Marquee at 134th spring commencement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo from 2012 commencement

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

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

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

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

FORTHMADE is a pop-up store created by CCAD students; click above to watch the video.

Last semester, CCAD honors students created One, a one-day pop-up store on campus. This semester the students are at it again with FORTHMADE and they are partnering with Easton Town Center to bring the one-day store to the outdoor shopping center located in Columbus, OH.

The honors Developing Retail class is a project-based class led by adjunct faculty Marcia Tabler.

“It has been really interesting to watch the creative juices flow,” Tabler said. “There is so much satisfaction in seeing these students create something of their own from the ground up, and watching the natural ebb and flow of designers as they work as part of a team.”

The nine students handled everything from the marketing strategy, including the promotional photography and video, to the store design. Details such as branding the shopping bags, price tags, and even hangers were not overlooked.

Students involved in the execution of FORTHMADE are Advertising & Graphic Design seniors Alex Laniosz and Lillie Templeton, junior Haley Fischer, and sophomore Qisha Kendy; Cinematic Arts juniors Amanda Hess and Richard Smith; Fashion Design senior Ryun Harrison and junior Lauren Colbert; Illustration sophomore Phong Nguyen; and Industrial Design senior Meara Swiler.

The class sent a request campuswide for students to submit their work to be judged and possibly sold in the store. The response was overwhelming, which wasn’t surprising considering last semester’s store sold more than 70 percent of its inventory. Submissions ranged from clothing to jewelry to prints and everything in between. One thing that is certain is that the products available will all be CCAD-designed, handcrafted, and one-of-a-kind.

“Our ultimate goal is to have this project be self-funded,” Tabler said. “All the profits from this store will go to the next class’s retail store project, and hopefully this can become an ongoing tradition here at CCAD.”

Easton Town Center generously donated space for the store. The class will take advantage of the large theater that once housed Shadowbox Live.

“At Easton, we’re always looking to present new ideas,” said Beau Anderson, the executive vice president for asset performance of Steiner + Associates. “We’ve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with CCAD, and the pop-up shop seemed like a logical way to extend our partnership while offering our customers unique, locally designed apparel and accessories. This will be a shop of discovery, and we cannot wait to see what the students offer in this space and how they will approach the visual merchandising.”

FORTHMADE will be in business May 4, 1–9 p.m., at 160 Easton Town Center, Columbus, OH.

Colbert is from Westerville, OH, and attended Saint Francis De Sales High School; Fischer is from Lawrence, KS, and attended Lawrence High School; Harrison is from Alpharetta, GA, and attended Alpharetta High School; Hess is from Columbus, OH, and attended American School of Technology; Kendy is from Jakarta, Indonesia, and attended Jakarta International School; Laniosz is from Willowbrook, IL, and attended Hinsdale South High School; Nguyen is from Germantown, MD, and attended Mansfield High School; Smith is from Blacklick, OH, and attended Licking Heights High School; Swiler is from Maumee, OH, and attended Trinity High School; and Templeton is from Wadesboro, NC, and was home schooled.

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?

Peter Wachtel’s Grill Wrangler

Industrial Design alumnus Peter Wachtel (CCAD 1990) had his invention the Grill Wrangler (formerly known as the Stake) featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Leno had Quirky.com founder Ben Kaufman as a guest on March 20. Kaufman brought several inventions, one of them being Wachtel’s Grill Wrangler, which is available on the site. While looking at the Grill Wrangler, Leno remarked, “That is really cool; I would buy that.”

Quirky.com is a website that helps inventors finance and produce their products.

The Grill Wrangler unites three common grilling tools (spatula, tongs, and a fork), so all necessary tools can easily be taken anywhere.

Peter Wachtel’s Grill Wrangler

Wachtel originally submitted his idea to Quirky in 2010. The product is now being sold through venues such as Target, Fab, and ThinkGeek and will soon be available at Williams-Sonoma stores nationwide.

Wachtel is the owner and president of Kid Toyology, which designs and develops items for the toy and entertainment industries. He is a native of Amherst, NY, and attended Sweet Home Senior High.

Professors working in the new Fab Lab

The CCAD campus has undergone some serious changes that I bet some of you would find very interesting if you came back for a visit (hint: we would love for you to come back and visit).

One of the big additions that we’re particularly excited about is the new 3D printing lab, dubbed “The Fab Lab,” which is now officially up and running in Kinney Hall.

The Fab Lab was funded by Nancy and Tad Jeffrey and includes equipment like a Shopbot 3-axis CNC router, a 4-axis CNC Milling Machine, a Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a laser cutter, a format printer, and a vacuum former.

“Students are getting to learn how to use this equipment in the safe confines of the college so when they get out into the real world they will have a competitive edge,” said Tom Gattis, dean of the School of Design Arts.

Not only Industrial Design students, but all majors have started working with the equipment in the lab and are excited about the possibilities. CCAD has begun to bring in technicians versed in the technology to show students the application of these tools in the real world.

“Some of our students may not end up with a design firm that has this equipment in house, but they may be working with a service bureau that they get pieces and parts from, so having the ability to communicate with those technicians is huge,” Gattis said. “They may design something and realize that the technician will need to modify this or flip that part. That give and take is part of the design process. Learning communication and compromising skills as a student is invaluable.”

The lab may be a dream come true to students and faculty, but Gattis isn’t done just yet.

“In five years I just want to see more,” Gattis said. “I would like to see a farm of this equipment, so to speak. My greatest hope and fear, quite frankly, is that come fall semester we are saying, ‘Ahhh, we are overwhelmed.’ This equipment will have a great benefit to the students, all students, no matter what their major is.”

But enough from us; check out the photos below of the new Fab Lab!

Classnotes, March 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Students work on project for InPower through the CCAD MindMarket

Students are tackling a big project with local advanced electronics company InPower through CCAD’s MindMarket.

“InPower reached out to CCAD after learning about some of the program offerings CCAD has for Industrial Design,” said Cynthia Gravino, CCAD MindMarket director.  “We had several meetings and determined a CCAD 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 student class.

“InPower originally came to us hoping to redesign the packaging for an existing product and look for some new market opportunities,” Gattis said. “We attacked it from a different point of view and realized we can do a lot more than just redesign a package.”

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

“We spent nearly the whole semester researching things like who the customers are, what motivated them to purchase, examining how the company was attacking the market and finding alternatives,” Gattis said. “The students did a tremendous amount of work and exceeded the client’s expectations.”

During the spring semester (2013) Gattis is leading the students in the physical redesign of the packaging based on the internal and external factors revealed by their research. They will explore design factors such as mood, color, typography, and texture to create the best branding and packaging for the company.

The partnership with InPower will extend throughout the next academic year, with the company tapping into CCAD talent to help discover new avenues for its products and its brand.

“One of the most interesting aspects of this partnership is that InPower is an engineering-based organization,” Gravino said. “This type of company is outside of the other industries we usually have a chance to work with and provided an opportunity to expand the types of companies we serve.”

The partnership allows students to experience a real-world situation with a client and product that are local and will use their ideas.

“This is as close as we can simulate to the real world; the only difference is we are doing it within the safe confines of the college,” Gattis said. “[Students] have expert guidance from faculty along the way, and they can take a lot of risk without the fear of getting fired or demoted. They are allowed within that context to try a lot of things and really explore concepts that in a corporate setting would be a bit too risky.”

The CCAD MindMarket offers several creative services formats through the DesignLab, from charrettes, which are intense 54-to-72 hour design challenges, to class projects lasting 16 weeks, to partnerships, which can be longer and recruit the broadest variety of CCAD students, faculty, and staff.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Classnotes, December 2012 Issue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

From left to right: Mike Lorenz, Sean Svendsen, Sherry Jones, Chris Daniels, Todd Mendoza, Mark Mnich, Harlan Peden, Rob Green, and Kiel Mohrman

If you visit Priority Designs in Columbus you will likely run into some CCAD alumni, whether in the engineering studio, the prototype shop, browsing through fabrics in the materials library, or playing racquetball on the court they have in their lunchroom.

