MERGE: Alumni Exhibition featured artist Todd Muller

Todd Muller (’00, art) is this Friday’s featured MERGE artist. Born and raised in Denver, Muller was encouraged by his parents to draw. He picked up photography in his teens, enjoying how he saw the world through his viewfinder and developing from that a sense of composition. After a trip to Italy, Muller began painting, which eventually led to his pursuit of BA in art. While attending Metro State Caravaggio, Turner, Pollock and Rothko influenced him. “It was the portraits of Sargent that were most influential,” he explains. “Portraits would be the primary focus of my painting.” Upon graduation he was selected for the Senior Honors Thesis Exhibition. Since graduating in the spring of 2000, Todd continues to work with drawing, painting and photography.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Todd Muller: My work seems to straddle two opposite worlds in art – objective and non-objective. Most of what I do is figurative – lots of figure/gesture drawing and portraiture. I also like abstract expressionism, throw in some photography as well.

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
TM: The piece in the show is abstract expressionist. I was very pleased with how it turned out and am trying to build on it. It was inspired by bad weather and a desire to broaden my color pallet.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
TM: I think Andrew Spear influenced my non objective work most. He pushed my perceptions of art and the use of imagery (or the elimination of). Simplification/minimization.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
TM: It's hard to say. After school I went backwards in a way. I decided to completely relearn drawing by attending life drawing sessions. In terms of painting, it still feels new. I hope that my two styles eventually merge together.

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
TM: I entered this painting because I think it's a strong work and a personal favorite. It was a gift to my brother.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
TM: This is a good opportunity especially since I have not been very active in the Denver art scene. Having a regular job does make it difficult to promote myself, I'd much rather be in the studio drawing or painting. I'm pleased that I got accepted.

Featured MERGE artist Gabriel Christus

Gabriel Christus ('03, art, and '10, JRN) is this Tuesday’s featured MERGE artist. Christus is a photojournalist based in Denver, Colo. During his time at school interned at the Loveland Reporter-Herald , The Denver Broncos, and the Aurora Sentinel. Christus first became serious about photography in high school when he took his first photo class. Thus, he decided to pursue a degree in art, which he got in 2003. As his focus changed, he decided to return to Metro State for a second degree in photojournalism, which he earned this past spring, 2010. Currently he works as a freelance photographer for local newspapers.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Gabriel Christus: My art is photojournalism. I capture moments of people doing what they do best, living.




MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
GC: My latest work is my daily assignments while shooting news for the Aurora Sentinel.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
GC: Well, I was always inspired by photography that showed real people in real situations. My photo professors inspired me by making me look into photographers that interest me. Most recently Kenn Bisio, photojournalism professor at Metro, has inspired me to take beautiful pictures.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
GC: After graduating in 2003 I was not shooting as much as I would have liked. I decided to return to school for photojournalism. I graduated in Spring of 2010 with another bachelor's degree in journalism.

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
GC: The pieces I submitted were shot on assignment for the Loveland Reporter-Herald. I chose them because not only did they tell the story of what was going on, but they were also well composed and could stand alone without any context.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?.
GC: I am very excited to be showing at the new CVA.

For more information, please visit his Web site.

Calling all Tech Comm Alumni!

Hello Technical Communication alumni,

You may have been one of those who attended our first alumni event in February 2009. Due to its success and the fact that some of you were unable to attend, we are now scheduling another event. The date for the next alumni event is August 19th from 5:30-8 p.m. at the newly-opened Center for Visual Arts. Although we met there last time, the gallery has since moved to a building purchased by the college at 965 Santa Fe Drive.

For this gathering, we’d like to do something different. We’ll start with a social hour. Then, I’ll give a brief update about department activities and RC Montoya will discuss the possibility of creating an alumni club. In addition, we’ll hear a couple of grads tell us about their work activities – both Phil Lucero of Phil Lucero Productions and Chris Miller of Havoc Interactive will speak. Lastly, you’ll have the chance to witness art work from some of the most talented alumni to graduate from the college’s Art Department at the CVA’s Merge exhibit; commemorating the 20th anniversary of the museum..

