James LaFollette in front of his poster

Fine Arts freshman James LaFollette presented at the 13^th Annual Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion, and Disability Conference at Ohio State University. The conference, which was held April 16 and 17, had more than 200 attendees.

LaFollette competed in a poster session with students from across the U.S. His presentation on Crohn’s disease, Making Crohn’s Visible: From Struggles to Strides with an Internal Disorder, won in the art and performance category. As a prize, he received $200 from the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation.

“My main goal was just to simply bring awareness to the disability and also help others feel more comfortable about their own personal disabilities,” LaFollette said.

Through his 20-page book, LaFollette, who has Crohn’s, explains what it is, how it affects the body, and possible side effects from taking medication.

“The main reason I wanted to even talk about Crohn’s was because most people have never heard of it, and since it’s an internal disorder, people can never tell when you’re in pain or struggling that day,” LaFollette said.

LaFollette is from Westerville, OH, and attended Northside Christian School.

“Unwoven Light,” by Soo Sunny Park; photo by Nash Baker © nashbaker.com

Fine Arts alumna Soo Sunny Park (CCAD 1998) has an installation, Unwoven Light, on view at the Rice University Art Gallery in Houston through Aug. 30.

The piece, which is created from 37 individually sculpted units of glass, is an abstract form suspended from the walls and ceiling.

“We don’t notice light when looking so much as we notice the things light allows us to see,” Park notes on the gallery’s website. “Unwoven Light captures light and causes it to reveal itself, through colorful reflections and refractions on the installation’s surfaces and on the gallery floor and walls.”

Park is a recipient of a Joan Mitchell MFA Grant, the 19th Annual Michigan Fine Arts Competition Grand Prize, the Helen Foster Barnett Prize from the National Academy Museum, and the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Fellowship. Her work has been included in exhibitions across the U.S. and has been featured in numerous art publications.

Park is originally from Seoul, South Korea. She moved moved to the United States at a young age, growing up in Orlando, FL, and Marietta, GA, and attending Lake Howell High School.

Check out images from the exhibit on the art blog Colossal.

Rob Robbins’ work in Art Access Gallery

Drawing & Printmaking Chair and Fine Arts alumnus Robert Robbins (CCAD 1990) will show his work in a group exhibition at Art Access Gallery in Bexley, OH, through May 11. The exhibition also includes work by Marty Kalb and Mark Yale Harris.

Robbins’ paintings depict small, imagined places that draw the viewer into the environment on the canvas.

Robbins’ work has been shown nationally and internationally, including at the Butler Institute of American Art; the Chateau in Rochefort-en-Terre, France; the Springfield Museum of Art; and the Florida State University Museum of Contemporary Art. His work is also in private and public collections including the Ohio State University, the Nord Family Foundation, and the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Joseph Gargasz’s “Taliman #2″ sculpture

Fine arts alumnus Joseph Gargasz (CCAD 1995) exhibited his works Talisman #1 and Talisman #2 at the annual Sculpture in the Garden 2012 show at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His 400-pound cast concrete sculptures were among 45 pieces selected by a committee for display last fall at the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

“The Talisman series is my experiment to examine the negative spaces found in everyday discarded consumer materials,” Gargasz said in his artist statement. “Appliance packaging, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, and shopping bags provide interesting negative spaces that I then cast concrete into.”

Gargasz is currently the director of exhibition design at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta.

Kraft’s paper was “Research and Inquiry: Pedagogical Tools to Engender Responsibility;” Yates presented his paper “Research as Catalyst” in the same session.

The two also participated in the Integrative Teaching International ThinkTank along with Vice President for Academic Affairs Kevin Conlon, Assistant Professor Lori Faist, Assistant Professor and Fine Arts alumna Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992), and Associate Professor and Fine Arts alumna Tam Peterson (CCAD 1983).

FATE is a national association dedicated to the promotion of excellence in development and teaching of college-level foundation courses. The ThinkTank is part of the FATE conference and includes a facilitated discussion and intensive workshop designed to improve teaching at the college level.

Kraft also presented her paper “Rurality Then and Now: Re-visioning the Landscape in Contemporary Irish Art Practice” at the International Meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies in Chicago, April 10-13.

Marquee at 134th spring commencement

Nearly 250 Columbus College of Art & Design students graced the stage of the historic Ohio Theatre to receive their diplomas on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

The 134^th annual commencement in downtown Columbus included an address by nationally renowned artist Mel Chin, who was also awarded an honorary degree by the college.

James E. Kunk, vice chair of CCAD’s board of trustees; Dennison W. Griffith, CCAD president; Kevin J. Conlon, vice president for academic affairs; and director of graduate studies and professor Ric Petry conferred the nine master of fine arts degrees and the bachelor of fine arts.

Student government president and Advertising & Graphic Design major Cailyn Driscoll addressed the audience of peers and family, followed by recognition of the nine outstanding seniors:

• Lillie Templeton, Advertising & Graphic Design
• Tyler Crowley, Animation
• Patrick Kain, Cinematic Arts
• Katharine Hire, Fashion Design
• Stefanie Cook, Fine Arts
• Wesley Talbott, Illustration
• Justin Brown, Industrial Design
• Katelyn Venia, Interior Design
• Kayla Holdgreve, Photography

President Griffith introduced the 2013 class valedictorian, Advertising & Graphic Design major Lillie Templeton.

Following the valedictorian’s address, Griffith spoke to the graduating class. He offered them a heartfelt farewell and encouraged them to spread their talent and the message of love across the world.

Stefanie Cook’s “self-portrait in mask (2012)”

At the end of the academic year, CCAD presents the faculty-selected outstanding seniors for each undergraduate major.  Today, in part five of our nine-part series, meet Fine Arts outstanding senior Stefanie Cook.

Q: What was your proudest achievement while at CCAD?

How do you pinpoint your proudest moment? I don’t think I can, because I have been proud of every day that I have been here.

Q: What scared you the most while you were at CCAD?

The whole experience is terrifying; you have a lot riding on it. I am paying for this, I chose this path, and I think it means a lot to not only succeed in the work that you do, but succeed for yourself. Every scary moment I’ve had I knew I just had to suck it up and do it.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

I would like to apply to grad school, maybe go to OSU. I want to stay in Columbus, though; I feel like moving here was a really good choice. It is a great city to get rooted and grow in—I didn’t expect to love it here, but I do.

Q: What’s your ultimate dream job or goal?

To be able to share my education by some means; I want to be able to plant those creative seeds in other people.

Q: Why is it important as an alumnus to give back to CCAD?

When I applied and moved here I had never been to CCAD, seen the campus, or even visited Columbus; I just went on faith. I had talked to two former graduates that I knew, and hearing them talk about the school helped me make this decision. Having an alum leave here with such a positive attitude really does reflect on what the school is capable of doing.

Q: Do you remember a single point that made you sit back and say, “This is why I am doing this?”

In my honors hand lettering class Richard Aschenbrand said a lot of profound things, and I didn’t get them right away, but they later snuck up on me and really did reflect on all of my other classes and my career here. He taught me how to really look at the marks I was making and that changed how I worked in every other class since then. So, to realize that a teacher actually changed my perception and impacted my work made me sit back and think ‘this was why I am an artist.’

Q: What smell, word, or whatever will always remind you of your time here as a student?

The doughnut smell in the air—that and turpentine, acetone, and any AMF studio smell.

Q: What will you miss the most?

Being with like-minded people and being surrounded by people that are exactly like me. This is such a great place to grow, and it is so much better to be with other people like that than just by yourself.

Stefanie Cook’s “chair 30 (2013)” from her senior thesis

Q: If you could describe what graduation feels like in one word or sentence what would it be?

It’s hard to believe this is going to be the end. But I feel like it is never ending, since I want to head straight into graduate school after this, so it is just another step forward.

Q: What was your favorite class at CCAD?

Brian Williams’ art theft and propaganda classes. The fact that they were offered here was amazing. That’s a fascinating subject for me and I have read a lot of books based on the material he taught, so to be able to explore that with other people was just really great.

Q: What did you like to do during your free time?

I do something with my hands. If I am not doing school work, I am doing my own work. I am always making something, and if it’s not for CCAD, it is for myself—my hands are never idle.

Q: What is your fondest memory at CCAD?

Being with like-minded people, all the relationships, and hanging out in AMF studios, those are my fondest memories.

Q: What would you change about your undergraduate career?

I would have had a stronger relationship with a full-time professor or dean. I would have been able to really learn through them and their mentorship.

Q: What is your advice to future CCAD students?

I actually just wrote a quote down. I watched this today in class, and I have been saying it over and over—it is from John Baldessari: “You have to be possessed, which you cannot will.” I am at this point where I am working on my thesis, and I keep asking myself “Why am I doing this?” and after hearing this quote, it is true. I can’t force this work, I just have to let it happen and let it take me over.

Cook is from Chicago, IL.

Photo from 2012 commencement

May is quickly on its way, accompanied by rain, flowers, and, very soon, graduation caps and gowns. On May 11 Columbus College of Art & Design will celebrate nearly 250 graduating CCAD students as they cross the stage of the historic Ohio Theatre and receive their hard-earned diplomas.

As the countdown to commencement begins, CCAD honors this year’s outstanding seniors. Each year department heads choose an outstanding senior for each undergraduate major. This year’s awardees include Justin Brown, Industrial Design; Stefanie Cook, Fine Arts; Tyler Crowley, Animation; Katharine Hire, Fashion Design; Kayla Holdgreve, Photography; Patrick Kain, Cinematic Arts; Wesley Talbot, Illustration; Lille Templeton, Advertising & Graphic Design; and Katelyn Venia, Interior Design.

We sat down to interview each of these stellar students, and we’ll publish a profile a day (on school days) starting on April 29 and culminating on May 10 when we announce the class valedictorian(s).

The outstanding seniors and valedictorian(s) will be honored at commencement, which will also feature an address by nationally renowned artist Mel Chin.

Work by Chun Arthur Wang

Assistant Professor and Fine Arts alumnus Chun Arthur Wang (CCAD 1994) has a solo exhibition at the Muscatine Art Center in Muscatine, IA, through April 21.

The Other Side of the World by Chun Arthur Wang looks at Wang’s recent work, which is often a hybrid of East and West styles. Having lived in China and the U.S., Wang references the Western oil painting tradition in some of his work, while finding inspiration for others in Buddhist and Chinese folk art.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Ave., Muscatine, IA.

Denise Romecki’s “Ecosystem”

Fine Arts alumna Denise Romecki (CCAD 1976) will exhibit her work in Seeking Harmony with Nature: Ceramic Sculpture at the Zanesville Museum of Art through June 8.

Romecki’s clay sculptures focus on the raw elements of nature, including plants, trees, animals, and bodies of water.

The Zanesville Museum of Art is located at 620 Military Rd., Zanesville, OH.

Weigle will discuss his artistic influences and current work and will follow his talk with a demo. His work, which includes drawings, prints, and plein-air landscapes, often depicts the Cape Cod environment.

The cooperative is dedicated to promoting the art of printmaking by providing a studio, educational opportunities, and an environment of support and inspiration for artists, students, and the community.

From the 2012 Art Educator’s Studio

The Art Educator’s Studio, an invite-only residential opportunity for high school art educators, will return for its third year this July.

The weeklong experience allows art educators to invest in their own creative growth, build relationships with their peers and CCAD faculty, learn specific techniques and lessons to take back to the classroom, and take advantage of CCAD facilities.

Last year, the program had participants from across the country, including California, Florida, and New York.

“Our Continuing & Professional Studies office does a great job of creating residency programs over the summer for middle school and high school students considering a future in art. We saw an opportunity for an easy crossover to an entirely different population—high school art educators,” said Paul Ritter, admissions manager at CCAD.

Participants get a residence hall room in CCAD’s Design Square Apartments, meals in the dining hall, workshops with faculty, and their own studio space with faculty input on their studio project.

“One of the appealing factors of the program is that invitees are chosen because of their contributions to the field of art and design. We look at factors such as their student success and recognition on a national level and work to bring educators to campus whose commitment to teaching art and design is evident,” Ritter said.

Marcy Adams’ “Arrangement Number 2″

The small group of participants ensures an intimate environment where educators can have one-on-one classroom and studio experiences with faculty members.

Marcy Adams from Fort Wayne, IN, attended last year’s program and is currently showing the work that she made in the summer studio in the exhibition M.A.C Show at Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery in Fort Wayne.

“It was beneficial to have the studio time at CCAD because I seldom have one week entirely to myself to create art,” Adams said. “I work 50 hours or more a week, maintain a rental business on the side, and I am married with four children.”

Adams used her time at CCAD to create a new body of work and enjoy the one-on-one times with CCAD professors who served as mentors.

She received help in particular from Gordon Lee, professor of Fine Arts, who worked with her on a new technique, which she applied to her existing work.

“I came away from the workshop with a pile of figure drawing sketches, two large-scale drawings, two completed mixed-media works, one animation short, and a few digital drawings. I can continue to develop my drawings into finished works, and I have learned several new techniques that I will utilize in the future,” Adams said.

“Our goal is for each of these participants to go back to their high school classrooms with a refreshed passion for art and a positive testament for their students regarding what CCAD has to offer anyone interested in art and design,” Ritter said.

Liz Trapp’s “Orifice Installation”

Adjunct faculty Andrea Myers and MFA candidate Liz Trapp will have work in Tell/Tale, a one-day exhibition on May 18.

Myers curated the exhibition, which will feature her work alongside that of Trapp and another local artist, Josh Welker. The show is part of the Rooms to Let Temporary Art Space program.

Tell/Tale refers to Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart,” bringing attention to the internal life and space of the architecture with a parallel interest in the formal space between painting and sculpture.

Rooms to Let was founded in 2010 by adjunct faculty Melissa Vogley Woods. It allows artists to show their work in diverse environments by staging exhibitions in empty houses, lots, and warehouses.

Tell/Tale will take place in a vacant house at 219 N. 22nd St., in Columbus, OH. The house was provided by Homeport.

Andrea Myers’ “Pulsate #1″

Adjunct faculty Andrea Myers will show her work in the group exhibition in visible at Ray’s Living Room, located in the Short North, Columbus’ arts district, through May 14.

Myers’ artwork explores the space between the two- and three-dimensional, hybridizing painting, printmaking, and sculpture.

Ray’s Living Room is located at 17 Brickel St., Columbus, OH.

Craig Carlisle’s “Big Head in the Peaceful Valley”

Fine Arts alumnus Craig Carlisle (CCAD 1988) has a solo exhibition Petite Heads & the Peaceful Valley Paintings at Sharon Weiss Gallery through April 28 in Columbus, OH.

Carlisle has lived and maintained studios in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and is represented by George Billis Gallery NYC/LA. He has exhibited throughout the United States and has work in numerous private and public collections around the world.

The exhibition includes work from more than 50 Ohio artists with mediums ranging from paintings to sculptures and jewelry.

Weigle is a plein air landscape painter who often focuses on the Cape Cod environment.

For new CCAD graduates with a creative degree in hand, the horizon is vast, and to each destination lays myriad paths. This is both super exciting and—we’re not afraid to say it—daunting. Between launch and land there will be a bit of unknown, which is why we decided to contact 10 of our top 2012 grads and ask them how things are going.

From these 10, we found that two have formed LLCs, four have shown in galleries, one has “gone viral,” and, among them, there are nine cats, two dogs, and one “very handsome” fish named Columbus. Their workplaces are diverse: while one is at an international clothier, another might spend all day in a urethane-casting lab.

To what do they owe their successes so far? CCAD comes up—the inspired friendships, life-altering classes, and amazing professors are too many to list — but so do hard work, integrity, connections, knowing one’s priorities, curiosity, and gumption.

They are a grateful bunch. Asked to be specific, classmates and sweeties get a mention, and from Alex Trimpe, “Just being alive is pretty nice, wouldn’t you say?” But overall, their greatest gratitude is to mom and dad. (Awww…)

May we introduce: our Ten to Watch.

Chavilah Bennett at work

Chavilah Bennett

Major: Advertising & Graphic Design

City: Columbus

Position: Motion graphics designer at S77

Cause: The Maximin Project

Go-to Food: Avocado

Chavilah Bennett was warned she’d be a coffee girl or a “pair of hands” at her first job. “That was a lie,” she says. Already, at S77, she’s designed the opening titles for a CeeLo Green/Muppets holiday video, worked post-production on a “T.I. featuring Lil Wayne” music video, and helped to direct and shoot footage for a series on the Bio Channel. Bennett’s job is in motion graphics, though her training is not. When she was hired—because of “people saying nice things about me behind my back”—it was with the understanding that she’d be learning on the job. No problem:  “The great thing about CCAD,” she says, “is it teaches how to think creatively, how to problem-solve, and how to work efficiently, and those are qualities that transfer to any career.”

Lian Dziura

LIAN DZIURA

BFA: Photography

City: Columbus

Position: Freelance photo assistant for Michael Cogar at Lane Bryant

Inspired by: Medieval and Renaissance art

Fave CCAD class: Still-life photography

A day at work for Lian Dziura might be spent assisting photographer Michael Cogar on-set, editing and color-correcting final images, photographing an edible tableau for a freelance client, or maybe even working on her own collages. Since graduating, she’s shown in two galleries, including the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, where she received an honorable mention. While she wasn’t sure what to expect post-college, to have a job she enjoys and to show and sell work “is a great feeling,” she says. “I’m glad it’s turned out the way it has.”

Rachel Cass

RACHEL CASS

BFA: Fashion Design

City: New York

Position: Assistant designer at American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)

Fave CCAD Class: Collection (“the class where all the hard work pays off”)

Words to Live By: Grow or die.

Talent, skill, and education are all key to landing a dream job, but for Rachel Cass, so were patience and confidence. Certain she’d find the right job, she looked at a lot of companies, even turned down some. Then she applied to AEO. “I left my interview knowing I would work there,” she says. Sure enough, she’s now in New York designing denim jeans and jackets. The transition was smooth, something she credits to all her hard work at CCAD. She plans on growing with AEO and looks forward to “seeing where my adventure takes me.”

Leah Fisher

LEAH FISHER

BFA: Photography

City: Columbus

Position: Archivist and evening supervisor at CCAD’s Packard Library

Go-to Food: Gatto’s Pizza

Creative Jumpstart: Crossword puzzles

Leah Fisher didn’t look for a job—she already had one. Since 2007, she’s been transforming a roomful of boxes into a digitized, cataloged, and shared archive about the history of CCAD. She’s added to that history by, for instance, replicating old photos for a Then-and-Now exhibit. It’s the kind of project that keeps her passionate. Fisher also remains focused on her art. Nine of her “drive-bys” (photos she takes from a moving vehicle) are part of Image Ohio 2013, one of those won an Honorable Mention in that exhibition, and she’s applied for a show at the Urban Arts Space. “Life right now feels great,” she says.

Jake LaBombarbe

JAKE LaBOMBARBE

BFA: Industrial Design

City: Columbus

Position: Lead industrial designer at Concept Engineering

Cause: Toys for Tots and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Hobby: “I am a connoisseur of terrible movies.”

“It may be corny,” says Jake LaBombarbe, “but to hold something you’ve designed as a tangible object is still one of the greatest feelings in the world.” At Concept, LaBombarbe does design, research, product testing, and modeling; he’s overseen a new silicone and urethane casting lab; and he’s the go-to guy about additive manufacturing and prototyping capabilities. Owens Corning is a big client, but potentially so is anyone with, as he says, “great concepts but no idea how to make them.” His ultimate aim is the toy industry (and he’s developed some ideas, so keep an eye out on Kickstarter). Although he had a job ready and waiting after graduation, his advice is to never take anything for granted. Also, “do right by others,” and, sharing a tip once given to him, “don’t ever point out a flaw in your own sketch: chances are, only you see it.”

Sarah McCance, photo by Kevin Brown

SARAH McCANCE

BFA: Interior Design

City: Dallas

Position: Interior designer for Wilson Associates

Go-to Food: Hot Cheetos

Tool to Unwind: Jim Henson’s The Labyrinth

Designing interiors for a palace in Abu Dhabi may not have been on Sarah McCance’s career to-do list, but because she made the most of opportunities while at CCAD, it’s one item she can now check off. “My company designs luxury,” she explains—often for high-end resorts, casinos, and, yes, palaces. After careful research, McCance applied to be a student intern at Wilson and, while there, was “a sponge, absorbing everything,” she says. Afterward, she prioritized those professional ties and was hired on full time after graduation. Time to set new goals: she’s now focused on professional certifications—and recruiting more CCAD students for Wilson internships.

Kattie Baker

KATTIE BAKER

BFA: Advertising & Graphic Design

City: Columbus

Position: Designer at Fine Citizens, a web design agency

Cause: Big Sisters (“I’m a sucker for children.”)

Tool to Unwind: Zumba

“To see your work grow up and march out into the real world feels fabulous,” says Kattie Baker (even if, technically, her work is in the virtual world). At Fine Citizens, she’s in charge of responsive web design and is the “icon and vector graphics girl,” which means she gets to do fun stuff like animal illustrations for the Columbus Zoo’s online guide. Add in art direction and client presentations and “it’s a lot of hats,” she says, “but multi-tasking is a skill all CCAD grads acquire.” Baker and her husband just bought their first house, and, as for the future, “it’s whatever keeps challenging me,” she says.

Erin McKenna

ERIN McKENNA

BFA: Fine Arts

City: Columbus

Position: Host at Better Earth in the North Market; founder/manager of No Place Studios, LLC

Fave CCAD Experience: NY Studio Residency

Words to Live By: If you want something done, do it yourself.

Erin McKenna wasn’t ready to give up the tools, materials, supportive community, and feedback she had at CCAD, so she problem-solved. McKenna formed an LLC and with 10 other artists (nine from CCAD) founded No Place Studios: 2,500 sq. ft. to make art, hold events, and foster community. “We’re very proud of this space,” she says. After an artist’s residency at Chicago-based ACRE and a related exhibition this spring, grad school is next up. Already, she’s been nominated for a scholarship.

Sara Diesel

SARA DIESEL

BFA: Illustration

City: Pittsburgh

Position: Freelance illustrator

Fave CCAD Class: Entrepreneurial Illustration

Inspired by: 1980s sci-fi movies

“Freelancing,” says Sara Diesel, “is a great way to network and work your way up the field to larger clients.” But jobs don’t fall in your lap; it takes hustle, and “persistence, most of all.” Asked to brag, she mentions her work on the Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones card games, to which, she says, “it was an honor to add my voice.” She calls it “humbling and surreal” to have work in Spectrum 19, a publication full of her favorite illustrators. Though someday she might like to try her hand at game creation, she’s happy freelancing and excited to see just where it will take her.

Alex Trimpe

ALEX TRIMPE

BFA: Media Studies

City: Akron

Position: Proprietor of Alex Trimpe Motion Design, LLC

Cause: Longstride

Creativity Jumpstart: Going outside

With the ink on his diploma barely dry, December grad Alex Trimpe is the boss of his own motion graphics company, producing work (usually typography-based with illustrations) for clients around the globe. The “short story,” he explains: “A video of mine [The World Is Obsessed with Facebook] went viral. People wanted similar-style videos. Then, bigger people wanted videos.” Some of those bigger people are Samsung, Levi’s, and Cisco. But don’t just chalk up his success to luck. Trimpe asked for it. He messaged Vimeo: Hi…can you give me feedback…thank you…oh, and if you like it, maybe throw it on your staff picks. They did. His advice—along with “be kind but not a pushover, persistent but not annoying, and have a good reel”—is “simply ask, it works better than you’d think.”

Web Exclusive, full interviews from our Ten to Watch:

Chavilah Bennett

Go-to food: Avocado! I’ll eat it with (almost) anything.
Fave class at CCAD: Mr. Mohr’s Senior Ad/Graph class; the work consistently forced me to explore outside my comfort zone.
Fave CCAD hangout: The study/work room in the Admin building. During December finals one year I had to pull so many all-nighters in the admin building that I brought Christmas lights, music and snacks to make it feel a bit more cheerful.
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: On a warm day my favorite thing to do is walk around the city with a coffee and a camera, exploring hidden side streets, pretty neighborhoods and parks. I like to think of the world as an adventure and if someone takes the time to look, they will find something beautiful and unexpected.
Hobby: Singing, playing the piano and small harp, power yoga. I’ve missed painting and drawing so I started a few personal projects. Right now I’m painting a large map of the world on my wall. (I’ll send photos to Lindsay Kronmiller.)
Fave game: You can’t go wrong with Uno or Settlers of Catan. A new favorite is Telestrations; it’s like the game of telephone but in drawings. I played with my siblings over the holidays and the results were hilarious.
Ideal breakfast: A mountain of bacon
Everyday breakfast: Coffee and a granola bar or bagel
Cause/nonprofit close to your heart: Maximin Project. I was involved as a designer for this organization for about six months after initially meeting them at Startup Weekend 2011 at CCAD.
Website/podcast for inspiration or to learn something: I listen to podcasts when I’m in the middle of a project. NPR Planet Money, TED Talks, The Moth: True Stories Told Live, and This American Life. Listening to the BBC News podcast as I get ready for work is a ritual for me, it helps put life in perspective before I leave the house.

