Examples of the work Jessica Porter has done

In any design field, artists have to balance their own brand or their company’s brand with the trends that come and go. We had a chance to chat with three alumnae working at Victoria’s Secret about their own efforts to find this balance in their work.

The alumnae work on marketing projects from new gift card designs to environmental graphics that appear in stores nationwide.

Advertising & Graphic Design alumna Jessica Porter (CCAD 2011) is a contracted photo retoucher for the company. She does image correction on  models and products for the in-store displays, working on elements such as skin cleanup, product swap, and background extensions.

“Each new floor set is exciting to me,” Porter said. “As the seasons change, so do the stores. One month I’m retouching beautiful girls in swimsuits and the next I am working on girls in adorable Pink Valentine’s Day products.

“The retouching industry is definitely on the rise. As for Victoria’s Secret, we tend to keep the models looking as naturalistic as possible—and good retouching means you can’t tell it has been retouched.”

Porter, along with other photo retouchers, has often had to deal with the criticism that digitally manipulating a woman’s image can lead to unrealistic photos and perceptions about beauty.

“I am here to sell a product, not a woman or a body” Porter said. “We [photo retouchers] don’t remove flaws—and let’s face it, some of these supermodels don’t have any—but we do remove all the distractions from a photo. If something draws your eye away from the product, I am not doing my job properly.”

Fine Arts alumna Anna Porreca (CCAD 2006) works as a graphic designer for Victoria’s Secret Pink, a segmented brand aimed at a younger demographic.

Example of Anna Porreca’s graphic work

“I’ve been given the opportunity to work on so many fun projects in the past year that I’ve been with Pink,” Porreca said. “It is really rewarding to see how the graphic concept and design work that my team does affects and gets implemented into so many of the other areas of the Pink brand.”

An example of this is the script typography that Porreca developed for hoodies, which was then used to create LED signage that will be displayed in stores nationwide.

“The most fun is when our ideas lead us to an opportunity to work on projects that are less common for my job description, like thinking three-dimensionally and designing new and humorous shapes for iPhone cases,” Porreca said.

This type of work requires daily research. The designers’ days are spent not only working on products and store models, but also sifting through competitor websites, social media platforms, and anything that yields clues to what fads and trends customers are currently into.

Advertising & Graphic Design alumna Krysti Kalkman (CCAD 2010) is a graphic designer for Victoria’s Secret who works closely with the strategic marketing team from conceptualizing design to executing it.

“Social media is definitely affecting every single big brand,” Kalkman said. “I am always asking myself when designing in-store marketing signage or pieces for PR events if there is an opportunity to bring that into the design. Our customers eat that up, and it helps to get our message out.”

Glyphs of supermodel signatures that Krysti Kalkman developed

Trends in typography or pop culture verbiage may be big, and the designers need to gather all those trends into one place and figure out what can and should be worked into the design and brand.

“Basically we take note of all the inspiring stuff we see and hear and create concept boards that will drive our graphic approach that season,” Porreca said. “Sometimes ideas are saved for the next season, and other times they are completely dropped from development. We take what we know about our customer and anything fresh that we see in the world and blend the two.”

Although these alumnae soak up pop culture daily and have busy schedules, they all have similar CCAD experiences and lessons that helped them develop their fine-tuned skills.

“My foundation year classes and professors, especially Tam Peterson and Stuart McKissick, were tough, smart, and pushed my understanding of color and two-dimensional design, as well as re-enforced a strong work ethic,” Porreca said. “I have so much respect for them.”

For Kalkman, a memory from her senior year sticks with her, and it came in the form of a note from her professor Heather Miller.

“It said ‘remember to always keep inspired,’ and that really stuck with me,” she said. “When I’m not with it on a project it’s because I’m not inspired anymore. I think that’s something that is really important. For a designer to conceive vision, you must collect inspiration from others to help drive you.”

For Porter her most important lesson was time management.

“Time management is one of the most important skills you can have as a professional,” Porter said. “When I know I am going to have a lot of work for a very quick deadline I factor in my hours. Staying at work past midnight does happen, programs crash, files go corrupt. You always have to have a backup plan and work diligently.”

Kalkman is from Canton, OH, and attended Jackson High School; Porreca is from Grove City, OH, and attended Grove City High School; Porter is from Heath, OH, and attended Newark High School.

Classnotes, March 2013

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but because there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from December, January, and February!

Tim Rietenbach ’77, Joel Gundlach ’86, David Burghy ’89, and Danielle Julian Norton ’99 showed their work in a CCAD faculty exhibition at Columbus’ Cultural Arts Center. Read more here.

Jamie Berger ’78 curated PUSH Print, a book on contemporary printmaking published by Lark Crafts. Read more here.

Paul Emory ’78, Ellen O’Connell Bazzoli ’83, Alex Conrad MFA ’12, Nicole Crock MFA ’12, and Virginia Kistler MFA ’12 showed their work in the Ohio Art League Curated Exhibition, presented at the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery. Read more here.

Richard Cowdrey ’81 illustrated the re-released children’s book The Legend of the Candy Cane. Read more here.

Joel Gundlach ’86 designed new starting blocks for New Albany High School’s natatorium. Read more here.

Ed Valentine ’91 and Michael Stillion ’02 had exhibitions at Linda Warren Projects in Chicago. Read more here.

Julie Abijanac ’92 had her piece Disease Mapping selected for the Fiberart International 2013 exhibition. Read more here.

Anthony Weiler ’94, Annie Weihrauch ’03, Hazel Tarr ’07, and Maggy O’Reilly VanOrder ’09 are participants in CCAD’s MindMarket Incubator. Read more here.

Benjamin Lane ’96 is now a story artist at Disney Feature Animation Studio in Burbank, CA.

Daniel King ’00 was featured in Temporary Art Review discussing his artistic career and inspiration. Read more here.

Anne Holman ’02 had a busy winter full of exhibitions and art sales. Read more here.

Mariana Smith ’02 showed work in exhibitions from the East Coast to the West Coast. Read more here.  She also had her piece Untitled (After Tarkousky Stalker) in the 34th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition, hosted by Bradley University, Peoria, IL. Read more here.

Brian Williams ’03 had an illustration featured in ARTnews. Read more here.

Lea Gray ’04 and Eric Jefferson ’04 were featured in Alive!, a weekly magazine that covers events and culture in Columbus, OH. Read more on Gray here and Jefferson here.

Sean Conner ’05, Nate Reese ’05, Chris Meister ’06, Andrew Mark ’07, Scott Ulliman ’10, and Chavilah Bennett ’12 took home Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA) Creative Best Awards for their work with S77, a motion graphics company in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Joaquin Baldwin ’06 was a juror for the 40^th Annual Annie Awards. Read more here.

Andrew Ina ’06 received a Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) Individual Art Fellowship in Media Arts this year. Read more here.

Boryana Rusenova Ina ’06 was in two group exhibitions in Michigan. Read more here.

Brent Payne ’06 was included in two juried exhibitions in Ohio. Read more here. He was also had work in an exhibition hosted by Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX. Read more here.

Michelle Dick ’08 is now working as an interior designer with Organized Home Remodeling, in Columbus, OH.

Brian Uhl ’08 had a solo exhibition at Static Age Gallery in Cincinnati. Read more here.

Steve Hubbard ’10 worked on animations for the movie Life of Pi. Read more here.

John Malta ’10 had his third illustration published in The New York Times. Read more here.

Kerry Kunze ’11 showed work in a group exhibition at Mount Vernon University. Read more here.

Alex Conrad MFA ’12, Nicole Crock MFA ’12, Leah Fisher ’12, and Crystal Tursich MFA ’12 had work included in the 13^th annual ImageOhio exhibition organized by Roy G Biv Gallery. Read more here.

Amanda Rouse MFA ’12 had a busy exhibition schedule including three juried and two group exhibitions. Read more here.

Celebrate Local’s gallery wall

Celebrate Local, a shop in Easton Town Center in Columbus, OH, has recently installed a gallery wall that features artwork from local artists, so it’s no surprise that some CCAD alumni lent a hand to get it started.

Fine Arts alumnus Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002) helped organize the gallery in the store, which is currently displaying the work of 24 artists.

“Celebrate Local requested work that deals with artists’ representations of ‘being local’ or ‘localism,’” Brouillette said. “Each artist’s take varies in subject and style.”

Illustration by Thom Glick for the Celebrate Local gallery

The work is available for purchase and will continually rotate as pieces sell. Current CCAD artists with work up include Illustration alumnus and Assistant Director of Admissions Thom Glick (CCAD 2004), Fine Arts alumnus and adjunct faculty Andrew Ina (CCAD 2006), Fine Arts alumnus Christopher Tennant (CCAD 2006), Fine Arts alumna Jamie Sommer (CCAD 2007), and Illustration alumna Jen Wrubles (CCAD 2010).

“Artists are part of the economy,” Brouillette said. “They buy supplies to produce and produce things that are desired commodities. Not only that, but the desire for unique objects in a world driven by individualism has made artist-made objects very desirable. The willingness of a space like Easton to not only support local commerce, but local creativity is commendable.”

Celebrate Local showcases Ohio-produced handmade and artisanal goods from more than 200 small businesses.

Brouillette is from Avon Lake, OH, and attended Avon Lake High School; Glick is from West Milton, OH, and attended Milton Union High School; Ina is from Strongsville, OH, and attended Strongsville Senior High School; Sommer is from Martins Ferry, OH, and attended Martins Ferry High School; Tennant is from Mount Vernon, OH, and attended Fort Hayes Metro Education Center; Wrubles is from Williamstown, WV, and attended Williamstown High School.

Still from “Life of Pi,” courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

The Visual Effects Society announced winners the 11th Annual VES Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, earlier this month, and Media Studies alumnus Steve Hubbard (CCAD 2010) was among those who received recognition.

Hubbard worked as an animator for the movie Life of Pi. The movie won in four categories, with Hubbard taking a visual effects credit for the win in the category of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture.

The VES Awards recognizes outstanding visual effects in 24 categories of film, animation, television, commercials, and video games.

The 2013 Oscar nominations have been announced. Photo courtesy of oscar.go.com

The awards season is upon us, and the Oscar nominees have been announced. With so many of our alumni working in the film and animation industry, it’s no surprise that some of the nominated films include CCAD talent in their credits.

Media Studies alumnus Steve Hubbard (CCAD 2010) worked on the animation for Life of Pi, which was nominated in eight categories, including Best Picture and Visual Effects.

“I worked on about 20 shots throughout the film,” Hubbard said. “I worked on fur and muscle simulations for Richard Parker [the tiger], the hyena, and the zebra. I also worked on the tarp interactions with the animals and Pi, the ropes on the boat, and some movements on fish as well.”

Illustration alumnus Alex Alvarado (CCAD 2011), Media Studies alumnus Joaquin Baldwin (CCAD 2006), and Media Studies alumnus Darren Simpson (CCAD 2011) worked on Walt Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph, which was nominated in the Animated Feature Film category.

Baldwin was also selected as a juror for the 40^th Annual Annie Awards, which will take place Feb. 2 at UCLA’s Royal Hall in Los Angeles.

And finally, Illustration alumnus Ben Lane (CCAD 1996) worked on The Longest Daycare, which is nominated for Short Film (Animated).

Update: On Sunday, Feb. 24 Life of Pi, which alumnus Steve Hubbard worked on, took home four Oscars, including Best Visual Effects.

CCAD alumni at S77 (right to left: Chavilah Bennett, Scott Ulliman, Nate Reese (back), Andrew Mark, Chris Meister). Photo courtesy Rainer Ziehm.

Walking through the Short North, Columbus’ arts district, you will be sure to spot galleries, restaurants, and tattoo parlors. Look a little closer and you’ll see S77, a design studio that focuses on motion graphics.

Its work can be seen around the world and ranges from a Lil Wayne music video to EXPRESS online branding.

Out of the nine full-time employees, five are CCAD alumni: Chris Meister (Media Studies, 2006), Andrew Mark (Media Studies, 2007), Scott Ulliman (Media Studies, 2010), and Chavilah Bennett (Advertising & Graphic Design, 2012). We got a chance recently to sit down and chat with some of them about what it’s like to work in a creative environment alongside fellow alumni.

Q) What is it like to work with other CCAD alumni?

Andrew Mark (AM): Working with fellow alumni allows you to immediately have an idea of their background. You know that they come from the same foundation studies, and it gives you a good read on what they can do and how you can work with them.

Chavilah Bennett (CB): What Andrew said is absolutely right. I am a new graduate and have only been away from CCAD for six months, and coming here and knowing that everyone had a similar background was nice and made my transition easy and comfortable. We all had an initial commonality and can relate on some CCAD experiences, like all-nighters.

Scott Ulliman (SU): Honestly, I don’t really think about it (laughing). It does give us a common topic to talk about though—and there are plenty of times we sit here and chat about past professors and projects.

Chris Meister (CM): Yeah, I am with Scott in that I don’t think about this too much. I did know a lot of my current co-workers before starting at S77. For instance, I went to school and had class with Andrew, so we just had to transition our student teamwork to a professional setting.

CCAD alumni at S77 (from right to left: Scott Ulliman, Nate Reese, Chris Meister, Andrew Mark, Chavilah Bennett). Photo courtesy Rainer Ziehm.

Q) Why do you think S77 has employed a lot of CCAD alumni?

AM: The fairly obvious answer is that S77 is local, just a hop-and-skip away. I know a lot of people love the city of Columbus, and after they graduate they want to stay local. There is not only an attraction for alumni to come work here, but also for us to go search out graduating CCAD students to come work here. At S77 we are able to take comfort in the fact that when we are looking to expand we have people ready to join the team with similar training and background right around the corner. It has just developed into a natural relationship.

CM: When a lot of us have a similar education background we are able to know right off the bat when they start where their skills are going to lie, what they have a strong background in, and how we can mold that skill. Chavilah is a perfect example of this. She came to us with not a lot of experience in motion design, but we knew she would be able to pick up on this because she has a basic understanding in design and fundamentals, so we could easily teach her anything as projects roll in.

SU: To add on to what Andrew just mentioned about the natural relationship with CCAD—I have been working here for two years and it is primarily CCAD alumni, but I think it is natural and not intentional. Rainer [Ziehm] started this company and also taught briefly at CCAD, so when he is looking for new talent he is going to able to identify those people in town and where they are coming from—which is CCAD.

CB: Although there are a lot of CCAD alumni here, I think it is also important to note we work with a lot of freelancers based around the world. But when we are looking for a permanent fixture on our team, we pull from the local pool and a lot are affiliated with CCAD.

CCAD alumni at S77 (from right to left: Scott Ulliman, Andrew Mark, Chavilah Bennett). Photo courtesy Rainer Ziehm.

Q) What would your advice be to students and fellow alumni who want to work with S77 or a similar company?

AM: Develop your portfolio, definitely. Create a massive portfolio, and then you can trim it down to your best work. There are a lot of times that if you are a particularly good student you will have a big-fish-little-pond mentality. I think the best thing students can do is envision their pond as being the industry. They need to remember that they are not just competing against students, but they are up against professionals, too. That’s not to scare young designers away, since most employers will hire on potential, too, not just current work, but it is important to keep things in perspective and keep practicing and learning—because you will do that your whole career.

