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Irv Tepper (`69 ceramics), Us or Them
KCAI is deeply grateful to those alumni who contributed to the 2009 KCAI Art and Design Auction, the biennial fundraiser for student scholarships. The college received more than 200 pieces from alumni, who showed exceptional generosity during the economic downturn. The event took place the evening of June 6, and a record-breaking 700 guests attended. KCAI met its $355,000 fundraising goal for the student scholarship fund. For a listing of alumni who donated work by the April 3 catalog deadline, please visit www.kcai.edu/auctionartwork.
As an incentive to participate, two competitions took place during the auction season. The results are below.
Spaces, a premier home design magazine in Kansas City with a circulation of 40,000 people, featured a full-page, full-color advertisement for the auction in its May issue. All alumni artwork donated by April 3 was considered to be included in the ad’s design. Pieces by John Buck (’68 sculpture), Akio Takamori (’76 ceramics) and Josh DeWeese (’85 ceramics) were chosen.
Artists who completed their donations by April 3 were considered for inclusion in a special exhibit during the May 1 and 2 Alumni Weekend. The artists selected were as follows:
Barry T. Bartlett (’75 ceramics)
Charles Birnbaum (’76 ceramics)
John Buck (’68 sculpture)
Allan Chow (’01 illustration)
Dan Christensen (’64 painting)
Jim Connell (’82 ceramics)
William Counter (’99 painting)
Frank Daharsh (’86 design)
John Ferry (’92 illustration)
Luke Firle (’02 painting)
Dana Fritz (’92 photo/video)
Ed Gallucci (’67 graphic design)
Josh George (’97 illustration)
April Greiman (’70 graphic design)
Laura G. Hurcomb (’98 fiber)
Jennifer Jennings (’00 fiber)
Amy Kephart (’95 ceramics)
Sol Lewitt, donated by Landfall Press/Jack Lemon (’63 painting)
David Mai (’78 ceramics)
Byron McKeown (’60 design)
Deanne McKeown (’60 painting)
Ken Morrison (’58 design)
Wilbur Niewald (’53 painting, faculty)
Phillip Roberts (’72 painting)
Bill Schenck (’69 painting)
John Serrano (’94 ceramics)
Bobby Silverman (’79 ceramics)
Dana Swedo Bernal (’89 design)
Akio Takamori (’76 ceramics)
Calling on the classes of 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004: We need your help!
KCAI is participating in a major online survey called the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), which collects information about the lives and careers of artists. The survey is administered by Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research.
If you graduated in 1989, 1994, 1999 or 2004, we need your help. We need your current e-mail address, mailing address and phone number so that you can be contacted about the survey. If you e-mail this information to us at alumni@kcai.edu by Aug. 1, we will send you a license-plate holder as a small token of our appreciation. The results of this survey are provided only in summary form, and KCAI will not have any information about individual responses.
We are so excited about the possibility of learning more about all of our graduates, and we hope you will help us! By having your current contact information, we can also keep you posted on all KCAI alumni happenings.
For more information about SNAAP, www.snaap.indiana.edu. A short description from the SNAAP Web site follows:
SNAAP allows institutions, researchers and arts leaders to look at the factors that most helped or hindered the career paths of former arts students, whether these alumni have chosen to work as artists or pursue other choices. SNAAP is an annual survey of alumni at specified stages following their institutionally-based arts training.
Information gathered through SNAAP will benefit arts training institutions, policy makers and arts leaders, as well as parents and students considering arts training. The information gathered will provide a national profile of how artists prepare in this country and will allow for deepened understanding of what constitutes artistic success and contribution. In addition, data gathered through SNAAP can assist government, funding agencies and community leaders as they consider investments in the education, training and development of artists in their communities.
Cole and Rosser’s digital sketch of the completed project.
Julia Cole, chair of interdisciplinary arts at KCAI, and Leigh Rosser have been awarded the latest commission by Art in the Loop, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to commissioning permanent public artworks for select sites within Kansas City’s downtown “loop.”
