A local Iowa woman is adding a new spin to the basic artist’s canvas.

Mary Snyder Behrens was one of four artists selected to have her work displayed according to Theresa Cannon, program advisor of the Memorial Union. Behrens competed among 20 artists to have her work shown in the Pioneer Room of the Memorial Union, which will display through Dec. 14.

Cannon said she was looking for high quality artwork, while trying to remain selective. Behren’s use of different media caught her eye.

“There are other artworks out there that are relatively the same, but her work is uniquely different,” Cannon said.

When viewed as a whole, Behren’s work has an urban topographic appeal, said Kathy Svec, marketing coordinator of the Memorial Union.

“The ways in which she incorporates informal collages and composites rivals the precision of a draftsman,” Svec explained.

Although Behrens uses several different types of media in her display, she mostly focuses on paintings that use other media to accentuate her works of art, Svec said.

Svec also said Behren’s work is like nothing that she has ever seen before.

“She has technical skills, and has labored over the details,” Svec said. “The ways in which she has used objects of everyday use is absolutely astonishing.”

In her display, Behrens uses small clasps and copper pins arranged in organic shapes to promote uniformity, and one canvas ties itself to the surrounding canvas through the use of curving lines.

“[Viewers] should be encouraged to take in the holistic appeal of the artworks,” Svec said.

The Pioneer Room is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.