At the Teaching Excellence ceremony, from left to right, Kevin Conlon, James Lutz, Mark Hazlerig, Stewart McKissick, and Denny Griffith

Professors Mark Hazlerig and James Lutz received CCAD’s Teaching Excellence Award and Professor Ronald Tardino, who is retiring this year, was honored in an event on April 18 in the Canzani Center atrium.

Each year CCAD recognizes an outstanding faculty member for excellence in teaching—and this year the college gave the honor to two faculty members. The award celebrates the exemplary efforts faculty members contribute to the college as a whole, using the classroom setting to engage and enhance students’ experiences.

The recipients were selected after receiving 57 nominations, which were solicited from students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Hazlerig, a CCAD alumnus, graduated with a degree  in Advertising & Graphic Design in 1974 and received his degree in Illustration in 1977. Lutz is also an Advertising & Graphic Design alumnus, graduating in 1978.

Hazlerig has taught at CCAD for 39 years teaching classes ranging from lettering and packaging to illustration and welding. He also is a freelance illustrator with clients including the state of Ohio, General Electric, and Hallmark Cards.

Student nominators said that Hazlerig “makes you answer your own questions as you work and go through the design process” and “encourages experimentation and independence.”

Ronald Tardino speaks during the April 18 ceremony

Lutz has served as a faculty member at CCAD for 19 years and is the current chair of the Advertising & Graphic Design department. He also is the senior designer and owner of Lutz Design Group LLC that has clients including Ohio Health Group, South-Western City Schools, and the Ohio Department of Mental Health.

Student nominators touched on his ability to provide opportunities for students to get them on the right career path. One student commented that he is “always trying to get students involved with each other, and really pushing us to network and advance ourselves.”

After Hazlerig and Lutz received their awards, Stewart McKissick, professor and chair of Illustration, honored Tardino talking about his years of service to the CCAD community. Tardino, an Illustration alumnus, has taught at CCAD since 1971.  He helped establish the Directions Career Fair, a reverse career fair where potential employers come to check out the work of CCAD students. He is also a liaison for Walt Disney Studios and has served as an instructor and adviser to CCAD’s Art Explorer Post 407 program, guiding high school students interested in art careers.

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.

Ariana-Sophia Kartsonis and President Denny Griffith

Ariana-Sophia Kartsonis, a poet who has become a writing mentor to many of her art students, was presented with the CCAD Teaching Excellence Award during a ceremony in the Canzani Center on April 11.

A student nominator said of Kartsonis: “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.” The student added, Kartsonis “empowers her students to want to develop their skills and techniques as writers not just for class, but for themselves.”

Each year CCAD recognizes one outstanding faculty member for excellence in teaching. The award celebrates the exemplary efforts faculty members contribute to the college as a whole, using the classroom setting to engage and enhance students’ experiences. Nominations are accepted from alumni and current CCAD students and faculty.

Kartsonis is an associate professor in the Liberal Arts and Graduate Studies departments. She teaches fiction and poetry writing, contemporary literature and special topics in literature. With dozens of published poems, 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. Kartsonis’ collection of poetry, Intaglio, won the 2005 Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize and was published by Kent State University Press. EmuSeum, a collaborative chapbook with Caleb Adler, M.D., was published by Dancing Girl Press.

“She is, in a word, excellent as a classroom professor and writing mentor. Her gracious enthusiasm for her field as a professor and writer is obviously contagious—especially with students,” said Ed Lathy, dean of Liberal Arts at CCAD.

Kartsonis earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Utah, her MFA in English from the University of Alabama, and her doctorate in literature and poetry from the University of Cincinnati.

Provost Anedith Nash (left) & President Dennison W. Griffith (middle) present Kelly Malec-Kosak with the CCAD Award for Teaching Excellence.

Kelly Malec-Kosak, was presented with the fifth annual Award for Teaching Excellence during a ceremony in the Canzani Center, April 21. The event, which was attended by faculty, staff, and members of the board of trustees, also honored Provost Anedith Nash, who is retiring this year along with faculty Susan Josephson and Peter Rasmussen.

The Award for Teaching Excellence recognizes the exemplary efforts of CCAD’s faculty, their overall contributions to the college as a whole, and use of classroom settings to engage and enhance student experiences. Nominations are submitted by current CCAD students, faculty and alumni.

Malec-Kosak is an associate professor in Fine Arts and Graduate Studies and the chair of Dimensional Studies, teaching jewelry/small metals and studio professions.  She has been the recipient of Cincinnati’s Individual Artist Grant and an Individual Excellence Award from Ohio Arts Council. She exhibits throughout the U.S. and her work has been featured in Metalsmith magazine.

One nominator wrote the following of Ms. Malec-Kosak: “She has taught me about current issues in the art world, how to write about my work, how to step out and become a visible artist, and how to have confidence in and speak about my work”

After the teaching award was presented, attention was turned to the faculty who, after decades of service, are retiring from CCAD. Dean Julie Taggart honored Fine Arts professor Peter Rasmussen, who teaches sculpture. His work has been exhibited in group and juried shows, and is included in a number of public and private collections, including Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, Bank One, and the Builders’ Exchange.

Liberal Arts Dean Ed Lathy honored Professor Susan Jospheson, who teaches introduction to philosophy, philosophy of visual art, and philosophy of media. She is the author of the book From Idolatry to Advertising: Visual Art and Contemporary Culture, and co-editor of a book on artificial intelligence research, Abductive Inference; Computation, Philosophy, Technology. BA, MA and Ph.D, The Ohio State University.