Cole and Rosser are to create a site-specific work for a pedestrian alley between 10th and 11th streets and Baltimore in downtown Kansas City. The artists’ budget for the project is $75,000. Their winning concept places colorful, functional contemporary art elements throughout the alley, including seating, dyed and patterned concrete and new lighting, all of which reimagine a natural setting. The work is inspired by the historical ecology of the Missouri River. The artists are also researching opportunities to use environmentally friendly materials and energy sources.
The other finalists included artists April Greiman (’70 graphic design) of Los Angeles, Jim Woodfill (’80 painting), and a2e—a team of Stanton Fernald (’95 design), Terry Frederick and John Rees, a former faculty member) based in Kansas City. Project completion is estimated for the end of 2009.
To read more, visit www.kcai.edu/alumni/News.php.
From left: Amanda Zeitler (’06 art history/design) with interns Claudia Chagui and Shawn Tull.
The Kansas City Art Institute has received a grant to support an ongoing series of paid student internships at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. A $500,000 gift to the college’s endowment from the Stanley Durwood Foundation has been matched by the Barbara Hall Marshall Endowment Challenge, effectively parlaying the foundation's gift into a $1 million perpetual fund. Longtime KCAI trustee and supporter Barbara Hall Marshall issued the challenge to KCAI in 2005 as a catalyst for doubling the college's endowment.
Four KCAI students have been selected for internships at the museum this summer and fall, and additional internships will be awarded in coming years. Claudia Chagui and Shawn Tull, both seniors majoring in animation, will intern in the museum's design department, working on motion graphics and animation projects under the supervision of Amanda Zeitler (’06 art history/design), exhibition designer. Justin Rulo-Sabe, a senior double-majoring in art history and interdisciplinary arts, will intern in the imaging services department, where his supervisor will be Stacey Sherman, senior coordinator, rights and reproductions. In the fall, Paul Smith, a senior majoring in ceramics, will intern in the museum's preparation department under the supervision of Mark Milani, chief preparator.
“We are so grateful to the Durwood Foundation and to Barbara Marshall for making this important, career-building program possible,” said Kathleen Collins, president of KCAI. “Students become interns to expand their experience in career fields they hope to enter. At The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, our students will be working with museum professionals in jobs that are critical to the operation of a major cultural institution. Such internships are a strong addition to a student's resume.”
To read more, visit www.kcai.edu/alumni/News.php.
Professor Steve Mayse with his students.
The college is pleased to announce that illustration is returning to KCAI as a major. The first new group of illustration majors will enter as freshmen in the foundation program in fall 2009. The actual illustration program beginning with sophomore classes will start in fall 2010. KCAI has worked with Professor Steve Mayse as well as alumni to create an exciting curriculum that addresses the current realities of this dynamic and evolving field.
Mayse, who currently teaches in the School of Design, will be the lead faculty member of the program. He brings 30 years of practical experience as the owner of his own business and as a freelance illustrator and designer. His client list included Sports Illustrated, Arthur Andersen, Chevron, McDonald's, Boys' Town, Employers Reinsurance Corp., American Airlines, Cessna Corp., Sprint Corp., The Los Angeles Times, Cerner Corp., Cable in the Classroom, Physician, Ingram's, Vision, Emerge and many others.
Illustration students will work with faculty and visiting artists who have extensive backgrounds and experience in wide-ranging areas such as magazine and book illustration, editorial illustration, Web design, digital animation for film and television, advertising, graphic novels, comic books, computer gaming, fashion illustration, greeting card design, CD covers and music posters, children’s books, product design and other areas that involve illustration.
KCAI illustration graduates have worked for Hallmark Cards, The Kansas City Star, Harrah’s Casino, Bernstein-Rein Advertising, Coca-Cola, Sprint and MTV. They have had work published in The New York Times, Wired Magazine, 3x3 Magazine, American Illustration, Print Magazine, Woman’s Day, The Kansas City Star and Communication Arts.
Paul D’Amato, Tashma. Courtesy of the artist and Stephen Daiter Gallery.
Taking its title from Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, the exhibition Black Is, Black Ain't opened in late June at the H&R Block Artspace at the Kansas City Art Institute. The Artspace is located at 16 E. 43rd St. in Kansas City, Mo.
The exhibition brings together works by 26 black and non-black artists whose work explores a shift in the rhetoric of race from an earlier emphasis on inclusion to a present moment where racial identity is being simultaneously rejected and retained. It was organized by The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago and remains on view through Oct. 17.
