"Spurlock is one of the best values in education ever."

It's been a crazy several weeks at the Spurlock.  We're opening a new exhibit this afternoon, with the celebration this weekend; we've jumped into school programs with both feet; and there have been numerous publication deadlines to meet.  We're all incredibly tired, but so happy with all we are able to accomplish.  On days when our brains are fried and we don't think we can add another thing to the schedule, we get something wonderful like the evaluation we received yesterday on "An Afternoon in Ancient Rome," a program we piloted a couple of weeks ago. 

The evaluation was written by a parent who had attended with an 8th-grade daughter.  It was obvious they had a great time.  Some of the comments addressed aspects of the program we had been concerned about: Did we have enough stations to keep everyone busy?  Yes.  Had we given the volunteers running the stations enough information to be comfortable talking to the participants?  Yes.  Had we given the participants enough information before and after their arrival to understand how the program would run?  Were we smiling and welcoming to everyone?  Yes and Yes.  The parent even took the time to make thoughtful suggestions for improvement. The title of this blog was one of our favorite parts of the evaluation!

I wrote a news story for the Spurlock webpage once on how much we love to get thank-you letters.  Evaluations are some of the best thank-you letters.  Even if the comments are not all positive, they let us know the person appreciated our effort enough to help us make our work even better the next time.  For that, we say thank you.

Through the Decades: Selected Student Artwork from the Permanent Collection - Opening Reception

Mon. June 16 - Thur. July 24 (closed for Independence Day on July 3)

Reception: Thu. June 19, 6–8pm, Gallery Talk by Lisa Costello and Laura O’Donnell

Music by Big Blue Stem

Additional Gallery Talk:  Tue. June 24, 1pm, Jennifer Hain Tepper, Velde Preservation Librarian and Associate Professor, University Library from UIUC entitled “Preservation and Conservation Approaches for Historic Paper and Photograph Collections”

Since 1971, Parkland’s Fine and Applied Arts Department has purchased artworks from the annual Art & Design Student Juried Exhibition.  This collection, which has grown and evolved over the years, consists of two-dimensional art and provides a visual history of the breadth of the Art and Design program. 

The selected works that will be on exhibit this summer in the Giertz Gallery at Parkland College exemplify just a few of the many artworks that have been collected over four decades.

Summer gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10am - 6pm and the gallery will be closed July 3 for Independence Day. To find the gallery, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.  Parkland is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution. For accommodation, call 217/351-2505.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Through the Decades: Selected Student Artwork from the Permanent Collection

Mon. June 16 - Thur. July 24 (closed for Independence Day on July 3)

Reception: Thu. June 19, 6–8pm

Gallery Talk by Lisa Costello and Laura O’Donnell

Music by Big Blue Stem

Additional Gallery Talk:  Tue. June 24, 1pm, Jennifer Hain Tepper, Velde Preservation Librarian and Associate Professor, University Library from UIUC entitled “Preservation and Conservation Approaches for Historic Paper and Photograph Collections”

Since 1971, Parkland’s Fine and Applied Arts Department has purchased artworks from the annual Art & Design Student Juried Exhibition.  This collection, which has grown and evolved over the years, consists of two-dimensional art and provides a visual history of the breadth of the Art and Design program. The selected works that will be on exhibit this summer in the Giertz Gallery at Parkland College exemplify just a few of the many artworks that have been collected over four decades.

Summer gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10am - 6pm and the gallery will be closed July 3 for Independence Day. To find the gallery, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.  Parkland is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution. For accommodation, call 217/351-2505.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

Parkland College Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition 2014

Artist Talk
Thursday, May 15, 1:00 p.m.

The Parkland College Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition will be on display at the Parkland Art Gallery Monday, May 12 through Thursday, June 7. A reception honoring the students will be held on Wednesday, May 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery lounge with an awards ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m.

As with all events in the handicapped-accessible gallery, the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

To coincide with the exhibition, a gallery talk has been scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at 1pm. Gretchen Wieshuber, who teaches Typography at Parkland College and also owns her own design studio called Studio 2D, will present a talk “Designers and the Creative Process” and will expand upon the idea of harnessing the power of the creative process. “Designers are paid to be creative day in and day out. We can't wait around for inspiration to hit when deadlines loom, so we have a process that leads us dependably to creative solutions to problems. Anyone can use this process for any problem

Parkland Art Gallery spring hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday from 10a.m. to 3p.m., and Saturday from 12p.m. to 2p.m. The gallery will be closed May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. To find the Gallery when classes are in session, use the M parking lots, enter through any door, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point, where the gallery is located. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, call Parkland Art Gallery Office at 217/351-2485 or visit our website at www.parkland.edu/gallery.

2014 Parkland College Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition

April 14 to May 3

Parkland Art Gallery

Reception: Thursday, April 17, 6–8 p.m., gallery lounge, with awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

Musical performance by the Parkland Guitar Ensemble

 

The 2014 Parkland College Art and Design Student Juried Exhibition will be held April 14 through May 3 in the Parkland Art Gallery. Audiences will enjoy an impressive body of student work in photography, painting, drawing, metals, sculpture, three-dimensional design, two-dimensional design, color theory, and ceramics. 

For this year’s exhibit, Parkland Art and Design faculty will select approximately 200 works from among 400+ entries. Many of these earn artistic awards, which will be announced during the exhibit’s reception on Thursday, April 17. Students taking art classes in the current academic year, beginning with summer 2013, are eligible to submit artwork.