Priority Designs is a leading industrial design consultant and product development firm that works with companies such as Adidas, Mead, Lowe’s, TaylorMade, and more. We talked with several CCAD alumni employed there to ask what it’s like to work not only in a creative environment, but also alongside fellow CCAD alumni.

Meet Model Maker Rob Green (Illustration 1997), Senior Industrial Designer Michael Lorenz (Industrial Design 1991), Industrial Designer/Prototypist Todd Mendoza  (Industrial Design 2008), Senior Designer/Director Business Development Mark Mnich (Industrial Design 1997), Industrial Designer/Model Maker Kiel Mohrman (Industrial Design 2009), Senior Industrial Designer Harlan Peden (Industrial Design 2004), and Senior Industrial Designer/Insights & Brand Director Sean Svendsen (Industrial Design 1992).

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

Rob Green (RG): It’s strangely similar to the group projects we participated in during school. CCAD put an emphasis on group projects while I was there. It is how most projects are done in the workplace; multiple people are involved in the process of taking a project from idea to final deliverable. Knowing how to work in a group setting, being able to set egos aside to complete a task, and the ability to pull your own weight are abilities I have noticed in other CCAD grads.

Michael Lorenz (ML): One characteristic that stands out, in my experience, is the ability of CCAD alumni to communicate visually, through rapid sketching and other techniques, with confidence. Early in the design process when concepts are generated through sketching, whether digitally or [with] pen and paper, it should be clear what the intent of function and form are. Also, [CCAD grads have] a tendency to push the envelope in terms of material, form, color, mechanism, etc., and really get the details nailed down, which is revealing of a fine arts background.

Todd Mendoza (TM): We’re all family here. Working with CCAD alumni is really is no different than working with other industrial designers or mechanical engineers. We all come from various backgrounds that complement each other’s skills.

Mark Mnich (MM): Of course we often know many of the same people and, depending on our age, can sometimes recall the same instructors. We respect each other knowing that we’ve gone through the same grind and pulled those all-nighters. Eventually, we discover that most designers have a lot in common, no matter where they went to school.

Kiel Mohrman (KM): It’s great! Alumni are easy to work with and the projects always run smoothly. I’m guessing that what we learned at CCAD contributes to this.

Harlan Peden (HP): It definitely makes for a fun environment. Sharing our stories, ideas, and experiences from CCAD adds to our creative environment.

Sean Svendsen (SS): CCAD alumni are great to work with—CCAD grads are highly creative and generally have amazing artistic skills.

Q) Why do you think Priority Designs has a lot of CCAD alumni?

RG: With several other design schools close by, I doubt that proximity plays a large role in the decision. I would have to say that the students that are hired at Priority are the standouts in their class. When coming out of school, the strength of one’s portfolio and the internships that are under your belt are two key factors for getting hired, and a positive attitude always helps.

ML: Just a guess, but there is an emphasis on versatility at Priority Designs in terms of product category, material application, and level of mechanical complexity that creates a working environment that is suitable for a designer that is multifaceted in skill set, or at least multifaceted in interests.

TM: We’re a local company, minutes away from campus. Not to mention the talent that arises from basic foundation studies to extensive studio classes, all directly related to that specific career field.

MM: Proximity certainly has a hand in it, but we try to stay engaged with [CCAD] students by hosting tours of our office, reviewing portfolios, critiquing projects, etc. This interaction helps us identify the top students, so when it’s time to hire we know who to call.

KM: The hard work ethic and skills acquired at CCAD have a lot to do with it. When you’re done with the program, and if you’ve applied yourself, you’ll have a decent skill set to work with.

HP: For starters, Priority Design is located in Columbus. PD over the years has also been available to CCAD for critiques, in studio workshops, and assists with senior theses. This involvement allows for students to have an early exposure to PD, as well as helps develop a rapport that can lend itself to opening up future job opportunities.

SS:  I’ve found that CCAD alumni have higher visual communication skills than [those from] many other schools. Because of CCAD’s focus on fundamental art skills development, students get a deep grounding in fine arts. I find them generally better at sketching and 3D form sensitivity, which I think makes designs more emotionally compelling.

Q) Any advice for current students or fellow alumni who want to become involved with a company like Priority Designs?

RG: Make your portfolio as strong as possible. Feel free to contact any potential employer for portfolio reviews prior to graduating. Learn what they are looking for, because that will be applicable to most companies you will be applying to. Take the suggestions given to you and attempt to work them into your portfolio; it will usually improve the quality of your presentation. It also never hurts to get involved in portfolio competitions and win awards before you graduate; prospective employers look at those activities.

ML: When I was in college I had the benefit of being in a class where there was competitiveness, but also a willingness to share and critique each others’ ideas. I think that having a sharing attitude and not being afraid to critique and be critiqued while in school pays off big in professional life.

TM: Networking is key. While in school it’s important to meet and keep in touch with as many people in the industry as possible. Timing is everything, just as much as having a strong portfolio that accentuates your skill sets. We hire people not only for what they do, but who they are.

MM: Extend yourself beyond the requirements of the assignment. Like most employers, we’re looking for skills, passion, and commitment. We want people who are willing to keep asking questions and continue pushing themselves and those around them. You have to be highly adaptable; our world can change with a phone call.

KM: Don’t be afraid to reach out to [an employer] and show them your best work; if the quality is there then there is no problem getting matched up with a company like Priority Designs.

HP: Take an active role in visiting/touring or even having a portfolio review with local design firms. The design community is a close-knit group and having exposure and a line of communication open with any design firm can go a long way in helping a student find their first job.

SS: Work at making your portfolio visually impactful. We get tons of portfolios sent to us, and most of them don’t stick in our minds—they all look the same. You need to be distinctive, but in a way that is still appropriate. Use fewer words, and instead tell your story with simple compelling visuals. We see so many portfolios with tons of text and diagrams trying to tell a complicated story about the innovations they’ve created. The sad reality is when we get portfolios sent to us, they literally get about 10 seconds to catch our attention. If you didn’t instantly grab us with amazing visuals that tell a simple story, we move on. The marketplace of real products is the same. Consumers only give products on the shelf the same 10 seconds. Your portfolio is your shot to prove you know how to design successful products that can sell. If you want a great job out of school, your portfolio better be amazing.

Q)  Why do you love your job/working in a creative environment?

RG: What I like the most about my work environment is that we are rarely doing the same thing twice. There are projects that you are not as excited about, but that is always tempered by interesting and sometimes exciting projects that do come along. Plus, learning new skills is something that is always encouraged. It helps everyone when you can add a new skill set to the company’s bag of tricks.

ML: For me, the variety of experiences and challenges are fulfilling; there are always things to learn about technology, how things work, and human nature. And in a creative environment people tend to be optimistic and willing to share ideas. And of course, getting those projects that really improve life for others is what you tend to appreciate the most.

TM: I love being able to use my creativity to solve complex problems that arise in every product or project we work on. I also love that it’s different every day at Priority Designs. Since we’re a consultancy, we’d be working on appliances for Electrolux one day and then Nike golf clubs the next. We’ve fabricated concept bicycles, designed firearms, and engineered medical equipment. You really don’t know what client or what type of product you’ll be working on when you come into the studio on Monday morning.

MM: After 15 years, I can still make the claim that every day is different. It’s hard to imagine another job or career that can make that claim.

KM: I get to work on different projects every day; work never gets boring. I could be working on a project the size of a fork-lift one day and as small as surgical devices the next. Anything from prototyping to ideation, we do on a daily basis, so it stays super fresh.

HP: It’s fun, creative, goofy, exciting, and always different each day. Creative minds in a collective group can get crazy. Each day is a whole new task, and a whole new set of constraints, and a whole new objective. Projects can go from the most complex to the most simple and to-the-point. It’s great to have that uncertainty of what you are getting your hands into each day—it adds to the excitement. And having a group of people who you can bounce ideas off and work with to come to a common final result is extremely gratifying.