Time for meeting other grads and re-establishing friendships will continue to be a large part of the event, so rest assured that you’ll have ample opportunity to socialize and catch up with other alumni.

If you know any other Tech Comm grads who would be interested in attending, please contact them or forward this e-mail to them.

To RSVP to this alumni event on August 19th, please contact me at amendb@mscd.edu or by phone at 303-556-2674.

Thanks and we hope to hear from you.

Bob

Professor Robert H. Amend, Chair
Department of Technical Communication &
Media Production
West Classroom 256G
Campus Box 35
P.O. Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362
amendb@mscd.edu
http://www.mscd.edu/techcom/

New Mentoring Network with Career Athletes! Sign up now.

Metropolitan State College of Denver Invites Alumni to Join New Mentoring Network with Career Athletes!

Recently, the college athletic department announced its partnership with Career Athletes to help provide additional career education, guidance, and networking opportunities for both current and former collegiate athletes. For those of you who are in the desired field of interest, regarding your career, you can become a mentor to the current undergraduate student-athletes. Do you remember what it felt like to walk in their shoes and endure the time limitations while being a student-athlete? Current student-athletes are eager to connect and learn about your success post-athletics! Be the significant impact in their lives and help them prepare for life after athletics just as you did. Sign-up as a mentor today!

Additionally, Career Athletes provides a comprehensive national career board representing entry to executive level type opportunities for graduates of all majors, a virtual career coach and career training videos. Additionally, as a career seeker, you can post your resume and search through career listings posted on the career board. Set up your career seeker account now.

We would like you to become part of our career network and register as a mentor or alum of this institution today. You will also receive community announcements as well as additional information on upcoming athletic events, networking functions and other related information on behalf of our athletic department. Thank you for coming back home!

About Career Athletes, LLC:

Career Athletes is the leading provider of a wide range of dedicated career development services and software within collegiate athletics. Since the inception of our roots back in 1998-to-date, athletes in every sport, from over 1,200 individual colleges and universities nationwide, have utilized Career Athletes as a valuable tool in their transition from athletics to the workplace.

Career Athletes possesses the largest member based community of current/alumni student-athletes, representing a growing legion of athletes, athletic departments and hundreds of national, regional and local employers. Today, our on-campus training and development seminars to student-athletes are the most relied upon in the nation, with over 800 seminars conducted and over 250,000 student-athletes educated on-campus within college athletic departments at the NCAA, NAIA and Junior Colleges level.

Beta Tester Challenge: Post The Most, win $50 giftcard, $5 Stabucks card

The Office of Alumni Relations has just entered Phase II of its Beta Testing for MyCommunity, the new interactive Web site it plans to launch this fall. We are looking for 100 more beta testers to help us develop various components of the site

And to sweeten the deal for you, for the duration of the Beta Testers phase we will be having various Beta Test Challenges. During these challenge periods, we will be looking for people to post on forums, to become forum moderators, to contribute to the blogs, to be future mentors for students, to help us develop our Career Center, and to do things we haven’t even thought about yet.

Our first challenge is Post The Most! Each week, through August 16, Post the Most on the Alumni & Friends Forum or the Job Q&A Forum and win a $50 gift card. You can also earn your $5 Starbucks gift card by posting at least one meaningful post on the forums that elicits at least three responses or by responding three times to other peoples’ forums.

The July 19-July 25 week gift card winner is David Sandusky. Congratulations David!

You can also post comments, suggestions, and edits related to the usability of the site on the Beta Tester Forum.

Thanks!

For more information, please contact Lizzy Scully, Social Engagement Manager, at escully@mscd.edu or call her at 303-556-5158.

Thanks!

MERGE featured artist of the week, Adesola Owolabi

Adesola Owolabi is this Friday’s featured MERGE artist. Owolabi graduated just last year, after changing her major from computer information systems to art, with an emphasis on ceramics. We caught up with her both by email and at the grand opening event. Check out the video of her talking about the piece she submitted to MERGE and why she love Metro State.

