As of late there has been many moments of small wonders and opportunities to look back over the academic year from a far-enough-away perspective that all the speed bumps and frost heaves disappear. One of which was donning a cap and gown for the first time ever in my academic career and participating in a formal commencement ceremony. Decades as an adjunct meant not serving on any committees, and the extent of my interaction with art majors was usually just at the Beginning Drawing level, and thereafter seeing their thesis show. Now I get to be in a more engaged and supportive role and remain a part of the process as they take addition upper-level courses and I can sit on their respective committees as a full-time faculty member. And the rebellious self-righteous hippy who dropped out of highschool is a wee bit more assimilated now as far as meeting institutional expectations, and realizing that it's not a damn bit about me. It is a good feeling to be so proud of other's accomplishments, and acknowledging their artistic efforts. Maybe, just maybe, I even finally graduated myself.
Speaking of amazing events, there were several standout samples of student achievements. I have an open studio door policy, and when former students walks through to do a show & tell of recent work it always makes not just my day/week/month/semester, but inspires everybody else who is working away on their own respective efforts. Follow below after the jump break for more...
Jacqueline Conde is doing outstanding work at Pratt Institute School of Arts, and they dropped by to blow us all away with some of their amazing comics + illustration. Can't tell you how much it means to us to see and hear of the artistic adventures of folks who migrate from the 'Banks and blaze a trail of their own.
Another excellent example of how our local talent ranks nationwide is Camille Russell-Lew's pen + ink self portrait that scored top honors for their final self-portrait done as a final in drawing. Note the wonderful way all the textures are incorporated: hatching/cross-hatching, scumbling, spot-blacks and stippling. And it wasn't just regional accolades, it went on to get with a gold medal awards nationwide with the Scholastic Art & Writing awards (the nation's oldest, biggest such award, displayed at Carnegie Hall in NYC,) and even more amazing, the American Vision Award from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
Maybe at the most a couple times a year I come into contact with folks who are fans and they'll make an offhand comment that really stays with me. Whether it's from someone at a cafe ("Hey just wanted to say thanks for all the laughs over the years"/"Man we really loved last week's cartoon") it means a lot, and after emerging from what was one of the longest and hardest winters on all levels physically/mentally/emotionally/spiritually it reminds me how the power of a kind word in passing oftentimes plants a seed of satisfaction which might even flower later on when needed some life and color and hope is needed most. Meeting a young person who is so excited to crank out a Castor Canadensis panel right there on the spot during an impromptu encounter, and then show up in a cartooning class a couple weeks later is >chef's kiss<.
As was coming across another former student's comic art show up on the wall of our Tanana Valley State Fair's Fine Arts division - seeing a strip from the summer's Visual Arts Academy was such a surprise... I had gone in to scan the walls for either kitties or comics - top two biases - and there it was: both combined for a personal fave (full disclosure: I volunteered to judge the adult level). There'll be a few more follow-up posts about the return to the VAA Comics class, and last semester's Pen & Ink course (actually I don't think I ever got around to posting some samples from the very first class either... whoops get right on that) + the latest Cartoon & Comic Arts course (also in dire need to address the backlog from last year's offering as well). But in the meantime here's a shot of a 3-page piece done by another student who appears in the most recent issue of UAF English departments's undergraduate annual literary magazine Icebox.
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