VISUAL ARTS BLOG SIGNING OFF: Adios, Sayanara, Auf Wiedersehen, Nabadey, Salaam, Goodbye

Well, my loyal readership, this is the end of this blog for the year. I launched this resource last Fall with the hope of establishing a new conversational vehicle with fall 2007 applicants, and, just as importantly, of exhibiting some of the dynamism within the Department of Art. I hope the blog has been informative, answering questions about topics such as housing, scholarships, and admissions timelines. I'm sure you had other questions that weren't answered, though I appreciate those of you who forwarded some of those questions to me. I'm pretty confident that I answered--eventually--all the questions that came my way.

I hope the blog has been engaging and visually appealing. I'm very pleased with the videos that my talented student assistant, Ami Clark, produced. Though not every American would agree on the talents and competency of Texas' George W. Bush, I'd like to think that they would all agree on the talent and competency of Texas' Ami Clark. As an animation student and the Pencil Mileage Club Historian, you'll get the chance to meet her next year in an animation class or a PMC meeting. If you do, be sure to compliment her on her videography. The art department has not documented students shows in the past, but I think Ami did a pretty good job of showing the diversity of student work and inspiring our developing artists to share a little about their motivations and vision. Thanks Ami.

Over the New Year's break I had the epiphany of finding some actual CSUF students to blog about the student experience in the department. I'm really pleased with the way those turned out, especially Chris' revelations about PMC, animation, internships, and the innumerable opportunities students have in the animation program. For those of you who may have thought the blog was just propoganda, I hope they imparted at least a modicum of veracity and grittiness to the blog and the department.

I hope this blog has been helpful, entertaining, and eye-opening about the visual arts at CSUF. I'm pretty confident that no other art department you may have applied to had anything similar to this. We like to think that CSUF, especially the arts, is on the cutting edge of major social and artistic trends. That has to be our location to ensure both, that we attact the sort of student who aspires to be a creative leader, and that upon graduation that student is well prepared to see that aspiration materialize.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to meeting each of you this summer during New Student Orientation, as well as during the fall 2007 term.

LINKS TO SOME STUDENT AND FACULTY WEBSITES

CHRIS ALLISON, FINAL POST

Ahoy and happy summer, future Fullertonians!

Well, school is officially out, the grades are in, and I'm ready to relax!
It was a tough semester juggling all of the academic responsibilities that I
had, so this summer is a time to relax and recoop. But maybe in a way that
you wouldn't have suspected!

I'll be staying in Fullerton for the summer. Students are still allowed
access to the Visual Arts Department facilities, so this summer is "fun
time" for me! I'll be working on films for my own personal enjoyment,
without the pressure of deadlines. I think it's really important to take regular
breaks to remind yourself why you fell in love with what you're doing. It's easy to lose sight of the real magic that attracted you to art in the first place as you get consumed by the flurry of assignments and critiques.

This summer I'm going to try to finish a goofy short film for myself. I'm
also going to try to get a website up to showcase my work. And my last goal
for the summer is to get a tan at the beach! Boy oh boy, I sure could use
it!

Well, this is my last transmission for the Cal State Fullerton Visual Arts
Blog, but I'll still answer any questions that anybody might have. If you
end up coming to CSUF, you'll probably see me in the halls next year. Make
sure to stop me to say hey!

Your pal,
Chris
DAILY TITAN ARTICLE ON CHRIS ALLISON

ART ALLIANCE GROUP SHOW VIDEO

The final show of the year in the Exit Gallery was a--fittingly--group show. Five surfaces covered with all sorts of stuff. I've no words to summarize the panoply of media, content, visions, or skills exhibited. Just proud to claim these talented few as some of Cal State Fullerton's best. Ladies and gentlemen, the students of the Visual Arts Department.

MELISSA GRANILLO, FINAL POST

This last semester has really been a productive one. I created some pieces that I'm proud to put in my portfolio, I got through photo with a good grade (didn't think that would happen) and I managed to get my personal portfolio online! So, I have one year to go and I have decided to take an extra semester and graduate in Spring 2008. I figure with getting financial aid, I might as well take as many classes as I can. With the knowledge of the professors here at CSUF, I'm willing to stay the extra semester to get more under my belt and build my portfolio. I guess I'm also a little nervous about graduating, but hopefully I'll try not to think about that until the beginning of next year.

This summer I'm not taking any classes, but I'm busy doing part-time graphic design work, starting an internship, and working on a catalog with some other students for a fall exhibition. I've been fortunate to have done some networking and have been given opportunities to enhance my experience as a graphic design student. On a final note, I want to emphasize that networking is a huge factor in graphic design and many, many other careers. Keep a smile on, don't burn bridges, and build your address book!

-Melissa :)
MELISSA GRANILLO PORTFOLIO

SECRETS ON THE SURFACE VIDEO

Drawing & painting students, Nina Thomas and Crystal de la Torre, brought their work to the Exit Gallery for their peers to enjoy in April. Crystal's trade is in symbolism as she mixes familiar objects to create surrealistic but fascinating juxtipositions. Enjoy.
SECRETS ON THE SURFACE

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 8 (from May)

This semester has been one of my most demading ones and I'm only taking three classes. I don't think I would recommend taking more than 2-3 studio classes in a semester. I was told this before and now that I'm in the mix of it all, I completely agree with that statement. Studio classes demand lots of work and time on at least 4-5 projects throughout the semester. Personally, I like to spend a lot of time on a project and try to make it the best it can be. Luckily, this semester, I have produced some pieces I will be happy to put in my portfolio. I'm relieved that CSUF has a class for building up your portfolio. I've been told time and time again how important a great portfolio is. With one special studies class down for graphic design, I'm looking forward to the next one to come because I'll get to have another professor and a completely different experience. I have even decided to stay one more semester and graduate in the Spring of 2008 just to get a couple more classes under my belt and really make my portfolio an outstanding one. I figure, I better take all the classes I can to really prepare myself so I can produce great designs.

-Melissa :)

MIXED SIGNALS VIDEO

Sculpture student, Thomas Miller Memorial Scholarship winner, and soon to be graduate student, Venice McCurdy had her final show this spring in the Exit Gallery. Functioning with dyslexia all her life has given her a unique perspective on the world, especially the place of reading and books in her intellectual and creative endeavors. One of her works gives a new--but productive--name to "creative destruction." Enjoy.
MIXED SIGNALS

CHRIS ALLISON, PART 7 (April Post)

Hey future Titans!

I wanted to write about another opportunity that I got at Cal State
Fullerton that you won't find anywhere else. My teacher Dana Lamb told me
that he wanted my films to be submitted to the Newport Beach International Film
Festival. Some students had submitted last semester and were really
impressive so the film festival gave Cal State Fullerton our own slot! I'm
so excited about this because the Newport Film Festival is international, so
I'm getting exposure to people from around the world.

