Artists in the making.

The Art Department at Adrian College focuses on innovation and creation: whether it’s working with canvas and paint or photography, ceramics or textiles, art is everywhere and it fuels our drive.

A 2013 Outstanding Ribbons of Excellence Program Award Nominee, Alexandrea Scaufele’s art installation entitled LINE features a symbolic representation of the fourth dimension, which is time. The presentation was held in Caine, and was under the ribbon Developing Creativity. 

Shannon Kynion presented at the 2013 Ribbons of Excellence conference with the piece REcollection: Memories collected throughout a lifetime. In the abstract for the presentation, Kynion describes her goal: “[my goal] is to encourage viewers to think about the things that they are spending time and energy on, and whether these things will have been worth those resources at the end of their life. ... It is a mixed media assemblashe that represents all of the things that look good on the surface, but that are truly meaningless and unattainable when analyzed more closely.”

Candice Sires, a 2013 Outstanding Ribbons of Excellence Program Award Nominee, took to painting faces for her presentation. She experimented using the face as a canvas, and in some cases, cut and styled the hair as well. The presentation exhibited six photographs from her series with a two-part presentation from the views of artist and model. The presentation, under the ribbon Thinking Critically, looked at Sires’ use of painting, design, costume and theatre makeup.

Christina Butler focused on her Outstanding Junior Award Art Show (January 18 - February 15, 2013) in Shipman Library for her Ribbons of Excellence Presentation. The exhibition featured at the show presented work that dealt with different views and concepts of love and how dynamic it can be. Her Ribbons of Excellence presentation features framed artworks that gave visitors a personal experience with her work. The presentation, focusing on the ribbon Developing Creativity, was a 2013 Outstanding Ribbons of Excellence Program Award Nominee.

Colleen Higgins explored within herself in order to present for the 2013 Ribbons of Excellence conference. She centered on the ribbon Developing Creativity as she looked at the “other side” of herself. The exploration of this “other self” or “other side,” was in hopes to help others explore aspects of their own hidden self.

A combination of digital and print shots (both in black and white and in color) were presented for Julie Sager’s 2013 Ribbons of Excellence presentation. A series of 8-10 photos were presented, with accompanying text, to depict the two driving paths of the artists life that have been the most significant. The presentation was under the ribbon Developing Creativity and began with the artists curiosity of how photos would look if she took them while driving in a car or as a passenger in one.

Using the medium wood, Amara Karapas put together an exhibition that investigates the boundaries and range of possibilities that wood with mixed media can possess. Karapas’ art has scientific themes, and she used combinations of materials and innovation to push the traditional perceptions of the medium. Her presentation was under the ribbon Developing Creativity.

There is more to art than meets the eye; Janelle Post exemplified this idea in her 2013 Ribbons of Excellence presentation. Her paintings and ceramic work are often laced with secrets, symbolism and deception. Some of Post’s work is “trompe l’oeil,” meaning to trick the eye. It is within these secrets and deceptions of art that Post reveals truths about her own sense of happiness. Her presentation was under the ribbon Caring for Humanity and the World.