Ohio Governor John Kasich with winning design Aaron Roberts

CCAD-Designed Licenses and Plates Hit the Road

It was a pretty big deal when Gov. John Kasich asked CCAD to help design new driver’s licenses and license plates for the Ohio BMV. And ever since the selected designs were unveiled in November 2011, we’ve been itching to see them out in the real world.

Well, that time has come. The new driver’s license went into circulation in January, and the new plates are due to come into use as this magazine hits the mail. So watch the wallets, purses, and bumpers near you for clean, elegant new designs by CCAD’s very own Aaron Roberts (Advertising & Graphic Design 2012)!

Informal Critique Blooms on Campus

Want to get unvarnished opinions about your art? Ask your peers.

That’s the approach Fine Arts alum Erin McKenna (CCAD 2012) adopted for a student-driven critique program she started at CCAD.

During her junior year, she participated in the semester-long New York Studio Residency Program. “There were kids from all over the United States,” McKenna says. “Nobody knows anybody when you get there. We decided that on Wednesday nights we’d make dinner together and walk around the studios, giving critiques. It was at night, much more relaxing; there were no professors there. We listened to each other. I learned a lot; it was nice to have the perspective of a peer.”

McKenna liked the idea so much she brought it back to campus, organizing evening critique sessions for students during her senior year. Up to 30 participants, mainly Fine Arts majors with some from Illustration and Advertising & Graphic Design, visited studios. “I had a lot of people come up to me after they had their critique and say it was very helpful.”

“It’s still going on Wednesday nights and has even more people,” she says.

Animation students during Skype conversation

Animation Students Skype for Advice

For members of the Animation Student Collective at CCAD, professional advice is only a Skype away.

Skype, an Internet voice and video service, links the student animators to professionals, including CCAD alumni. Animation senior Rico Jackson, president and founder of the Animation Student Collective, explains: “Most of the professionals are in California because that’s where the animation industry is, the bulk of it. We can’t bring them to Ohio because that would cost entirely too much money.

“Instead, we Skype them.”

The group meets in Kinney Hall. Using a computer linked to a video projector, Jackson asks the guest animator questions; other students also can come up to the computer’s camera and pose questions as well.

Chris Oatley (CCAD 2001), a former Disney character designer who now runs an online art academy, held a session with students last semester. “Chris is a phenomenal speaker,” Jackson says.

Jackson hopes to have Skype sessions with three guests during spring semester. He says the sessions have an impact. “With Chris, a lot of people sent us messages or talked with us afterward. They said it was really inspirational. Students made some artwork right away because they were inspired.”

Students work in the MindMarket

Students Embark on Two-Year Project with Electronics Company

The CCAD MindMarket’s DesignLab is giving students the chance to dig into an extended design project with the advanced electronics company InPower.

“InPower reached out to CCAD after learning about some of the offerings CCAD has for Industrial Design,” says Cynthia Gravino, CCAD MindMarket director.  “We determined that a DesignLab partnership would best serve their needs and would provide a great hands-on opportunity for our students in a client-based project setting.”

Tom Gattis, dean of the School of Design Arts and chair of Industrial Design, stepped in to lead the project.

For the first semester (fall 2012) students conducted a comprehensive market, product, and competitive landscape analysis.

This spring, they’ll incorporate that research into a redesign of InPower’s product packaging.

InPower will continue to tap into CCAD talent throughout 2013­–2014, focusing on work to find new avenues for their products.

“As an engineering-based organization, InPower provided an opportunity to expand the types of companies we serve,” Gravino says.

“The only difference [from the real world] is we are doing it within the safe confines of the college,” Gattis says. “Students have expert guidance from faculty and can try a lot of things and really explore concepts that in a corporate setting would be a bit too risky.”

Science Chair’s Research Presented

CCAD Chair of Science Julie Posey has worked with Ohio State University’s Division of Infectious Diseases since 2010 to create a tracking profile for a specific strain of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Posey’s research studied nearly 500 positive cases of MRSA.

The resulting paper, Development of Bio-informatics Research Network for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Blood Stream Infections (BSI): A Multicenter Regional MRSA Surveillance Collaborative for Genotyping, Geocoding, and Data Collection for Outbreak Investigation, was presented by OSU researchers at the Infectious Disease Society of America conference last fall.

Alexa Carson’s holiday card design

’Twas the Season — for a Holiday Card Contest Winner

CCAD teamed up with the Columbus Partnership last year 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.

“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,” said Stephen Lyons, vice president of member services and community engagement at the Partnership.

A jury reviewed 38 entries and selected Illustration senior Alexa Carson’s design.

Carson received a $1,000 cash prize, and the card, which included her name and contact info, was distributed to more than 3,000 Columbus Partnership clients and friends.

Fine Arts Faculty Member Keeps Active Practice

Danielle Julian Norton’s approach to artmaking? Two words: keep moving.

Norton, a 1999 Fine Arts alum and now an assistant professor of fine arts and graduate studies, is keeping up an almost dizzying itinerary of residencies and exhibitions in the United States and Europe.

This includes stints last fall at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO, and last summer at I-Park in East Haddam, CT.

A year earlier, she did residencies at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, NE, and in Dresden, Germany, under the sponsorship of the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

Her exhibition schedule last year ranged from the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in Lancaster to the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO, to the Cynthia-Reeves Gallery at Art Miami. A show at Ohio Dominican University will have just closed as this magazine mails.

“To grow as an artist I feel it’s important to meet other artists and go outside my comfort zone.” Norton says. “Each time I go and meet a new art community and group of artists, it’s like a mini-graduate school; you learn new approaches to art-making.”

“I think it works well in the classroom,” she says. “I can give [students] real-world examples. A teacher should also be an active artist.”

Norton calls her work interdisciplinary, “a cross between sculpture, photography, and performance.”