SS: I love the diversity of projects that we get at Priority Designs. It’s a fast-paced environment where we never know what we will be working on next. I can be designing golf clubs in our studio one week and the next week be conducting insight research on industrial equipment at the world’s largest copper mine in Utah. (That really happened.) The size and experience of our firm allows us to enjoy ever more challenging projects from the world’s most recognizable brands.

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

RG: The ability to work with deadlines and under pressure are two experiences that I will never forget from my time at CCAD. Short-timeline projects, especially in a group setting, were emphasized while I was there. Working at a consultancy, those skills are used over and over to deliver projects to our clients in a timely fashion. We always try to over-deliver our services to keep our clients coming back and telling others about Priority Designs.

ML: Honestly, what I remember the most is the exhaustion and sometimes despair of trying to get everything done well and on time. Also, being in a group of students that shared and critiqued out of a spirit of competitiveness, but also good will is something I remember. As trite as it may sound, these are the kind of experiences that prepare you for the real world.

TM: All-nighters. You may tend to think that once you’re in the “real world” they don’t exist anymore, but they do, at least they do here, anyway. Far too often we have large corporate clients with ridiculous lead times, and the bottom line is they have to get done. Unlike school, though, you can obviously not miss a deadline.

MM: Many of the design assignments at CCAD left some latitude for interpretation. Being resourceful and planning your work was critical to performing well. That holds true outside the classroom; not every client comes in with a clearly identified development path. You have to adapt to the situation, utilize your skills (and those of your co-workers), and follow through with passion and commitment.

KM: The hands-on experience was great. Being able to try everything or anything I wanted to do really helped me figure out the direction I wanted to go when I graduated.

HP: All-nighters, staying in the studio burning the midnight oil trying to get work done for a critique the next morning. It is still so true in the real world. There are times when it’s “all hands on deck.” Clients in the real world can sometimes have an unrealistic deadline that you have to meet; that’s when you buckle down, cancel any plans, and work till it’s done.

SS: I met some wonderful students when I was at CCAD. I still work with several of those people today. These relationships allowed me to find a great job at a great studio and have helped me build a great career.

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

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

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

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

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

John Schaffner with his sculpture

Industrial Design alumnus John Schaffner (CCAD 1960) and Advertising & Graphic Design alumna J. Luray Schaffner (CCAD 1962) are both exhibiting work at the Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center in Solomons, Maryland.

John’s wood sculpture Spiney Sea Creature is on display for a year in the mezzanine of the sculpture garden and J. Luray’s painting Vanishing Sea Grass Meadows is in the juried exhibition Treasured: Honoring Precious and Vanishing Worlds, which is on display until Aug. 26, 2012.

Treasured reveals the beauty and vulnerability of the endangered and the threatened. From disappearing plant and animal species, to vanishing languages and cultures, to threatened ecosystems, the exhibition highlights the intricacies and fragility of precious and vanishing worlds.

The Annmarie Sculpture Garden comprises 30 acres of forests, fields, and meadows around a paved walking path that features permanent and loaned sculptures, including more than 30 works on loan from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. The Arts Center includes rotating exhibition space, a gift shop, cafe, and a patio. Annmarie  presents a variety of popular annual festivals, rotating exhibitions, family activities, and creative public programs.

Kittikhun Ter Charoenkitnapa

By Kendra Hovey

Even as the corners of the world are drawing closer together, there’s still room for an occasional small-world surprise. For example, how exactly did a teenager in Bangkok find out about an art school in the American Midwest? Was it research? Recruiters? The Internet? No. It was word of mouth. In high school, Kittikhun Ter Charoenkitnapa made no secret of the fact that he wasn’t going to go to any, as he put it, “normal school.”

“I was deciding between art school and music school,” he said, “and a friend told me about CCAD.”

Now 28, Charoenkitnapa is a CCAD alumnus, having graduated in 2006 with a degree in Industrial Design. In 2009, he returned to Thailand and joined Dusit International, where he is now a senior manager in design and marketing.

Dusit International is one of Thailand’s leading hospitality companies, with five different lines of luxury hotels and resorts. One meaning of the word “dusit” refers to a utopian city conceived in 1918 by King Rama VI. The king’s idea combined the best of the contemporary West and traditional Thailand. For Dusit International, this blend is key to the brand, and it is Charoenkitnapa’s job to be the discerning eye that ensures all collateral materials reflects this brand. Designing templates and reviewing marketing pieces is, in his words, “always a work in progress,” and even more so as the company expands. With a presence already stretching from the Philippines to Dubai and across the Nile to Egypt, Dusit is soon coming to the U.S. Their new Pasadena, CA, hotel will open this year.

As his company prepares to cross continents, we asked Charoenkitnapa about his own continental crossing.

“I fit in pretty comfortably within the CCAD crowd,” he said, remembering four years of “sleepless nights, strong friendships, and deciding which class to skip to finish another class’s project.” He offered his thanks to the college for a “well-rounded design education” and “amazing, close-to-real-world experience.” He added that the ability to communicate design concepts in English is invaluable, but just as essential were those benefits that are a little harder to pin down.

Kittikhun Ter Charoenkitnapa

“Interacting with other students and teachers, I absorbed their way of thinking,” he explained. “I believe that different nationalities have different methods of life, and experiencing more than one type gives me a better understanding of what ‘life’ really means.”

This thinking informed his advice both to those coming to CCAD internationally—“go in open-minded, study the foundations seriously, then decide your major. Oh, and practice English”—and also to those working internationally: “Different countries have different personalities…don’t try to force your design or your concepts. Be humble yet confident. Present yourself professionally. Be brave.”

Charoenkitnapa shared that in Thailand art is central to the culture. It is appreciated. “You can see it in the dances, jewelry, and architecture.” But, in almost an inversion of American culture, there is less fluency when it comes to design.

Though his work at Dusit keeps him busy, Charoenkitnapa somehow found the time to start a small, but growing side photography business with a friend.

About life in his hometown, he said, “I’ve always compared Bangkok to New York City…except I’m only a couple hours from the tropical ocean!”

Peter Wachtel using his invention the STAKE

A creation of Industrial Design alumnus Peter Wachtel (CCAD 1990) seems to be becoming the “official BBQ tool of the summer.” Last year we reported his invention STAKE and his production of it via Quirky. Since then the STAKE has received a lot of publicity and is being sold through venues such as Target, Fab, and ThinkGeek.

Reviews for the product on the popular gadget site ThinkGeek range from “This. Changes. Everything,” to “If Tony Stark ever grilled, this is what he would use.”

“I am a big BBQ fan,” Wachtel said. “I was BBQing in the backyard and was amazed that I needed so many tools to cook—I had my spatula, tongs, a fork, a knife, and even a bottle opener. There was a different tool for every function. I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to combine all of these needed tools into one multifunction tool that I could easily take anywhere.”

And so Wachtel created the STAKE. He began his design process by taking apart the tools he used while BBQing and creating a rough prototype. After some trial and error, he arrived at his final invention.

Wachtel has also been gaining publicity for his other invention, the Mercado bag, which was designed with farmers’ markets in mind. It is made out of nylon mesh and canvas and has multiple compartments to protect fresh produce from being bruised during transport. The bag is also being sold on Quirky and Fab and has even been featured on the LA Times online blog.

Wachtel is the owner and president of Kid Toyology, which designs and develops items for the toy and entertainment industries.

Tom Gattis in the studio.

Tom Gattis’s world is a little hectic at the moment. In less than a month he needs to sell a home, find a home, find a school for his two teenage daughters, pack, and move to Columbus, OH from Savannah, GA to start his new job as CCAD’s chair of Industrial Design on July 1. Despite all of that, he describes this time as “not too crazy,” and is looking forward to getting to Columbus and hitting the ground running.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s a huge opportunity to have an impact on, and help grow, a burgeoning program.”

Gattis is coming to CCAD after 13 years with Savannah College of Art & Design. During his tenure as chair of their Industrial Design program, he was responsible for ushering in sponsored project programming that changed the face of design education for students and significantly increased enrollment and revenue for the program.

