Photo by Deb Gau Oak Kelsey shared the story behind one of his artworks on display at the MAFAC gallery during a reception Thursday evening. The “Casual Menagerie” exhibit runs through Feb. 20.

MARSHALL — The artworks Oak Kelsey has on display at the Marshall Area Fine Arts Council gallery use a variety of different techniques, from collage and chalk drawing to painting with stencils. But there are some threads that tie them all together, Kelsey said Thursday.

“It’s anthropomorphic –animals kind of doing human things,” Kelsey explained. All of the artworks feature animals in some way, from birds and cats to bulls.

“Humor is a big thing as well,” Kelsey said of his work.

An artist reception or Kelsey’s exhibit, “Casual Menagerie,” was held Thursday evening at the MAFAC gallery on Third Street.

Kelsey said some of the artworks on display come from stories in his own life. One painting, of a human figure with a bull’s head, was inspired by a former teacher of Kelsey’s.

“He would do this bull impression,” Kelsey said. Students knew if they could get the teacher to do his impression, it would eat up some class time, he said.

Another artwork, titled “Blackhawk Horns,” was created using a series of photos Kelsey and a friend took while wearing Lamberton school band uniforms.

“We dressed up in the uniforms … and we had a battle of sounds,” Kelsey said. In the artwork, Kelsey added birds’ heads to the images of he and his friend holding their band instruments.

The “Casual Menagerie” exhibit will run at the MAFAC gallery through Feb. 20.