Life Changing International Travel Marks May Term

Close to 60 students and five faculty members packed their bags and spent May term abroad on three very exciting and very different international experiences in China, London and Costa Rica.

Twenty-one students and two faculty members, Professor John Fuehrer and Dr. Liya Wang, traveled to China for a three week business and sociology-based exploration for students who took the Modern China course during the Spring 2015 semester.  Students focused on what it's like to do business in China's major cities and how understanding cultures can help when doing business globally. Students also visited cultural sites including the Great Wall, Forbidden City and different temples and monasteries. Other highlights of the trip included experiencing a new culture and trying different kinds of food.

The theatre Seminar in London was a nine day theatre tour that exposed students to a variety of theatrical performances as well as the history of the London theatre and the city in general. Twenty-three students traveled with two faculty members, Professors Jeff Herrman and Bob Taylor. The students attended eight shows in a variety of London locations, including The Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's plays were performed in the 1600's. They also toured the city and visited different museums.  For many, visiting Stratford, where Shakespeare was born and laid to rest was a unique and favorite part of the trip.

BMC Photography

For 12 days, 14 students and biology professor Dr. Chris Stanton, explored the biology and sustainability of Costa Rica and the country-wide sustainability progress that has been made in 2015. The group traveled the country by bus and did a variety of activities such as hiking, boating and community service projects all while interacting with the locals, learning about the culture and seeing the various habitats and wildlife. One day was spent zip lining through the Tropical Dry Forest.

For more stunning photos from the trip, you can visit this Costa Rica Facebook gallery posted by recent BW studio art grad and owner of BMC Photography, Brittney Callahan '15.

Studying abroad at Baldwin Wallace allows students to enhance their personal growth, educational experience and career development. BW is part of the national "Generation Study Abroad" initiative and working toward doubling the percentage of students who gain this life-changing experience by 2019.

Senior Art Student Among Nominees for Ohio EVA Award

BW Senior Studio Art major Brittney Marie Callahan '15 is one of just 27 nominees for the Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts (EVAs), an intercollegiate arts competition recognizing outstanding student artists from across the state of Ohio.

Callahan, an accomplished artist on road to a May graduation, was nominated for the award by BW faculty. You can view her exceptional portfolio on the EVA website, and also vote for Brittney for the People's Choice Award; (click her photo in the top row, right end.)

The winner will be announced at the art awards reception on April 8, 2015, at the Columbus College of Art & Design. The EVAs are sponsored by the Associate of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio (AICUO). 

PR Professor's Pencil Artwork Published in New Collection

Annie by Julie A. Miller

By profession, Baldwin Wallace Public Relations Professor Julie Miller is a storyteller. But the BW community may not realize that she doesn't just communicate with words.

The PR professor recently had a work of art featured in Hidden Treasures, a collection of colored pencil art published by renowned colored pencil artist Ann Kullberg.

Miller has had a life-long interest in art and has been taking classes in colored pencil technique for 20 years; she has been drawing for more than 40 years.

“I think my ability to communicate a company's story mirrors my ability as an artist to capture the essence and personality of my subjects," Miller said.

Miller says she prefers to draw animals, and has done commissioned works in the past.  

Work of BW Art Professors Featured in International Art Exhibit

David and Roberta Williamson of BW's Studio Art Department and renowned, collaborative artists in the field of narrative jewelry, were among just four American artists to have their work featured in the prestigious 2014 LOOT: MAD about Jewelry exhibit in the Museum of Art and Design in New York City. This annual invitational exhibit highlights the work of 55 jewelry artists from 25 different countries, including Tasmania, Hungary, Italy and Japan.

While LOOT typically searches for new artists each year, the Williamsons were given the rare honor to return to this year's weeklong, curated exhibit. The husband-wife duo, who have been working together for over 45 years, described the event as a "significant moment in their career." The couple also connected with the collectors of their work in New York City. The enthusiasm of these "habitual buyers" inspires the Williamsons to continue to make unique and innovative pieces. The pair agree that one of the perks of being a jewelry artist is that people wear their work.

In addition to their prestigious LOOT invitation, the couple has recently created a commissioned piece for the Fuller Craft Museum in Massachusetts. The exhibit featuring their work, "The Third Person Between Us," a vignette of several pieces they created, will open in January 2015.

The Williamsons' next endeavor will be a visit to Illinois in February 2015 as the Hatch Visiting Artists-in-Residence. Their residency will be a part of the multifaceted Hatch Creative-Reuse Art Festival, an annual celebration of resourcefulness and reinvention. Gail Rost, co-chair of the Festival said, “We’re very excited to have the opportunity to bring the Williamsons to our community, as they have been blazing the trail in the field of repurposed and recycled art for many years.”