“I’m hoping I can bring my success at SCAD to CCAD,” Gattis shared. He explained how a project-based learning model, where students work on real-world projects for leading design companies, can help address the gap between classic design education (based on models developed in the 1950s and ’60s) and the continuing changes occurring in today’s design industry.

“I started doing design projects with companies in the classroom about 10 years ago and it changed how I looked at design education,” said Gattis.

“When we bring in businesses and captains of industry and get the students engaged with the real-world design process and application—the program becomes an apprentice model where they are learning from the masters.

Roses by Tom Gattis.

“The project-based model helps students learn what to expect in a real-world design environment, while allowing them the safety of an educational environment. They can still take risks, but they see the real-world applications and implications. Plus the student has the excitement of knowing there is a chance that his or her project could make into a store.”

While at SCAD Gattis served many roles, including chair of furniture design, chair of Industrial Design, and associate vice president for academics for SCAD’s Hong Kong campus.

When asked to describe his favorite aspect of teaching, he said: “There’s a moment that happens with a student, which is difficult to describe, when you see the switch happen. They go from student to professional. It’s a great feeling to watch that happen and know you have helped them get there.”

Like many CCAD faculty, Gattis practices what he teaches. In his spare time, he is a master wood turner and builds wooden boats, including his own mahogany 15-footer called Daddy’s Girl, which will also be making the journey to Columbus from Georgia.

Student looks at work

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

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

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

Congratulations Graduates!

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

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

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

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

Family and friends greet the class of 2012 after commencement.

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

Kattie Baker, Advertising & Graphic Design

Chavilah Bennett, Advertising & Graphic Design

Rachel Cass, Fashion Design

Sara Diesel, Illustration

Lian Dziura, Photography

Christopher Ryan Evans, Media Studies

Leah Fisher, Photography

Jake LaBombarbe, Industrial Design

Sarah McCance, Interior Design

Erin McKenna, Fine Arts

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

Joel during the 2012 Directions

Joel VanGilder, an Industrial Design major, has been named the valedictorian for CCAD’s graduating class of 2012. VanGilder will be honored during the commencement ceremony Saturday, May 12, at the Ohio Theatre.

VanGilder came to CCAD after establishing himself as a professional photographer in New York. He originally received a degree from The Ohio State University in photography. After coming into contact with the field of industrial design he decided to make a career change and chose CCAD to help pursue his new creative path.

During his time at CCAD Van Gilder worked in the CCAD Design Group, was a creative intern at SBC Advertising and a designer at Proctor & Gamble, and secured a full-time position as the in-house designer at Worthington Cylinders. He is also a member of IDSA (The Industrial Designers Society of America).

2012 Outstanding Senior Jake LaBombarbe

At the end of the academic year, CCAD deans present the Outstanding Senior for their divisions. Today, in part nine of our 10-part series, meet Industrial Design major Jake LaBombarbe.

Q) What was your proudest achievement while at CCAD?

A) I have a lot of moments and awards I am proud of. Other then this award it would probably be my current internship at Concept Engineering; I got that based on reputation alone. Another proud moment was placing in the Akro-Mils competition. That design competition was the first time I was able to push more than one idea at a time, and it was the first time I was paid to do Industrial Design. Both of my proposals for the competition were based on shelving designs—one was at a 30-degree angle so you could see what would be placed on the shelf, and the other was the style of a garage door, where you could pull down and cover the shelving racks when needed.

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

A) I was scared before I even got here. I was studying sculpture at the University of Toledo and I was 25 hours away from graduation when I decided to come to CCAD. My whole purpose studying at Toledo was so I could build my portfolio to apply to art school and study Industrial Design. I chose CCAD because of their partnership with Hasbro and their great reputation, but it was definitely intimidating to come here.

Q) What are your plans after graduation?

A) I just got an amazing job offer that I am really excited about. I can’t share the details now since all the paperwork needs to be signed, but it has been killing me trying to keep it a secret.

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

A) I want to go back and get my master’s, which I will probably work on while I am working full time. Having the teachers that I had here at CCAD convinced me that I would love to be able to teach Industrial Design down the road. I loved being able to help freshmen and sophomores when I was a senior. They had these itty-bitty parts, and I was able to help them flesh out a large project and fully developed idea. I would also love to be able to freelance toy designs, that is a hobby of mine.

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

A) The amount of help given to me during my time here makes me feel obligated, and I want to give back. I got a lot of financial help and assistance from the faculty as a student, and I want to extend that help to future students. The school was also there for me emotionally during my sister’s passing; they allowed me to take off a semester and come back right where I left. The school has made such an impact in my life that I want to come back and help do the same for someone else.

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

A) It was during one of my final projects, which is actually the centerpiece of my portfolio. I designed a web camera called the “Wubbagoo.” It is a small figurine of a guy whose eye is a webcam, and he is holding a magnifying glass up to his eye. It seemed like all the factors for that project came together smoothly. I realized I was good at this and I needed to keep doing it.

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

A) The smell of Bondo. The smell of Bondo equals the smell of Industrial Design.

Q) What will you miss the most?

A) My classmates. I made some great friends while here and I know we will all keep in touch. They say that when you are in Industrial Design your classmates will be your competition, but it never felt like that. Everyone had their highs and lows, and everyone was also there for each other. It is a really tight group of people.

LaBombarbe's "Wubbagoo" webcam design

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

A) Relief.

Q) What was your favorite class at CCAD?

A) Structural Design with Justin Martini. The class used to be a required foundation course, and he would teach you the meticulous details of design. You would sit there with rulers, paper, and pencil, and he would say to you, “you will probably never do this again in Industrial Design and will do everything with FreeHand [software], but you need to know the foundations of what you are studying.” He was the first teacher that really left a permanent mark on me. I still pop into his classroom to ask him how he is doing.

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

A) I enjoy cooking. I was actually a chef for close to 10 years before coming to CCAD. I went the Anthony Bourdain route and worked as a dishwasher and worked my way up to head of kitchen. My fiance Stacey and I love to go out and do different things when our schedules permit it. But I love everything about Industrial Design—I will often design and do my own personal artwork when I have time.

Q) What is your fondest memory at CCAD?

A) At the end of last semester my classmates and I all went out to Tip Top to celebrate. It was the first time everyone in Industrial Design came out, and we took up multiple tables. It was a nice, family kind of feeling to be surrounded by these people and relax.

Q) What would you change about your undergraduate career?

A) I would have finished my degree at Toledo before coming here. I was in such a rush to get started, but I missed the opportunity to have two bachelor’s degrees.

Q) What is your advice to future CCAD students?

A) When you become a senior, remember where you were as a sophomore. I help out whenever I can, and I think it is important to pay it back. Pay back all the advice and help you received when you were starting out. Another important thing in life is to be yourself…unless you can be Batman, then be Batman.

ID sophomores in the Cardboard Regatta, photo by Katlin McNally

On a cloudy but warm Saturday in May, teams raced in cardboard boats through rough pond waters, paddling around obstacles, and trying to remain afloat.  It was the annual Cardboard Regatta held for sophomores in CCAD’s Industrial Design department.

In its eighth year, The Cardboard Regatta pits professor and alumnus Joel Gundlach’s class against a class led by adjunct faculty Greg Thune.

“This is a great tradition that the department has,” Gundlach said. “The students work hard all year, and now it’s time for them to apply their skills in an entertaining and fun way.”

The two teams each have to construct three different water vessels in three hours using only cardboard, plastic sheet, PVC pipe, and duct tape. Students then compete on the water in three timed events featuring one-, two-, and three-person boats.

Congrats go to team Gundlach, which claimed this year’s Cardboard Regatta trophy.

A student looks at an Industrial Design senior thesis

On Thursday, May 3, with a little more than a week before they walk to receive their diplomas, graduating seniors from the Industrial and Interior Design departments presented their final thesis projects to guests in an open reception.