CM: Presentation is key. And for me personally, I love looking through students’ and peers’ sketchbooks. You can see specific projects in their final portfolio, but sketchbooks kind of give you a peek into how they are as a personal artist and what their passion is.

SU: Like Chris said, I like looking at sketchbooks and more personal work. A big thing when you are looking to get hired at a place like S77 is fitting in with the company and having something unique to bring to the company and the team. Always do work outside your professional or educational projects; that way you can show the company something else and little bit more of who you are.

CB:  I think a big part of being hired someplace and having people trust you enough to become a part of their company is being able to think creatively. It is not always about the skill level you are at; you have to be good, but you have to show that there is thought behind your work and that you will continue to grow. It is a continual process, and for me, I have learned an astronomical amount since I have gotten here and I have a lot more to learn.

CCAD alumnus Andrew Mark (right) watches a co-worker play skee-ball in the S77 office. Photo courtesy Rainer Ziehm.

Q) What past experiences do you share and remember from being a student at CCAD? How has this influenced your professional career?

SU: We do talk a lot about difficult and easy professors—and of course the all-nighters. We have also brought the competitive nature you have as a student here into the workplace. I studied a lot of 3D work in school, and it was a small group of students, and we got competitive with our work. I think it is the same way here and probably in any office. But with friendly competition you are constantly able to learn the strengths of others and able to develop your own style.

AM: All-nighters is one thing we all remember, and it is something that doesn’t disappear once you go into the professional world. There are a lot of things that are similar, though, between this line of work and your time as a student. In school you try and get a good grade on a project, and now you want to get a good grade with the client. So that mentality has stuck with me.

CB: Critiques have definitely continued into my professional life. Now you will get critiqued by not only the client when you present the work, but also your peers and co-workers. It is productive criticism, though, and really valuable in becoming a better designer.

CM: My favorite classes at CCAD were the ones with brutal critiques. I know sometimes they would make students break down and cry, but it was always so helpful because it was so truthful—like when they say, “This looks awful, why would you even turn it in?” In the professional world you need to kind of have that tough skin. Clients have an idea in their head, and they are coming for you for help, but if it is not what they want they will always be honest about it.

An S77 hallway, hung with part of their collection of albums released in the year 1977. Photo courtesy Rainer Ziehm.

Q) Why are you in the creative field—why do you love your job?

SU: What makes it great here is how comfortable I feel. I mean of course we can all wear what we want, but the people make you feel comfortable. I don’t ever want to have a job that is not as fun as this. You get difficult clients or boring projects occasionally, but then you remind yourself that you worked on a rapper’s music video that is seen now worldwide.

CM: I like the fact that we all do a little bit of everything, so there is never a boredom factor of having to do the same thing day-in and day-out. And there is also a level of freedom—if you want to start learning a new technique or something you can explore it and learn new skills.

AM: I really like the people here a lot. We can joke around with each other and small talk. Here at S77 we have a small, intimate team, where you know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. I trust everyone I work with, and I have genuine friendships with everyone.

CB: The best thing about working here? There are just so many great things. The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door here is the environment. We are surrounded by toys; we are all big kids and everyone can take a break once in awhile. It is exciting to work on projects and then see them released on TV. Recently I worked on Highball [Short North’s Halloween celebration], and when I went there I got to see my work on the big screen—it’s a new, exciting experience.

Editor’s note: Their offices are brag-worthy. They have a bowling arcade game, a wall covered in record albums released in 1977 (based on the company’s name), a skee-ball machine, and a fully functional kitchen (word is that Andrew makes pancakes every Monday morning). We are a bit jealous.

CM: To jump off that idea—it is exactly like the music video we worked on for TI and Lil Wayne. It premiered on VH1 in October, and I got to watch the whole show and kept getting excited when they would say, “Coming up, the world premiere…” I know that if I ever get a project that is boring or slower than the rest it is immediately erased by the fact that I got to work on a Lil Wayne music video.

Classnotes, December 2012 Issue

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but because there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from September, October, and November 2012.

Aminah Robinson ’60 was inducted into the city of Columbus’ Hall of Fame. Read more here.

Aminah Robinson ’60 and Linda Fowler ’74 participated in the Ohio Craft Museum’s exhibition Columbus Collects Fine Crafts. Read more here.

Joan Hall ’74 had a solo exhibition at Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO. Read more here.

CV Mansoor ’77 exhibited work at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Read more here.

Dean Mitchell ’80 had an exhibition with Cutter & Cutter Fine Art in St. Augustine, FL. The exhibition also featured an article written by Walter King ’81. Read more here.

Salli Swindell ’81, co-creater of They Draw & Cook, had her illustrated cookbook reviewed in Gastronomic magazine. Read more here.

Jenny Vogt ’81 exhibited her series The Nature of Birds at the Village Hall Gallery of Arts in Bartlett, IL. Read more here.

Helen Hoffelt ’82, Rachel Girard Reisert ’02, Lian Dziura ’12, Cosby Lindquist ’12, and Crystal Tursich ’12 participated in a monthlong photography event in Cincinnati, OH. Read more here.

Kurt Fondriest ’85 was part of a group exhibition at the Life Force Arts Center in Chicago, IL. Read more here.

Hiroshi Hayakawa ’85 was featured in the fifth annual edition of the magazine Diffusion: Unconventional Photography. Read more here.

Lisa Horkin ’85, Susan Li  O’Connor ’96, Anne Holman ’02, Jennifer Deafenbough ’04, Joseph Lombardo ’06, Chris Harman ’12, and Jack Ramunni ’12 received Supply Grants from the Greater Columbus Arts Council. Read more here.

Christopher Madden ’87 works as a journeyman banknote engraver at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Read more here.

Kirsten Bowen ’89, Clint Davidson ’00, Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski ’02, Daric Gill ’04, Lea Gray ’04, Adam Crum ’06, Christopher Tennant ’06, Joel Atkinson ’09, and Julia McCann ’11 participated in Urban Scrawl, an annual festival in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus. Read more here.

Christopher Cole ’89 became the Senior VP/Creative Director for the Sprint wireless at Leo Burnett-Chicago.

Richard Mills ’89 participated in the Ashes to Art Project, an art auction benefiting volunteer fire departments in Colorado that were affected by wildfires in 2012. Read more here.

Kaname Takada ’89 and Julie Abijanac ’92 received awards for their work exhibited in the Zanesville Museum of Art’s 68^th Annual Ohio Show. Read more here.

Kurt Lightner  ’93 participated in the group exhibition Assembly 2012 at Edward Thorp Gallery in New York City. Read more here.

David Breaux ’94 had a busy year, working on productions including Terra Nova, Hunger Games, Tron: Legacy, and Iron Man 2. Read more here.

Phil Hastings ’94 is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship in Film and Video. Read more here.

Jason Goad ’96 created a pair of limited edition sunglasses for Anarchy Eyewear. Read more here.

Susan Li O’Connor ’96 is part of a group exhibition at Steinhilber Art Gallery in Madison, WI. Read more here.

Susan Li O’Connor ’96 and Mariana Smith ’02 were selected for GCAC’s Dresden Residency Program. Read more here.

John Urbano ’96 received two VMAs for the music video he directed for the band One Direction. Read more here.

Kate Labmeier ’02 and Michael Stillion ’02 exhibited their work at Marshall University’s Birke Art Gallery. Read more here.

Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski ’02 and Corey Aumiller ’06 placed in the Columbus Arts Pop-Up Project (CAP-UP). Read more here.

Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski ’02 created and installed a volcano wall at a tiki bar in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Mariana Smith ’02 exhibited her work at Swing Space Gallery at Ohio State University; read more here. She also had an exhibition at Hammond Harkins Galleries in Columbus, OH; read more here.

Brian Williams ’03 was featured in Map Magazine, an arts and culture magazine based in Australia. Read more here.

Shannon Bonatakis ’04 had a solo exhibition, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, at Rivet, a designer toy and fine art gallery in the Short North, Columbus’ arts district. Read more here.

Manjari Sharma ’04 showed her work in a group exhibition, Social Order: Photographs from Iran, India, and Afghanistan in Seattle, WA. Read more here.

Holly Koskinen ’05 won an American Graphic Design Award. Read more here.

Joseph Lombardo ’06 has a solo exhibition at Art Access Gallery in Bexley, OH through Jan. 9. Read more here.

Michelle Dick ’08 is now working as an art teacher with After-School All-Stars, an after-school program for students in Columbus City Schools.

Evens Joseph ’09 was a featured artist in Juxtapoz magazine. Read more here.

Krista Peterson ’09 received a full-tuition scholarship to DePaul University for graduate study in the field of Human Computer Interaction. Read more here.

Kartika Mediani ’10 had work in the graphic novel One Drop. Read more here.

Amanda C. VanDenberg ’10 showed work in a group exhibition at the Little Art Gallery in North Canton, OH. Read more here.

Elena Harvey Collins ’12 had her video When They’re Gone, They’re Gone in an exhibition at Roy G Biv gallery in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Nathan Gorgen ’12 and Elena Harvey Collins ’12 participated in Shifting Margins, a group exhibition put on by OFF Space in San Francisco. Read more here.

Jessica Miera ’12 is a concept artist for Animation Hero, an independent animation studio located in Columbus, OH. She is also working part time as an assistant film editor at HotBed Media LLC in Bexley, OH.

Photo of S77′s awards, photo courtesy of Rainer Ziehm

Several alumni earned well-deserved accolades at the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA) Creative Best Awards for their work with S77, a motion graphics company in Columbus, OH.

The CCAD alumni team at S77 includes Media Studies alumni Sean Conner (CCAD 2005), Nate Reese (CCAD 2005), Chris Meister (CCAD 2006), Andrew Mark (CCAD 2007), and Scott Ulliman (CCAD 2010), and Advertising & Graphic Design alumna Chavilah Bennett (CCAD 2012).

The company received a Judges Choice and a Best of Category award for the work they did on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ music video Monarchy of Roses. They also received a Merit Award for the creative video ToyCar the company worked on.

Bennett took home additional Creative Best Awards for work she completed while a CCAD senior last spring. Her mock ad for A.L.C., a clothing and jewelry line, was awarded a Best of Category in the student work section, as well as a Judges Choice. To view the project, click here.

Alumnus John Malta’s illustration was published in The New York Times

Illustration alumnus John Malta (CCAD 2010) has now had three illustrations published in The New York Times.

His most recent work appeared alongside an editorial piece by Stephen R. Kelly entitled “Good Neighbors, Bad Border” on Nov. 27, 2012. The article discusses boundary disputes between countries, including the one between the U.S. and Canada over Machias Seal Island.

Malta’s illustration features bald eagles decked out in stars-and-stripes garb playing tug-of-war with a group of sweater-wearing Canadian moose.

Malta’s first illustration for the newspaper ran alongside Robert Klitzman’s op-ed article “My Sister, My Grief” on May 3, 2011. On Aug. 19, 2011, his second illustration accompanied the op-ed article “Engineering Food for All” by Nina V. Fedoroff.

Photo from last year’s Family Weekend & Homecoming

Classes are in full swing and the temperature is starting to drop, which can only mean one thing…. Family Weekend & Homecoming is almost here.

This will be the second year that the popular events are combined into one spectacular, action-packed weekend; this year on Oct. 12 and 13.

Last year during and after the event we shared hundreds of photos with our friends on Facebook via our Columbus College of Art & Design page and our CCAD Alumni page.

People tagged and liked the pictures, allowing everyone online to participate. So, what better way to get excited for this year’s event then look back at last year’s photos and comments?

A few that warmed our cold hearts:

“Totally enjoyed the Family Weekend & Homecoming thing—great job,” said alumnus James Walter Elston. “So good to be back at CCAD.”

Alumna Lisa Hetzer said, “we had a great time at the Homecoming/Family/Alumni weekend! Kudos to everyone involved with the planning, great job. What a wonderful surprise to see my favorite teacher, Billie Ingram, being honored at the alumni reception!”

Attendees were excited about the carnival on the quad, the comedy performance, and the homecoming reception, but some were also just as excited for the food.

“Joy Waking up starving and making overdone eggs isn’t fun, heading down to the market to get some good food,” current student Starla Hay said on a post announcing breakfast was beginning.

Sharing photos allowed the people who were there to reminisce (even while the event was still going on), but our hyperactive posting and tweeting meant that those who weren’t able to make the trip to campus got to enjoy it vicariously (at least that’s what we hope).

Alumna Amy Marie Book commented, “I wish I could have gone…miss my CCAD days bad…they were rough while there, but now looking back they were the best years for being myself.”

“I think if I visit now I will get lost,” alumna Sylvia Olmos stated on a picture of the campus. “Campus looks a lot different from 1986 when I started.”

Olmos is right; campus has changed a lot (just another reason to come back). But for those who are worried about getting lost, throughout the day there will be guided tours, so no need to worry.

Those who were watching our posts throughout the day were also a little perplexed by who we were exactly.

Student Alejandro Bellizzi commented that he thought our Faceboook page was alive—“I like this because I don’t understand who you are. It’s as if CCAD is alive and once you are an alumnus/a, you can talk to it like it’s a person. What are you? Are you some kind of art school ghost spirit?”

No, we are not an “art school spirit,” but wouldn’t that be cool? Walking through walls and just appearing places? …We digress. Like last year, Lacey Luce and I (Katlin McNally) will be wandering the streets tweeting and posting—and we think you should too! Seriously, do we have to do everything?

But, anyway, we like Bellizzi’s thinking. We are here to bring the “spirit” of CCAD to you (but not in a creepy poltergeist way)—whether you are among our alumni, a student, a family member, faculty, or staff—we are all CCAD family and on Oct. 12 and 13, everyone is coming together to celebrate. This is something you will not want to miss!

To check out a full listing of events planned for the weekend, please go to our event page. Also, look at photos from last year on our Facebook photo albums here and here.

Classnotes, September 2012 Issue

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but because there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from June, July, and August 2012.

John Schaffner ’60 and J. Luray Schaffner ’62 both exhibited their work at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center in Solomons, MD. Read more here.

Elena Osterwalder ’76 showed work in Celebrating UA, an exhibition at the Concourse Gallery in Upper Arlington, OH. Read more here.

Joe Howard ’72 had his piece Stone, Steel and Wood chosen for the permanent Western Art Collection of the Pearce Museum at Navarro College in Corsicana, TX. Read more here.

Jeff Stahler ’77 was interviewed in The Illustrator’s Market. Read more here.

Tim Bowers ’79 illustrated Dinosaur Pet, which climbed the best-seller lists. Read more here.

David Groff ’79 received gold and bronze awards in the 29^th annual Aster Awards for his illustrations in a hospital calendar.

Marty Husted ’79, Mark Thomas ’90, and Heather Nibert ’12 are each participating in a public arts project in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Laura Sanders ’88, Sarah Fairchild ’94, Chris Rankin ’94, Adam Brouillette ’02,  Anne Holman ’02, Lauren Mudd ’04,  and Boryana Rusenova Ina ’06, participated in Art for the Environment, a silent auction benefiting the Ohio Environmental Council. Read more here.