Kattie Baker

Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: Zumba dancing. I’m self-taught, so I’m not sure I have much of a knack for it. Mostly it’s just me shaking my hips and romping around the living room. It gets the energy out regardless.
Fave game: I like simpler, classic games like Mario Kart. If there are guns or aliens I tend to grip the controller too tightly and take my character’s death too seriously.
Best advice you’ve heard: “If your first job out of college doesn’t make you worried that you’ll be fired every day for the first six months, you’re not being challenged enough.”
Cause/nonprofit close to your heart: There are a ton that deserve limelight, but this year I’ve decided to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. I’m a sucker for kids.

Rachel Cass

Go-to food: Sushi!
Fave class at CCAD: Collection. It’s where you get to show all your skills, all while creating your own designs. It’s what we went to school for; it’s the class where all your hard work pays off.
Fave CCAD hangout: Sitting on the lawn between classes. It’s a great place to take a time out and just relax
Fave artist/designer/photographer(s): I have a huge list of people I look up to and admire, but narrowing down to just one is too hard.
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: Visiting the German Village Book Loft with my fiance. Sifting through books and discovering new artist and places is always a source of inspiration. Music is always a huge inspiration in my creative process. The right music can change anything.
Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: Sleeping; it’s not something I see much of, but when I really need to relax or take a break, I like to close my eyes and dream.
Hobby: Camping, snowboarding, enjoying life
Words to live by: My dad told me if you’re not growing in life, you’re dying. He’s a pretty smart man, so I try to apply it to all aspects of my life.
Fave game: Monopoly
Comic book or character: I would be Storm from X-Men.
Ideal breakfast: Cream-cheese eggs with toast and fruit
Everyday breakfast: Veggie breakfast sandwich and coffee
Best advice you’ve gotten: To live my life as an adventure, not as something set in stone.
Best advice you’ve given: follow what’s in your heart
Pet(s)? My dog Charlie, she’s a mutt and the cutest one out there! She’s also back in Columbus, and I miss her everyday. I got a fish to keep me company in NYC. His name is Columbus; he is a very handsome blue beta.
Grateful for: I’m grateful for the amazing people in my life and the unbelievable amount of support they have showed me.

Sara K. Diesel

Fave class at CCAD: Entrepreneurial Illustration with Andrew Bawidamann—very informative and challenging!
Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: I’m a big movie watcher. I love the old eighties sci-fi movies especially. It’s where a lot of my inspiration comes from.
Fave game: I play a lot of video games. I think it would be safe to say that at the moment I’m stuck on Dishonored. It has great design and concept all around.
Best advice you’ve gotten: Fake it ’til you make it.
Website/podcast for inspiration: Muddy Colors is a blog chock-full of great inspiration, advice, and tips, and it’s run by some of the big names in the illustration world.
Grateful for: My parents, especially right now. They’ve given me so many opportunities and have supported my decision to be an illustrator 100%.

Lian Dziura

Fave class at CCAD: Still-life photography
Fave artist/designer/photographer: I love most medieval and Renaissance art. I think that’s where most of my inspiration comes from.
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: Pinterest and sketching
Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: A cup of tea and Downton Abbey
Hobby: Reading and cooking
Fave game: Scattergories
Ideal breakfast: French toast from Tasi. Or crêpes.
Everyday breakfast: Tea and toast or hot cereal
Best advice you’ve gotten: Never give up; failure is not the end, it’s just another step in the process of learning.
Best advice you’ve given: Probably the advice above.  :)
Cause/nonprofit close to your heart: Children’s homes and orphanages
Pet(s)? Cat named Lily
Website/podcast to learn something: The Guardian and TED talks
Grateful for: My mom

Leah Fisher

Go-to food: Gattos Pizza
Fave class at CCAD: It’s a toss-up between my independent studies with amazing faculty members Helen Hoffelt and Charlotte Belland
Fave artist/designer/photographer(s): Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: Crossword puzzles
Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: Obsessive fiction book reading
Hobby: Cooking
Words to live by: Use it or lose it
Fave game: Apples to Apples
Everyday breakfast: Nuts Over Chocolate Luna Bars
Ideal breakfast: Frittatas and biscuits
Cause/nonprofit close to your heart: Planned Parenthood
Pet(s)? I am a mom to four cats! Mookie, Milton, Hellz Bellz and Hormel.
Website/podcast for laughs: Cracked.com
Website/podcast to learn something: Salon.com
Grateful for: My amazing husband, Dave, who not only supports the things I am passionate about, but also shares my passion.  We are pretty much always together when I am out shooting, and he is my primary driver for the Drive-By Shootings series.

Jake LaBombarbe

Fave class at CCAD: Anything with Dave Burghy or Tom Williamson
Fave CCAD hangout: The ID Cave in Kinney Hall
Fave artist/designer/photographer(s): Animator Bruce Timm, illustrator Matt Wagner
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: Punk rock and copious amounts of coffee
Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: Street Fighter 4
Hobby: I am a connoisseur of terrible movies.
Words to live by: My latest: “Dude, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”
Fave game: Metal Gear Solid 3
Comic book or character: Batman
Ideal breakfast: Coffee and a bagel with lox
Everyday breakfast: Coffee
Best advice you’ve gotten: Don’t ever point out a flaw in sketch, chances are you are the only one who knows that it’s there.
Best advice you’ve given: Play to your strengths, but mind your weaknesses.
Cause/nonprofit close to your heart: Toys for Tots and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Pet(s)? Chippy, he’s a cat. He’s also an a$$hole.
Website/podcast to learn something: Brad Jones aka The Cinema Snob, Matt and Pat at Two Best Friends Play, and Noah Antwiller aka The Spoony One
Grateful for: I am grateful for Alex Mazur, Caleb Boller, Hak Chan Kim, Jennifer Helber, Joe Washington, Joel Van Gilder, and Nikki Stapleton…the finest classmates and greatest friends that anyone could ever have.

Sarah McCance

Go-to food: Hot Cheetos!! More of a snack really, but I just can’t help myself. They are delicious.
Fave class at CCAD: Definitely my Fairy Tales class my senior year. The content and the teacher were both incredibly interesting. I only ever missed class if I was on my death bed with sickness. (Haha. Even then I contemplated going.) That class definitely makes me rethink whether or not I want to read certain fairytales to my children someday. Especially Snow White.
Fave CCAD hangout: Interior Design is a relatively small program at CCAD, so you become really tight knit with your classmates. My favorite memories and most fun experiences there were whenever we were all in the computer lab on the second floor of the Crane Center. We laughed, we cried, we had screaming matches due to lack of sleep and WAY too much estrogen, but those are my favorite memories at CCAD.
Fave artist/designer/photographer(s): I have always been inspired by designers like Eero Saarinen, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Verner Panton. They all had very simple design with a bit of a funky flair. Each very different and each very inspiring. As far as still living designers go, my best friend and classmate Amanda Shaw is incredibly inspiring to me. She is so incredibly creative, driven, and won’t take no for an answer…EVER. I can only hope to pick up some of her traits along the way.
Go-to for blowing off steam or relaxing: The Labyrinth by Jim Henson starring David Bowie, and music
Comic book or character: I’ve always been really into X-Men. As a child my cousin and I were always reading the comics or watching the TV shows. I feel like a little kid every time a new movie is released!
Everyday breakfast: Oatmeal with brown sugar, golden raisins, and cranberries. It’s the only thing that will keep me full well into the afternoon!
Best advice you’ve gotten: My mom always encouraged me to push myself. She would never let me quit anything without putting up a fight. And she always encouraged me to just be myself. She said, “Sometimes the only honesty you will truly have in life is with yourself.” I try to be as honest with myself, others, and my work as much as I can.
Pet(s)? My fiance and I got our first puppy a few months ago. She is a german shepherd/black lab mix. Her name is Trinity and she is 5 months old. I feel like I’m chasing a toddler around half the time between the teething and getting into anything and everything she can! I love her to pieces though. She is a little bit of a tomboy, ALWAYS wants to play, and is convinced that if she chases her tail enough she is DEFINITELY going to get it one of these days.

Erin McKenna

Fave class at CCAD: The most helpful thing about CCAD was my professors. Danielle Julian Norton, Matt Flegle, Tim Rietenbach, Michael Goodson, and Kelly Malec-Kosak were a huge part of my growth as a person and artist.  Without them, I would not be thinking the way I do now.  Also, CCAD provided the opportunity to go to the New York Studio Residency Program when I was a junior.  I was in NYC for a semester, and it changed my life dramatically.  I think I actually learned how to make art and how to think there.
Fave CCAD hangout: AMF studios
Fave artist/designer/photographer(s): Mika Rottenberg, David Lynch, Vincent Fecteau
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: Cleaning and organizing my studio
Words to live by: If you want something done, do it yourself.
Best advice you’ve gotten: Don’t be afraid.
Best advice you’ve given: Make work that makes you uncomfortable
Cause/nonprofit close to your heart: Materials for the Arts in Queens, NYC.  Nonprofit group that has a warehouse where people and companies can donate anything and everything.  Artists, teachers, or anyone in art organization can get any of the materials, all for free.  The only catch is you have to write a thank you card.  It promotes recycling and saves money.
Pet(s)? Jasper and Wayne—both cats
Website/podcast to learn something: ContemporaryArtDaily.com, DailyServing.com, iTunes U lectures, Art21, documentaries on Netflix of favorite directors
Grateful for: Very grateful to my parents, for their support both financially and mentally now and through school.  I’m very lucky that my parents support my decision in pursing art.

Alex Trimpe

Go-to food: Chicken Tikka Masala
Productivity/creativity jumpstart: Going outside
Hobby: Reading
Words to live by: Conan O’Brien said, “If you work really hard and you are kind, amazing things will happen.”
Fave game: Video-Team Fortress 2. Board game-anything!
Ideal breakfast: Sausage.
Everyday breakfast: Scrambled eggs in a mug in the microwave.
Pet(s)? Ollie the fat cat
Website/podcast to learn something: Reddit, for everything
Grateful for: Just being alive is pretty nice, wouldn’t you say?

Inka Essenhigh’s painting “Moon and Tide”

Fine Arts alumna Inka Essenhigh (CCAD 1991) had two paintings reproduced in Artist Daily, an online forum for the art community.

Essenhigh’s paintings Moon and Tide and Minor Sea Gods of Maine accompanied a March 12 blog post that discussed the need for artists to be brave and fight to show their work to people and galleries. The article was written by the editor of Artist Daily, Courtney Jordan.

Essenhigh lives and works in New York City. She is from Columbus and attended Upper Arlington High School.

Boryana Rusenova Ina’s “Standardized Living”

Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Boryana Rusenova Ina (CCAD 2006) will be featured in a spring volume of Studio Visit, which is a publication that introduces artists and their work to a national audience of art world professionals.

Studio Visit features approximately 150 artists per issue and each artist is selected by a professional curator. Ina will receive a full-color page that includes an image, contact information, and a brief artist’s statement. She was selected by Dina Deitsch, curator of contemporary art at DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Boston.

The magazine is distributed to about 2,000 curators and galleries throughout the country, as well as a growing base of collectors and enthusiasts.

Ina is a native of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and attended Lathrop R-li High School.

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.

Image from Danielle Julian Norton’s work on “Suite42Projects: Heart Abortion Series”

Fine Arts alumna and Assistant Professor Danielle Julian Norton had work featured in Art13 London, a fair in West London dedicated to international contemporary art.

The fair showcased 129 galleries from 30 countries during the weekend event taking place Feb. 28–March 3.

Norton is represented by CYNTHIA-REEVES, a New York-based gallery. The gallery brought work to the fair from Suite42Projects: Heart Abortion Series, a collaboration between Norton and artist Tarrah Krajnak, as well as work from 10 other artists represented by the gallery.

The collaboration between Norton and Krajnak produced performance-based works that explored invented characters mined from the history of performance art and popular films.

Norton is a native of Columbus, OH, and attended Bishop Ready High School.

“Forth Wall, Starring Barbara Bloemink” by Danielle Julian Norton

CCAD faculty and alumni will exhibit their work at Wehrle Gallery at Ohio Dominican University, March 17–April 12.

This is: on the subject of art was curated by Fine Arts alumna and Assistant Professor Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992) and features work from 11 CCAD-affiliated artists including Assistant Professor Shannon Benine; visiting faculty Matthew Flegle; adjunct faculty Nicole Gibbs; Director of Exhibitions Michael Goodson; Fine Arts alumna and Assistant Professor Danielle Julian Norton (CCAD 1999); Assistant Professor Kelly Malec-Kosak; adjunct faculty Andrea Myers; Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Susan Li O’Connor (CCAD 1996); Fine Arts alumnus and Associate Professor Tim Rietenbach (CCAD 1977); Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Mariana Smith (CCAD 2002); and adjunct faculty Melissa Vogley-Woods.

“Janette Knowles, the gallery director, asked if I would be interested in curating a show, and I nervously said sure, but I instantly knew I wanted to put a show together focused on the subject of art,” Abijanac said. “My goal was to bring together a strong group of artists who have very strong ideas about their subject matter as well as their approach in visually communicating that information. Along with this, I wanted to have an art historian to align and connect this idea historically, which is done in the foreword for the show.”

The foreword was written by Assistant Professor Carla Cesare, who describes the relationship between the artists, their message and medium, and reality.

There is an opening reception March 17, 1–3 p.m.

Juliette Montague and Greg Stange’s “Scuba Diver”

Fine Arts alumna Juliette Montague (CCAD 1985) and her husband Greg Stange will exhibit work at Hayley Gallery in New Albany, OH.

The show All Mixed Up, which will run through the month of March, features work by Montague and her husband along with pieces that they collaborated on. The couple are the owners of StagMont Design, for which they use common household objects (think cans, kitchen utensils, scrap fabric, etc.) to create mixed-media sculptures—all with a humorous undertone.

The exhibition has an artists’ reception March 16, 5–9 p.m.

Read an article on the exhibition in This Week News, the New Albany, OH, community newspaper.

Montague is a native of Worthington, OH, and attended Grove City High School.

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.

“Lettuces and Lambquarters” by alumna Sarah Fairchild

A group exhibition at Lindsay Gallery, opening March 1, features artwork from CCAD alumni and staff.

Four Ways of Looking, curated by Columbus artist Linda Gall, features Gall’s work alongside CCAD Editorial Director Laura Bidwa and Fine Arts alumnae Sarah Fairchild (CCAD 1994) and Laura Sanders (CCAD 1988).

The exhibition considers the threads that bind the paintings of four seemingly disparate artists who explore environmental concerns through their work in highly individual ways.

The exhibition will run through March 31 with an opening reception March 1, 6–9 p.m.

Brickner is an art teacher and organic community garden coordinator at Saint Martin de Porres High School in Cleveland.

“E4S champions carry the special distinction of being nominated by their peers for the work they do as implementers as well as for the inspiration they provide for others,” said E4S Interim Executive Director Michael Dungan at the event recognizing the nominees. “We welcome this year’s group to our growing roster of individuals who are embedding sustainability principles in their organization’s operations, product design, company culture, and client services.”

Founded in 2000, E4S is a business network focused on sustainability and entrepreneurship. Brickner was among seven individuals nominated and recognized.

Dawson Kellogg working on a piece

Associate Professor Dawson Kellogg designed and created the 2013 Columbus Award for the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

This year marks the eighth that Kellogg has worked with the chamber on this project.

“I created a flat vase form with a rich, dense application of color,” Kellogg said. “The blending technique that I used always creates an abstract swirl of colors that might resemble something like raspberry ice cream.  It is almost impossible to make two look exactly alike and so I like that each one is unique.”

Dawson Kellogg’s award designed for

The award is given each year by the chair of the Columbus Chamber to an individual who has enjoyed business success and provided outstanding community leadership. This year the award went to John P. McConnell, the chair and chief executive officer of Worthington Industries and majority owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets National Hockey League team.

In additions to the Columbus Award, each spring Kellogg creates four to five retiree gifts for the chamber. He also makes gifts for United Way of Central Columbus and is commissioned to create 18-25 gifts for Franklin University’s Leadership Symposium. He also recently made 27 awards for the Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition, now in its 43rd year.

Ed Valentine’s “Untitled Portrait with Blue Drip and Painted Hat”

Associate professor and Fine Arts alumnus Ed Valentine (CCAD 1991) and adjunct faculty and Fine Arts alumnus Michael Stillion (CCAD 2002) have exhibitions at Linda Warren Projects through April 5 in Chicago.

Valentine’s exhibition Somebody’s Beauty will be up in Gallery Y, with Stillion’s exhibition B.Z.&C.: Bent, Zigzag and Crooked in Gallery X.

Both artists focus on portraiture—although their styles are drastically different.

Michael Stillion’s “Feather In a Cap”

Valentine’s portraits combine realistic painting with dripping lines, flat shapes, and patches that serve to spark the imagination and lead to a more complex manner of interpretation.

Stillion’s exhibition title references the historical Bellaire, Zanesville, and Cincinnati Railroad. In his portraits, Stillion embraces the meaning of items like scarves, gloves, socks, and jackets, which he uses to form his subjects.

The exhibition Griffith, Kunze, Polansky will feature paintings of Conneaut Lake Park, work portraying 2 Corinthians 5:4, and photographs that piece together relationships.

There will be a reception Friday, March 1, 6–9 p.m.

Mariana Smith’s “Untitled (After Tarkousky Stalker)”

Adjunct faculty and Fine Arts alumna Mariana Smith (CCAD 2002) has her piece Untitled (After Tarkousky Stalker) in the 34th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition, hosted by Bradley University, Peoria, IL, March 9–April 20.

The exhibition features work from 108 artists from across the globe. This year’s juror was Stephen Goddard, senior curator and curator of prints and drawings at the Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas.

Gallery spaces involved in the show include Heuser Art Center, Prairie Center of the Arts, the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, and the Peoria Art Guild.

Brent Payne’s “Pepper, Tuesday Morning, 8:33″

Adjunct faculty and Fine Arts alumnus Brent Payne (CCAD 2006) will have a drawing in the 47^th Annual National Drawing & Small Sculpture Show hosted by Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX, Feb. 22–May 3.

His drawing Pepper, Tuesday Morning, 8:33 will be in the juried exhibition that features work from contemporary artists across the country. The exhibition will include drawings and other works on paper, such as prints in traditional media or watercolors, along with sculptures of any media.

Payne is also showing his work in two other juried exhibitions in Oxford and Dayton, Ohio.

Ellen O’Connell Bazzoli’s “Spring 1104″

CCAD alumni and faculty will show their work in the Ohio Art League Curated Exhibition, presented by the Ohio Arts Council at the Riffe Gallery, Jan. 31–April 14.

The Ohio Art League Curated Exhibition contains work from 18 artists chosen by curator Dennis Harrington, director of the Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati, OH. The work in the exhibition features seasoned and emerging artists, and explores a dialogue of visual connections created by assembling a group of eclectic and inspired works in one place.

CCAD artists include associate alumna Ellen O’Connell Bazzoli (CCAD 1983), MFA alumni Alex Conrad and Nicole Crock (CCAD 2012), Assistant Professor Steven Elbert, associate alumnus Paul Emory (CCAD 1978), adjunct faculty and MFA alumna Virginia Kistler (CCAD 2012), and coordinator of printmaking Kathy McGhee.

There will be an opening reception Jan. 31, 5–7 p.m., and a tour with the curator Feb. 1, noon–1 p.m.

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.

Close-up shot of Tim Rietenbach’s work that will be in “FUNCTION.” Photograph by Luke Kramer.

Seven CCAD faculty members will come together and show their work at Columbus’ Cultural Arts Center in a group exhibition, FUNCTION, Jan. 9–Feb. 8, with an opening reception Friday, Jan. 11, 6–8 p.m.

“The exhibition looks at the idea of function,” said Michael Goodson, CCAD’s exhibitions director. “We have faculty that have a design background and faculty that have a fine arts background in this show, and they are coming together to look at functionality and dis-functionality for items designed to function and those based on the idea of function.”

Goodson helped organize the exhibition and will show his work along with Associate Professor and Industrial Design alumnus Davis Burghy (CCAD 1989), Foundation Studies and Fine Arts instructor Matthew Flegle, Dean of the School of Design Arts and Industrial Design chair Tom Gattis, Professor and Industrial Design alumnus Joel Gundlach (CCAD 1986), Assistant Professor and Fine Arts alumna Danielle Julian Norton (CCAD 1999), and Associate Professor and Fine Arts alumnus Tim Rietenbach (CCAD 1977).

Work will range from Burghy’s deconstructed stair banisters to Flegle’s illustrations of colliding objects. For more information and gallery hours, visit the Cultural Arts Center’s website.

Detail of Boryana Rusenova Ina’s “Privatization 1″

Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Boryana Rusenova Ina (CCAD 2006) will have work in two upcoming group exhibitions in Michigan.

The first, Interspecies at the Gallery Project in Ann Arbor, MI, focuses on the complex and changing relationships between humans and animals and is open Jan. 3–Feb. 11.

The second, M.A.P.: Movement and Position, showcases different types of physical and social geography. The show is at Whitdel Art Center in Detroit, MI, Jan. 18–Feb. 9 and will feature work by regional and international artists working in a variety of mediums.

Ina’s current work explores the notions of home from cultural, geographic, and emotional standpoints.

The award was presented at the 60^th Columbus International Film + Video Festival in November. At the festival, they also showed Ina’s film Pastime, a story about two brothers facing the challenges of growing up in a post-oil society.

The fellowship, established in 1986, is designed to recognize outstanding local artists and awarded Ina $5,000. There were more than 40 entries for the fellowship. Jurors included Janine Cirincione, director of Sean Kelly Gallery, New York; David Hartz, associate professor of electronic media communications, University of Cincinnati and Blue Ash College; and Karen Kunc, Cather professor of art, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Alumna Megan Mathie working glass aboard the Solstice cruise ship

Fine Arts alumna Megan Mathie (CCAD 2006) spent her summer traveling the globe upon the Celebrity Cruise ship Solstice as a glassblower—cool gig right? We wrote part of her story in the fall IMAGE magazine, but there was just so much more to share that we decided to take a more in-depth look here.

The Solstice cruise ship has 1,250 crew members coming from 70 countries. The sheer number of employees may seem daunting to some, but aboard this ship Mathie was able to find a new family and the support she needed at a critical time.

Her decision to work aboard the ship as a member of the hot glass show team was a difficult one. She had worked on a cruise ship before, but this time she would be leaving her mother and sister who were both battling breast cancer.

One of the pieces Mathie created for the Pink Glass Show

“I don’t know a better way to say this, but cancer has made me feel my feelings really hard,” Mathie said. “I can go from feeling deep worry to intense artistic stimulation to loneliness to pure peace and joy. I am so fortunate to have managed to find myself surrounded by kindness and love where I never expected it. Being able to take this job, this opportunity, has turned into so much more of a gift than I thought it would be, and a big part of that is the people I’ve gotten to know.”

Although it was difficult for Mathie to leave her family behind, the Celebrity Cruise line provided her a productive way to help with the cause and funnel her artistic energy. The line has a partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Each voyage holds special events to help raise awareness and support for the cause, including special cocktail offers, auctions, and dances. Mathie and the other members of the hot glass show put on a “Pink Show” once per cruise.

For this special show, the glassblowers make all their glass creations pink. They then auction the pieces, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Foundation Research Foundation.

Mathie was also recently granted a special recognition of her work aboard the ship and her passion for the breast cancer cause. She was named the godmother of a ship—one of the highest honors in maritime tradition.

Mathie and three other women affected by breast cancer were honored in a ceremony on Dec. 1 during which they christened a ship, Celebrity Reflection.

“These impressive women personify the qualities we admire among our Solstice Class Godmothers: remarkable strength and courage, along with optimism, warmth and genuine care for others,” said Michael Bayley, Celebrity’s president and CEO. “They beautifully represent countless other women within our company and around the world who have battled the disease or support the cause in honor of friends or family who have done so.”

