Art students gain experience, recognition

Students in the Department of Art and Design are challenged not only in the classroom, but they are also encouraged to take their work outside of Anderson University. In the past two years, two students have moved their work off campus with amazing results. Here are their stories.

By Deborah Lilly

“Technology has always been at my disposal,” says senior visual communication design major Aaron Shanahan. “Since I was a child, I have been familiar with computers.” That’s why he was so interested in studying and practicing art at Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tenn., where everything is created using the 15th-century art form of the letterpress.

Shanahan came to Anderson University from Rushville, Ind., to play baseball, but during the first half of the season, he threw his shoulder out and wasn’t able to return to the game. By that time, however, he’d spent enough time in the university’s art department to know that AU was where he wanted to stay.

One day last year, Shanahan was working in the design lab when his professor, Kevin Rudynski, began telling Shanahan about Nashville artist Jim Sherraden, who was exhibiting some of his print work in a gallery in Indianapolis. Before the exhibit left town, Rudynski had created enough interest to fill a van with students and take them to meet Sherraden and see the exhibit. Shanahan knew that night that he wanted to work with Sherraden at his shop.

Because of his persistence and the quality of his work, Shanahan earned a spot as a three-month intern in the shop. It was his first experience with a letterpress. In the first few days, Shanahan learned how the shop operated and became familiar with the hundreds of woodcuts stocked away on shelves. Within two weeks, he was handed his own job.

“Working with a letterpress was a unique opportunity because it is a technique that many designers never get a chance to explore,” explains Shanahan. “The letterpress allowed me to see the process all the way through. I became responsible for the finished result.”

He started by sketching out his ideas. Then he would arrange woodcuts on a plate. Once the type was set, it was transferred to the plate, and color became an issue.

During the summer, Shanahan completed 10 original products from posters to mailers, working one-on-one with clients. The bulk of Hatch Show Print’s business revolves around the music business, with clients from across the country. But local Nashville politicians are also drawn to the style of the letterpress and Sherraden’s designs. Even engaged couples are coming to Hatch Show Print for one-of-a-kind wedding invitations. “They’re more intimate,” Shanahan explains. “When you hold a letterpress invitation in your hand, you can even feel the ink, and there’s more time and consideration put into making the product.”

Shanahan’s internship was well worth the three months he spent in Nashville. “As an artist, social interaction is important to me,” he explains. “I worked with 10 other interns from places like New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, California, and Tennessee. They each brought their own perspective and their own way of looking at things and approaching design. It opened my mind to what can be achieved.” The experience has challenged him to use imagery in provocative and powerful ways.

Rudynski has seen a change in Shanahan and his work as a result of the internship. “Aaron has grown in his confidence to work professionally as a designer, and he has become more willing to experiment with the printing process in his own work,” says Rudynski. “This sense of experimentation has helped him advance his work in new and creative directions, which is an important part of his education and self-discovery as a designer and artist.”

Taylor’s design gets international attention

By Jon Nelson

“I don’t know if I am cut out for gallery art,” senior studio arts major Melissa Taylor humbly admits. She pushes a loose blonde lock from her face and glances at a picture of her glass creation. That glass sculpture, named “The Nutcracker,” is being sold by one of the world’s most renowned glass companies, Steuben Glass, for $9,000.

The Steuben Glass Company recently bought the design for “The Nutcracker” after Taylor participated in a class where seven students created designs for Steuben.

The instructor of the course, Professor Arlon Bayliss, connected with Steuben designer Joel Smith for a class that simulated what it would be like to design for a major glass company.

Every year, Bayliss’ class visits Steuben Glass for an extensive tour. “I had a particularly strong group of students that year and thought that this was a good time to do something that I wanted to do for a long time,” explains Bayliss. “I wanted to propose to Steuben that we do a theoretical project for them.”

For the class, Glass II, the students sketched designs for theoretical glass pieces. Bayliss and the students would hold conference calls with the designers at Steuben, who would critique the designs of each student.

Taylor’s original design was based on “The Steadfast Tin Soldier,” a Danish short story. After some of the critiques, Taylor changed the fairy-tale sketch to depict the character Clara from The Nutcracker.

Steuben became increasingly interested in her design as she continued to send in sketches and models into the summer of 2005. Steuben picked the design they liked best and sent Taylor a prototype of the glass piece for her to critique. Overall, the process took more than a year to finalize.

“It is a lot of negotiation, working with glass companies,” says Taylor. “I was originally very frustrated with it. It was very intimidating.” However, Bayliss guided her throughout the process. “He is very good about being supportive of his students,” says Taylor. “It was in the summer when we started pursuing this, and Arlon would talk to me on the phone and be very encouraging. Arlon is a good representation of the how the professors are involved with the students.”

Bayliss and the designers at Steuben remain optimistic about future projects between AU and the Steuben Glass Company. “To my knowledge, we are the only glass program to have this kind of project with Steuben,” says Bayliss.