MAM! or bust - or, be careful what you wish for...

Our annual Art Club trip was a success, nearly a smashing success. The drive across the Wisconsin wasteland was filled with mirth, but otherwise uneventful (MPH blurred on GPS device to protect the image of Lasallian virtue).

However, our entrance to Malt-waukee came nearly to a close encounter of the failed brake kind when our #2 pace car opted to test the theory of cause and effect on the rear bumper of the #1 pace car. Fortunately the quick reflexes of the professional driver in #2 averted disaster (and yet couldn't prevent the outburst of screams in the car's interior).

All was well, however, even if we had to skip a sit down lunch (see box of lunch 'fixings' compliments of food service).

We did fortunately get to the museum just in time to see the closing and opening of the 'wings'. Add to that some wonderful art, Pizzaria Uno pizza later that we happened upon while we were lost taking the wrong Interstate exit, and the trip was deemed: a success!

Alma High School art students visit

The Art and Design department was the first stop on an 'art day' tour for 15 high schoolers in Mary Weber's art classes from Alma High School, across the river in Wisconsin.

The day included a visit with Brother Roderick and a discussion of the graphic design area, a look at printmaking with Preston Lawing, and a walk through the painting and drawing area with Dr. John Whelan. The group then checked on Rob McColl's two-dimensional design class before heading over to the Lillian Davis Hogan Gallery to see the exhibit on display by character designer Chris Ayers and sculptor Maureen Costa.

Having taken the long way to the gallery via a pleasant autumn walk along Gilmore Creek the students worked up quite an appetite. They finished off their visit to SMU with a gallant attempt to overwhelm the soft serve ice cream machine in the caf.

We hope with such a big tour topped off with so many calories they still had some energy left for their next destination, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.

Students included:

Devin Kleckner

Katie Kujak

Jake Luff

Brandon Churchill

Kya Kuhlemeier

Derek Evenson

Taylor Treinen

Charlie Hanson

Tanner Linse

Michelle Zastrow

Nick Elstad

Lauren Marty

Aloha Igawa

Mireia Catalina

Mary had help chaperoning by:

LouAnn Anderson

Art Department Student and Faculty Gathering

The Saint Mary's Art and Design Department hosted the first "all school" gathering on September 17, 2009. Forty students were present for announcements and information about the Art department. Refreshments were provided by the McColl family of Castle Rock Farms, and included fresh homemade bread, chili and cupcakes. Monster cookies made by the SMU Art Club.

Door prizes were drawn, and included an Apple iPod (case), Andy Warhol's soup (Campbells' Chicken Noodle), and Hannah Montana hand sanitizer.

Closing the Loop

The sign welcoming visitors to the art department was installed just in time for the start of the new academic year. 

Thanks go out to Rich Hultman (class of 1986) of Big Guy Creative Studios for making 'real' Liz Dougherty's design contest winner. He is pictured here installing the work.

Stop in soon and see it for yourself!

And the Winner Is...

...Elizabeth Daugherty's design - for the entrance to the Art and Design Department, was chosen from a wide array of entries submitted by all students in Brother Roderick's graphic design courses this spring. 

The actual sign will be manufactured and installed by Big Guy Design in Winona, owned by Rich Hultman, SMU art and design alum.

Elizabeth is on a roll of sorts, having her cover design chosen for the spring Typography class project.

Congratulations to Elizabeth, and thanks to all who entered!

ITALY!

Nine students traveled to Italy on May 10th for a three week study abroad experience. After a long flight to Rome, we arrived safely. We took the Leonardo Express into Termini Station, and after getting settled at the Casa La Salle, we took off for the Roman Coliseum, (originally the Flavian Amphitheatre.

Painting Class group Project

Each student randomly received a small piece of the large collage from Painting history.
They were responsible for enlarging the image, and matching color, along with edges from surrounding students sections.

2009 Senior Art Exhibition

The Senior Exhibition entitled "Squaring the Circle" showcases the work of seven graduating senior Art and Design majors. Artists include (l-r) Mike DeGidio, Andrew Rath, Sam Oreskovich, Natalie Nemetz, Cassie Ward, Mary Margaret Gill and Annie Kolaczkowski.

Art work includes photography, oil and acrylic painting, drawings, printmaking, ceramics and graphic design work.

The exhibition runs through May 9, 2009

Convex Complexities

Now on exhibit in the Fitzgerald Library display cases: granite, concrete, and wood carved sculptures from Art Foundations II studies on convex curvature. Actually the material is pink styrofoam insulation painted to look like those materials - check them out and see if you can tell.