To read Mathie’s blog, click here.

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.

Mariana Smith’s work will be shown at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, MA

Adjunct faculty and Fine Arts alumna Mariana Smith (CCAD 2002) has a busy exhibition schedule over the next couple of months.

Her work will be shown in the juried show META through Jan. 5 at Gallery 263 in Cambridge, MA.

Smith was also invited to exhibit her work in Modern Impulses and Surreal Dreams at the Dishman Art Museum at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX, Dec. 17–Feb. 23.

And lastly, she has several works in the 2013 Collectors Choice Show at Sylvia White Gallery in Ventura, CA, Jan. 4–Feb. 11.

Ring designed by alumna Anne Holman

Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Anne Holman (CCAD 2002) has a busy winter schedule full of exhibitions and art sales.

Holman’s jewelry is included in the Columbus Museum of Art’s Trade-O-Mat exhibition through Jan. 6.

The exhibition features a constantly changing showcase of local artists’ work. Museum visitors can fill out a card listing what they would trade for an item in the show (think other artwork, recipes, lawn mowing services, etc.). When the artist’s work is switched out of the show, the artist collects the requests and gets in touch with a selected trader.

Holman will also be participating in the Buyers Market of American Craft, Feb. 16–18 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. This is a wholesale show exclusively for merchandise made in America. It is designed to help artists expand and establish their studio businesses, build their brands, and grow as entrepreneurs.

Holman recently participated in the 12th annual One of a Kind Show and Sale Chicago®, Dec. 6–9 at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. This was her third time participating in the Chicago event that showcases the work of more than 600 U.S. artists.

Image from Char Norman and Doug Norman’s exhibition “Close Observation”

Dean of Faculty Char Norman and Professor Doug Norman had a joint exhibition, Close Observations, at the University of Mississippi, Oct. 1–Nov. 1.

The husband-and-wife team also gave a visiting artist talk prior to the exhibition opening.

“Char and I both bring a great deal of close observation to the development of our work and a high level of craft to the process of making,” Doug said.

Char’s work follows the natural life cycle, focusing on life and death. She has lectured and exhibited both nationally and internationally.

Doug has been a visiting instructor at SACI in Florence, Italy and Xi’an Academy of Fine Art in Xi’an, China. His work has been shown in invitational and juried exhibitions nationally.

Alumna Lea Gray’s painting

Fine Arts alumna Lea Gray (CCAD 2004) was featured in Alive!, a weekly magazine that covers events and culture in Columbus, OH.

Gray’s work includes paintings, purses, origami lamps, T-shirts, and murals. The article discussed her artistic diversity and her decision to become a full-time fine artist.

“It took a while to acquire the idea that I might make it as a full-time artist,” Gray said in the article. “But once I took a step forward in the direction of my talent, I realized that it is all a matter of the belief in yourself and perseverance to obtain a dream, regardless of the challenges and difficulties lying ahead.”

To read the full article, click here.

CCAD student Alexa Carson’s winning design for the card contest with Columbus Partnership

Columbus College of Art & Design teamed up with the Columbus Partnership  to create a new tradition—a holiday card design contest.

The Columbus Partnership is a nonprofit, membership-based organization of 49 CEOs from Columbus’ leading businesses and institutions. Its primary mission is to improve the economic vitality of the Columbus region.

“When thinking about this year’s holiday card we paused a moment to think about how we could best illustrate the flavor of Columbus and all the great things our community has accomplished,” said Stephen Lyons, vice president of member services & community engagement at the Columbus Partnership. “Partnering with CCAD was a great opportunity to support an incredible educational asset in our community and work with the creative student innovators of Columbus who help drive our economic growth.”

Lyons along with Kevin Conlon, CCAD’s vice president for Academic Affairs  served as the jurors and deliberated over the 38 entries from CCAD students and alumni and selected Illustration senior Alexa Carson’s design as the cover for the Partnership’s 2012 card..

“I have lived in Columbus for my entire life,” Carson said. “One of my favorite things about the city is how it is a vibrant community made up of many different kinds of people working together. This concept is what I chose to illustrate.”

Carson’s design shows three snowmen underneath arches located in the Short North, Columbus’ arts district. The three snowmen represent Columbus’ vibrant community of artists and designers, students and educators, and businessmen and women of small and large corporations.

Carson was ecstatic to win the design contest (even doing a happy dance when she found out). Carson will receive a $1000 cash prize and the card, that has the artist’s name and information printed on it, will be distributed to more than 3,000 clients and friends of the Columbus Partnership.

“As a senior getting ready to venture out into the professional world, it is huge to have my name printed on the card sent out,” Carson said. “If there is one thing I have learned from my professors this semester, it is that getting your name out there is half the battle of being a successful artist.”

Second place went to Advertising & Graphic Design alumna Jessica Lipps (CCAD 2012), third place to Fine Arts alumnus Michael Aldag (CCAD 2009), and honorable mention to Illustration senior Katie Langford.

Promotional image for Nigel Ewan’s collection for One

CCAD’s Honors Program has always been inventive in their projects (think DNA necklaces), and this semester is no different. This semester’s honors retail class chose to create a pop-up store on campus called One. The store will be open in Beaton Gallery Dec. 9, 1–9 p.m. and Dec. 10, 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m.

“One is a curated shopping experience for the creative community in Columbus,” said Lillie Templeton, a senior in Advertising & Graphic Design. “We are handpicking the product, designing the space, and building the displays. To give it an extra twist, we’re working with 14 of CCAD’s finest designers across multiple disciplines and classes. These designers are making one-of-a-kind collections specifically for the store.”

Templeton worked alongside six other students in the class with Adjunct Faculty Marcia Tabler leading the project. Students handled everything from the marketing strategy to the promotional photography and video, to the store design. Students in the retail class include Advertising & Graphic Design sophomore Qisha Kendy,  junior Haley Fischer, and seniors Lillie Templeton and Katie Westbrook; Fashion Design senior Krista Sison; Illustration junior Katie Vasey; and Media Studies junior Amanda Hess.

Promotional image for Ryun Harrison’s collection for One

“It seems like a fun and creative way to try and sell some of my creations,” said Audrey Swart, Fashion Design junior and designer for One. “It is an interesting and beneficial way to get my name out there for people to see.”

Swart’s collection for One will include classic denim fashion that has been updated with studs, leather, and other innovative materials to create a more punk and edgy look.

Fashion Design junior Ryun Harrison is making unisex clothing inspired by various spiritual practices, goth and grunge styles, and the eccentricities that surround him.

Promotional image for Audrey Swart’s collection for One

“Doing a collection for One enables me to influence what my peers wear, become a part of various established styles, and get my name out there as a designer,” Harrison said. “This is a great project, and I am glad to be a part of it.”

Work in the store will range from bowties to screenprinted shirts. The student designers will keep 100% of their profits.

“I was really intrigued with the idea of creating a store with other designers with different styles,” said Bryston Walters, a Fashion Design junior. “I think it is going to be a really fun experience to be able to walk through a store and see just how differently people handle materials, and what their design aesthetic is.”

The store will sell designs from Advertising & Graphic Design junior Nigel Ewan and seniors Warren Kipperman and Alex Laniosz; Fashion Design juniors Rachel McElvogue, Ryun Harrison, Seth Stephens, Audrey Swart, and Bryston Walters and seniors Rachel Chertoff and Heather Hodge; Fine Arts sophomore De’Niro Brown and seniors Ariana Lindenfelser, Greg Ponchak, and Ben Quinn.

To read interviews and information on all 14 designers, click here. One will be open in Beaton Gallery Dec. 9, 1–9 p.m. and Dec. 10, 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m. The store will accept cash and credit/debit cards. Check out the video documenting the building and final result of One here.

Image from Robert Robbins’ exhibition at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center

Drawing and Printmaking Chair and Fine Arts alumnus Robert Robbins (CCAD 1990) has an exhibition at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center in Covington, KY, running through Dec. 21.

The exhibition, NINE, features nine artists in six of the center’s galleries. Robbins is in the Duveneck Gallery and has 21 paintings on display.

Robbins’ paintings explore the distance between perception of the world and the actuality of it by pointing out the degrees to which people are separated from direct experience.

His work has been shown in galleries and museums nationally and internationally including the Butler Institute of American Art, the Chateau in Rochefort-en-Terre, France, the Springfield Museum of Art, and the Florida State University Museum of Contemporary Art. His work is also in private and public collections including the Ohio State University, the Nord Family Foundation, and the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center showcases local and regional artists. It has six galleries with more than 6,000 square feet of exhibition space.

His drawing will be included in the juried exhibition Drawing From Perception VII, at Wright State University in Dayton, OH, running Jan. 13–Feb. 24. The exhibition features the work from 34 artists, highlighting contemporary examples of drawing using traditional media.

Payne will also show his work in the juried exhibition 2013 Department of Art Faculty & Alumni Exhibition at the Miami Art Museum in Oxford, OH, running Jan. 15–May 11, 2013.

Detail of Julie Abijanac’s “Disease Mapping”

Assistant professor and Fine Arts alumna Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992) had her piece Disease Mapping selected for the Fiberart International 2013 exhibition.

Jurors evaluated 1,200 works submitted by 525 artists from 36 countries for the show. Eighty-one pieces from 64 artists will be in the final exhibition presented by the Fiberarts Guild Of Pittsburgh, Inc. at the the Society for Contemporary Craft and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The exhibition will run April 19–Aug. 18, 2013.

Fiberart International includes innovative work rooted in traditional fiber materials, structure, processes, and history. The exhibition explores the unexpected relationships between fiber and other creative disciplines.

Abijanac creates two-dimensional paper pieces that visually describe her personal experience with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Her work questions mortality by approaching it from both a microscopic and psychological point of view.

Jerrica Fields at the Spring 2012 CCAD Art Sale

The CCAD Art Sale has become a staple in the Columbus community as a great place to buy local art. More than 100 vendors, consisting of CCAD alumni, faculty, staff, and students, will be set up on Saturday, Dec. 1 to display and sell their work in the Loann Crane Center for Design.

Fine Arts alumna Jerrica Fields (2011) will be participating in her fifth sale this winter. She’ll be selling handcrafted and crocheted jewelry designs in copper and sterling silver, along with her paper goods that include hand-bound notebooks, journals, planners, cards, and magnets.

“There are people at CCAD who are proud of me, and I want to show them how much I have grown because of their help and continued support,” Fields said about why she returns to CCAD to sell her work. “Every year I have repeat customers who tell me they can’t wait to see what new design I’ll come up with—that alone makes what I do worth it.”

CCAD’s doors open at 9 a.m. for first-choice admission, and general admission is 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The spring sale welcomed more than 1,400 customers and raised more than $5,000 through admission fees, which goes straight into the scholarship fund.

Michael Bonardi at the Spring 2012 CCAD Art Sale

“People who attend the sale, especially in the first-choice time period, know how important this sale is to us [the vendors],” Fields said. “We get to show them what we’ve learned and how we are incorporating it into our daily lives as artists and what their money is helping facilitate. People who come to an art college to buy art are here to see what CCAD artists are all about, including craftsmanship, sweat, ambition, pride, and good old-fashioned hard work.”

Fields spends weeks preparing for the sale. After taking inventory of her pieces and hand-crafting her business cards she does a mock-up of her display.

“I have grown so much as an artist, so I love to see the students at the sale and offer them some advice and encouragement,” Fields said.

One of those students is Illustration senior Wes Talbott. He will be selling his prints at what will be his third CCAD Art Sale.

“The Hunter” by Wes Talbott

“Having a table at the sale helps me understand how the general public reacts to my work,” Talbott said. “The response you get from the trained eye of a teacher can be a lot different than the response you get from a customer; both are very helpful to hear.”

Fine Arts alumnus and CCAD admissions counselor Michael Bonardi (2004) is a seasoned professional when it comes to the sale, with this December sale marking his 24^th: eight as a student and 16 as an alumnus.

Bonardi will be selling his blown glass, porcelain, digital photography, and other experimental photographic works.

“For the sale I try to keep a steady inventory of work,” Bonardi said. “Every year I try to add something new into what I present, whether it is a new body of work or different display structures.”

Bonardi’s home entryway doubles as a storage space and gallery for his current work.

“The customer that comes to the CCAD Art Sale knows that all the vendors have a common bond of being a part of the CCAD family,” Bonardi said. “And by coming to the sale they are not only supporting our work, but they are supporting future CCAD artists and students.”

The CCAD Winter Art Sale is Saturday, Dec. 1. Enter at 9 a.m. for first-choice admission ($50) and 10 a.m. for general admission ($5). Come celebrate art, the Columbus community, and above all our CCAD vendors. Click here for more information on the sale.

The anatomy lab at Columbus State Community College, photo courtesy of Kristine Schramer

By Robin Hepler

Tens of thousands of visitors to the COSI science museum this winter will view an exhibition of CCAD students’ interpretations of the human form. Students in the fall semester course The Human Body in Art and Science have had access to the cadaver labs at Columbus State Community College and to the fall Body Worlds & the Brain exhibition at COSI to study the body from numerous perspectives—all for their use in creating art at the level expected for an exhibition hosted by a regional tourist destination.

CCAD faculty members Julie Posey (Science) and Kristine Schramer (Fine Arts) developed the team-taught course and negotiated the community partnerships to bring this full array of opportunities to students. The project provides an expansive and very public new venue for students to exhibit their final coursework and serves as an example of CCAD’s evolution in project-based learning.

“The college is moving toward a more cross-disciplinary way to deliver on project-based learning to mimic what happens in the real world,” says Kevin Conlon, CCAD vice president for Academic Affairs. “We are intentionally seeking external academic partners to provide opportunities for students to engage in teaming and problem-solving challenges.”

The expanding scope of projects is bringing faculty members together to create whole new classes, such as Posey and Schramer’s human body course.

“The scale of these newer project-based learning opportunities is becoming much more ambitious,” Conlon says. “As a result, they often engender dedicated courses that aggregate talent from multiple levels and departments and in academic constructs that may go beyond the limits of current course models and academic terms.”

CCAD students doing a dissection in the CSCC lab, photo courtesy of Kristine Schramer

Constructing new learning opportunities

Posey says she and Schramer spent three months developing learning objectives and finding the right combination of curriculum elements from science and art for the new course.

“I focus on the world out there that isn’t art. This course is about the human body—every different aspect, from tattoos to aging to body systems to our DNA,” Posey says. “I try to engage students about issues that are fundamentally meaningful to them as humans, not necessarily as artists. That is where Kris comes in.

“Kris shows these kids that our worldly experiences, our knowledge of our own micro-world, can be truly inspirational as art,” Posey says. “She ties what I do with what artists do.”

In each lecture Schramer shows students work of contemporary artists who work with the human form as their muse. Students are not asked to memorize facts about science; instead, Schramer says, she wants to teach students how to make themselves subject experts when they need to for their creative work.

And she teaches the process of a project.

“My goal is for every student in this class to have the experience of taking on an ambitious project and completing it successfully. I meet so many creative people who are full of brilliant ideas, but lack both the nerve to begin and the practical skills to manage the execution of a complicated project,” Schramer says.

“Using the study of science and each student’s individual project as the educational vehicle, I guide them through the stages of brainstorming, refining, proposing, revising and proposing again, researching, planning, budgeting, scheduling, and presenting their work publicly.”

Schramer says these skills can be applied to any major endeavor undertaken in life, whether it be artistic, entrepreneurial, or personal.

Posey and Schramer partnered last fall to team-teach a biotechnology course that also tapped the resources of Columbus State anatomist Eric Kenz. That project helped launch 2012 graduate Jonathan Hodge’s career in medical illustration. This year’s public exhibition at COSI, sharing museum space with the acclaimed Body Worlds & the Brain exhibit, makes their second project-based course much larger in scope—creating more opportunity and expectations.

UPDATE 12/2/12: There will be a free, public reception to view the student work on Sunday, 6-8 p.m. Dec. 9, 2013, at COSI Columbus.

Community-based projects

Students working in the CCAD MindMarket, photo courtesy Danielle Ford (2013)

Businesses and organizations in central Ohio can now access the talent of CCAD faculty, staff, and students for projects through the CCAD MindMarket’s DesignLab. Depending on the need, the CCAD MindMarket can assemble cross-disciplinary teams to provide design solutions through three different project structures: charrettes lasting 54–72 hours; semester-long, in-class projects; and longer-term project partnerships.

A spring 2012 joint project that teamed up a Fashion Design class and an Advertising & Graphic Design class is an example of the kind of community project that likely will work through the new MindMarket in the future.

Twenty-two students from the two classes presented design solutions for Huntington Bank’s branded team jersey for the annual Pelotonia bike race to raise money for cancer research. In the end, the bank asked that two options be combined—utilizing functional design elements by senior Nina Rehner and graphics by senior Dahui (Danny) Li.

“That’s how real projects work in corporations,” says Suzanne Cotton, chair of Fashion Design at CCAD. “It was a terrific scenario for the two finalists to work together to combine their concepts.”

Matt Mohr, assistant professor of Visual Communications and Media Studies, led the graphic design students in the project.

“We’re always looking for ways to combine disciplines,” says Mohr. “Apparel graphics, especially the opportunity to create a concept that covered the entire garment, posed a unique challenge. Given that the designs were for a well-respected, high-profile event made for eager excitement among the students.”

Conlon says the new curriculum architecture being built at CCAD supports the practicum experience, whether faculty members are bringing new projects to the classroom or outside organizations are approaching CCAD through the new structure of the MindMarket.

“It’s all about providing the students choices among a variety of paths to the practicum and a gateway to the professional-level and portfolio-worthy experience,” Conlon says.

All project-based learning is incredibly valuable for the student—not just for the experience of merging research, theory, application, experience, and result, Conlon says, but also for the benefit it provides students in developing their portfolios.

“Professional development has always begun with the portfolio at CCAD. Our continuing commitment to the portfolio as the primary evidence of discipline readiness will now be enhanced with the engagement of more and varied types of project-based learning,” Conlon says. “The practicum experience, played out in at least 12 credit hours within the new curriculum architecture, is the college’s demonstrated commitment to this ideal.”

For Schramer the experience is paying additional, personal dividends: “In these classes, Julie and I are learning right along with the students,” she says.

To check out the online print version of IMAGE, click here.

Zipline during Family Weekend & Homecoming, photo courtesy of Katlin McNally

Six New Faculty Named

CCAD’s realignment into two schools—Design Arts and Studio Arts—has brought six new faculty to campus this fall. Their hiring reflects the college’s commitment to providing students the real-world skills to lead in the growing creative economy, says Char Norman, dean of faculty.

“We seek out professionals who have proven teaching experience combined with significant current work in the field,” Norman says.

We welcome:

Kelly DeVore (Interior Design and Advertising & Graphic Design), a LEED-accredited architect who has also done research in socially responsive design education.

Steve Elbert (Interior Design), a licensed architect with international teaching experience and significant 2-D and 3-D modeling software skills.

Phil Garrett (Cinematic Arts), who has worked as a special effects artist on films such as Madagascar and Shrek and as a writer, producer, and animator for a large variety of indie films as well as animated features for DisneyToon Studios.

Mathew Mitchem (English and Philosophy), a philosopher, author, and web designer who has worked with topics ranging from advertising ideology in the world of political campaigns, to the cultural implications of participatory video, to online videos during the political uprisings of 2011.

Adam Osgood (Illustration), a creator of web designs, animation, and motion graphics for major brands including Exxon and Barnes & Noble.

Rebecca Robinson (Fashion Design), who has created her own fashion designs as well as contributing to books on the history of men’s fashion, American football uniforms, and hip-hop gear.

2012 Family Weekend & Homecoming

Campus was packed with hundreds of students, parents, alumni, staff, and friends for Family Weekend & Homecoming on Oct. 12 and 13.

Things kicked off Friday evening with dinner and a comedy show on campus.

Saturday began with free breakfast and ended with an alumni reception. In between were a CCAD MindMarket open house, a carnival on the quad, a zipline down East Gay Street, a lecture from recently retired Dean Richard Aschenbrand, and much more.

The energy was contagious and all-ages: View photos on our Columbus College of Art & Design facebook page and our CCAD Alumni facebook page.

Comic book artist Chris Ware’s keynote conversation, photo couresy Danielle Ford (2013)

Mix 2012

In early October, more than 200 people came to campus for Mix 2012: CCAD’s Celebration of Comics.

A highlight of the event was the participation of Chris Ware, an Eisner-Award-winning American comic book artist who is perhaps best known for his graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. Ware delivered the keynote presentation, exhibited original artwork from Jimmy Corrigan, and participated in a symposium panel called The Epic Ordinary.

In all there were three exhibitions and two-and-a-half days of panels and workshops—all kicked off by a student comic-making marathon. Eleven teams were challenged with producing a 24-page comic in 24 hours. The results were then displayed for the rest of the symposium.

The plan is to make this symposium an annual event.

Mix 2012 was sponsored by State Auto Insurance Companies, with media sponsorship provided by WCBE 90.5.

Teaching Award Winner Connects Art to Literature

Associate Professor Ariana-Sophia Kartsonis with CCAD President Denny Griffith, photo courtesy Lian Dziura (2012)

Ariana-Sophia Kartsonis, a poet who has become a writing mentor to many of her CCAD students, was selected as the winner of CCAD’s 2012 Teaching Excellence Award. The award celebrates the exemplary contributions faculty members make to the college as a whole.

“She encourages critical thinking and nurtures an artist’s curiosities, helping us all to see the correlation between the art realm and the realm of literature,” said a student nominator, “and empowers her students to want to develop their skills and techniques as writers not just for class, but for themselves.”

Kartsonis, who is an associate professor in Liberal Arts and Graduate Studies, teaches fiction and poetry writing, contemporary literature, and special topics in literature. With dozens of published poems, as well as fiction and nonfiction works, she also has served as editor of a number of literary outlets, including wordsonwalls.net, scene360, and Shades Literary/Art Review.

Her most recent work is EmuSeum, a collaborative chapbook with Caleb Adler, MD, published by Dancing Girl Press.

Ten to Watch

Doesn’t everyone love a “where are they now” story? Well, we do, too—so we’re starting a feature called Ten to Watch.

Ten to Watch will follow a group of students from CCAD’s Class of 2012 as they take their first steps into the professional world after graduation. You’ll read about where they are, what they’re up to, and how they feel about their paths so far.

Annual feature stories will start in spring, but we couldn’t wait until then to introduce them:

Kattie Baker (Advertising & Graphic Design), Chavilah Bennett (Advertising & Graphic Design), Rachel Cass (Fashion Design), Sara K. Diesel (Illustration), Lian Dziura (Photography), Ryan Christopher Evans (Media Studies), Leah Fisher (Photography), Jake LaBombarbe (Industrial Design), Sarah McCance (Interior Design), and Erin McKenna (Fine Arts)

A few teasers to think about in the meantime:

1. Who’s working on a project in Abu Dhabi?
2. Who’s already moved to New York?
3. Who did a residency that comes with a show in Chicago?

Yu Qiduo (left) and Leah Wong (right) on Yu’s television show in Shanghai.

CCAD Discussed on Shanghai TV

Leah Wong, who has taught at CCAD and is assisting the college with a teaching exchange with the China Academy of Art, recently appeared on an education-focused show in Shanghai.

The show’s host, Yu Qiduo (Duoduo), brought CCAD into the conversation as they discussed Wong’s personal opinions on art and art education and talked about her teaching experiences in both China and the United States.

The half-hour program focuses on education programs and is aimed toward middle and high school students and their parents.

Glass Alumna Helps Cruise Line Fight Cancer

Fine Arts alumna Megan Mathie (CCAD 2006) has just returned from working on the Celebrity cruise ship Solstice as a glassblower for the Corning Museum of Glass.

Over a three-month tour of back-to-back 12-day cruises around the Mediterranean, the hot glass team stayed busy.

“On sea days we do two shows. On port days we usually do an evening show,” Mathie says. “I like the 12-day cruises because as people come back again and again, they ask smarter and smarter questions. Instead of having to explain ‘what is glass’ over and over, we can talk about some of the more sophisticated techniques and tell stories.”

Megan Mathie (CCAD 2006) doing a glass show at the Corning Museum of Glass

Although she loves the work, leaving home this summer was difficult for Mathie because both her sister and her mother are fighting breast cancer. She was thrilled to find out about a new project in Celebrity Cruises’ longstanding support of the breast cancer research.

