Despite the treacherous snowy weather, over 100 students and faculty from 8 regional high schools attended our Annual High School Art day on Friday, February 5 th . Participating schools included Hayden High, Jefferson County North, Jefferson West, Shawnee Heights, Rock Creek, Silverlake, Topeka West, and Washburn Rural.

Eleven different workshops were given by Art Department Faculty and Students (Sandra McCann and Dan Coburn), ranging from Photo Spin Art to Mixed Media Assemblage Sculpture. WASA volunteers also contributed greatly to the success of this day, including Deedra Baker, Kris Roberts, Eleanor Heimbaugh, Patrick Tomei, Shelby Leach, Sami Sallaway, Jeremiah Kemper, Mark Brenneman, and especially Mike Allen, who photographed the event.

Art History Professor Dr. Reinhild Janzen chose:

• Overall School Participation – Shawnee Heights
• Best in Show – “Restless Atman,” color print by Lisa Peterson of Washburn Rural
• 1 st Place (2d) – “Bowl with Apples” – Amy Moore – Jefferson County North
• 2 nd Place (2d) – “Emulation from Dynamic Light & Shade” – Kelsey Rowe – Hayden High
• 3 rd Place (2d) – “Soldier” – Addie O'Connell – Jackson Heights
• 1 st Place (3d) – “Wire Stag” – Michelle Spears – Shawnee Heights
• 2 nd Place (3d) – “Pendant with Cross” – Isaac Stallbaumer – Shawnee Heights
• 1 st Place (Photo) – “Forlorn” – Dylan Clemmons – Shawnee Heights
• 2 nd Place (Photo) – “Plaza” – Emily Park – Topeka West

The 2nd Annual WASA Holiday Art Sale, held Nov. 18, 2009, in the Washburn Memorial Union.

Pictured members are Ye Wang, Michael Allen, Aja Longi, Deedra Baker, Debbie Reaser, Sandra McCann, Garret Larson. Stephanie Lanter took the photographs. Also contributing to the sale greatly were Natalie Spangenburg & Dan Coburn. Faculty MaryDorsey Wanless, Marguerite Perret, Stephanie Lanter, Ye Wang, Michael Hager, and Chris Arensdorf also contributed artwork to the sale. WASA raised over $700

Volunteers used
Volunteers were used to assist in harvesting the saplings, leaf removal and construction of a site specific environmental sculpture created at Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University. Beginning Nov. 2, environmental sculptor Patrick Dougherty expanded the definition of creativity, one stick at a time.
    For three weeks (through Nov. 21), the North Carolina artist developed a site specific tree-sapling sculpture in front of the Mulvane Art Museum on the Washburn University campus in Topeka. Through his unique vision, the artist combined his affection for nature, carpentry skills and primitive building techniques to create one of his trademark sculptures inspired by the local environment. The sculptures are typically willowy, whimsical and windblown-looking and tower over, or fold into, buildings, trees and other landscape elements.
    To create the sculpture, volunteers harvested thousands of indigenous tree saplings in the Topeka area and brought them to campus. Dougherty then began to sketch out the lines of the structure using the saplings like a pencil on paper. The larger diameter saplings are imbedded in the ground and are used to form the armature of the sculpture. He employs the natural affinity of the branches to cling to each other without any wire, nails or clamps. Three layers of saplings are then woven onto the armature forming the skin of the piece with heavier branches used to emphasize lines and different colored branches to provide the shading.
    Although his sculptures are only temporary (most last two to three years) like the saplings from which they are created, they have a natural life cycle. Eventually the saplings become brittle, disintegrate, are reduced to compost and returned to the earth. 10/15/2009 —photo credit: James Fraher

Mabee Library now subscribes to ARTstor! 
That means that faculty and students have full access, both on-campus and remote, to the full database of over 1,000,000 images. Faculty can also have instructor privileges which creatation of electronic folders of images for research, classroom use, or student use. Users can also download images to PowerPoint files and much more.

Early in the fall semester Dean Corwin, Catalog Librarian and CPA Division Liaison, will offer ARTstor training for any interested faculty.  Meantime, explore ARTstor's searching features.  On campus you can connect directly to the service by going to www.ARTstor.org.