An enthusiastic crowd that included families, peers, faculty, and industry professionals, toured through the displays set up by the two majors. Industrial design projects ranged from  football padding to a hydro-powered bicycle, a grocery organizer, neck supporting pillows, and a wind turbine. Interior Design seniors tackled challenges that included homeless shelters, museums, learning centers, cruise ships, and funeral homes.

Business representatives look over students' portfolios at Directions

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joel VanGilder stands in front of his booth at Directions

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

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

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

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

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

Skreened owner Daniel Fox examines a student's work

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

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

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

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

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

2011 graduates and families outside The Ohio Theatre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, without further ado, your classnotes from December 2011, January 2012, and February 2012.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo of "Sunmao" created by Benwu Studio

With several months to  go before graduation, CCAD senior Hongchao Wang is already having career successes by founding a design studio that is gaining international attention.

Wang founded Benwu Studio with his friend Peng You who attends Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London, England. Their first collaboration was in 2010. Since then they have successfully worked across continents as an independent design studio. Their designs are “inspired by fashionable/architectural elements and Zen philosophy,” according to their website.

Benwu Studio was recently selected to participate in A+: The Young Designers’ Platform showcase within Accent on Design® at the winter 2012 New York International Gift Fair®.

The A+: The Young Designers’ Platform is an outlet for emerging talents and brand new products. Designers in business for one year or less can submit their designs, prototypes, or products, and selected participants are awarded display space at Accent on Design®.

The studio’s best-known products are “Sunmao,” a three-legged stool that incorporates Zen philosophy; “Mapo,” a tofu knife made of bamboo; and “Giggle,” a wool felt reusable bag.

Artwork by Michael Newton and Jeremy Sorrell

Two alumni, Michael Newton (CCAD 1996) and Jeremy Sorrell (CCAD 2004), will exhibit their work at Rivet Gallery in downtown Columbus, OH.

Sorrell, an Industrial Design alumnus, works as a contract concept artist and designer. His clients include Marvel Entertainment, LLC, and Express, Inc. His recent work features robotic characters done in ink and watercolor.

Newton, an Illustration alumnus, is a visual artist living in Columbus. His work is primarily ink and acrylic on illustration board or wood.

The exhibition, Between the Lines, is open Feb. 4–29, 2012, with an opening reception Feb. 4, 7–10 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Memoriam:

Walker, Steve (CCAD, 1970) Obituary here.

William, Walker (CCAD, 1953) Obituary here.

Michael Young's concept design.

Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) students, through a class project, have been partnering with the The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA)  to redesign the downtown business district bus shelters. Recently COTA announced their final decision: choosing the winning design from amongst the three finalist.

Michael Young, a senior in Industrial Design, had his design concept chosen after a community-wide voting process.

The partnership between COTA and CCAD began in a Contemporary Issues in Design class when COTA asked 12 students to submit design proposals for the new shelters.

The designs had to incorporate innovative materials, sustainable or “green” features, protection from the elements, and had to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The shelter also had to complement the urban environment and serve as an attractive focal point.

Three finalist stand awaiting the decision on which design will be used

Out of the initial 12 designs, three were selected as finalists: senior Industrial Design majors, Lyndsye Maez,  Joe Washington, and Young. These three designs were presented to the public who were encouraged to provide  input throughout the month of August.

“Their final decision fell right in line with the public’s choice,” said Beth Berkemer, public and media relations manager at COTA.

This partnership with COTA  is one of several business partnerships that CCAD is involved with. The college has worked closely with the the Ohio governor’s office, Easton Town Center, and Huntington Bank in recent projects that provide students with real-world experience as creative professionals.

“The value of experience like this for students is that they’re able to generate ideas that have an impact on the community where they live, work, and play,” said Kevin Conlon, vice president for academic affairs.

The bus shelters are projected to be in place by the end of 2012.

CCAD student has chair collapse underneath him

A chair made of cardboard? It is not the first material that comes to mind when designing a chair, especially one that needs to hold up to 250 pounds. Add to the challenge the fact that the chair can only be made from a 4′ by 8′ cardboard sheet using no glue or tape. The final design must also include an armrest, backrest, and a writing surface. Tricky huh?

Well that is the four-week project that Industrial Design Studio II students have to complete each year.

In order to create their final chair, students had to make a ¼-scale model, cut path drawings, complete full-size testing, and create an instruction manual. Then on Monday, Oct. 31 their designs were put to the test.

As a final challenge, the unique chairs are set up in a circle in CCAD’s Design Studios on Broad and one by one, students take turns sitting down in them.

Each student had to evaluate the chair on whether it met the project criteria, as well as how sturdy and comfortable it was. Crowds gathered on the outskirts to take pictures and cheer them on, and freshmen interested in Industrial Design studied the chairs as peers and instructors came to watch the annual test.

The competition got heavy (no pun intended) and left only a few chairs intact. At the end, students gathered around to survey the damage and see if anything could be salvaged.

Read more about the Industrial Design program at CCAD here.

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

Classnotes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

well as details about the award and the nomination process.

Passenger shelter concepts by Industrial Design students

Soon thousands of urban travelers will see new and improved bus shelters thanks to the innovative design work of Columbus College of Art & Design students.

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) worked with 12 CCAD students enrolled in the Contemporary Issues in Design class to design new bus passenger shelters to replace existing ones in downtown’s central business district. Three of the designs are under consideration and are currently on view and open for public review and feedback.

The students were challenged to incorporate innovative materials, sustainable or “green” features, protection from the elements, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in their designs. In addition, they needed to incorporate a unique, signature design to complement the urban environment and serve as an attractive focal point to the streetscape.

Tom Williamson, an assistant professor of Industrial Design, and Carl Garant, professor and dean of Industrial and Interior Design, worked with the following students and now-alumni on last year’s project: Caleb Boller, Gregory Holmes (CCAD 2011), 
Steve Hughett (CCAD 2011), Lyndsye Maez, Jeff Ras (CCAD 2011), Scott Stewart (CCAD 2011), Daniel Tsorin, Joel Vangilder, Joe Washington, Michael Young, and 



Igor Zemskov (CCAD 2011). Interior Design alumna Ashley Randolph (CCAD 2011) also was one of the participating students.

COTA is seeking feedback on three student designs, which are on view through Friday, Aug. 12 in the lobbies of the Franklin County Courthouse, 373 S. High St., the Rhodes State Office Tower, 30 E. Broad St. and the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation William Green Building, 30 W. Spring St.

Comment cards (as well as collection boxes)  are provided at the displays. Comment here or to COTA directly by calling 614.228.1776 or via email at www.cota.com under “Contact Us.”

After the public comment period COTA will choose a final design. Then the process of replacing a few shelters in the central business district with shelters that incorporate the chosen design will begin. The transit company hasn’t determined the exact number of student-designed shelters to be installed but expects to have them in place by the end of 2012.

Photo from Quirky.com.

An invention by Industrial Design alumnus Peter Wachtel (CCAD 1990) has made it through Quirky’s curation, evaluation, and engineering phases and is now available for pre-sale on the community-driven invention production site.

Wachtel’s invention is STAKE, an all-in-one barbeque tool that functions as tongs, a spatula, or a fork. STAKE has been in the Quirky store since  June 29 and has nearly 100 pre-sale orders. Once the product’s pre-sale threshold has been met, STAKE will move into production.

Watch STAKE in action here.

Quirky opened in 2009, and helps turn ideas into products. Inventors submit their ideas and fans make suggestions. Twice a week, a new product is released. Confused? Check out this infographic.

Wachtel is the owner and president of Kid Toyology and recently published two e-readers. Learn more about Wachtel here.

“CCAD is thrilled to expand its creative community with its recent hires,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs Kevin Conlon.  “A focused and strategic hiring process that concluded this spring has netted the college our first choices in each search.  We’re extremely proud that CCAD is attracting this caliber of faculty. Quality attracts quality, and going forward, it’s going to be exciting to see the academic programs resonate with the diverse expertise of these new hires’ experience.”