The glass team refers to it as “the Pink Show.” During one show per cruise, they make everything pink, and one of the resulting pieces of glass is auctioned—with all of the profits going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Mathie also found strong support among her fellow crew members. Just one example: On her sister’s birthday, the Ringmasters, a world-champion barbershop quartet, sang happy birthday into the phone for her.

“I was so fortunate to have found myself surrounded by kindness and love where I never expected it and when I needed it the most. Being able to take this job, this opportunity, turned into so much more of a gift than I thought it would be, and a big part of that is because of the people I’ve gotten to know. I know they care about Jen and Mom, and I know they care about me,” Mathie says.

For more photos and lots of Mathie’s engaging writing, visit her blog.

To check out the online print version of IMAGE, click here.

Steven Bindernagel’s “The Inevitable Yield” (detail), 2010, acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 inches.

By Kendra Hovey

Someone—a stranger to you—sees your work on a gallery wall and wants to take it home, enough to lay down some significant cash. This is a seminal moment for most fine artists. When it first happened for abstract painter Steven Bindernagel (CCAD 2002), he was honored. “That I made something that someone else fell in love with was amazing and humbling,” he says.

The cash was nice, too, but “the money thing” truly sank in as more paintings sold and he realized he could quit his day job. “That’s when I thought, ‘Ok, this is really awesome,’” he recalls now.

The Cleveland native moved to New York in 2004. After earning his Master of Fine Arts in 2006 from the School of Visual Arts, he spent the next four years in the city working 40–50 hours a week as an art handler—plus 40 hours a week in his studio. As he explains, “It was important to me that I spend as much time in my studio as possible. It was also important to me that I eat.”

Bindernagel’s hard work paid off when the CRG Gallery offered to represent him in 2010. He will have his first solo show there this fall. Rebecca Ibel, curator and director of the Pizzuti Collection, calls CRG “an international force in contemporary art.”

It’s also where her boss, Ron Pizzuti, caught sight of his first Bindernagel and bought it that same day. The painting is now one of a number of Bindernagel’s works in the internationally significant Pizzuti Collection—alongside those of such established and respected artists as Shirin Neshat.

A typical day for the 33-year-old artist starts around 8 a.m. in his Greenpoint, Brooklyn apartment. After taking his dog, Baxter, for a quick walk, he heads to his studio in Queens, where he’ll sketch, paint, and draw until sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight.

But on an atypical day, Bindernagel might be back in a gallery packing or hanging art. About this he wants to be clear: While he is happy and incredibly fortunate, there’s no need to romanticize the artistic life. If a month is looking thin, he’ll pick up a freelance art handling gig. Art sales tend to slow in the summer months, and this past summer his costs shot up as he burned through supplies preparing for his solo debut.

But this “ebb and flow,” as he calls it, is a far cry from the cliché of the starving artist. That’s one myth he’s quick to blast. “Say, ‘I am going to move to New York to be a professional artist,’ and people think you’re crazy — they tell you you’re crazy,” says Bindernagel, “but get here and you’ll realize art is a billion-dollar industry with a huge net of available jobs.” From hourly work in galleries, museums, and shipping companies to assisting artists, correcting digital files, and photographing artwork, he says, “there are really a lot of options” to get set up and connected.

Bindernagel’s “Untitled,” 2010, acrylic on canvas, 28 x 22 inches.

This is typical of Bindernagel’s realistic, yet positive, take on making it as an artist. It’s not easy, he says, but it is doable. What’s his Number One insight?

Make art. It may sound obvious, but staying focused on this key priority takes more dedication than you might think.

Here are six more:

• Plug into the art world. Bindernagel was making ends meet in retail, but to get the life he wanted he felt he needed a job in the art industry—so he became an art handler. This put him in galleries meeting artists, collectors, and curators and gave him an up-close view of how the system works.

• This was all very helpful with: Get a social support network. “If you are going to make a run of it in New York City you need a net of people who are there for you—who support you, recommend you for group shows or studio visits, and push you.” If Bindernagel took a day or two off of painting, a studiomate would call and say, “Hey, where you at? Get in the studio. You’ve got to put in some hours. And bring beer.”

• Support, of course, is both get and give, which brings us to: Go to your friends’ openings. “Sure, you’re tired, but go anyway,” he says. “You’ve got to support your friends.”

• Get a studio. Bindernagel pays more for his 400 square feet of studio space than for his apartment. “It’s really the most important place to me in the world,” he says, and it’s always been a top priority. It reminds him every day that art is a serious business. Plus, he makes a mess. “I need a certain amount of freedom when I paint,” he says. Also, it’s more professional: “People generally don’t want to come to an apartment for a studio visit.” It’s been great, too, for expanding his social circle and for networking. “It’s a given,” he says, that he and his studiomates will introduce each other to any visiting artists, curators, or collectors. “This sharing and community building has been invaluable to us all, leading to shows, sales, and contacts.”

• Keep your head up. For the first three years in New York, no one showed much interest in Bindernagel’s art. The reality, he says: “Tons of people are not going to be impressed by your work—be persistent and dedicated and resilient.”

• Finally, especially for those still in school: It’s never too early to think about a game plan. Work on writing skills—it’ll help when applying for residencies and grants. Find out exactly what a gallery registrar does, how to store and best maintain your artwork, and how to approach a gallery.

“So many people blindly send a stock note and an elaborate portfolio, but galleries don’t look at those books,” he explains. The key is to be recommended or to build a relationship. “Go to the gallery’s every single opening,” he suggests. “After a few months introduce yourself, tell them you like what they do, offer your card, follow up — it’s kind of like dating.”

Bindernagel found his path during a New York residency through CCAD. “The program was awesome,” he says, “but if you can’t do it, sublet. Spend the summer here. Test it out. See if it’s for you.”

Lastly, he urges, talk to people: “I’ve told you my story; there’s always another artist who’s done it differently. There are many ways to make a living, make art, and be happy.”

Update, 11/15/12: Bindernagel reports that he is “safe and sound” after hurricane Sandy, and his neighborhood escaped the worst. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of his studio building in Queens. His sixth-floor space is fine, but at street level the water was knee-deep, and the building is still without heat. Also flooded: the CRG Gallery in Chelsea where his show was to open on Nov. 15 (tentative new date: Jan. 17). Though he feels “very lucky” that his newest work was safe in his studio, some paintings at CRG were lost. “Yes, it’s disappointing,” he says, “but so many people lost so much more.” One bright spot: he has a second show to look forward to—at the Beta Pictoris gallery in Birmingham, Alabama, this summer.

“Rain Reflection” by Joseph Lombardo

Fine Arts alumnus and adjunct faculty Joseph Lombardo (CCAD 2006) has a solo exhibition, Twenty Twelve, at Art Access Gallery in Bexley, OH, Nov. 27–Jan. 9, with an artist’s reception Nov. 30, 5–8 p.m.

The exhibition focuses on patterns and repetition found in landscapes, primarily focusing on Columbus.

Lombardo also won an honorable mention in the 2012 Ohio Plein Air Society Plein Air Competition in September. The Ohio Plein Air Society is a nonprofit organization of artists and patrons who share a passion for art and nature. They organize various opportunities throughout the year for members to paint outdoors.

Rutkowski’s volcano wall featured in the background, photo courtesy of Columbus Alive!

CCAD has a new downtown neighbor, in the Grass Skirt Tiki Room, and Fine Arts alumnus Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski (CCAD 2002) brought about one of its more dynamic interior features.

Rutkowski was approached by Harold LaRue, one of the owners of the Grass Skirt, after he saw an installation Rutkowski did for the Columbus Arts Pop-Up Project. LaRue wanted Rutkowski to design a lava wall for the tiki-bar-themed restaurant.

“I was a little hesitant at first,” Rutkowski said. “I had been swamped at my day job where I make props for haunted houses and theme parks, but in the end I just couldn’t refuse the opportunity to work on such a cool project so close to my alma mater.”

Rutkowski’s design for the wall includes raised foam forms to imitate volcanic rock. He used black light paint on the recessed portion of the wall to give the illusion of liquid magma and illuminated the entire piece with LED black light features.

The installation of the wall took Rutkowski about 30 hours spread out over several weeks—even with occasional help from volunteers.

“It was awesome to see the restaurant all finished and up and running,” Rutkowski said. “And it was great to see my contribution fitting in so well. There are so many cool visual contributions from artists and craftspeople throughout the restaurant, and many people have come up to me to compliment my work.”

The Grass Skirt, which opened in mid-September, is owned by Columbus Food League Partners, a group that owns several popular restaurants in the Columbus area.

Hastings is a filmmaker and visual artist; he is a new media assistant professor at SUNY Fredonia. His work has screened across the U.S. and Canada, including the Black Maria Film Festival, the Winnipeg International Film Festival, the Athens International Film and Video Festival, and the Humboldt International Short Film Festival.

The New York Foundation for the Arts was launched in 1985 and has provided over $27 million in grants to more than 4,400 artists.

“Corn Crib” by alumna CV Mansoor

Fine Arts alumna CV Mansoor (CCAD 1977) is exhibiting work at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. The exhibition, Green Acres: Artists Farming Vacant Lots, Greenhouses and Fields runs though Jan. 20.

Mansoor submitted work through Homeadow Song, a center that actively promotes experiential learning through integration of practical work, artistic experience, and celebration of community.

The exhibition presents farming as art through a wide variety of approaches. The work was contributed from 23 artists and/or organizations.

Aminah Robinson, photo courtesy of Lian Dziura (CCAD 2012)

Alumna Aminah Robinson (CCAD 1960) was inducted recently into the city of Columbus’ Hall of Fame by Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

Robinson combines traditional art materials with found objects and everyday materials such as buttons, cloth, leather, twigs, shells, and music box workings to create two-and three-dimensional works of art.

She has exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States and has received numerous awards and grants from arts organizations. In 2002, the Columbus Museum of Art organized a retrospective exhibition of her work that traveled throughout the country. In 2004, Robinson was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as genius grants.

Her work can be found in many private collections and in museums including the Columbus Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Newark Museum.

Robinson is now one of 50 Columbus Hall of Fame inductees, to view the full list, click here.

An opening reception for Griffith’s exhibition is set for Oct. 26

CCAD President Denny Griffith has a solo exhibition, The Power of the Mark: 2011-2012, at Hammond Harkins Galleries, Oct. 26–Nov. 25 in Bexley, OH.

The exhibition combines encaustic paintings, works on paper, and photographs. Griffith has also installed a snow fence across the street from the gallery.

Griffith’s work has been shown in more than 90 group and solo exhibitions domestically and abroad, and he is represented by Hammond Harkins Gallery. His work is also in the collections of public institutions including, The Butler Institute of American Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and the China Academy of Art.

Click here to watch an invitation from Griffith.

The quarterly supply grants give artists in the community the opportunity to enhance their skills and create work that helps drive the vibrancy of the arts in Columbus and Franklin County. Applications are accepted monthly and are funded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Alumna Lisa Horkin (1985), alumna and adjunct instructor Susan Li  O’Connor (1996), alumna and adjunct faculty Anne Holman (2002), alumna Jennifer Deafenbough (2004), alumnus and adjunct faculty Joseph Lombardo (2006), alumnus and adjunct faculty Chris Harman (2012), and alumnus Jack Ramunni (2012) all received funding.

Two CCAD artists were also selected for GCAC’s Dresden Residency Program; read more here.

Screenshot from Corey Aumiller’s video “Time Tunnel”

The Columbus Arts Pop-Up Project (CAP-UP) announced the winners of their Juror’s Choice Awards, and two CCAD alumni made the list.

Media Studies alumnus Corey Aumiller (CCAD 2006) took second place for his project Time Tunnel and Fine Arts alumnus Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski (CCAD 2002) tied for third with his installation Wolf’s Ridge.

Aumiller worked with hisfriend Dan Gerdeman on the installation and video that featured puppets of the eight U.S. presidents who were Ohio natives. The video features the presidents walking around Columbus, exploring locations including the CCAD campus and visiting with CCAD President Denny Griffith. The installation is located at 65 E. State St. inside the Capitol Square Shoppes.

Photo of Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski’s “Wolf’s Ridge,” photo courtesy of Columbus Underground

Rutkowski’s installation, located at 20 E. Broad St., is a diorama similar to those seen in a natural history museum. The display recalls the Talking Tree, which was a popular feature of the Lazarus Christmas display for decades. Lazarus was a well-known department store in downtown Columbus.

CAP-UP is a series of 10 window installations in downtown Columbus in celebration of the city’s bicentennial.

Other CCAD artists who were involved in the project include Fine Arts alumnus Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002) and adjunct faculty Andrea Myers.

Read the full press release here.

The exhibition includes the work of 17 artists, all exploring the meaning of heritage, lineage, and identity.

The mission of the Life Force Arts Foundation is to advance the field of spiritual art through exhibits, events, and publications that explore the connection between art and spirituality.

Joan Hall’s “Dying Ocean” (detail)

Fine Arts alumna Joan Hall (CCAD 1974) has a solo exhibition, Marginal Waters, at Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO, on view through Oct. 13.

Hall has been fascinated with the ocean for years and has traveled more than 25,000 miles as a skilled navigator and sailboat racer.

Through her use of Mylar and handmade paper, viewers will recognize marine debris and plastic pollution that infiltrate our oceans. Having previously explored the ocean and its relationship to the body, Hall’s work has expanded into consideration of the ocean’s relationship to the body of global society, of which we are all members.

This is Hall’s second solo exhibition with the Bruno David Gallery, which was founded in 2005 and specializes in contemporary art.

Artists create murals at the sixth annual Urban Scrawl in Franklinton, photo courtesy of Kyle Robertson

Urban Scrawl, an annual festival in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus, was chalk full of CCAD talent this year.

Participating artists were chosen after they submitted proposals to the Franklinton Arts District. During the festival each artist was given a 4 by 8 foot vertical panel to paint. Following the festival, panels were either sold in a silent auction or displayed as public art in Franklinton.

Participating alumni included Lea Gray (Fine Arts 2004), Kirsten Bowen (Illustration 1989), Adam Crum (Fine Arts 2006), Joel Atkinson (Illustration 2009), Clint Davidson (Fine Arts 2000), Julia McCann (Illustration 2011), Christopher Tennant (Fine Arts 2006), Daric Gill (Fine Arts 2004), and Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski (Fine Arts 2002). Students who participated include Illustration sophomore Jacob Tanner (CCAD 2014) and freshman Franklin Cain-Borgers (CCAD 2016).

The Franklinton Urban Scrawl is an annual two-day festival (which took place Aug. 25–26). In addition to the on-site art creations, the festival had bands performing, a skateboard competition, pedicab rides, and break-dancing performances.

Smith’s work brings together printmaking, drawing, and video installation in order to initiate dialogue about identity, locality, time, and memory. O’Connor’s work deals with the accumulation of everyday objects and the transformation of them into sculptural forms and installations.

GCAC, in conjunction with the Saxon State Ministry for Higher Education, Research, and the Fine Arts, has provided Columbus artists the opportunity to experience a residency in Dresden, Germany since 1994. O’Connor and Smith will travel to Dresden sometime between between March 1 and November 30 for a period of eight to 12 weeks, allowing them to concentrate on research and production of their art.

Read GCAC’s press release here.

Work by Kyle Boganwright

Fine Arts senior Kyle Boganwright’s solo exhibition Karnak’s Brood will be shown at Gallery 831 in Columbus, OH, Oct. 5–24.

The exhibition is a collection of colorful illustrations that embody messages about history, politics, social needs, causes, and the human condition. Boganwright uses a combination of media to bring texture into his work.

This is the first time the husband-and-wife duo has shown work together. The exhibit features oil paintings and drawings by Stillion and embroidered animal portraits by Labmeier.

“It will be interesting to see how our pieces work next to one another as we share many of the same experiences, yet our interpretations of similar subjects are very different,” Stillion said prior to the exhibition opening. “The overall theme of the show is portraiture, and we hope that the college community can see that there is more than one way to approach a portrait—in both subject matter and material.”

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.

The Department of Art Visiting Artists & Lectures exhibition is a collection of work from more than 30 Columbus-based artists that will be visiting the department throughout the year.

Swing Space Gallery is located at South Campus Gateway, 1556 N. High St., Columbus, OH.

“Let Them be Helpless” by Mariana Smith

Adjunct faculty and Fine Arts alumna Mariana Smith (CCAD 2002) has an exhibition at Hammond Harkins Galleries in Columbus, OH.

Her exhibition, If only you’d let me finish my song—Would you let me finish my song?, is inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s films Stalker and The Sacrifice. She explores the metaphors of landscape through miniature paintings, large works on paper, and video projections.

The exhibition runs Sept. 14–Oct. 14 with a reception Sept. 14, 5–8 p.m., and an artist’s talk Sept. 19, 7 p.m.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with the 36th Annual Wisconsin Women’s Studies Conference and the 7th Annual UW System LGBTQ Conference.

O’Connor has two exhibitions planned for 2013 in Columbus, OH: the group exhibition The Poetics of Pattern at the Riffe Gallery, July 25–Oct. 20, and a group exhibition at the Cultural Arts Center, Nov. 16-Dec. 28.

The 2012 Contemporary Realism Biennial is a national invitational and juried exhibition which highlights the strength and innovation of America’s current trends in realism. It runs until Oct. 28, with a reception on Oct. 12, 6–9 p.m.

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.

Michael Bonardi’s “Newton’s Platter”

Fine Arts alumnus and CCAD admissions advisor Michael Bonardi (CCAD 2004), Fine Arts alumna William Shearrow (CCAD 1991), and Fine Arts alumnus and professor Kaname Takada (CCAD 1989) are featured in the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum’s Clay & Bead Works: Binding Together Two Cultures in Coshocton, Ohio.

The exhibition features Native American artifacts and works by contemporary artists and runs Aug. 17–Oct. 7, with an artist’s reception Aug. 24, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum opened in 1931 and is located at 300 N. Whitewoman St., Coshocton, OH, 43812.

Illustration alumna Marty Husted (CCAD 1979), Fine Arts alumna Heather Nibert (CCAD 2012), and Advertising & Graphic Design alumnus Mark Thomas (CCAD 1990) are each participating in the project 10x10x10: 10 Murals, 10 Galleries, 10 Openings.

The alumni will each have one of their works photographed and transferred to vinyl, which will then be displayed on the sides of buildings in the Short North, the arts district in Columbus. These mini murals will be up for a year.

Husted’s Shadows Extending will be outside the Studios on High Gallery at 1081 N. High St., Nibert’s Fields of Columbus will be outside Terra Gallery at 608 N. High St., and Thomas’ Neighborhood Scene will be outside Lindsay Gallery at 459 N. High St.

Stay up to date on announcements about this project and other public art programs at the Short North Arts District website.

Olga Ziemska’s installation, photo by Elizabeth Bates

Fine Arts alumna Olga Ziemska (CCAD 2000) recently finished installing her sculpture at the Columbus State Community College (CSCC) main library. The piece was commissioned by CSCC and the Ohio Arts Council as part of the Percent for Art program.

The sculpture, Indra, consists of stainless steel circles and symbols. Ziemska surveyed more then 200 students to help her choose the symbols, many of which represent current areas of study at the school.

“The shadows that are cast and the way [the piece] reflects different things is constantly changing. That is the really exciting thing,” Ziemska said in a CSCC video.

Ziemska lives and works in downtown Cleveland, OH, in a studio by Lake Erie. She has received many prestigious grants and awards including a Fulbright Fellowship in 2002 and a Creative Workforce Fellowship in 2009. She has participated in several residencies, and her work has been shown nationally and internationally.

The installation of Ziemska’s piece was part of a multi-million-dollar project to remodel the library. The Percent for Art program provides funds for the acquisition, commissioning, and installation of works of art for new or renovated public buildings that receive state appropriations.

2011 AAE recipient Nathan Greno (right), accepting award from Denny Griffith (left)

Sixteen distinguished Columbus College of Art & Design alumni have been nominated for the 2012 Joseph V. Canzani Alumni Award for Excellence (AAE). Nominees range from a fashion knitting queen to a Pixar storyboard artist and an art therapy director to an internationally recognized fine artist.

The nominees are Bryan Ballinger ( CCAD 1990), Charlotte Belland (CCAD 1997), Samantha Bennett (CCAD 1995–1999), Sean Blanton (CCAD 2011), Roy Doty (CCAD 1942), Nicky Epstein (CCAD 1974), Michael Flechtner (CCAD 1981), Scott Hull (CCAD 1977), Matthew Kaser (CCAD 1984), Jon Hair (CCAD 1976–1978), Catherine Hyland Moon (CCAD 1978), Paitoon Ratan (CCAD 1993), William D. Ray (CCAD 1992–1994), Benjamin Roseland (CCAD 2005), Dan Scanlon (CCAD 1998), and Charles Wilkin (CCAD 1992). Read the nominee bios here.

The AAE will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 13, during Family Weekend & Homecoming. This event is part of an entire weekend of events for the whole CCAD family, including alumni, students, parents, faculty, and staff.

Each year CCAD accepts nominations for AAE as a way to acknowledge not only the success and contributions of one very deserving graduate, but also the impact CCAD alumni have all over the world. Alumni are currently voting on the finalists, after which a committee will review the nominees and choose the recipient. To learn more about the nomination and voting process, click here.

“Privatization” by Boryana Rusenova Ina will be up for bid on Aug. 25

CCAD faculty, staff, and alumni are involved in Art for the Environment, a silent auction on Aug. 25 benefiting the Ohio Environmental Council.

All of the artwork that will be for sale expresses a connection to the environment. This encourages guests, who will mingle with the artists throughout the event, to think about the environmental issues that matter to them.

Participating CCAD artists include editorial director Laura Bidwa, Fine Arts alumnus Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002), Fine Arts alumna Sarah Fairchild (CCAD 1994), adjunct instructor Linda Gall, president Dennison W. Griffith, Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Anne Holman (CCAD 2002), Fine Arts alumna Lauren Mudd (CCAD 2004), Advertising & Graphic Design alumnus Chris Rankin (CCAD 1994), Fine Arts alumna and adjunct faculty Boryana Rusenova Ina (CCAD 2006), and Fine Arts alumna Laura Sanders (CCAD 1988).

Director of Continuing & Professional Studies and Fine Arts alumna Cat Sheriden (CCAD 2003) and associate professor and Fine Arts alumnus Tim Rietenbach (CCAD 1977) also participated, serving on the host committee.

“As a host committee member, my job is to help build community interest for this event,” Sheridan said. “So why did I say yes to help? Because I’m a big ol’ tree hugger! But seriously, one only has to think of this record-setting hot July to understand the dire need to act in sustainable ways and strive to contribute to a culture that is sustainable, not just ‘more sustainable.’”

“This event combines two things dear to my heart: the environment and art. It was an obvious choice to be involved in whatever way I could,” Sheridan said.

The auction will be held Aug. 25, 6–9 p.m. at the Lab, 855 Grandview Avenue, Columbus, OH. Tickets can be purchased here. Paintings to be auctioned can also be viewed here.

The exhibition, which runs until Aug. 17, shows the work of 37 artists that currently live in Upper Arlington, OH. Each artist also completed a sketchbook to accompany the exhibition, which will then be made part of the Upper Arlington Public Library’s permanent art collection.

The Concourse Gallery, programmed with the help of the Upper Arlington Cultural Arts Commission, is located at 3600 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, in the Municipal Services Center.

Kunze’s flyer for the Zenclay Gallery

Fine Arts alumna Kerry Kunze (CCAD 2011) is exhibiting her work at Zenclay Gallery in Morgantown, WV, Aug. 4–Sept. 28, 2012.

The solo exhibition, Veils, features her recent paintings and drawings. There will be a reception Aug. 4, 6:30–8 p.m.

Kunze will also be showing her work in a group exhibition at the Mount Vernon Nazarene University’s Schnormeier Gallery in Mount Vernon, OH, Feb. 25–April 4, 2013.

A resident and his dog walk by Davidson’s mural; photo courtesy of “This Week”

Fine Arts alumnus Clint Davidson (CCAD 2000) finished painting a mural that was unveiled July 14 in honor of Glen Echo Park’s 100th birthday in Columbus, Ohio.

The mural, which features birds native to the area, was funded by a grant from the Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant Program. The project also received donations through online fundraising.

“The neighborhood’s been very positive and supportive,” said Davidson in an online This Week article.  “Some people come by every day and take some kind of process shots. That makes me happy as an artist.”

