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College of Arts and Sciences Fine Arts

Fine arts alumna designs, shares iconic drawing

coloring book pageColoring isn’t just for kids any more: many mental health professionals say it’s a good way for adults to destress.

Thanks to Seattle artist and 2005 fine arts grad Tarah Luke, WSU is now part of the landscape. Luke found her niche in the adult coloring book industry and drew an abstract version of the iconic Bryan Hall clock tower for her fellow Cougars and Cougs at heart everywhere.

Luke was profiled in the Washington State Magazine Summer 2016 issue: read the full story below and download the coloring page! » More …

Undergraduate Symposium highlights research and art

student explains research projectStudents highlighted their semester course projects, research, and art as part of the fall Undergraduate Research Symposium and Art Exhibition at WSU Tri-Cities.

“The symposium and art exhibition provides our students with an excellent opportunity to practice communicating their research and course projects, which is an essential skill for when they go out into the professional environment,” said Allison Matthews, clinical assistant professor of psychology. » More …

Awards empower arts prof to pursue research, creativity in India

Io Palmer in the sculpture studioMixed-media sculptor and Washington State University associate professor of fine arts Io Palmer uses her artistic skills to explore complex social issues and her teaching skills to inspire future artists.

Inaugural recipient of the Berry Family Distinguished Professorship in Liberal Arts at WSU, Palmer recently received a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award and is preparing to deploy her diverse skills in new ways in a new environment. » More …

Viewing the ordinary with new eyes

Drawing by Avantika BawaSporting a Portland Trail Blazers jersey, artist and Washington State University Vancouver associate professor of fine arts Avantika Bawa is talking about her new solo show at the Portland Art Museum.

The show, which opened Aug. 18, includes almost two dozen drawings of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum where the Blazers won their most recent championship … in 1977. The drawings are inspired by Bawa’s fascination — her “obsession,” as she says — with the coliseum. “Some people find it extremely boring, but I chose to take this building and put it on a pedestal and » More …

Fine arts faculty exhibition opens

Image of the gallery in the Schnitzer MuseumSelf•ish, a new installation at the WSU Schnitzer Museum of Art, features the work of three WSU fine arts faculty: Doug Gast, Joe Hedges, and Io Palmer.

Though varied in process and mediums, the artists assembled an exhibition reflecting on a central theme: the formation and depiction of personhood within our multifaceted and progressively digital era.

Using his own self-image, Hedges’ work speaks to fragmented identities through online storage and distortion. The piece includes two » More …

Artist named an Oregon Hallie Ford Fellow

Avantika BawaThe Ford Family Foundation has named Avantika Bawa, associate professor of fine arts, as one of five Oregon Hallie Ford Fellows in the Visual Arts for 2018.

The foundation praised Bawa for her work “at the intersection of geographic, architectural and cultural differences in landscape, influenced by minimalism with an emphasis on reductive form, modularity and experimentation with scale. She is particularly known for her dedication to researching and responding to sites, often through wall drawings, paintings and » More …

Student projects earn Summer Scholars awards

Students working in a labFour student projects mentored by College of Arts and Sciences faculty were selected to receive $3,000 each as part of the 2018 WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor’s Summer Scholars program. The projects span environmental and biological sciences, mechanical and electrical engineering, and fine arts.

The Chancellor’s Summer Scholars Program offers students the opportunity to develop skills to » More …

Arts & humanities faculty awarded 2018 fellowships

green background with WSU shieldSeven College of Arts and Sciences faculty received WSU Arts and Humanities Fellowship awards through a program funded by the Office of Research.

“These grants showcase the range and innovation of creative and humanistic work at WSU,” said Todd Butler, chair of the fellowship review committee. “These faculty are taking on challenging questions and demonstrating the vital contributions the arts and humanities » More …

Creative Vancougs

photo of clouds in a valley by T.RiordanThe Salmon Creek Journal’s Annual Photo Competition, Travel Cafe, features the Vancouver campus community’s best shots from around the world. Submissions for this year’s theme of “Bliss” included images of beautiful landscapes, interesting uses of light and reflection, as well as the joy of human interaction. » More …

New Schnitzer Museum hosts MFA exhibit

Crimson building at WSUSeven fine arts graduate students are among the first to have their work on display in the newly opened Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at WSU.

The Master’s of Fine Arts Exhibition opened in early April and includes pieces some students have been working on for years.

Jared Boorn, whose art is on display, was inspired » More …

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