Conlon added that he is grateful for the search committees for their hard work and diligence in the hiring process. “CCAD students will benefit from their efforts to hire the very best,” he said.

Benine received her MFA in Photography from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her BFA in Photography from the University of Washington. She will be an assistant professor in Media Arts.

Cesare is completing her Ph.D. in Art History this summer at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, and holds a MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from Parsons: The New School for Design and a BA in International Business from Marymount College.  She joins the Liberal Arts department as an assistant professor.

Landsbergen holds a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington, an MS in Ecology from Duke University and a BA in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Memphis. She will be joining the regular faculty as Associate Professor for Cross Disciplinary Studies and Sustainability Research. Her office will be in Liberal Arts, but she is charged with helping faculty to integrate science and sustainability throughout the curriculum.

Mohr holds an MFA in Design & Technology from Parsons: The New School for Design and a BFA in Graphic Design from Bowling Green State University. He will serve as an assistant professor in the Visual Communications division.

Thune holds a bachelor degree in Industrial Design (BID) from Auburn University. In his more than 20 years as an industrial designer, he has completed consumer, medical, industrials, and houseware products. Thune will serve as an instructor in the Industrial and Interior Design division. Learn more about Thune on his website.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy of the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Industrial Design alumnus James Markle (CCAD 1970) presented a speech about his environmental photography at the Tahoe Art League, June 8.

An article in the Tahoe Daily Tribune detailed Markle’s career. “After serving in the military, Markle moved his family to Chicago where he earned his MA in Communications at Wheaton College. Over the next two decades, his career in advertising design and publishing provided a wealth of experience working with commercial photographers.”

Read the entire article here.

Attendees at the event were among the first to view Markle’s new 3D video, “Lake Tahoe in Depth,” produced by UC Davis Environmental Research Center. 2D teaser videos can be viewed here.

Learn more about Markle on his website.

Alumnus Peter Wachtel's e-readers are available on Lulu.com and Amazon.com.

Industrial Design alumnus Peter Wachtel (CCAD 1990) recently published e-readers, Kid Toyology: An understanding of Why Toys Are and how they effect us as we grow and The Wonderous World of Wonders: A Humorous Collection of Unique Learning Rhymes. Books are available on Amazon.com and Lulu.com.

“I wrote this book because I was a kid once too,” said Wachtel about Kid Toyology. “It was always a wonder to me why most children seem to be so much more creative and alive than the normal adult. Why do we lose this or put it on hold? I have always had a dream to counteract the results of growing old—at least mentally. Wouldn’t it be great to start out old and grow younger as we age?”

Wachtel is an award-winning creative toy and entertainment designer, inventor and teacher. He has designed more than 500 products for the Toy, Entertainment and Design Education industries. Learn more on his website.

Purchase the books on Lulu here.

Senior Ryan Slicer was named Outstanding Senior for the Industrial Design department.

At the end of the academic year, a graduating senior from each major is named the Outstanding Senior for that department. Today in part nine of our 10-part series, we interviewed s

enior Ryan Slicer (CCAD 2011), who was named Outstanding Senior for the Industrial Design department.

Q.) What’s it feel like to graduate with not one but two job offers?
A.) It feels great. I feel like all the sleepless nights and long hours were worth something in the real world.

Q.) What’s the ultimate dream job?
A.) The ultimate for me is pretty simple. I just want to design new solutions for existing problems. As long as I am able to do that, I will be happy. Eventually, I would really like to start my own firm here in Columbus.

Q.) Do you remember a single point that made you sit back and say, “This is why I am doing this?”
A.) Actually receiving this award. I think this means the most because it’s validation from the faculty that I have done well in the program.

Q.) What smell always reminds you of your time here as a student?
A.) Definitely the smell of walnut sawdust. Junior year I built a dining room table from walnut, and the shop and I smelled like sawdust for weeks. It smelled wonderful.

Q.) What are you going to miss most about CCAD?
A.) Everyone sitting down in room 108 on the cintiqs. We would stay down there together for days it seemed, laughing. The people here are great.

Q.) Finish the sentence. The best class at CCAD was…
A.) ID302 with Joel Gundlach.

Q.) What was your favorite thing to do on the weekends?
A.) Put away all my stuff to spend time with my wife—as long as there was no presentations the following week.

Q.) Any advice for future CCAD students?
A.) Take it upon yourselves to see that you are successful.

Ryan’s Coroflot portfolio is available here.

Industrial & Interior Design Thesis Show, May 5, 2011

Just one day before the official end of classes for seniors, the graduating Industrial Design and Interior Design class concluded their academic journey on a high note. Thursday, May 5, the 17 Industrial Design and 11 Interior Design seniors presented their final senior thesis projects during an open-to-the-public reception.

Projects ranged from combining neuroscience, psychology, color theory and lighting to develop a more impactful use of color in interior spaces, to a self-sustaining device capable of harnessing, storing, and transferring solar energy of distance wireless. Many projects looked at social issues like repurposing an empty rural town building to create a multi-use community space and garden, and others looked to environmental issues such as designing an ergonomically friendly device to aid with reforestation.

132nd Annual Student Exhibition

It is tradition for CCAD to end its academic year with a spectacular exhibition that reflects the best student art and design work created during the previous 12 months.

On Friday, May 13^th we open SHOW the 132^nd Annual Student Exhibition, and even after 132 years, there is always a surprise or two.

One exciting new addition to this year’s SHOW is the MFA exhibition. CCAD’s recently launched graduate program, Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts: New Projects, will showcase the first year of work by the 11-member MFA class of 2012.

“It’s exciting because many of these graduate students are venturing out of their comfort zones,” said Graduate Studies Director Ric Petry. “They are taking risks and exploring new territory. We are finishing year one of a two-year program, so many of the works seen in the exhibition are setting the stage for what will be developed in their final thesis projects next year.”

MFA works, which will be exhibited on the second and third floors of Design Studios on Broad from 4-9 p.m. during the May 13 opening, include fiber arts, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and social/performance-based work.

Undergraduate work in the exhibition represents each of CCAD’s nine majors: Advertising & Graphic Design, Animation, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Studies, and Photography.

While art and design work is presented throughout campus, the main Canzani Center Gallery comprises work by upper-level students who show a mastery of skill within their chosen disciplines. The Canzani Center will also be the focal point for Media Studies and Animation screenings, which are presented to a packed audience in the 400-seat auditorium from 6-8 p.m. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to be considered for the opening night screenings.

“Each division has their own method for selecting work in the show,” explained Director of Student Exhibitions Tim Rietenbach. “But the approach is generally the same: All faculty members collect the best work from their classes, which is then reviewed by a smaller group of senior faculty who choose the final pieces for the show.”

Although the process for choosing work remains relatively the same, there are several new features at the opening night celebration. In addition to the MFA exhibition, the Acock galleries (on the second-floor of the Canzani Center) will house, for opening night only, examples of Foundation Studies interactive group projects. Also, for the first time, CCAD’s Fashion Show fundraising event will take place the night of the exhibition opening. In past years the fundraising event was hosted a week earlier, and on the night of the exhibition opening, a smaller-scale version of the fashion show was presented in the auditorium. This year the full production and event will take place on opening night.

“Moving the fashion event to the same night as the exhibition opening just made sense,” explained Vice President for Institutional Advancement Stephanie Hightower. “This is our signature event and we bring more than 700 people to campus. We want our guests to experience our whole creative community and to share in the excitement and celebration that comes with this time of year.”

While some things have changed, other traditions continue. Each year the three-dimensional Illustration class brings to the exhibition a fun and quirky crowd favorite. Last year it was pirate bears, in the past we’ve seen animatronic spiders, Alice in Wonderland, a monster classroom, and robots. This year they’re making  … well you’ll just have to come and see.

Find more details on the opening night schedule and event night parking on the event page.

Alumnus Justin Bryant is slated to present at Pecha Kucha May 12.