The daylong celebration at Glen Echo Park was hosted by the Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum, Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, Friends of the Ravines, and ALTernative.

To read the full article on Davidson and the mural, click here.

"Portrait of a Cloistered Mao" by Gordon Lee

A painting by Professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies Gordon Lee won Best in Show during the 76th National Midyear Exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.

Lee’s Portrait of a Cloistered Mao was part of the annual juried exhibition, which is open to artists in the United States and runs until Aug. 19, 2012.

Lee received his BFA from Concordia University, Canada, and his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught drawing and printmaking at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and has received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Columbus Art Council.

Four of the 13 artists chosen through a jurying process have CCAD ties. They include Corey Aumiller (Media Studies 2006), Adam Brouillette (Fine Arts 2002), Nikos Fyodor Rutkowski (Fine Arts 2002), and adjunct faculty Andrea Myers.

Aumiller will partner with artist Dan Gerdeman on Time Tunnel, a video featuring the Center of Science and Industry’s (COSI) presidential figures. Brouillette will be deploying his signature little red men in a motivational piece about Columbus. Rutkowski’s Wolf’s Ridge will be a diorama similar to those seen in natural history museums, and Myers’ display will include a large sculpture symbolizing the forward momentum and energy of the Columbus community.

Each artist, or team of artists, receives $1,000 and a $250 materials fee. The artworks will be installed the week of September 17–22, 2012. kicked-off by a public unveiling.

A full list of artists and their window locations can be viewed here.

Andrea Myers is curated by Nixon Art Associates and runs June–August 2012 at the Olympia Centre, 737 North Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL.

The group show Lightning Strikes Twice runs June 21–July 31, 2012 at Circuit 12 Gallery in Dallas, TX.

In her work, Myers explores the space between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional by mixing painting, printmaking, and sculpture. She is represented by the McCormick Gallery in Chicago.

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 exhibition, Vato, titled after an Ayurvedic term meaning air and space, will explore Raymundo’s graphite and charcoal drawings.

“The concept is literally depicted in the works’ subject matter of cloudscapes, a night sky, the empty space of paper, and in my own personal journey in creating the series,” Raymundo says in her artist statement.

This will be the first time Raymundo will display the drawings together. They range from intricate, textural collages to commonplace objects, both small- and large-scale.

There will be a reception Saturday, June 23, 6–9 p.m.

Mike Hein: Lean-To will show recent sculptures that emphasize the textural detail of found and handmade objects encasing them with thick sheets of clear acrylic. Hein’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions in the U.S. and Canada; he currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Opening reception is May 31, 6–8 p.m.

Curated by David Horton, Aliens Among Us explores the feelings Nikova had after immigrating to the United States from Bulgaria at the age of 17. She combines images from her childhood and Bulgarian folklore in her paintings and sculptures.

The exhibition is open until May 26 at the Ohio Art League Gallery, 1552 N. High St., Columbus, OH. View the video preview here.

Nathaniel Galka’s upcoming exhibition

Fine Arts alumnus Nathaniel Galka (CCAD 1998) will have work in the exhibition The Birds and Bees, May 21–June 17 at Muse Gallery in Columbus, OH.

The exhibition will include 12 of Galka’s recent paintings along with those of fellow artist Mel Rea. Galka will also have a show at Kai Lin Art in Atlanta, GA, opening May 18 and an exhibition at Packer Schopf Gallery, Chicago, IL, in July of this year.

Galka is represented by Muse Gallery, Kai Lin Art, Packer Schopf Gallery, Gallery Minerva, and Plum Gallery.

Student looks at work

Each semester, the Honors Program at CCAD hosts a symposium where students and faculty present their semester’s work. This year it took place on May 7, starting with a reception for all CCAD faculty, staff, and students.

Work ranged from puppets to glass installations, and the projects came from two honors classes: Associate Professor Ariana-Sophia Kartsonis’ Ekphrasis: Art Begets Art and MFA student Elena Harvey Collins’ Art as Social Practice.

The following students showed their projects: Fine Arts seniors Jack Ramunni, Alejandro Bellizi, Krista Sison, Yezen Abusharkh, and Mary Nemeth; Media Studies senior Brian Liston; Fine Arts junior Eric Sherwood; Advertising & Graphic Design junior Danielle Williams; Photography junior Derrick Whitson; Industrial Design sophomore Kelly Lee; and Fine Arts sophomores Esteban Gonzalez, Nicole Santos, and Hannah Mason-Macklin.

Congratulations Graduates!

More than 200 Columbus College of Art & Design students graced the stage of the historic Ohio Theatre to receive their diplomas on Saturday, May 12, 2012. The 133^rd annual spring commencement, in downtown Columbus, included an address by commencement speaker Mark Kvamme of JobsOhio.

The ceremony awarded four honorary degrees including, Beverly Bethge founder and creative officer of Ologie, Richard Aschenbrand dean of Visual Communications, Carl Garant dean of Industrial and Interior Design, and Edward Lathy dean of Liberal Arts.

Robert P Restrepo Jr., vice chair of CCAD’s board of trustees; President Dennison W. Griffith; Kevin J. Conlon, vice president for academic affairs, and Ric Petry, director of graduate studies and professor; conferred 11 master of fine arts degrees. Restrepo, Griffith, Conlon, and Faculty Council President and Professor Tim Rietenbach conferred 228 bachelor of fine arts degrees.

The students returned the recognition giving a standing ovation to all faculty and staff that assisted them along their journey. President Dennison W. Griffith gave the students a farewell message that earned a spontaneous round of applause when he encouraged graduates to be nuanced, and spread love in the world.

Family and friends greet the class of 2012 after commencement.

The 2012 class valedictorian is Industrial Design major Joel Van Gilder and the college honored the following 10 students with the distinction of Outstanding Senior in their area of study.

Kattie Baker, Advertising & Graphic Design

Chavilah Bennett, Advertising & Graphic Design

Rachel Cass, Fashion Design

Sara Diesel, Illustration

Lian Dziura, Photography

Christopher Ryan Evans, Media Studies

Leah Fisher, Photography

Jake LaBombarbe, Industrial Design

Sarah McCance, Interior Design

Erin McKenna, Fine Arts

Check out photos from commencement and more on the CCAD Alumni facebook page.

A packed crowd.

7:30 p.m.

One of the many things I love about this event is the spectacular people watching it affords. The nature of our event—cocktails, runway show, dancing—is such that our guests are encouraged to have fun with their fashion choices.

There are no rules.

Jeans are fine. (I’ve seen people here make jeans look like high fashion.)

Wanna rock your club wear? Bring it.

Look sassy in a cocktail dress or feeling like full-length couture? Go for it.

Jewelry your thing? Make it shine.

As a spectator, I get to take it all in. The crowd, for me, is as much of a fashion show as what happens on the catwalk.

Don’t worry dear readers, there will be plenty of pictures. This year we set up a photo station thanks to our title sponsor Limitedbrands Foundation to ensure we capture our fashionista guests on their way in to the VIP cocktail reception, which is courtesy of Nationwide. (Let’s face it, the lighting that’s great for a cocktail party is not so great for fashion photos.)

Mayor Michael Coleman and Janelle Simmons.

Guests are starting to arrive and already I am wowed—this year will not disappoint. One shoulder dresses seem to be a favorite pick of some of the ladies. Lot’s of light shimmering fabrics, an ode to the coming summer I suspect. One dress has a harem pant affect at the bottom, it’s subtle and lovely. Sequins are shining and there are even a few gentleman sporting bow ties for the evening. Wait, is that a blue tuxedo jacket I see? That rocks.

The atmosphere here is oddly both charged and relaxed. People are clustered together in groups talking and laughing while sipping their drinks—it’s like they’ve taken a big collective breath after a long week and now they are ready to let loose and have fun.

Lots of local celebs and media are joining the crowd of VIPs. A few high-profile lawyers gather in one corner, perhaps recapping today’s courtroom antics, while competing newscasters trade a few stories and perhaps fashion tips in another. It’s an elite crowd but inviting just the same.

Ok, I have to pause here and pay homage to a stunning cobalt blue dress complimented by big chunkie gold bangles.

As a little preview to the show, there are garments from the designers on mannequins throughout the party space. The Diamond Cellar is also here and once again they are raffling off a piece of exquisite jewelry (the winner will be announced next week). Helping them out is Fine Arts junior Carson Weaver, who was the winner of this year’s Diamond Cellar design contest.

This group certainly appreciates well designed accessories, one woman has a fabulous multitude of black and white beads streaming around her neck.

While lots of ladies, both young and young-at-heart seemed to opt to pull out the pearls and they look stunning.

Wow. Time went fast. They are already urging guests into the tent for the runway show.

I guess I better pack up and get over there.

Click on an image to view a gallery and view them larger.

Weaver's final design for the ring

Junior Fine Arts major Carson Weaver was recently announced as the winner of the Diamond Cellar’s Jewelry Design Contest. Weaver will be given $1,000 to assist in creating the ring she designed and also the opportunity to offer her piece for sale at the Diamond Cellar’s 2012 Designer’s Gala in December.

This is the second year for the competition, which was created as a result of a longstanding relationship between CCAD and the Diamond Cellar.

Thirteen students from instructor Kelly Nye’s jewelry design course submitted ring designs to be judged by Diamond Cellar staff as well as internationally known jewelry designers Michael Bondanza, Steven Lagos, Charles Krypell and Christopher Slowinski.

Weaver discussing her ring with Hill

Before sending their designs off to the judges, students were able to consult with Christine Cooper Hill (CCAD 1987) during a class visit. Hill has been designing and handcrafting fine jewelry for more than 22 years and has had her own business, Christine Cooper Hill Jewelry/Cooper Hill Studio since 2007.

Hill looked over the student’s ring designs, offering advice on marketability, stone use, costs, and overall appeal.

Weaver’s ring will be fabricated using a wax casting process. The setting of the ring will be made of platinum, and the design includes Tahitian pearls and two single-cut round melee diamonds.

The Diamond Cellar will display Weaver’s final drawings at the 2012 CCAD Senior Fashion Show. They will also display work by the judges and Hill.

Diamond Cellar is one of several community clients that CCAD has recently provided significant creative services for, including Scott’s Miracle-Gro, Central Ohio Transit Authority, the Ohio Governor’s office, and Nationwide Insurance.

“The award recognizes the best painter of our 2012 graduating senior class,” Dean the School of Fine Arts Julie Taggert said. “This is the first year we have awarded this prize, and Taylor was chosen based on a faculty voting process.”

Chris Yates, associate professor of Fine Arts, worked with Hawkins during his senior thesis class and watched him as he made strides in both concept and execution.

“There is nothing more exciting for me as a teacher than to work with a student that is devoted to and passionate about their work—Taylor is such a student,” Yates said.

Hawkins will receive a cash prize, and his work will be displayed in SHOW: The 133^rd Annual Student Exhibition on campus. He was also a recent recipient of an AICUO Award for Excellence in Visual Art.

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.

Erin McKenna, 2012 Outstanding Senior

At the end of the academic year, CCAD deans present the Outstanding Seniors for their divisions.  Today, in part five of our 10-part Outstanding Senior series, meet Fine Arts major Erin McKenna.

Q) What was your proudest achievement while at CCAD?

A) It would probably be the student critique group I organized. We meet once a week to critique each other’s work. We have about 15 students come down, ranging from freshmen to seniors. It is neat that they all come together during their free time and do it to become better and learn more. My goal with the group was to help underclassman talk and learn about their work outside of a classroom setting and without faculty or instructors to help them become more at ease.

Q) What scared you the most while you were at CCAD?

A) My very first day of class. I remember I had Color Concepts, and I sat in the very back of the classroom and didn’t say a word. I didn’t know anyone and I was so nervous, which is the opposite from today. Now I sit in the front and talk to everyone around me. My time here has definitely brought me out of my shell and made me more social and confident.

Q) What are your plans after graduation?

A) Right now I work as a graphic designer for a local organization, so I know I will continue working there. I have applied to four residencies and plan on applying to three more. I would like to find a studio around Columbus so I can have the space to keep making art. Down the road I know I want to continue my studies and get an MFA.

Q) What is your ultimate dream job or goal?

A) I want to be able to teach college courses in Fine Arts. I would love to be able to teach fulltime and continually make and show my work.

Q)Why is it important as an alumna to continue to give back to CCAD?

A) CCAD is changing a lot, and a lot of people are starting to lean towards a design and business mindset, so I think it is important to continue to support the Fine Arts department here and make sure they keep kicking out the awesome work that they have been doing.

Q) Do you remember a single moment when you sat back and said, “This is why I am doing this?”

A) That moment definitely occurred during the New York Residency Program. When I studied there it was probably the hardest critiques I have been through. At one point I said I was done making art, but I got past it and realized all those struggles were worth it. I think the realization that this is what I want to be doing was cemented at that moment.

Q) What smell, object, place, or whatever will always remind you of your time here as a student?

A) The studios in AMF. I spent a lot of time up there studying, working, and hanging out with friends.

Q) What will you miss the most?

A) I will miss my friends that I made here. I had a very strong support group. I’ll also miss the resources available and being able to walk into the library and wood shop whenever I needed the resources and space.

Q) If you can describe what graduating feels like in one word what would it be?

A) Terrifying. It is terrifying to think I am done with school, for a while at least. When I graduate I won’t need to go to school anymore and that’s terrifying. I love everything about school and CCAD—the facilities, teachers, just everyone.

Q) What was your favorite class at CCAD?

A) My sculpture classes, the ones taught by Michael Goodson and Matthew Flegle. I really think the teachers really made those classes for me. They were supportive and would answer any questions I had, and I learned a lot from them.

Q) During your free time what would you do?

A) I would always schedule free time for myself so I could travel. I love New York, so I would try to get out there once every other month and stay with friends in Brooklyn.

Q) What is your fondest memory of CCAD?

A) My group of friends and hanging out with them. It doesn’t matter where we were, whether it was the studio or a party, I value that time with them.

Q) If you could change anything about your undergraduate experience, what would it be?

A) I have a laundry list of things I would have liked to do. I would have loved to been able to read more about different philosophies and artists and especially contemporary art. I would have also challenged myself more and worked more in areas that scared me and were outside my comfort zone.

Q) What advice would you give to future CCAD students?

A) I would tell them to read and challenge themselves. The only way to get out of a comfort zone or not be scared to do something is to go out and do it. Don’t be scared or cautious of what people may think or say about your work, just do what you want to do.

Pallavi Sen

Pallavi Sen (CCAD 2011) has been awarded the Lifchez/Stronach nine-month, paid curatorial internship at The Metropolitan Museum of Art working with the Antonio Ratti Textile Center.

Sen, a Fine Arts major, was assigned to the textile center to match her personal and professional interests and goals. She will also participate in the museum’s training seminars and conduct gallery talks.

The Antonio Ratti Textile Center is one of the largest, most technically advanced facilities for the study and storage of textiles in any major art museum.

Sen’s internship is June 4, 2012–March 1, 2013. To view her portfolio, click here.

Marissa Haley Schmidt's "Sun Bear"

Winners and finalists of the eighth annual Lowell Tolstedt Drawing Prize have been announced. This year’s contest was judged by a visiting artist, Professor Dana Saulnier of Miami University.

Winners included Illustration senior Marissa Haley Schmidt (first place and $500), Fine Arts senior Stephanie Cook (second place and $250), and Illustration junior Erlson Chunga Neba (third place $100 supply store gift certificate). An honorable mention went to Fine Arts junior Nikohl Gallas.

“Dana was very impressed with the quality of the work, as well as the energy and enthusiasm of the students here at CCAD,” said Rob Robbins, chair of drawing and print. “He was extremely contemplative and considerate in choosing this year’s winner, and said that the decision was very difficult.”

The winning drawings will be exhibited in the THE SHOW: The 133^rd Annual Student Exhibition, May 11–Sept. 14, 2012 on CCAD’s campus.

The Lowell Tolstedt Drawing Prize was established to celebrate and promote the strong drawing tradition at CCAD. The prize honors Lowell Tolstedt, a professor emeritus and Fine Arts dean who retired from CCAD after more than 35 years at the college.

Business representatives look over students' portfolios at Directions

Where can you find big-name companies such as Express, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Skreened, right alongside all our fresh, ready-to-enter-the-world CCAD talent? At Directions, CCAD’s reverse Career Fair, where things are a bit different. At this career fair, more than 100 students are stationed at booths organized by major, with their portfolios laid out, ready to pitch to business representatives from small, large, and international companies.

This year Directions was held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Columbus on April 25, 2012.

“It is the passion that really drives me to come to this event every year,” says Bob Campell, creative director at Victoria’s Secret and 2000 Industrial Design alumnus. “Coming to these events you get to not only see what talent is coming into the work-force, but you also get inspired seeing fresh, young, passionate designers and creatives presenting their ideas.”

Bob Campbell was one of the many professionals who returned to visit the fair this year. Another was Lileah Porter from Tween Brands who came to check out the talent in the Fashion Design department.

“Last year we hired one full-time individual, and we also had some internships come from this,” Porter said. “I love the way CCAD sets this up. Here the students can have all their information and portfolios spread out, and they can present to us in a more relaxed environment.”

Dion Utt, a Fine Arts senior, was excited and eager for the professionals to walk in the door.

Joel VanGilder stands in front of his booth at Directions

“This is really a chance to present myself to the business world and help get my name out there,” Utt said. “The real benefit is being able to network. There aren’t many opportunities like this where you can have a diverse crowd of professionals who are all 100% interested in what you do.”

Not far from Utt, was Joel VanGilder, an Industrial Design senior who is already working as a designer for Worthington Cylinders and brought his coworkers to the event to scout out more talent.

“It is nice to have this exposure as a student,” Van Gilder said. “I was lucky to get placed in a job already, and I am using this time to continue to pitch myself to companies. It is interesting because there are a lot of companies that you may not know even existed who are looking for a product that you can help create with them. As a designer it is important to think outside of your niche sometimes and look at companies that may host a wide range of products and may need an illustrator or an industrial designer and this is an opportunity to discover that.”

Daniel Fox, founder of Skreened, roamed the Illustration and Advertising & Graphic Design aisles searching for talent to fill in as freelance designers for his Columbus clothing company.

“CCAD and Columbus are great places to pull local talent and creatives from,” Fox said. “This is my first time coming here, and I am really excited to be able to look at all these students’ work and see if there is a fit for us.”

Skreened owner Daniel Fox examines a student's work

Christian Cimoroni, an illustration senior, views this as a final step before he enters the real world.

“I feel accomplished,” Cimoroni said. “After all this work I can stand out here confident and talk to these professionals. I can gain a lot of contacts and start to network with people in Columbus.”

Ted Smirniotopoulous, Photography senior, was also really excited about the networking opportunities Directions allowed.

“This is a really good opportunity to meet and connect with people. I want to be able to expand my horizons and continue to learn after I graduate, and this is a perfect outlet to meet people from companies all around Columbus, whether local, national, or international.”

The event hosted students from all nine CCAD majors: Advertising & Graphic Design, Animation, Cinematic Arts, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, and Photography. More than 600 professionals representing close to 400 businesses attended the event.

2011 graduates and families outside The Ohio Theatre

In honor of the 200-plus students who will receive diplomas at CCAD’s 133^rd commencement, we’ll be counting down the days by publishing interviews with our 10 Outstanding Seniors and announcing the class valedictorian(s).

Grades have not yet been submitted, so we are still waiting in anticipation to find out who is at the top of our 2012 class. One thing we can tell you is the names of our Outstanding Seniors. These 10 students were selected by the deans of their respective majors. They include Kattie Baker, Advertising & Graphic Design; Chavilah Bennett, Advertising & Graphic Design; Rachel Cass, Fashion Design; Sara Diesel, Illustration; Lian Dziura, Photography; Christopher Ryan Evans, Media Studies; Leah Fisher, Photography; Jake LaBombarbe, Industrial Design; Sarah McCance Interior Design; and Erin McKenna, Fine Arts.

The commencement speaker on May 12, is Mark Kvamme, interim chief investment officer and president of JobsOhio, a private, nonprofit corporation responsible for Ohio’s economic development activities for the past year. Kvamme recently worked with CCAD’s Design Group on the redesign of Ohio’s license plates and driver’s licenses.

Check back on Monday, April 30, when we’ll introduce you to our first Outstanding Senior, Lian Dziura—we’ll publish one interview a day (on school days) through Friday, May 11.

Dennison W. Griffith. Photo by Kelsey McClellan (CCAD 2012)

It’s spring (SPRING!) here in Columbus, and another academic year will soon draw to a close. For our seniors and second-year MFA candidates, the exhilaration and satisfaction of their rapidly approaching graduation is balanced by an awareness that they’re about to step from the academic community back into the community community—which almost certainly will include some form of gainful employment.

But at an art and design college, that’s the whole point. No one enrolls here just to enhance a hobby. With that in mind, we focus this issue of Image on the “j” word: jobs.

• Two 2011 grads, Phong Nguyen and Kristen Macauley, share stories of their lives as creative professionals just starting out in Boston and New York [go to story].
• Thomas Boonyarungsrit (CCAD 2005) talks about how he zeroed in on his favorite field of design—and what it’s been like to return to his hometown of Bangkok to do it [go to story].
• And in the Newest of the New category: You’ve heard mutterings—or perhaps even our formal announcement—about CCAD MindMarket, CCAD’s impending initiative to prepare students for work and entrepreneurship opportunities after graduation. The full MindMarket launch won’t occur until this fall, but we’re offering you a sneak peek right now at two CCAD alumni who are giving MindMarket’s creative business incubator a test drive. The “giving back” is flowing every which way on this one [go to story].

One last thing: every spring, we happily thank our donors in a special section of Image. This spring is no exception, but we’ve upped the CCAD family ante with a student contest to create a feature graphic that says “thanks” in a visual way, too. Don’t miss the great result on page 22 [in the printed magazine, or click here to see the graphic online].

Warm regards,

Dennison W. Griffith

President

Boston, the home of Phong Nguyen (CCAD 2011) and his first post-graduation job.

By Kendra Hovey

It’s Thursday afternoon and by the look of things, Phong Nguyen might think he is back in college. After all, there are pizza and video games and it’s not even six o’clock. But Nguyen, 25, is not in college. The Texas native graduated from CCAD in 2011 and soon after took his Illustration degree to a new job at Tencent Boston—where every other Thursday is Game Day. “We stop working when the food arrives,” explains Nguyen. Spouses and partners come, and the play can last all night “or whenever we tap out.”

Tencent is China’s largest and most-used internet portal—comparable to Google—and Tencent Boston (TCB) is one of its U.S. branches. At TCB, the focus is on game development, and Nguyen is a junior concept artist. “Basically,” he says, “whenever there is a question of ‘how will this look,’ concept artists provide the answer.” Getting to that answer is when Nguyen knows for sure he is not in college. “In school, I might have weeks to complete an assignment. Here at work, from thumbnails, sketches, semi-final, to final can be as short as a day.”

Most days now at Tencent Nguyen works on a Cintiq digital tablet, drawing on the pressure-sensitive screen with a stylus. When he is given a project, it comes with a code name and an “art bible.” Sometimes the creative direction in the art bible is specific—a Greek castle, say, circa 15^th century, colors muted—and sometimes very loose, like the two words guiding his assignment for a project codenamed “Ice.” All Nguyen was given was “creepy cave”—so he created a dark, damp, eerie mood with lighting that allowed the action in the game to reflect off puddles and the damp roof of the cave.

Nguyen at work.

Is it challenging? “Yes,” he says, “but I’ve learned that when you push yourself, you can do a lot you didn’t think you were capable of.” The best part of his job—even better than Game Day—and the part he never loses sight of is this: “When it comes down to it, I’m being paid to draw and paint pictures.”

In a different city and a different industry, CCAD alum Kristen Macauley has also managed to marry art and career, and she is pretty pumped about it. At Haskell Jewels in New York, Macauley is the jewelry designer for the Robert Lee Morris line. “It’s been amazing,” she says. The 23-year-old Fine Arts major works directly with Morris, whose “wearable art” has been celebrated since the 1970s and can be found in the pages of Vogue and on the wrists of stars from Iman to the Olsen twins. (Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas is partial to his silver metallic cuffs.) Morris’s style is sculptural, conceptual, and organic. “He is an artist,” says Macauley, “and he inspires and motivates me every day.”

New York City, the home of Kristen Macauley (CCAD 2011) and her first post-graduation job.

