Emmy Rice, graphic design instructor, stands next to a display of shampoo designs made by her students in King Hall Tuesday afternoon. Prior to teaching in Emporia, Rice taught graphic design at Kansas State. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin

Emmy Rice, Emporia State’s newest instructor of graphic arts, is bringing fresh ideas to the art department in the form of web design for artists.

Before arriving at ESU, Rice was a graphic arts teacher at Kansas State, her alma mater, but she decided to come to ESU for the contrasting opportunities it offered.

“(I came to ESU) because it was a great opportunity, nice community and had small class sizes,” Rice said.

Rice’s experience at K-State with larger class sizes was one of the things the art department liked about Rice, said Patrick Martin, associate professor of glass blowing and interim chair of the art department.

Another thing that set her apart from the other candidates was the fact that Rice already had a freelance web designing business. She will teach a course in web design next semester in addition to her graphic arts classes.

“I just gave a talk to the art department on the importance of creating an online presence for your work,” Rice said. “Using blogging, Twitter, Pinterest and other social networking sites as viral marketing is a concept that is really important for today’s design student,” Rice said.

Rice is the only graphic arts teacher at ESU, so she has a lot of freedom with the curriculum when it comes to her classes.

“I regularly incorporate collaborative projects into each semester that mirror the real world,” Rice said.

Rice’s classes have also put together a blog using Wordpress to document their daily artistic process.

“Incorporating Wordpress into my daily curriculum is a baby step towards (web design),” Rice said.

Rice said group work projects that students create together helps to create a more lifelike situation of what jobs will be like when the students graduate.

“These students want to learn how it will be in the real world,” Rice said. “This way they get a feel for what it means to work in the same conditions as a professional.”

They recently finished a group packaging project, which is posted on the students’ blog.

“It seems like the projects she has her student do are appropriate – you know, fun and very real life,” said Stephanie Lanter, instructor of ceramics.

Lanter, a fellow first year instructor, said she was glad to have another new instructor in the department.

“Emmy is wonderful,” Lanter said. “She has tons of energy, cares and her positive attitude has contributed to my experience at ESU… we are both new this year so we connected easily. Trying to figure out the system together and everything.”

Rice said she was excited to be at ESU and hopes to make Emporia her home for a long time to come.

Megan Nolan

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Carl Dillman, network technology student at Flinthills Tech, looks at various works on disply in the Eppink Gallery in King Hall Tuesday afternoon. Dillman said he has an interest in photography and art history, and that he was surprised at seeing artwork by well-known artists. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin

Works from the likes of artists such as Pablo Picasso are currently on display in the Eppink Gallery in King Hall.

“We are calling this a blue-chip show,” said Roberta Eichenberg, associate professor of art. “The gallery includes the bigger names in art history, internationally, nationally and locally known artists. This is all two-dimensional work that is in the show right now, ranging from drawings, etchings, photographs, pieces on plastic and silk screen.”

Students seem to enjoy the art collection. Andrew Walker, junior theater major, described the gallery as colorful, comforting and impressionable.

“It is impressive that this gallery has really well-known artists and work that you would not expect Emporia to have,” said Dan Shipley, senior glass blowing major.

Walker said the pieces portray a variety of statements about the human condition, but the shared theme of the pieces is the human psyche.

“A lot of the art speaks to what is under the surface of each individual, hidden potential,” Walker said.

Shipley said that every work in the collection portrays different emotions and statements about human concepts and ideals.

Eichenberg said that some of the controversial, underlying themes in some of the works are not censored by the art department.

“I do not censor to allow the voice of the artist to be heard in the way that they meant it to be,” Eichenberg said “The collection is a tool to educate the public about art and present unedited works. It is one thing to see art in books or projections, but to see it in person is a whole different thing.”

As a student in art appreciation, Walker said he covered a piece by Evan Lindquist in the gallery called “Consciousness.”

“It’s a black and white piece that seems really empty, but I get the feeling of a lot under the surface,” Walker said. “It speaks to me.”

Eichenberg said the art department purchased many of the works from a national drawing competition hosted by ESU a few decades ago.

“Some of the works were purchased long ago – the 60s, 70s, 80s,” Eichenberg said. “(The collection) has been going for a while…we appreciate the works as the artists who created them pass away or become more famous.”

Eichenberg said that the art department officially owns all pieces in the Eppink collection and does not plan to sell them.

The Eppink gallery is open from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday in King Hall. All exhibitions are free of charge.