Metro State: How do you characterize your art?
Adesola Owolabi: Symbolic

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
AO: My new series title “Ifesowapo” is inspired by my relationship with everyone around me.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State Professors influence your works?
AO: Tsehai Johnson and Kathleen Royster-Lamb’s encouragement and the persistent push to take my work to the next level really gave me high hope in everything I do. Also, my interning with Tsehai while I was at school was an eye opener to the art world.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
AO: I have so much time now for proper planning and layout before anything is executed and have been leaning more towards sculptural rather than functional.

MS: Tell me why you submitted the piece you did for MERGE.
AO: I submitted the piece because it was my latest best and one of my largest.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
AO: I feel honored to be part of the Metro Art Community and Metro State at large

MS: Is there anything I am not asking you that you want to share with me?
AO: I missed living in Colorado, but it's always going to be home too.

Read more about Owolabi on the Metro State Web site or by checking out the 9News piece in which she was featured.

Listen to Jonathon Stalls talk about KIVA and his walks through Denver and across America

MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition featured artist Dawn McFadden

Dawn S. McFadden (’01, art) is this Tuesday’s featured MERGE artist. McFadden worked full time as a Denver Post newspaper artist while earning her degree at Metro State. McFadden, who also has an MFA from Bowling Green State University, instructs foundation design, painting and art appreciation on the Auraria Campus. She is also a partner in the McFaddenWright-Studio/Gallery, Her current works include painting and drawing, installation/performance art, bisque-fried clay, bronze and fabric sculpture.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Dawn McFadden: Multi-disciplined investigations into patterns and storytelling

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it?
DM: I've returned to a 2-dimensional figurative investigation that I started prior to my master's studies, this work continues to reoccur in my research - looking for connections between the self and the other, inexplicable energies

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
DM: As a 9-year undergraduate student, the shape of my life was carved into a motif of life-long learning

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
DM: Although I graduated with a painting emphasis, my graduate studies in Italy and Ohio drew me into sculpture and eventually toward installation and performance Currently, my interests focus on collaborative works and curating shows for a small gallery that my partner and I run in Northwest Denver (Tennyson Street Arts District) McFaddenWright – StudioGallery. mcfaddenwright.com

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
DM: A drawing/painting seemed logical to include in a big group show it would have been grand to have executed an installation for the event...

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
DM: Proud

MS: Is there anything I’m not asking you that you want to share with me?
DM: The opportunities and inspiration(s) that the CVA has afforded me both as a student and now as an instructor have been invaluable - Jennifer is a kid compared to me but she is a mentor through her personal example and a hero in the world of academia.

MERGE opening a huge success!

It's just about 8p.m. and hundreds of people have passed through the Center for Visual Arts this evening. The show has been a huge success. The MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition happens every five years, and so it's a notable evening for Metro State's successful art alumni. This evening is also one of the 3rd Friday's celebrated in the Santa Fe Arts District each month. And, as part of the Biennial of the Americas, the Passport to the Arts was organized to encourage tourists and residents to visit various art galleries in the area. Check out the slide show below for photos of tonight's event. To read more about the MERGE artists, you can visit this blog or follow the Metro State Alumni & Friends Facebook Fanpage by clicking here.

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition featured artist John Priola

John Priola (’84, art) is this Friday’s featured MERGE artist. He is currently represented by three galleries in California: Gallery Paule Anglim, San Francisco; Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla; and Weston Gallery, Carmel. He not only has a BA in Fine Art with honors from Metro State, but he also has an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute.

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
John Priola: Subtle

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
JP: I am photographing the attenuated landscapes and views seen between buildings. The interest is in how it's not typically photogenic.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
JP: Barb Houghton allowed me to realize that I was thinking and seeing- as an artist- the basic tools. And above all was rigorously supportive.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
JP: Matured, pared down- it better have- it's been over 20 years...

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
JP: It is a self-portrait really... but I made this picture the week a neighbor, friend and artist, Bruce Conner died. He inspired me.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
JP: It is an honor.

To see more of Priola’s work, please visit his Web site: jjohnpriola.com.

