Ship.” The award came with a $250 prize.

“You want to build the craziest thing you can,” Ryan said. “There’s a couple pieces in there, the intricacy of what they do just blows my mind.”

Bittner chose junior Andrew Kopp’s hemp-coiled bowl-form with protruding one-inch metal spikes for her juror’s choice award.

“An explosion of spikes captures our attention in all directions,” Kopp said.

Junior Brian Tiedeman liked Kopp’s piece “because of the number of ways it can be displayed.”

Students and faculty representatives from the college coordinated the event. Carol Faber, assistant professor in art and design and event coordinator, said the students put in from two to 20 hours of work.

Neither judge was present at the exhibition.

“I was impressed with the level of craftsmanship and final executions of most pieces,” Rauch wrote in a statement.

Bittner also praised the creativity of the artists in a written statement.

“The selections made reveal inventive, expressive artwork representing the strength of these emerging artists,” Bittner wrote.

The exhibition runs until Oct. 10 in Gallery 181 in the design building.