“What I enjoy most is seeing the variety of artwork that our students produce,” said Craig McMonigal, an instructor in photography, art appreciation, and history of photography. McMonigal is one among many Parkland faculty and students who look forward to this event each spring. “As a faculty, we each only see a microcosm of what our students can do, and this exhibit shows their diversity and professionalism. I love the fact that we get to show off to the community our talented students.”

As students planning on a profession in the arts begin their career path at Parkland, this exhibition allows them to showcase their extensive talent as well as the exploration processes they have experienced throughout their studies in Art and Design, according to gallery director Lisa Costello.

“It introduces them to professional practices they will encounter in their field as well, such as working with a gallery, preparing their work for exhibition, and engaging in the jurying process that is essential for an emerging artist,” Costello said. “This is a necessary component for resume building and establishing themselves as practicing artists once they graduate or transfer to a four-year college.”

During the April 17 reception and awards ceremony, scheduled in the Parkland Art Gallery lounge from 6 to 8 p.m., Jordan Kay and the Parkland Guitar Ensemble will provide music. The 7 p.m. awards ceremony will highlight students whose artwork showed distinction. Student artists will receive gifts made possible by the generosity of private donors. Among these are Merit Awards, Purchase Awards, The Parkland President Award, The David M. and Shirley A. Jones Student Art Award, The Metals Award for Jewelry/Metalsmith, The Fine and Applied Arts Chair Award, the Parkland Art and Design Faculty Award, The Blair Kling Memorial Art Award, The Library Purchase Award, and an Art Coop supplies award.

Parkland Art and Design students are eligible to earn scholarships, which are also announced during the reception; these include the Don Lake Art Scholarship, the Underwood-Alger Scholarship, and the Robert Ralph Ford Memorial Art Scholarship. Finally, the winner of the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Scholarship will be announced.

Merit awardees, scholarship recipients, and certificate winners retain possession of their work, while purchase awards become part of the Parkland College Permanent Collection.

All events in the handicapped-accessible gallery are free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.–3 p.m., and Saturday, noon–2 p.m.

To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M parking lots. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area. This exhibit is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, A state agency. For more information, call Lisa Costello, gallery director, at 217/351-2485 or visit the gallery website at www.parkland.edu/gallery.

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Parkland College Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition 2014 - Opening Reception

Opening Reception 

Wednesday, May 14  

6-8pm

The Parkland College Graphic Design Student Juried Exhibition will be on display at the Parkland Art Gallery Monday, May 12 through Thursday, June 7. A reception honoring the students will be held on Wednesday, May 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery lounge with an awards ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m.

As with all events in the handicapped-accessible gallery, the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

The juried exhibit highlights work completed by students in the current academic year, beginning with summer 2013. Jury members include the Graphic Design faculty and local industry professionals who generously volunteer their time. This year’s judges are Teresa Ellis, Senior Design Director at Surface 51, and Jan Troutt, Vice President of Publishing Services at Precision Graphics.

Works in the exhibit showcase the creative solutions to design problems that students are presented with throughout the year. Traditional print media, website design, animation and motion will be featured in the Gallery. These projects are all portfolio samples created in the graphic design studio classes, which might include logos, branding, packaging, menus, books, publications, posters, brochures, websites, video, film title graphics and TV commercials, to name a few examples.

During the May 14 reception, an awards ceremony honoring 2014 Graphic Design student achievements will take place at 7 p.m.  A number of monetary awards will be given at that time; Graphic Design Program Director Paul Young will present the awards.

Local clients often contribute funds for these awards; in this way, the exhibit highlights the service learning that is an important element of Parkland's Graphic Design curriculum. Monetary awards include the Dr. David M. and Shirley A. Jones Student Art Award for a work of outstanding artistic achievement; the Graphic Design Best of Show Award; the Fine and Applied Arts Department Chair Award; Parkland College Marketing and Public Relations Department Award of Excellence; and the President's Award for Excellence. Other awards are given by clients and supporters of the Design program and include the Electric Pictures Award of Excellence, Surface 51 Award of Excellence, Studio 2D Design Strategy Award, Six Demon Studio Award for Excellence in Web Design, Viktoria Ford Award of Excellence, Larry Ecker Award for Typographic Excellence, Public Art League Award of Excellence, and the Presence Covenant Medical Center Award for Excellence in Design, among others.

“This year's exhibition will be a nice mix of traditional print projects and new digital media experiments. Expect to see creative work in branding, advertising, illustration and packaging as well as unique web sites, kinetic motion graphics and dynamic interactive design” Young said.

“Our faculty jury seeks out the most imaginative, inspiring, distinctive, innovative, unusual and memorable pieces for display in the gallery. Considering that the work comes from a two-year program, we're constantly impressed by the energy, dedication and drive of our students.”

To coincide with the exhibition, a gallery talk has been scheduled for Thursday, May 15 at 1pm. Gretchen Wieshuber, who teaches Typography at Parkland College and also owns her own design studio called Studio 2D, will present a talk “Designers and the Creative Process” and will expand upon the idea of harnessing the power of the creative process. “Designers are paid to be creative day in and day out. We can't wait around for inspiration to hit when deadlines loom, so we have a process that leads us dependably to creative solutions to problems. Anyone can use this process for any problem.”

Parkland Art Gallery spring hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday from 10a.m. to 3p.m., and Saturday from 12p.m. to 2p.m. The gallery will be closed May 26 in observance of Memorial Day. To find the Gallery when classes are in session, use the M parking lots, enter through any door, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point, where the gallery is located. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. For more information, call Parkland Art Gallery Office at 217/351-2485 or visit our website at www.parkland.edu/gallery.