Tag Archives: KCAD

KCAD grad from Kentwood among 16 to be honored for rare level of mastery

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Eric Schroeder (photo by Kierstynn Holman)

By Elena Tislerics, KCAD

 

Each year, those Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) students who exhibit a rare level of mastery and accomplishment in their chosen field are honored with the Excellence Award, the epitome of KCAD student achievement.

 

“Throughout their time at KCAD, these individuals have exhibited an exemplary work ethic, dedication, curiosity, and thirst for knowledge and experience that has empowered them to get the most out of their education,” said KCAD President Leslie Bellavance. “We congratulate them on this accomplishment, and look forward to celebrating their continuing excellence as KCAD alumni.”

 

Kentwood resident, Eric Schroeder is among those being honored. Outside of his success in the classroom, Schroeder was named a finalist in the 2017 Bienenstock Furniture Library Design Competition, a prestigious competition that invites students from around the country to submit their best original furniture designs for a chance to win scholarship funding.

 

He also completed internships with Grand Rapids, Mich. furniture design and manufacturing company Guild Nines and New York City-based furniture/theatre designer Doug Fitch. While still a student, he landed a job as a product designer with Muskegon, Mich.-based Bold Furniture, where he is currently employed.

 

Upon graduating, Schroeder will continue to design products and furniture for Bold Furniture, and plans to eventually pursue a graduate degree in product design.

 

Kingfisher End Table (image courtesy of Eric Schroeder)

“Eric doesn’t wait for opportunities to find him — he seeks them out and explores them fearlessly,” said Associate Professor and Furniture Design Program Chair Gayle DeBruyn. “He also enjoys collecting and restoring mid-century modern furniture and nicely ties his passion for this style of design to his own.

 

“Clean, functional, elegant furniture is difficult to design; it requires a clear understanding of manufacturing and materials capabilities. For this, Eric engages his network to assist him. His employer, Bold Furniture, agreed to prototype a line of furniture specifically for Eric’s senior capstone project, and we can’t wait to see his work during the KCAD Annual Student Exhibition.”

 

The other honorees are:

  • Kelsey Ballast Pasma (Grand Rapids, Mich.) – Interior Design
  • Ashely Bryant (Grand Haven, Mich.) – Illustration
  • Lauren Gravelyn (Chelsea, Mich.) – Allesee Metals and Jewelry Design
  • Chelsea Harris (Louisville, Ky.) – Painting
  • Brian Howland (Grand Rapids, Mich.) – Drawing
  • Courtney Jackson (Muskegon, Mich.) – Art History
  • Matthew Johnson (South Haven, Mich.) – Industrial Design
  • Sarah Laverty (Houghton Lake, Mich.) – Photography
  • Maggie Livengood (Appleton, Wis.) – Art Education
  • Alyssa Minatel (Linden, Mich.) – Medical Illustration
  •  Alyssa Natoci (Ann Arbor, Mich.) – Pamella Roland DeVos School of Fashion, Fashion Studies
  • Erin Schaenzer (Saginaw, Mich.) – Printmaking
  • Chloe Stewart (Grand Blanc, Mich.) – Digital Media
  • Sakino Tomiura (Kawanishi, Japan) – Graphic Design
  • Matt VanSweden (Grand Rapids, Mich.) – Collaborative Design

The 2017 Excellence Award winners will be recognized at an official ceremony on May 5, and their best work will be on display during KCAD’s annual Excellence Awards Exhibition (May 2-18), hosted in The Fed Galleries @ KCAD inside the college’s Woodbridge N. Ferris Building (17 Pearl St. NW).

The Fed Galleries will also be hosting the Masters Thesis Exhibition (May 2-18), spotlighting the fully developed work of the students who have completed their graduate studies.

KCAD’s Annual Student Exhibition (May 2-6), featuring work from each of the college’s programs, will encompass all floors of the college’s 17 Fountain St. NW and Woodbridge N. Ferris Buildings. A campus-wide opening reception will be held on May 2 from 4-7pm. All exhibitions and the reception are free and open to the public. For more information, go here.

Annual Exhibition Week at KCAD is May 2-6

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Work by Bradley Shiel, 2017 graduate of the Master of Architecture program (Image courtesy of the artist)

By Elena Tislerics, KCAD

 

Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University’s (KCAD’s) invites the public to join in celebrating KCAD’s annual Exhibition Week, Excellence Awards Exhibition, and Masters Thesis Exhibitions, showcasing the best and brightest KCAD has to offer.

For five days, May 2-6, 2017, the entire campus opens to the public as an exhibition center and celebration of art and design. Opening reception: Tuesday May 2, 4-7 p.m. The Excellence and Masters Thesis exhibitions are on view through May 18. All exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.

