BFA @ Andrews

The Art of Layering

2008-10-20T09:10:00.002-05:00

New BFA Web SIte

2008-03-10T17:04:00.004-05:00

If you want to see more student and faculty work, take a gander at our new web site. andrewsbfa.org The link is on the right of the blog. r

The Amazing Race

2008-03-10T08:44:00.018-05:00

Painting crit

2008-03-05T13:43:00.005-05:00

Students in "Intro to Painting" sit down and enjoy a little critique session. The assignment prodded class members to try and capture their interpretation of an instrument with simple strokes of a paintbrush. Everyone listened and contributed their point of view. Good times live on! Guest verbage by jesse B. r

Recent photography

2008-02-27T13:56:00.004-05:00

A cross section of recent student work. r

100% lego

2008-02-27T13:47:00.003-05:00

Junior design student Clay Doss got bored over Christmas break and turned his creativity to Lego. He is currently building a Lego powered grandfather clock in his dorm room. r

Girls hang out on myspace, boys play video games

2008-02-14T17:10:00.005-05:00

So I just had these two girls in my office and mySpace came up in the conversation. I told them someone had created a myspace for the department and "be my friend" requests emails came to me but I did not have the user name or password to deny or accept. I commented that 95% of the requests came from female names and they made the statement that girls hang out on myspace, but boys do other stuff like play video games. This brought to mind the following posters that a design student (male) created last semester. r

It is everywhere

2008-02-13T09:09:00.007-05:00

Visual communication is everywhere, touching everything we do, everything we see, everything we buy: we see it on billboards and in Bibles, on taxi receipts and on websites, on birth certificates and on gift certificates, on the folded circulars inside jars of aspirin and on the thick pages of children’s chubby board books.

It is the boldly directional arrows on street signs and the blurred, frenetic typography on the title sequence to E.R. It is the bright green logo for the New York Jets and the monochromatic front page of the Wall Street Journal. It is hang-tags in clothing stores, postage stamps and food packaging, fascist propaganda posters and brainless junk mail.

As creative individuals our walls are often plastered with visual inspiration. The following are pictures of student spaces. Do something kind today. r

I wander

2008-02-12T10:40:00.000-05:00

I wandered through the painting studio this morning and here is what I found. r

Designers treat you right

2008-02-08T09:50:00.001-05:00

MakeReady

2008-02-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Screen printing test sheets can make for sweet visuals. r

Media Matters

2008-02-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

A BFA design student created this poster series to raise awareness on the power and influence of the media. r

Have you intentionally chosen?

2008-01-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

I still remember the words I read in a Scottish Cathedral when I was 9 or 10. "Today is the first day of the beginning of your life." The realization that Gods forgiveness expunges all past sin is incredible . . . and that he not only forgives but wants to transform us back into His image. A few years ago, after living most of my life looking pretty good on the outside but missing a daily connection with God, I overheard someone reading from the book Steps to Christ. This is what I heard, "Desires for goodness and holiness are right as far as they go; but if you stop here, they will avail nothing. Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. They do not now choose to be Christians." I had to ask myself the question, was I intentionally choosing to follow Christ with every aspect of my life or was I drifting? It was a rhetorical question for I knew the answer. I was not seeking Him first. I had gone through Adventist schools, married a good Adventist girl, had a job working for the church, served as an elder in my local church, paid a regular tithe, donated to the poor . . . but did not depend fully on God or seek Him with my whole heart. Since that day I have chosen to be intentional in my relationship with God. I still fall, but by beholding we do become changed. I am so thankful for new starts. Today really can be the first day of the beginning of your life.

Speak up

2008-01-18T10:01:00.000-05:00

I am a listener not a talker. I am a quiet, behind the scenes person who thinks silence is golden. I have come to the realization, however, that there is a time to speak out (although you do not have to speak to speak), and that living beyond your comfort zone can be a blessing if it leads you to depend on God.

Self gratification is rampant. Commitment to God is superficial. Most people seem blind to the approaching close of probation and Jesus imminent return. God is looking for people to put everything on the line for Him. He needs visual people with a passion for doing good, who are led by his Word and not actuated by the dollar or what their friends or culture think.