Filmmakers are treated like royalty! There are free workshops for me to go
to, social events to make contacts, and we even present our films and answer
questions afterwards. I'm so happy to be a part of this since I might
not have received or even known about this opportunity had it not been for
the active CSUF animation community.
FILM FESTIVAL

REVOLUTIONEYES VIDEO

Art education and drawing & painting major, Loriann Hernandez, held her final show spring semester before graduating in the summer. It was a huge show exhibiting many media. Loriann is of the opinion that just about anything can work as a "canvas" for her paint, including a gate and a kitchen sink. Enjoy.
REVOLUTIONEYES

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 7 (from April)

Spring semester is almost over. Only a few more weeks left! I'm always so amazed as to how fast the semesters go. I have so much to do and so little time. My busiest class is special studies for graphic design. I just finished up making a candy packaging design for jelly beans. Now I'm starting project 3, a self-promotional 3D business card. For this project and all others, we are given an article to read that shows a certain method to approaching a design. These articles are helpful because sometimes as young designers we have trouble coming up with concepts and the reading helps.

Throwing together type, images, and color, without a method, is not always the most successful method (usually). It's usually important to have a game plan, including asking yourself questions about your work: why am I using that color? why am I using this font? why are the images and type placed the way they are? It's important to constantly reflect on your design because if you can answer these sorts of questions, usually you'll produce a successful design.

I WANT TO PAINT LIKE SARGENT VIDEO

Drawing and Painting majors Ian Trout and Kevin Scianni teamed-up on this Exit Gallery show from March. The visual arts department offers a program in printmaking, though we don't have many majors. However, the techniques acquired and the unique results of the process attract many students who wind up taking a course or two. Ian took every printmaking course we offered and displays some of his work in the video. Kevin (pictured above) who initially pursued animation, switched over to painting & drawing and shares his exploration of 21st century forms. Enjoy.
I WANT TO PAINT LIKE SARGENT

CHRIS ALLISON, PART 6 (March Post)

Hey there pencil pushing Titan hopefuls!

I’m busy planning a Macromedia Flash workshop to be held by the Pencil Mileage Club soon. Myself and fellow animator (and beard growing extraordinaire) Mike Nassar were fortunate enough to intern at Titmouse Studios. We worked on the show Metalocalypse on Adult Swim, amongst other sweet projects. It was a great experience and the owners, Shannon and Chris Prynoski, were really nice people.

I heard about Titmouse from two stellar artists, Mike Roush and Richard
Pose, who work there. You guessed it, Mike Roush and Richard Pose
are both CSUF alums. They told me about the projects they were working
on, and how Titmouse is doing television animation, HERE, in the good ol’ US of A. And what great stuff! You gotta check out Titmouse’s reel on the
website.

Anyhoo, we picked up a ton of great tricks in Macromedia Flash.
Metalocalypse and a couple commercials that we worked on were all animated using Flash. Mike and I got hands on experience, and now we’re coming back to CSUF to share the knowledge. The great thing about CSUF is that there are possibilities to learn EVERYWHERE. Learning doesn’t stop when the teacher leaves the room, because there are tons of great students here that help each other out. And it doesn’t just happen when you’re at school. Mike and Richard got me into contact with the studio owners and really helped me land the big gig.

This image is a little teaser shot of the introduction to THE BOMB 2007, which will be premiered at this year’s CSUF Film Festival! (See my early March post on The BOMB.) We used a lot of tricks we
learned from Titmouse on it! Shhh, don’t tell anybody you saw this.

That’s all for now. Have a great one folks!

Your pal,
Chris
TITMOUSE INC
METALOCALYPSE

CHRIS ALLISON, PART 5 (March Post)

Spring break is a time that makes everyone happy! For some students, it’s a time to return to see their families. For others a time to go on an
exciting trip away from campus. But over at the animation department, it’s
a time to catch up on work and relaxation.

First of all, I’d like to talk about the Brian Crosby event that I promised
everyone. Cal State Fullerton is proud to claim Brian Crosby as one of it’s
own who now work amongst the ranks of Disney’s Imagineering Department. Imagineers are a whole bunch of talented folks at Disney who come up with ideas for the parks and build them. All sorts of people are needed for this, including artists, architects, marketing folks and more! Brian started out doing comic books while still attending CSUF.

During his visit he discussed his transition from freelance artist to Disney professional.

(Ryan Gerrish, my colleague and fellow Pencil Mileage Club member, introduces Brian Crosby dressed in black.)

Brian talked about Disney’s annual Imagineer contest, which is how he got his foot into the door and really caught the attention of the professionals at
Disney. Brian’s visit was great. He even stopped to look at people’s portfolios afterwards!

Brian has such enthusiasm for CSUF that he took the time to come back and talk to students and even give us one-on-one feedback about
our own work to encourage us to give Imagineering a shot. He gives a lot of
credit for his success to the CSUF Visual Arts Department, but I think it
was also a combination of his great talent and hard work.

(Brian Crosby looking at some student portfolios.)

Second, I’d like to talk juggling. Yup, juggling. As an art student at Cal
State Fullerton, about half of your classes are outside of the art
department. Spooky, ain’t it? But don’t be scared! There are plenty of
animation students that do just great at juggling art and other classes.
Heck, we’re so good that some animation students even formed a juggling club just to show off.

But one of my concerns coming to Cal State Fullerton, was that I’d have to take all these required classes that don’t require me to draw anything to get the grade. How lame! I have to not only be a great artist, but
an academic as well? Preposterous! But my mind changed
quickly. I’ve taken some really great classes at Cal State Fullerton
outside of my major that I really enjoy. I think it’s a better-rounded
experience than an art college because we’re interacting and learning about
things outside of just art. These are all things that help to enrich me as
an artist, and fuel my creativity.

Your pal,
Chris
CSUF JUGGLING CLUB
DISNEY IMAGINEERING

COCONUTS AND CHICKEN FEATHERS VIDEO

Animators Miyuki Kanno and Matthew Long constructed this group show to display their animation projects over their years at Cal State Fullerton. One of the steps in the lengthy animation production process is the dialog test, in which pencil drawings and sound are combined into a short film. Miyuki was kind enough to share a couple of her tests for inclusion in this video to get an insight into the process. Enjoy.
COCONUTS AND CHICKEN FEATHERS

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 6

It looks like I’m a little late on this blog, but I have a good excuse! I’ve been swamped with homework. Last week in my computer assisted graphics class our project #2 changed into a real client based project! I’m excited about this one because I will be contributing my design sense to a poster, catalog and invitation. Two graduate exhibition design students are holding a show next fall that includes the work of seven women from in the states and internationally. For those of us taking this class for the second time, we get to create a poster for the exhibition. We will all be competing for the best one. The great thing is that my friend and I are going to be creating the catalog this summer so it will be a great addition to my resume and portfolio. So, if my poster doesn’t make it, I’ll still be working on the catalog.

By the way, I read last week's blog entry titled “Why Apply for a Scholarship?” posted by the Assistant Dean and I wanted to comment on my experiences on this subject. I can actually apply the importance of trying to get a scholarship or grant for my current situation in class. For our poster that we will be creating, we are going to use a process called silk-screen and in order to do this we need the funding for material such as ink and paper. With the assistance of one of the graduate students and my teacher, I wrote a 1,500 word grant proposal explaining the importance of funding for our project. If we get the grant, we won’t have to worry about funds.