Next on tap is I Forgot to Forget, a June 15 – July 20 exhibition she is curating at the Urban Arts Space of Ohio State University.

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?

Jennifer Porreca Faux at her desk, photo by Luke Kramer

By Kristin Mack Deuber

Fashion Design alumna Jennifer Porreca Faux (CCAD 2002) was always the person her friends turned to for fashion advice. Whether flipping through magazines or weekend shopping at thrift stores to embrace the ’90s grunge trend, she’s been interested in style and spotting the hottest trends since she was a little girl.

“Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money to spend on fashion,” says Faux. “I would do my best to save my money and beg my parents to buy me trendy clothes and accessories.”

In addition to fashion, Faux also had an interest in the fine arts—with artistic parents, art was a big part of her youth. She took Saturday Morning Art Classes at CCAD as a child, where she began to develop her creative skills. When the time came for her to choose a college, it was a lucky coincidence that CCAD was so close to home and had a great fashion program.

“I loved that CCAD’s curriculum focused not only on fashion, but also on fine art skills, including color concept, 2D and 3D figure drawing, and art history,” says Faux. “It made me a more creative fashion designer by providing me with the foundational skills that I could use to easily design any type of fashion including apparel, accessories, footwear, and lifestyles.”

Tween products, photo by Luke Kramer

An Upward Trend

Upon graduating from CCAD in 2002, Faux landed a job as assistant designer of sweaters, active, and graphic tees for Justice, a label of the industry leader Tween Brands, Inc. Over the next four years, she was quickly promoted to associate designer of sweaters and accessories, and then to designer of accessories, footwear, and lifestyles. She rejoined Tween in 2009 as a senior designer of accessories and footwear.

Today, Faux is Tween’s director of specialty design, overseeing a team of six designers and two interns.

The position calls for extensive travel to keep abreast of trends worldwide. But when Faux is in Ohio, business meetings are a big part of her day. She works with senior design and merchandising staff to align Tween’s design and sales strategies. She also meets with cross-functional partners, including the tech department, to check the fit of products she is creating and make sure the sampling and production of all products are flowing smoothly.

Faux usually ends her day researching trends, visiting stores, and doing last minute trouble-shooting.

Being a fashion designer and traveling around the world may sound glamorous, but it can be taxing work. Faux often gets up at 4 a.m. to catch flights, works 12- to 14-hour days, hauls bags in and out of cabs (and trains and planes), battles jet lag, and eats on the run — all while staying in constant contact with her home office.

Over the past 10 years, Faux has seen many changes in the speed of fashion trend cycles and the way goods are sourced. “With social media and blogging, our customers have become extremely fashion savvy, wanting the hottest trends NOW,” she says. “Also, with all of the [political] changes happening around the world, sourcing new factories and obtaining competitive prices for goods have become increasingly challenging. “

Tween products, photo by Luke Kramer

Advice: Get It and Give It

During her time at Tween, Faux has cultivated relationships with several mentors, which she says has been the best part of working for the company. Her favorite mentor advice is “know your business.” In other words, good designers can design absolutely anything, as long as they study their target market, understand the business side of the industry, and build a design strategy based around that knowledge.

She also values “speak with facts, not emotions,” because the facts make a stronger case that is less likely to be misinterpreted.

Her biggest piece of advice to today’s students? Network, network, network. “To get a great job in the fashion industry it definitely helps to know the right people who can recommend you and help you get your foot in the door,” says Faux. “It’s important for students to put themselves out there early and take advantage of any opportunities that come their way. No job is too small or insignificant. If you do everything with passion, others will see that and want you on their team.”

The CCAD Angle

Faux enjoys supporting CCAD. She always looks to hire CCAD graduates because she knows they have strong design skills. She also financially supports the annual senior fashion show, reviews student portfolios, and speaks to classes as often as her schedule permits.

Maintaining relationships with fellow CCAD alumni has benefited Faux’s own career. Many of her fellow fashion design alums have found successful careers in Columbus, New York, and beyond — and their paths constantly cross.

“I truly value the education I received at CCAD,” says Faux. “I love staying part of the CCAD community and continuing to build relationships with new CCAD students as well as alumni.”

Tim Bowers’ cover image for “Dinosaur Pet”

By Bill Mayr

To keep up with illustrators from CCAD, just peruse the bestseller lists.

A good place to start is the Children’s and Young Adult categories, where three illustrators with CCAD ties — graduates Tim Bowers and John Jude Palencar, along with faculty member C.F. Payne — have helped propel books to the top of the market since 2011.

To be sure, they aren’t the first CCAD-related illustrators to make the lists, and it’s a safe bet they won’t be the last. But the varied experiences of this trio reflect the opportunities, challenges, and joys of illustration, especially with works created for a younger crowd.

Tim Bowers

Tim Bowers (CCAD 1979) made the New York Times and Publishers Weekly lists in the middle of last year with Dinosaur Pet, a picture book by Marc Sedaka with a CD recorded by his Grammy Award-winning father, Neil Sedaka. That project came on the heels of Bowers’ 2011 success with Dream Big, Little Pig, written by figure-skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi.

Bowers devotes his entire practice to children’s books, a focus that started forming years ago. “The things you need to develop a picture book are things I’ve been interested in for a long time — storytelling, humor. Basically I’m a very narrative artist. Character expressions — I’ve been fascinated with that since I was a little boy,” he says.

Bowers has illustrated more than 30 children’s books. Usually, publishers who have accepted book manuscripts will seek out the illustrators. When he is offered a project, Bowers says, “I read through the manuscript and let them know if I think I’m a good fit.” Then he starts creating characters with pencil sketches, later transferring them to canvas or illustration board to paint with acrylics or oils.

