Visual

Artsy and Educated

Hanging with the students

By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Real world experience is all well and good, but college students don’t always have the connections necessary to jump directly from the university into a lucrative career in their chosen field. Sometimes a push in the right direction is all they need to prove to themselves—and to their tuition-paying moms and dads—that they’ve chosen their paths wisely. To that end, art students from Western Washington University are highlighting their works on campus and around town this month. Parental units, please take note.

To give graduating Bachelor of Art and Bachelor of Fine Art students a taste of what sort of vetting process they can expect when they want to show their works in professional venues, the WWU Department of Art brought noted artists Ed Bereal and Barbara Sternberger on board to act as exhibition jurors for the Senior Student Art Show currently on display at the Western Gallery. Bereal—whose assemblages, sculptures and paintings have been addressing identity politics and racial stereotypes since the 1960s—and Sternberger—a savvy painter who’s been recognized as one of the most important female artists in the Northwest—culled submissions into an exhibition featuring the best of the best. Until June 9, both those on campus and off can check out a variety of works including everything from photography to sculpture, painting, drawing, fibers and mixed media. Rest assured that what you’re seeing has been handpicked by pros, and enjoy the view. WHEN: 10am-4pm through June 9 WHERE: Western Gallery, WWU campus INFO: http://www.westerngallery.wwu.edu

In order to take part in a show at Ideal—a unique retail store in downtown Bellingham whose tagline is “carefully crafted goods”—up-and-coming industrial design students used their brains to come up with works form-fitted to the theme of “Textiles Plus.” As part of an annual collaboration between the store and the students, the ReMade design challenge tasks the younger set with producing innovative products from consumer or manufacturing waste while watching out for recyclability, lifecycle analysis and design for production. Highlights of this year’s output include a cold-pack ice bag using waterproof fabric, zippered pouches cut from suit jackets, drinking mugs designed using beakers, bowls and table runners made from rope, bread baskets sourced from marine insulation liner and upcycled tablecloths and necklaces using fiber from repurposed scarves. “By doing this, students get a fresh understanding of the designer’s impact on the environment and the economy,” Ideal’s Lisa Van Doren says. And, since the designs are all for sale, those contributing to the show can also discover that, sometimes, hard work pays off. WHEN: The works will be on display until they sell out. WHERE: 1227 Cornwall Ave. INFO: http://www.anidealshop.com

Proving that every artist takes a different approach to the act of creation, the group show currently on display at the Amadeus Project features works by a variety of students making their own way in the big, wide world of art. Samuel Case, for example, uses butane lighters as his medium, crafting realistic portraitures burned into paper. Christopher Popek’s plein air paintings, on the other hand, celebrate the natural world—which is exactly where he likes to work. Viewers can also see Jake Reller’s narrative prints, Laurel Kam’s perforated portraits, Tyna Onko’s lithographic prints, and Joe Rudko’s singular photographic work. On the whole, it’s an eclectic mix that’s worth a look or two. WHEN: The art will be on display through June and a talk with the artists takes place at 6pm Fri., June 15 WHERE: 1209 Cornwall Ave. Info: http://www.theamadeusproject.org

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