In connection with the exhibition, Hasan Elahi, a multimedia artist, and Cauleen Smith, an African American filmmaker, will give lectures on the KCAI campus as part of the Current Perspectives lecture series. Elahi will speak Sept. 3 and Smith will speak Sept. 17. Both lectures will take place at 7 p.m. in Epperson Auditorium. A complete schedule of the fall Current Perspectives will appear in the fall issue of Alumni News.
Bill Swicegood, who studied at KCAI on the GI Bill of Rights after World War II, was featured recently in a story in The Best Times, a monthly newspaper published by the Johnson County, Kansas, Department of Human Services and Aging. “Remember the photograph of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square on V-J Day, Aug. 15, 1945?” writer Gary Swanson began the story. “Well, that sailor, who was out celebrating the end of World War II, and whose picture has been reprinted millions of times, may well be Leawood resident Bill Swicegood, 83. To read the article and see photos of Swicegood, visit www.thebesttimes.org and read the March 2009 issue. For more information about the Eisenstaedt photo and V-J Day (Victory over Japan), visit www.wikipedia.org.
Michael Ferris (’91 painting), middle, with his wife Rosemarie, left, and Amy Myers (’95 painting), right.
Michael Ferris (’91 painting), a sculptor residing in the Bronx, was awarded a fellowship in sculpture this year from the New York Foundation for the Arts. The fellowship includes an unrestricted grant of $7,000. Also this year, Ferris was awarded a BRIO (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) grant in sculpture from the Bronx Council on the Arts.
Ferris’s past awards include the George Sugerman Foundation Grant, the Marie Walsh Sharpie Residency in New York and the Emerging Artist Grant from the American Craft Council, New York. He has exhibited extensively, including having several one-person shows in New York and Chicago.
Ferris began receiving awards early in his career. Recognized in high school as a Presidential Scholar, the artist went on to study painting at KCAI under a full tuition scholarship. During his senior year, he received the Peter T. Bowen Drawing Competition Award. He received his M.F.A. in 1996 from Indiana University in Bloomington. He will show new work in a solo exhibition in 2010 at the George Adams Gallery in New York. For more information on Ferris, visit www.michaelferrisjr.com.
Chris Chapin, a professor of communication arts and fine arts at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Calif., has been named chair of the graphic design department. He begins his duties at KCAI this month. A member of the faculty at Otis for more than a decade, Chapin also served as Otis's chair of academic governance and as a member of the president's senior cabinet. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree from Texas A & M University in College Station and a Master of Design degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology-Institute of Design in Chicago. He has held various posts in the private sector, including freelance art director for Ogilvy & Mather, and since 1996 he has been a principal and creative director for the California-based Parallax Design Group.
Kathleen Collins, president of KCAI, said Chapin's interests and philosophy make him “the right person at the right time.” “Chris Chapin is clearly dedicated not only to design education but also to progressive and effective leadership in the field,” Collins said. “These interests dovetail perfectly with our strategic priorities, which include academic excellence, community engagement and world citizenship.”
Alumni, mark your calendars to participate in two very special events that will take place during this milestone anniversary year.
Oct. 8 and 9, 2010: This very special weekend will feature cutting-edge speakers. Join us on the KCAI campus to participate in a symposium centered on critical and emerging topics in art and design.
Feb. 20, 2010: Prepare to be amazed as celebrated fiber artist Nick Cave (’82 fiber), also an Alvin Ailey-trained dancer, leads an unforgettable performance that also features the internationally-known Marching Cobras, a Kansas City-based drill team. Cave, a faculty member in the graduate fashion program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, is renowned for his Soundsuits, colorful, extravagant sculptures that can be worn by dancers as vehicles for sound and movement.
The 125th anniversary can be a wonderful opportunity for alumni to reflect on their college days and share these memories with the KCAI community. We encourage you to mail us or e-mail us a response or responses to the following questions, or you can send a special memory of your own choosing. Stories will be shared online and in future alumni publications. Stay tuned for details on this just-for-fun 2010 project.
- What professor or course most affected your work and why?
- Which course was the most challenging and why?