John Jude Palencar’s cover image for “Eragon”

John Jude Palencar

Bowers’ experience contrasts with that of his friend John Jude Palencar (CCAD 1980), a leading book-cover illustrator who spends only part of his time on young-adult books. Every cover in Christopher Paolini’s bestselling four-book Inheritance Cycle series — about a teenage boy, Eragon, and his dragon — has carried an elegantly rendered Palencar painting of Saphira the dragon.

Palencar says he has declined offers to illustrate entire children’s books. “You have to live with it for a while, trying to develop a character. I’m mostly a cover illustrator. I enjoy the variety of each new manuscript. I like doing symbol and allegory.”

Palencar has some 300 book covers to his credit and has worked with big-name authors like Stephen King. He knows the ways of the world, but his illustrations for young adults have a special resonance. “You don’t realize how some people hang on to your image for the cover. Everything is kind of mulled over by these young kids. Being a freelance illustrator, we work somewhat isolated in our personal studios… [but] you never know, you may be influencing the illustrators of tomorrow.”

His paintings have a suave, 21st-century sensibility to them, but, the illustrator says, “I’m still an old dinosaur; I paint traditionally. I still think there is something noble and almost monastic when you work with your hands. I feel like an old Jedi knight: Don’t forget the old ways.”

C.F. Payne

C.F. (Chris) Payne, CCAD’s illustration chair for a decade-plus and now distinguished professor of illustration, assuredly hasn’t forgotten the old ways. Payne created animal and outer-space scenes for Mousetronaut, a number-one bestseller written by retired astronaut Mark Kelly.

A widely published editorial illustrator, Payne holds a can-do attitude and works in varied media: oils, acrylics, watercolor, colored pencils. “It is getting the drawing and color down right and making the picture look as good as you can possibly make it look,” he says. Payne says he and the other Illustration faculty teach that approach.

“I’m really proud of the department we’ve got. We have solid people who care about what they do. We want to be honest. Being an artist of any kind is a challenge, but it’s worth it,” he says.

C.F. Payne’s cover image for “Mousetronaut”

Challenges — and Rewards

So don’t make the mistake of thinking that illustrating books for younger readers is a piece of cake.

“A children’s book comes along and you have six months, three months, a year, and now you are in a crazy marathon and have to manage that time along with the other projects you’ve got,” Payne says.

“For most of them you’ll do 16 to 18 images. For an ABC book, there are 26 letters plus the cover and the title page, so it ends up being 28 images. It’s a grind, a ton of work. You make a dozen pictures and go cripes, I’m not halfway there yet.”

Such a big investment of time and effort has its rewards, though.

A magazine illustration might have a shelf life of a week and poof, it’s gone from the newsstand. “Whereas a children’s book can be around for a long time,” Payne says. He adds, “I’ve not walked out of too many children’s books saying I’ll never do that again.”

Being on the children’s book bestseller lists is a “wow” experience, Bowers says, but the real payoff is deeper. “The best confirmation I receive is when I visit a school and the kids are really excited, familiar with the characters, and love the book. The bestseller list is great for my career, but the real joy is seeing the kids enjoying the book and enjoying the characters.”

The ROI

By Dennison W. Griffith

The term “ROI” (return on investment) has entered the realm of higher education with a vengeance.

You can’t have missed it: As U.S. public funding for college education has contracted, students and families are shouldering a much higher portion of the cost — and they’re seeking reassurance that their sacrifice will be worth it.

It’s an eminently reasonable concern. Unfortunately, the recent tsunami of articles, reports, and online discussions has often lost a key nuance: How does one effectively evaluate the value of preparation for careers in professions that have radically different starting salaries?

While some fields—like engineering or finance—traditionally have high starting salaries, others—like education or law—do not, or may require extended internships or education after the bachelor’s degree.

Starting salary is simply a very limited indicator of a field’s ultimate value both to society and to the individual pursuing it.

At the Center

Creative education is a great example of this. The new app you just downloaded on your smartphone required a designer or illustrator and an animator along with the programmers. And a creative promotional campaign spurred you to download it.

What would the team that launched that new app say to school rankings that advise prospective college students that only the programmer’s future prospects are worth pursuing? The programmer may deliver the content — but artists and designers bring it to life and deliver the customer.

Who’s Got Answers?

As CCAD president, I led a national-level conversation on this question when I co-chaired a panel discussion at the 2012 annual meeting of NASAD (the National Association of Schools of Art and Design).

And as schools outside the United States start to field similar questions from their students, we’re there, too. I was one of just 15 leaders who met last fall in Hangzhou, China, for a conference of the International Art Presidents Network, where I was proud to contribute CCAD’s experiences to the international conversation about global best practices in the constantly changing realm of art and design education.

The good news that we share everywhere we go: there are plenty of data-based ways to describe the value of higher education in the creative fields.

Working—and Happy

The arts compare favorably to other majors in employability and job satisfaction:

• Even during the recent recession, creative professions have been adding jobs.
• Arts-related college graduates are finding work in their fields at higher rates than graduates in many science-related fields. Their unemployment rate is a third less than the national average. (And contrary to what Aunt Jackie might predict, only 3% are working in food service!)
• A recent national study found that 9 of 10 arts graduates were satisfied with the job in which they spend the majority of their work time. And 82% were satisfied with their ability to be creative in their current work.

Private creative education is a powerful investment that pays off.

• The average three-year loan default rate for private art and design schools is barely half of the national average for all colleges.
• 80% of undergrad alumni from private art and design schools are now working or have worked in their professional fields after graduation, compared to only 64% from multidisciplinary schools.
• 71% of graduates from private art and design schools say their college education is relevant to their current work, compared to only 59% of alumni from multidisciplinary schools.

Staying on Target

But value is, by necessity, a moving target. We listen closely to our students and their families. Our partners in the creative economy also help us keep our curriculum in tune with what hiring managers are looking for.