If you are one of those people you need to speak up. I want the visual art and design program at Andrews to be a place where students are trained for service. Where students are nurtured and mentored to live out of their comfort zone for God. If you fit this picture or you like the idea talk to me. Have a blessed Sabbath. r

A great atmosphere

2007-12-04T08:46:00.000-05:00

The gallery was alive with people and talk Sunday evening for the opening of three BFA senior galleries. It was a fun place to be and the atmosphere was great.

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Design terms

2007-11-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

There are a breed of people out there who cogitate on terms like widow, leading, gutter, and kerning. They see things from a different perspective, and say things like, "that should have had more bleed" or "look at this thumbnail." To help inform the ignorant, the following were created with the intent of education. Long live the designer. r

The Windy City

2007-11-26T09:31:00.000-05:00

Photography students took a trip last Thursday to visit Chicago photographers. The trip was awesome and several photographers like John Payne pictured here gave us some of their precious time to let us see their studios and wonderful work. Dave

Free Stuff

2007-11-06T11:30:00.000-05:00

This past week design students visited French paper where they were given a bunch of free paper samples. The factory is old and crusty but the paper is pretty sweet. r

3 satellite's

2007-10-03T07:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday during class the Introduction to Graphic design class visited RHB a design studio in SouthBend Indiana. The Principle, Rick Bailey, shared how they are guided by the 3 satellite principle—three guiding factors that intersect to give direction to their work in branding. r

No men

2007-10-01T08:51:00.000-05:00

The advanced painting room is devoid of guys. Is this a conspiracy? Whatever the cause, each of the six ladies recently painted a unhinged diptych based on a still life. Take a gander. r

Italy

2007-09-20T08:07:00.000-05:00

32 students and three professors traveled to Italy this past summer as part study tour. Classes were offered in art history, drawing and photography. This next summer we will be taking a study tour to Egypt. r

Wadi Rum

2007-09-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

Okay so here are two more images, this time from a desert in southern Jordan. The area is called Wadi Rum and it is where Lawrance of Arabia lived for a time and where part of Raiders of the Lost Ark was shot. r

A Hiatus

2007-09-17T09:50:00.000-05:00

So I took a summer hiatus, which included three weeks in England, two weeks in Jordan and two weeks in northern California. School is back in full swing, so the student images will be filling the 610g. The images today are from the hiatus.

r

The Best (part3)

2007-05-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, today is the design category with the top spot going to Baek Hahn’s book entitled "Touch, Fries, Kiss." Second place went to Dustin Bahr for his asthma posters, and third place to Nunz (formerly known as Adriana Monsalve) for her book on India. r

The Best (part 2)

2007-04-30T10:35:00.000-05:00

Ian Sittlinger, servant of Her Majesty the Queen, takes first place in the portrait photography category with his tea drinking, newspaper reading man. Kelli Morrison grabs second place with goateed jumping guy, and Derek Peters gets third with mask holding, camo rain gear emergency prepared man. r

The Best

2007-04-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

Every spring we run a student visual art competition. Each day this week I will post the winners from each category. First up is natural light photography. Daniel Bedell’s shot of cattle in India won first place as well as receiving best of show. Vanja Horonic’s night shot of a corner store took second place and Krysta Johnson’s building third. r

"Ohhhh typography!"

2007-04-27T08:33:00.000-05:00

Last night I took a few students to a screening of the independent film "Helvetica", a feature-length documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. I sent an email to my students inviting them to come along and a nameless non-design student sent back this sweet email, ' "Ohhhh typography!" You're so silly, Mason.' The movie was both visually and mentally stimulating. If you get a chance to attend a screening, do not be swayed by naysayers, type is cool. r

Ruggles on the Blog (part 2)

2007-04-27T08:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the last day of classes for the semester. It has been a busy week, which is why I have been delinquent in my blog posting. One of the events of the week was the senior exhibition of painting major John Ruggles whose work combines text and image in a layering of meanings. You can check out his work at http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/stuart/StudentArt/ast_id/27474 r

Oils

2007-04-24T07:24:00.000-05:00

Professor Manley invited resident artist Harry Ahn to his painting class last week where he demonstrated his painting technique. I heard a number of good comments on the experience.