Foundations II site-specific art

Foundations II students have created works of art in various public spaces on campus; spaces that are not usually paid attention to – a corner near a door, a shelf that is not used, under an entryway in the back of a residence hall - in order to make the viewer stop and become more aware of their surroundings.

The art is a panel on which they were to paint what is behind it, as though looking through a piece of glass. On this panel they could add something that might not ordinarily be found there: a cat, a bird, a butterfly, or a 20 dollar bill, for example.

The work will be 'on exhibit' Thursday, April 23, from 10 am to 2pm. Some works may still be in place after that time, but using poster putty makes these works quite 'temporary'.

Locations for the works are:

Nikki - steps and brick wall in Griffin-Heffron area
Marie - on the steps coming out of second floor Skemp into Heffron
Keisha - LaSalle lower stairway at main entrance
Brianna - exterior steps (near Alumni Office), basement of Heffron

Natalie - LaSalle math dept hallway
Laura - on the steps coming out of second floor Skemp into Heffron
Emma - east stairwell in Joe's, on landing between Print studio and Paint studio
Maggie - new entrance in Joe's, opposite the faculty art exhibit
Martha - elevator ceiling in Joe's Hall
Jennifer - interior entrance (near Alumni Office), basement of Heffron

Look for the pink name plates that signify that art is nearby!

Art Department Welcomes Paper 101

The Art Department and Graphic Design II (AR403) sponsored PAPER 101 on Wednesday afternoon. Attendees included students, faculty and several design staff from Saint Mary's Press. This information session included overviews of paper manufacturing, use of coated vs uncoated paper, sustainability in the printing and paper industry, and opportunities and suggestions for networking in the print and graphic design fields. Specification Representative Paula Allan from xpedex and Account Manager Mike Libby from Sappi Paper Company did a wonderful job of engaging the students and opening a dialogue about paper sourcing.

Art Club Adopts a Fountain

The Saint Mary's Art Club adopted the only water fountain in St. Joes hall as part of "Our Drinking Fountains, Our Water" a collaborative yearlong project between SMU, Winona State University, Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical, Southeast Minnesota Water Resources Board and the city of Winona.

The Art Club design is based on a triptych altarpiece, using stained glass, flowing tissue paper, faux candles, and incorporates traditional craft material (gold painted macaroni).

The altar is dedicated to Saint Aqua-Nice.

Getting the Big Picture

The Photo I class assembled panoramas recently. Some wonderful perspectives came from looking to the edges of the picture frame and seeing what was just beyond the view finder.

The panorama above is by Nadine M.

The Alphabet Book

Typography class recently designed and printed a book about the alphabet. Each student designed pages for individual letters, or a letter and a character, such as &, !, or ?

Printing and binding of the book was done at Saint Mary's Press, just across the parking lot from the art building. Saint Mary's Press now prints 'on demand', offering high quality printing and publication services to small batch projects.

A great project enabling our graphic design students to experience the project from start to finish.

The winning cover design was by Elizabeth Daugherty.

All About Paper!

Paula Allan from International Paper (iPaper) will be coming in from the Twin Cites to give a workshop on paper Wednesday April 15th at 1:30.

Her presentation will be about 90 minutes including q&a.

This will be an excellent opportunity for students to acquire a good background knowledge of the many different kinds of paper available for art and design projects... for printing and packaging etc.

Plus: iPaper will be supplying each person attending the workshop with a FREE packet of various paper samples! 

The event will either be in room 11 or in the new AV room on the first floor of St. Joe's.

Cubism

Drawing II students tackled Cubism head-on and came out stronger because of it. The work above by Maggie V. was one of several excellent interpretations of a simple still life of a lamp, a basket, some bottles, and other items. Check the slide show on the side panel for other students' works. It will be worth your while.

Advanced Time and Motion

The final short film project in Foundations II  involved 4 students in a group. Each member had to script their own path to a common destination. The goal was keeping each member's journey distinct while preserving unity within the group's convergence. The 'Granola' group was Sarah, Keisha, Morgan, and Marie.

Time and Motion in Space

An extension of the skills learned in Foundations I is a look at time and motion in the picture plane.  A fun assignment exploring those concepts involves the entire Foundations II class creating a short one minute video that makes a tennis ball travel through the halls. 

Each student films a segment that includes various shots, points of view, and directional flow. 

The finished product is 'stitched' together to create a time-motion based work.

Drawing Like Andrea Joseph

A Drawing II assignment: research the work of artist Andrea Joseph, and draw a collection of personal objects with her medium, the lowly ball point pen.

The above drawing is by Steve M., a sophomore art major.