Industrial Design alumnus Justin Bryant (CCAD 2004) is gearing up to present at the 17^th installment of Pecha Kucha Columbus, which is no small task since a record-breaking 1,200 people crammed into the Columbus Museum of Art during the previous installment. And since he has less than seven minutes to present all 20 slides.

‘Aligning Brand with Communication’ is the topic of Bryant’s Pecha Kucha presentation. “I’m going to be sharing a few case studies of small, local brands whose communications closely align with their brands.” When asked why he selected this topic, Bryant said, “Because I’m completely passionate about and constantly critiquing brand development.”

Bryant is the owner and lead brand development specialist at Think Brand Studio. “I help brands communicate through brand centric design and marketing—I call this brand development,” said Bryant. “My goal is to use simplicity to bring clarity to my client’s brand messages and communications.”

Learn more about Think Brand Studio on their website or follow them on Twitter.

Pecha Kucha Night was founded in Tokyo in 2003 as a way for designers to meet and share their work in public. It has morphed into a massive celebration with events in more than 400 cities around the world. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for “the sound of chitchat,” it rests on a simple and momentum-driven presentation format: 20 slides, 20 seconds each—meaning that each presentation is all said and done in less than seven minutes.

Pecha Kucha Columbus was formed by a group of designers and community members in February of 2007. It hosts four events a year.

Come hear what Bryant has to say 7 p.m., Thursday, May 12 at Eartha Limited, located at 371 Maier Place, next to the Scioto Audubon Metro Park in the Brewery District.

More information about the event is available here.

2010 graduates and families outside The Ohio Theatre

In honor of the 233 students who will receive diplomas at CCAD’s 132^nd annual spring commencement, we’ll be counting down the days to commencement by publishing interviews with our 10 Outstanding Seniors and we’ll be announcing the class valedictorian(s).

And while we don’t know who is at the top of the class just yet (final grades are yet to be submitted), we do know who has been named the outstanding seniors for 2011. They are: Jordan Edwards, Advertising & Graphic Design; Chelsea Mummert, Animation; Carolyn Martin, Fashion Design; Kenneth Aschliman, Fine Arts; Graham Erwin, Illustration; Phong Nguyen, Illustration; Ryan Slicer, Industrial Design; Justin Highlander, Interior Design; Taehee Lee, Media Studies; and Sean Blanton, Photography.

Also coming along for the commencement ride is alumnus Mike Altman (CCAD 2000), who will deliver the commencement address. Altman worked as a technical director in modeling and articulation on Pixar’s Academy Award winning Toy Story 3 and was also responsible for modeling and articulating all the 3D characters for Day & Night, the short at the beginning of the film, which was also nominated for an Academy Award. Learn more in our blog, Alumnus, Pixar Animator Slated to Deliver Commencement Address.

Check back Monday, May 2 as we introduce you to Illustration senior Graham Erwin. We’ll publish one a day (on school days) through Friday, May 13.

Photo courtesy of The Springfield News-Sun.

As the director of creative services for Major League Baseball, Industrial Design alumnus Gary Taylor (CCAD 1998) is no stranger to high-profile graphic design. But his latest project, redesigning his high school’s logo, is what has landed him a profile in The Springfield News-Sun.

In a commentary by Kermit Rowe, Northeastern High School principal Mark Klopfenstein (and Taylor’s former cross country coach) laid out the school’s plan for Taylor’s design.

“This logo, you can take parts of it to use for different things: For a T-shirt, for letterhead,” Klopfenstein said in the piece. “We’re going to put it on the gym floor this summer. It’s a lot more flexible that way. It will be kind of neat to have one logo that is designed not only by a Northeastern grad, but by someone that’s associated with Major League Baseball.”

“To me, it’s a job in the field I love, and that’s more important than anything,” Taylor said in the article. “But when you sit back and think about what you are doing, how many people who would die to have your job, you get overwhelmed with it.”

Another moment that was overwhelming for Taylor: finding CCAD. “Deborah Kelly (one of [his high school] art teachers) took me over to see CCAD. That was a big eye-opener. That was it … I got a scholarship to go there, and I have been hooked ever since,” Taylor said in the article.

Read the article in full here.

Taylor unveiled his design during Northeastern High School’s Golden Splendor fundraiser for the school’s booster club. He served as the guest speaker for the event.

Thanks to voters, alumna Anousone Panyanouvong won $10,000 in the Microsoft "Make it Great" competition.

Remember Industrial Design alumna Anousone Panyanouvong (2007) and her quest to win Microsoft’s “Make It Great” competition? Well, all her hard work (and your many votes) paid off in a big way this week when she was awarded $10,000 to make the New Year great.

Panyanouvong shared the good news on our Facebook writing, “Hi CCAD, many thanks for your support and all the votes !! My friend and I won the M.S contest!”

Contestants were asked to create a Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation detailing how they would spend $10,000 to make 2011 a great year. Panyanouvong designed the plan for an urban forest, a system of exchanging plants within the community and following the plants progress using social media, with Phavanhna Douangboupha. The goal of the project is to bring nature indoors while also connecting with family, friends, and colleagues.

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.

2011 AICUO Scultpure Design Contest Winner

Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD)  junior Caleb Boller is the winner of the 2011 AICUO Sculpture Design Contest. The design contest is hosted by the Association for Independent Colleges & Universities of Ohio (AICUO) as a supplement to the organization’s Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts. The winning design is used to make the awards presented at the awards reception.

For the next step of the Sculpture Design Competition, Caleb will be working with a professional local sculptor (to be announced) to bring his pieces to life. Attend the 2011 AICUO Awards Reception on April 13 for the unveiling of the final sculptures.

Boller is an  Industrial Design major and focuses much of his energy on ceramics. Ever since a high school program that he took in his hometown of Roanoke, IN, Caleb has had an interest in all things 3D. A renowned CCAD ceramics instructor, Bill Hunt, drew Caleb to the college. Boller is the recipient of a silver portfolio Scholastics scholarship and a CCAD scholarship.

View more of Caleb’s work on his Coroflot account.

Three CCAD students are nominated for an Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts.

NOTE: this news was first announced in the blog post written for AICUO by Noel Ang, a CCAD senior majoring in Illustration, who is an AICUO intern and art awards coordinator.

Industrial Design major Hongjie Yang will introduce four new products at the New York International Gift Fair.

Senior Industrial Design major Hongjie Yang will introduce four new designs at the A+: Young Designers’ Platform, January 30 through February 3 at the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF).

A jury, which included representatives from MOMA and designers from other fields, selected Yang and three others to showcase their work during the bi-annual event.  He will introduce Veer, a stainless steel soap dispenser; Chromis, a recycled aluminum pencil sharpener inspired by the form of fish; the Liquido iPhone case; and the acrylic Hydro+ 20 oz. intelligent water bottle, which tracks the user’s daily hydration cycles.

NYIGF is held in January and August. It showcases the very best lines across the home, lifestyle and gift spectrum and is attended by more than 35,000 individuals from more than 85 countries. For more information about the fair, visit its website.

An article about Yang’s participation in the event appeared on Home Accents Today’s website.

Chad and Jenn Mellon. Photo courtesy of "The Commercial Appeal."

Alumnus Chad Mellon (CCAD ’02) and wife Jenn were recently profiled in Memphis’s The Commerical Appeal for their marriage and photography business, CMPstudio.

“Building a business together as husband and wife is challenging, but we love building something together,” said Jenn in the article.

With more than a decade’s worth of professional modeling experience, Jenn does hair and makeup for all shoots. Chad works behind the camera and attributes his photography talents to the industrial design degree he earned at CCAD.

“A degree in industrial design incorporates all of it. It teaches you to think outside the box. It’s a very well-rounded degree,” Chad said.

CMPstudio opened in 2009 and has grown to include actor and model headshots, architecture portfolios, and event coverage. They recently wrapped up shooting actor Will Yun Lee’s celebrity wedding, which included shots of actress Kate Beckinsale, singer Nick Lachey, and television personality Vanessa Minillo. CRAZYlove, their wedding division, officially launches in January.