Macauley, just like Nguyen, is less than a year out of CCAD. For any graduate, that first year is often a time of finding one’s professional legs, yet both of these young artists seem to be in full stride. “In fact, it’s been crazy hectic,” says Macauley—especially in January, when the runway pieces had to be ready for Fashion Week, which is right on the heels of Market Week, when Haskell opens its doors and all its lines to buyers scoping out the newest designs.

Macauley no longer works on the fabrication end making the jewelry itself. Yet before samples are delivered to the studio, she knows exactly what each piece will look like. It’s a skill she owes to CCAD faculty member Kelly Malec-Kosak, an assistant professor in Fine Arts and the chair of Dimensional Studies. “She makes you really get your hand and mind wrapped around what the material is going to do,” says Macauley, who also appreciated her former professor’s emphasis on communication, even her “dreaded” writing assignments. “One thing CCAD does very well,” she says, “is to make you talk about your work, what it is about, and the story behind it.” Macauley believes this prepared her for the intensive interview process that got her in, first, at the large apparel and accessories company the Jones Group, and then later, in November, at Haskell.

Macauley at work.

Macauley also discovered that her degree from CCAD was a “wonderful attention grabber.” In the accessories side of the New York fashion world, most candidates come out of the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Macauley’s interviewers assumed she did, too. “I was very proud to say, ‘No, I went to CCAD,’” she says. She feels that, as a result, there was more interest in her portfolio and her education.

CCAD also played a role in Nguyen finding his job. It was a CCAD alum who told him about the opportunity at Tencent Boston. Nguyen was a senior at the time and already building his concept art portfolio; he immediately began researching Tencent so he could tailor his portfolio to the company’s needs.

From Nguyen’s first day at CCAD, his plan was to work in entertainment. The industry is recession-proof, he explains, and “allows steady income without losing creativity.” His parents were supportive of his art degree, but to him the loans were scary. He’s glad to have found that he is able to handle them now.

Macauley’s family is, in her words, a “huge supporter of the arts.” Her father is an application architect for Rolls-Royce North America. Macauley had always expected that, like her father, she would do creative work within a commercial enterprise, but exactly what kind of work that would be didn’t come together until her senior year at CCAD. “That’s when I realized I wanted to combine my interests and find a way to deliver a fine arts message with a fashion and jewelry design look,” she recalls.

Now living in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, Macauley likes to take advantage of the design scene in New York—going to events, conferences, and museums. Still, she does miss CCAD, especially the studio time. Her advice to current students: “Take full advantage, because when you leave, studio time is not cheap.” Nguyen especially appreciated the camaraderie of talented artists at CCAD, as well as the painting and figure drawing classes, and nights spent sketching and drinking bubble tea at Pochi’s. In Boston, he enjoys going to Newbury Street and Chinatown.

But both grads are well aware that they’re still getting to know their new cities. It’s no surprise; after all, it’s just the first year.

Click any thumbnail below to view images in larger, slideshow format. Nguyen and Macauley each provided images of of their work and offices. Thanks to Fernanda Medina of sydandpianyc.com for the 2011 photo of a Robert Lee Morris shop window in SoHo.

MindMarket will soon be located in Design Studios on Broad. Photo: Kelsey McClellan (CCAD 2012)

The first component of CCAD’s transformational MindMarket initiative is starting up this spring.

While all three parts of the new CCAD MindMarket program—a business incubator, a project center, and a thought lab—will formally launch this fall, the business incubator started a pilot phase in February. Two “beta participants” are benefiting from the incubator’s services at reduced rates in exchange for providing in-depth feedback to CCAD about what they need and how the incubator can best provide it.

Ultimately, the incubator will house up to eight resident participants in newly renovated, highly visible facilities on the first floor of CCAD’s Design Studios on Broad. (A limited number of non-resident members will also be served.)

Each participant will have an individual workspace, as well as access to meeting rooms, basic office equipment, and administrative support. While planning and construction for those spaces proceeds, beta participants are working with financial, legal, and marketing mentors just down the block in the Loann Crane Center for Design.

Entrepreneurial partners such as TechColumbus and the Columbus State Small Business Development Center are also available as needed.

CCAD alumni were identified as a logical place to look for potential beta participants, and they were notified in December 2011 about the opportunity. More than 40 applications poured in from diverse creative professionals including fine artists, fashion designers, photographers, and art educators.

In the end, two participants were selected. We’re proud to welcome them into their new roles and excited to see their businesses and the CCAD MindMarket incubator grow—together.

element Ag

Jamie Dicus at work. Photo: Lian Dziura (CCAD 2012)

Jamie Dicus vividly remembers her first foray into serious jewelry making outside of her CCAD coursework. An aunt agreed to make a completely custom quilt for her—but not for free.

“The deal was that I would have to make her the value of the quilt, $700 or $800, of jewelry in return,” Dicus says. It didn’t stop there. She recalls, “Then my brother and his wife wanted wedding rings. And then I did a CCAD Art Sale—I had a tiny corner of my friend’s booth. I think I made my first non-family-member sale there.”

Dicus, who earned her BFA in Fine Arts in 2007, has steadily built that first CCAD Art Sale transaction into a loyal customer base. She didn’t pause for a second after graduation.

“You have to have a plan and get into it immediately,” she says. “You think it’s hard to be in school, but now it’s all up to you. And you have to figure out how to pay for it.”

She gradually assembled all the necessary equipment for a studio, while developing one particularly popular design into a fuller body of work. She named her business element Ag, after the periodic table’s symbol for silver.

Now that she’s poised to enter the incubator program, a different member of her family is the key influence.

“My dad is an entrepreneur and has been all my life. I’ve seen him have many businesses fail and succeed,” she says. “I love the idea of being your own boss and taking pride in what you do. It’s incredibly difficult, but the rewards outweigh the rest.”

Fulcrum Creatives

Principals Liz Samuelson and Jason Moore (CCAD 1996) of Fulcrum Creatives. Photo: Danielle Ford (CCAD 2013)

Founded in 2002 as Fulcrum Design Corps by Jamison Pack and CCAD alumnus Jason Moore (Ad/Graph 1996), Fulcrum Creatives gained its current name in 2010, when it entered into partnership with Liz Samuelson, formerly of Genuine Creative. Fulcrum has always had a close bond with CCAD; at the moment, there are two CCAD student interns and one full-time employee who is an alumna (Sami Nummi, Ad/Graph 2011).

Offering a broad range of creative services, Fulcrum’s business model focuses on a triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit.

“Our one-liner is ‘we create, elevate, and sustain organizations that positively impact their community,’” says Samuelson. The incubator will allow Fulcrum to develop an idea that expands that model. It arose out of the company’s ongoing success.

“[As our business grew] we noticed that we had started working with clients who were bigger. We also realized it was a bummer to have to say no to grassroots clients who were doing some of the most important work in our community,” Samuelson says.

The result was Fulcrum’s incubator proposal: a program called Seesaw Squad that will use a multidisciplinary group of undergraduate art and design students to do identity and design work for clients with lesser budgets.

“There’s no one I know of in Ohio that’s doing anything like this,” says Samuelson. “The most valuable aspect of it is the opportunity for younger students to engage with the Columbus community and help make it a better place. Design can do good; creativity can do good.” For more, visit fulcrumcreatives.com.

First MindMarket Visitor Confirmed

We’re excited to announce the CCAD MindMarket’s inaugural visiting lecturer: Internationally renowned design thinking and management expert Roger Martin will speak on campus Friday, September 28. Best known in design circles for his book The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage, Martin was named in 2010 as one of the 27 most influential designers in the world and in 2011 as the sixth top management thinker in the world. The evening will kick off with a reception at 4:30. More details will follow, but mark your calendars now!

Danielle Julian Norton, “Portrait,” 2011, photograph

Fine Arts alumna and faculty Danielle Julian Norton (CCAD 1999) will be a part of a group exhibition, Conference of the Birds, in New Jersey starting in early May.

The exhibition features artwork by 30 artists from around the world. It explores the collective relationship between humans and birds and the effect both have on their habitats. The exhibition was curated by Cynthia-Reeves Projects and features conceptual installations, photography, and video work.

Julian Norton will have a photographic portrait in the show that features a women with bird-like traits.

The exhibition will be on view at Mana Contemporary, 888 Newark Ave., Jersey City, May 3–July 31, 2012, with an opening reception May 6, 1–5 p.m.

Michael Bonardi's solo exhibition

Some people paint using a paintbrush, but not Fine Arts alumnus and CCAD admissions advisor Michael Bonardi (CCAD 2004), who uses a PVC pipe to create the artwork in his solo exhibition Dissecting the Dynamic Brushstroke at Brothers Drake Meadery in Columbus, OH, throughout April.

Bonardi’s exhibition presents a microscopic view of the act of painting and the marks that can be left behind on a canvas.

“I like to explore the potential of each medium and material I work with,” Bonardi says. “This work shows that the brush can limit findings and what the end piece can become.”

Bonardi says he has always tested the boundaries of his work and likes to leave everything open for the viewers’ imagination. He works with a variety of media ranging from glass blowing to ceramics.

“I like to leave my work in black and white and not use color,” Bonardi says. “Leaving it without color allows the person to be able to attach their own emotions to the piece without color and the mood deciding it for them.”

Bonardi has a busy season ahead of him. He recently sold work at the CCAD Spring Art Sale and has another exhibition with a reception August 24 at JH Museum.

Dissecting the Dynamic Brushstroke is open through April, with an opening reception April 20, 6–9 p.m.

2012 Finalists, top left to right: Taylor Hawkins (CCAD), Erin McKenna (CCAD), Kristy Kemper (AAC); bottom left to right: Mayumi Kiefer (ONU), Brittany Kunkel (Dennison), Julio Labra (AAC)

Fine Arts senior Erin McKenna was awarded the Association of Independent Colleges & Universities of Ohio (AICUO) Excellence in Visual Art Grand Award.

The AICUO recognized McKenna with a $2,500 cash prize and purchased one of her pieces to be displayed in the governor’s office for the next year.

Held at Otterbein University on April 6, the reception honored seniors from independent colleges throughout Ohio. Six students were AICUO finalists, competing for the Grand Award. Fine Arts senior Taylor Hawkins was also a finalist.

McKenna and Hawkins were not the only two bringing CCAD presence to the awards. Fine Arts sophomore Hannah Mason-Macklin was the sculptural design contest winner and designed the physical awards presented to the winners. Advertising & Graphic Design senior Cynthia Ellis was an intern for this year’s award and helped organize the program.

McKenna, Hawkins, and the other four finalists will have their work displayed at Grid Furnishings, a store in Columbus’ Short North district on May 5, 2012.

Founded in 1969, AICUO represents privately supported, nonprofit colleges and universities in Ohio, conducting public relations, research and government relations for its members. The awards program is a statewide intercollegiate arts competition for senior students from Ohio’s independent colleges.

CCAD has had seven finalists in the last five years, with two Grand Award winners, including last year’s winner, Ken Aschliman.

"RetroSpectrum-Radio" painting by Gordon Lee

Gordon Lee, professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies at CCAD, has a solo exhibition at Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts Gallery in Binghamton, New York, April 6–27, 2012.

This is Lee’s second solo show at the gallery. It will include 18 of his recent paintings about the remnants of human struggles in the urban world.

“Whenever I look at walls in back alleys and side streets, I find myself inspired by the marks, cracks, nails, hinges, windows, and graffiti on them,” said Lee. “They reflect our existence and also our efforts to adapt and to alter that existence in the concrete jungle.”

Lee received his BFA from Concordia University, Canada, and his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught drawing and printmaking at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and has received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Columbus Art Council.

Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts Gallery is located in downtown Binghamton on the first two floors of 186 State Street.

The exhibition is open April 6–27 with a reception on April 6, 6–9 p.m.

"Red Tape" floor installation by Cat Sheridan

Creative Arts of Women (CAW) opened their exhibition Creating Our History honoreing women’s history month on March 5, 2012.

The exhibition includes work by 28 CAW members, including many with CCAD connections: Mary Ann Crago (1995 Fine Arts alumna), Linda Diec (Fine Arts adjunct faculty), Helma Groot (1989 Fine Arts alumna), Roxanne Smith-Mansell (1987 Fine Arts alumna), Lisa McLymont (Continuing and Professional Studies instructor), Kristin Morris (1994-2002 Illustration alumna), and Cat Sheridan (2003 Fine Arts alumna and director of Continuing and Professional Studies).

The exhibition was reviewed by Melissa Starker for the Columbus Dispatch. She described several works, noting that “the most straightforward statement of the group comes from Cat Sheridan’s Red Tape. The floor installation, constructed of the titular material, forms a circle of slanted caution lines around the word uterus. With that, she unites the intent of the exhibition and the headlines and frustrations of the moment.”

CAW members are visual artists, performance artists, writers, arts administrators, arts supporters, and art appreciators. The objective of the group is to support each member in her individual career, be involved in community service, have group shows, share new work, and network.

Creating Our History is on view until April 20, 2012 at the Shot Tower Gallery at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, 546 Jack Gibbs Blvd., Columbus, OH.

The competition is open for all artists 18 and over who live in Texas. Sopp-Sims submitted her acrylic painting For a Young Man, which was inspired by the death of a close friend.

There were more than 1,000 entries into the contest, and 109 were selected by a jury as finalists. The jury will make its final decision on April 28, 2012. The winner will be awarded a $50,000 prize.

Sopp-Sims owns and operates Red Hound Fine Art Studio.

The show consists of 90 pieces of art from more than 50 artists. Weigel will judge and award first, second, and third place awards for two-dimensional and three-dimensional work, as well as several honorable mentions.

Weigle teaches papermaking and lithography relief printmaking courses at CCAD. He has received several Ohio Arts Council grants for coordinating youth art classes and was invited to participate in the 2007 International Printmaking Work studio at Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts in Xi’an, China.

The exhibition will run through April 28, 2012 at the Pump House Center for the Arts, located on Yoctangee Park’s Enderlin Circle.

Bindernagel working in his studio

CCAD alumnus Steven Bindernagel (CCAD 2002) is often in his New York City studio for 15 hours a day, six days a week. His intense dedication began at CCAD and has continued to support him as he displays his work in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally.

“CCAD really infused me with a strong work ethic,” Bindernagel said. “I remember staying up for three days straight to finish my freshman year final projects.”

Bindernagel works as a full-time artist and is represented by CRG Gallery in New York City. In the latter half of 2012 the gallery will feature him in a solo exhibition, his first with CRG.

Richard Desroche, one of CRG’s co-owners, describes Bindernagel’s work as “…unabashedly beautiful. Color resonates and explodes off paper and canvas and at the same time a dark, brooding, even stained background is ever-present. For Bindernagel, soft and gentle must always be juxtaposed with harsh and aggressive.”

Bindernagel creates abstract paintings using a variety of techniques. His process is layered and can include pouring paint, glazing, painting out and erasing areas, and reworking the same area several times over.

Bindernagel’s success is no accident. Even in his undergraduate years at CCAD he was realizing the importance art would have in his life—and he was seizing every opportunity to learn, explore, and take risks.

“It was at CCAD that I realized I love making art and I was willing to do everything possible to do it for the rest of my life,” he said.

During his undergraduate years, Bindernagel learned to take criticism and defend his work. He enjoyed the critiques in his classes, learning to better himself and his peers. In particular, Professor Gordon Lee taught him how to defend his work and creative ideas and the importance of helping other artists grow.

“I remember his insights and keen ability to speak simultaneously to the emotional content of a painting as well as to the technical aspects of creating—it was in these classes that I really fell in love with the complexity and nuance of painting,” Bindernagel said.

His color concept and 2D design classes had a profound technical and tactile effect on his art. Today, Bindernagel still loves to use modulated color and semi-sculptural low-relief techniques in his paintings, which can be traced back to those classes.

Bindernagel participated in the New York Studio Residency Program in 2001, while at CCAD. The program allows students to study among art and design professionals in New York City for a semester, and Bindernagel capitalized on every minute of the experience.

"The Inevitable Yield"

“I spent a lot of time working in the studio, where I would spend hours and hours painting, and outside of classes I would try to visit as many gallery and museum shows as possible,” Bindernagel said. “I also spent a good amount of time just wandering around the city. It was an amazing, concentrated, and enlightening experience for me.”

He knew he wanted to return and live in New York following graduation. Bindernagel admits that the amount of time he was able to focus solely on his work during the program directly and positively influenced his last year at CCAD and was a precursor to further his studies.

Bindernagel did return to New York and earned his MFA at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). From his lessons in the studio program and at CCAD he was able to understand intense studio hours prior to grad school and “knew where to buy $1 noodles for lunch in the city.”

The move from Ohio to New York for Bindernagel was not just about attending graduate school; it was also about diving into the arts and culture scene.

“Once here [in New York] I set up a large support network of fellow artists and colleagues, friends, and mentors,” Bindernagel said. “As people know, New York is expensive and somewhat chaotic, and the art world is extremely saturated and competitive, but having a strong network here has been invaluable on countless levels—from help finding work when I needed a job, to swapping studio visits with friends, to devising how to make our goals and dreams a reality.”

Upon graduation from SVA, Bindernagel found himself searching for a full-time job to pay the bills. He had to learn to adapt to a life of balancing a full-time job with up to 40 additional hours a week in the studio.

CRG Gallery began showing Bindernagel’s work in 2010 and eventually offered to represent him. The gallery was founded in 1990 and has exhibited work by artists from the United States, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and China. It  remains committed to providing exposure to emerging artists from around the world.

“I have known everyone at CRG for about five years,” Bindernagel explained. “I admire, respect, and trust them all, so I feel fortunate, and I couldn’t be happier to be working with them so early in my career.”

Bindernagel has been able to quite his job and now works more than 60 hours a week in his studio. But that doesn’t mean he has no free time. On Sundays he makes sure to take the day off to relax, read, and upload the photos of his artwork.

“Being an artist is a lifestyle choice rather than solely a career choice,” Bindernagel explained. “I came to terms [with the fact] that I was in this for the long haul, whether it ever paid off financially or not, because it is what I love to do.”

Since being able to devote himself solely to his artistic pursuits, Bindernagel has followed advice that he received from a professor years ago: as an artist, he needs to focus on making his art practice his primary and unwavering ambition. He understands that financial demands and countless other obligations may come up, but despite all of that he will find a way to stay unconditionally dedicated to his practice. His advice and motto: “Don’t stop creating”

Bindernagel believes possibilities are truly limitless for today’s artists, but times have also drastically changed due to technological advancements.

“Being an independent artist is like running a small business—you need a website, quality jpegs, business cards, etc. This may be common sense now, but in the late 1990s we were still looking at artwork on slides and projectors.”

Bindernagel’s success includes four solo exhibitions and 18 group exhibitions, and yet he still looks back to work completed his freshman year at CCAD.

“When I go home for the holidays and open the box with my work from CCAD, the memories flood back,” Bindernagel admits. “I still remember making every single project and the countless sleepless nights.”

His solo exhibition at CRG will run Nov. 15–Dec. 22, 2012.

John Jude Palencar’s illustration for the best-selling children’s novel “Eragon”

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 December 2011, January 2012, and February 2012.

Ron Miller ’70 created the illustrations for an iPad app Journey to the Exoplanets. Read more here.

Nicky Epstein ’74 has finished her 24^th book about knitting design. Read more here.

Tim Rietenbach ’77, Danielle Julian Norton ’99, Mariana Smith ’02, and Michael Litzau ’04 were among 10 CCAD-affiliated artists in a recent exhibition. Read more here.

Tim Rietenbach ’77 is a participating artist in FINDING TIME: Columbus Public Art 2012, a multi-artist public art project to celebrate the city of Columbus’ 200^th birthday. Read more here.

Kent Roberts ’77 had his work accepted in the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society’s Annual Show.

Wong Wo Bik ’77 was in the group exhibition Memory and Fiction at Blindspot Gallery in Hong Kong. Read more here.

John Jude Palencar ’80 illustrated the newest book in a best-selling children’s series, the Inheritance Cycle. Read more here.

Michael Neno ’84, Andy Bennett ’94, and Ryan Brinkerhoff ’08 all worked on the fourth issue of a Columbus based comic book. Read more here.

Kurt Fondriest ’85 was featured in the film Operation Rhino, which received a Midwest/Chicago Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Read more here.

Inka Essenhigh ’91 had a solo exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery in Kyoto, Japan. Read more here.

Anita Miller ’91–’99 continues to tour her exhibition The Eyes of Freedom: the Lima Company Memorial. Read more here.

Nathan Greno ’93–’96 co-directed Disney’s animated short Tangled Ever After. Read more here.

David Breaux ’94 is a senior animator on the FOX television series Terra Nova, produced by Steven Spielberg. Read more here.

Sandy Kessler Kaminski ’93 had her piece Around 65 featured in Studio Visit magazine, vol. 14.

Ron Stasko ’93 had his work Liquid Color displayed in Tsunami, a Baton Rouge restaurant.

Kathleen ’94 and David Hartman ’95 both worked on the film John Dies at the End, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Read more here.

Samantha Bennett ’95–’99 had a solo exhibition, Scars, Portraits and Beyond, at Hayley Gallery in New Albany, OH. Read more here.

Michael Newton ’96 and Jeremy Sorrell ’04, exhibited their work at Rivet Gallery in downtown Columbus, OH. Read more here.

Laine Bachman ’97 had a solo exhibition, Birds of a Feather, which was reviewed by The Columbus Dispatch. Read more here.

Nicole Bruckman ’00 was in a group exhibition at WWA Gallery in Culver City, California. Read more here.

Michael Guinane ’00 showed his work at the Cultural Arts Center in Columbus, OH.

Adam Brouillette ’02 and Boryana Rusenova Ina ’00 were on the Best Local Artists list of 2011 in Columbus Underground. Read more here.

Anne Holman ’02 is featured in The New Artisans: Handmade Designs for Contemporary Living. Read more here.

Carl Bork ’03 had a solo exhibition at Tointon Gallery in Greeley, CO. Read more here.

Kenneth Hall ’04 had a solo exhibition at Parkland College Art Gallery in Champaign, Ill. Read more here.

Manjari Sharma ’04 was featured in The New York Times discussing her photography project Darshan. Read more here.

Melissa Spencer ’06 displayed her photography in Cleveland, OH at Sunny Side Up Gallery.

Maris Turner ’07 and Sara Renner ’08 opened a boutique in Ann Arbor. Read more here.

Genoveva Christoff ’09 was a finalist in the E! Live from the Red Carpet Design Contest and presented her work at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.

"The Hanged Man's Ghost" cover

Fine Arts alumna Ashley K. Alexander (CCAD 2009) has published her second novel, The Hanged Man’s Ghost.

The novel follows a detective on a life-changing case involving the ghosts of murder victims. Alexander wrote the novel under the nom de plume Missouri Dalton.

A reviewer of the book commented that “there are a lot of twist and turns in this that left me breathless as I wondered just what was going to happen next.”

Alexander released her first novel, The Grave Watchers, in August 2011. She wrote it while she completed her post-baccalaureate studies at SACI in Florence, Italy.

Her novels can be purchased as e-books on Torquere Press’ website.

O'Reilly's sculpture "Eucharist"

Alumnus John O’Reilly (CCAD 2007) will have his first solo exhibition, John O’Reilly: I stand and look at them long and long, at RH Gallery in New York City.

The Fine Arts graduate creates sculptures that portray animals in a state between sleep and death. O’Reilly’s sculptures start with hand-modeled clay forms, which are then used to make a silicone mold. The mold is filled suspended with particles of porcelain, bone, and graphite in with polyurethane resin.

O’Reilly resides in Brooklyn, New York. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions and he received a post-graduate fellowship from the New York Academy of Art and a residency at the Leipzig International Artist Residency.

RH Gallery presents contemporary art with a focus on process-driven craft by international and national artists.

The exhibition is open March 6–April 27, with an opening reception on March 6, 6–8 p.m.

Inka Essenhigh’s painting “Stubborn Tree Spirit”

CCAD alumna Inka Essenhigh (CCAD 1991) has a busy exhibition schedule this year with her work traveling to Japan, Ohio, Maine, and Tennessee.

Her first solo exhibition of the year, The Natural and the Man-Made, is being shown at Tomio Koyama Gallery in Kyoto, Japan. The exhibition features five paintings that showcase a progression from nature to the man-made world. The first painting in the series, Late August, depicts trees and nature at their most mature states. The paintings progress until the last, Manhattan, which shows a spirit world infusing with the man-made world.