In the past I have applied for financial aid through the FAFSA and I received a nice sum of money to afford my education at Cal State Fullerton. As for scholarships, I was fortunate enough to be awarded the John & Flora Olsen Scholarship for BFA students last fall. I really didn’t think I was going to win and I sent in my works of art and surprisingly received a congratulations letter and $600 in the mail! I always thought and worried about college expenses because I have to pay for a lot of them. My parents try to help, but with todays prices on everything it’s tough.

As Dean Harris writes, it’s so important to apply; don’t ever doubt yourself!

PS: the images attached to this post is one of my scholarship application submissions.

-Melissa :)

DANA TUSKEWICZ, CERAMICIST, PART 4

Last week about eight of us from ceramics took a trip to Louisville, Kentucky. Now why would we voluntarily sit packed like sardines in an airplane for hours to arrive at a place where all Starbuck’s close at 5 PM? Because of NCECA of course. NCECA stands for the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. It’s an annual conference that lasts for about four days. It involves a lot of visiting galleries, buying tools from venders, trying to score freebies from venders, getting information about grad schools, schmoozing, partying, dancing, not sleeping, partying some more, looking at more galleries and listening to charming and witty speakers (well they are usually charming and witty, but you can’t win every time right?).

I think I took a lot back from this trip. I feel very happy to be involved in such a friendly and supportive group of people known as potters, also commonly referred to (lovingly or not) as mud people, clay people, dirt people, etc. I think we really were able to bond with each other, and our professors and I think that it shows in the studio now that we are back. The environment is much more mellow and I feel as though there is a greater level of appreciation towards one another. Either from those that are happy we are back because the studio was so lonely, or from those of us that had to hang out with each other for four days straight!

As far as the conference’s influence on my work, I have mixed feelings about that. I think initially it left me feeling very disappointed and jaded and trying to point fingers at what was making me feel this way. I realized though, all this is in my control and I’m the one that needs to inspire myself to make work. So I guess it’s fair to say I’ve been pretty productive since I got back, and I guess I owe that to NCECA.

Oh, and by the way, the campus partially funded our trip. Yahoo! It wasn’t a lot, but every little bit helps.
NCECA

LOST, FOUND, AND/OR STOLEN VIDEO

I've uploaded the video from the two-man painting show in February. Chris Mancuso and Michael Nikolas exhibit their converging sensibilities and styles in this show, even showing a large-scale piece they collaborated on. Chris describes the working relationship near the end of the video. Working partnership. Collaboration. Synergy. Whatever you want to call it, it's here and it works.
LOST, FOUND, AND/OR STOLEN

WHY APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP?

I hope that my earlier prompt to review the Office of Financial Aid's scholarship link clued you into an important source of funding for your education: scholarships and grants. If you did review the list then you undoubtedly came across the Myrt Purkiss scholarship for first time freshman, and the Community College Transfer scholarship for transfer students--two scholarships I coordinate specifically for art students. Well, the deadline for both is soon approaching (April 23), so I guess
it's time to share the application with you.

You should have received a copy of the appropriate application in my weekly email. If you didn't email me and I'll send one off to you.

The application is self-explanatory so I won't review the requirements here (email me questions, however). What I want to say here is why you should channel some of your precious time into applying.

So, why apply for a scholarship? The number two reason to apply for a scholarship is the money. Both of these scholarships award students $1000. Now, if you win, you're up $1000 you didn't have before. Cool. On the other hand, you might be saying, $1000? That's barely 1/3 a year's worth of tuition. Why bother?

Indeed, why bother. Furthermore, the campus has all sorts of additional awards in
the $100 - $500 range you'll be able to compete for. $100? Again, why bother?

Glad you asked. The number one reason to apply for scholarships? Self promotion and seriousness. Another way to put it: winning--no matter the size of the check--looks great on a resume, and, it shows you are serious about your work and your ambitions.

Each one of you is pursuing art because your mom, a teacher--someone whose opinion you respect--thinks you are the world's next Rodin, Picasso, Cassatt--whomever. That support is a great confidence booster. However, that's not the sort of support you can place on a resume. What shines on a resume and what future employers like to see is that you are serious enough about your art to have applied for a scholarship or submitted work to an art competition and a group of impartial judges chose your work as the best. That's the sort of recognition that gets you additional awards, freelance jobs, and employment. The more acknowledgements of your talent you can collect, the better.

Lastly, I'll tell you that historically I don't get a lot of applications for
these two competitions. I'm hoping that based on this little speech, this year will be different. A very bad reason for not applying (and unfortunately, it's a common one) is the tendency of young artists to dismiss their ability. No matter who your are, and how talented you are, there's always going to be someone who's more talented or grabs more attention. The best way to respond to that, in my mind, is to work harder, continue developing your craft, and get your work out there in competitions and exhibitions. You'll eventually get noticed.

To bring this sermon down to Earth, in the applied arts--graphic design, illustration, animation--sheer talent will take you far. But talent + a strong work ethic will take you even farther. Think about it: if you are producing an animated feature and a deadline is drawing near, you're going to hire the freelancer who will put in consistent 16 hour days for a month than the flaky star animator who had the ideas that launched the project, but who may or may not
show up for work.

Okay, enough already. Just apply. The money's good: the job and art therapy is better.

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 5

Busy, busy, busy! I’m in full swing with classes and projects galore. My graphic design class is my favorite even though we always have a lot of work. As I was talking about last week, we have to create a 3D design. For our homework we have to construct two of our best ideas using cheap computer paper--sort of a mock up of what the final would look like. I have this really cute idea of creating a box that’s in the shape of a bumble bee. The box will be constructed with black paper and the yellow stripes on it I’m going to cut out and put a transparency behind them. Basically, when a person looks at the box they can see yellow jelly beans inside the container. My idea is to call them “Jelly Bees.” I figure, there are gummy worms out there so why not candy bees?

For computer graphics we haven’t started our next project yet, but we will be constructing a website that will focus on music. It’s a group project and the few people who are taking the class a second time are going to work on it together. It will be good experience to focus on a team effort. I’ll fill you all in on how it’s coming along. Eventually it should be up and running by the end of the semester.

-Melissa :)

REFRESH VIDEO

For those of you who missed the art department's faculty show last fall, you can catch it here thanks to my entrepid videographer, Ami. The show's title was Refresh--an apt title in my opinion. Not every faculty member exhibited work, but every area is represented. Enjoy.
REFRESH

DANA TUSKEWICZ, CERAMICIST, PART 3

Every Spring semester we take the same field trip in ceramics. We do the following, in the exactly the same order, every time: see the AMOCA show in Pomona, walk around the corner to the Armstrong gallery, drive up to Claremont, see the Annual Scripps College show, and go out to dinner. This year was better because we finally got to see the Marer collection that’s in the basement at Scripps. For those who don’t know what the Marer collection is, allow me to enlighten you.