- Which classmates were your best friends and how have you kept in touch since college?
- What was your favorite hang-out on campus?
- Did you marry your college sweetheart? Who is he or she and how did you meet?
- What was your funniest or most fun on-campus experience?
To participate, visit www.kcai.edu/myKCAImemory and fill in an online form, or mail your responses to KCAI Alumni Relations Office, ATTN: My Memories, 4415 Warwick Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 64111.
The alumni director found this unlabeled picture in the archives. Can you identify the students and the year it was taken? E-mail your answers to alumni@kcai.edu. The first person to correctly identify the students and year gets a prize.
Will you have a solo exhibition in 2010? When and where?
Your exhibition will be listed in an upcoming alumni publication and on the KCAI alumni Web page if you let us know by filling out the online form located at the following URL: www.kcai.edu/alumni/ideas.
Jannes Library asks for your help in identifying exhibition catalogs and books that feature the work of KCAI alumni. Library staff are renewing efforts to acquire these printed materials for the library’s collections. If your work appears in an exhibition catalog or in a book, or if you know of KCAI alumni featured in print, please share the information you have by calling or e-mailing M. J. Poehler, library director, 816-802-3393 or mpoehler@kcai.edu. Items will be purchased by the library (if they are still in print) as the budget allows. Donations to the library of catalogs and books are gratefully accepted as well. Please contact the library director if you have questions about making donations. Also, if you are included in an exhibition catalog in the future, we hope you will remember KCAI’s Jannes Library by sending us a copy of the catalog, or informing us of the opportunity to purchase it. Please send catalogs to the following address: KCAI Jannes Library, ATTN: Alumni Catalog, 4415 Warwick Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 64111.
If you would like to submit an update for the e-newsletter, fill out the online form at www.kcai.edu/alumni/sendusyournews.php by Feb. 15, June 15 or Oct. 15. The publication comes out three times a year in March, July and November.
Update your e-mail and mailing addresses with the alumni relations office to receive information about exciting alumni events and to receive the new KCAI alumni e-newsletter.
Please note: We are as concerned about your privacy as you are. The alumni relations office will only use your contact information to inform you about alumni events and opportunities and to send you KCAI alumni publications – we will not share your personal information without your permission. Click to update now at www.kcai.edu/alumni/yourinfo.
Please help us get the word out about this new publication. Forward the e-newsletter on to a fellow alumnus or alumna, and please encourage him or her to update contact information at www.kcai.edu/alumni/yourinfo.
KCAI now has an official fan page on Facebook! If you are already a Facebook member, visit www.facebook.com/kansascityartinstitute and become a “fan” of the page to be kept in the loop on all of KCAI’s news and events. You can also log into Facebook and visit our KCAI alumni page to join the KCAI alumni group to network with your fellow alumni, view and share special alumni postings and receive periodic updates from the alumni office. For more information on Facebook, visit www.facebook.com.
Are you a member of LinkedIn? Clifton Alexander (’99 design) oversees the KCAI alumni group on this site for professional networking. Visit our page to join. For more information on LinkedIn, visit www.linkedin.com.