At CCAD we’re leading other art schools by

• Providing real-life art, design, and entrepreneurship opportunities through the CCAD MindMarket’s DesignLab and the college’s Entrepreneurship Club. (20% of CCAD graduates will launch their own small businesses.)
• Infusing business knowledge throughout our curriculum. It’s not just important for those who start their own companies — even creative employees need to understand the bottom-line component of their work.
• Reworking our freshman year to allow broad, accurate exposure to different majors — ensuring right fit between student and his/her specialized training.

More about Careers

Want to read more about the creative economy and what it means for graduates in the arts? Take a look at Columbus College of Loving What You Do, our newest publication at issuu.com.

Michael Goodson (second from left) during an MFA critique, photo by Luke Kramer

By Melissa Starker

CCAD has been raising its profile in Columbus quite successfully over the past couple of years.

But Michael Goodson, CCAD’s director of exhibitions since August 2011, is looking ahead with something much broader in mind.

“My goal with exhibitions and visiting artists is quite simply to bring great contemporary art and artists to the school,” he says. “This will in turn make CCAD a destination for contemporary art—not only for patrons but also for great students and teachers from all over the U.S. and, ultimately, the world.”

Formerly exhibitions director of New York’s James Cohan Gallery and a professor of art at Hunter College, Goodson has also assumed a teaching role at CCAD. He guides students in the MFA program, leading discussions and presentations of their thesis work. But as he explains, “The exhibitions programming and visiting artists are my first thought as I drag myself to consciousness each morning.”

Goodson sees a distinction between his efforts in the classroom and in the Canzani Center Gallery and believes there’s educational value in developing thoughtful programming that doesn’t always fit seamlessly into school curriculum — but his two roles are organically entwined. Each strongly informs the professional development of CCAD’s artists in training.

By exposing students of all levels to the works and real-world wisdom of a stellar assortment of visiting artists, he’s expanding and strengthening personal connections between the student body and the global community of working artists.

Stefan Sagmeister speaking at CCAD as part of the Visiting Artists & Scholars Series on Aug. 30, 2012

According to Ric Petry, director of graduate programs and part of the search committee who hired Goodson, “He has brought an impressive group of artists and scholars to campus who have been meeting with the grad students—Stefan Sagmeister, Benjamin Anastas, Eleanor Heartney, Byron Kim, Donald Moffett, and Chris Ware, to name just a few from last semester. It’s been great.”

With MFA candidates, Goodson also shares the practical experience he acquired from conducting the day-to-day operations of a top-tier commercial gallery, from developing contacts to planning and physically installing exhibitions to marketing artwork.

Petry notes that Goodson has taken these lessons off campus as well. “He has organized grad student visits to New York, where his network has provided studio visits and mentorships with a number of artists.”

At the same time, Goodson has challenged himself, branching outside of his existing network to connect the college with the finest international talents.

“Honestly, I’ve asked things of New York and Los Angeles and Hong Kong galleries since arriving here that have little if anything to do with previous connections through the New York art world,” he explains. “You ask things, respectfully and thoughtfully, and people say yes…sometimes.”

His efforts have yielded a diverse and unassailably impressive slate of exhibitions and lectures for 2013. Among the artists scheduled to make an appearance at CCAD, whether in person or through their work, are Sol LeWitt, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Nari Ward, Jim Hodges, Fred Tomaselli, and Gary Panter, along with author and cultural critic Greil Marcus (Lipstick Traces).

Such notable scores suggest an increasingly prominent role for CCAD in the art world, as well as for the city it calls home. The line-up is enough to whet the appetite of most contemporary art lovers, not just students and faculty, and holds the potential to make the college’s gallery exactly the kind of destination Goodson envisions.

“In my estimation, one reason to live in Columbus is the Wexner Center,” Goodson says. “I think that, given a little time and energy and growth, exhibitions at CCAD might be another reason.”

CCAD President’s Circle

The Circle’s work has three impact areas:

• Embedding the art and practice of business into CCAD’s curriculum
• Marrying art and design with technology
• Increasing retention through need-based financial aid for high-performing students

The group continues to recruit new members. Next up, it plans to hold a private event where supporters will meet a national art scene VIP and receive a sneak peek into new and exciting things happening on campus.

For more information, please contact Laurie Beth Sweeney, vice president for advancement, at lsweeney@ccad.edu or 614.222.3268.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Albany High School’s starting blocks, designed by Joel Gundlach

Industrial Design alumnus and professor Joel Gundlach (CCAD 1986) just completed a unique design project for New Albany High School’s natatorium—he redesigned the pool starting blocks.

The project was especially close to home for Gundlach, who is a New Albany swim team parent. A generous contribution from the Berend family allowed the school to ask Gundlach to look at recreating the starting blocks.

“My approach to designing anything is that this is your one opportunity to do everything you dreamed about and put all those features you dreamed of into one object,” Gundlach said.

Left to right: Joel Gundlach, Keith Berend, Cindy Berend, and Jay Gundlach

Gundlach, with help from his brother Jay, talked to swimmers, volunteers, judges, and parents about their needs. He also reviewed the research of a colleague who designed blocks for a Worthington pool. The Gundlachs spent more than 300 hours designing, sketching, and then meeting with Columbus Machine Works, Inc., who manufactured the blocks.

One of the special features Gundlach included in the starting blocks were speakers. After talking with the swim team, he realized that swimmers in the last lane often cannot hear the judge start the race putting them at a disadvantage. Speakers help every swimmer hear the starting horn. The blocks also have a strobe light built in that goes off when the race starts. Gundlach also incorporated steps, since the blocks are used by young adults and children; fins to add traction, similar to those on a runner’s sprinting block; and a compartment to hold volunteers’ timers so they are no longer placed on the ground in between heats.