Simone Cosper

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Senior art photography major Andrew Dorphinghaus shows his favorite piece, “Snowfall at Arrowhead,” during his art exhibit last Friday evening in King Hall. Dorphinghaus’ work consisted of a wide variety of photographs that are available for viewing until Sept. 16. Julie Thephachan/The Bulletin

For senior art photography major Andrew Dorpinghaus, opening an art gallery during his last year at Emporia State is a kind of farewell to his alma mater. Last Friday night, about 30 friends, family and students attended Dorpinghaus’ senior art show in the Gilson Gallery in King Hall. The show will run until Sept. 16.

“I started taking photos when my (high school) yearbook teacher gave me a 35 millimeter camera, and said ‘go take pictures,’” Dorpinghaus said. “That was back in 2000.”

Dorpinghaus has a total of 17 photos on display, all for sale ranging from $20-800.

Yueshu Ding, junior education major, said her favorite photo was “Rainforest,” a 188 by 30 inch picture taken at the Wichita Zoo, priced at $800.

 “I can’t really understand the meaning of the pictures…,” said Yueshu Ding, junior education major, “but I still think it’s a good work. I (would) have to work for a long time to achieve this level.”

The photo took Dorpinghaus two full days to edit and “stitch” together. He said he deleted it after it was complete so he would never be able to do it again.

Larry Schwarm, professor of art, said the senior exhibitions have been a tradition in the department for 10 years and they were a hit with students and faculty.

 “There are six or seven exhibits each semester,” Schwarm said, “and most exhibitions last about two weeks. It is an opportunity for the artist to show their best work.”

Dorpinghaus said that the opportunity showed him how much effort goes into an art opening.

“It is a very good thing that (ESU) does,” Dorpinghaus said. “I would encourage any art student, or any student that is in the art area, to have a senior show, because it’s just a good thing to learn and to understand. Without doing it, you won’t be able to know what you have to do.”

Before enrolling in the art program at ESU, Dorpinghaus worked as a photojournalist. With over a decade of experience, he said his display in Gilson Gallery shows both the work he did before coming to ESU as well as the photos he has taken as a student.

 “Andrew has a passion for photography,” said Dorpinghaus’ wife, Stephanie, “and as much as he loves photography, I also love that he shares his love with other people, like in this gallery opening.”

She said she was excited to see her husband finally realize his dream.

“We (did) all of the administrative stuff – all the printing, the pricing, the budget work, by ourselves, in a month,” Stephanie Dorpinghaus said. “It was very intense, but we got it done. This was the first big event for us.”

The Gilson Gallery is open 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday. To purchase a photo, email dorpinghaus.photo@gmail.com.

Tianhai Jiang

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Senior art major Kaila Mock poses with her glass sculpture, titled Play Things, that won first place at the International Student Exhibition. She is the first Emporia State student to win this competition. Megan Gartner/The Bulletin

Her glass sculpture titled Play Things won Kaila Mock, senior glass, sculpture and photography major, first place a the International Glass Arts Society Conference in June.

“It’s really overwhelming (to win this award),” Mock said. “It’s very prestigious and quite an honor.”

Mock’s win, a large glass socket with nine plugs held in a rough-hewn wooden box, was the first time an Emporia State student received a first place prize at the conference. But for Mock, glass is more than just an opportunity to win awards.

“Glass is really versatile,” Mock said, “you can do anything you want with it, that’s what makes me still excited about it even now.”

Mock started out as a sculpture major but grew tired of it quickly. It was then that she discovered glass. She said that glass blowing felt fresh after and that there was always something more to do with the medium.

At the conference, Mock was in competition with around 80 other students ranging from undergraduates to graduates from all over the world. The competition was judged by a panel of experts in the glass field.

“Winning this award is a major accomplishment for an ESU student because it shows that we can compete at not only a national level but an international one as well,” said Patrick Martin, associate professor of art.

Mock said that every student was required by Martin to bring a piece of work to the conference, a rule that other schools didn’t have.

“After the competition, I was able to talk to the judges and they said how surprised and impressed they were with the quantity and quality of ESU’s submissions to the contest,” said Roberta Eichenberg, associate professor of art.      

ESU has the only university glass program in the state and is one of the few in the region. Martin said that since glass is such a unique medium that the program allows students the chance to work with area experts that they may not have gotten a chance to work with elsewhere.

The International Glass Conference is a yearly event that is usually held in the United States and is open to art students from all over the world.

Well over 1,000 people attended this year’s conference, which was held in Seattle, and ESU had ten students in attendance.

Charlie Heptas

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Art from the “Stranger Company” show was on display in the Gilson Gallery in King Hall.

