“Sticky,” a piece by Meredith E. James ’04, was displayed in the student art show in the Carpenter Center this past month. James made the green hard candy alligator in VES 30, “Sculpture I: Introductory Studio Course.”

Aspiring Harvard artists had the rare opportunity this past month to display their creations in the Carpenter Center—a venue normally reserved for renowned professional artists from around the world.

About 30 students from the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies (VES) were selected to present the artwork produced in their classes over the last semester to interested buyers and fellow student artists.

The pieces reflected a wide variety of assignments, from abstract sculptures to charcoal nudes.

In a selection process that was more rigorous than in years past, a panel of VES studio professors chose about 40 pieces—including paintings, sculptures and photographs—from over 100 submissions.

The show, which runs from Dec. 5 until tomorrow, is designed to give students the experience of showing professionally and also to recognize publicly their creations.

“Everybody sort of feels like they are suddenly real artists,” said Benji D. Zusman ’04, who is enrolled in VES 120, “Narrative Painting.”

Zusman, who is a biochemistry concentrator, had two paintings on display. Both sold after multiple inquiries.

Students valued their own works, with prices ranging from $20 to $600. All of the works sold thus far cost less than $100.

Though many of the buyers are VES professors, about half the works were purchased by people outside of Harvard, estimated Melissa Davenport, event and publications coordinator for VES.

“I get the sense that people are buying them for their gifts for the holidays,” Davenport said.

VES Head Tutor Paul Stopforth attributed the large non-Harvard turnout to spillover from the Fogg Art Museum, located just down the street.

The opening of the show coincided with a lecture given by Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo that attracted a wide audience.

According to Stopforth, the mixed turnout is typical for the exhibition, but some students said they did not expect people from outside Harvard to be interested in buying their classwork.

“I was surprised that I didn’t know who [my buyers] were. I thought that they would be affiliated with the department in a way I knew,” Zusman said.

Most students said they felt the excitement of showing to the public for the first time—not the money—was the greatest benefit of the show.