The blocks also had to coordinate with strict regulations such as the edge being no more than 30 inches from the water and the platform being tilted at no more than a 10-degree angle.

“The donation to create the blocks was a great benefit,” Gundlach said. “We were able to include all the features we wanted and also use stainless steel as a material. Stainless steel is perfect in that it is resistant to the harsh chemicals in the pool and the humidity in the natatorium.”

The blocks were installed just in time for the team’s first home meet on Dec. 4, and so far reviews have been great. Gundlach has created custom furniture since 1985 and has worked on projects for CCAD including drawing horses for the Fine Arts studios and tables for the ceramic classrooms.

Alumna Amanda Rouse in front of some of her artwork

MFA alumna Amanda Rouse (CCAD 2012) has had a busy exhibition schedule including three juried and two group exhibitions.

Rouse currently has work in the group exhibition Taking Home with You, which originated in New Orleans, LA, and is now traveling to cities in Ireland including Belfast, Bangor, and Limerick. She also had two prints exhibited at the Artist’s Alley in San Francisco, CA.

She has successfully entered three juried exhibitions, including Boundless: New Work in Contemporary Printmaking in New Haven, CT; Hand-Pulled: Ohio Printmakers at Art Space in Lima, OH; and Movements an exhibition at the Tuska Museum in Lexington, KY.

Shot from Rise of the Guardians, photo courtesy of DreamWorks Animation

Media Studies alumna Sucheta Bhatawadekar (CCAD 2005) worked as a lead lighter on Rise of the Guardians, a DreamWorks Animation movie released Nov. 21 of this year.

“As a lead lighter I am responsible for creating the initial lighting set-up for a particular sequence to simulate the lighting conditions,” Bhatawadekar said. “I capture the mood for that sequence as envisioned by the art director, visual effects supervisor, and the production designer.”

Rise of the Guardians follows an evil spirit named Pitch who launches an assault on Earth. A team of immortal guardians responds to protect the innocence of children all around the world. Characters are voiced by stars including Alec Bladwin, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine, Jude Law, and Isla Fisher.

Shot from Rise of the Guardians, photo courtesy of DreamWorks Animation

Bhatawadekar worked on Rise of the Guardians for five months and then jumped into working on another upcoming DreamWorks movie, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, to be released November 2013.

“It definitely gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment when I see a movie I worked with on the big screen,” Bhatawadekar said. “Of course, when you work on a project for so long, you cannot help but see all the minuscule imperfections that you wish you had time to fix. And then you remember all the long hours you put into every shot as it zips across the screen. It’s all worth the effort, though, when you see the audience reacting well to it.”

Bhatawadekar has worked with DreamWorks Animation in California for nearly five years, on projects including Kung Fu Panda 2, Megamind, and Monsters vs. Aliens.

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.

Cover of the illustrated cookbook “They Draw & Cook,” co-created by alumna Salli Swindell

The illustrated cookbook They Draw & Cook, co-created by Fashion Design alumna Salli Swindell (CCAD 1981) and her brother Nate Padavick, was reviewed in Gastronomic, a magazine that discusses food and culture.

The idea for They Draw & Cook originated from Swindell and Padavick’s website, which is a platform for artists to submit their illustrated recipes ranging from simple family traditions to more complex and elaborate dishes. They then decided to publish a cookbook featuring 107 of the website’s illustrated recipes.

The review of the cookbook appeared in the fall 2012 issue of Gastronomic.

“Here is a cookbook that Andy Warhol would have enjoyed,” the reviewer Stefanie S. Jandl said. “The presentation of the recipes is as diverse as the dishes; they are witty and whimsical, serious and sophisticated, and sometimes deeply personal.”

Read the full review here.

The cookbook is available through retailers such as amazon and Barnes & Noble for purchase.

Dennison W. Griffith

With students and faculty returning to campus refreshed from summer and ready for new challenges, fall is always an exciting time to be at CCAD. This year, our curriculum and facilities are reenergized, too, as the two-school administrative structure and the new CCAD MindMarket take their first steps.

CCAD’s role as the critical link between raw creative talent and the ever-growing, ever-changing creative economy is clearer and more vital than ever. We continue to focus on artistic and design excellence, but with an increased emphasis on the kinds of skills that can only be developed with a healthy dose of business education. We know this will be a key differentiator for CCAD graduates in the years ahead, and we’re on it!

Just look at the stories in this issue:

• Project-based education, where students work with clients to formulate real-life creative solutions outside the classroom, is a big part of a CCAD education—and getting bigger. Read more here.
• Photography alumna Anna Dickson (CCAD 2004) demonstrates how today’s economy is offering more and more avenues to creative professionals who keep their eyes open and their skills current. Read more here.
• Well-loved (and well-respected) faculty member emeritus Curtis Benzle is using his retirement to find new outlets for his teaching and new directions for his art. Read more here.

One last thing. Each fall, the worldwide CCAD community comes together to support students with our annual fund drive. Every single dollar you invest in our mission has real impact—for today’s CCAD students and tomorrow’s creative world. I hope you’ll join us. Please use the online donation form to make your investment today.

Warm regards,

Dennison W. Griffith

President

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

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.

CCAD MindMarket lobby, photo courtesy Danielle Ford (2013)

Architect Mitch Acock’s talents were benefiting CCAD well before he joined the college’s board of trustees in 2010—and his work with the CCAD Design Studios on Broad has been a centerpiece of his involvement. We caught up with him recently for a quick insider’s tour of the new CCAD MindMarket facility, for which he was the lead architect.

IMAGE: The key to this facility is how it brings together so many pockets of creativity from all over campus and creates one focused place for creative problem-solving. How does the design promote this synergy?

Mitch Acock (MA): We’ve incorporated a diversity of types of spaces, which allows for a wide variety of group collaboration formats as well as individual work areas. We’ve also made the spaces flexible for users, so they can “own” the space as they use it and shape it to their needs.