Kaname Takada ’89, William Shearrow ’97,  and Michael Bonardi ’04 are featured in a group exhibition at the  Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum in Coshocton, OH. Read more here.

Peter Wachtel ’90 is now selling his product STAKE, an all-in-one BBQ tool, via Quirky, Target, Fab, and ThinkGeek. Read more here.

James Alicea ’92 organized a fundraiser for the victims of the 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan, involving artists from Japan and New York. Read more here.

Laurie Brown ’94 showed her work in a group exhibition at the Mansion at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. Read more here.

Chad Hunt ’94 spent time training with a U.S. Special Operations Command team, and his resulting photographs were featured in an issue of Popular Mechanics. Read more here.

Chris Rankin ’94 exhibited his work in two Columbus, OH, venues this summer. Read more here.

David Hartman ’95 is a supervising director for the show Transformers: Prime, which won a 2012 Daytime Emmy®. Read more here.

Jason Goad ’96 has partnered on projects for some big-name brands and projects, including Mattel’s Hot Wheels. Read more here.

John Urbano ’96 released a limited edition photography book and directed a music video for British pop band One Direction that has been nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. Read more here.

Nathaniel Galka ’98 had work in the exhibition The Birds and Bees. Read more here.

Mike Hein ’98 exhibited his work at Mulherin + Pollard gallery in New York City. Read more here.

Dan Scanlon ’98 was featured in the LA Times for his upcoming directorial debut on Pixar’s Monsters University. Read more here.

Michael Phillips ’99 was profiled in All4You, a contemporary culture magazine based in Croatia. Read more here.

Clint Davidson ’00 worked on a mural for a public park in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Olga Ziemska ’00 installed a sculpture at the Columbus State Community College (CSCC) main library.  Read more here.

Adam Brouillette ’02, Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski ’02, and Corey Aumiller ’06 are participating in the Columbus Arts Pop-Up Project (CAP-UP), a public art project. Read more here.

Carl Bork ’03 exhibited his paintings at the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida, CO. Read more here.

Sarah DeAngulo Hout ’04 worked on a mural that is now in the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Read more here.

Michael Lai ’04 presented as a special guest for the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts in Columbus, OH. Read more here

Jill Raymundo ’04 exhibited her work in the City Center Gallery of the OSU Urban Arts Space in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Manjari Sharma ’04 was featured in the Huffington Post’s iPad issue for her photography project Darshan. Read more here.

Corey Aumiller ’06 worked on a video project featuring CCAD President Denny Griffith. Read more here.

Martina Nikova ’07 had a solo exhibition at the Ohio Art League in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Greg Beck ’09 helped start Longstride, a creative marketing company in Columbus, OH, that was featured in a local business journal. Read more here.

John Malta ’10 received a grant from the Xeric Foundation to self-publish his comic book The Professor and the Paperboy. Read more here.

Kartika Mediani ’10 showed her film The Box at the 2012 Comic-Con’s San Diego International Children’s Film Festival in California. Read more here.

Kerry Kunze ’11 displayed her work at ZenClay Gallery in Morgantown, WV. Read more here.

Rachel Cass ’12 was featured in Easton Town Center’s 2012 directory after being awarded Easton’s Fashion Design Award. Read more here.

Kathryn Chamberlin ’12 became the graphic designer at Origo Branding Company in downtown Columbus, OH.

Alex Conrad ’12 showed his work in a national MFA competition. Read more here.

Brianne Schulze ’12 earned a goldsmithery apprenticeship at the Diamond Cellar in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Promo material for Amanda VanDenberg’s exhibition

Fine Arts alumna Amanda C. VanDenberg (CCAD 2010) showed her work in a group exhibition at the Little Art Gallery in North Canton, OH.

In the exhibition, Essential Momentum, VanDenberg presented her self-portrait series Madonna Complex.

The exhibition was on display July 21–Aug. 18, 2012.

The novel revolves around the theme of “here comes the rain” and includes the work of more than 15 animators and illustrators. Work ranges from digital media to traditional watercolor.

The group hopes to publish the book in October, and they are raising support and money through the online fundraising site kickstarter.

Screenshot from Mediani’s “The Box”

Animation alumna Kartika Mediani (CCAD 2010) showed her film The Box at the 2012 Comic-Con’s San Diego International Children’s Film Festival in California on July 15.

The short animated film, which was written, directed, and illustrated by Mediana, follows a young boy and the lengths to which he will go to protect a precious box.

The San Diego International Children’s Film Festival presents creative, exciting, and imaginative short films from around the world.

Mediana is currently working on her MFA at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Cover of “The Professor and the Paperboy”

Illustration alumnus John Malta (CCAD 2010) received a grant from the Xeric Foundation to self-publish his comic book, The Professor and the Paperboy.

“I am working on part two of  The Professor and the Paperboy, so I can publish both as a two-part box set,” Malta said.

The book follows the adventures of a distinguished professor of theoretical physics named Reginald Cornelius Oozeman and his paperboy, Grover.

The Xeric Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation established by Peter A. Laird, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Planet Racers. The foundation offers financial assistance to committed, self-publishing comic book creators and qualified charitable and nonprofit organizations.

Richard Cowdrey’s illustration for the children’s book “Searching for the You We Adore”

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but since there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from March, April, and May 2012.

Eileen Mueller Neill ’65 had an exhibition, Imaginaries, at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s Fine Arts Gallery. Read more here.

Richard Cowdrey ’81 illustrated Searching for the You We Adore, written by Valerie Westfall. Read more here.

Janet Sopp-Sims ’85 was a finalist in the 2012 Hunting Art Prize. Read more here.

Anthony Baker ’86 presented at a conference about the importance of art in the classroom. Read more here.

Creative Arts of Women (CAW) members Helma Groot ’89, Roxanne Smith-Mansell ’87, Kristin Morris ’94–’02, Mary Ann Crago ’95, and Cat Sheridan ’03 were in a group exhibition honoring Women’s History Month. Read more here.

Richard Hughes ’88–’95 was chosen to create a poster for the eighth annual Art Affair on the Square in Urbana, OH. Read more here.

Don Slobodien ’88 earned first place in the Art at the Arnold competition. Read more here.

Chris Cosnowski ‘92 had a solo exhibition at Lyons Wier Gallery in New York City. Read more here.

Daniel Hopper ’94 had a chandelier chosen to be displayed in Coup d’Etat, a design showroom in San Francisco.

Jason Moore ’96 was named to Columbus Business First’s 40 under 40 2012 Honorees list. Read more here.

Danielle Julian Norton ’99 was in a group exhibition in New Jersey. Read more here.

Nicole Bruckman ’00 co-curated Cella Gallery’s exhibition Femme Fatale in North Hollywood. Read more here.

Irina Grebennik ’02 exhibited work in the  Orville J. Hanchey Gallery at Northwestern State University in the Inaugural 40 under 40 show.

Michael Bonardi ’04 had a solo exhibition in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Eliza Kinkz ’04 premiered her film Chocolate Milk at the 2012 South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Film Conference and Festival. Read more here.

Michael Litzau ’04 was offered a two-week residency at Ragdale in Illinois. Read more here.

Steve Weinzierl ’05 became the creative director at Favorite Color in New York City.

Anna Porreca ’06 was hired as an apparel graphic designer for Victoria’s Secret Pink in New York City.

John O’Reilly ’07 had his first solo exhibition at RH Gallery in New York City. Read more here.

These are Things, founded by Jen Adrion ’08 and Omar Noory ’08, was featured in two trade publications (read more here) and was used as a case study for a New York Times bestselling author’s book (read more here).

Ashley K. Alexander ’09 published her second novel, The Hanged Man’s Ghost. Read more here.

Annie Kocher ’09 was featured in Alive! Read more here.

Rachel Ridgley ’10 had her photography and personal story featured in Wolfdogs magazine. Read more here.

Mason Miller ’11 was hired as a graphic designer for Big Red Rooster, a multidimensional brand experience firm.

Pallavi Sen ’11 was awarded the Lifchez/Stronach nine-month, paid curatorial internship with the Antonio Ratti Textile Center of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Read more here.

The garment on the left is from Rachel Kaplan's collection, inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe and Umberto Boccioni. Chavilah Bennett used the fashion shoot photo to recontsruct a work of art inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's painting “Red Canna."

When the music is pounding and the models are strutting down the runway—each bringing forth a delightful new surprise—it is easy to only see the fashion design talent at the CCAD Senior Fashion Show.

So, each year we like to take a moment and call attention to all of the other creative minds that make our extraordinary fundraiser such a memorable experience.

One piece in particular, the lookbook, lasts well beyond that one adrenaline-fueled night. CCAD students have always played a significant role in developing the book, but this year that role was increased. The book not only showcases the design talent of our fashion students, but it also showcases the talent of our photographers, graphic designers, fine artists, and illustrators—not just in its production but in the rich content seen on each page.

“The fashion designers took their inspiration from 2D and 3D artists. To showcase that inspiration, we took the idea of deconstruction and reconstruction to highlight more forms of art and design at CCAD,” said CCAD Creative Director Lindsay Kronmiller as she described the concept for this year’s fashion show lookbook.

The team that developed the concept for the lookbook, the invites, and did the design work, from left Isabella Hidalgo, Aaron Roberts, Walker Crane, and Isuri Merenchi Hewage

“We took photos of the models wearing the designs on backgrounds that make it appear that the fashion is being ‘unpacked’ for a gallery show,” explained Kronmiller. “We then gave those photos to artists, designers, and illustrators and had them reconstruct each photo into a piece of art that was inspired by the original 2D and/or 3D artist—thus creating an ‘exhibition book’ of CCAD work focused around this year’s fashion thesis projects.”

While guests of the event will appreciate the beautiful book as they wait for the main event to start, the book’s shelf life lasts quite a bit longer. For the next year the admissions office will include the fashion lookbook in packets to prospective students and bring it with them to college fairs.

“This has become a signature piece for the college,” said Robin Hepler, director of marketing and communications at CCAD. “It started as a program just for the event, but we found that prospective students considering CCAD were fascinated by it and inevitably wanted a copy to keep. So, each year we’ve improved the content and ordered more quantities turning it into a regular piece in our recruitment packet. This year we’ve gone even further to ensure the book showcases the breadth of diverse talent at CCAD, while still being true to its original purpose.”

CCAD’s Design Group is an in-house design firm staffed by students and directed by Kronmiller. The team that developed the concept for the lookbook, the invites, and did the design work, included Advertising & Graphic Design seniors, Isabella Hidalgo and Aaron Roberts; Illustration senior Isuri Merenchi Hewage; and Advertising & Graphic Design junior Walker Crane.

Lookbook photographers, from left, Danielle Ford, Xandre King, Kelsey McClellan, Lian Dziura, Nicole Miller, and Marcus Morris.

The visual content for the lookbook was also all student generated. The photographs were taken by CCAD students (and an alumnus) during a daylong photo shoot that involved several sets  in CCAD’s massive photography studio space. Photography majors on the shoot, included seniors Lian Dziura, Xandre King, Kelsey McClellan, and Nicole Miller; junior Danielle Ford, and 2011 alumnus Marcus Morris.

The ‘reconstructed artwork’ was completed by the following students and alumni: Justine Arreche (Advertising & Graphic Design 2011), Chavilah Bennett (Advertising & Graphic Design 2012), Danielle Deley (Advertising & Graphic Design 2011), Pei Yin Chen (Photography 2011), Crane,  Dziura, Ford,  Andy Hayes (Advertising & Graphic Design 2001), Merenchi Hewage, Hidalgo,  Matthew Houston (Illustration 2012), Alex Lanisoz (Advertising & Graphic Design 2013),  Brian Liston (Media Studies 2012),  McClellan, Nathan Moser (Fine Arts 2012),  Simone Noronha (Advertising & Graphic Design 2011), Emily Rickard (Fine Arts 2010), Madison Schneider (Advertising & Graphic Design 2012), Pallavi Sen (Fine Arts 2011) Dillon Sirimongkhon (Illustration 2011), and Miles Tsang (Illustration 2012).

Videographers, from left, Alex Trimpe and Tom Hoying

Adding to the creative mix, CCAD tapped local branding agency Ologie to provide creative consultation and mentorship for the students as they worked on this massive undertaking.

While the lookbook has become a signature piece, it’s not the only student produced work that will be seen the night of the event (and beyond). Media Studies majors Tom Hoying (sophomore) and Alex Trimpe (senior) have been filming the lookbook design process and will be filming the entirety of the event to develop promotional materials for 2013. They also worked with local videographer Ryan Sweeney to develop a piece that will run prior to the runway show.

If you have your tickets be sure to remember to pick up a lookbook to see what all the fuss is about. If you don’t have tickets, we’ll do our best to post as many student-generated photos as we can the night of the show for your vicarious enjoyment.

From the Pipeline Project video directed by Erich Burchfield (with Meghann Pearson, Jen Stefanski, Dan Zimmer, Greg Browe, Philip Matthews, and Andy Robinson)

In film and video, there are a million ways to tell a story. With CCAD’s newly designed major in Cinematic Arts, you can find the right way (or ways) to tell yours, as well as learn the latest tools and tricks of the trade. Students in the program, which was officially approved last fall, learn the whole filmmaking process: storyboarding, production design, cinematography, directing, and post-production.

“The Cinematic Arts major grew out of a previous program, Media Studies, which was more general in nature. The recent name change reflects curricular revisions to offer a more focused major,” says Kevin J. Conlon, CCAD vice president for academic affairs. “This program prepares students in all cinema-related areas, but I think what distinguishes it from a typical film program is that, while the traditional skill sets are there, our program is all digitally based. Students won’t be working with traditional film—they’ll be working with 21st-century tools and techniques. We wanted to think ahead and think more broadly about preparing CCAD students for a variety of cinematic experiences.”

Conlon notes that students who pursue this major will dive deep into the roles of director, screenwriter, cinematographer, video editor, motion graphics designer, and sound designer. Throughout their coursework, they’ll be exposed to the latest film and editing technology and have the opportunity to spend time outside the classroom shooting on location. By the time students finish their senior project and put it on the big screen, they’ll have both a remarkable demo reel (including cutting-edge commercials, broadcast graphics, music videos, and short films) and a portfolio to showcase their talents.

Prospective students who are interested in the Cinematic Arts major should contact the CCAD Admissions office. Current students should contact One-Stop Student Services and make an appointment with an advisor.

In the gallery below, some student work by recent Cinematic Arts students.

Cover of Wolfdogs magazine, featuring Ridgley's photography

CCAD alumna Rachel Ridgley (CCAD 2010) had her photography and personal story featured in Wolfdogs magazine Vol.2, Issue 3.

The Photography alumna works in both fine art and documentary style photography specializing in canines. Her lifetime love for dogs led her to specialize in dog photography. She has done work with several publications, fashion designers, and pet shelters. Ridgley does not limit herself to family pets and has hands-on experience photographing wolves, foxes, and even dingoes.