MERGE: Alumni Exhibition 2010 featured artist Mary Cay

Mary Cay (’98, art) is this Tuesday’s featured MERGE artist. According to her Web site, Cay’s first memory of clay “was as a six-year old child when a visiting artist in elementary school taught her how to make pinch, coil, and slab pots. The teacher chose her shiny red pinch pot, complete with lid and knob, to be exhibited at the 1961 Yellowstone County Fair in Billings Montana, an event that set a future career in motion.” Since then Cay’s work has been published in various magazines and books, and her ceramic sculptures and functional ware are in private and corporate collections and the artwork has traveled nationally and internationally.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Mary Cay: Contemporary Ceramics with a nod to trompe l’ oeil in that the canvases are made of bone China.

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
MC: My very latest body of work is a return to painting where I started as an artist 40 years ago. These paintings will be transferred into ceramic decals and applied to the ceramic canvases. The freakishness of nature inspires this new work.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
MC: To say the Metro professors influenced my work would be an understatement. They influenced my life. When I took Monica Visona’s Art History course, she was so engaging that I thought I might change my major, but the clay always calls one back. The course of Rodger Lang’s life impacted my own; and his philosophy on teaching continues to resonate with me.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
MC: My work has evolved slowly but surely and from functional ceramics to sculptural.

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
MC: I submitted the canvases because they are the most recently completed pieces and I always want to show the latest work.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
MC: I am deeply honored to be part of this show. Thanks so much for thinking of the alumni and I personally appreciate a juried exhibition.

To see more of Cay's work, please visit her Web site.

Featured MERGE alumni artist Evan Colbert

Evan Colbert ('03, Art) is this week’s second featured MERGE artist. Though born in Seattle, Wash., in 1970, Colbert spent just a few years there before moving to the Denver area. He attended all three schools on the Auraria campus and lived in various cities on the Front Range, eventually graduating from Metro State with a BFA specializing in printmaking. He currently practices his trade at Shark’s Ink near Lyons, a Fine Art Print Publisher.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Evan Colbert: Post-Pop Pop

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
EC: My piece, "NeoiCons", is inspired my pictograms like one finds on signage. The twelve newly created pictograms featured in my painting are taken from these modern times. They deal with such issues as global warming, carbon footprints, the butterfly effect and even anti-matter. One panel that attempts to address rampant obesity is titled "Pepsi Generation" and features the familiar pictogram person but with an enlarged midriff and a Pepsi logo for a head.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
EC: I don't feel like I was influenced visually by many of my professors, but E.C. Cunningham certainly was an influence as far as instilling a strong work ethic and encouraging students to push themselves to the next level.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
EC: When I graduated I was doing my strongest work in printmaking, especially lithography, and also using the photo labs for photography, but also to incorporate photo elements into my prints. Once I left Metro, I no longer had access to the print or photo equipment, and therefore had to recreate my way of working from the bottom up. I began to concentrate mostly on paintings which sometimes bordered on the sculptural. I only took beginning painting in school, so I developed my own methods of painting through trial and error. Fortunately I have regained access to a lithographic press in recent years, and now my paintings often incorporate methods taken from printing. For example, NeoiCons is spray- paint stenciled onto panels, might as well be screen printed.

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
EC: I submitted the pieces because they were among my favorite and largest scale paintings from recent years.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
EC: I think it is very exciting that Metro has this new space, and I can't wait to see it decked out with art.

Each week, from now until August 28, the Office of Alumni Relations will do a short Q&A with one to three artists who are featured in the Center for Visual Art’s MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition.

MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition 2010 – The Anniversary Year

July 16 - August 28

Opening reception July 16
6-7 pm: Private artist reception for members and special guests
7-9 pm: Public reception MERGE was juried by Greg Watts, current Chair of the Metro State Department of Art and Barbara Houghton, Professor of Art at Northern Kentucky University and former Chair of the Metro State

Department of Art. As the CVA celebrates its 20th Anniversary it is significant that these two jurors have joined forces. Barbara Houghton played a considerable role in the creation of the CVA 20 years ago and Greg Watts has helped develop the CVA into its role today as contributor to the Rocky Mountain art scene and most recently, as an important anchor for the Santa Fe arts district.

