Visiting Artist Lecture

Monday, March 23rd, in conjunction with the opening reception of the exhibition, "Drawing from Life" from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the MSSU Spiva Art Gallery the Art Department will be hosting a Visiting Artist Gallery talk with Preston Gilchrist at 5:00 p.m.. The reception and talk are open and free to the public.

Mr. Gilchrist graduated from Louisiana's Northwestern State University in 1993 with a Master of Art; he later pursued and was awarded a Master of Fine Arts from Louisiana Tech University. Gilchrist is the Artistic Director of River Oaks Square Arts Center in Alexandria, a contemporary visual arts and fine crafts center containing over 30 individual studios, two galleries and a unique gift shop. He also serves as adjunct faculty for Louisiana College in Pineville and Louisiana State University at Alexandria. He is the director of ARTWORKS Summer Program, a non-residential summer program for 5 to 12-year-old children. Gilchrist has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Baton Rouge Gallery in Baton Rouge and Steve Martin Gallery in New Orleans represent Mr. Gilchrist.

About his artwork Gilchrist comments how he is, "...fascinated by the idea that even as our own life experience shapes us as individuals, our personal experience becomes a common bond we all share. Looking at an image becomes an exchange of ideas, and this exchange is always shaped by our own perspective... I greatly enjoy art which has an ambiguity that allows multiple interpretations of the image."

Mr. Gilchrist is one of the artists represented in the exhibition that features artists who continue to explore and expand upon the rich traditional artistic practice of drawing from direct observation from an unclothed human figure. These artists were curated by Frank A. Pishkur, Head, MSSU Art Department and feature different groups of artists from Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Michigan, and Indiana. The exhibition will run until April 17.

Josie Mai
...worked with George A. Spiva Center for the Arts Director Jo Mueller and Education Coordinator Meg Skaggs in designing curriculum and recruiting volunteers to teach and assist during the annual two-week visit by Joplin school third-graders to the Center. in Joplin. Josie personally logged over 30 volunteer hours.

A total of 12 elementary education and art education majors volunteered a combined 50 hours of time. Josie Mai's ART 222 classes observed the field trip as it was happening and wrote a reflection on art education in a non-school setting.

"The dangled carrot was the 20 hours of community service that teacher education majors need to graduate but essentially I view this as service learning and the spirit of community service," Josie says.

The Spiva Library staff was so impressed with the teaching skills of students Rachel Hardee and Stefanie Williams, they offered the two students complementary memberships to the Art Center.

Josie Mai Exhibits:

February 6-28th 2009
Opening Reception First Friday Artwalk February 6th

Seven works on paper reflect the imagery, color, pattern and spirit of a meditation on Boyer’s commonalities. The mixed-media paintings are variations on the thematic imagery of a figure, the literal text of the commonalities, the mandala, the vessels, and the fabric. They hopefully challenge the viewer toward positive reflection and change toward unity rather than divisiveness.

face.africa
2008-2009

The Creamery Arts Center www.springfieldarts.org
411 N Sherman Parkway
Downtown Springfield, Missouri
February 11-27th 2009
Opening Reception Friday, February 13th 6-8pm

30 young women from Carolina for Kibera’s Binti Pamoja program were matched with 30 emerging young emerging artists from the Missouri Fine Arts Academy.
Binti Pamoja translates to “Daughters United” in Kiswahili, and provides a forum for young Kenyan women to discuss issues that concern them. The Missouri Fine Arts Academy provides a unique program of artistic, extracurricular, and social opportunities to Missouri’s talented high school students.

This is the third annual cycle of the project. It has been shown at George A Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri Citizens for the Arts in Jefferson City, and the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in Kansas City. The portraits here will be delivered to the young Kenyan women at a ceremony in Kibera, Kenya in July 2009.

Josie Mai is Assistant Professor of Art at Missouri Southern State University, Visual Arts Faculty at Missouri Fine Arts Academy, and the Director of Soulfari Kenya Inc, a non-profit engaged in humanitarian service in Kenya. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas in art education and a masters of fine arts degree from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Lunch and Learn Lecture Series
The next Lunch and Learn Lecture Series at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts is titled "American Studio Ceramics: Contemporary Pottery in the U.S."

A presentation will be given by Frank A. Pishkur, Art Department Head at MSSU,
at 12 noon on Friday, Jan. 16. Those attending are invited to bring their own lunches.

Mr Pishkur's visual presentation and lecture will feature an overview of the history of U.S. ceramics: major artists, events, and influences that led to the development of the vibrant array of contemporary, functional, Studio Pottery practices. A component of this presentation will explain how and where several of the artists included in the current "Clay Nation: Jed Schlegel & Friends" exhibition fall into this historical survey.

Reservations requested. To reserve a seat, telephone (417) 623-0183.

Alanna
2008, Oil on copper, 8.75" x 9.25"

Steven Labadessa Exhibit

Severe Beauty
Jan. 12-Feb. 5
Steven’s work marks explorations of contemporary visual aesthetics and languages in both popular and fringe cultures. Drawing inspiration from forms of expression throughout the world, it aspires toward a devout pursuit of a severe beauty, as well as pursuing virtuosity in practice that seeks ever-greater complexity in simplicity.

http://www.morainevalley.edu/FPAC/Season/gallery.htm#Steven_Labadessa

Dan and Gail Cannon Gallery of Art
"Corpus Asunder" artwork by Elizabeth Crisman and Steven Labadessa,
through Feb. 6, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

3 MSSU art dept graduates to attend graduate schools:
Three MSSU Art Department graduates will be attending graduate school with the intent to earn a MFA this fall:
Trent Mosley, Wichita State University
Brandon Nepote, University of Texas, Tyler
Jason Stamper, University of Tulsa

Frank A. Pishkur, Art, attended the 42nd annual conference of the National Council on Education in the Ceramics Arts (NCECA), held this year in Pittsburgh, Penn. The theme for this year’s conference was Confluence: Innovation, Community, Environment. Among the many topics, exhibitions, and programs Pishkur attended, the panel discussion “Connecting Foundations and Ceramics Curriculum” was especially relevant to our institution’s current focus on promoting student success in the first year of college.The NCECA's purpose is to promote and improve the ceramic arts through education, research, and creative practice.

Artist Malcolm E. Kucharski demonstrated his art making process on Thursday, March 6 at MSSU's ceramic studio. Over the course of the entire day approximately 45 MSSU art students watched him create a series of hand built sculptural clay forms based upon pottery shapes and concepts with a visual texture that alluded to geological formations and processes.

Frank Pishkur, Art, says Kucharski commented how he "...like[d] to let the clay do what it does" as he constantly pressed, stretched, caressed, bent, incised, and cradled the clay in his hands.

His mark-making process worked within the gestural spirit of Abstract Expressionism. Yet, at the same time, he shared traditions based on Japanese/Korean Folk pottery aesthetics, strongly influenced by the British Studio Pottery Movement. This rich history was translated to him first hand by one of its direct descendants, the American master Warren Mackenzie.

Kucharski teaches art at Pittsburg State University. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics. He has exhibited his works in clay across this country for over 25 years. He has also exhibited both in Japan and Taiwan.

Josie Mai: received special recognition from the Missouri Fine Arts Academy for her face.africa project. Academy participants created portraits for Kenyan children. This work was recently featured at the Spiva Center of the Arts. In February the exhibit moves to the state capitol for Missouri Citizens for the Arts Day and then on to Kansas City for yet another exhibit. The Missouri Fine Arts Academy is a residential summer program for artistically talented high school students. Josie has served on the faculty of the Academy since 2006.