You will find yourself in “Stranger Company” if you venture over to the Gilson Gallery in King Hall before tomorrow.

Elizabeth Shenk, graduate in painting, held the opening reception for her senior exhibition last Friday. All the paintings in the show are available for purchase.

The exhibition’s theme, “Stranger Company,” reflects a conglomeration of sorts inspired by the strangeness of the company in which she said she finds herself surrounded most evenings.

“Most of the work was drawn from the memory of short interactions with total strangers,” Shenk said in her artist statement.

As to the word strangeness, Shenk said, “I appreciate it, and I want to show other people how I think about it and what I see.”

Her inspiration comes from the people she meets.

“I get to meet a lot of people, I get to meet people in a way that is not a lasting thing, but it gives me an opportunity to get in inside a person’s personality within 30-minute camaraderie,” she said.

Shenk has consistently created her paintings in a wide range of captivating visual styles.

In the opening reception, viewers’ attentions were attracted immediately by one of her selected works – a memory series, comprised of portraits of more than 20 different people with multifarious expressions.

One attendee said she was inspired by the fertile imagination.

“People enjoy most of my ideas behind why I was doing this, and the fact is that a lot of people state that they could look again and again and again and they would never get boring,” Shenk said.

Another painting in the collection is named “Zack.”

“I like this a lot, and I think it is gritty, layered, raw,” said a viewer.

Shenk said that her favorite piece was “The Bar.”

“You never know what to expect,” Shenk said. “When I look at it, it is exactly how I feel when I am working back in the bar. It describes the annoyed and excited feeling.”

Shenk has an interest in the early childhood arts and building a strong interest in comics. Shenk mentioned that she liked to draw things that are half cute and half creepy, especially into comics.

Shenk said she aims to be a gallery coordinator in the future. All of the work on display at the exhibition, from site decoration, light control to designed propagating posters, have been organized by Shenk.

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Tom Huck, printmaker and senior lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis, speaks with students gathered for an art forum Wednesday afternoon in SH 72. Huck said that many ideas for his prints come from his life experiences in his home town. Giri Nam/The Bulletin

Art students were presented with art and commentary from Tom Huck, printmaker and senior lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis yesterday.

“I want to hold up a mirror to society saying, ‘Hey, this is how much we suck,’” Huck said. “I generally show people doing bad shit. If you don’t want to be in my shit, then don’t do bad shit.”

Huck, founder of his own company called Evil Prints, follows the tradition of Albrecht Durer in the artistic form of relief print making and woodcutting. Unlike Durer, Huck uses blunt, uncompromising and sometimes disturbing imagery to get his point across.

The presentation began with Huck explaining stories about his childhood, and the roots of his artistic growth.

“Most people look at my work and think I had a fucked up childhood,” Huck said. “The truth is I didn’t.”

Huck told how he first encountered an engraving of Lady Jane being beheaded in a book about the Tower of London that he found under his father’s bed and how that effected him as a developing artist.

“It’s the little humorous things like the cross-eyed executioner beheading Lady Jane that I love,” Huck said. “I wanted to use that sort of humorous commentary.”

After the short introduction, students were presented with various works and accompanying stories from Huck that were largely inspired by events from his hometown of Potosi, Missouri.

“I am glad to see something so obscene,” said Brady Wilson, junior glass blowing major. “It really hit home cause a lot of us around here are from a small inbred area like he was.”

Some of the subjects of his pieces included events inspired by a bar that was open in his hometown from 1948 to ’51 with a bad reputation called the Bloody Bucket. Other subjects included emu fights, racist World War II veterans and a pair of infamous backwoods sisters.

“I thought he was hilarious,” said Kaila Mock, junior glass blowing major. “He said fuck more than I’ve ever heard anybody say fuck before. His stories were real rich, and he did a real good job of portraying the characters from his experiences.”

When asked about advice to artists seeking to get their names out into the public, Huck was eager to offer from his own experience.

“Stick to your beliefs,” Huck said. “Do what you do, and don’t deviate from it. Make your own scene, and never go somewhere expecting that scene to help you – You’ve got to make your own.”

The auditorium in the science hall was nearly completely full for Huck’s presentation.

“I thought the presentation was great,” said Larry Schwarm, professor of art. “I think he’s an amazing artist. To show that kind of craftsmanship and still be that funny really inspires students.”

Huck was one of several guest speakers that come to talk to art students every two weeks. The next guest speaker will be Jamie Warren, an artist from Kansas City, on Dec. 2.

Josh Johnson/The Bulletin

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