IMAGE: Is there a single feature that’s your favorite?

MA: The reception area. We made it big enough to also serve as a gallery space to show off, in video form, all the varied types of work that students at CCAD are involved in. To have the best examples of student work all in one space and on the corner of Broad and Cleveland is a great opportunity to show the quality and breadth of CCAD design work to the MindMarket’s visitors, patrons, and the larger Columbus design community—as well as to prospective students and their parents. It will be a cool space not only to be in, but also to engage with as a passerby on the street.

IMAGE: How have your ideas for this facility changed over time?

MA: The college’s compelling vision of both engaging the broader design community and stressing entrepreneurship made me focus more on how spaces can engage people that are not directly connected to CCAD. The location on Broad Street is perfect to serve as this kind of transition space between the necessarily sheltered world of academia and the outside world.

IMAGE: How does this project fit into your sense, as a board member, of CCAD’s longer-term goals and opportunities?

MA: It’s the cornerstone of CCAD’s effort to become more engaged in the broader design community. As the design economy continues to supplant the information economy as the big economic driver, the MindMarket will keep CCAD relevant and a leader in the broader cultural and economic marketplaces.

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.

Close-up of Curtis Benzle’s “More Than Meets the Eye.”

By Kristen M. Foley

A teacher is always a teacher. The drive to educate is something that remains deeply rooted in individuals who have dedicated their careers to fostering the creativity of others. But the drive to make one’s own work is similarly strong.

Curtis Benzle, CCAD professor emeritus and former chair of Dimensional Studies, is just one of CCAD’s retired professors who continue to educate others as well as pursue their personal creative work after retirement.

Although now living primarily in Alabama, Benzle maintains a home in the Columbus area, where he taught ceramics at CCAD from 1981 to 2008. Today he spends his time teaching ceramics workshops around the world and elevating the direction of his own art. Most recently, he taught a weeklong workshop in Tuscany; next, he’ll lead weekend events in New York City and Washington D.C.

“Teaching workshops is wonderful because it is a chance to share accumulated knowledge, meet great people, and gain exposure in a very personal way,” says Benzle. “It is not much of a financial benefit, but the tangential benefits make it worthwhile.”

Just as he did at CCAD, Benzle meets individuals from all walks of life with varying levels of art experiences. He relishes the challenge: some students astonish him with their natural talents, while others have never touched clay before, but are passionate about the learning experience.

Curtis Benzle, photo courtesy of Danielle Ford (2013)

“When I taught at CCAD my mandate was to train students to operate at a professional level. My expectation for them was very high, and my students’ level of commitment to learning was equally high. I taught topics that students needed to know in order to succeed professionally,” he says. “When I teach in a workshop setting, most of my students are there for personal growth. Workshop students are certainly interested in learning, but there is also the underlying expectation that the learning will be enjoyable.”

Teaching may have remained a fundamental part of Benzle’s life, but he has also had the time to reflect upon and expand his own artwork, which has been made part of collections as renowned as the Smithsonian Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan, and the Museo Internazionale della Ceramiche in Faenza, Italy.

“The one thing that I’m more interested in now is lighting work,” states Benzle. “I’ve been creating lighting for probably 20 years now, but for a long time I was constrained by the marketplace. By ‘the marketplace,’ I mean the gallery world.”

Since leaving CCAD, Benzle has felt more comfortable with shrugging off the opinions of the gallery world and creating what he calls “useful art.” He’s currently working on two sconces for a friend’s home, as well as other lighting projects.

“The more I use the term ‘useful art,’ the more I can feel it grinding on the person I’m talking to, but it truly is art that serves a purpose,” reflects Benzle. “It beautifies, but it doesn’t have a single mission of beautification. It’s beautification plus illumination and a host of other things.”

“I would like to believe that a sconce embodies all of the same visual criteria a sculpture does,” he continues. “I know that all the creative mandates are the same — color, balance, texture, line, symbolic and literal meaning, etc. It’s just that the sconce exceeds the aesthetic considerations of a sculpture. It emits light and in so doing has a significant and very intentional impact on its environment. To this end, it also becomes installation as an art form. Put a rheostat on it and this element of installation increases in significance.”

“My friends in the design world tend to get it,” he says. “They know their mission is to both beautify and serve other purposes. It’s the fine art world that is struggling.”

Benzle creates work that is reflective of his own personal experiences, but never in the literal sense.

“My aesthetic is about the synthesis of life experiences,” he says. “I’m always driven by beauty, but it can be anything from a beautiful sunset to simple acts of kindness. They all go into the pot. I’m not always sure how they synthesize.”

Benzle’s “More than Meets the Eye,” illuminated porcelain, 4 x 3 feet. When illuminated, the piece transforms from white into a full range of glowing colors. It also contains embedded messages in Braille.

A key piece of Benzle’s approach is that he never tries to recreate an exceptional visual experience, because it was already perfect. There is no need to try to duplicate it.

“I don’t try to remember exactly what I saw. I have confidence in myself to try to assimilate that image or that knowledge and then see references in new work,” he says. “It’s not conscious. It’s not like I’m seeing five different events, and I’m trying to synthesize something out of those five. It is more than a simple cognitive process.”

Benzle admits that just as he’s been careful not to directly recreate a visual memory, he has also tried never to reinterpret other’s works.

“I have kind of been on my own little mission since I started, and it’s probably why my work doesn’t reflect [that of] other artists, whether contemporary or historic,” he says. “My work is a response to my own, very personal, aesthetic. I admire others’ work and see things that are exceptionally beautiful, and then let that percolate and see what happens with it.”

Benzle sums it all up on his website: “The purpose of my art is to embrace the illusive, emotional content of traditional beauty. I aspire to communicate the feeling behind magical moments—light filtering through leaves that make memories of a sun-filled afternoon.”