She is also a member of HeARTs Speak, a network of photographers who volunteer their time to animal shelters and nonprofit rescue groups.

Wolfdogs magazine was created by owners of wolf-dog hybrid breeds to share their stories and other stories about their canine companions.

The first-place student design team with executives from Scotts LawnService

In a recent collaboration with ScottsMiracleGro Company a group of CCAD students competed to design an interior focal point for the company’s corporate offices.

The objective of the project was to design an artistic covering for 22 stone pillars that are a part of Scotts’ interior structure. The coverings needed to reflect the ScottsMiracleGro Company brand and also provide a wayfinding tool for employees and visitors.

Assistant professors Dawson Kellogg and Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992) led the project involving the Studio Professions class.

Each student presented a concept to the professors. The original 37 designs were then narrowed down to 15.

Tiffany Peoples, the vice president of global innovation at Scotts, evaluated these 15 designs and selected the top six designs to move on to the next round.

The top six designers each became the artistic director of a team that they selected to work on a final design and presentation.

The final round of judging included Peoples and Jim Lyski, the chief marketing officer of Scotts. Each student group presented its designs and ideas to the judges in an open presentation. Peoples and Lyski then chose and ranked the top three designs.

First prize went to a design entitled Elements of Nature created by Fine Arts juniors Devin Broadnax and Chris Pack; Advertising & Graphic Design senior Maggie Malloy; Advertising & Graphic Design junior Richard Coyne; and Fine Arts sophomore Yunji Choi.

“We loved the detail in this group; we look at these designs every day so we wanted them to be generally appealing, but have a sense of detail to keep them fresh,” said Lyski.

First place design being presented to Scotts executives

Second place went to Drawn from the Roots. This design concept was created by Fine Arts sophomores Jamie Turner, Emily Ruff, and Allie Raines; Fine Arts juniors Emily Cook and Alexandria Goeltzenleuchter; and Advertising & Graphic Design junior Ashley Lyon.

The third place design, Hands of Appreciation, was created by Fines Arts sophomores Kyle Franklin, Gabrielle Hirth, and Angela Ryu; Illustration seniors Alyssa Gottlieb and Hannah Mu; and Fine Arts junior Yezen Abusharkh.

Scotts is one of several community clients that CCAD has recently provided significant creative services for including, Easton Town Center, The Central Ohio Transit Authority, the Governor’s office, and Nationwide Insurance.

Alumna Kristi Kalkman's font created for Victoria's Secret

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but since there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You, too, can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from September, October, and November (2011).

William Walker (CCAD, 1953) was featured in a Chicago Sun-Times article about the mark he left on the city with his murals; read more here.

Ben Mahan (CCAD, Illustration, 1965) participated in the 16th International Competition of Illustration in Italy. Read more here.

Robert Tavani (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1985) participated in an exhibition at the Cummings Art Gallery featuring recent works from members of the Mercyhurst College Art Department. He showed oil paintings including both portraits and landscapes.

Anthony Baker (CCAD, Illustration, 1986) was appointed the team lead, medical illustrator at The Ohio State University’s health science library.

Christopher Yates ( CCAD, Fine Arts, 1987), Steve Bush (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1994), Hiroshi Hayakawa (CCAD, Photography, 1995), Casey Bradley (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2001), Mariana Smith (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2002), Tina Matthews (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2003), Lauren Mudd (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2004), Mylesant Carreno (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2005), Brandon Noblet (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2005), and Nicki Strouss ( CCAD, Fine Arts, 2008) all were involved in the exhibition Crossroads. Read more here.

Julie Abijanac (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1992) had work in a two-person exhibition with Dean of Faculty Char Norman. Read more here.

Steve Bush (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1994) was commissioned for a public art piece in Creekside Plaza (Gahanna, Ohio). Read more here.

Craig Swoboda (CCAD, Illustration, 1994) took the position of package creative manager at Anheuser-Busch Inc.

Nathan Greno (CCAD, Illustration, 1996) won the Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence. Read more here.

Kelly Weik (CCAD, Illustration, 1996) was featured as artist of the month in the Chicago-based company Faux by Kathy.

Michael Auger (CCAD, Illustration, 1998) was featured in DC Conspiracy magazine. Read more here.

Johnny Yanok (CCAD, Illustration, 1998) was featured in an exhibition at Rivet Gallery in the Short North (Columbus, Ohio). Read more here.

Josh Sutton (CCAD, Illustration, 2000) was featured in a (614) magazine article detailing his work as a freelance toy sculptor.

Matthew Klos (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2001) had an exhibition at the Still Life Gallery in Ellicott City, MD, this fall.

Ryan Green (CCAD, Media Studies, 2003) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (CCAD, Media Studies, 2005) were both hired as story artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Read more here.

Jen Chapman (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2004) and her company, Redsnapper Baby & Toddler, were featured in HOW magazine. Read more here.

Holly Koskinen’s (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2005) freelance agency won a 2011 American Graphic Design Award.

Molly Burke (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2006) participated in the Sculpture X Symposium and its 2011 fall juried exhibition in Cleveland, OH. Read more here.

Justin Cohen (CCAD, Industrial Design, 2006) won a 2010 Good Design award.

Kendra L. Meyer (CCAD, Fashion Design, 2007) has joined Albright College as assistant professor of fashion design.

Angela Svarda (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2008) was in ArtSpan’s 2011 SF Open Studios in San Francisco. Read more here.

Christie S. Craven (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2009) is now working as a web designer for Direct Brands/Columbia House in Manhattan and also started her own venture, www.samplesaleavenue.com.

Kristi Kalkman (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2010) created a font for a Victoria’s Secret campaign. Read more here.

Catherine Proctor (CCAD, Media Studies, 2010) had images published in The Ohio State University Dance Department’s annual magazine, InFORM.

Alex Alvarado (CCAD, Illustration, 2011) received a job as a look development artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Read more here.

Eric Coolidge (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2011) was featured on the Ohio Department of Education website to promote National Arts in Education Week. Read more here.

Ryan Monroe (CCAD, Photography, 2011) did the photography for the 10^th anniversary calendar for a restaurant in Columbus, OH. Read more here.

In Memoriam:

Walker, Steve (CCAD, 1970) Obituary here.

William, Walker (CCAD, 1953) Obituary here.

Glyphs of supermodel signatures

Advertising & Graphic Design alumna Krysti Kalkman (CCAD 2010) is passing out supermodel signatures at Victoria’s Secret, but not the kind you might think.

Kalkman is a full-time designer at Victoria’s Secret and was given the task of creating a new font for the store brand.

“When my creative director and art director came to ask if I could design the font I responded with ‘Oh ya, sure! Why not?!’ But in my head it was more like ‘I can totally do this…right?!’” Kalkman said.

Her doubt may have been there initially, but after seven months of research and development, the font was created and will be in stores and all marketing materials November, 2011.

Kalkman started out using a program called FontLab. Throughout the process she said she had to constantly exercise both her analytical and creative minds.

Kalkman's font

The end result was inspired by the handwriting of people within the marketing department and that led to the the creation of glyphs.

“The idea was to make the font look like it was the supermodels’ handwriting,” she said.

The glyphs are pieces of text or images that they may reuse. This includes each angel’s signature and kisses. Slogans like “mix & match,” “very sexy,” and “panty raid” are created into glyphs to reuse throughout the stores.

“The beauty of this is that it can just keep growing and developing in house.”

Kalkman created a font that can be reused and added to throughout Victoria’s Secret’s future campaigns. She loves the idea that the font and branding idea can continue to grow in house instead of hiring outside and risk someone not understanding their mission completely.

“It is super exciting to see something you really coddled for seven months be ‘born.’”

First place winner Shirley Wang's design with model Robbie Banks

The lights dimmed, and the show started. One by one 15 models came down the runway in a one-of-a-kind CCAD student designed garment made of …condoms.

This was the annual Condom Couture Fashion Show which took place this year at ShadowBox Live on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.

The Condom Couture Fashion Show is a fundraiser benefiting the Planned Parenthood of Columbus Ohio and it is also a competition. Each designer is challenged with creating a wearable garment using condoms. The garments are then modeled by members of the community to a packed house.

This year’s judges included, Miki L. Gotch (CCAD 2010), assistant technical designer at Lane Bryant; Dennis Parker, professor emeritus of theatre at The Ohio State University; and Maren Roth, owner of Rowe.

The panel of judges evaluate the garments based on theme, color, creativity, attractiveness, originality, technique, and concept.

Each designer was given 800 Proper Attire condoms to create their ensemble (Proper Attire condoms are designed for the fashion-conscious women). Inspiration ranged from sweet 16 cakes to vintage wear.

Second place winner Michelle Watson's design with model Deja Redman

Of course some of the designer encountered challenges in the construction.

“The most interesting part about working in this medium has been trying to figure out how to get them to not break…you just want to cry every time that happens,” said Elousie McGill, a junior fashion designer.

“There is a lot of research involved. It really takes a while to come up with the proper technique in order to capture the look you are trying to achieve,” said Bridgette Stevens, sophomore fashion design major.

Despite the unique challenges designers were excited for the event and as McGill said,  “actually getting to see my design go down the runway will be a big day for me as a designer.”

Not only did the designers see their garments come down the runway, but they heard the cheers and applause of the enthusiastic audience.

As  Lisa Perks, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio, noted “the condoms have been stitched, braided, knotted, and glued by students from the jewel of our community, CCAD.”

The 15 designers involved included, Pohrt Kaitlyn, Qianyu Shirley Weng, Elouise McGill, Joella Stallard, Byonka Taylor, Dahui Li, Bridgette Stevens, Jocelyn Williams, Jamaica Gilliam, Keser Haji, Michele Watson, Skyler Riggan, Pavani Kolli, Peyton Godfrey, and Marquis Engle.

Third place Jocelyn Williams' design with model Katie Burk

After the models had strutted the garments down the runway, each designer had an opportunity to speak. Then the winners were announced.

Jocelyn Williams, a sophomore majoring in interior design took third place with a brightly colored romper. It had shades of teal and blue featuring a large, white bow in the back.

Michelle Watson, a fashion design senior took second place. She designed a slick, tight-fitting, one shoulder dress. The dress had the condoms layered,  painted white, and then stretched to appear cracked.

Shirley Wang, a fashion design senior, took first place with a seemingly simple, but complex black dress. It included braiding of the material and hand beading at the top.

Second and third place winners received a $500 scholarship with first place receiving $1,000.

One designer summed the process up when asked how difficult it was to construct a piece from this material, “as a designer you face challenges all the time and this is one of those challenges, but it is better to look at them as opportunities and not get discouraged,” Keser Haji, a senior fashion design major said.

Interbrand alumni: Front Row: Jen Rossignol, Les Maass, Jon Moser, Lauren Kemnitz, Ted Monnin; Back Row: Kayla Risch, Jack Hinkel, Susan Burke, Derek Robinson

Back in 1974, when Interbrand was founded, the world still thought of brands as just another word for logo and Les Maass (CCAD, 1974) was fresh out of college.

Since then, the Illustration major and a steady stream of other alumni talent have joined the ranks of Interbrand—a business at the forefront of the movement to capitalize on brands as business assets.

With one of the world’s leading brand consultancy companies consistently hiring our graduates we thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at the creative assets and traditional skills that CCAD contributes to the business of brand management.

Understandably, Interbrand’s human resources department must remain impartial and recruit from various schools, but we think (and admittedly we may be biased) that the company has made some wonderful hires and has some very talented tenured employees within its leadership who are graduates of CCAD.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, all of the CCAD alumni currently working at the Cincinnati office of Interbrand were Advertising & Graphic Design majors. We queried two of the nine alumni: Art Director Lauren Kemnitz (CCAD 2005) and Creative Director Ted Monnin (CCAD 1991). They don’t claim to speak directly for their classmates, but their perspectives illuminate the work environment of designers Susan Burke (CCAD 2010), Jon Moser (CCAD 2007), Kayla Risch (CCAD 2010), Jen Rossignol (CCAD 2009), Associate Creative Director Derek Robinson (CCAD 2001), Executive Director of Implementation Jack Hinkel (CCAD 1983), and last but certainly not least, the aforementioned Les Maass, who is a senior implementation designer.

Q) What’s it like to work for a company that hires so many CCAD alumni?
Lauren Kemnitz (LK) It makes me proud that Interbrand hires so many students from CCAD. It verifies that our education prepared us well for the working world. We all share a strong bond from our years at CCAD and love sharing stories about our experiences there. We respect each other’s skills and count on our ability to deliver strong strategic design solutions. The energy and passion for design we all carry is intoxicating.

Q) Why do you think Interbrand keeps coming to CCAD for employees?
Ted Monnin (TM) Interbrand is very interested in bringing in strong talent and developing them into world-class branding creatives. Our design process is built around concept development via collaboration and sketching ideas before going to the computer.  Having traditional hand skills to clearly communicate concepts and experience in a critique-based environment is key to successful design development here at Interbrand. CCAD grads have the skill set that works very well with our creative process. That, along with personal creative passion, are the elements we are looking for in our employees.

Q) For any CCAD grads heading to Interbrand or dreaming of one day working at Interbrand, what’s your advice?
TM) Package Design class is not optional, it is imperative. For a CCAD student it is where you will learn how a brand functions in the real word. Also, focus on your hand skills and how clearly you can represent your ideas through typography, color, pattern, and verbal expression. The idea is king, so make sure you can communicate your ideas clearly and can highlight all the facets of your concepts. If you are passionate about design and having your creative work and your career reach a global audience, then you need to look at Interbrand.

Q) What’s the best part about your job?
LK) I work with such talented people! I am inspired daily by the people sitting right next to me. The design world is ever-changing and learning from your colleagues is key.

TM) I really enjoy the collaboration involved in our creative process—the way we all work toward a common goal and how different ideas can come together to create exciting, breakthrough work. I also enjoy working closely with our younger employees and helping them develop into strong, world-class creative talent.

Q) What do you miss most about CCAD?
LK) Being around amazing artists all the time. The exposure you have to all the other art disciplines when you are at CCAD is incredible. I would definitely recommend to everyone that they network during their time at CCAD. Knowing the best photographers, illustrators, and artists can be a great advantage in the future.

Media Studies alumnus Nick Burkard worked on feature film Puss in Boots

Classnotes

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but since there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You, too, can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from June 2011 – August 2011.

Jerry W. McDaniel (CCAD, Illustration, 1957) opened an art gallery and created a process video. Read more here.

Ming Fay (CCAD, Industrial Design, 1965) marked his 20-year anniversary displaying at Butters Gallery with his exhibit Full Circle.

James Markle (CCAD, Industrial Design, 1970) presented a speech about his environmental photography at the Tahoe Art League. Read more here.

Ron Miller (CCAD, Illustration, 1970) illustrates a French youth science magazine. Read more here.

Jamie Berger (CCAD 1975-1978) was featured in a HOW magazine article detailing the rebranding and success of their printing company. Read more here.

Jon Hair (CCAD,  Advertising & Graphic Design, 1976-1978) was featured in North Carolina’s Our State magazine. Read more here.

Kate Rivers (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1977) had an exhibition in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Read more here.

