CSM Awards Winning Artists at Student Juried Show

This is a CSM Student News Article

CSM Awards Winning Artists at Student Juried Show

 

By Katharina Fleming

The College of Southern Maryland art faculty members announced the awards of the Annual Student Juried Art Show during a gallery talk and awards reception on April 16. The show, which was hung in the Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery at the college’s La Plata Campus, featured 61 student pieces that had been accepted into the show.

Winning artists were Alan Frampton with first prize for his stoneware “Twisted Form,” Barbara Hance with second prize for her digital photograph “Shadows on the Bay” and Laura Kasko with third prize for her gouache on paper “Admixture Study.” Honorable mention was presented to Amber Hance for her untitled charcoal drawing and to Kyle Weaver for Film Photography “Mad as a Hatter.”

The permanent members of the CSM art faculty had John Morrell, associate professor and chair of the department of art and art history at Georgetown University, to decide the winning artists. According to CSM Professor George Bedell, who teaches graphic design and photography, this process ensures unbiased judgment on the submitted work and will likely become the standard process for the award selections. “This is great training for the real world skills an exhibiting artist needs,” said Bedell.

In his judge’s statement, Morrell wrote, “I want to say that there were many other works that gave me pause while selecting the prizes. You should all be proud of your work. The exhibition is impressive.” This was the first time someone other than the CSM faculty members chose the awards, and Morrell suggested for the future to award prizes for each category.

Students submitted works to be considered for the show that they have produced during the past two years in CSM classes. Susan Chappelear, ceramics professor, said, “The show was introduced to reflect the range of assignments students would typically encounter.”

Weaver, who was honorably mentioned for his photograph, said his professor encouraged him to submit the photograph because it was a good piece. During the gallery reception, Weaver told those attending, “This was my first time using film and I was really nervous. You never know what you will get until you get it, and I was really excited when I finished.”

Student Renee Clarke-Bonner, whose photograph was selected for the show, said she submitted the work because she felt that it was a strong piece.

Mariko Sakemi, majoring in engineering, submitted a charcoal drawing that was selected for the exhibition. Sakemi said she thought it is the best piece she has produced while at CSM.

Of the 61 pieces in the show, Chappelear said the faculty members selected roughly half of what was submitted and included 25 photographs, 14 ceramic pieces, 19 paintings and drawings, one graphic design piece, a cyanotype and one fabric piece.

According to Bedell, the majority of the submitted work was made by students at the La Plata Campus, followed by Prince Frederick and Leonardtown.

For the first time this year, the faculty selected and purchased one of the pieces to add to the college’s permanent collection. Ashley Saldana’s cyanotype, “Tree line,” was selected. A photography major, Saldana said she was inspired “by learning the old processes of photography. My film professor showed me how to do it.”

Katharina Fleming is a CSM student enrolled in CSM Assistant Professor Michelle Brosco Christian’s “Introduction to Media Writing” course. Staff in the college’s community relations department also contributed to this article.