Fred Marer has a huge collection of art, mainly ceramics, that is now housed in the basement at Scripps college. It is the greatest thing in the world because you can actually pick up the work. There are literally boxes and boxes of ceramics. You open a filing cabinet drawer and there is more ceramics. It’s crazy because you can dig through a box , pick up a huge Peter Voulkos platter, and not be kicked out like you would if you were at say, LACMA, or any other such place. To be honest, I kind of, sort of, almost dropped the lid of a Phil Cornelious piece. The guy that was taking us through the collection wasn’t even mad, he just laughed and said something along the lines of, “that’s exactly what Phil has done, turned a piece over to look at the bottom and forgot there was a lid on it.” Seeing the Marer collection made my day, possibly even my week. Go see it. It's worth the drive.

Until next time
Dana

SCRIPPS COLLEGE GALLERY
FRED MAHER COLLECTION
AMOCA

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 4

Well, it finally got to me. Everyone around me was getting it and I thought I could avoid it. I got sick! I’m almost better now, but I missed a class and work this week because of this cold. It just so happens that this week has been one of the busiest yet and I wasn’t feeling up to par. For photo class we have to shoot and get our film developed by Monday and I was thinking, when was I going to be able to take my pictures, let alone develop them! It’s really difficult to go to school and work part time and I’m amazed by those who work and go to school on a full time schedule. Kudos to them! The thing with photo, for any of you out there interested, most places that develop film are closed on the weekend, which makes it more difficult for we students. But hey, I improvised and I’m going to be okay.

In special studies class my teacher liked the book I created to hold my logos. I just have to take out a few logos and add some in and then I’m good. For our next project we can chose between a postcard, a poster or a 3D design. I’m going to do the 3D design and work on a candy box. In the beginning stages, we have to work on our concept by choosing words that describe our topic. For my candy topic I picked gooey, sweet and tasty. From those words, we have to formulate at least 25 good ideas. I was having trouble with this, but I think I might just be getting the hang of it so I don’t have to stress out too much this weekend.

Till next time,
Melissa :)

CHRIS ALLISON, PART 4

Howdy Future Titan folks!

Just this last weekend we had an exciting event! It was the BOMB, an event
put on by the Pencil Mileage Club. The bomb is an event where lots of
students from the animation department (and anybody else who is curious)
come together to create a short collaborative film. We all cram into the
animation room the whole weekend, working in cramped spaces with little food
or water… Just like the pros!

How it works is that everyone turns in cards with arrows showing how they
want the bomb to enter and exit their animation. Then we string these cards
together so that the bomb will look as though it’s sequentially going from
shot to shot. What happens in the middle is left up to each artist! Some
are funny, some are action packed, but all of them are pretty fun to watch!

Traditionally, the officers animate the beginning and ending to the bomb
(the explosion). I worked on the introduction this year, and it’s been a
tradition that every year the officers come up with something new and
interesting. I can’t wait to show it off, it’ll be exciting!

The BOMB is shown at the end of the year film festival, and people really
look forward to it. I’ll keep you guys updated on when the film festival is
in case anyone would like to come out!

Adios banditos!

Your pal,
Chris

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 3

This past week has been filled with finishing up the first project of the semester for each class. My logos are due next week and I’m really excited about how I’m going to present them to the teacher. He said we have to present it as we would to a future employer and suggested we make a little booklet of our logos that we’ve done. This weekend I’m having my logos printed and geting the right paper for the cover. I’m thinking something textured and bright orange or pink to draw attention.

My other class that I haven’t been able to talk about yet is 483E Computer Assisted Graphics. This is the second time I’ve taken it. That’s what’s really great about taking classes here. I can take some classes up to 3 or 4 times if I’m really interested in the subject and have them qualify as elective classes. In 483E last semester we started with an HTML site and finished up with using Flash. I started just understanding it toward the end of the semester and I was so interested in learning about it that I decided to take the class again to really learn it better and produce some creative websites. For our first project we are competing in an Anti-AIDS promotional piece held in Ukraine! It’s exciting to be apart of it and I’m pleased with my design so far. We had the option of creating a poster or an animation. I stuck with doing print based material and I’m just finishing the final toches. In two weeks, we are going to send them off to Ukraine to be judged by the panel. I have a working example of the poster, but it still needs a couple of things fixed.

Till next time,
Melissa :)

DANA TUSKEWICZ, PART 2

This week has been hell for me. Right now I’m trying to get a plaster mold ready so that I can slip cast some heads I’ve made. I have a crit (that is, critique) in sculpture in one week and I feel as though I am nowhere near ready. I made the mold on Friday and today is Monday and it is still not dry enough to slip cast into. I’ve tried pouring the slip into it but when I take the mold apart the piece keeps ripping. Our professor Nobu told me to speed up the drying time I need to circulate air around the mold. So last night I had two fans blowing on it all night, but it still hasn’t helped. All day today, I’ve been asking for advice in the studio. Shana, one of the grad students told me to try putting it in the microwave, but that just seems disastrous. Then I’ve been told to leave it out by the furnace in glass, then someone else said just leave it in a kiln that isn’t lit, and then someone said just abandon the mold and use actual baby doll heads. I’ll see what happens. Right now my roommate put the mold in the oven on low, on convection setting. I figure if it’s not dry enough by tomorrow then I’ll go to plan B. Then plan C. Then plan D and so on and so forth. Worst case scenario, I’ll go to the 99 cent store and buy a bunch of baby heads and spray paint them. It will be embarrassing to turn in such crap at the crit, but luckily our sculpture teacher, Jim, lets us resubmit pieces throughout the semester. So, at some point in life this piece I’m making is going to have the slip cast porcelain heads I so desire.

Dana

DANA TUSKEWICZ, CERAMICS STUDENT: PART 1

My name is Dana and I’ve been doing ceramics for the past seven years. The last three have been at Cal State Fullerton. To be honest, Cal State Fullerton was my last choice of university to transfer to. I had originally planned on going to Cal State Long Beach because I had been told they had a really good ceramics program. I changed my mind about Cal State Long Beach because the competition scared me. What sold me on Cal State Fullerton was, I was told you could drive right up to the back of the ceramics building and load your car so that’s where I went. I’m really glad that I came here though. There are enough kilns that you can do your own firing at least once a week. There is 24-hour access to the entire studio, which is perfect if you find it too distracting to work during class time. I think that the studio has a very friendly, almost family atmosphere. I think rather than competing with each other, we actually support each other.

The art department here has a great vibe. Every semester I meet some really great friends that are fun to hang out with and fun to make art with.

By the way, you can see some of my work and in interview with me in the Diversity in Clay video (link at bottom).

Until next week,
Dana
DIVERSITY IN CLAY

MELISSA GRANILLO, PART 2

So last week I’m going to my Special Studies class and I see some people standing outside of the class who say, “Class is dismissed today.” I thought bummer, I just drove all the way here. I tell them good-bye, see ya next week and I see another person in my class and I tell him class was canceled too. At this point I’m gunning it to my car thinking, “Hooray! I get a free afternoon!” Hah, little did I not know class was not canceled. It was quite funny actually. After I left the parking lot and rounded my way toward Yorba Linda Blvd. I got a call from my friend from class who told me everyone was there. Moral of the story: Make sure you check the note on the door to make sure that YOUR class was the one that was cancelled and not another one. Luckily, I found parking and made it back to class.