Michele Householder Funk (CCAD, Illustration, 1978) has released her children’s book, The Adventures of Pete and Max and the Lost Sock. Read more here.

David Groff (CCAD, Illustration, 1979) had illustrations featured in a healthcare calendar.

Matthew Kaser (CCAD, Industrial Design, 1984) and his design firm, Kaser Design, were recently awarded another interpretive planning and design job in Texas. The newest project is the historic site Presidio de San Sabá, in Menard, Texas.

Kurt Fondriest (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1985) was included in the annual Misericordia Home group show, which was visited by more than 1,400 guests. Read more here.

Jeff Preston (CCAD, Illustration, 1985) is featured in the DVD Masters of Art: Markers with Jeff Preston. Read more here.

Edward Buchanan (CCAD, Fashion Design, 1988-1991) had his designs  featured in the spring 2011 issue of France’s Blast magazine. Read more here.

Paul Hamilton (CCAD, Illustration, 1988) received the Phil Desind Award, given annually by the Butler Institute of American Art to an outstanding representational work. Read more here.

Scott Musgrove (CCAD, Illustration, 1989) launched an online show and nearly sold out in only three weeks. Read more here.

Tracy Hayes (CCAD 1990) recently moved her design firm SKUBA Designs to a new location on New Orleans’s popular Magazine Street. Read more here.

Peter Wachtel’s (CCAD, Industrial Design, 1990) invention, STAKE, is available for presale on Quirky. Read more here.

Wendy Emrey’s (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 1991) long career influenced a new pursuit. Read more here.

Julie Abijanac (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1992) has been accepted into the Studios of Key West Artist in Residency Program for the summer 2012. Read more here.

Samantha Bennett (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1995-1999) appeared on an episode of Everyday People on TLC’s NY Ink. Find out more here.

Hiroshi Hayakawa (CCAD, Photography, 1995) showed his kinetic sculptures in a Columbus gallery. Read more here.

Susan Li O’Connor (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1996) was one of three artists featured in an exhibition at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Carnegie Gallery. Read more here.

Sara Adrian (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1998) presented in September at FLASH!, an art show in Columbus.

Several CCAD alumni received awards at the opening of this year’s fine arts exhibition at the Ohio State Fair, including Andrew Ina (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2006), Corey Aumiller (CCAD, Media Studies, 2006), Amanda H. Cook (CCAD, Illustration, 1999), Eric Homan (CCAD, Media Studies, 1998), Brandon Antczak (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2007), and Adam Brouillette (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2002) . Find out more here.

Justin Shady (CCAD, Media Studies, 1998) interviewed Michael Altman (CCAD, Media Studies, 2000) in OC Weekly. Read more here.

Danielle Julian-Norton (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1999), a co-founder of Suite 42,  had an open-studio exhibition in Dresden, Germany. Read more here.

Michael Marucco (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 1999) has been promoted at Limited Brands, Inc., to senior art director of internet content for Victoria’s Secret Direct.

Damian Ward (CCAD, Illustration, 1999) illustrated a book written by Oscar-nominated writers. Read more here.

Anthony M. Nesossis (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2000) recently completed a rebrand of various materials for the Educational Council. Read more here.

Brent Woodard (CCAD, Illustration, 2000) helped with a global anti-drug message. Read more and see the image here.

Paul Tepper (CCAD, Illustration, 2001) was recently featured on the cover of Columbus Alive! Read more here.

Nikos Rutowkski, (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2002) helped coordinate Franklinton’s Go West Festival, which featured work by several CCAD Alumni. Read more here.

Michelle Rozic (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2003) was appointed the new assistant professor of art at California State University, Northridge.

Cat Sheridan (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2003) was featured in a Wexner Center blog for her volunteer efforts. Read more here.

Michael Carney (CCAD, Media Studies, 2004) and John Malta (CCAD, Illustration, 2010) were both in the NY Times in August. Read more here.

Jen Chapman (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2004) will be featured in HOW magazine in the fall of 2011 for her company Redsnapper Baby & Toddler. Read more here.

The alumni music trio of Beth Murphy (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2004), Adam Elliot (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2004), and Jared Phillips (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2004) performed at the Wexner Center and were featured in the Columbus Dispatch. Read more here.

Manjari Sharma’s (CCAD, Media Studies, 2004) latest project was featured on an NPR blog. Read more here.

Gabe Shultz (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2004) created an experimental multimedia project and music album samples from the music of rock band Steely Dan. Read more here.

Elizabeth Weissbrod (CCAD, Illustration, 2004) was one of the featured artists in the June 2011 Hopkins Medicine magazine article “Illustrators of the Century.” Read more here.

Brian Scott Campbell (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2005) was invited to Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina as a visiting artist in September and will also be an artist in residence this fall at the McColl Center for Visual Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Steven Weinzierl (CCAD, Media Studies, 2005) has been named Favorite Color’s new creative director. Read more here.

Molly Burke (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2006) recently participated in a Cleveland West Art League (CWAL) exhibition with Cleveland painter Julie Morgan. Read more  here.

Andrew Ina’s (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2006) exhibition New Frontier was recently reviewed in the Columbus Dispatch. Read more here.

Melissa (Hofelzer) Spencer (CCAD, Media Studies, 2006) designed an exhibition invite and an interactive website. Read more here.

Seven alumni, including Nate Burns (CCAD, Illustration, 2010), Travis Czekalski (CCAD, Media Studies, 2010), Julie Hall (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2010) Katie Herbst (CCAD, Media Studies, 2010), Michael Lovett (CCAD, Fine Arts 2011), Alex Moore (CCAD, Fine Arts 2011), and Kevin Smalley (CCAD, Media Studies, 2006-08) teamed up to present Fringed: A Fashionably Fine Art Exhibition in Columbus. Read more here.

Nick Burkard, (CCAD, Media Studies, 2007) Dreamworks effects animator, detailed the work he did on the upcoming film Puss in Boots. Read more here.

Michelle Dick (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2008) had her first trunk show hosted by a Columbus boutique. Read more here.

Ashley K. Alexander (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2009) published her first novel. Read more here.

Cory Cantelupe (CCAD, Illustration, 2009) is currently doing work as a freelance sculptor for Hasbro, Inc.

Navy Seaman Jessica M. Pettinger (CCAD, Interior Design, 2009) recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois.

Emily Spear (CCAD, Illustration, 2009) is finishing her first year as an associate product designer for Hasbro Inc.

Ian Horn (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2010) has found success with a new NYC business. Read more here.

Mallory McClellan (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2010) was featured in Columbus Alive! for the sculpture she built for Harrison Park in Columbus. Read more here.

Kartika Mediani (CCAD, Animation, 2010) was one of 40 college students across the country to receive a summer internship with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. Read more here.

Ross Caliendo (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2011) was featured in a weekly Cincinnati newspaper for his participation in an exhibition. Read more here.

Jen Hutson (CCAD, Fine Arts, 2011) has been accepted into the St. Petersburg Clay Company’s Artist in Residence Program for the 2011-2012 term.

Angela Mancuso (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2011) was appointed as the newest art director at Peebles Creative Group. Read more on their blog.

Amy McQuillin (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2011) was hired as the Upper Arlington’s Cultural Arts Division’s intern.

Local tech company Bluemile, ranked in 2010 by Inc. Magazine as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, is featuring artwork by CCAD alumni and faculty in its New Albany office as one way to introduce visitors and other programs to the college. Read more here.

In Memoriam
Edmund Kuehn, (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1938). Read more here.
Charles (Chip) Kirker III, (CCAD, Illustration, 1971). Obituary here.
Dan (Danny) J. Schroll, (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1973). Obituary here.
Gerome Alexander, (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 1982). Obituary here.
Teresa Williams, (CCAD, Illustration, 1988). Obituary here.
Kathryn A. Gough, (CCAD, 1990). Obituary here.
Lacey L. Pope, (CCAD, Industrial Design, 2002). Obituary here.
Christine Salisbury, (CCAD, Media Studies, 2005). Obituary here.

Michael Carney (CCAD 2004), who won the 2011 Grammy for Best Recording Package for art direction on the album Brothers by the Black Keys, was interviewed as part of a story on how the digital revolution is affecting both record sales and album design.

Illustration alumnus John Malta (CCAD 2010) had his second illustration published in the paper. He developed the accompanying illustration to the opinion piece,  Engineering Food for All by Nina V. Fedoroff, which ran Aug. 19.

In the article The Incredible, Inevitable Shrinking Album Cover by David Browne, Carney, who majored in Media Studies,  remembers wondering if his bare-bones album cover would even be allowed by its label. The Aug. 12 article explores how album art is being reduced roughly to the size of a postage stamp due to the use of mobile devices.

Malta’s first illustration for the newspaper ran alongside Robert Klitzman’s New York Times op-ed article “My Sister, My Grief” on May 3.

Articles about Carney’s 2011 Grammy and Malta’s first NY Times illustration are on the CCAD News blog.

The nominees are Fine Arts alumni Roy Doty (CCAD 1942), Kate Rhoades (CCAD 2010) and Robert Tavani (CCAD 1985), Industrial Design alumnus Matthew Kaser (CCAD 1984), and associate alumni Nathan Greno (CCAD 1996) and Aminah Robinson (CCAD 1960). Read all the nominee bios here.

The AAE will be presented Saturday, Oct. 8 during the annual Homecoming celebration, which is part of an entire weekend of events for the whole CCAD family—alumni, students, parents, and faculty and staff. Family Weekend and Homecoming is Oct. 7–9, 2011.

In addition to acknowledging the success and contributions of one very deserving person, the award is one way for the college to highlight the impact CCAD alumni have all over the world.

CCAD alumni, students, faculty, and staff can vote on the nominee of their choice  via an online poll through Monday, Aug. 15. Bios on each recipient are available on CCAD’s website, as

well as details about the award and the nomination process.

Fringed: fashionably fine arts by CCAD alumni

Seven alumni who studied Photography, Fine Arts and Media Studies teamed up to present Fringed: a fashionably fine art exhibition in Columbus.

Held at Fringe Outfitters, the event included art especially selected for the space and fashions from the boutique clothing store, as well as a silent auction, music, and raffle prizes.

Alumni participating in the July 9th and 10th event included Nate Burns (CCAD 2010), Travis Czekalski (CCAD 2010), Julie Hall (CCAD 2010) Katie Herbst (CCAD 2010), Michael Lovett (CCAD 2011), Alex Moore (CCAD 2011), and Kevin Smalley (CCAD 2006-08).

More information is available on their Facebook page.

Photo courtesy of "Columbus Alive!"

Fine Arts alumna Mallory McClellan (CCAD 2010) was featured in Columbus Alive! for the sculpture she built for Harrison Park, a soon-to-be complete park in Columbus’s Harrison West district.

In the article McClellan talked about why she chose to study sculpture at CCAD. “With sculpture, I feel like I’m actually making something. I started out as a painting major—then had to take a sculpture class for fine arts and just got hooked. I like being able to get my hands dirty. I like being really one-on-one and having a completely active role in what I’m making.”

Of her day job (working as a tattoo artist at Columbus’s Quin’s Skull and Rose Tattoo), McClellan said, “When I was in school drawing a lot, people would always tell me, “Oh, this drawing would make a sweet tattoo. Your drawings look like tattoos, Mallory.” I said, “OK. Maybe I should take a hint.”

Read the article in its entirety here.

Harrison Park is a 16-acre residential development in Columbus’s Harrison West neighborhood, anchored by a four-acre park along the Olentangy River.

Learn more about McClellan here.

Animation alumna and University of California graduate student Kartika Mediani has accepted an internship with the Academy of Television.

Animation alumna Kartika Mediani (CCAD 2010) is one of 40 students across the country to receive a summer internship with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation.

The program is designed to provide college students with in-depth exposure to professional television production during an eight-week summer period in Los Angeles. It is considered to be one of the top 10 internships in the country.

Mediani is currently working toward an MFA in animation at the University of California. She was the  2010 Best Animation winner at the HelloFest in Jakarta, Indonesia; a finalist in the 2010 Anima Mundi Web & Cell Contest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the recipient of the Chris Statuette Award at the 2010 Columbus International Film + Video Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Learn more about Mediani on her website.

Starting in back left corner: Jeong Woong Lee, Eunji Paek, Sun Young Park, President Griffith and wife Beth, Christopher Maslon, Jeong Hoon Tony Lee, Mose Jeung, Seo Yeon Hur, Kyung Rim Vicky Kim, Gaeul Oh, Jonathon Neeley, Seon Mi Bae, Min Young Alice Lee, and Eun Hae Bae.

During a recent trip to Asia, President Denny Griffith met with two decades of CCAD alumni in Seoul, Korea to catch up on life and remind the graduates of the pride CCAD has in them.

In attendance were student Jeong Woong Lee; Fashion Design alumnae Seo Yeon Hur (CCAD 2010) and Kyung Rim Vicky Kim (CCAD 2009); Illustration alumni Eun Hae Bae (CCAD 2004) and Eunji Paek (CCAD 2008); Interior Design alumni Sun Young Park (CCAD 2010), Yong Ah Shin (CCAD 2008), and Jeong Hoon Tony Lee (CCAD 2005); Media Studies alumna Min Young Alice Lee (CCAD 2005); Fine Arts alumnus Christopher Maslon (CCAD 1996); and Advertising and Graphic Design alumni Seon Mi Bae (CCAD 1997), Gaeul Oh (CCAD 2008) and Mose Jeung (CCAD 2004).

“It was great to find that most of the alumni with whom we met were working in their fields,” said International Admissions Officer Jonathon Neeley who joined President Griffith on his trip. “Hur and Kim both work in the fashion industry. Eun Hae Bae is currently pursuing her Ph.D. and teaches art to undergraduate students. Paek is a freelance illustrator and designer.

“Park, Shin, and  Jeong Hoon Tony Lee are working interior designers. Seon Mi Bae teaches children’s art classes at the Korean Church of Columbus. Oh and Jeung both work at advertising firms, and Jeung received his Master’s degree from Hongik University.

“Maslon is the first foreign elected official appointed to Daejeon Health and Sciences College board for the Executive Committee of Liberal Arts (ECLA). He has also published two books to assist Korean students with English language issues and study abroad advice.”

View more pictures from the gathering here.

(Left to right) Randi Prudden, Cierra Cunningham, Jasmine Stewart, and Anna Fowler

Given that more than 50 CCAD alumni are employed by Abercrombie & Fitch, it’s less of a surprise than you’d think to find four just in the company’s knit bottoms division: Anna Fowler (CCAD 2008), Randi Prudden (CCAD 2010), Cierra Cunningham (CCAD 2010), and Jasmine Stewart (CCAD 2006). We couldn’t resist the opportunity for a group interview. But before we talked to them, we had to ask the company why they love working with CCAD grads.

“Abercrombie & Fitch loves going through the recruitment process at CCAD each year,” said Anne Vetta, senior recruiter for design at Abercrombie & Fitch. “We know we can expect to meet well-rounded, talented students from the design programs.  The foundation year at CCAD is truly unique, and we really appreciate the fine artist skills that are developed during that first year.  We also receive amazing support from the Office of Career Services as well as the Institutional Advancement Office, which is crucial.”

