Fine Arts welcome event

By Katy Daiber

The night of the Fine Arts Welcome Event started with pizza and drinks in a large studio room of the fine arts building. Christmas lights twinkled from the ceiling and pillars, and the room was filled with the chatter of alumni, students, and faculty. After the refreshments, fine arts faculty introduced themselves. I realized that this major's professors were like a large group of friends, as they laughed at jokes during their introductions. An hour into the pizza party, senior students took the podium one at a time to discuss their artwork and thesis, as well as give advice to the many freshman students who attended. One senior, Michael Geiger spoke highly of CCAD's New York Studio Residency Program and described his new creative coding club as a "prototype a way of emphasizing with a computer."

Alumni speakers gave quite the same round of information. They showed their work along with their concepts and advice. A recent 2015 graduate, Paige Früchtnicht is already an artist, curator, and writer living and working at Skylab Gallery. She has participated in artist residencies in Beijing, China, and New York and has been included in many exhibitions. Also, Paige is having a duo show with another recent alumni who spoke about his concrete sculptures, Greg Ponchak.

After the artist talks, we had time to ask questions to the upper-classmen, alumni, and professors. I learned a lot about the Fine Arts Program here at CCAD, such as senior thesis shows, sophomore studio spaces, and internships. Also, I learned about the art community including the Ohio Art League, Columbus non-profit galleries, and artist residencies in the US and around the world.

Overall, the fine arts welcome event was a success, thanks to my freshman fine arts intro teacher, Brittany Campbell. We learned about our major and got to meet important people. I definitely felt welcomed into the lovely community that is Fine Arts at CCAD.

Katy Daiber is a freshman dual majoring in Fine Arts and Illustration, a first degree black belt, teaches art classes for SMAC, and loves nature, 60's folk music, and posting her artwork on Instagram.