Cassie Hester

Austin Grove

Austin Grove, a senior art/graphic design major from Clinton at Mississippi State University, and assistant professor of graphic design Cassie Hester both recently had posters accepted to the international Italian Poster Biennial Exhibition.

Grove completed his poster in Hester’s Typography II class.

“Being selected for the Italian Poster Biennial is an impressive achievement,” said Hester. “The poster Austin designed will be displayed alongside posters designed by some of the world’s best. We, the Department of Art and graphic design faculty, are very proud.”

Only 174 posters were selected out of 2,200 entries; just three of these were from North America.

The submissions were judged by a distinguished panel of 11 international designers including Luba Lukova and Yossi Lemel, two internationally renowned names in graphic design.

Grove’s poster was submitted to Category B of the biennial with the theme “WAR / Homo homini lupus.”

The graphic design senior interpreted this to mean the idea of internal conflict being the cause for external conflicts, wars and violence.

Grove’s design process began with collaging and sketching.

“I was really interested in letting the process be very intuitive,” he said. “I wanted to just start making things while thinking about conflict and see what happened. Eventually, I settled on trying to represent conflict typographically—what does the word ‘conflict’ look like?”

Later, he began to research the word and came across a quote from Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.”

“It talked about the duality of war—how confusing, how terrible, how heroic, how cowardly, how thrilling, how boring, how devastating war is,” he said. “Conflict is always two-sided. It’s never simple. And eventually these were sort of the ideas I was trying to communicate.” See Grove’s poster in the online gallery at http://www.italianposterbiennal.it/selected-b/

Hester’s poster was originally designed for a visiting artist to campus, Joey Hannaford, and was accepted to Category A, published posters. See Hester’s poster at http://www.italianposterbiennal.it/selected-a

The Italian Poster Biennial aims to focus public attention on social issues through poster design and serves as an international stage for professionals to discuss the state of art on poster and social graphic design.

Read the story at msstate.edu

Via msstate.edu

“I can see a work of art, but when I hear about the background and understand the process and what the artist went through or what inspired that piece, it becomes much more fascinating,” she said.

“I always have a lot of questions because I love learning about the process,” added the art instructor who also coordinates the Mississippi State art department’s gallery and outreach programs.

Since coming to the College of Architecture, Art and Design in 2011, the longtime Jacksonville, Florida, resident has nurtured and shared a passion for historical objects and collections with fellow faculty and student artists, as well as members of the local community.

“I love the possibilities to understand different people and cultures through art,” said Neuenfeldt, a Florida State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in studio art and master’s in art history. “I would not have pictured myself in a small city, but I feel very appreciated at Mississippi State; I feel like I can make a bigger difference here, and also experiment more.”

Over the years, she has taught introductory art history, along with survey classes in senior-level fine art research and historic costumes. An upper-level art history course added this spring to her instructional repertoire is a new challenge she looks forward to with excitement, she added.

Neuenfeldt said she takes pride that the art department is home to the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program. In addition to offering ample space for student and faculty artists to research and create art, campus art facilities provide another special opportunity, she emphasized.

“We’re very unique in that all of our students who graduate from the department get to exhibit their work; not every program is like that,” she said. “Art definitely is a huge way things are connected in the world, so the students need to be able to explore the potential and power behind that.”

Critical thinking, problem solving and creativity also are skills that Neuenfeldt and husband Charles Freeman—an assistant professor in the School of Human Sciences’ fashion design and merchandising program—work hard to instill in their daughters, 5-year-old Ella and 1-year-old Celia.

“My parents made sure I had a very well-rounded childhood, and I want my girls to have that same experience,” Neuenfeldt said. “I want them to be able to choose their own path but give them as much information as possible about the opportunities, so they can see that everything is within reach.”

“IV” by senior art/painting major Reagan Watts of Arizona is among the works by current and former MSU students being featured in Creative Quarterly, one of the world’s premier art and design publications.

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

Works by three current students, two faculty members and four alumni of Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design are included in recent issues of a major art and design publication.