His colleagues, students, and collectors all look forward to more of this magical work.

To see Curtis Benzle’s work, visit www.benzleporcelain.com or the Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus.

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

Alexis Jacobs with friends at the 2012 Senior Fashion Show. From left: Venus Roby, Charla Crawford, Angela Pace, Regina Whann, and Jacobs. Photo courtesy of Terry Gilliam

By Kristin Mack Deuber

Cars have always been Alexis Jacobs’ passion. Since starting her career working alongside her father, William Jacobs, founder of Columbus Fair Auto Auction, she has now led it—one of the nation’s top auto auctions—for more than 40 years.

It’s no wonder, then, that Wheelz, a CCAD exhibition highlighting exotic cars and motorcycles as art, was what first hooked Jacobs on the college back in 2005. Since then she has supported many CCAD events and has never missed the Senior Fashion Show. She also gives to scholarships and was instrumental in helping build the CCAD Design Studios on Broad.

“I continue to be amazed by the talent at CCAD,” says Jacobs. “It’s so great to see young people with such artistic skills, especially when I can’t even draw a straight line.”

Jacobs plans to continue supporting CCAD on projects such as the new CCAD MindMarket, an incubator for arts-related business and a hub where businesses, government agencies, and other organizations can access CCAD talent.

“I plan to utilize the MindMarket as we bring our auto auction online,” says Jacobs. “We are excited to benefit from this local resource as well as give students real-life experience working in the auto auction business.”

Jacobs supports other youth- and education-focused organizations throughout central Ohio, including Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Franklin Park Conservatory, Charity Newsies, the Salesian Boys & Girls Club of Columbus, and the Ohio State University Foundation. She has also received numerous industry awards, and Columbus Fair Auto Auction has been ranked as one of the top 500 woman-owned businesses by Working Woman magazine.

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

Andrew Peña, photo courtesy Danielle Ford (2013)

By Kristen M. Foley

As CCAD’s Annual Fund Drive kicks off, you might be wondering if anyone really notices when you make your contribution. Short answer? Yes. Long answer: The scholarships that your gift supports can be one of the most profound elements of a student’s education.

Please meet Andrew Peña, a junior Illustration major who’s also pursuing a minor in Writing.

IMAGE: When was the first time you knew you wanted to study illustration?

Andrew: I was always into drawing ever since I was little. As I got older I started thinking that I wouldn’t mind studying [art] and possibly making a career out of it. I looked into different programs and majors, but after taking illustration classes in CCAD’s summer programs, I knew for certain that this was what I wanted to do.

IMAGE: Who/what are your inspirations?

Andrew: The people who are around me who support me. I never start a project without trying to include someone I know and love.

IMAGE: What’s your favorite part about being an Illustration major?

Andrew: I love the whole process of making an illustration—from brainstorming and sketching for hours to putting the final touches on a piece. It’s always nice when you’re finally finished with something and you can’t stop admiring it, but you have to put it to the side so you can start your next best project. Also, being surrounded by a lot of really good artists here at CCAD motivates me to improve and learn from them. It’s like an endless lesson; you never stop learning!

Andrew Peña, photo courtesy of Danielle Ford (2013)

IMAGE: How did your scholarship affect your life and your education?

Andrew: It has really removed a lot of stress from my parents, who are helping fund my college career. I remember telling them about receiving my scholarship—they were overwhelmed with emotion. My mom actually began to cry while I was telling her on the phone.

IMAGE: What would you like to say to CCAD donors about the impact of their support?

Andrew: I can’t thank you enough. You’re giving dedicated students a chance to really shine and pursue their dreams. I feel blessed to have this opportunity and won’t let your support go unappreciated.

IMAGE: What excites you about your future?

Andrew: The fact that I’ll be doing what I love for work is pretty exciting. With the knowledge I’m gaining from CCAD I feel like I can take on the world. It’s a great feeling.

IMAGE: What else would you like to add?

Andrew: My experience at CCAD has been very special. It has introduced me to some awesome people and has made me grow into a better artist. Thank you to all of the professors I’ve had so far at CCAD. I’ve learned so much these past two years and can’t wait to see what else is in store.

To check out the online print version of IMAGE, click here.
To make a donation to student scholarships, click here.

Anna Dickson at work, photo courtesy of Brian Friedman

By Kendra Hovey

Anna Dickson was a photography student at CCAD when Google first introduced its image search in 2001. She graduated in 2004—the same year Flickr was born. She was at Rolling Stone, both photo assisting and photo editing, when Apple opened its app store in 2008, and by the time the first iPad sold in 2010, she had moved up to photo editor at Clear Channel. Then, in March of 2012, almost eight years out of CCAD, she joined the Huffington Post as photo editor of their weekly iPad magazine, Huffington. That same month, app downloads hit the 25-billion mark.

And why this bit of Internet history? To show that as Anna Dickson climbed the career ladder, her industry was forming beneath her feet.

For the now 31-year-old Dickson, on-the-job training was at times more like on-the-job creating. Hunting for images of, say, an obscure bass player for magazines like Rolling Stone or Guitar One, she developed her own Flickr-based system. “I’d post callouts,” she explains, “and people would send me their photos.”

Tracking down just the right images or the photographers who took them, a process she calls “the hunt,” was a particularly fun part of the job. “The photo is what pulls you into the article,” she says. “It can be heart wrenching, uplifting, joyful, or painful to look at. We support a story visually and can change people’s perceptions, all through a photo.”

As her career and the industry grew, she decided it was time to hone her copyright skills, and in 2010 she took a class on copyright law at New York University. She continues to keep close tabs on congressional talk related to copyright, intellectual property law, and the Internet in general.