Fire

2007-04-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

For any pyromaniacs out there, firing the wood kiln can be a blast—24 hrs of play with temperatures up to 2300 degrees. I took these pictures yesterday. r

Open Your Mind

2007-04-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

With excerpts from books like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, senior design student Kit Peterancz asked gallery viewers to open their minds and explore the unknown. To realize that there are different ways to view similar issues. It reminded me of the fact that we cannot begin to understand how wonderful heaven will be. r

The book

2007-04-18T08:48:00.000-05:00

I have a long standing love of books, especially handmade books. They have an intimacy and perceived value that a mass produced book cannot have. This over-sized book by Nunz depicts what she saw and experienced on tour in India last summer. It has character. r

Social Design

2007-04-17T07:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I attended a lecture by Design Historian Victor Margolin entitled "The Challenge of Social Design". He proposed a world where design is not in servitude to the market/commerce, but rather initiates design intervention for marginalized people groups. This is the direction I would like the design program at Andrews to head. r

im not entirely useless

2007-04-16T07:39:00.000-05:00

This was the title of an email I received last week from Ian Azariah who pledges allegiance to a different flag and crosses the border for free health care. He sent a couple of unphotoshopped images that could be used for the calendar. Long live the Queen. r

The Girls

2007-04-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

For her senior BFA show Design student Carol Slattery created a series of posters comparing the life of the modern woman in her twenties to women in the 1960's. r

Creative food

2007-04-12T07:23:00.000-05:00

As a small child I remember enjoying cooking. Maybe it was the ability to sample the food before it was served or just getting my hands sticky. I don’t remember cleaning up after myself, which might have something to do with the minds ability to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive. I still enjoy creating things in the kitchen, especially new experimental endeavors and then making it look cool. Presentation is meant to count for a lot. r

Calendar

2007-04-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

We are planning on creating an 08 calendar featuring photographs of students in the BFA program. We have a wonderful group of endearing students to choose from. r

Where is Ken?

2007-04-10T07:08:00.000-05:00

This piece from the creative mind of painting senior Chantelle Allen made me think of Satan and his plans to trap us and keep us from experiencing the freedom Christ promises. r

8 x 8

2007-04-09T09:09:00.000-05:00

Design student Baek Hahn's senior exhibit "8 x 8" featured photography & design mounted on 8 x 8 oak ply squares. Baek completed two design internships this school year, one at RHB and the other at Stratosphere Creative. He got engaged over spring break and is moving to Paris in May.

You can follow his life at http://www.102design.com/

The blue

2007-04-06T10:26:00.000-05:00

Design student Kristen Burdorf shot these great jelly fish pictures. What an awesome creator we serve. Have a wonderful Sabbath. r

Will the real r please stand up

2007-04-05T06:55:00.000-05:00

There has been talk among people with names like Ammiel & Nuns that the person behind the r should stand up and not hide behind a lowercase letter. I would have you know that there are other lowercase letters that I would prefer to hide behind, such as an Adobe Garamond g. That is one sweet and sexy letter. Unfortunately my name is devoid of g's, unless I decided to hide behind a pseudonym. When I was in Grad school my main professor was named Robert and he always signed his emails with a capital R. Since my name is also Robert and it is a lot quicker to type one letter than six (especially with my defunct typing skills) and since I am happy to avoid the limelight I chose the quick and easy r.

The pictures are from the desk of design student Ammiel Mendoza. Nice set of teeth Nuns. Have a great day. r

Robert Mason is an expatriate who works tirelessly, and up till now anonymously, to promote the BFA program. Since July 06 he has metamorphosed into a chair.

