Fellow Illustration alumnus and CCAD Professor Walter King (CCAD 1981) has written an essay that will be used in the exhibition materials—”Dean Mitchell: Easy in His Own Skin” explores Mitchell’s artistic career and the continued friendship between the two alumni. The essay first appeared on absolutearts.com, an online art community.

Mitchell is best known for his watercolor figurative works, landscapes, and still lifes. He has been featured in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, American Artist, Artist Magazine, Fine Art International, and Art News. His art can be found in corporate and museum collections across the country.

AOI poster created by junior Wes Talbott

CCAD’s annual Art of Illustration (AOI) exhibition opens March 3 at Rivet Gallery in Columbus’ Short North arts district.

The student-produced exhibition is in its 15^th year and is part of a collegewide illustration competition that is juried by local professional illustrators.

The exhibition, which used to be shown on CCAD’s campus, moved to Rivet Gallery last year. The exhibition will once again debut during Gallery Hop, a first-Saturday-of-every-month event in the Short North.

“We wanted to showcase the best illustrative work created by students of CCAD and give them a chance to have their work exhibited in a gallery off campus,” said Brianne Schulze, a student organizer of AOI. “This is our second year working with Laura Kuenzli at Rivet Gallery, and she has been a big help to us throughout the entire process and in giving the exhibited artists an opportunity to sell their work.”

This year the show is organized by four Illustration students: seniors Lexie Holliday and Brianne Schulze, and juniors Andrew Thompson and Wes Talbott. Advisors are Professors Stewart McKissick (CCAD 1979) and Walter King (CCAD 1981) and Chair of Illustration Chris Payne.

Left to right: Chris Seaman, Jeff Carlisle, Lora Innes, Chris Payne, Adam Watkins, and Maxe Smith

The panel of judges included alumni Lora Innes (CCAD 2002, Media Studies), Chris Seaman (CCAD 2000, Illustration), Adam Watkins (CCAD 2004, Illustration), Maxe Smith (CCAD 2009, Illustration), and Jeff Carlisle (CCAD 1997, Illustration). They evaluated 190 submissions, narrowing the pool down to 41 accepted illustrations for the show.

Awards will be given for first, second, and third place. Six pieces were also chosen as  judges’ picks and will receive awards. The show is sponsored by Chipotle, Starbucks, r designs & printing, Noodles and Co., Dick Blick Art Materials, Kroger, and Giant Eagle.

Art of Illustration will open March 3 at Rivet Gallery, 1200 N. High St., with a reception from 7–10 p.m., during which awards will be given. The show will run through March 28, 2012.

Alumni tell us why they love the Alumni Facebook page.

When we created the CCAD Alumni page on Facebook, all we asked was that you “like” us. What we didn’t anticipate was that you would love us.

In the few months it’s been up, the Alumni Facebook page has connected more than 1,000 alumni—you have shared everything from the best advice you ever received to the smell that always reminds you of CCAD. You’re sharing job openings and news; you’re searching for old friends and connecting with new ones. And now you’re telling us why you love the page.

From Walter King (CCAD 1981)
“For me, this site does double duty. As an alumnus, it’s where I access old photos, new information, and keep in touch with old friends. As a professor, it helps me stay in touch with all of the students I’ve taught over the past 25 years. It’s our CCAD alumni meeting place, and (since it’s already on Facebook) I can stay in touch with old friends all in one place with only one password to remember. Perfect!”

From Lisa Watson (CCAD 1991)
“The Alumni Facebook page is not only informative, but a motivating reminder of the past. All CCAD alumni hoped to make money with our talents. Reading of the success of friends and current students is good for the soul. It’s like social media stimulation for those rainy days in life!”

From Lauren Davis (CCAD 2009)
“There are certain things about social media I hate, and the main thing is the negativity (bullying, drama, games, etc.) that can stem from social media outlets. On the other hand, though, there are many things that social media is good for, one of which is connecting with fellow artists in your community or from our alma mater.

CCAD’s Alumni page on Facebook is a great example of this. My best friend (a fellow CCADer) recommended it to me, and it is amazing all of the people who do frequent the page. My favorite thing about it is being able to hear the stories, or see pictures of other people’s experiences at CCAD.

I know I haven’t been out of school long, but, like many people in my field, I work a lot just to be ‘living the dream,’ which I’m okay with, but it doesn’t leave time for going out and connecting with others. So I feel this page definitely helps me to see what is going on in the CCAD art world and with fellow artists in general. For instance, I would have never known that a fellow CCAD alumnus [Michael Carney (CCAD 2004)] is actually the one who designed the Brothers album artwork for the Black Keys. In all honesty…that is amazing.”

Want to get in on the fun? “Like” us today.

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.

Assumption #1 by Walter King

Walter King, professor, Illustration, is participating in a December invitational exhibition in Ithaca, NY.

King’s art work will be at State of the Art Gallery beginning Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010 through Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011. An artists reception is 5-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3 in the gallery.

The biennial exhibition features the work of 40 artists from throughout the United States and two from Sweden. Works include paintings—oil, acrylic, watercolor—mixed media, photography, prints and sculpture.

For more information on King (CCAD, ’81) go to his CCAD faculty bio and his website.

Story Line 2010 by Walter King

A 40-year retrospective exhibition of work by Walter King, professor, Illustration, is taking place at The Shot Tower Gallery on the campus of Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, 546 Jack Gibbs Blvd., in Columbus, OH.

The exhibition Midwest Dialog, curated by Teresa Weidenbus, runs Aug. 23–Sept. 24, 2010. It includes works started in the ’70s as well as others not previously exhibited among nearly 150 paintings. The show also highlights the drawings, prints, photography, sculpture, illustration and graphic design as well as preparatory sketches and experimental videos of the CCAD alumnus (Illustration, ’81). Altogether, more than 250 works will fill the gallery, one of the largest and oldest working art galleries in Ohio. An artist’s reception will be 6–8 p.m. Sept. 2, 2010.

For more information go to http://www.absolutearts.com/walterking.

Cordoba Rain

Walter King, professor, Illustration (CCAD ’81), illustrated the cover of Blood at the Chelsea, an anthology of poetry published by Erbacce Press, Liverpool, England. The collection of poems, including six by King, is available online at Erbacce Press. Also, King recently had two watercolors from his Reprised Argentine series in 7 Landscape Painters at the Beverly Art Center in Chicago.

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.