Now without any further ado, a word from our alumnae.

Q) What’s it like to work with three other CCAD alumnae?

Jasmine Stewart (JS) It’s great, because you know the skill set of the other person. You know they learned the same things you did, so you know what you can expect from them.

Randi Prudden (RP) That’s the best part about it. They’ve been through the same thing that you have. Just to be like, “Anna, you know how Mrs. Hannan said this, well what does that mean in Abercrombie terms?”

Cierra Cunningham (CC) It’s really cool to walk around A&F’s campus and recognize a lot of faces. It’s less intimidating, and you feel at home because you recognize so many people.

Editor’s Note: We got to experience this first hand. As we were taking our tour of A&F, we walked past soon-to-graduate Jordan Jones, who was interning for the company at the time and finishing up his collection for the Senior Fashion Show.

Q) Why do you think Abercrombie keeps coming to CCAD for employees?

AF) I think it’s that they know we have the skill set, we’re hard workers, and we come out knowing design.

JS) We’re well-rounded. We’re able to be creative. We’re able to work hard. But most importantly, we’re able to talk about our work, which can be intimidating for designers. CCAD makes you talk about your work and explain your ideas, which is very helpful once you get out into the workforce.

RP) When you step into a design role, you’re not just a designer. You’re a part-time merchant, a part-time graphic designer, a part-time critic. You do everything, and I think that Foundation year at CCAD—when you spend all your time learning about so many different things—helps you to develop the confidence to say “yeah sure, the store should be set up this way.” You know how to do interior design work and how it will look and 2D and 3D presentation and everything. As CCAD grads, we’re like, “throw it at us. Come on. We can take it. ”

JS) Right. You come out knowing all the computer programs. You can draw by hand. You can kind of do everything or at least have the foundation to look to.

AF) I think that’s the biggest thing, having that foundation—because you don’t learn industry until you’re in it, but having that foundation is super important and key. I’ve worked with a couple people who were just coming in and weren’t from CCAD, and they didn’t have the same skill set. It’s nice to work with other people coming from CCAD because you’re like, “oh yeah, you know that.”

Q) Each of you designed a four-piece collection for the senior fashion show the year you graduated. Are you going to this year’s event? Are you looking for future coworkers, or just to support your alma mater?

(All four) “Yes, of course, we’re going!”

RP) I’m going back to support the school, but you never know when Human Resources is going to call.

AF) Just to see the final collections. It’s really cool to see people who come in—and maybe they’ve been sewing since they were four or maybe not—but they have that final collection which is such a big accomplishment.

Q) We have several recent graduates heading to Abercrombie for their first “real” job. What would be your advice for them?

CC) Coming from CCAD, you’re taught to work hard, so it is really an easy transition to working here.

JS) Be passionate and work hard—and be open to learning.

AF) Keep an open mind. Everything you learn in school is a great foundation, but you’ll need to hit the ground running because everything changes when you start.

Q) Why do you love your job?

JS) I have been working here for almost five years, and every day is a challenge, and every day is interesting—and I just love it. I am constantly learning every single day.

AF) It’s a fun, casual atmosphere. What we like today isn’t necessarily what we’re going to like tomorrow, which keeps it interesting.

CC) It is just so inspiring to work here.

RP) I think that people are like “oh, it’s Abercrombie & Fitch. You’re not going to be challenged.” But that predetermined idea is completely wrong. You have to be even more creative than normal because you are working within one brand and each thing has to be different than what it was before—and that’s really hard to do sometimes. You have to find other ways to solve problems. It’s challenging, but I look forward to it every day.

Illustration alumnus David Breaux worked as an animator on feature film "Thor."

We do our best to get most of the news you submit to us onto the CCAD News Blog, but since there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, not everything can make it into the blog. We’re glad to have another venue where we can share everything with you—this newsletter’s classnotes.

You, too, can submit classnotes via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from February-May 2011.

Ron Miller (CCAD 1970) has provided cover and interior art for Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, Scientific American, and Geo magazines. His work has also been featured on two Scientific American sites and on the cover of a new science fiction novel. Miller has also written and illustrated three new young adult books for Lerner Publishing and is working on a coffee table art book for Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. Read more on the CCAD News Blog.

Kurt Fondriest (CCAD 1985) partnered with the Brookfield Zoo to provide a learning experience for his students at Misericordia Home North through expressive art. Read a complete article and see the amazing footage here.

Lisa Horkin (CCAD 1985), Marty Husted (CCAD 1979), Ryan Orewiler (CCAD 2004), and Denise Romecki (CCAD 1976) all exhibited in Face 2 Face: 25 Years of Art and Community, which opened Friday, April 15. Read an article about this show on the CCAD News Blog.

Tracy Hayes (CCAD 1990) has opened a new Skuba Design Studio location on Magazine Street in New Orleans. Click here to learn more.

Peter Wachtel (CCAD 1990) has published two new e-books—Kid Toyology and The Wonderous World of Wonders. Read more here.

Hilary Frambes (CCAD 1992) was chosen as the Ohio Delegate to Parenting magazine’s Mom Congress, April 10-13. More information about her trip is available in the CCAD News Blog.

Celene Hawkins (CCAD 1992) was awarded a 2010 Aid to Individual Artists grant through the Summerfair Foundation in Cincinnati. Read more here.

David Breaux (CCAD 1995) completed animation work on Iron Man 2, Tron Legacy, Real Steel, and Thor. Read an interview with Breaux on the CCAD News Blog.

Tiffany Liss (CCAD 1995) has accepted the position of marketing communications specialist manager for Rexford Industries, LLC, in Indianapolis.

Christopher Maslon (CCAD 1996) was the first foreign elected official appointed to Daejeon Health and Sciences College’s board for the Executive Committee of Liberal Arts. The college is located in Daejeon, South Korea. Included in his nomination was a move by the board to add more arts and design courses to the college’s curriculum. Maslon will head the arts courses offered. Read a complete story about his appointment in the CCAD News Blog.

Anthony Anselmo (CCAD 1998) recently returned to CCAD to provide mock interviews to current students. He shared this album from his self-guided tour with us.

Justin Shady (CCAD 1998) wrote about Joshua Peters (CCAD 2008) on his blog. Peters recently designed a poster for Billy West’s appearance at Packrat Comics in Hilliard, Ohio. Read the blog here.

Michael Guinane (CCAD 2000), Marc Lincewicz (CCAD 1992), Ryan Orewiler (CCAD 2004), Michele Ulmer (CCAD 2005), Molly McNitt (CCAD 2004), and Jurate Phillips (CCAD 2002) participated in the German Village Art League exhibition The Language of Art. Learn more on the CCAD News Blog.

Anthony Nesossis (CCAD 2000) worked as creative director and graphic designer—along with MediaFLOW’s Vincent Blake—to create a new logo, tagline, and web presence for the Educational Council Foundation of Ohio.

Beth Dean (CCAD 2003) has accepted the position of director of user experience at Ongo.

Anousone Panyanouvong (CCAD 2007) received a $10,000 grant from Microsoft to launch her urban forest plan as part of the company’s Make it Great competition. Read more about her project (and how CCAD helped to make it happen) on the CCAD News Blog.

Chelstin Ross (CCAD 2009) exhibited her work during the 2011 Columbus Arts Festival. She was one of 10 central Ohio artists selected to participate in this year’s Emerging Artists Program. She was also featured in the Columbus Dispatch. Read the article here.

Nick Cavalier (CCAD 2010) directed the Felix Culpa’s Our Holy Ghost music video, which debuted at Alternative Press magazine and was featured on Absolute Punk and Blank TV (and the CCAD News Blog). The video has also been entered into the Chicago Underground Film Festival and the Chicago, NY, and SF United Film Festivals.

Katrina Seitter (CCAD 2010) was promoted from freelance designer to graphic designer at Stonefly Communications Group in central Ohio.  She has also taken up a freelance position with the Creative Good, which was started by CCAD alumnus Brian Greenwood (CCAD 1999).

Have news you’d like to share? Click here.

2010 graduate Ian Horn co-founded Arch Production & Design in New York City.

Fine Arts alumnus Ian Horn (CCAD 2010) has found success as the co-founder of Arch Production & Design in New York City.

“I must have learned something along the way at CCAD because I now have a company of my own,” Horn wrote to Dean of Fine Arts and Foundation Studies Julie Taggart. “I teamed up with a couple of friends and have been in business officially since February—unofficially since last fall. We are doing really well and have an amazing shop in Bushwick.”

Specializing in event, set, and prop design, Arch Production & Design’s client list includes: Heineken, Oil of Olay, Nike, Dos Equis, Lacoste, and more.

Horn serves as the company’s board president and as a designer, fabricator, and sculptor. His Fine Art installations have earned him numerous awards including a 2010 Fellowship at Mildred’s Lane and Honorable Mention in the 2010 ISC Outstanding Senior Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture.

Learn more about the company on its website.

President Griffith gears up for the Arts Festival. Photo courtesy of Columbus Arts Festival Facebook page.

During the 50^th annual Columbus Arts Festival, seven CCAD alumni and one student will participate in Expose Yourself, a program where artists give demonstrations of the art-making process. The program was organized by Fine Arts alumnus Ken Aschliman (CCAD 2011).

The schedule of CCAD presenters is as follows:

Friday
4:30-5:15—Stefan Hoza (CCAD 2011), paint a live model
6:30-7:15—Emily Rickard (CCAD 2010), mixed-media collage.

Saturday
4:00-5:00—Ryan Walters (CCAD 2011), large-scale portrait painting.
5:00-6:00—Jon Stommel (CCAD 2009), paint a 7×10 foot mural
6:45-7:30—Tee Johnson (CCAD 2010), watercolor portrait process.
7:30-8:00—Caleb Boller (CCAD 2012), throw a teapot

Sunday
3:00-3:45—Kailtyn Mays (CCAD 2010), three-part mixed-media printmaking
3:00-3:45—Jennifer Sands (CCAD 2011), mask making from limited supplies

Also exhibiting at the Arts Festival is alumna Chelstin Ross (CCAD 2009), who is one of the 10 selected emerging artists. Ross was featured in the Columbus Dispatch for her involvement.

“It’s opportunities like this that make an artist community grow,” said Ross in the article. “At some point, I definitely want to walk around and feel how honored I am to be there.”

Read the entire article here.

The Arts Festival is held on CCAD’s campus from 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday. The event is free and open to the public. Learn more at ColumbusArtsFestival.org.

An illustration by alumnus John Malta ran in The New York Times May 3.

It didn’t take long for Illustration alumnus John Malta (CCAD 2010) to make a mark on the Illustration world. An illustration by Malta ran alongside Robert Klitzman’s New York Times op-ed article “My Sister, My Grief” on May 3.

Malta’s illustration features the body of a headless snake—from it, a dozen or more snakes escape.

“My Sister, My Grief” details how Klitzman—whose sister died in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center—dealt with the news of Osama bin Laden’s death.

“Bin Laden’s death was cathartic—his terrorist attacks traumatized all of us—but in large part it is only a symbolic victory,” wrote Klitsman. “Al Qaeda may even have more cells and members than it did 10 years ago, though no one knows. Certainly, Islamic extremists are vowing to avenge his death. ‘An eye for an eye’ perpetuates a never-ending cycle of destruction. Dangers continue.”

The article can be read in its entirety here.

Malta is currently working toward his Master of Fine Arts degree at the School of Visual Arts, Illustration as Visual Essay program in New York City. You can learn more about him on his blog.

A portfolio review at Directions

There was ample evidence at Directions, CCAD’s annual career fair, to indicate that more than 160 soon-to-be graduates are eager and prepared to enter the workforce.

Armed with faculty-juried portfolios, polished résumés, branded business cards, ready smiles, positive attitudes and a few cases of nervousness, the seniors and some December graduates networked with nearly 200 employer representatives in the Canzani Center.

Small, large and international companies, including McGraw Hill, American Greetings, Abercrombie & Fitch, Interbrand, Columbus Idea Foundry, LimitedBrands, and LPK, attended the April 20 career fair, which opened with a preview hour for employers to privately review student portfolios.

Cynthia Gravino, director of Career Services, said several factors indicate that the job market looks good for creative individuals. Her office currently is receiving more full-time job descriptions than it has in the recent past and salary ranges, in some cases, are $10,000 to $15,000 higher.

Kristen Macauley was the sole Fine Arts senior participating in Directions. Her burgeoning love for design compelled her to register for the annual career fair.

“It’s exciting to see interest in my work. I expected to be ignored but it has been very rewarding to describe my work and jewelry designs.” Macauley is heading to New York City after graduation for a three-month paid position with The Jones Group. During the career fair the Idea Foundry approached her about conducting jewelry workshops in Columbus.

Justin Highlander, a senior in Interior Design who is an intern at Asset Strategies Group, LLC, confessed to being a bit nervous but said his goals for Directions include getting his name circulating among potential employers and creating an impression that helps retail design and commercial design firms to remember him.

“Directions is helping me understand what companies expect from an entry-level designer,” said Highlander, who is willing to relocate and is looking at opportunities in Seattle, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He said preparing for Directions taught him how to memorably brand himself, how to explain his work and to convey his personality. “I feel prepared for any interview in the future,” Highlander said.

Several CCAD alumni were among the employer representatives networking at Directions. Tom Studer (CCAD 1993-97), digital strategy director at LPK in Cincinnati, said he loves the diversity of projects at the event. “This is an opportunity to create interest in LPK. A job opportunity might be a year from now but it’s still important to make a memorable connection today,” he said.

Studer’s co-worker, Steve Bowling, a talent acquisition specialist at the global design agency, said he participates in Directions because he respects the talent. Bowling and Studer, who studied Fine Arts at CCAD, are especially interested in students who can cohesively story-tell across multimedia.

Interbrand’s representatives teamed up to review all the available portfolios. Jamey Wagner, creative director, and junior designers Katie Carter, Susan Burke (CCAD 2010) and Jen Rossignol (CCAD 2009), summed up their impressions by describing the students as eager, the vibe as good, and the work as strong. Both Burke and Rossignol studied Advertising & Graphic Design at CCAD.

Jennifer Chema, who describes herself as a research designer, talked to seven companies at Directions. Participating was a “no brainer,” she said. “I want to learn about people’s mindsets and to network. You learn more from interacting with people than from a website.”

One project featured in Chema’s portfolio, completed as a senior capstone project in CCAD’s Honors Program, included a redesigned federal income tax form. Jim Lutz (CCAD 1978), an instructor in Visual Communications who majored in Advertising  & Graphic Design, served as her project mentor as she researched the history of the form, its current design, gathered feedback and tested new designs.

The Advertising & Graphic Design senior said her future design work will involve “turning something negative into something positive.” Her portfolio reveals just such plans for nuclear power plants.

Photo courtesy of The Felis Culpa.

The Felix Culpa’s Our Holy Ghosts music video is getting a lot of press, and so is the video’s director, Media Studies alumnus Nick Cavalier (CCAD 2010).