Since then, I’ve been working on the first project for my graphic design class. We are supposed to create a logo. I’ve chosen to create one for a made-up yoga studio that I named “ReJuv Yoga.” I’m glad I took Prof. John Drew design class. I utilized a lot of techniques I learned in that class to create this logo. My favorite methods so far have been using a modular system, overprinting, and creating a 3D plane. I’m really trying to go for a gestalt look, but I’m not succeeding all that well so far. It’s a tough method to get, but hopefully I’ll get it. I’ve been creating all my logos in Illustrator and some have been hand drawn then scanned into the computer. I find I work best with vector based programs.

Anyway, I’m off to create more logos for this Wednesday. So far I’ve done close to 200!

Eat, sleep and dream design.

Till next time,
Melissa :)

CHRIS ALLISON, PART 3

Ahoy there future Titans!

This past week was a busy one! Papers were flying in an animation storm as
I finished up the animation for a project that I am working on for
Nickelodeon Studios. Based upon the sheer talent and performance of CSUF
alumni, Nickelodeon came to our school with a pitch contest. The
competition was to see who could come up with a funny minute long short to
be funded by Nickelodeon. The great folks over at Nickelodeon selected my
idea, as well as the pitches from my two buddies Sean Kreiner and Mike
Williams.

It’s been a great opportunity for me as an art student to see this project
from start to finish. I first had to do storyboards and character designs,
working with network executives to see what they liked, and how their
process works. Now I know the expectations of what they’re looking for in a
storyboard artist and a character designer as well as a director.

I’ve got lots of experience directing from this project. First, I got to
direct professional voice actors Tara Strong, voice of Fairly Odd Parents
and countless other shows, and Conchata Ferrell, who’s in a lot of Adam
Sandler films. Look ‘em up! Also, I got to direct students who helped me
with a bunch of facets of the project, from layouts and painting backgrounds
to animation and cleanup/coloring. And finally this week, I went into
Nickelodeon Studios twice! I’ve worked with one of Nickelodeon’s talented
editors, and a musician who is going to do an original score for my film!
Super sweet!

The funniest thing about going to Nickelodeon was that while I was being
given a tour, I couldn’t go 2 minutes without bumping into somebody that I
knew from CSUF. There are so many graduates there from our program that
it’s just like a continuation of college with all my old friends in the same
place, as well as some new ones too. I can see myself feeling quite at home
working at Nickelodeon! They even have free bagels in the morning, and
classes sometimes during lunch lead by really talented artists!

I’ll keep you guys updated on how the project comes along, and some of my
experiences along the way. This is just one of the opportunities that Cal
State Fullerton has provided me to actively get involved in the professional
world. Stay tooned, and I’ll be talking about a whole lot more!

Oh, and feel free to shoot off any questions you have! I don’t bite (unless
I run out of Easy Mac… then I get really hungry).

Your pal,
Chris
TARA STRONG
CONCHATA FERRELL

INTRODUCING MELISSA GRANILLO, GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDENT

Hello all! My name is Melissa Granillo and I’m senior Graphic Design student at CSUF. I’ve never written on a blog before but I'm am looking forward to sharing my artistic experience.

I transferred here from Saddleback College in Fall 2005. Being at a Cal State is a big step up from a junior college, but the transition was nice. I actually started my college life at Saddleback in 2001, where I spent the next four years wondering what I was going to do with my life! I was so confused as I’m sure we all have been fresh out of high school. After trying classes in nursing, interior design and English, I found my major: ART! At Saddleback I got my AA in Studio Art and that’s when I decided to further my education at CSUF. I knew that I didn’t want to travel too far from home and I heard great things about CSUF’s design program, so I made the decision to trek 4 days a week, 35 miles away, and 1 hour in traffic from my home in Laguna Hills to the city of Fullerton.

After a year and a half at this school, I’ve grown fond of the campus, friends, and classes. It’s hard for me to adapt to new places because I’m a shy person. I’m happy that I’ve learned to open up a bit more. I got in an art show in the Titan Student Union in Fall 2005 and received a scholarship this past fall. I even found my first graphic design internship through the career center here!

Going to school full time and working part time doesn’t leave much room for too much leisure time, but I always manage to squeeze some in for hanging out with my boyfriend and other friends. Currently I do design contract work for a company in Irvine and right now I’m taking a Special Studies class, Computer Assisted Graphics and Creative Photography.

I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on in those classes and classes that I have taken in the past. Hopefully those who read this will get some info about some great classes, design techniques, teacher’s advice that I’ve taken to heart and a little bit of my own piece of mind.

Cheers,
Melissa :)

CHRIS ALLISON, PART 2

Hiiiiiyo! Chris here. Remember me? I’m the first-year senior you met last week.
Yup, you read that right. “First year senior.” With so many classes to take, I don’t think four years will be enough. Shhh… don’t tell my parents.

The first week of school is past! Cal State Fullerton
doesn’t miss a beat. We’re really hitting the ground running, as I’m
already working on a fun project to be seen by Disney artists. Cal State
Fullerton participates in the ACME program (www.acmeanimation.org), a
non-profit organization that brings professionals working in the industry
together with students to talk about the student’s work. Every Thursday,
our class goes to the bottom of the library to teleconference with pros
(usually on their lunch break) from a plethora of studios, from feature film
to television to games to you name it. Last week, two story artists from
Disney’s new Short Film department came in to talk to students about a
challenge they issued on ACME. Students broadcasted their artwork and got
comprehensive critiques from the professionals. I’m particularly excited
about these two individuals because I’d like to become a story artist
myself. They gave critiques of artwork and will be back in a month to check
up on us.

ACME is great because it puts you into contact with the professionals who
you’re looking to get hired by. They get to see your face, you talk with
them, and you hear straight from the horse’s mouth what skill sets they’re
looking for in a prospective future employee. It’s a great program and it
really makes Cal State Fullerton unique in that there is a strong bond
between the academic sector and the professional industry that you might not
find at other campuses.

Back to the drawing board! I don’t want to disappoint these Disney folks!

Your pal,
Chris
ACME ANIMATION

INTRODUCING CHRIS ALLISON FROM ANIMATION

Hello faithful Cal State Fullerton Visual Arts blog readers! My name is
Chris Allison, and I’m a senior majoring in Entertainment Arts/animation.
I’ll tell you a little about my history before I came to this beautiful
campus.

I grew up in sunny San Diego, staying in doors most of my time drawing funny
doodles on my chemistry homework. I’ve been known to go surfing, but could
not shake my milky complexion. I was fortunate enough to have an animation
class in high school with a wonderful teacher, Paul Messerle. He showed me
a brand new form of art that I quickly fell in love with and wanted to
continue pursuing in college. So here I am!

Here are some quick highlights since I’ve been on campus. Currently, I’m
president of the Pencil Mileage Club, the largest student club on
campus. I participate in the ACME system here on campus, a program that
puts me in contact with industry pros to talk about my work, and how I can
improve (more on that in my next post). Last summer, I had an internship at Titmouse Studios working on the show Metalocalypse for Adult Swim. Finally, I’m just finishing up a
short film for Nickelodeon that I pitched to them and essentially tricked
them into paying me to produce it. Life is grand, ain’t it?