Dates to remember:

  • Exhibition Week: May 2-6
  • Exhibition Week, opening reception: Tuesday May 2, 4-7p
  • Excellence Awards Exhibition: May 2-18
  • Masters Thesis Exhibition: May 2-18

Ford Airport partners with Kendall College for gateway mural

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By Tara M. Hernandez

Gerald R. Ford International Airport

 

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) has partnered with Kendall College of Art & Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) to create an interactive mural on the Airport’s temporary construction wall.

 

Behind the temporary construction wall in the Airport’s grand hall, construction teams are working on GFIA’s Gateway Transformation Project – a $45 million development that will consolidate security checkpoints, add more food and beverage, retail, and business center space. In addition, new restrooms, terrazzo flooring, nursing rooms, upgraded lighting, and more are a part of the construction improvements.

 

The Airport approached KCAD to cover its blank construction wall, and a team of three KCAD students – with the support of five other students and staff –  designed, created, and installed a horizontal world map. The mural will go live this afternoon, and passengers are encouraged to interact with the wall by using flags to pin-point where they are traveling to or from. Passengers are also encouraged to post their picture on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag: #GRReatGateway.  When the construction wall comes down in June, one lucky social media winner will receive an airline gift card.

 

“This is a wonderful collaboration between our Airport and KCAD students to fill what would have otherwise been a blank, white construction wall,” said GFIA President & CEO Jim Gill. “We love the creative process that went into this, and we are excited to see our passengers’ pins – to see where they are traveling around the world.”

 

Spring Break for many West Michigan schools is approaching. The Airport’s annual Passenger Appreciation Days kicks off Thursday, March 30, Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1. The annual bon-voyage celebration is a way for the Airport to thank passengers for traveling through GRR during the busy Spring Break rush. Travelers are treated to free refreshments, food, giveaways, prize drawings, contests, and more.

 

“KCAD is thrilled to collaborate with the airport on this project. It’s a great experience for our students, who are especially excited to be able to list a project with an international airport on their resumes,” said KCAD Director of Student Engagement Nicole DeKraker, “and a fun, visual way to both celebrate the art-centric West Michigan community and demonstrate the role Grand Rapids plays in world travel.”

Art.Write.Now.Tour. showcases best student work through Oct. 14 at KCAD

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“Portrait 1” by Shira Karni, a high school student from Grandville, Mich. is featured in the Art.Write.Now.Tour. Exhibition

Now through October 14, you can see work from some of the most talented young writers and artists in America at Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD). The traveling exhibition will feature the work of three students from Michigan: Shira Karni of Grandville; Scott Hanna of Beverly Hills; and Abe Cone of Chelsea.

 

The Art.Write.Now.Tour. traveling exhibition showcases innovative and inspiring works from national winners in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and it’s on display in the Helen Miller Kendall Gallery (HMK Gallery) on the first floor of KCAD’s 17 Fountain St. NW building.

 

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards — recognized as the nation’s preeminent and longest-running scholarship and recognition program for students in grades 7-12 — spotlights outstanding original work in a variety of different creative mediums, including writing, illustration, photography, drawing, sculpture and more. Works were first adjudicated regionally, then again on the national level by leading creative professionals. KCAD has played host to the Awards’ West Central Michigan region for a number of years, with support from Howard Miller.

 

“This selection of teen work is truly remarkable,” said Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. “The visual art and the written pieces delve into themes ranging from the most intimate of human emotions to the current political climate. It’s a privilege to glance into the minds of some of our country’s most talented teens and an honor to have their work on display nationwide in our traveling Tour and in the DC exhibit.”

 

Approximately 50 visual art works selected from the Art.Write.Now. 2016 National Exhibition which took place in New York City at Parsons School of Design and the Pratt Institute this past June will be on display, as well as The Best Teen Writing of 2016, an annual anthology of selected Gold Medal writing, which will be displayed in the exhibition on iPads.

 

After Grand Rapids, the exhibition will visit Houston, TX; Bozeman, MT; and Jackson, MS.

 

For more information on the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit artandwriting.org.

KCAD students and Goodwill to launch ‘Pop-Up Shop’ of handmade goods during ArtPrize Eight

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kcad-gw_logo

 

In a perfect world, we would all recycle and reuse what we give or throw away. That’s the message — Rethink, Reshape, Revitalize — that Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University’s (KCAD’s) partnership with Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids (Goodwill) for ArtPrize Eight strives to get across with its Pop-Up Shop Sept. 23-25.

 

Visitors to the RE- exhibition inside Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University’s (KCAD’s) The Fed Galleries @ KCAD during the opening weekend of ArtPrize Eight will have the chance to leave with more than just their impressions of the art.

