Visual Arts

Valentin Brindel

Student News
Sophomore Valentin Brindel attended the Summer Architecture Program at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa." This program helped me to better understand how to draw perspective and architectural designs." His goal is to follow in his aunt's footsteps and attend the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris to study Architecture.

Rachael Thoma

Seniors Rachel Heeke and Denzel Harrison attended a four-week-long summer program at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., where they both studied illustration as a major focus, worked on building their portfolios with drawings and 2D designs and visited museums and galleries in New York. "I really gained confidence that, yes, I can do this!" said Rachel. Both students plan on majoring in illustration in college, with Pratt as one of their top choices.
Sophomore Rachael Thoma attended a three-week residency at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Alumni News
Bryan Park was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the Society of North American Goldsmiths for a two-year term. "My board work has focused on developing a more robust leadership development program for SNAG. This project is in its beginning stages, and luckily it meshes well our strategic plan." Bryan Park was born and raised in Greenville, S.C., and began studying metalsmithing at the Fine Arts Center. He earned his BFA in metal design from East Carolina University in 2004 and his MFA in metalsmithing and jewelry from the University of Kansas in 2008. Park recently taught and ran the metalsmithing/jewelry program at Idaho State University and currently teaches foundations art classes at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan.

Sharon Massey was also recently elected to serve on the Board of the Directors for the Society of North American Goldsmiths. She teaches at the community college of Allegheny County, Waynesburg University, and is the gallery director of the Martha Gault Art Gallery at Slippery Rock University. She received the Art Jewelry Forum Emerging Artist Award in 2009.  Images of her jewelry work have been published in 500 Necklaces, the Art of Enameling and Art Jewelry Today. After attending the Fine Arts Center, Ms. Massey earned her BFA at Winthrop University in 1999 and her MFA in metal design from East Carolina University in 2006.


Visual Arts alumnus Kerrick Johnson will be giving a slide presentation to the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, Santa Fe Chapter, on Oct. 20. The AACG is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to further the development and appreciation of art made from glass. Kerrick's slideshow will be about his glass work, where it has been and where it is going.
Kerrick was recently awarded a fellowship from the Tennessee Art Commission. The grant was based on past works and contributions to the art community. Kerrick commented on the grant by saying "I am very excited to have been chosen for this award and very thankful to be supported in what I truly love to do." Kerrick's glass work is currently on exhibit at the Muskegon Museum of Art, and he works as a full-time glass artist in his studio in Chattanooga, Tenn.