In the future, I’ll be talking about events, student life, and other cool
stuff that’s going around our campus and community. Stay tooned!

Your pal,
Chris

FEB. 3: FIRST SATURDAY NIGHT OF THE MONTH

Hey! The first Saturday night of the month is this weekend! That’s party night for the visual arts at CSU Fullerton! Time to get out and feast your eyes, ears, and belly!

Say huh?

Let me explain. As a developing artist, each of you has got to jump through the requisite hoops to eventually become a practicing, self-supporting artist: classes, assignments, promoting your work, graduating, networking, coping with denials, exhibiting your work, and so forth. But being an artist isn’t only about work, sitting crumpled up in front of the computer, canvas, or wheel, hoping to birth the next greatest thing (or at least something to earn some cash). There’s fun involved as well and becoming a regular patron of local art scenes is a great way to entertain yourself, while at the same time learning what your peers are up to. Fortunately for you, as an artist who’s currently cultivating your creative juices, you already possess all the credentials you need for entrance into the various art scenes in So Cal. And art scenes we have, including Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, as well as scenes in Laguna Beach, La Jolla, and other cities. North Orange County is lucky enough to have a growing art scene right in nearby Santa Ana that CSU Fullerton can rightfully claim cornerstone status.

A couple of years ago the university partnered with the City of Santa Ana to restore an old building in downtown to act as the cornerstone of a rejuvenation effort. Santa Ana wanted an arts village in downtown and CSUF was to have a starring role. The building, Grand Central Art Center, is a combination residence, gallery, and exhibition space that houses graduate-level visual arts students. The first Saturday of the month, the village and GCAC open up at night for the community. GCAC usually opens one or two exhibits on that night so there’s a pretty hefty crowd of artists, groupies, and other arts vampires hanging out, eating, and listening to live music.

This Saturday night is the night, so I want to extend an invitation to you to come check out the arts scene in Santa Ana. I’ve placed a link at the bottom to the GCAC description of the two shows it is opening (one of them is a collection of safety equipment for pets!), though there’s plenty of other stuff to see in the village. I have another university event to attend that evening so I can’t make it, nor have I planned any gathering for you. I will, however, do so for the Saturday, March 3 opening. But don’t put off your visit until then. I'm really not that big of a draw. If you’ve got some free time Saturday night, I encourage you to spend some time cruising the village and enjoying your developing immersion in the So Cal arts scene.

PS: Below I include a link to info on Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, a destination I encourage you to visit as well, but on another Saturday night.
FEBRUARY 3 GCAC OPENING SHOWS
GCAC DIRECTIONS
BERGOMOT STATION

CREATURES EXHIBITION

Illustration and Animation major, Erika Chan, exhibited some of her work in December in the Exit Gallery. She displays many of the sorts of class projects illustration and animation majors work on, such as character development and backgrounds, as well as some watercolors and other paintings. Enjoy
CREATURES
ERIKA CHAN

FINANCIAL AID, PART 2

Part 1 was posted on January 26, 2007.

Three, grants and loans. If you are seeking a loan or a grant you must complete the FAFSA. Many state and federal grants exist, the PELL grant and State University Grant being the most commonly offered CSUF programs. Grant funds are “free” money, that is, money that has no repayment obligation. Only loans must be repaid. The Office of Financial Aid awards more than $40 million in grants every year (grants comprise just under half of all monies awarded). All grants have a need basis, which means the higher an applicant's financial need (usually, the lowest family income) the more likely he/she will receive funds, and funds sufficient to cover expenses. The Financial Aid website has materials that can help you figure out your expenses (link at bottom).

Some students may figure that their financial situation is such that they'll be ineligible for aid. Materials on the Financial Aid website can help you make that determination. However, one reason why you may want to complete the FAFSA anyway is loan availability.

Four, loans. A greater and greater percentage of financial aid is in the form of loans. Anyone (well, just about anyone) can get a student loan no matter one’s financial situation. Probably all you who apply for aid will at minimum be offered a loan (you don't have to accept it). Sometimes parents choose to accept a loan even though education affordability isn't an issue because the loan is interest-free, or low interest, and to assist in money management.

CSUF awards in excess of $50 million in loans each year.

Five, deadlines. DO NOT MISS THE MARCH 2 FAFSA DEADLINE. This deadline is a priority deadline, which means anyone who makes this deadline gets first priority in aid. The majority of grant funds will go to these applicants, though some funds are held back for the stragglers. To repeat, don't miss the March 2 deadline. If you do miss it, however, apply anyway for a small amount of funds are reserved for those who miss the deadline (banks are always willing to give out a loan!). The Office of Financial Aid begins packaging loans and grants in early April, so the goal is that those who meet the March 2 deadline will learn in April how much aid they can expect.

Lastly, some stats to ponder: 40% of CSUF students accept some form of aid (grants, loans, scholarships, workstudy). The other 60% may have not applied for aid or refused the aid offered (some applicants won’t accept loans). The average recipient receives in excess of $7,000. The good thing about that figure is that with annual tuition at $3000, most aid recipients have their CSUF tuition covered for the year. The downside is that this average student can't possibly pay for 9 months of rent, gasoline, and food with the remaining $4000. On the other hand, the typical aid package the Office of Financial Aid offers a student covers 75% of a student’s official need (read Part 1 on need).

I encourage you to explore the Financial Aid website. The site has many helpful resources (especially the FAQ and Publications sections) to assist in in applying for aid.

OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AID

100 YEARS EXIT GALLERY EXHIBITION

Loriann Hernandez and Carla Roque exhibited some of their work in the Exit Gallery in November. Here is a video of their work. Carla is an illustration major, Loriann a drawing and painting major. If you've ever aspired to painting on odd objects such as sinks and cardboard boxes, check it out.
100 YEARS

FINANCIAL AID, PART 1

I like it when applicants are thinking and planning ahead. One applicant sent me a question about financial aid prospects, so here's what I can share with you.

First, separate in your mind scholarships from all the other aid categories I'll mention (grants and loans). Scholarship are offered by offices on this campus for CSUF students, as well as off-campus organizations that may limit recipients to CSUF students or award any qualified student. A great resources for the latter is fastweb.com. Register and then search all you want for scholarship appropriate for yourself. As for scholarships limited to CSUF students, check out the CSUF Financial Aid website (link is below). Click on the "Scholarship" link on the left to scan the appropriate scholarship. Some scholarships have been organized by College (visual arts students are in the College of the Arts), while others are open to any CSUF student. Be sure to scan all the appropriate categories.

For those interested in CSUF scholarships for visual arts students, you'll want to read about the Myrt Purkiss scholarship and the Junior Transfer scholarship. The deadlines for those are in April and I will be emailing applications to you in late March.

One item to remember about scholarships is that they are often merit based as opposed to financial need based. When you read through a scholarship description pay attention to those two bases. If the scholarship is need-based you'll need to find out how an applicant provides financial (income and assets) information. You may be able to provide that informally on the application, but in many cases university's want official financial information. If the scholarship is merit based than no financial information should be required.