The video debuted at Alternative Press magazine, the premier alternative music news source, and has been receiving plenty of good reviews from viewers, including:

“This video is just unreal!”
“This made my entire day… scratch that, week. I’ve loved the song for a while now but the video is absolutely haunting. Incredible.”
“I love this band and video so much. I’ve watched it almost 10 times.”
“Sometimes music and imagery were just meant for one another—the video is brooding and mystical—the music is powerful and haunting—together they tell of the ebb and flow of real love.”

See it for yourself here.

Cavalier’s video has also been featured on Absolute Punk and Blank TV and has been entered into the Chicago Underground Film Festival and The Chicago, NY, and SF United Film Festival.

The Felix Culpa is a four-piece Progressive Indie band. They have released two full-length albums, Commitment and Sever Your Roots; an EP/DVD combo Thought Control; and a digital EP, SoSo Remission. They are currently signed to No Sleep Records

To see more work from Cavalier, visit his website.

Alumnus Matthew Alexander worked on a feature for Prevention magazine and is developing a rental-studio business in Brooklyn.

It hasn’t taken photography alumnus Matthew Alexander (CCAD 2010) long to find a place in the NYC fashion photography scene. He recently worked with famed fashion photographer Gabrielle Revere and is now working to launch a photo studio.

Alexander worked with Revere during a shoot for a feature in Prevention Magazine.

“The most beneficial thing for me to see was how she interacts with the client and the models,” said Alexander. “Both of those are such important aspects of a photo shoot, which I think a lot of young photographers don’t realize. The models and everyone else involved really feed off of the photographer’s energy. She was so enthusiastic and full of life, and you could see that positive energy in every frame.”

He continued, “The shoot was at Tribeca Skyline Studios in Manhattan which was a very cool experience in itself. They are one of the larger studio rental houses in NYC, so it was awesome to get to experience a larger production like that.”

And this experience will pay off in a big way since he is developing a business plan for a full-service rental house of his own.

“I feel like there is a niche gap in the market for a good full-service rental house that caters to established photographers, but also the dwindling budgets they are facing, especially in the editorial field. I chose Brooklyn to establish the business because most of the NYC photographers have moved over here since it’s so trendy and cool now, but still cheaper than Manhattan. I am also looking to start the process of getting approved to offer school credit for interns, so that could be a great opportunity for a CCAD student looking for a NYC photo internship over summer break. We will also be using photo student interns from Pratt, NYU, RIT and more.”

Learn more about Alexander on his website.

And to see the next generation of fashion designer’s coming out of CCAD (or as we like to call them, “Matthew Alexander’s Future Clients”), check out the 2011 Senior Fashion Show.

Image by Ken Aschliman

A Fine Arts senior from CCAD has been selected as a grand prize finalist in the 2011 Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts (EVA).

Ken Aschliman is one of six Ohio students competing for the grand award in the EVA competition. The winning finalist will receive $2,500 and will be announced April 13 at a reception at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Aschliman’s competition portfolio is available for online viewing. He joins alumni Heather Lynn Kyle (CCAD, ’08), Kyle McMahon (CCAD, ’09), Mark Bush (CCAD, ’09), and Erica Podwoiski (CCAD, ’10) as EVA award winners.

CCAD is one of only two colleges with students being awarded an EVA each year of the competition, which recognizes outstanding senior artists from Ohio’s independent colleges.

Alumnus Dean Mitchell (CCAD '80) exhibited at the Canton Museum of Art in Canton, OH.

One of the big changes we’ve made recently is to take Alumni Classnotes out of IMAGE magazine and bring them to you on our CCAD News Blog. We do our best to make sure most of the news our alumni submit to us ends up there, but since there are more than 10,000 of you making news all over the world, it’s a tough job to keep up with it all. Ultimately, not everything can make it into CCAD News. What doesn’t, ends up here.

We’ve also changed how you can submit classnotes. Now when news happens, let us know via the easy-to-use form on the alumni landing page. We only post career-related successes, awards, exhibitions, and publications, but we’d also love to know when you move, get married, or have children—just use that same form.

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from July-December 2010.

Career successes and awards
KATHLEEN (RIVERS) LANDES ’77 is a July 2010 artist in residence at the Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe NM.

JON HAIR ’79 was recently honored by the city of Shanghai for his artistic contribution to the city’s efforts to revitalize its downtown theater district. In addition, his contemporary sculpture “Lucky 8” was commissioned by the city of Beijing and the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee and is now permanently installed at the Beijing International Sculpture Park.

JIM WEITZEL ’79 recently launched a new website and completed a steel sculpture for the grounds of Cooperris, a community based mental health program in western NC.

MATTHEW KASER ’84 received a multi-year Interpretive Design contract from the Texas Historical Commission for two historical sites. M. Kaser & Associates, Inc., was also awarded a contract with the US Army Corp of Engineers to design and produce an indoor and outdoor interpretive program at the Port Allen Navigation Lock in West Baton Rouge Parish LA.

KURT FONDRIEST ’85 had a selection of poetry published in the Winter 2010 issue of the Expressive Art Therapy Journal.

SANDRA (KESSLER) KAMINSKI ’93 recently accepted a position at the Pittsburgh Project located in Pittsburgh PA as visual arts instructor. Check out our blog for more information on Sandra.

ALYCIA (PARKER) YATES ’99 recently received her teaching license in Art Education from Ohio State University and is working toward her Master’s degree.

DAVID CROSLAND ’00 was selected as one of the winners in ArtSlant’s sixth juried Showcase of 2010 for his collaborative art piece “Booty & The Beast.” David also illustrated Yo Gabba Gabba! Comic Anthology. Find out more here.

MARIANO SANTILLAN ’00 had his comic book Seven Citadels released as a mobile comic by Robot Comics for iPhones, iPads and Droid devices.

KRISTI VALIANT ’00 has illustrated the recently published picture books The Goodbye Cancer Garden, Do You Love Me More?, Oliver’s First Christmas, and Dancing Dreams. She has also recently become the Regional Advisor of the Indiana region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

ELIZABETH WEISSBROD ’04 received a MA in Medical Illustration from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in May 2010. She now works for the Corbin Company as a medical illustrator/animator at the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences – Simulation Center in Bethesda MD.

STEVEN WEINZIERL ’05 recently completed projects for Nickelodeon, MTV, Discovery, and HBO through his Art Directing position at Click 3X. He also worked on Rihanna’s “Rude Boy” music video.

ALEXANDER KWAPIS ’06 recently accepted a position as Creative Director at Fusion Packaging, located in Dallas TX.

HAZEL TARR ’07 assisted with Shadowbox’s first three-week Summer Intern Bootcamp, Sketch Comedy Fest, and collaborative, “Seven Deadly Sins.”

MICHELLE DICK ’08 created custom hair accessories for the Vera Wang trunk show in July 2009. Her company, Mimi’s Closet, sells items at Big Rock Little Rooster in Columbus’s Short North.

EDEN (HUTCHINSON) WHITSETT ’08 currently owns and operates a tattoo and body piercing shop in Marion OH called Bettie’s Body Shop: Custom Tattoos and Body Piercing.

NICHOLAS CAVALIER ’09 accepted an editor position at Cramer-Krasselt in Chicago IL.

BARBARA BENAS ’10 is part of the official selection of artists featured on Cartoon Brew TV’s first annual Student Animation Festival, with her short Always, Only, Ever. The festival features work by emerging talents from around the world. The film has also been accepted into the Animation Block Party at Rooftop Films in Brooklyn NY. The Animation Block Party is New York City’s premiere animation film festival.

BERNADETTE CARSTENSEN ’10 was selected as to receive a full-ride scholarship to attend IlluXcon 3 in Altoona PA in November 2010.

KARTIKA MEDIANI ’10 has been accepted into the Animation Block Party at Rooftop Films in Brooklyn NY with her film, “Breath.”

Exhibitions
BERNARD BEN PEARCE ’70 Trinidad’s National Musuem, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

KATHLEEN (RIVERS) LANDES ’77 Istvan Gallery, Oklahoma City OK.

WALTER KING ’81 Walter King: Midwest Dialog, Fort Hayes Shot Tower Gallery, Columbus OH.

DANIEL DAY ’86 Colosseum Fine Arts, La Jolla CA.

PAUL HAMILTON ’88 Paul Hamilton: Poetry of Place, Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, Lancaster OH.

CHRISTOPHER GASTON ’90 and DOUGLAS BLACK ’90 Three Roads to Mashiko, MIDORI, Mashiko, Japan.

SANDRA (KESSLER) KAMINSKI ’93 State of the Art, State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg PA.

JAMIE SNELL ’94 Star Wars Celebration V, Orange County Convention Center, Los Angeles CA.

ROBERT ENGLERT ’96 Edge of Art New York State Artists Series: Designed to Scale, Everson Art Museum, Syracuse NY.

ROXANNE HOLONITCH ’97 Core Fitness Studio, Columbus, OH.

JONATHON REESE ’98 and SALEM REESE ’08 The Reunion Show, Art Outreach Gallery, Youngstown OH.

JAMES BAKER ’02 Wild Thing, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City CA.

RYAN OREWILER ’04 The Language of Art, Carnegie Gallery at Columbus Metropolitan Main Library, Columbus OH.

MANJARI SHARMA ’04 Elements of Water, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins CO; PAANI, Richard Levy Galley, Albuquerque NM; SULTRY II, DUMBO, Brooklyn NY.

ANDREW STATTMILLER ’05, Mischief, Studio Gallery, San Francisco CA.

ANDREW INA ’06, BORYANA RUSENOVA INA ’06 Landing, Art Access Gallery, Columbus OH.

MICHELLE DICK ’08 ArtPrize 2010, Peaches Bed & Breakfast, Grand Rapids, MI.

MALLORY McCLELLAN ’10 Savage Gardens, Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus OH.

EMILY RICKARD ’10 Material Collections, Wild Goose Creative, Columbus OH.

In the news
DEAN MITCHELL ’80 “Paintings by Dean Mitchell,” recave.com.

LAURA (PATTERSON) SANDERS ’88 CMH magazine.

MANJARI SHARMA ’04 Pdnedu magazine.

Photo courtesy of Aztech Productions.

The Reason the latest music video by hip hop artist Upwords, received more than 18,000 YouTube views within the first 16 hours it was available online. Less than five days later the video, directed by Joseph Lombardi (CCAD 2010) was at more than 117,000 views.

Lombardi, who majored in Media Studies,  is the CEO of Aztech Productions, based in Los Angeles. Clients include Matisyahu, The Crystal Method, and the Black Eyed Peas. While serving as Director of Photography for a documentary about the closing of famous record store Fat Beats, Lombardi interviewed popular hip-hop musicians like Xzibit.

“I also work with Shane Dawson, who is the number three most subscribed person on YouTube,” said Lombardi. “Dawson has over two million people subscribed to him (every video reaching five to seven million views). [I also work with] a large number of other big YouTube personalities as well.”

This is the first single off Upwords’s new album, I Am Music. Click here to watch the music video. For more information about Aztech Productions, check out their Vimeo page.

"Slow Tide" features the work of three alumni and is on display through the end of January.

Slow Tide, an exhibition featuring the work of Fine Arts alumni Justin Reese (CCAD 2010), Ian Keller (CCAD 2010), and Adam Henderson (CCAD 2007) is on display at Gallery 831 in Columbus, Ohio.

The show presents the trio’s interpretation of how the slow change of ideas has impacted art with Reese focusing on crystalline glazed porcelain vessels, Keller concentrating on sculpture with electronics and light art, and Henderson combining collages, drawing, and video into installations.

Slow Tide will be open through Jan. 31, 2011. Gallery 831 is located in Columbus’s Brewery District at 831 S. Front St. Columbus, Ohio 43206. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 3–9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 1–6 p.m. For more information about Gallery 831 visit their website.

Read more about the exhibition on Columbus Underground.

Third Eye image from ryansablogspot.com

A photography exhibition curated by CCAD student Ryan Walters has been extended through March 25 at OSU’s Urban Arts Space in downtown Columbus.

Third Eye, a collection of 10 artists’ work, includes CCAD alumni and students who question, revolt against, and embrace photography’s impact on perception within contemporary culture. The artists reveal photography’s capacity to illustrate the relationship between artist, subject, and viewer, and explore its constructs and limitations.

The exhibition is in the City Center Gallery, where a free reception will be 5-7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28.

Walters, a senior majoring in Fine Arts, organized the grant proposal to secure funding for the exhibition after he and Christopher Von Holle, a senior majoring in Photography, took a class with John Fergus-Jean, professor, Photography and Graduate Studies.Curatorial assistance was provided by Fine Arts sophomore Alejandro Bellizzi.

Participating alumni and students include Frank Castanien (CCAD ’07), Pei Yin Chen, a senior in Photography, Evan Eisel, a sophomore majoring in Photography, Fine Arts senior Elina Khachaturyan, Eric Sherwood, a freshman in Media Studies, Clifton Stommel (CCAD ’10), Miles Tsang, a senior majoring in Illustration, and VonHolle.

Sherwood also will offer a special one-time performance just prior to the Jan. 28 reception.

Castanien majored in Fine Arts and Stommel majored in Photography at CCAD.

Blake's switch to Origo Branding landed him a spotlight in Columbus Business First.

Alumnus Clinton Blake (CCAD 2010) was recently featured in Columbus Business First‘s popular “People on the Move” feature. Blake recently accepted a position as Motion Graphics Specialist for Origo Branding Co.

“I chose motion graphics because it brings design to life,” Blake said in the article. “The payoff of putting 50 hours (or more) into a piece that lasts 30 seconds is truly satisfying to me.”

Blake said the best career move he ever made was “turning down a management position at Circuit City five years ago to get into CCAD and the design industry.”

Blake previously worked as a designer and motion graphics specialist at PromoWest Productions and design/animation intern for Spacejunk Media.

To read the whole article, check out Business First.

Photo courtesy of This Week Community Newspapers.

Alumni Jon Stommel (CCAD 2009) and Steven Benjamin (CCAD 2010) recently partnered together with Alicia Grace Passerrotti, who attended CCAD, to paint a garden-themed mural at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Dublin branch.

This Week Community Newspaper’s Jennifer Noblit wrote, “a donation from library patron William Kennard and funds from the Friends of the Columbus Library got the mural rolling.”

The library then turned to the Dublin Arts Council, who put out a call for artists. Of those who applied for the opportunity, the CCAD trio was selected.

“Greg Short, president of the Friends of the Library, applauded the choice of artists during the unveiling,” wrote Noblit. “’Seeing (the murals) up there right now, I think we made the right choice,’ he said.”

The mural is located at 75 N. High St. in Dublin, Ohio. To read the entire article about the mural’s unveiling, visit This Week Community Newspapers.

Artwork by Erica Podwoiski is on display through January 30, 2011.

A portion of the proceeds from alumna Erica Podwoiski’s (CCAD 2010) solo exhibition will be donated to Metavivor, an organization that provides funding for research on metastatic breast cancer.

