Fine Arts

Fine arts education flourishes in face of pandemic

From moist, cool clay to wet, drippy paint and dry, smudgy charcoal, visual art is a distinctly hands-on, sometimes messy, field of practice and study. So, what happens when art education goes online? “Remote teaching certainly hasn’t slowed us down. In fact, these strange times have helped us reimagine new, more expanded ways to reach […]

Exploring ‘internet addiction’ with paintings

Among fine arts faculty member Joe Hedges‘s latest artworks are oil paintings of beautiful landscapes with a twist. They incorporate flat screen televisions, smart phones, or other objects to become what he calls “Hypercombines”—paintings that are connected to the internet. “I started thinking about this buzz phrase that was going around a few years ago, […]

Innovative murals created for local elementary school

Imagine a large, outdoor painting that changes colors when warmed by the sun or by the touch of a child’s hand and shifts hues again in cool rain and winter’s chill. Two such temperature-sensitive paintings are among four vibrant murals created this fall at Kamiak Elementary School in Pullman through a unique collaboration between WSU […]

Shaking hands with the past

For artist Nathan Orosco (’02 MFA), the process of making art is an art in itself. From sculpting clays to melting bronze, “you’re collaborating with raw materials. You’re shaking hands with the past and the historic ways humans have traditionally dealt with those materials. And then I add in the content of my own personal […]

‘Venn Pirouettes’ exhibition blends art and science

WSU alumnus Michael Schultheis finds dynamic synergies between the languages of mathematics and art. He employs analytical formula within his luminous paintings and sculptures. His works bend mathematical precision into imperfect visions, creating room for metaphors and storytelling. Raised on a rural family farm near the Snake River in southeast Washington, Schultheis was awarded a bachelor’s […]

Fine Arts gallery showcases faculty work

When looking for art on campus, you might think only of the crimson cube of the recently opened Schnitzer art museum. But did you know there are several galleries in the Fine Arts building where WSU students and professors often exhibit their work? Recently, David Janssen Jr., an art instructor with a specialty in 2D […]

Categories: Art, Exhibit, Faculty

Viewing the ordinary with new eyes

Sporting 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 […]

Artist named an Oregon Hallie Ford Fellow

The 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 […]

Student projects earn Summer Scholars awards

Four 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