Tomio Koyama Gallery describes Essenhigh’s paintings as presenting “a celestial and mystic sense of goddess in the natural world,” including “ugliness and beauty, sophistication and naïveté, the calm eyes and skepticism, and the strength of utopist dreams and beliefs.”

The Tomio Koyama Gallery exhibition is open until April 7, 2012.

Essenhigh, who lives and works in New York City, will show her work throughout 2012 in group exhibitions at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, OH, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, ME, and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, TN.

"A Colorful Street, New York" by Alice Schille

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery is presenting 100 Years of Art: Celebrating Columbus’ Legacy to honor the Columbus Bicentennial. The exhibition honors Columbus-based artists, so it’s no surprise that three of the artists are linked to CCAD.

Curated by Melissa Wolfe, the curator of American art at the Columbus Museum of Art, the exhibition features more than 50 artists who, according to the gallery’s website, “were influenced by local and national artistic developments as they helped to set the creative backdrop that still exists in Columbus today.”

Alice Schille (CCAD 1893), Edmund Kuehn (CCAD 1938), and Robert Chadeayne all attended CCAD and left an artistic mark on the community.

Schille earned international recognition for her watercolor paintings and after working and painting abroad for many years, returned to CCAD to teach.

Kuehn worked primarily in abstract and semi-abstract styles, focusing on colors that created a sense of movement and symbolism. In addition, Kuehn dedicated his life to promoting the arts in Ohio. He was an instructor at CCAD for 15 years, as well as a curator and assistant director at the Columbus Museum of Art.

"Down Town" by Robert Chadeayne

Chadeayne was a nationally acclaimed artist and illustrator who came to Columbus in 1927 to study at CCAD. He spent most of his subsequent career in Columbus.

“The city’s art world perhaps is best characterized by a remarkably easy and dynamic exchange among its diverse artistic communities, from folk art to fine art to commercial art, from local artistic personalities to national artistic movements,” says Wolfe on the gallery’s website. “This is a rare enough combination to suggest that Columbus, a ‘typical Midwestern city,’ has in its rather unassuming Midwestern way managed to offer that rare engaged and engaging environment within which artistic creativity takes hold.”

The exhibition is on view through April 15, 2012.

Hodge studying medical illustrations

A CCAD student and professor have been invited to present an abstract at the 7th International Conference on the Arts in Society in Liverpool, UK.

Julie Posey, chair of science at CCAD and Jonathan Hodge, Fine Arts senior worked with the lead anatomist Eric Kenz at Columbus State Community College (CSCC) to work on their abstract, The Integration of Art and Science: Bridging the Gap between Disciplines and Institutions.

This presentation details an interdisciplinary/intercollegiate approach to medical illustration. Hodge was able to study cadavers at CSCC and create photo-realistic anatomic illustrations.

“By utilizing CSCC anatomy laboratories, we were able to link CCAD expertise in illustration and aesthetic awareness with human cadavers to craft medical drawings that highlight dimensional qualities often missed,” Posey said.

In addition to working with CSCC, Hodge also received mentorship from alumnus Anthony Baker (CCAD 1986) who is a medical  illustrator for The Ohio State University. Under Baker’s guidance, Hodge illustrated the anatomy involved in yoga poses as part of an honors class project. This opportunity to work with a professional in the field and broaden the scope of the intercollegiate cooperation will be highlighted at the UK conference.

The conference will take place in July 2012 and discuss a range of themes, including the relationship between art and science.

Hodge, from New Orleans, LA, also worked on a recent project with T.Ty Fowler, M.D. who serves as the director of orthopaedic trauma at Mount Carmel West Hospital. Dr. Fowler will include six of Hodge’s medical illustrations in a published article.  His illustrations will also appear in a McGraw-Hill lab manual to be published soon.

book cover, "The New Artisans"

Anne Holman (CCAD 2002) is featured in The New Artisans: Handmade Designs for Contemporary Living, a book that presents artisans and their craft.

Written by Olivier Dupon, a design expert and blogger, the book profiles 75 artists from all over the world who use craft techniques to create one-of-a-kind objects. Holman has a multiple page spread, which includes her bio and several images of her work.

Holman’s jewelry can be found at boutiques across the country and online. She also teaches jewelry and metalsmithing at CCAD.

The New Artisans: Handmade Designs for Contemporary Living was published in Oct. 2011 by Thames & Hudson, a publishing company that specializes in the arts.

Screenshot taken from "Operation Rhino"

Alumnus Kurt Fondriest (CCAD 1985) was featured in the film Operation Rhino, which received a Midwest/Chicago Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Operation Rhino documents the transportation of a ceramic rhino from the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois to Misericordia Heart of Mercy, a center that provides services for adults and children with developmental disabilities. The rhino was then used as part of an artistic and educational project led by Fondriest, an art therapist at Misericordia.

Misericordia residents researched rhinos and met with Chicago Zoological Society rhino keepers and veterinary staff to ask questions and be taught about the care of rhinos within the zoo. The residents also completed a mural of the Serengeti on the ceramic animal.

“Through Operation Rhino, Misericordia residents used the expressive arts as a way to learn about the challenges that rhinos face in the wild and how people can take conservation action to support them,” Fondriest said in a press release.

The residents were then brought to the Brookfield Zoo where they were able to touch and feed one of the rhinos there.

“It was moving to watch Misericordia’s residents interact with Broookfield Zoo’s rhinos. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something we’ll never forget,” Fondriest said.

To view the award-winning video click here.

Samantha Bennett's Solo Exhibition at Hayley Gallery

Alumna Samantha Bennett (CCAD 1995–1999) will have a solo exhibition, Scars Portraits and Beyond, at Hayley Gallery in New Albany, OH.

This is the Fine Art alumna’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. Work in the show will include memorial portraits of famous people, cityscapes, and other pieces that reflect Bennett’s personal journey.

Bennett paints with amputated fingers after surviving meningitis meningococcal disease at nine months of age. The artist’s experience inspires her to create art for nonprofit groups such as the American Heart Association, the March of Dimes, and the National Meningitis Association.

Bennett also recently appeared on an episode of TLC’s NY Ink.

The opening reception is Feb. 11, 5–11 p.m. Bennett’s work will be on view through March 9, 2012.

Tim Rietenbach's plan for "Grazing"

Columbus, OH, is turning 200 and to celebrate the city has gathered 56 international, national, and local artists including CCAD alumnus and professor Tim Rietenbach to create in public art projects around the city.

The entire series is called FINDING TIME: Columbus Public Art 2012. It will consist of 14 individual projects ranging from an LED light display on the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) building to new carillon chime compositions at a downtown Columbus church.

The projects explore the common theme of time, including its passage and measurement, along with notions of temporariness and permanence.

Rietenbach (CCAD 1977) is working on a piece called Grazing to be installed June 1, 2012. The art work consists of steel-rod cows that will appear to float on the Scioto River in downtown Columbus. The cows will have multiple moving parts that will be engaged by the flow of the water. Rietenbach said the cows will represent a time when farms were smaller and cows were able to roam the fields in close proximity to the city.

“The cows will, in appearance, be defying the laws of gravity (walking on water). Needless to say that is where the idea began and if realized will be the most gratifying artistic tool,” Rietenbach said. “My hope is that when finished I will have constructed a living gesture drawing that is as much phantom as it is real.”

Some of the art projects will blend in with Columbus’ urban landscape, while others may cause some head scratching, according to a Columbus Dispatch article.

“I think head scratching is OK,” said Columbus Art Commission Chair Diane Nance in the article. “It challenges people to think about what art is and what art should look like in a public space.”

Starting in 2010, the initiative has received grants from several organizations including the National Endowment of the Arts and The Ohio State University.

The projects will be documented as they are installed at www.columbuspublicart.com.

Fern Fawn by Laine Bachman

Alumna (CCAD 1997) Laine Bachman’s solo exhibition, Birds of a Feather, was featured in a review by The Columbus Dispatch.

The review described Bachman’s paintings as lying in “a realm amid fairy tales, mythology, and the everyday experiences of parenting.” The feature also explained that “the new series was also shaped by the curiosity of her 5-year-old daughter.”

“I’ve always played around with mythological creatures—mermaids, deer women, and stuff like that,” Bachman told the Dispatch.  “With this series, I really delved into that and played with different imagery I could get through it.”

The reviewer noted that each of the artist’s subjects have similar features. The women all have heart-shaped faces with a small mouth and large almond eyes. Bachman not only paints the main character, but also focuses closely on details throughout her entire painted scene.

“I like to point out things people might miss, all the small creatures in the world that keep our ecosystem going,” Bachman said. “They might be insignificant to some, but they’re really important; I try to honor all those little things.”

The exhibition was at Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus, OH. Read the full review here.

Looking Forward at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio

Columbus College of Art & Design is getting off campus with an exhibition comprised entirely of CCAD faculty, alumni, and senior staff. Looking Forward, at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, is curated by the latest addition to the CCAD family Director of Exhibitions Michael Goodson.

The exhibition, which opens Jan. 21, includes work by Julie Abijanac (assistant professor), Carol Boram-Hays (adjunct faculty), Matthew Flegle (foundation studies and fine arts instructor), Dennison Griffith (CCAD president), Danielle Julian Norton (assistant professor and 1999 Fine Arts alumna), Michael Litzau (adjunct faculty and 2004 Fine Arts alumnus), Kelly Malec-Kosak (assistant professor), Ric Petry (director of graduate programs), Tim Rietenbach (associate professor and 1977 Fine Arts alumnus), and Mariana Smith (adjunct faculty and 2002 Fine Arts alumna).

“Putting together this exhibition has been an affirmation of the great work being done in my new home town. In the end, the exhibition is a meditation on the harmony that is created when we share a starting and a finishing point and the dissonance that pushes us along the path in between,” Goodson said.

The exhibition will be open Jan. 21—May 20, 2012.

A curator’s talk and gallery walk is Jan. 22, 2 p.m. and the artists’ talk and walk will be March 11, 2 p.m.

Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002) and Boryana Rusenova Ina (CCAD 2006) are local artists who were both on the Best Local Artist list, which, like all other lists, was voted on by readers.

Brouilette is active in several local organizations. In 2009 he opened his own studio, littleINDUSTRIES. He is the executive director of  Wonderland Columbus, a founding member of Couchfire Collective, a past board chair of the Ohio Art League, and helps manage Junctionview Studios.

Ina paints urban landscapes and has shown her work recently at Roy G Biv and Art Access galleries in Columbus. She is an adjunct faculty member at CCAD and also teaches at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center.

To see the full list of top 10 artists, go here.

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.

Student examines rocks outside the Byrd Polar Research Center

Kim Landsbergen, an associate professor at CCAD, is having her Liberal Arts class further their understanding of scientific research by taking them to cutting-edge research centers and sites in Columbus.

The class traveled most recently to the Byrd Polar Research Center (BPRC) at The Ohio State University. BPRC is recognized internationally as a leader in polar and alpine research.

While there, the 20 students were able to tour the center guided by three Ph.D. candidates. They explored the U.S. Polar Rock Repository, which is a national facility that provides rock samples for research, education, and museum use.

They were also able to walk through the center’s cold storage facility. The freezer compartments in the building store ice cores at -30 to -40 degrees Celsius.

“My goal for the field trips in the ecology class is for students to see—live, in person—the vital ecological issues that are right under their noses, here in central Ohio,” said Landsbergen.

The visit was not just a one way experience. The Ph.D. candidates asked CCAD students to help them in being able to appropriately and artistically display their scientific findings.

Students bundle up in a cold storage facility

Students chimed in with suggestions including color coding satellite images based on elevation and altering displays of photographs so visitors could understand their scientific process visually.

“It is important to be involved with current scientific research and other news topics because, as artists, we have to be able to reflect what is going on in the world in order to be successful,” said Joelle Baker, senior in Fine Arts, and a participant in the BPRC trip.

The class went on a total of five trips this year.  Along with the Byrd Polar Research Center, they also visited restored ecosystems in Columbus, Franklin Park Conservatory’s Community Garden Campus, Grange Insurance Audubon Center, and SWACO, which is central Ohio’s main landfill.

“It is important for students, especially ones who are actively engaged in the creative world, to learn by doing and seeing,” said Landsbergen. “You can read about these issues all day, but it is something completely different to be able to see a landfill and the waste or talk to an actual student who has seen the glaciers they are reading about.”

Design on endangered species condoms

There are now seven billion people on the planet and counting.

CCAD faculty member, Kim Landsbergen, who teaches in the Liberal Arts, division celebrated the birth of the seventh billionth person by talking about issues of sustainability and population growth in her classes.

Landsbergen is a member of the Center for Biological Diversity and is passing on awareness of their Seven Billion and Counting campaign to her Biomimicry and Ecology classes.

Landsbergen’s classes watched a documentary, Manufactured Landscapes, which discusses human resource consumption and land use.

After watching the film, Erin McKenna, a senior Fine Arts student, changed her purchasing patterns by reusing as many products as possible and only shopping at thrift stores.

The Center for Biological Diversity’s campaign goal is to focus on trying to manage population growth by connecting it to environmental problems. One of the campaign’s awareness projects is the Endangered Species Condoms, which they encourage participants to  pass out. The condoms have relevant  phrases such as, “wrap with care, save a polar bear,” “hump smarter, save the snail darter,” and “wear a condom now, save the spotted owl.”

“The ‘endangered species condoms’ were a far more effective way of tying together the concepts of global population and environmental integrity then lecturing,” Landsbergen said.

“I not only thought the condoms were hilarious, but they also got people talking about the issues,” added McKenna.

To learn more about the Center for Biological Diversity, visit their website.

Members of the 1492 project sit to discuss project goals

CCAD’s collaboration in two innovative entrepreneurial events this fall has lead to a rich new appreciation of the importance of creative thinking in business development.

Startup Weekend Columbus took place Oct. 7–9, 2011 on CCAD campus. In its fifth year, it was the first time this 54-hour program was hosted on CCAD’s campus.

The program, which normally draws students, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, had a new edge by including the creative class.

“Through Startup Weekend our students got an accelerated and intense sense of any number of considerations that impact business decisions and in turn impact design. They got to see how design contributes to business and how business influences design and how together, a company becomes more successful and their stories more impactful,” commented Cynthia Gravino, director of career services.

The program helped emphasize how closely related the creative and business processes have become.

“The weekend was not just another class exercise for students,”said Gravino. “This is a real-world experience that they can take with them as they launch their careers.”

Ten CCAD students participated in Startup Weekend Columbus, including honors students, Chavilah Bennett (senior, Advertising & Graphic Design), Lillie Templeton (junior, Advertising & Graphic Design), and Hilary Sroufe (junior, Advertising & Graphic Design); and Yiangos Panayiotou (junior, Illustration), Vincent Smigiel (sophomore, Advertising & Graphic Design), Abby Staley (freshman), Manuel Austin (sophomore, Media Studies), Michael Kroptavich (junior, Advertising & Graphic Advertising), Nikhil Nigade (freshman, Advertising & Graphic Design), Danielle Williams (sophomore, Advertising & Graphic Design), and Devin Broadnax (junior, Fine Arts).

The students worked closely with the 16 teams launching their business plans. Creatives and techies worked together to execute a successful start-up.

At the end of the weekend three of the 16 teams were chosen as the best concepts presented. They included, Source Match, DemandZilla, and UserTOS.

Similiar in some ways, 1492 is a program that accelerates the creation of start-ups in a couple of months as opposed to what would normally take a couple of years. The program is a collaborative effort among TechColumbus, Columbus State Community College, and CCAD, with support from the Ohio Third Frontier and includes money for the chosen projects.

Out of 162 applicants, 10 companies were chosen to present their ideas to a panel of judges on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Out of the 10, five were chosen to participate in an 11-week coaching program on CCAD’s campus. They will each receive a $20,000 grant and will launch a product or service in mid Jan. 2012, following the program.

The five companies selected for the 1492 program this year were Azoti.com, Capstone Innovations, Churchsys.com, hungerly LLC, and Infinum Education LLC

Azoti will serve local farmers, dairies, fisheries, distributors, co-ops, farmer’s markets and artisans by providing demand aggregation services, program management and a host of CRM solutions.

Capstone Innovations has designed and patented an adaptable interlocking pallet system made up of identical units.

Churchsys is a software service (SaaS) developed to manage all aspects of operating a church or any other institution with patrons.

hungerly LLC is a location-based mobile marketing, analytics, sales, and loyalty platform built with street truck and cart vendors in mind.

Infinum Education has developed Aviso, which allows students and instructors to collaboratively drive both student and institutional success.

During the 11-week training the start-ups cover everything from financial advice to meetings with business mentors, and brainstorming sessions on how to achieve their desired goals and results.

In addition to these training programs, the start-ups will be able to utilize a CCAD intern. The intern will be with them through the duration of the program and their initial launch.

Support from participating organization, professionals, peers, and CCAD’s creative talent ensure the participating companies with a successful product launch.

CCAD took home three awards from CSCA's Creative Best Awards

It’s been quite a design awards season for Columbus College of Art & Design, especially for the college’s Design Group—a student-staffed, in-house design agency.

Columbus Society of Communicating Arts held it’s annual Creative Best awards on Nov. 17 and CCAD was well represented. Several local agencies that employ CCAD alumni took home coveted awards, including EdgeCase, which won an Award of Excellence in the Interactive category  for JRubyConf.com which was designed by 2011 grad Justine Arreche. Pallavi Sen, a fine arts senior, took home two merit awards from the Student category.

CCAD’s Design Group earned a Best in Category award in the Motion Design category for its Happy New Year video. The winning team included Media Studies major (and last year’s Outstanding Senior) Taehee Lee (CCAD 2011) who came up with the concept and directed the video; videographer, media studies junior Alex Trimpe, CCAD Creative Director Lindsay Kronmiller, and Editorial Director Laura Bidwa.

CCAD’s partnership with local brand agency Ologie on the Masters of Design, Senior Fashion Show event collateral earned both organizations Awards of Excellence in the Print category for the invitation and the show catalog. The winning team was comprised of, from CCAD, Arreche, Bidwa, Danielle Deley (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2011), Kronmiller,  and Simone Noronha (CCAD, Advertising & Graphic Design, 2011) and from Ologie, Andy Hayes and Kelly Ruoff.

“These projects not only showcase our student work to the outside world, but also allow our students to build the relationships and business experience that will place them above the rest upon graduation,” said Kronmiller.

CCAD’s Fashion Show print collateral also earned awards from American Graphic Design,  which awarded CCAD four certificates of excellence for branding initiatives, including print and environmental graphics.

In addition to the Fashion Show invitation, the college received awards for the Art Walk (environmental graphic’s in CCAD’s Canzani Center),  the Viewbook, and a positioning piece, titled Think. Do.

Both the Viewbook and the Fashion Show invite were done through the collaboration with Ologie, which is owned by board of trustee member and alumna Bev Bethge (CCAD 1982-1986). The company is an award-winning branding agency that serves national and international clients. The Design Group students worked closely with the agency to complete both pieces gaining mentorship while producing award-winning print materials.

The Art Walk panels were  designed by Design Group, with the help of Chute Gerdeman, another award-winning strategic brand and design firm in Columbus (which also took home awards from CSCA on Thursday).

“’When prospective students, parents, and the general public encounter our materials, they are seeing student work,” said Kronmiller. “It is a great testament to the talent and ability of our students.”

The American Graphic Design Awards are open to all businesses and partnerships in the graphic design community. There were more than 8,000 entries and only 15 percent were then recognized with an Awards Certificate of Excellence.

Judges for the CSCA Creative Best awards were Brigitta Bungard, assistant creative director at the Museum of Modern Arts in-house design studio in NYC; Joe Marianek, associate partner at Pentagram, an international design consultancy; and Ken Visocky O’Grady, an associate professor at Kent State University.

Photo courtesy: Dr. Rikizam M. Joya.

How far have you ever traveled to take a job? Many of us gulp at the thought of moving just a few hundred miles from a familiar place. But others dream in thousand-mile increments. One very successful example is CCAD alumnus Christopher Maslon (Fine Arts, 1996), who has spent most of the last decade working as an expatriate high school teacher, then college professor, in South Korea. (Columbus to Daejeon? It’s 6,818 miles.)

“Living and working in Korea has been the greatest time of my life,” Maslon says. “I absolutely love my job, I’ve written and published two books, and I’ve also had time to create and sell art—printmaking, papermaking, and photography.”

Not to mention his frequent travel, which might be fairly called an obsession now that he’s visited his 43^rd country. “My next will be either Fiji or Mongolia,” he says.

Maslon is, in his own words, “mind-bendingly busy,” but he’s certainly not slowing down. Last spring, he was named the newest member of the Executive Liberal Arts Board of Daejeon Health and Sciences College (DHSC), the college where he teaches. He says, “Now I have the opportunity to shape the future face of a college with an enrollment nearly equal to the total population of my hometown. My mother often told me, ‘The future is wide open—anything can happen,’ and how right she was.”

Given that CCAD students are now looking at a job market that is global, rather than regional, we knew how valuable it would be to find out more about Maslon’s experiences. So we sat down—albeit at our own computers on opposite ends of the world—for a chat about his life and career.

IMAGE: What is the impact of having a US citizen on the board of a Korean college? What are your plans?

CM: It is quite unheard of for someone with foreign views and ideas outside the Korean mainstream to hold this type of post. I feel blessed and utilized by the staff of DHSC and respected for my ideas and input.

The college is expanding rapidly. My role is to create new courses in art and design, including color study, printing, papermaking, and silkscreen, and to open a new, state-of-the-art exhibition gallery.

Because my employers know I have an art degree, they will knock at my door and say, “This is our design, [or] we got this logo, [or] we paid a lot for this to be made…but what does Mr. Christopher say about it?” I go into this CCAD-trance of explaining, critiquing, and re-correcting every time I’m asked my opinion.

IMAGE: How did you end up in Korea?

CM: After CCAD, I was earning an MFA from Ohio State University. I lived near campus, and there were seven Korean families—all professionals who worked at OSU—living on my street. They shared many wonderful stories. In November 1999 I had the chance to make my first trip to Korea with a good friend who had found cheap tickets online.

Then, in January of 2002, my Korean friend Dr. Joseph Lee emailed, saying that he had a friend in Korea, Isaac Kim, who was a high school vice principal and needed a teacher. I deleted the email but suffered for three days because I kept thinking about it. I finally picked up the phone and said, “Joseph, what did you email me?” His wife asked him who was on the phone. He said, “It’s Christopher.” And his wife started yelling in the background, “He’s the one, he’s the one!” They had been praying for a person to contact them, and I was the only person out of the hundred or so emails he sent who called and inquired. After hearing the details, I accepted the offer, and in less than one month I was packed and had signed a one-year contract with Dong Ah High School.

I thought that on the final day of my contract I would run to the airplane and get home to the USA as soon as possible. But nine years later, I’m married to a wonderful Korean woman, with a beautiful five-year-old daughter—still here and loving it.

IMAGE: Any big cultural differences?

CM: Yes. The cultural differences are massive. Our American ways of working, greeting each other, shopping, eating, having relationships, equality between people, equality between men and women are all different [than the Korean].

IMAGE: What has been hardest to get used to?

CM: Language barriers, misunderstandings, and cultural flubs. Since I speak Korean, a lot of language barriers have disappeared as my skill level has increased. But even now I suffer from misunderstandings and times when I can’t say exactly what I want to.

Also, in Korea, hierarchy plays a major role in society. Your bosses at your workplace are your superiors, and you don’t question them like we do in the West.

Another thing is that space boxes do not exist here. This means touching other people without saying sorry is completely appropriate. It’s not uncommon to be in an elevator with 17 to 20 people, or for another person to be standing so close to you that you can feel their breath on your neck.

IMAGE: Any advice to CCAD students and alumni who might be considering overseas employment?

CM: Absolutely. Get your act together. Do your homework first about where you might seek employment—learn as much as you possibly can about that country before you go. You will need to get an up-to-date passport. You will also need a resume that shows who you are for real. People overseas are counting on you to be who you say you are and deliver. Remember, you are becoming an ambassador and representative of your country, your school, and your knowledge. Also remember you are stepping into someone else’s world. This is not your home. Your ways and their ways are different.

CCAD is an excellent school that prepares us for many challenges. I would like for CCAD students to step forth, do their homework, get their passport, and fly. The sky is the limit, and the future is wide open for all of us.

work by Mylesant Carreno

An exhibition that centers on the unique approach to art making through the collaboration and mixing of media will feature 15 artists affiliated with Columbus College of Art & Design.