Two, so how does one provide official financial information? By completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Any CSUF scholarship competition that has a need component is going to require a completed FAFSA. You can complete that online (link is below). The FAFSA compiles parental and student financial information. The Office of Financial Aid takes the FAFSA information and computes your financial need based on a "cost of attendance" (tuition, food, housing, etc.) figure it sets each year. For example, the cost of attendance for a commuter is approximately $11,000, $15,000 if living on-campus, and $17,000 if living in an apartment. (Check out the Aid Publication link below.)

For those of you who are dependants, a major part of the FAFSA application is providing 2006--yes, 2006--tax information for your parents. That mean's your parents need to begin working on their taxes now rather than April 14. If your parent's haven't finished their taxes by the deadline (March 2), tentative data can be provided. But come April 15, that tentative data needs to be updated.

CSUF awards over $4 million in scholarships every year.

I think that's everything on scholarship, other than that I encourage you to apply to any and all for which you are eligible.

Part 2 next week.

OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AID
FAFSA

COMMUNICATING EXIT GALLERY EXHIBIT

In November, Ryan Bubion, a graphic design AND creative photography major (definitely not going to graduate in 4 years) exhibited his work in the Exit Gallery. One of the things I like about Ryan is the diversity of media he works with. Which is probably why he donated one wall to allow his buddies to exhibit some styrofoam torsos on which they had subjected their creative forces. Enjoy.
COMMUNICATING

FAQ REGARDING INTERNSHIPS

I had a question about internships that I thought I'd answer. None of you will encounter this bridge for awhile, but I also know that students (and their parents/guardians) are also wondering about job prospects in the arts. So, it makes sense to ask about opportunities to get a first-hand experience in your selected industry while still a student. Passion supposedly fuels artists, but a paycheck every once in awhile certainly doesn't hurt. An internship is a first step towards that first paycheck.

A couple of the BFA programs require an internship in the industry, though any art major can arrange one. As you might guess, an internship is great way to learn "The Business" and begin networking with peers and professionals. One of the great advantages of CSUF's location is its proximity to one of the media capitols of the world--Los Angeles. The high density of small and large companies within this industry located nearby means you've got your pick of assignments among the major players in animation, graphic design, and illustration.

You may have heard about individuals getting an internship, which was nothing more complicated than answering telephones and taking messages for some executive. You won't hear that story from any of our students. Whatever your concentration, as an intern you will be applying every day you're on the job the tools you've developed in the classroom.

Dana Lamb, a professor in the animation program, coordinates the department's internship program. I have pasted below his FAQ on internships. Here is a link to a statement from a CSUF alumnus (Justin Ridge) who's working at LucasFilm right now. Justin recognizes Dana as one of his mentors.
DANA LAMB KUDO


Q.) What are the pre-requisites for the 495 Internship Course?
A.) You must be in your junior or senior year and be a registerd BFA major in your discipline.

Q.) How do I find a company to work in as an intern?
A.) 1.) Register with the Career Center and Center For Internships on campus. They have a huge database of companies that need interns in all areas. 2.) Talk to your fellow students and find out where they did their internship. 3.) Look through the reports of past interns kept in the Art Dept. Office and copy down the names, phone numbers, and addresses of potential employers. 4.) Research companies in your major on the web 5.) Be innovative, go to trade magazines for your discipline, call on companies and ask their advice, be aggressive, this is your life and future!

Q.) When should I start looking?
A.) Ideally, at least one month before you are registered to begin your internship class. Plan on sending your resume and cover letter to at least 20-30 companies so you have many options to choose from and aren’t forced into taking the first internship you are offered.

Q.) How many hours do I commit to?
A.) You are required to complete a minimum of 150 hours during the semester. You may work more than that, but any less and you may not pass the course.

Q.) Do I ask to be paid for my work as an intern?
A.) Yes. It is not required, however. Let’s say you have an opportunity to work in a prestigious company that will look particularly impressive on your resume and/or will help you make contact with leaders in your field. Although they may not pay their interns, keep in mind that this opportunity may help you advance farther and at a quicker pace in the long run as you build your career.

Q.) How much money should I ask for?
A.) Companies that pay their interns are generally comfortable with $7-$12 an hour. Remember, learning to negotiate your wages and work benefits are part of the learning experience.

Q.) Any tips on meeting with a potential internship employer?
A.) Here are a couple:

1.) Do as much research about the company as possible. Know what they do, projects they have worked on, awards they have received, find out who’s-who in the company if at all possible. They will be flattered and impressed.

2.) Present your work in an organized, professional fashion. Cluttered, messy work that is presented out of sequence shows a lack of respect for the interviewer and an equal lack of respect for your own work.

3.) Put in only your best work, don’t show them everything you ever made since grade school, only the most professional-looking projects that you have completed.

4.) Quality, not quantity. They don’t have time to look at 30-50 projects. By the first 15 they will have determined whether you know your stuff. (Average portfolio has about 12-24 pieces.)

5.) Dress for success. You don’t have to look like a banker, but leave the college-dorm look at home. Chewing gum, headphones, heavy metal t-shirts, or beer breath won’t impress anyone.

6.) Don’t talk too much. It’s easy to start babbling, so try to let the work speak for itself. Don’t apologize for or point out weaknesses in your portfolio. Pick out your best stuff and let it do the talking.

7.) Prepare a list of questions based on your research about the company, it’s philosophy, it’s goals, etc. This will show that you know about them and have an eye on the future of their company.

WHEN WILL I BE ADMITTED? PART 2

Part 1 was posted January 5.

Fifth, the other issue that may affect your admission is the location of your residence (this applies only to first-time freshmen—those with no college experience). Review the section titled “CSU Eligibility” on the website I pointed you to in Part 1. Note that out-of-state applicants must meet a higher eligibility index, as do applicants who live “outside the local area.” The idea behind this is that impacted CSU campuses have been designated as the primary campus for high schools in close proximity. For example, any high school graduate who lives in San Diego has first dibs on San Diego State University; everyone else has second priority. So, what is the local area for CSUF? I know that all high schools in Orange County are in the local area, as well as a few communities in LA county (sorry, don’t know which ones). So, if you live outside the local area you will need to meet a higher index (sorry, don’t know what that threshold is).

Transfer students don’t have to worry about meeting an index, nor about whether they reside in the “local area.” Basically, if you—the transfer applicant—will complete your 60 transferable units by the end of the spring term (including your “golden four”), as well as have a GPA in excess of 2.00, you’re in. Simple as that.

A couple more items. It is Admissions’ goal to have all first-time freshman applicants admitted by early May, which they’ll meet by admitting 13,000+. Transfer’s are being admitted now as well, but more of them will be admitted after May, even into the summer.

Lastly, failing an A-G class required for admission in your final high school term will more than likely lead to losing your admittance to CSUF. Note that I said A-G class. Not that I’m encouraging you to fail a class, but your status won’t be jeopardized if you fail either an A-G class that is over and above your required 15, or an elective that is not an A-G. In general, the campus does not allow admits to make up failed courses during the summer. So, take now whatever medicine you need to avoid the dreaded “Senioritis” if you want to retain your admittance.