 

Organized as part of KCAD’s partnership with Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids (Goodwill) for ArtPrize Eight, a ‘Pop-Up Shop’ of handmade goods will be open for ArtPrize visitors to shop from September 23-25. The shop will primarily feature one-of-a-kind artwork, clothing, jewelry, furniture and other goods created by KCAD students and staff from The Fed Galleries @ KCAD using reclaimed materials from local Goodwill stores. The goal is to engage visitors in a conversation about the opportunities for more sustainable living in places and everyday things that exist all around us.

 

Many of the included artists use reclaimed materials to create work that confronts the ways in which humanity produces and consumes, so Goodwill stepped up and provided free access to donated materials from area stores.

 

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Photo courtesy of KCAD

“The Pop-Up Shop extends our exhibition’s exploration of environmental and social responsibility because it gives both ArtPrize visitors and those who created the goods another way to confront the way we produce and consume,” said Curator of Exhibitions Michele Bosak. “By working with Goodwill to showcase the tremendous versatility and value of reclaimed materials, we can help further the conversation around ways to work toward a more sustainable future.”

 

A number of unaltered items specially curated from Goodwill stores will also be available for purchase, as will t-shirts commemorating the partnership between Goodwill and KCAD. Silkscreened t-shirts, pillows, and washcloths featuring designs by artists Michael Peoples and Heather Joy Puskarich, both featured in the RE·  exhibition, will also be for sale.

 

All proceeds from the sale of goods created by KCAD students will go to the student organizations they represent — the student fashion alliance Bodies of Art, the KCAD Green Council, the KCAD Game Club, the student chapter of the Interior Designers Society of America, and the student chapter of the International Interior Design Association — while Goodwill will retain the profits for all other goods sold.

 

The Pop-Up Shop’s retail space was designed by a KCAD Collaborative Design class taught by KCAD instructor and Goodwill Director of Friends and Corporate Relations David Abbott. The space will be located outside The Fed Galleries @ KCAD, in the Woodbridge N. Ferris building at 17 Pearl Street NW.

 

The Pop-Up Shop will only be open on the following days/times:

September 23                       11:00am-8:00pm
September 24                       11:00am-8:00pm
September 25                       12:00pm-6:00pm

 

For more information on the RE·  exhibition, visit kcad.edu/artprize.

 

UN.EARTH showcases KCAD students’ imaginative, captivating work

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Un_Earth LogoBy KCAD

 

The most imaginative and captivating work from students in Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University’s (KCAD) Pamella Roland DeVos School of Fashion will be presented to the public at their annual fashion show, to be held inside the Grand Rapids Downtown Market on April 13 from 7:30-10 pm.

 

“It’s fitting that all of the hard work and dedication the students in our Fashion Studies program have displayed throughout the year culminates in an event that they have the freedom to make their own,” said Interim Dean of the College Ron Riksen. “The KCAD community looks forward to celebrating their accomplishments.”Chelsey Sawallich

 

Titled UN.EARTH, the event will feature work from all class levels of the Fashion Studies program that ties into the event’s theme of nature and personal growth. The theme is based on the earth’s terrain and includes three subcategories: peak, valley, and coast. Specific color schemes and key words associated with each subcategory informed class projects in Fashion Studies courses throughout the spring semester of the 2015-2016 academic year.

 

Underclassmen will be displaying individual garments, selected through a juried process, that were designed within the parameters of different class projects. Graduating seniors, on the other hand, will be displaying their full capstone collections, multiple garments that have been designed with much more creative freedom at the students’ disposal. A number of fashion illustrations will also be on display.

 

“We chose to call the fashion show UN•EARTH specifically for its definition and connotation,” said Fashion Studies senior Audrey Langejans, one of the event’s lead organizers. “The word ‘earth’ got us thinking a lot about incorporating the nature-inspired trends that are so relevant in the fashion industry right now – trends that would give the underclassmen a chance to be extra creative in their interpretation of the theme. The definition of the word ‘unearth’ itself felt like the perfect summation of the senior experience. We seniors have spent three years working on class projects and learning different techniques, and now we have been able to unearth our own aesthetics and identities as designers through our capstone collections.”Maria Tenhave-Chapman

 

Fashion Studies Program Chair Lori Faulkner added, “In our Capstone course, senior students use all the technical skills and knowledge they have gained through their years of study at KCAD to create an individual collection that specifically reveals their individual vision. Up until their senior year, they have been designing with certain guidelines in mind, but for this project they are given complete creative freedom. Regardless of their class level, I am consistently amazed by the unique designs that my students are able to take from concept to finished product.”

 

UN.EARTH will be held at the Grand Rapids Downtown Market on April 13, 2016 from 7:30-10 pm. Appetizers and refreshments will be provided by Martha’s Vineyard. Admission to the event is free, and the public is warmly welcomed to attend. Attendees are asked to please RSVP through Eventbrite to reserve their free tickets. Space is limited.