“Our business has grown very rapidly, a lot more rapidly than either of us expected,” Chad said.

Read the entire article at The Commerical Appeal.

Photo courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch.

Alumnus Tim Friar (CCAD 1988), owner of Grid Furnishings in Columbus’s Short North, was recently interviewed in the Columbus Dispatch’s weekly section Shop Talk.

Friar’s store opened in November 2010 and is described as a modern furniture shop. “Many people, when they think of modern, they think of the ’50s or the ’20s,” Friar said in the article. “(This is) what’s next after the modern that was the midcentury. Everything you see in here is exclusive in central Ohio, and in some cases, the Midwest.”

When asked what he’d been doing since graduation, Friar said, “product design consulting–anything from forklifts to kitchen appliances to medical products.”

To read the entire article, check out the Columbus Dispatch. For more information about Grid Furnishings, visit the shop’s website.

]]> http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2010/12/alumnus-opens-furniture-store-featured-in-newspaper/feed/ 3 http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2010/10/id%e2%80%99s-cardboard-chairs-undergo-ultimate-test/ http://www.ccad.edu/blog/2010/10/id%e2%80%99s-cardboard-chairs-undergo-ultimate-test/#comments Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:40:37 +0000 CCAD News http://www.ccad.edu/blog/?p=2866

Participant in Industrial Design Studio II cardboard chair project

Can you design a cardboard chair strong enough to hold 250 pounds? Each year CCAD students in Industrial Design Studio II address this question with their cardboard chair project.

The challenge is to design a seating device that has good seat proportions, a back rest, arm rests, a writing surface, and is made of only one 4’ x 8’ sheet of cardboard. Oh, and there’s no tape or glue allowed!

This annual tradition is a four-week project that involves research, 1/4-scale models, cut path drawings, full size testing and an assembly instruction manual. The project culminates in testing and evaluation by the entire class, one by one, lightest to heaviest.

This year’s final test took place on Oct. 27 in Design Studios on Broad. Weight started at 110 pounds and moved up past 200 pounds with several chairs surviving through 250 pounds of weight.

Filming with Ming Fay (CCAD '65)

By Chad Hughes

Well, we made it to New York. Even made good time and did not have to have a water landing in the Hudson River. Got all checked in at our beautiful hotel and were even greeted by King Kong hanging out on our beds. Then the real adventure began.

After a quick lunch at Lindy’s (who claims to have the best cheese cake in the world) and an interesting adventure trying to decode the mass transit subway signage and walking a few 30 blocks through China Town. We made it to our first interview and were warmly greeted by Ming Fay.

Buckeye nut on right was inspired by time spent at CCAD.

Ming Fay, a 1965 Columbus College of Art & Design graduate in industrial design, was eager to tell us his journey and gave us lots of good advice for art students.

First we went to the Lesley Heller gallery where there was a solo exhibition of Ming’s work (it was the closing day of the exhibition).

Seeing his work on display is even more thrilling then it is in pictures. The work sucks you in and takes you to a magical jungle of sculptural art. The turning and twisting pieces are made to mimic brush strokes on a blank canvas. Imaginary and factual plants and seeds are scattered throughout the exhibition. There was even a special buckeye nut that was inspired by his time spent in Ohio. The exhibition was great.

Then he took us to his home studio. Can I just say, WOW. His home is filled with his work and his studio is a mass of inspiration. He showed us many projects that he was working on and some that were already on display. He still references the things he learned at CCAD when it comes to building his more industrial art sculptures.

Ming Fay gives us his words of wisdom.

As Alex and I sat eating frozen grapes with him and his wife and sipping green tea. (Yes, this really happened and it was amazing.) He told us that the best thing about CCAD is that it sets you up with a strong work ethic that will last a life time. Our time spent with Ming Fay and his wife was AMAZING and Alex & I will never forget this experience.

Ohio Theatre

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

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

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

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

Team Gundlach at the 2010 'cardboard regatta'

The traditional end of Industrial Design’s sophomore studio course is the Dean’s Cup Design Challenge, which pits teams from Tom Williamson’s class against Joel Gundlach’s class to build three boats in three hours out of cardboard, duct tape, PVC pipe and plastic sheeting. Students have one week to develop conceptual ideas utilizing sketching and scale models before competing on the water in three timed events featuring one-, two- and three-person boats. Race day efforts are dedicated to constructing, testing and competing for the Cardboard Regatta trophy, which was claimed by Team Gundlach in the sixth annual event on May 8.

Participants in Elmer's business partnership with Industrial Design

CCAD students in Industrial Design’s junior studio class designed X-Acto pencil sharpeners for a business partnership project with Elmer’s during spring semester. After conducting group research of various markets, students pursued individual designs to compete for prize money. The first-place design was submitted by Hongjie Yang. Igor Zemskov and Jeff Ras placed second and third, respectively, with Steve Hughett and Christos Ragias receiving honorable mentions. Professors Tom Kier and Joel Gundlach coordinated the partnership activities.

Sabbatical Exhibition 2009

CCAD family and friends came to an opening reception Nov. 19 to celebrate Sabbatical Exhibition 2009 in the Canzani Center lobby.

The exhibition features work, created during sabbaticals, by Carl Garant, Carol Griffith, and Walter King, and will remain on view in the Canzani Center Gallery through Dec. 18.

Industrial Design students with cardboard chairs

Each year CCAD students in Industrial Design studio II find out if they can design cardboard chairs that are strong enough for someone to sit in.

The annual tradition known as the cardboard chair competition is a four-week project that involves research, ¼-scale models, cut path drawings, full size testing and an assembly instruction manual. The whole project culminates in a competition where the cardboard constructed chairs are sat upon over and over again until the competition crumbles and only a few remain standing (or rather seated).

The final competition of the 2009 project took place Oct. 15 in Design Studios on Broad.

Mark Hall and Bernard R. Stockwell

Mark Hall, a junior majoring in Industrial Design, is the newest recipient of the Bernard R. Stockwell Industrial Design Scholarship.

Stockwell, a former department dean, and Hall recently met for lunch. Joined by Carl Garant, CCAD’s current dean of Industrial Design, and department Chair Tom Kier, Hall enjoyed the unique opportunity to tap into the experience and knowledge of three seasoned professionals. The Stockwell scholarship was established in 2006 thanks to a generous donation by Howard D. LeFevre.

To contribute to this scholarship fund, contact the Development office at 614.222.3268 or via email.

Industrial Design seniors taking Studio IV are applying problem-finding and problem-solving methods to develop innovative household products for entry in the 2010 International Housewares Association Student Design Competition. The competition requires students to 1) apply critical thinking as a tool for innovative conceptual development; 2) explore the design potential using research methods; and 3) create a product that meets objectives revealed through research analysis.

Juniors Bathe in Design Competition

A competition around the design of bath accessories that complement a collection by DNA+, an avant-garde home design company based in New York, is the focus of Industrial Design juniors enrolled in Studio III. The project is part of an international design competition where contestants must transition a vision into a working bath accessory for daily use. Students can create products in the categories of furniture, accessories, and lighting.

Admission is free. Donations accepted.

Read Garant’s faculty bio and his blog for more information.

Foster has first inventor patents on the FT-iQ driver, Legacy driver, the X-20 Tour irons, FT wide sole irons and X-22 Tour irons, which currently are available in the marketplace. He also is the lead designer for the next generation “X” irons, Diablo/Big Bertha irons, Diablo and FT hybrids, Diablo driver, FT driver, and some putters that will release over the next two years.

Winning design by Mark Hall

A class of Industrial Design students worked with scientists and design professionals at Battelle during fall semester 2008 to develop sustainable design solutions for real world problems that pose a threat to millions of people worldwide.

Battelle awarded a grant to underwrite the project. Class project finalists—Mark Hall, Samantha Richdale, Nathanial Worth and Andrew Czerpak—presented their designs to the public on March 19, 2009 at Design Within Reach’s Community Design Series.

Read the full press release.