BW Alumna to Showcase Paper Art at Berea Arts Fest

Photo courtesy of Margaret Bakke

BW alumna Margaret Bakke '11 will showcase a distinctive line of handmade, paper art pieces at the upcoming Berea Arts Festival. From journals and cards to tiny paper books dangling from earrings, Bakke pulls the old medium out of retirement and turns paper into fashionable pieces of artwork.

"I just feel that paper can't be replaced," Bakke told Cleveland.com in a preview story for the September 14 Arts Fest event. "Everything's all about the Kindles and iPads now, but there's really something about paper, the feel of it..."

Bakke earned her bachelor's degree in art education from BW, and is currently employed at the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory and Educational Foundation.

She also runs an Etsy online storefront. For more information on Bakke and her work with paper, check out her blog.

Art Education Major Interns with Smithsonian's "Portraits Alive"

Aspiring art teacher Gloria Collins '15 is spending a "seriously amazing" summer in Washington D.C. interning at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery, Office of Education. Collins, who is studying art education at BW is involved in a program called "Portraits Alive." She works with high school students, ages 14 to 16, who write a monologue and dress up as a historical figure from a portrait within the museum, from Audrey Hepburn to Bruce Lee.

Collins says that the most rewarding part of the internship is seeing shy teens “blossom and embody a character and I think they learn a lot about themselves but also about historical figures.” Collins also is gaining valuable experience learning how to incorporate museum education into the classroom.

To hear more about her experiences, check out this Smithsonian video interview featuring Collins and a fellow intern from Vanderbilt University. 

The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum and research complex with 137 million objects in its collections. It was founded in 1864 and consists of 19 museums, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery shares America’s history through poets, presidents, actors, activists and many more that have shaped our culture and story.

July in Paris S'il Vous Plaît

July in Paris means a stop for une crème glacée!

April in Paris? Au contraire!

Nine BW students, led by BW Art History professor Dr. Marc Vincent, are spending July in Paris, seeing the "real" City of Light in a 4-week language and culture intensive program offered by BW Explorations/Study Abroad.

This is the first faculty-led summer exploration for BW; such programs usually run in the spring or fall. "A Summer in Paris" is being offered in conjunction with MICEFA's summer program at the Institut Catholique.

MICEFA is a consortium of 14 French universities created "to promote cultural and scientific cooperation between France and Anglophone North America."

The BW contingent will return to the Ohio on August 1.

BW Students Create Bowls for Fundraiser

BW students were among the artists who crafted and donated original ceramic bowls for the Kiwanis Club of Berea's fifth Empty Bowl Soup Fundraiser.  All of the funds raised at the event went to restocking the shelves of the community and outreach programs like Berea Community Outreach, SCAN, and Church Street Ministries.

You can read more about the cause in the Sun News.

Student Artists Present at Senior Art Exhibition

The capstone exhibition featuring the works of senior BW art studio and art education majors is underway at the Fawick Art Gallery.

Seniors Allie Primisch, Kate Carabin, Niko Williams, Sarah Robasser, Cheyenne Richmond and Diana Hlywiak are showcasing the artistic results of their hard work in the 2014 Senior Art Exhibition.

The exhibition is open weekdays from 2-5 p.m. through March 21 (closed March 10-14 during Spring Break) and is free and open to the public. An opening reception is set for Friday, February 28 from 5 - 8 p.m.

The show is sponsored by BW's Art and Art History Department.

BW Alumnus Opens Art Gallery

The arts are such an important part of BW's wide range of exceptional programs, and faculty, staff, alumni and students all have an impact on the arts in the region as well.

Case in point: Richard Cihlar '02, a BW staff member and alumnus with a degree in Studio Art, has opened an art gallery in the 78th Street Studios in Cleveland.

Cihlar officially opened E11EVEN 2 with two friends this month. The gallery promises "a colorful array of painting, mixed media, and photography." E11EVEN 2 is open every third Friday of each month from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Digital Design Major Lands Disney Dream Job

Walt Disney said, "If you can dream it, you can do it." Nick Snyder ’13 dreamed it & did it!

Read how the BW digitial design major found the opening to his dream job and hear Nick describe, in his own words, the path he took to land the internship that made it happen.

BW Professor Twists Nature into Living Art

One of the specimens created by Professor Ziebarth that was on display at the Annual Cleveland Bonsai Show

Professor Steve Ziebarth of of BW's Art and Art History Department, was invited to display one of his many talents, Bonsai, at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens during the 2013 Annual Cleveland Bonsai Show.  Ziebarth demonstrated that he is not only an extraordinary painter, but a master of Bonsai, the unique Japanese art form in which miniature trees are exquisitely sculpted.  Ziebarth's teaching areas of expertise include painting, drawing, and color therapy.

Senior Art Majors Stage Inspiring Exhibit