Based in New York City and distributed worldwide, Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design showcases graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art work by talented students and professionals.

A series of posters created by senior art/graphic design major Allison R. Berler of Birmingham, Alabama, received first place honors and will appear in CQ’s spring issue to be released in March.

Also featured in the latest issue are works by summa cum laude art/painting alumna Molly M. Howell of Estill Springs, Tennessee; art/sculpture alumna Shelby K. Nichols of Aberdeen; and senior art/painting major Reagan M. Watts of Sierra Visa, Arizona.

Receiving second place, Howell and Nichols competed in the Fine Art/Student category; Watts, in Fine Art/Professional.

Senior art/fine arts major Kathryne G. “Katye” Drew of Ellisville was a runner-up in the Fine Art/Student category of CQ’s most recent issue. Joining her was Professor Jamie Burwell Mixon, the MSU art department’s graphic design coordinator who was named a runner-up in the Graphic Design/Professional category.

In another recent issue, associate art professor Alexander Bostic took first-place honors while Thomas M. McBroom of Starkville, a magna cum laude art/painting graduate, was runner-up. Both competed in the Fine Art/Professional category. Additionally, fine arts/photography alumna and associate communication professor Wendy Roussin received first-place honors in the Photography/Professional category.

In addition to Barnes & Noble and other major retail bookstores, issues of the publication may be purchased online at www.CQJournal.com.

MSU art professor Brent Funderburk’s mixed-media painting collection, “Palladio’s Dream: New Solar Myths,” was among creations by 25 artists from around the world that were selected for inclusion in the Fine Art category of Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design’s Best 100 Annual 2015. The collection also appeared in last year’s CQ Journal Issue 37.

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

A longtime faculty member in Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design again is receiving recognition from a major art and design publication.

Professor Brent Funderburk’s mixed-media painting collection, “Palladio’s Dream: New Solar Myths,” was among works by 25 artists from around the world that were judged worthy of inclusion in the Fine Art category of Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design’s Best 100 Annual 2015.

In addition to Barnes & Noble and other major retail bookstores, issues of the publication—including the Best 100 Annual to be released in April—may be purchased online at www.CQJournal.com.

Funderburk’s “Palladio’s Dream: New Solar Myths” earlier appeared in CQ Journal’s Issue 37.

The recent CQ Journal recognition marks the fifth time that Funderburk, an MSU William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, has seen his work featured in the New York-based and internationally distributed journal that showcases graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art work by talented students and professionals.

British painter Nathan Walsh, New York illustrator Katherine Street and graphic designer Oliver Munday, and California photographer Jennifer Davick were jurors for the annual competition. In addition to fine art, 25 top artists each were selected in graphic design, illustration and photography categories.

A 2015 recipient of the MSU Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award, Funderburk also will be featured in the spring 2016 issue of “Watercolor Artist” magazine. For more information, visit http://www.artistsnetwork.com/watercolor-artist.

Funderburk is a North Carolina native who has taught at MSU since 1982. Over the decades, he also has been honored by the university with the John Grisham Faculty Excellence and Burlington Northern Teaching Excellence awards.

A fine arts graduate of East Carolina University, he is a former MSU art department head who currently serves as its fine-arts thesis coordinator. Painting survey, watercolor, watermedia, senior thesis and advanced studio are among courses he has taught.

Funderburk’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2010, he was named official artist for the Jackson-based USA International Ballet Competition. For additional biographical information, visit www.brentfunderburk.com.

Bourgeois (photo by Megan Bean | Mississippi State University)

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

The leader of Mississippi State’s art department is the newly elected secretary of the Italian Art Society.

Associate professor Angi Elsea Bourgeois, currently serving as interim department head, recently began a two-year term on the international scholarly organization’s board of directors.

Founded in 1987, IAS is dedicated to the study of Italian art and architecture from prehistory to the present. Serving as “a vital force in generating new knowledge about the visual arts on the Italian peninsula and neighboring islands” is its primary mission.

Since joining the society in 2004, Bourgeois has helped organize various sessions and present research papers for IAS academic conferences.