Would you like more traffic to your individual Web sites? Please e-mail your Web site links to the alumni relations office at alumni@kcai.edu. They will appear on the alumni relations Web page: www.kcai.edu/alumni. The following alumni have been added:
Flint Reed (’58), www.mustangislandartgallery.com
Jack Lemon (’63 painting), www.landfallpress.com/aboutlp.htm
Gerry Lynas (’64 graphic design), www.sandsong.com, www.lynaspress.com
April Greiman (’70 graphic design), www.madeinspace.la, www.madeinspaceshop.com, drive-byshooting.com
Allen Dodge (’72 ceramics) & Mary Dee Morgan Dodge (’72 fiber), www.allenmarydee.com
Curt Ginther (’72). www.curtginther.com
Puck Erickson Lohnas ( ’72 ceramics), www.arcadiastudio.com
Phillip Roberts (’72 painting), www.philliprobertsart.com
Gary Mallen (’73 design), www.mallenandfriends.com
Deb Stavin (’74 ceramics), www.debstavin.com
Mary Ann Coonrod (’75 painting), www.coonieart.com
Michael Gault (’76 painting), www.michaelgaultstudio.com
Charles Birnbaum (’76 ceramics), www.charlesbirnbaum.com
Ron Kovatch (’76 ceramics), www.ronkovatch.com
Laura Foster Nicholson (’76 fiber), www.lfntextiles.com
Jessica Straus (’77 ceramics), www.jessica-straus.com
Chuck Avery (’77 photography), www.chuckaveryphoto.com
Thomas Ema (’79 design), www.emadesign.com
Laura Davidson (’81 fiber), www.lauradavidson.com
Kimberly Nesselhauf (’82 photography), www.kimberlynesselhauf.com
Marcia Stuermer (’82 sculpture), www.fossilfaux.com
Bixby Childress (’85 painting), www.bixbyart.com
Yvette Helin (’85 sculpture), www.yvettehelinstudio.com
Christopher Leitch (’85 fiber), www.christopherleitchstudio.com
Lisa Holmes (’87 design), www.yulanstudio.com
Mark Knott (’87 ceramics), www.markknott.com
Nancy Van Ness (’87 design), www.wienerdoggraphics.com
Theresa Kasun (’88 painting), www.theresakasun.com
Michael Greathouse (’91 sculpture), www.michaelgreathouse.com
Margie Schnibbe (’91 sculpture), www.margieschnibbe.com
Stacie Chappell ('92 painting), www.staciechappell.com
Elisabeth Spillman Nord (’92 design), www.paniccreative.com
Stuart Allen (’94 design), www.stuartallen.info
Cynthia Reynolds (’95 ceramics), www.cynthiareynolds.net
Rachel Malcolm Woods (’96 painting), artist's statement, www.mypage.siu.edu/rensor
Aili Schmeltz (’97 printmaking), www.ailischmeltz.com
Tim Hutchings (’98 photo/video), www.timothyhutchings.com
Holly Stewart (’99 fiber), www.thehollystewart.com, www.whitetrashrecycle.com
Brian Stinemetz (’99 painting), www.freshrefresh.com
Amber Forgey (’00 design/illustration), www.forgeysfunkyfinearts.com
Lisa Lavoie (’00 design & illustration), www.lisalavoie.com
Angelica Sandoval (’00 design), www.studioasandoval.com
Phil Shafer (’00 photo/new media), www.sikestyle.com
Ouida Touchon (’00 painting), www.ouidatouchon.com
Karen Kice (’01 ceramics), www.kicekice.com
Lesley Nishigawara (’01 fiber), www.kicekice.com
Richard Rodriguez (’01 printmaking), www.everyonesinlovewithyou.com
Mike Schultz (’01 painting), www.mikeschultzpaintings.com
Michael Allen Lowe (’02 painting), www.michaelallenlowe.com
Curt Bozif (’06 painting/art history), www.curtbozif.com
Natalie Legg (’06 design), www.natalielegg.com
Erin McAllister (’06 fiber), www.ekmcallistertextiles.com
Hailey Loman (’07 sculpture), haileyloman.com
Ben Jones (’08 printmaking), www.benjonesprintmaker.com
Linda Lay (’08 painting), www.lindalay.net
Amanda Nervig (’08 fiber), www.amandanervig.com
Midwest Paint Group, www.midwest-paint-group.org
Bob Brock (’79 painting)
Bill Foust (’71 painting)
Philip Hale (’75 painting)
Timothy King (’81 painting)
Jeremy Long (’89 painting)
Michael Neary (’75 painting)
MK12, www.mk12.com
Ben Radatz (attended photo/video)
John Baker (’98 design & illustration)
Jed Carter (’98 photo/video)
Tim Fisher (’98 photo/video)
James Ramirez (’05 photo/new media)
Maiko Kuzunishi (’98 design)
Teddy Dibble (’80 sculpture)
Ernest Ulmer (’49 painting) died June 9 at the age of 86. Born and raised in Kansas City, Kan., he grew up in a family of immigrant German grocers and realized his talent as a teenager while sketching on the tops of empty boxes in his family’s store. After serving in World War II, he returned home to study at KCAI, and he later obtained his M.F.A. degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Afterwards, Ulmer had a 20-year career as an architectural delineator, drawing and painting architectural renderings. In the latter part of his life, he focused on the fine arts, and he mastered several media, including watercolor, oil and pastel. Also, he was known for the murals he created on many buildings in Kansas City, Kan. In 2006, he received the Kansas Artist of the Year award. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ulmer; his four children, Connie Breidenthal and husband Jay of Bonner Springs, Kurt Ulmer of California, Dan Ulmer of Colorado, Steve Ulmer of New Mexico; and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Nicholas G. Jannes (BFA ’50, MFA ’51), who gave the lead gift for the construction and renovation of the Jannes Library and Learning Center, died April 24 in Chicago at age 84. Funeral services were held April 28 in River Grove, Ill. Born in Rock Island, Ill., in 1924, he studied art and design at KCAI, receiving both a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the college. He served on the KCAI board of trustees from 1984 to 2002. In addition to founding and owning design studios and working as an art director, Jannes patented many ingenious devices, including the basic mechanical designs for all rubber-band operated pop-ups, the six-pack cardboard carrier with the self-interlocking bottom and the machines to make them for the beer industry, the tear strip for corrugated cartons and the flip-top ice cream carton. The patents to these inventions were sold to major corporations. Jannes is survived by his wife, Nadia, and his children, Marina, Nicholas Jr. and Violetta.
Chester Kwiecinski (’50 painting) died Sept. 1 in Abilene, Texas. After serving in the Army, he attended KCAI, earned his M.F.A. degree and won the “Best Student Drawing” award. After college, he worked for a sign company and taught middle and high school art in Warren, Ohio. Kwiecinski worked as an artist throughout his life, primarily painting in oils and watercolor and printing on silk screen. He also painted large murals, and his work is displayed in both private collections and museums. His is survived by his wife, Marianne, his sons Ben and Andrew and 11 children by a previous marriage: Stefan Kwiecinski of Warren, Texas; Karen Guarriello and her husband, Tom, of Stamford, Conn.; Joan Epstein of Truth or Consequences, N.M.; Bill Kwiecinski and his wife, Kate, of El Paso, Texas; Mary Longe and her husband, Alex, of San Marcos, Texas; Ann Taylor and her husband, Scott, of Plano, Texas; David Kwiecinski and his wife, Leslie, of Hatch, N.M.; Leah Palafox and her husband, Dennis, of Austin, Texas; Martha DeNato and her husband, Mike, of Austin, Texas, and Dan Kwiecinski and his wife, Vicki, of Albuquerque, N.M. Kwiecinski has 19 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Beth Paula Finn (’03 fiber and art history) passed away May 3 in her Kansas City home. Funeral services were held May 6 at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church. Finn taught elementary school in the Kansas City Public School district for several years. Upon being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996, she retired from full-time teaching and enrolled as a full-time student at the Kansas City Art Institute. As an artist, she continued to work part time as an educator. Finn is survived by her husband, William A. Finn, and five children.
Cay Drachnik (’42 attended) won second place in watercolor in the 32nd Annual Vacaville Juried Art Show in Vacaville, Calif. There were more than 350 entries. Drachnik is also a past president of the American Art Therapy Association and an honorary life member. She also recently gave a talk on the symbolism in art therapy to the Kingsley Art Club in Sacramento, Calif. Her work was included in the Greater Sacramento Business and Community Art Show held at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center. Drachnik has taught art at Sacramento City College and at California State University, Sacramento.
Kenneth Edwards (’49 sculpture) was awarded first prize in “Tianguis de Ceramica de Mexico,” a national government ceramics exhibition in Mexico.
Roxanne Malone (’65 painting) taught until 2005 at the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico and previously taught at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and Pima College in Tucson, Ariz. www.safoj.org
Marlene Moore Alexander (’68 painting/printmaking) recently retired after 20 years of being the arts coordinator for a hospital. She is on the board of The Society for the Arts in Healthcare, whose office is in Washington, D.C. She has also won numerous awards for painting, including a grant from Johnson & Johnson to produce a brochure and walking map of two hospitals. Alexander also participated in an exhibition entitled “Real and Imagined” this April at the College Rotunda Library at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. www.atticgallery.com
Paul Pawlaczyk (’73 painting) recently completed a year as chief preparator at The Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pa. He also recently became a grandfather, when his daughter gave birth to a child she named Audrey Lynn Roberts.