Rust

2007-04-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

There is something about old things. They have a past life, a story to tell. r

The print

2007-04-03T07:48:00.000-05:00

Printmaking is all about experimentation—from wood and linoleum cuts to screen printing and letterpress. It is hands on and each print has character. r

Student show

2007-03-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

There are currently two student shows up on campus. One exhibit has photographs and books from last summers India tour. The other exhibit is of current student work. r

Pin Hole

2007-03-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

In six weeks or so I will be in the mother country (ala Great Britain) for about three weeks. I need to starting honing the accent. This blog www.nyclondon.com/blog/ has some nice pictures of London etc. I look forward to having time to get my Holga out and shoot a bunch. r

Learning from the master

2007-03-28T08:18:00.000-05:00

One of the syllabi for Advanced painting requires students to choose 8 paintings from different time periods and recreate them. I walked through the painting studio a few minutes ago and took this pictures of some in progress. The whole idea of looking to master painters and learning from their technique is a lesson we need to remember spiritually. The only way forward each day is dependence on Christ. r

I love letterpress

2007-03-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

When I was in grad school at the University of Notre Dame this guy Kevin Bradley came from yeehawindustries to do a letterpress workshop. After he left I resurrected the old letterpress that was in cold storage beneath a pile of trash in a back room of the art building. I bought some type, ink and other supplies and have it back working. There is a real push in the design world to make work that is less slick and more hands on. Letterpress fits that perfectly. If anyone out there is getting married any time soon, it has become the classy way to print the invites. Here is a sample of yeehaw’s work. For more go to www.yeehawindustries.com/store/retail/script_files/imageFolio.cgi

It’s 80 degrees outside

2007-03-26T14:41:00.000-05:00

Spring has suddenly come. The daffodils are in bloom and there are only 5 weeks left in the semester. Most students are back from spring break. On Friday we are taking students to Chicago. I am taking a group to a design studio called Thirst. www.3st.com/

One of my design students just completed a project on the United Nations 30 Human rights. Rather than choosing one right they chose to create a button for each right. Here are the buttons.
If you want to know your rights . . . www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/30.htm

The question

2007-03-15T08:21:00.000-05:00

This website does a nice job answering the question. http://whatintheworld.aiga.org/

Preview

2007-03-14T07:24:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday and Monday there were 300+ academy juniors on campus getting a University preview. On Monday morning we had 70 of them express an interest in the BFA and come for a tour.

Evaporation

2007-03-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

So it is now Tuesday and I have barely had time to breath. These are images from a basic 2-dimensional design class I teach. I am a square freak. I love squares.

WordPlay

2007-03-08T08:24:00.000-05:00

Student posters

What is Graphic Design?

2007-03-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

“Graphic design is the most ubiquitous of all the arts. It responds to needs at once personal and public, embraces concerns both economic and ergonomic, and is informed by many disciplines including art and architecture, philosophy and ethics, literature and language, science and politics and performance.

“Graphic design is everywhere, touching everything we do, everything we see, everything we buy: we see it on billboards and in Bibles, on taxi receipts and on web sites, on birth certificates and on gift certificates, on the folded circulars inside jars of aspirin and on the thick pages of children's chubby board books.

“Graphic design is the boldly directional arrows on street signs and the blurred, frenetic typography on the title sequence to E.R. It is the bright green logo for the New York Jets and the monochromatic front page of the Wall Street Journal. It is hang-tags in clothing stores, postage stamps and food packaging, fascist propaganda posters and brainless junk mail.

“Graphic design is complex combinations of words and pictures, numbers and charts, photographs and illustrations that, in order to succeed, demand the clear thinking of a particularly thoughtful individual who can orchestrate these elements so they all add up to something distinctive, or useful, or playful, or surprising, or subversive, or somehow memorable.

“Graphic design is a popular art and a practical art, an applied art and an ancient art. Simply put, it is the art of visualizing ideas.”

Mr. French

2007-03-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

French Paper is located about 10 miles away. A family owned paper mill that has the coolest design out there. Check out www.mrfrench.com

A Japanese art

2007-03-01T08:51:00.000-05:00

Handmade student book on the art of origami.