“The show features never-before-seen drawings, new paintings, and my latest venture into the wild world of wearable art,” Podwoiski said. “I chose to donate part of the proceeds from my bra collection, Bling 4 Boobs, to Metavivor because it’s one of the few organizations that supports and funds research for women with Stage IV breast cancer.”

“My mom is now living with Stage IV breast cancer and is an active member of Metavivor’s online community,” Podwoiski said. “Unfortunately, 90% of cancer deaths result from Stage IV cancer, but only 2% of research funds are devoted to stage IV. I wanted to support an organization that puts almost all of its donations into innovative research for metastatic breast cancer.”

Investigating female identity in her art is nothing new for Podwoiski. Her first solo exhibition pc4pc <333333 was a visual case study of women and girls on MySpace and Facebook, which explored boundaries, notions of privacy and self, female stereotypes and sexuality in the millennial age.

Podwoiski’s work has been featured on the cover of Columbus’s Alive Magazine and was shown at the historic Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit.

Coming of Age in an Era of Celebrity Worship is on display December 11–January 30 at the Lido Gallery in Birmingham, Michigan. For more information about the exhibition, visit the Lido Gallery website.

The cast from Disney's Toy Story 3 On Ice.

Alumni Tyler Mele (CCAD 2010) and Tyler Lancaster (CCAD 2009) recently returned from Florida where they worked on the production of Disney’s Toy Story 3 On Ice.

Wellcan Media’s Shawn O’Brien (CCAD 2007) invited Mele  and Lancaster to join his team for the project, creating the 3D graphics that are displayed during the ice show. Mele and Lancaster also worked on Mickey’s Rockin’ Road Show.

Based in Columbus, OH, Wellcan Media has collaborated on a number of projects both locally and throughout the US. The outfit is multi-platform, covering a range of media, including TV, radio, live stage, still photography and more. Prominent clients include BET, Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, and Time Warner Cable.

Mele and Lancaster both live and work in Columbus. Learn more about Mele and Lancaster on their websites.

Collier's workplace was named to Entrepreneur’s 2010 Great Place to Work Rankings

Digital marketing agency Bridge Worldwide was ranked sixth among medium workplaces on Entrepreneur’s 2010 Great Place to Work Rankings. Several alumni work for Bridge Worldwide, including associate copywriter Alexander Collier (CCAD 2010).

Collier has contributed to the copywriting on the websites of Folger’s, Dunkin Donuts, and Millstone Coffee. He also serves as the head copywriter for two monthly newsletters, The Folger’s Wakin’ Up Club and Folger’s Office Coffee.

“These [newsletters] are great experiences—writing for a primarily female audience, you really have to learn what they’re like, what they do, and what’s important to them,” said Collier. “This is vital in triggering an emotional response.”

“I owe a great deal to my mentor, CCAD instructor George Felton,” Collier said. “He taught me everything I know about Advertising. My Ad/Graph instructor, Doug Fisher instilled what it means to be a professional in every walk of life. I’ll never forget these guys who looked out for me. They’re one in million.”

Collier has also contributed on projects for Fixodent, Pringles, Charmin, and Puffs Tissues. To view his artwork, visit his personal webpage. Check out the work Collier created while a student at CCAD.

Bridge Worldwide is a leading digital and relationship marketing agency based in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a New York City office. Bridge Worldwide is a member of the WPP network, the second-largest agency holding company in the world. The agency’s client list includes several FORTUNE 500 companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Abbott Nutrition, ConAgra Foods, and Kroger.

For the complete ranking of Great Places to Work, visit Entrepreneur.

Image from www.kaylarischdesign.com

Materials created by CCAD students, staff and alumni fetched nine awards of merit and excellence at Creative Best 2010, an annual recognition of outstanding communication arts in central Ohio.

Works lauded by three judges for Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA) include CCAD’s Viewbook, produced by the college’s student Design Group and creative director Lindsay Kronmiller with Ologie, the branding agency founded by alumna Bev Bethge (CCAD, ’82-’86), and Think.Do., a short video created by Oligie for the college. Both pieces earned awards of merit.

Merit awards in the professional category went to two CCAD students. Danielle Deley, a senior in Advertising & Graphic Design, was recognized for the t-shirts series she created to promote CCAD’s Saturday Morning Art Classes program. Abeer Sleiman, a Media Studies senior, was honored for the campaign Those Picked Last. Sleiman also received an award of excellence for an identity campaign (be thirty six) and an award of merit for an AMC Romance Channel bumper.

Other students who left CSCA’s party with awards of merit include Emily Shirk, a senior in Advertising & Graphic Design, for branding work for Cutler’s; Jordan Edwards, an Ad & Graphic Design senior, for Oreck: Listen to your Floors; and alumna Kayla Risch (CCAD, ’10) for Pets Without Parents.

Image from www.foodandwineaffair.com

Chad Hughes (CCAD, ’10) is the first-place award winner of the art and poster contest held by Columbus Food & Wine Affair Grand Tasting.

Columbus Food & Wine Affair has sponsored an art and poster contest for CCAD senior Advertising and Graphic Design classes five times throughout the event’s eight-year history. When started in 2003, event organizers took notice of how other cities doing similar events incorporated the art community. “We wanted to do something better. We have seen art and wine as a natural connection from day one,” said Greg Maurer, event co-founder.

For the latest competition, three participating CCAD classes learned the history of the event, important elements that should be reflected in their entries, how their designs would be used, requirements for black & white and color usage, and the importance of representing food and wine equally  with an international and contemporary flavor.  Students made presentations using a variety of mediums.

Hughes’ winning artwork will be featured through all elements of the event, which takes place Sept. 24 at Franklin Park Conservatory. In addition to Hughes’ first-place cash prize, CCAD receives $1,250 toward its scholarship fund. Second place and a cash prize went to CCAD student Kaleah Horton with honorable mention awards and cash prizes going to Kaylynn Arnold, Corey Lucius and Jodie Erickson.

Hughes contemplated designing his presentation using computer graphics but eventually decided on photography. “I’ve been taking photos a long time. Using photography, I could bring my design to life,” he said. “Also, when I see things I can use for photo props, I save them. I have a lot of silverware and antique bottles to choose from.”

For additional coverage on Hughes and his winning design go to www.foodandwineaffair.com.  Or, check out his website at www.lifebulbdesign.com.

To see 2010 contest entries from CCAD students and past winning designs click here.

Design from 2009 HighBall Halloween Costume Couture Fashion Showdown.

Five CCAD fashion alumnae will present their designs in the Short North Arts District’s HighBall Halloween Costume Couture Fashion Showdown in Columbus. Barb Wallace (CCAD ’99), Tina Matthews (CCAD ’03), Madeleine Etter (CCAD ’09), Shann Cortes (CCAD ’10), and Cierra Cunningham (CCAD ’10) are among the eleven Columbus-area fashion designers chosen to feature their work.

Each designer will present three pieces from their collection as well as one costume design. The theme of this year’s event is Alice in Wonderland. The winning designer will receive $1,000 and be crowned HighBall Couture Costume Designer of the Year.

Models take the runway at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 30. For additional event information, check out www.HighBallHalloween.com.  Read interviews from the designers at www.ShortNorth.org.

Image from www.imaginefx.com

Two CCAD alumni are among the 10 artists ImagineFX Magazine recently featured in its “Rising Stars” competition.

Bernadette Carstensen (CCAD ‘10) and Jake Murray (CCAD ‘10) are identified in Issue 61 as rising stars of digital art and among the very finest under-25s creating fantasy and sci-fi art.

The October 2010 magazine is available in CCAD’s Packard Library in the recent subscriptions section of Current Periodicals. Additional information also is available at www.imaginefx.com.

To learn more about about these Illustration alumni go to Murray’s website and to Carstensen’s website.

Still frame from Always, Only, Ever by Barbara Benas

Always, Only, Ever, a film by CCAD alumna Barbara Benas, was selected as best student film at the 2010 Animation Block Party, a New York City-based event dedicated to exhibiting the world’s best independent, professional and student animation.

Benas (Animation, 2010) participated in Program Two of the summer event, which showcased exceptional student films, professional content, and narrative shorts.  For more information about the artist check her blog at http://www.tubbirdbelty.com.

Information about the 2010 awards is on the Block Party blog.

Benas’ film debuted at the 2010 Cartoon Brew festival.

The 2010 event is Nov. 11-14 and includes nearly 60 artists in the main exhibition. Several hundred original paintings and drawings will be on display at the show, along with demonstrations, lectures, round tables, art director portfolio reviews, and a live bronze pour.

Check out IlluXCon and Carstensen’s winning entry at http://www.illuxcon.com. Go to http://www.bernadettecarstensen.com for more information about Carstensen.

More information about McClellan’s work is available at http://ccad.digication.com. For details about Savage Gardens go to the conservatory’s website.

Short films by Barbara Benas and Kartika Mediani, both 2010 graduates majoring in Animation, will be shown on the second and third days of the festival at BAMcinématek in Brooklyn.

Always Only Ever by Benas will be shown Saturday, July 31 at 4:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. as part of Program Two, which will showcase exceptional student films, professional content and narrative shorts. More information is available on the artist’s blog at http://www.tubbirdbelty.com/

Breath by Mediani will be shown Sunday, Aug. 1 at 2 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. as part of Program Three, which will feature award winning independent shorts, studio animation and other standout works. Additional details are available on Mediani’s blog at http://7414stars.blogspot.com/

For complete details about the 2010 block party, including how to purchase tickets, go to http://animationblock.com/summerfest2010/.

Horn was one of 445 student entrants from 176 colleges and university sculpture programs in North America and abroad. The jury, paneled by Creighton Michael, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, and Oliver Herring, reviewed over 1,100 images of sculptural works.

Horn graduated in May 2010 and was recognized as an outstanding senior in Fine Arts. His thesis work, which was a two-floor installation housed off-campus at the site of an old addressing and machining factory in Columbus, can be seen online at http://ccad.digication.com/Whitecellproductions in the section Adonta ta mele (her still singing limbs), 2 Crescent Lane.

For more information about the award program go to http://www.sculpture.org.

Podwoiski was one of two valedictorians for the class of 2010 and also was recognized as one of 10 outstanding seniors at graduation.

Students receiving award certificates from the visual communications magazine are Erich Burchfield, project director (Animation, ’10), Greg Browe, lead story artist (Media Studies, ’11), Meghann Pearson, director of photography (Photography, ’10), Jennifer Stefanski, head of animation (Animation, ’10), and Dan Zimmer, head of technical direction (Animation, ’10). Their project was inspired by the college’s recent branding initiative and resulted in a 24-minute video about CCAD from the students’ perspective.

To see some footage produced through the award-winning project click here.  Frame grabbed images of the project will be printed in Applied Arts annual publication and put on display at the Applied Arts awards exhibit, which will be held in November in Toronto at Artscape Wychwood Barns.

Twenty finalists will be featured on Aniboom’s site and Saatchi & Saatchi’s Worldwide Creative Board will choose the winner from these. Website visitors also will be invited to vote on the 20 finalists to determine a People’s Choice entry, which will be featured and celebrated on Aniboom and on Saatchi & Saatchi’s NDS channel on YouTube.

Mele graduated in May 2010 and was recognized as the outstanding senior in Animation.

Ohio Theatre

Columbus College of Art & Design presented 233 diplomas during the 131st annual spring commencement on Saturday, May 15, at the Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus.

The commencement speaker was Author, Editor & Illustrator Michael Rosen. The 2010 class had two valedictorians, Stacey Lawless-Gibson and Erica Podwoiski, and 10 outstanding seniors:

• Susan Burke, Advertising and Graphic Design, New Knoxville, OH
• Tyler Mele, Animation; Wellington, OH
• Elizabeth Munn, Fashion Design; Aurora, OH
• Ian Horn, Fine Arts; Hyde Park, OH
• Erica Podwoiski, Fine Arts; Garden City, MI
• Jacob Murray, Illustration; Fort Wayne, IN
• Shawn Fortner, Industrial Design; Canton, OH
• Kimberly Priestman, Interior Design; Lansdale, PA
• Matthew Dickerson, Photography; Columbus, OH
• Joseph Lombardi, Media Studies; St. Louis, MO

A copy of Rosen’s commencement address is available here (pdf).

Cover of Lincoln's Secret Letters

Mike Puncekar, a senior majoring in Illustration, is to receive the Cengage Learning Drawing Inspiration Student Scholarship Award from the Society of Illustrators (SOI) at a ceremony in New York on Friday, May 7. Puncekar’s winning entry in the 2010 Student Scholarship Competition is Lincoln’s Secret Letters. Additionally, The Undertaker’s March by Puncekar is included in the competition’s student exhibition, which runs May 5-29, 2010.

Other CCAD Illustration majors who entered the competition and have works in the student exhibition are senior Jordan Merchant (Bean), sophomore Jeff Stevenson (A Shaver Jeffery), and senior Kirsten Zirngibl (Avarice and The Commute).

SOI’s Museum of American Illustration is located at 128 E. 63rd St. in New York City. For more information go to the Society of Illustrators website.

Betsy Munn & Andrea Cambern

When we asked local celeb/WBNS-10TV anchor Andrea Cambern to emcee CCAD’s Fashion Show again, we decided to sweeten the deal. This year, Ms. Cambern will be wearing a one-of-a-kind, custom-tailored garment from CCAD senior fashion designer Betsy Munn.

Let me just say, Andrea has been a really good sport about the whole process. To ensure a perfect fit, she has to go through being poked and prodded and measured and fussed over for a number of sessions—measuring, blocking, fitting, refitting, and final touches. And if you’re as confused about all of this as I am, don’t worry. I’ve had a lot of help in breaking the process down.

Betsy Munn measures Andrea Cambern

During the first fitting, Andrea stood, arms out, while Fashion Design Chair Suzanne Cotton rattled off a list of 15 or so odd measurements for Betsy to take—around the neck, shoulder to shoulder, high shoulder to apex, center of shoulder to waist, etc. And, just as I began to figure out what most of that meant (I didn’t even know I had an apex, let alone where it is), Ms Cotton said “now, we’re going to start her back.” Wait, what?

Betsy Munn & Andrea Cambern

Once all the measurements were taken, Betsy began blocking the dress. Think of blocking like this: she used a thin fabric to make a cast of Andrea’s body. Seems simple, right? Not quite. Betsy had to translate all those measurements we were talking about into a garment, one that is intended to fit perfectly over every inch of the human form. The block then had to be fitted to Andrea.

Up until show time, Betsy will finish crafting Andrea’s garment, meet with her for the first fitting, adjust, meet again for the final fitting, and—just when you’d think it would be done—there’s the inevitable meeting for final touches. Oh, and did I mention Betsy has two other garments walking the runway and another to finish by the end of the school year?

Rainbow Row, Charleston, SC

‘So, tell me about this garment?’ Well, I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tell you this—Betsy was inspired by Rainbow Row in Charleston, South Carolina. It’s a colorful row of Georgian homes that were transformed from neglected slum to pastel landmark in the 1930s. Interpret that as you may.

But, if you want to see firsthand the finished garment on the stunning Ms. Cambern, tickets for the May 8 event can be purchased at www.ccad.edu/fashion.

Until next time, cheers!