Highlighting some of the best talent to come out of the Metro State Art Department, MERGE features both emerging and well established artists, juried from a local and national basis.

Eligibility to participate in MERGE was open to artists who graduated from Metro State in 2009 or earlier. All work was completed within the last three years. Profiles of the artists will be posted to the CVA Facebook page every week for the duration of the exhibition.

Artists:
Jeffery Ball, Phil Bender, Cristine Boyd, Mary Cay, Gabriel Christus, Evan Colbert, Terry Decker, Heather Doyle-Maier, Robert Dunahay, Mark Friday, Shawn Garvin, Jennifer Ghormley, Jason Gimbel, Kathryn Gregonis, Celina Grigore, Megan Harrison, Katie Hoffman, Conor Hollis, Jennifer Jeannelle, Heidi Jung, Josiah Lopez, Merlin Madrid, Dawn McFadden, Skyler McGee, Todd Muller, Lauri Lynnxe Murphy, Luzia Ornelas, Adesola Owolabi, J. John Priola, Marie Quinn, Brian Rendon, Claudia Roulier, Sean Rozales, Caroline Rutsche, Dave Seiler, Tony Stanzione, Sue Whitmore, Kyle Wimmer

The CVA is open late First and Third Fridays until 8 p.m. - August 6 and 20
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm, Saturday noon-5pm. www.MetroStateCVA.org
Admission is free.
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MERGE: Alumni Exhibition 2010, Featured Artist Jennifer Jeannelle

Jennifer Jeannelle ('98, art) is this week’s second featured MERGE artist. Jeannelle teaches ceramics and sculpture to high school students, has led workshops for other Colorado art teachers and plans on participating in a teacher exchange to Europe. While working full-time and raising a family, she maintains her studio, often creating art alongside her students. Jeannelle received her BFA in Art from Metro State in 1998 and an MFA from the Art Institute of Boston soon thereafter.


Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Metro State: How would you characterize your art?
Jennifer Jeannelle: I tend to refer to myself as a mixed media sculptor since I seem to enjoy creating my art with a wide range of materials. I will always be most loyal to clay, however, and always like to include it in my art somehow. Because of clay's inherent connection with the earth, my work also tends to have environmental and science-based themes.

MS: Tell me about your latest work and why you are inspired by it.
JJ: My latest body of work is about the cyclical endeavor of decay and re-growth. I like to create visual connections between the natural world and manmade objects and tend to explore the transcendence of time.

MS: In what ways did your Metro State professors influence your work?
JJ: Wow! I had some amazing influence by two professors in particular - Rodger Lang and Susan Josepher. Both encouraged me to not be intimidated by my big ideas and recognized my drive to create and teach others about my passion for art. I think of these two often and how their words of wisdom still, 12 years later, help me to make decisions about my career.

MS: How has your work evolved since you graduated?
JJ: It has definitely grown in size! I was very interested the intimacy of the object as an undergrad and created very small, detailed pieces to pull the viewer closer to the work. Now, I wish to create a space in which the viewer can be surrounded by an art experience

MS: Tell me why you submitted the pieces that you did for MERGE.
JJ: I was excited for the opportunity and wanted to show pieces that represented my progress as an artist. The series that is featured in the MERGE show represents a turning point in the direction of my work.

MS: How do you feel about this opportunity to present your work for Metro State’s new CVA facility?
JJ: Of course, it's an honor! It's an exciting opportunity for Metro and CVA to continue growth in the arts program. I am proud to be a part.

MS: Is there anything I’m not asking you that you want to share with me?
JJ: I love travelling and love teaching and love my family. How I manage to juggle my busy schedule sometimes baffles me, but when you are creating a life you love, you find a way to make it work!

To see more of Jeannelle's work, please visit her Web site.

Each week, from now until August 28, the Office of Alumni Relations will do a short Q&A with one to three artists who are featured in the Center for Visual Art’s MERGE: Metro State Alumni Exhibition.