Her expertise in rights and licensing, combined with her interest in technology, was key to her recent transition from photo editor to photo director at Huffington Post mere months after being hired. Her work is still found throughout the pages of the digital magazine—chances are she’s had a hand in the cover shoot, as well as the features and Q&A sections—but as director, her responsibilities now extend to the website, where she works with designers and the tech team to keep things running smoothly.

Cover of Huffington

Catch Dickson at work and she can be doing anything from setting up shoots, choosing photographers, and scouting locations to finalizing captions, handling copyright, or doing “selects” from a recent shoot. “No day is the same,” she says. A perfect day, though, would be a day on set. In fact, whether it’s finding the perfect photographer, bouncing around ideas, or directing, she loves the entire shoot process.

She’s proud of the stories, too. “Many of the shoots we’re doing are not celebrities, not politicians, not business people, but regular, everyday people who are giving something back to society,” she says, mentioning in particular a Tampa police officer dedicated to helping the homeless, and a veteran — “a wife, mother, student, volunteer…and inspiration”—who has post-traumatic stress disorder, yet helps other returning vets get their bearings and move past their struggles.

So, with all the changes in her industry, does Dickson still rely on her CCAD education? “Absolutely,” she says. Her expertise with lighting started with Duncan Snyder’s class, and she credits him and Helen Hoffelt with deepening her engagement with imagery.

A seminal moment—which actually spanned an entire semester—was taking a fashion photography class with Scott Cunningham at the same time as a class with Elizabeth Fergus Jean on self. “On one hand I was finding that I had a passion for editorial photography and photographing people, and on the other I was pushed very hard to find my voice,” she says. “Those two classes together put me into a new mindset.”

When asked for advice about her still-evolving industry, Dickson has plenty of wisdom to share. Keep up with the legal landscape, she says, “especially in an environment that changes so frequently.” Research skills are also key: “There are several ways to go about digging for images. You have to be resourceful and think outside the box to get the job done.”

Article in Huffington

Network, she says, especially with other photo editors, and know who photographers are, where they are shooting, and how their work is progressing. But, most important, stay positive and be friendly: “It’s a tough industry and a small circle, so you don’t want to burn bridges.”

She urges current students to do internships. “You learn what you like and what you don’t and can learn a lot from a professional,” she says. They are harder to come by when you are out of school, so “do it now,” she says. “And if a paper or magazine doesn’t have an intern or a photo department, offer to be that for them.”

Lastly, keep an open mind. Along with persistence and hard work, Dickson says, open-mindedness is a quality the successful seem to share. There is never just one way. She says, “I’ve watched several friends take various paths to get where they are. Some have assisted and moved into solo careers; some have gone the path of commercial photographers and found that their fine art work had much more strength and voice. Some never thought they’d find exactly what they wanted, but persisted until they did. Some moved to big cities expecting their careers to blossom and found that a smaller town really gave them a place to bloom. Some are still working hard to accomplish their goals and growing closer to it every day.”

Many of these friends are ones she made back in school. She says she still has great relationships with people she met at CCAD. She often misses the energy and like-minded dedication and how late nights in the studio or the darkroom never felt like a chore. “We all miss that,” she says, “I think it’s a big reason I keep up with so many people from CCAD.”

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.

Chad Hunt in a self-portrait taken at the Yakima Training Center in Washington State.

By Kristen M. Foley

Photography has changed considerably since Chad Hunt graduated from CCAD in 1994 with his BFA in photography. While technology has made the photographer’s job easier, it also has made it tougher in some ways. “The current iPhone has a higher screen resolution than the first digital camera I shot with that cost $5,000,” notes Hunt. “You can find photographers much easier now, too. Sometimes it’s hard to stand out in that world.”

But Hunt stands out, nonetheless, because his talent goes far beyond the ability to click a shutter button and press “send.” The artistic elements in his photos frame the observable world and give it meaning, something that he believes stems from his experiences at CCAD.

Since then he has captured thousands of images. His most recent endeavors have taken him to war-torn Afghanistan, where he was embedded with American troops. His photographs capture the soldiers as well as the dramatic, on-edge environment in which they must live every day.

“My first trip over there I paid my own way and completed it as a freelance project,” Hunt says. “I was bored with regular photography, and I had this idea that I wanted to be embedded, so I looked into it and just did it.”

Photo by Chad Hunt

That impulse led to a total of three trips to Afghanistan over two years, during which Hunt slept next to machine guns, witnessed firefights, and ultimately charted a new direction in his career.

His most intense memory is when he first stepped off a military helicopter onto the Afghanistan ground in September 2006.

“It was almost a ‘careful what you wish for’ sort of thing,” laughs Hunt now. “When I got off the helicopter, it was really dark, and I went into the tent and slept for like 15 minutes. All of a sudden the lieutenant came in and said, ‘A Humvee has been hit, and they’re taking fire. This is what you wanted right? You’re going into a firefight.’ I jumped up and I was like, crap I’m really here. Now I actually have to do this.”

Hunt quickly settled in. “It’s amazing to connect with these individuals on this level. It’s really a matter of asking them questions and telling them you are there to tell their story,” reflects Hunt. “Just spending time with them goes a long way in earning their trust.”

In 2008, his photograph of Sergeant Major David Combs at the Korengal Outpost in Afghanistan made the cover of Time magazine.

The success was welcome, but with each military trip, Hunt found that editors became less likely to assign him to anything but “guys, gears, and guns” stories.

So he’s switching it up again. At the time of this interview, he was preparing to embark on a trip to Haiti to capture new images for the World Wide Orphan Foundation. “I’m excited—it’s an opportunity to re-prove myself,” he says. Given Hunt’s track record, we expect the trip will broaden not only his worldview, but ours.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LAURA (PATTERSON) SANDERS ’88 CMH magazine.

MANJARI SHARMA ’04 Pdnedu magazine.