Nancy Purington (’73 painting/printmaking) will show work in a touring exhibition, “Twelve Views of Water,” which travels through October. It is funded in part with a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Eric Hansen (’74 ceramics) exhibited at Creative Clay Studios in Alexandria, Va., which coincided with the Cherry Blossom Festival held March 28-April 12 in Washington, D.C.
Deb Stavin (’74 ceramics) participated in the exhibition “Photographs of India” this spring at the Strecker-Nelson Gallery in Manhattan, Kan.
Jessica Straus (’76 ceramics) showed work in two solo exhibitions this spring which featured recent wood and mixed media sculptures. “On Their Own” was shown at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Mass., and “Fitting and Findings” was shown at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. www.jessica-straus.com
Beth Galston (’77 sculpture), Luminous Gardens (Origins)
Beth Galston (’77 sculpture) traveled this June to Wichita Falls, Texas, as a visiting artist to work with high school students. During her stay, Galston and the students created a collaborative installation at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art. She also participated in the exhibition “Luminous Garden,” a large-scale glowing environment made of cast resin acorn caps, LED lights and tangles of electrical wire, which was displayed at the Boston Sculptors Gallery. www.bethgalston.com
Don McKenna’s (’78 photography) work was included in “Texas National 2009” at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. The annual event took place in April and May, and it featured approximately 300 artists who live and work in the United States. www.art.sfasu.edu
Mark Clough (’79 design) is a senior industrial designer for Garmin International, where he designs and builds trade show and retail store environments and product displays.
Rebecca Koop (’79 ceramics) oversees the programs and finances of the Historic Northeast Cultural Arts Commission, where she has been a board member since 1995 and president for six years. She has been the executive director of the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce since 1999 and continues to operate her ceramic studio, Back Door Pottery, in Kansas City, Mo. www.backdoorpottery.com
Jeff Bales (’86 industrial design) is the president of Monsoon Manufacturing L.L.C., which operates as a distributor of parking lot access security devices as well as a manufacturer of human-powered vehicles. Bales participated in a race on May 30 at the Hellyer Velodrome in Hellyer County Park in San Jose, Calif., using a recumbent tricycle with aerodynamic front and rear fairings that he designed and markets on the www.GoblinMotors.com Web site. After completing a line of human-powered vehicle-related products, Bales will develop high MPG vehicles for the masses. www.GoblinMotors.com | www.TrafficSpikesUSA.com | www.PoolRock.com
Maria Creyts (`86 painting/ceramics), Abeja
Maria Creyts (’86 painting/ceramics) participated this spring in the invitational exhibition “Curator’s Choice” at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading, Pa., where she showed several paintings. www.mariaurora.net
Marci Aylward (’88 painting) is an associate professor at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo., where she teaches drawing and painting. She is also the director of the Thornhill Gallery on the Avila campus. Recently, she was given an academic scholarship grant from Avila. Aylward will have an exhibition of her recent work this fall at the Late Show Gallery in Kansas City, Mo.
Stephanie Cunningham (’88 design) was recently promoted to professor of graphic design at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
Paige Emerson Ferry, daughter of John (`92 illustration) and Amy Ferry
John Ferry (’92 illustration) and his wife, Amy, are proud to announce the birth of his daughter, Paige Emerson Ferry, who was born April 9.
