Guest artist Richard Cummings will be the final artist to be featured this semester in Ouachita Baptist University’s Hammons Gallery. His series, “Bits of Redemption,” will be displayed Nov. 22-Dec. 15.

Ouachita Baptist University Department of Visual Arts announces a call for entries for a regional drawing exhibition to be held February 7-19. High school juniors and seniors from AR, MS, MO, OK, TN, TX are invited to submit 1 work in any drawing media. All submitted works will be hung. No Entry Fee.

Awards:

Best of Show $100
Dean’s Choice $50
Student’s Choice $50

How to submit:

Actual drawings along with entry form should be packaged carefully and mailed by February 4 to:

Juried Drawing Exhibit
Department of Visual Art
Ouachita Baptist University
410 Ouachita Street
Arkadelphia, AR 71998

Works may be hand-delivered. Call 870/245-5559 in advance to make an appointment.

Calendar:

February 4 Last day for delivery of works
February 7 Show opens
February 19 Art Day: Workshop, Portfolio Review, Reception

Return of work:

Drawings should be picked up at the closing reception. Otherwise an appointment may be scheduled for pick up by calling 870/245-5559. If return shipping is preferred adequate postage for return shipping must accompany the artwork at the time of the original shipping to Ouachita Baptist University.

Questions? Call 870/245-5559 or email copelandd@obu.edu.

Interested in attending the Workshop on February 19? Space is limited. Call 870/245-5559 or email copelandd@obu.edu before January 21 to reserve your spot.

In this year’s tape on the walls project, one student, Adam Oakes, took a progressive look at his art work.

It went from being simple, whimsical black lines….

to swirls with an edge…

with the addition to movement and sparks flying..

More character, gesure and movement…

to the addition of various line qualities, style and a burst of movement.

As you can see, it is beneficial to look at art as a process and to monitor the progress in stages. As Adam continued through his work, he made every mark count as he changed a simply whimsical black line into a magnificent movement of art. Thanks go out to Adam for sharing his photos.

October 27, 2010

This years Tape On the Walls project was a huge success. Armed with only roles of black masking tape students Visual Fundamentals students transformed OBU’s walls into a wonderland. This year’s judge, Associate Professor of Art at Henderson State University, Aaron Calvert said, “I based my decision on three things creativity, craftsmanship, and use of the space. This years winner had all three really going on.”

Jeff Sharp 1st Prize

Zack Nottingham 2nd Place

Katie Hopmann 3rd

October 5, 2010

Sculptor Matthew Tullis is presenting an art exhibit, “Alphabetic Reclamations,” in the Hammons Gallery at Ouachita Baptist University Oct. 4-28.

“My goal for the audience is to share my appreciation for, and devotion to, the disparate letterforms of this unusual alphabet,” Tullis said.

Tullis makes use of found materials in his artwork. His “Alternative Typestyles” are sculptural works that combine his interests in graphic design and typography with salvaged, natural and antique materials.

“Typography, the classic element of visual communication, bridges both the fine art and graphic design disciplines, and is the subject of my work,” Tullis said. “I strive to assemble typographic artifacts in an alphabetic gestalt, where the whole is more fluent than any individual piece.

“Each sculpture is informed by three factors: the natural decay of the original typographic specimen, the contextual history of the found-object letterform, and my own typographic sensibilities,” he added.

“Having Matt’s work in our gallery continues the discussions on art and design begun with ‘The Logo Show!’ and Rick Poynor’s visit,” explained Donnie Copeland, Ouachita assistant professor of visual arts, citing two other design-related events hosted on campus earlier this semester.

“When Rick Poynor was on campus a few weeks ago, he emphasized how graphic design and visual communication are connected to other art forms and can be a continuation of a movement like surrealism which has a strong presence in film, painting and architecture,” Copeland added. “In Matthew’s works, those connections are emphasized again, this time between sculpture and letterforms, assemblage and pastiche.”

Tullis, a professor of art at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, will speak to classes in Ouachita’s Department of Visual Arts in Moses-Provine room 203, on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m.

Tullis was born in Idaho and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He attended Oregon State University, where he studied graphic design. He moved to Philadelphia in 1989 and attended graduate school at Temple University. A few years later, he moved back to Eugene, Ore., and worked in a graphic design studio for about a decade before deciding to teach full time. That brought Tullis to Bowling Green, Ky., where he has been teaching at Western Kentucky University and making art since 2000.

When he is not designing or creating sculptures, he enjoys skateboarding, cutting firewood, fishing and spending time with his family.
To see more of his work visit http://www.matttullis.com/

For more information, contact Donnie Copeland at copelandd@obu.edu or Matthew Tullis at matthew.tullis@wku.edu.
By Megan Ruggles

Dr. Mary Virginia Orna, professor of chemistry at New Rochelle College in New York and editor-at-large of “Chemical Heritage” magazine, visited Ouachita Baptist University as speaker for the Nell Mondy Lecture Series on Monday, Sept. 27. She delivered her lecture titled “Five Thousand Years of Chemistry: A Look at the Secrets of Ancient and Medieval Artists” in Ouachita’s McBeth Recital Hall.

Dr. Joe Jeffers, dean of the J.D. Patterson School of Natural Sciences and friend of Orna, welcomed her as a “highly regarded educator and colleague,” to stay on campus for three days delivering lectures to various classes.