For those of you who are admitted, sometime in March or April the campus will mail you information on the new student orientation required of all new students. The campus wants you to commit to CSUF by May 15. You do that by signing up for an orientation day in June or July. There is some nominal fee to attend, but I’ll cover orientation in a future post.

Okay, I think that’s it. But if I’m missing something important that you are obsessing about, let me know and I’ll respond.

LEUNG AND ENDA JEWELRY SHOW VIDEO

For all you 3D artists, jewelry aficionados, and those who just like to stare at shiny stuff, I've uploaded a video of the Exit Gallery exhibition of Yoshie Enda and Catherine Leung. This is not the sort of jewelry you'll find hocked by your local mall jewelry salesperson. Not the 20 caret blinding rock type that Christina Aguilera received from her beau. I'm talking headturning, "I've never seen anything like that before can you you make one for me too?" type artwork. I believe Yoshie is a crafts concentration, a concentration that encompasses a vast range of mediums, but at CSUF the emphasis is on jewelry. Check it out.
JEWELRY SHOW

WHEN WILL I BE ADMITTED? PART 1

I've been fielding questions from those of you eagerly awaiting an official yes or no on your application as to just when to expect that official yes or no. So, in the interests of bureaucratic transparency I'll share what I know about the admissions process.

First of all, you should know that I have no role in the admission process. On this campus, admissions decisions are made in the Office of Admissions rather than at the departmental or college level. (Having just used "college" in this way, a way potentially unfamiliar to you, let me clarify. Cal State Fullerton is a university that has fragmented its academic areas into eight colleges. As a visual arts major you will be located in the College of the Arts, as opposed to the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, or the College of Humanities.) So, as much as I would like to receive free chocolates and Lakers tickets from you all, such a gift won't help you get admitted because Admissions doesn't really care how I feel about you. So no matter how poetically I might wax about any one of you to an Admissions evaluator, it won't help.

Second, the campus will receive about 45,000 applications for approximately 4000 first year slots and 5000 upper division transfer slots. I tell you that hoping you'll understand that Admissions can't process all its applications over a weekend, even if submitted electronically. So patience is appreciated.

Third, as of mid-December about 20% of the applications had been evaluated and offers made--or not made. Some of you have already been admitted. Today, I came across one visual arts applicant who had applied the second week of October and was admitted the third week of October. Which demonstrates that CSUF has a rolling admission process. That is, rather than announcing the entire admit pool on a single day in, say March, Admissions admits as it evaluates.

Fourth, in general applications are evaluated in the order received (October applicants early, November applicants later), but also dependent upon whether they are complete (no test scores or transcripts or other required materials outstanding). If a document is outstanding that will delay the final decision. You ask, How do I know if I've turned in all my documents? I hope you all know the answer to that: sign in to your portal account at the CSUF home site and find out first hand. Admissions mails you notification of any outstanding documents, as well as posts that information on your portal account. Campus staff would all like to do away with snail mail and route all correspondence using email, but our attorneys just won't allow it. So, in general whatever you receive via snail mail will also arrive via the portal or email.

Gosh, this is getting long. I'm going to stop here and post part II early next week. No really, I promise! In the meantime, if you haven't already, go check out your portal account. All you need is your CWID and your PIN, which you should already have received in a letter from Admissions acknowledging receipt of your application.

Also, in Part 2 I'll be referencing this website, which you can visit this weekend.
QUALIFYING FOR ADMISSION

BELLIGERANT EXHIBITION VIDEO

I've posted a video of the Belligerant exhibition from last October. I haven't posted much graphic design work yet but I'll at least point out that Brigid Burke, a graduating graphic design major, is highlighted in this video. Enjoy.
BELLIGERANT

TITAN MAGAZINE ARTICLE ON ANIMATION ALUMNI

For those of you who attended "Refresh" you probably heard Cliff Cramp tell about the animation program's internship program and success at placing graduates into jobs. One of the examples that comes to my mind is Jennifer Woods, a recent grad who had a summer internship at Nickelodeon, which subsequently turned into a full time job there. For those with creative talent, a strong work ethic, (and just as important) a drive for self-promotion, that kind of stuff can definitely happen.
JENNIFER WOODS


The campus's "Titan Magazine" did a recent cover story on some of our animation graduates. Pictured here is CSUF graduate Hans Dastrup, an animator on the film "Robots." Below is a link to the article plus examples of CSUF student animation. For those of you considering animation, the student samples are the sorts of projects you'll be producing in class.
TOP DRAWER

4-PERSON DRAWING & PAINTING SHOW

In late September four of our BFA drawing and painting students put on a show in the Exit Gallery. Here is a video of the work, plus interviews with some of the artists.
FOUR PERSON D&P SHOW

72 HOUR BOMB COMPLETE BUT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Every year the Pencil Mileage Club hosts The Bomb, a weekend-long animation scramble in which animation students generate a film about a bomb in a weekend. It's just one of the many, many events the PMC put on annually. For animators who are always under the gun when on a job, the event is good practice in generating lots of material in a short amount of time. Here is a link to the Daily Titan article about the weekend. I hope to post last year's Bomb entry soon.
THE BOMB - DAILY TITAN ARTICLE

REFRESH AND STUDENTS A HIT!

On Sunday night seventy-five people braved the Santa Ana breezes to meet with and interrogate faculty members, view "Refresh," the faculty show that closes on Friday, and tour the various studios in the department. I want to thank each of you for coming out. From my perspective, I thought it was a great success. I hope you thought so too.

Cliff Cramp (pictured) led an hour-long (was it actually longer??) tour of the illustration and animation studios, highlighting the Maya lab. Nobuhito Nishigawara and John Leighton hosted the half dozen or so 3D artists. Chen Wang led the graphic designers through the various computer labs and discussed the design works in the gallery. Don Lagerberg competed with Cliff on longest and most humorous tour as he took a large group into his painting and drawing studio. And department chair, Larry Johnson, guided the creative photography students through the labs, processing spaces, and display cases of student work.

It just so happened that one of the persons helping me, a grad student in illustration, was exhibiting her work in the West Gallery, so visitors got to see some graduate level work too. In addition, an undergrad was exhibiting in the Exit gallery so they enjoyed that as well (that video will be posted early next year).

I think my only concern is that I didn't give you enough time to eat. Oh well.

For those of you who missed the evening, and those who attended who want more, additional events are planned for the winter months. I'll post on that as the dates approach. I also plan to post a video of the show in January.

Anyway, thanks for coming. I hope you found it valuable.

Link to Cliff Cramp's illustration web site.
CLIFF CRAMP ILLUSTRATION

"DIVERSITY IN CLAY" EXHIBITION

I've posted to Google Video the second in my series of videos of Exit Gallery shows. One of the first shows this season was a collective effort of a dozen or so ceramics students titled "Diversity in Clay." For you 3D artists (and anyone else who's ever dared spin clay on a wheel), I hope you enjoy.
DIVERSITY IN CLAY