Jazno Francoeur (’92 illustration) is the chair and program director of the animation department at DigiPen Institute of Technology-Singapore. https://singapore.digipen.edu | www.jazno.net
Kelly Reichard Mathews (’92 video) is the owner of Arriviste Arabians, where she trains riders and takes them to competitions, including the Arabian Youth National Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., where she will take riders this July. www.arrivistearabians.com
Maura Cluthe (’93 illustration) was part of the exhibition “XX Chromosome” at the Late Show Gallery in Kansas City, Mo., this April. The exhibition highlighted the value of the feminine hand in contemporary art, showcasing nine local female artists practicing a variation of media including photography, illustration, painting, mixed media, textiles and sculpture. www.frag-ment-ed.com
Jeremy Long (’95 painting) is an assistant professor of art at Ithaca College in New York, where he teaches painting and drawing. He will participate in the exhibition “Painter Painting” this fall at the Linda Warren Gallery in Chicago. Long is expecting his second child in late September. www.lindawarrengallery.com
Joshua Reiman (’95 sculpture) was part of an exhibition at the Punch Gallery in Seattle this spring. Also, Reiman was awarded the Dorthea Shaffer Award in May from Syracuse University in New York, where he is completing his M.F.A. in sculpture. He was an artist in residence in Reykjavik, Iceland, in June. www.joshuareiman.com
Tim Hutchings (’96 video) will exhibit work in a solo show entitled “Timothy Hutchings Ain't Here” September 2009-January 2010 at the St. Louis Center for Creative Art. www.timothyhutchings.com
Dr. Rachel Malcolm-Ensor (’96 painting) is a lecturer in the history department at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 20th Century American and African Diaspora history. She also has a one-person show, “Abstraction and Apex,” that will open in October 2010 at the Joni Beth Bailey gallery in Murphysboro, Ill. www.mypage.siu.edu/rensor | online artist statement
Aili Schmeltz (’97 printmaking) was recently awarded a grant from the Pollock Krasner Foundation. She was also awarded residency fellowships at Takt Kunstprojectraum in Berlin, Germany, and the Santa Fe Art Institute in New Mexico. She has had recent shows in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Berlin. She lives in Los Angeles.
Kacy Maddux (’02 painting), Untitled. Courtesy of the artist and the Dolphin Gallery.
Peregrine Honig (’98 printmaking), Kacy Maddux (’02 painting) and Jim Sajovic, KCAI professor in the School of the Foundation Year, present new work in "Dream Bodies: Transformative Figures," a Kansas City Jewish Museum exhibition at the Epsten Gallery at Village Shalom in Overland Park, Kan. The exhibit will run through Aug. 16. Marcus Cain (’98 painting) is the curator of the gallery.
YouTube.com selected a video featuring Holly Stewart ('99 fiber) for a special video lineup on their Mother's Day home page on Sunday, May 10. The link directed viewers to Stewart's etsy.com video. Entitled “Ode to Mom,” the YouTube Mother's Day salute, offered on the Lifetime channel, said the featured videos reflect "moms who inspire, make us think and make us smile.”
Aletha Fulton-Vengco (’00 painting) published four children's books this year entitled “Felicidad’s Sidewalk Art,” “A Crocodile Farm in the City,” “The Stories of My Paintings” and “Felicidad and Her Pen Pal Kamar.”
Jeremy Scheuch (’01 printmaking) will show new work in a solo exhibition this month entitled “!!!AMERICA!!!” at Delilah’s in Chicago. www.jeremyscheuch.com
Ross Sawyers (’02 photo/new media) is an assistant professor of photography at Columbia College in Chicago. www.rossawyers.com
Jessica McGan Claerhout (’04 painting) is an instructor for continuing education at the the Northland campus of the Kansas City Art Institute. www.studeob.tripod.com
Martin Murphy (’05 interdisciplinary) is exhibiting at the Venice Biennale in the exhibition “Last Day of Magic.” www.art-agenda.com/shows/view/648
Dan Bina (’06 painting) was part of the spring exhibition “Picture Plane” at the Nudashank Gallery in Baltimore. This show brings together paintings that combine hard-edged abstraction with a post-digital return to pictorial space and linear perspective. These paintings reflect a new, synthesized perception of the world and how visual information is coded, condensed, flattened and transmitted. www.danbina.blogspot.com
Ashley Dimmig (’07 art history/fiber) was selected to participate in the "Eastern Consortium," a summer program specifically for Persian and Turkish language study that travels to various universities around the Midwest. She was also given a full tuition scholarship to receive her M.F.A. in art history at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Amanda Nervig (’08 fiber) is a pharmacy technician at McCormick’s Pharmacy in Kansas City, Mo. She also creates and sells clothing and knitted creatures at two Kansas City-area locations: Spool, located at 122 W. 18th St., Kansas City, Mo., and POPHEARTS, located at 311 S.E. Douglas in Lee's Summit, Mo. www.amandanervig.com
