Matthew Derezinski was part of the International Media Team for the 24th World Scout Jamboree, held in West Virginia. Over 45,000 Scouts attended from 150 countries around the world and over 10,000 International Staffing Team to help run all the events at World Jamboree. It has been over fifty years since the last World Scout Jamboree was held in the United State. This Jamboree was hosted by three countries: United State, Mexico and Canada.

The Art Department also got funding to purchase a Glowforge, which is a laser cutter and engraver. Aaron Neeley and Matthew Derezinski have been working on developing protocols and procedures in how to use the machine. Here are some examples:  (see google drive folder)

This summer, Art Professor Kambli completed an artist residency at Latitude.  In her own words, “My strong desire to participate in the Artist in Residence program at Latitude was driven by my need to investigate and expand the nature of my own photographic practice.”  You can visit her artist lecture here.

She also traveled to France with Truman’s International Travel Grant to research contemporary photography.

This June art professor Danielle Yakle traveled to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine for a two week intensive workshop in the wood studio.  She studied with artist Ted Lott who is known for his work combining found objects with architectural structures.  By the end of her time there she had made a couple funky sculptures and lots of new art friends!

This summer, art professor Eric Ordway was a studio assistant for his former professor and mentor Joseph Pintz at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC. It was a 2.5-week intensive workshop focusing on ceramic hand-building techniques that Pintz has developed as a professional artist. The workshop attendee’s also applied terra sigillata (terra sig) to the work that they made. Learning technical information on how to make a terra sig base, then altering the coloration of that base using mason stains and oxides. Applying patinas and washes to their work to give a depth of surface on their pieces. They then reviewed the results of their work from two different firings. Several were from the electric kiln, fired to cone 02. The other was a low soda-firing using a reduction atmosphere with propane.

All in all, Eric had a great time working alongside Pintz and the other work studies/studio assistants as well as pursuing a new avenue in his work that did not rely on high-fire, atmospheric kilns.

Professor Aaron Fine travelled to Paris, France this summer with the support of a School of Arts and Letters International Travel Stipend. His research focus for this trip was at the Gobelins tapestry works, a hand loomed tapestry and carpet workshop which has been in nearly continuous operation since the reign of Louis XIV. In particular he was interested in visiting the site where an important 19^th century color theorist, Eugene Chevreul, worked for 60 years. The highlight of the visit was meeting Sylvie Heurtaux, who began as a weaver but has come to be in charge of N.I.M.E.S. – the current color system used at Gobelins. This color system is founded on Chevreul’s Chroma Circle with its 72 tonalities, but is otherwise much more up to date in its structure. The N.I.M.E.S. facility has two sets of approximately 15,000 dyed wool color samples arranged according to the three standard measurable properties of color (tonality, value, and clarity) and is calibrated with other standard color systems using computerized colorimetry.

Image of the N.I.M.E.S. Color system courtesy of Manufacture des Gobelins and photographed by Isabelle Bideau.

Students in Professor Danielle Yakle’s Sculpture 1 class created giant inflatable animals and peppered Truman’s quad with these bouncy creatures on September 13th.  This is a reoccurring project in the class so look for it next semester too.  Here are some highlights of the day:

Art Professor Laura Bigger has an upcoming solo exhibition entitled Laws of Nature at the Mabee Gallery, Culver Stockton College, Canton, MO. The exhibition features a large body of new monotypes and other prints in her Black Hole series as well as a range of other prints, drawings, and installation-based pieces. The exhibition runs September 5^th – October 4^th with an opening reception on September 5^th at 6:30 pm.