Painting space

2007-02-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

Each painting student has their own studio space. Here are a couple. r

Is there Still Life?

2007-02-27T08:43:00.000-05:00

I had no idea what I wanted to take in University. I did know that I did not want to be stuck in an office all day. On the advice of my parents I shadowed a building/land surveyor, and chose to attend Thames University in London to study Surveying. After two years, and a couple of failed classes I spent the summer at a summer camp in Virginia where I met a girl who succumbed to my British accent and charm. She was going to school in France the following year, so I decided to attend Newbold College for the year.

After a year at Newbold College, God opened the way financially for me to attend Andrews (school of choice due to succumbed girl). We worked at camp again but alas, she hung me up to dry before we got to Andrews. Arriving there I spent a quarter as a declared Psychology major. By Christmas I had transfered my allegiance to photography. As much as I loved photography, I hated getting in people's faces with the camera. Still life/landscape/nature photography became my thing. However, a year before graduation, I was required to take a design class and I transfered my allegiance once more.

The moral of this story . . . never follow a girl. r

A body of Work

2007-02-26T17:49:00.000-05:00

Topography

2007-02-23T13:02:00.000-05:00

I just like that word. Fits in the same category as bodacious, uxorious, deprecate or turgid. You might not realize I like words, based on how little I have written when posting student work on the blog. This lack of blog verbage can be attributed to a distinct shortage of time. I have to figure out the whole multitasking thing.
Enjoy the blessed peace of the Sabbath.

Robert

I WAS THERE

2007-02-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

A design project announcing a new London housing development called Park House.

Ruggles on the Blog

2007-02-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

Painting student John Ruggles explores the juxtaposition of order and chaos in life through mixed media. Screen printing, oils and water color.

Four 1000 words

2007-02-20T08:42:00.000-05:00

Check out some of these images.

Space

2007-02-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

all upper division design students have a desk area that is assigned to them. There is quite the late night community that happens well after I have gone to bed. The building is wireless and open till 1 am.

Pots n Trees

2007-02-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

Umbrella & Chair

2007-02-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

A couple of student still life photo shoots. Great texture.

Massive change

2007-02-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

Design trip to Bruce Mau, ‘Massive Change’ exhibit in Chicago at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Triggers

2007-02-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

Asthma affects millions of people every year. Education is an important step in minimizing its impact. Here is one design students solution in the form of a poster or billboard series.

Diner Romance

2007-02-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

A senior painting student explores how time changes relationships.

Corporate Identity

2007-02-09T09:48:00.000-05:00

The upper level design class took on a non profit identity project for a private education research group. These are some of the proposed solutions. We have yet to hear who gets the cash.

Mossberg Print tour

2006-11-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

The smell of ink and the noise of the presses is intense. It is amazing how fast they churn out printed material.

More student work

2006-11-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

So here's some more student work. We studied different graphic designers, gave powerpoint presentations, and made posters in the style of the designers announcing the "wishful" date that they will appear at Andrews. Some would need to be resurrected.

Process books...some finished 2 min. before due! (impressive)

2006-11-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

The Intro to Graphic Design class was assigned to make a symbol for an endangered species of their choice. After that, and a few months later, process books were made. These are a couple examples of students work.

randomness...

2006-10-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

RHB tour

2006-09-29T12:33:00.000-05:00

Classy local design firm that does just non-profit work. I take the Intro to Graphic design class there every fall semester. Two of our grads have worked there as well as interns. Check them out www.rhb.com

Studio Tour

2006-09-28T18:16:00.000-05:00

Visited Stratosphere Creative in SouthBend Indiana with Design for Visual Communication class. Small design studio doing a cross-section of print and web.

http://www.stratospherecreative.com/

Design for the public good

2006-09-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

I have a passion for doing design for non-profit entities. This past Thursday a group of five proactive students piled into my minivan and we drove to the University of Notre Dame and listen to a presentation by Kent Smith (Western Washington University) who presented on “Design for the public good.” Cool stuff. Now I get to implement his ideas here.