Alumni, faculty, and staff are all involved in Crossroads, an invitational exhibition at the Schumacher Gallery at Capital University.

Casey Bradley (CCAD 2001), a Fine Arts alumnus and Lab manager at CCAD, developed the exhibition.

“Crossroads is an exhibition devoted to the enduring spirit of the artist as a creative seeker,” Bradley said.

Bradley invited 20 artists to participate in the show. He went through a jurying process with the Schumacher Gallery director and the director’s assistant to choose the work.

“All of the artists were selected based upon the ability of their work to push the boundaries of the materials and the processes that they are working with,” he said.

The final show comprises of 55 pieces with mediums including watercolors, glass, ceramics, printmaking, found objects, and more.

“It is the orchestration methods and interactions with each artist’s materials that allow a sense of discovery to translate to the experience of the viewer,” Bradley said.

CCAD artists involved in the exhibition include Bradley, and Carol Boram-Hays (adjunct faculty),  Steven Bush (1994 Fine Arts alumnus), Mylesant Carreno (SMAC instructor and 2005 Fine Arts alumna), Elizabeth Fergus-Jean (adjunct faculty), Nicole Gibbs (adjunct faculty), Michael Goodson (Exhibitions Director), Hiroshi Hayakawa (associate professor and 1995 Photography alumnus), Kelly Malec-Kosak (assistant professor),  Tina Matthews (2003 Fine Arts alumna), Lauren Mudd (2004 Fine Arts alumna),  Brandon Noblet (adjunct faculty  and 2005 Fine Arts alumnus), Mariana Smith (adjunct faculty and 2002 Fine Arts alumna),  Nicki Strouss (SMAC instructor and 2008 Fine Arts alumna), and Christopher Yates (associate professor and 1987 Fine Arts alumnus).

For more information and the full list of participating artists click here.

The exhibition will be at the Schumacher Gallery at Capital University through Dec. 9, 2011 with a reception on Friday, Nov. 11 5–7 p.m.

Left to Right: Molly Burke, "Untitled (Body Forms)" and Virginia Kistler, "Untitled"

The Sculpture X Symposium and its 2011 fall juried exhibition will play host to Molly Burke (CCAD 2006), fine arts alumna and graduate admissions officer, and Virginia Kistler, current CCAD MFA student.

“Out of 60 applicants from 20 different institutions, Virginia and I were chosen, I think that speaks highly of the talent at CCAD,” Burke said.

The After the Pedestal, the 7^th Annual of Small Sculpture from the Region exhibition will host 14 artists, all current MFA students or recent graduates of programs in the Midwest.

Molly Burke has two pieces in the show. Her first piece, We’re Not Broken, is a sculpture featuring egg forms.

The sculpture has various broken, cracked, and whole egg shells. The work plays with shadows and light within an open, white palate.

“I am attracted to the overall smooth form and the balance that is apparent. The piece also has the representation of people, having each person showing different cracks or experiences in their shells,” said Burke.

Her second piece, Untitled which is subtitled Body Forms, pulls inspiration on a microscopic scale. It looks at organic cells and their idea of movement and health.

“I create artwork that a person wants to look out and touch, they want to interact with my pieces,” Burke said.

This piece features bright colored, sandblasted glass orbs, tucked inside a nylon sack which is hung from the ceiling, dangling at eye level.

Kistler will be showing her piece, Untitled, in the exhibition. Her work incorporates acrylic, tar, and found objects. It is a mounted wall piece that represents a biological growth out of control.

“The inspiration for the piece comes from images of cities at night taken from the International Space Station.  The piece is about the expansion of urban areas and the reasons for the growth,” said Kristler.

Kistler will complete her MFA at CCAD in spring 2012. The sculpture that is being shown was her spring 2011 semester project at CCAD.

The juror, Barbara Hunt McLanahan is the executive director of the Judd Foundation and a board member of the Jerome Foundation.

She chose work that “urges us to certainly be concerned, literally, about the dark—we should be more mindful of mankind’s depletion of the earth’s natural resource, and planning a future that has found more sustainable forms or energy or safer agriculture,” McLanahan said.

The juried exhibition is put on by the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, Ohio and is on display Sept. 16–Oct. 22, 2011. SculptureX Symposium #2: The State of the MFA will be on Oct. 15, 2011 at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Exhibition put on by Julie Abijanac and Char Norman

The cycle and beauty of life can be expressed in many different forms and CCAD faculty member and alumna, Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992) and staff member Char Norman showcase this in their two-person exhibition Reaction∫Response.

Norman and Abijanac’s exhibition questions the relationship humans have with nature and science. It deals with the psychical and psychological process of life and death.

Fine arts alumna, Abijanac questions mortality in her artwork by approaching it in from both a microscopic and psychological point of view.

Norman, dean of faculty, focuses on environmental aspects. Her work showcases man’s impact on earth and questions the harm people may be inflicting on nature.

This exhibition is a visual response to  their life experiences through the use of fiber, handmade paper, repurposed materials, and drawings.

After being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Abijanc was told by doctors that the carcinogens in oil-based paint would leave her having to wear a mask and gloves, disconnecting her from her art.

Abijanac found herself switching mediums and inspiration for her work. She had to had to “relearn how to be an artist.”

She now works with paper, deconstructing and then rebuilding her artwork into representations of life’s cycle and obstacles.

“My work is very labor intensive and it is a journal for me, every tear and every layer is what I went through that day,” Abijanac said.

One of her pieces, La Poursuite de Prendre une Vie, illustrates a microscopic look at the disease taking over. Its title translates into, the pursuit to take a life.

“I wanted to create something pretty out of something so devastating and showcase the possibilities this material can take, by having something so ordinary become unusual and beautiful,” Abijanac said.

Paper is incorporated in Norman’s work also.

Norman works closely with handmade paper, fiber, and paint to create sculptures.

“I will wake up at four in the morning and work for two hours on making paper before going into work, and then I will come home and make more paper,” Norman explained of her diligent art process.

One piece Norman is excited to showcase is Pearl Gate.  This piece is a walk through sculpture that she collaborated on with her brother, Kurt Steger, who is also a sculptor. The piece is a free standing structure and was originally debuted in Roanoke College in Virginia at Steger’s solo exhibition.

“I think what makes Julie and I a good pair for this exhibition is our different, but similar takes on life and our responses to it, while also using similar labor intensive mediums,” Norman said

Reaction∫Response will be on display Oct.1–Nov. 12, 2011 at the Cultural Arts Center, 139 West Main St., Columbus, Ohio. The opening reception will take place Oct. 1, 4:30-7 p.m.

CCAD students interact with Super Mario Bros. mural

In its September 2011 subscriber edition, Nintendo Power magazine wrote an article remembering  Ken Aschliman (aka Kenay Kash) and his mural, which was on CCAD’s campus in fall of 2010 (when Aschliman was a senior).

Aschliman (CCAD 2011), a  Fine Arts major, was part of the team that created the 16- by 38-foot interactive mural depicting a scene from Super Mario Bros to stand as a metaphor for student involvement.

“Ultimately, students control their college experience if they participate in the discussion, like a player controls a video game,” Aschliman said in the article.

“The mural invited students to participate by posing in the landscape to complete the image,” he said.

The project was worked on by 12 students and took eight days to complete.

The mural was painted on the side of the administrative building on campus. It was up for three months to promote the Student Government’s inaugural town-hall meeting, which is an open forum for students to discuss any concerns and seek out answers to questions. While up the mural garnered some media attention and was the subject of several blogs.

Eric Coolidge as Ox Lord

The Ohio Department of Education is running a series of stories to help celebrate National Arts in Education Week, Sept.11–17, 2011 and Fine Art alumnus Eric Coolidge (CCAD 2011) was a featured web story.

The department site states that in July 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives designated the second week in September to “promote and showcase the role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, college, and career-ready students.”

The story about our alumnus was crafted to showcase what art teachers can do to make an impact on a student’s life.

According to the article, Coolidge was diagnosed with dyslexia as a child and struggled throughout school. He went to Orange High School (Cuyahoga County) and participated in the Cavotta’s career-technical visual art and design program, where art was the source of his transformation and drive.

Due to his success in the program he was awarded $10,000-a-year scholarship to CCAD. While studying at the college, he said he found amazing teachers who understood him.

The teachers “mostly guided me and watched me solve my own problems because they knew then what I know now – that to be successful you need to be able to think for yourself and find your own solutions,” Coolidge said in the article.

“Life really could not be much better,” Coolidge remarks.

He now resides in Brooklyn, New York. He can be found creating furniture and other designs for high-profile clients with Arch Production and Design or working on his own personal fine art, which mostly consists of metal sculptures that in Eric’s words are “insanely sharp, unviewer friendly, awesome.”

Read the full article here.

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.

Photo courtesy of Brian Hoyt, city of Gahanna- concept model of Steve Bush's artwork

Alumnus Steve Bush (CCAD, Fine Arts, 1994) will be the first commissioned artist to feature a public piece for Creekside Plaza.

His commissioned work and the city’s program were featured in an article in Columbus Local News, which can be read here.

Bush is working to finish creating a six-foot abstract sculpture that will be placed in front of a fountain at Creekside Plaza. The sculpture was commissioned by the Parks and Recreation Foundation. The unveiling of this sculpture on Sept. 9 at the park’s Friday after Five event will mark the launch of the foundation’s public art program.

Brandi Braun, Gahanna’s assistant city administrator, comments that it will hopefully be the beginning of a tradition of annually commissioning a piece to help increase a public art presence in Downtown Gahanna.

Bush began the process by presenting five sketches to a committee of seven people. He then created models to represent the two favored designs. The final sculpture was chosen by a committee vote.

The sculpture will remain in front of the fountain for one year, and then will be moved to a permanent location in the Creekside district.

A Fine Arts major,  Bush is a metal sculptor and owner of smARTworks. smARTworks specializes in one-of-a-kind metal sculptures and functional art. Bush started the business 10 years ago and has since then produced more than 3,000 pieces. He has his work displayed in 24 states and four countries and hopes to continue expanding within the coming years.

Image by Sara E. Adrian

The September Gallery Hop in Columbus includes the opening of a month-long show by Fine Arts alumnae Sara E. Adrian (CCAD 1998).

FLASH! An Art Show includes high quality limited edition prints that Adrian describes as “creatures of ancient and modern times, imagery that may make you question your place in the universe and other strange wonders and delights.”

The art show runs Saturday, Sept. 3 through Thursday, Sept. 29 at What The Rock?!, 
1194 N. High St. in the Short North district.

CCAD talent on display at Bluemile

A collaborative effort to support central Ohio entrepreneurs and to nurture the best ideas from the region includes a display of art for purchase as one of its active components.

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.

“We see CCAD as a leader in creative thought,” said Michael Marlowe, president and co-founder of Bluemile. “We’re introducing the college to various programs that we participate in that encourage idea growth and opportunity.”

Kevin J. Conlon, vice president for Academic Affairs, said CCAD talent came up in discussions with Marlowe as one way to support the company’s extensive involvement in venture accelerator and entrepreneurial programs.

“The elements that artists use to create are the same that entrepreneurs use to develop their businesses,” Marlowe said.

Since joining CCAD in June, Conlon has gotten to know the business executive as well as Fine Arts alumnus Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002), executive director for Wonderland and founder of Couchfire Collective. Both impressed him with their ideas about the value of creativity as a means to solve problems, spark innovation and develop entrepreneurship.

Conlon immediately thought of Brouillette as a source for connecting with the best artistic talent that Columbus has to offer when Marlowe inquired about showcasing artists and their work. In a matter of days Brouillette organized 12 artists, the majority of whom are affiliated with CCAD, with a shared vision that creative individuals of all types contribute to the overall cultural value of the area.

“I have learned through experience that artistic, creative cultures thrive when supported and coupled with business entrepreneurs,” Brouillette said. “The opportunity to have these creative endeavors collide makes complete sense and I’m happy to do my part.”

Along with Brouillette, participating Fine Arts alumni included Christine D’Epiro (CCAD 2005), Andrew Ina (CCAD 2006), Boryana Rusenova Ina (CCAD 2006), Mike Litzau (CCAD 2004), Lauren Mudd (CCAD 2004), Nikos Fydor Rutkowski (CCAD 2002), Stephanie Sypsa (CCAD 2004) and Christopher Tennant (CCAD 2006). Other participants included Illustration alumnus Brian R. Williams (CCAD 2003), an adjunct instructor in Advertising & Graphic Design, and Foundation Studies adjunct instructor Nicole Langille. Ina and Litzau also are adjunct instructors in Foundation Studies and Rusenova Ina is a Fine Arts adjunct instructor.

“It makes perfect sense,” Conlon said. “(An artist’s) way of thinking during the creative process, also called abductive thinking, is identical to the sort of thinking that entrepreneurs engage to come up with new ideas.”

“I believe that Michael, Adam and I all share a vision that creative individuals of all types can contribute their skills in a way that realizes value from new ideas and new intellectual property,” Conlon said. “Overall, those skills contribute to the cultural value of the region and lead to the establishment and growth of creative companies in central Ohio.”

Sample from a CCAD teaching portfolio

Several CCAD faculty were presenters at the recent Assessment in the Arts Conference in Denver, CO.

Associate Provost Char Norman, Dean of Fine Arts and Foundation Studies Julie Taggart (CCAD 1991), and Christopher Yates (CCAD 1987), chair of Foundation Studies, were among the art and academic professionals who shared their first-hand knowledge and experiences. Their presentation, Accountability and Exchange: Using Digital Portfolios for Assessment, focused on CCAD’s use, beginning in 2010, of faculty and student digital portfolios as part of its assessment process. The discussion touched upon the benefits, challenges, and opportunities inherent in the method.

Additionally, Liberal Arts’ Jeannine Kraft, chair of history of art and design, and Julie Posey, chair of science, teamed together to deliver a paper entitled Assessment in the Liberal Arts in the Art and Design College Context.

Held at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, the conference was designed to add to the body of knowledge of assessment of creative academic programs. Focal topics included improvement of student learning, how the arts can be appropriately assessed for accreditation, and techniques of providing assessment feedback.

The Grave Watchers by Missouri Dalton

A novel by Fine Arts alumna Ashley K. Alexander—inspired during art conservation studies and a Halloween ghost tour in Europe—is being published this August.

The Grave Watchers, a horror/paranormal fantasy novel under the nom de plume Missouri Dalton, is available as an e-book from Torquere Press.

Alexander (CCAD 2009) wrote the novel while she completed post-baccalaureate studies at SACI in Florence, Italy. Much of her work was with a Picenian tomb and she was trying to come to terms with how she felt about justifying disturbing a grave to further the understanding of history and culture. Concurrently, she went to London for fall break and took a Halloween ghost tour where a story about a grave robbing really struck her.

“I rolled it around in my head for a week or so, and a family member invited me to join in the National Novel Writing Month,” Alexander said. “I figured it would be a nice challenge and wrote the first draft during that mad month. The second draft took considerably longer. I took a year to do rewrites and got lucky with the publisher.”

Alexander said she has always been fascinated by the paranormal, folklore, and history and that her novel is an amalgam of those interests. The e-book is her first novel and if sales go well she hopes to pick up a print contract as well. She currently is working on a sequel to The Grave Watchers, among other writing projects.

Alexander decided to use a nom de plume at the start of her career because she’s “still a little shy about the idea of publicity.”

The book is for sale on the publisher’s website. A interview with Alexander as a featured author (dated Aug. 9, 2011) is on the publisher’s blog.

Bill Hunt, professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies

Professor Bill Hunt will be a presenter at a national ceramists workshop at Wayne Center for the Arts in 2012.

Hunt, a professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, will demonstrate and discuss larger-scale throwing on the potter’s wheel, wire-cut ceramics, and handmade tile production at the Functional Ceramics Workshop. The long-running educational event in Wooster, OH consists of a national invitational exhibition, workshop sessions, visual presentations, and sales opportunities.

Hunt’s presentation is scheduled for April 20 and 21, 2012. He will be joined by studio potter Malcolm Davis and Gail Kendall of the University of Nebraska as the three commentators demonstrate their skills.

Hunt’s studio work has been represented in numerous national and international exhibitions and collections, including the permanent collections of the Saga (Japan) Prefectural Art Museum, the Canton Museum of Art, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the American Museum of Ceramic Art.

Bridal accessories by alumna Michelle Dick at Big Rock Little Rooster

A Fine Arts alumna’s first trunk show is this September in Columbus and it will feature custom hand-tooled silk floral hairpieces.

Michelle Dick’s business, Mimi’s Closet, is a multi-faceted company of four divisions, including custom bridal accessories (Mimi’s Closet Bridal Accessories), handcrafted handbags (Mimi Baggage), children’s clothing and accessories (Mimi’s Kids), and Misc. Mimi, which encompasses fine art, print work, and miscellaneous arts and crafts.

Dick (CCAD 2008) has been in business since 2009 and operates out of Baker Hill, AL. After introducing her pieces in a Columbus store she began getting requests for custom wedding pieces so she decided to enter the bridal market. Now, Mimi’s Closet is exclusive to Big Rock Little Rooster in Columbus, where the trunk show will be the entire month of September.

Dick’s second trunk show will be hosted by the same boutique, 654 N. High St., in the Short North, for the entire month of December 2011. In the past, Dick has been invited to create pieces for a Vera Wang trunk show as well as other designers’ trunk shows.

Recently, Mimi’s Closet accessories were included in a photo shoot in the debut issue of Capital Style Bride magazine and also were featured on a segment about Big Rock Little Rooster on the TV show Daytime Columbus. Look for handprinted onesies from Mimi’s Kids in an upcoming issue of Columbus Parent Magazine, which included the clothing in a photo shoot for upcoming use with its online publication.

More product information is available through Dick’s online store at www.mimiscloset.storenvy.com

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.

Image from Julie Abijanac

Fine Arts alumna Julie Abijanac (CCAD 1992) has been accepted into The Studios of Key West Artist in Residency Program for summer 2012.

Abijanac is one of 25 residency artists from five countries and 20 different cities selected to advance the visual, performing and literary arts through an array of disciplines and mediums.

During the Key West program, Abijanac, an assistant professor of Foundation Studies, Media Studies, and Graduate Studies, will continue her work of the past few years on two dimensional paper pieces and digital drawings that address her personal experience with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

The disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system, has lead her through an investigation of its psychological aspects and, most recently, the microscopic patterning of the disease. She explores the patterning of what is seen in a ‘field stain’ of a blood specimen and applies a controlled application of line, value and positioning of multiple compositions and/or parts to create larger works. 

Abijanac said one of her goals for this opportunity is to give back to the Key West art community by providing work for an exhibition based on her time in the four-week residency. She hopes to create an installation for exhibit in the Armory Main Hall or in the TSKW Space 2.

Abijanac said a long-term goal is to venture into the world of installation. She will be on sabbatical during spring semester 2012 and then will participate in the residency program before returning to CCAD in the autumn to teach.

"Life on Uncle Howard's Farm" by Eric Homan

Several CCAD alumni and faculty received awards at the opening of this year’s Fine Arts Exhibition at the Ohio State Fair.

The exhibition, housed in the Cox Fine Arts Center on the fairgrounds in Columbus, showcases approximately 300 pieces of Ohio’s best artwork during the fair, which runs through Aug. 7.

In the professional category, Andrew Ina (CCAD 2006) received 2nd Best of Show ($1400) for “The Price of Greatness is Responsibility.” Carol Griffith, professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies and chair of painting at CCAD, received one of 10 Ohio Arts Council professional awards ($300) for “Conneaut Cycle-Blue Streak.”

Ina, who studied Fine Arts at CCAD, and two other alumni received awards for their short films. Ina’s “HOMEless” won Best of Show ($1,000) and Media Studies alumni Corey Aumiller (CCAD 2006) received 2nd Best of Show ($300) for “1926/1950/1984.” A Juror’s Choice Award ($100) went to Amanda H. Cook (CCAD 1999) for “Ink.” Aumiller also received a Greater Columbus Arts Council award ($250) for “Walls.” Film jurors were Susan Halpern and Chad Dull.

In addition to the award winners, other CCAD-affiliated artists had work accepted in the exhibition. The film division included “Self Portrait as Marlon Brando” by Cook, who majored in Illustration, and “Columbus Lights” and “Life on Uncle Howard’s Farm” by Eric Homan (CCAD 1998). Homan is an assistant professor of Media Studies at CCAD.

The exhibition’s professional category included work by Fine Arts alumni Brandon Antczak (CCAD 2007) and Adam Brouillette (CCAD 2002) as well as faculty members Carol Borham-Hays, an adjunct instructor of Liberal Arts, and John Kortlander, a professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies.

A complete listing of artists and works in the Fine Arts Exhibition is at theohiostatefairfineartsexhibition.blogspot.com.

A reception is 4-6 p.m. Sunday, July 24 in the Geh8 studio of Julian-Norton, an assistant professor of Fine Arts and Graduate Studies, and Studio42 collaborator Tarrah Krajnak. A brief artists’ talk starts at 5 p.m in the Dresden facility.

Their performance-based projects explore the struggle of the artist within a contemporary context and the process of collaboration itself. Invented characters are mined from the history of conceptual performance art and popular film then displaced within absurd narratives, which reference the artist at work, the psychology of relationships, and the tension of meaning and meaninglessness as a central dilemma.

The duo’s work recently was reviewed by Nadja Sayej, the host and producer of ArtStars*, a web-TV show about the art world and a New York Times writer.

Savej describes Studio42′s stop-motion video “The Stairs That Do Not Care” (2011) as “showing the artists falling down a flight eerie, spiraling black iron stairs donning white pantyhose, cotton dresses, falling down backwards from the tip of the Technical Museum in the heart of cloudy Dresden, a small German town just two hours south of Berlin. They could very well be stunt actors – and they’ve got the bruises to prove it, not to mention their feet powdered with dirt and dust.”

Read the full article here.

Samantha Bennett

Fine Arts alumna Samantha Bennett is scheduled to appear on the July 14th episode of TLC’s NY Ink.

Bennett (CCAD 1995-1999) was invited to be part of the show’s Everyday People Project  to share her story and art after a spring trip to the Big Apple.

Bennett is an artist who paints with amputated fingers after surviving meningitis meningococcal disease at nine months of age and undergoing numerous subsequent reconstructive surgeries.  She began taking art lessons at age six and nine years later began creating art commissions.

In addition to her established career, Bennett creates art for many nonprofit groups like the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, the National Meningitis Association and more. She has a series called Butterfly Portraits: Artwork Dedicated to Loss, which was started after the death of her son Jonas, who was born prematurely. The series has been used in association with the March of Dimes, the National Association for Women in the Arts, and neonatal loss support groups.

Locally, Bennett’s art can be seen at the Hayley Gallery. More information also is available on Bennett’s website.

CCAD Director of Continuing Education Cat Sheridan and Kareem Jackson

When her full-time gig doesn’t occupy her time, alumna Cat Sheridan (CCAD 2003), is an enthusiastic arts and culture consumer and an active member of and participant in several arts-minded groups in central Ohio.

Recently, Sheridan, the director of Continuing Education at CCAD, helped plan Off the Grid, a benefit event to support the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Besides serving as co-chair of the GenWex Advisory Committee, the Fine Arts graduate also is active in the Columbus Arts Marketing Association, Ohio Art League, Creative Arts of Women, and ARTillery Ohio.

“In the past five years I’ve developed a strong relationship with the (Wexner) center in a volunteer capacity and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to help out, and the relationships I’ve gained in the process,” Sheridan said in a recent Q & A session with her co-chair Kareem Jackson for Wexblog.

Sheridan said she finds that “volunteering in an organization you care about offers deeper connections, richer experiences, and can often open doors you never imagined” and that community involvement has changed her approach to advocacy.  “I am far more vocal and do my best to inform and motivate people about the great things we have happening right here, right now,” she said.

Read the full interview here.

Image from roygbivgallery.org/

Fine Arts alumna Susan Li O’Connor (CCAD 1996) is one of three artists featured in an exhibition opening July 12 in Columbus.

New Works: Ginnie Baer, Matt Logsdon, Susan Li O’Connor will be at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Carnegie Gallery beginning July 12. An opening reception is 5:30–8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 14 in the library’s second-floor gallery at 96 S. Grant Ave.

The show, curated by Stephanie Rond for ROY G BIV Gallery, a nonprofit gallery for emerging artists, runs through Sept. 2.

O’Connor is an instructor in Foundation Studies, Fine Arts, and Graduate Studies at CCAD.