Orna said she would take her lecture “around the world” to analyze art using chemistry and specifically discussed treasures in Israel, art pigment and manufacture in the Middle Ages and examples of de-authentication.
“Chemistry is associated with everything in life,” she said. “I hope the things I have chosen to talk about have a lot of life to them and you are able to think outside of the box.
“It can teach you about the beauty in your life and what it takes to make it beautiful,” she added.
Orna encouraged all students to explore what they love and create a passion for learning.
While the lecture primarily focused on scientific aspects, “students of all majors benefited from this lecture,” Jeffers said. “Since this is a liberal arts college, students want to know how the world works, and looking at art through chemistry is part of that.”
A specialist in the field of color and archaeological chemistry, Orna has presented lectures to various college campuses discussing her work in chemistry. She noted, however, that “Ouachita is my favorite place to come because of its welcoming and warm environment and student reception.”
Orna is currently serving as president of “ChemSource, Inc.,” an effort in chemistry teacher preparation and enhancement funded by the National Science Foundation. She has been a Fulbright Fellow and was named a Fellow of ACS in 2010. She received her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Fordham University and her undergraduate degree at Chestnut Hill College. She has studied internationally in such settings as the Middle East and Italy.
“Orna has a lot of accomplishments and is a perfect example of what students should strive to be,” Jeffers commented. “She has a strong work ethic and good character and I’m honored to call her my friend.”

The Nell Mondy Lecture Series Endowment was established by the late Ouachita alumna Dr. Nell Mondy, who served as a professor of nutritional science, food science and toxicology at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. The endowment, established at Ouachita in 1991, primarily brings in lecturers focusing on chemistry, food science and nutrition to present their findings to students interested in expanding their knowledge in those areas.
For more information about the Nell Mondy lecture, contact Dr. Joe Jeffers at jeffers@obu.edu.

September 1, 2010
Ouachita Baptist University’s Department of Visual Arts is hosting “The Logo Show!” in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s Hammons Gallery through Sept. 27. “The Logo Show!” features work from nationally recognized graphic designers Rolando Murillo, Tom Nynas and Brian Owens. An opening reception will be held Thursday, Sept. 2, from 5-7 p.m. in the gallery.

“‘The Logo Show!’ is a unique exhibit in the sense that this genre of work, the commercial logo, is not often put on a wall and viewed in a gallery,” said Donnie Copeland, OBU assistant professor of visual arts.

The three Texas-based designers have compiled impressive portfolios, working at some of the top design firms in the U.S. on nationally recognized branding campaigns such as the Kennedy Space Center, American Heart Association, Dallas Museums of Nature and Science, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Gander Mountain and many more. Their work has been featured in such prestigious design publications as Communication Arts, Graphis, and Print.

“There are nearly 200 six by six inch logos hanging in our gallery that display a variety of techniques and styles,” added Dr. Raouf Halaby, OBU professor of visual arts and English, “each of which is intended to appeal to and engage the viewer.”

Murillo currently serves as president and creative director of Murillo Design, Inc., in San Antonio and has been recognized with more than 170 top honors by the world’s leading design and advertising organizations. He previously worked as senior art director for The Bradford Lawton Design Group in San Antonio and as a designer at the Richards Group/RBMM in Dallas. Murillo also currently serves as an adjunct instructor in Texas State University’s communication design and brand development program and is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree there. He earned his BFA from Southwest Texas State University’s communication design program.

Nynas currently serves as creative director at David Sutherland Inc. in Dallas—a manufacturer of luxury furniture and fabrics. After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, he studied at Atlanta’s Portfolio Center and was subsequently a member of the first graduating class of the Creative Circus. Nynas began his professional career at the Richards Group/RBMM in Dallas where he later became a principal. After briefly working as a solo artist, he became design director at R&D Thinktank, an agency he had drawn the logo for years earlier.

Owens also began his professional career at the Richards Group/RBMM in Dallas, where he became a principal in 2005 and a managing principal in 2008. In 2010, he struck out on his own to establish O&H Brand Design.

For more information about “The Logo Show!,” contact Donnie Copeland at copelandd@obu.edu.

Donnie Copeland, Ouachita Baptist University assistant professor of visual arts, is displaying artwork in a variety of locations in Arkansas. Copeland currently has four pieces at Justus Fine Art Gallery in Hot Springs and one piece in the traveling Arkansas Art Council exhibit Small Works on Paper 2010. During April, he also displayed a solo exhibit, An Emphasis on Substance, at the Boger Art Gallery at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo.

The image above is an installation view of An Emphasis on Substance at the Boger Gallery, College of the Ozarks. left: Stria 41b (Charcoal/Zinc White and Red Oxide), acrylic, charcoal, paper on canvas 60” X 60” right: Stria 57, acrylic, paper on canvas, 60” X 60”

Copeland explained that his work is primarily “about its own visuality: mainly color, pattern and texture; it doesn’t rely on being overly complex. The notion of the work being about something can be extended to landscape, including patterns and movement in fields, or the stripes revealed in roadside cutaways of hills. Somehow this is all connected to travel and being on the road which also includes the occasional urban experience, all of which influences what I do.”

Justus Fine Art Gallery was founded in 2004 by Dolores Justus and features many different styles and mediums of art from both established and emerging artists.

Small Works on Paper is a year-long traveling exhibit sponsored by the Arkansas Art Council. This is the 23rd year for the exhibit and out of 300 entries submitted, only 39 works were chosen. The exhibit was juried by Suzanne Bloom, professor of art at the University of Houston and travels to 10 galleries throughout Arkansas this year. It was most recently on exhibit in the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Other locations on the tour include the South Arkansas Arts Center in El Dorado, Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale, the art galleries at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and the Trieschmann Gallery at Hendrix College in Conway.

Copeland will also show work in the Trinity Art Museum in Little Rock’s Arkansas Historical Museum this fall.

For more information, contact Donnie Copeland at copelandd@obu.edu, (870) 245-5559 or visit his webpage: http://www.donniecopland.com/

By Meg Gosser