Bourgeois said she is honored to be a part of “a vital and rigorous scholarly organization that supports the creation of new knowledge about human creative endeavors.”

Of her election, Bourgeois said she is “excited to give back to the organization through my time and service, and also have the opportunity to expand my own reputation as a scholar of Italian Renaissance art.”

After graduating with honors in art history from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, she went on to complete a doctorate in Italian Renaissance and medieval art history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Bourgeois joined the MSU faculty in 2002. Over the years, she has taught a variety of art history courses in the university department that is home to the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program.

She also is the author of “Reconstructing the Lost Frescoes of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome from the ‘Meditationes’ of Cardinal Juan de Torquemada: A Case Study in the History of Art” (Edwin Mellen Press, 2009).

In 2010, she published a digital textbook for art history survey courses titled “The History of the Art of the Western World from Prehistory through the Gothic.” For more biographical information, see http://caad.msstate.edu/wpmu/abourgeois.

In May, Bourgeois and other members will gather for the annual IAS meeting at the University of Western Michigan’s International Congress of Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo. For more, visit http://italianartsociety.org.

Via msstate.edu

Brent Funderburk, an MSU William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of Art, has been named a 2016 SEC Faculty Achievement Award recipient. (Photo by Russ Houston / Mississippi State University)

“A Dream of Flying”,​ Watercolor/mixed-media painting by Brent Funderburk

The Shenzhen Art Museum/Luohu Cultural Center, Shenzhen, China

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

A longtime faculty member and former head of the Mississippi State College of Architecture, Art and Design’s art department is receiving international recognition.

Professor Brent Funderburk’s watercolor painting, “Flying World,” is among 150 works selected for inclusion in one of the world’s largest competitive exhibits dedicated to water-based painting media.

Brent Funderburk

Touring a total of six Chinese museums, Funderburk’s piece is one of only 36 U.S. artist-produced works—from among nearly 3,800 entries submitted worldwide—selected by exhibit jurors from Australia, China, France and the United Kingdom.

“Flying World” previously was on display as part of the 2015-16 International Watercolor Biennial at Shenzhen Art Museum/Luohu Cultural Center in China’s fourth-largest city.

Additionally, Funderburk’s watercolor/mixed-media painting, “A Dream of Flying,” was among more than 100 works—out of 430 submitted entries—chosen for the Houston, Texas-based Watercolor Art Society’s 2016 International Exhibition held in March.

An MSU William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of Art and Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence award recipient, Funderburk recently was recognized with a 2016 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award.

Earlier this year, his work was featured for the fifth time in the New-York based and internationally distributed “Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design.”

Funderburk is a North Carolina native who has taught at MSU since 1982. Over the decades, he has been honored by the university with the John Grisham Faculty Excellence and Burlington Northern Teaching Excellence awards.

A fine arts graduate of East Carolina University, he is a former MSU art department head who currently serves as its fine-arts thesis coordinator. Painting survey, watercolor, watermedia, senior thesis and advanced studio are among courses he has taught.

In 2010, Funderburk was named official artist for the Jackson-based USA International Ballet Competition. For additional biographical information, visit www.brentfunderburk.com.

Photo by Megan Bean | Mississippi State University

Mississippi State junior Daniel J. Mooney of Brookhaven talks about one of his artworks with Student Support Services Coordinator Elizabeth Williams during a “One Night Only” exhibit at the university’s Howell Building.

The show represented a culmination of ACCESS program students’ semester-long artwork created with volunteer guest instructors from the Department of Art and Starkville community. Students completed the work through individual instruction and in Department of Art courses including Rowan Haug’s information on elements of design, 3-D design and acrylic painting. Students drew horses with Assistant Professor Neil Callander’s Drawing II class and made ceramic pieces with the help of Professor Robert Long and his advanced ceramics students.

MSU established the ACCESS program in 2010, becoming the only university in the state to provide post-secondary education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities. The event also was sponsored by the College of Architecture, Art and Design.

See this photo featured as the State Spotlight.

[See image gallery at caad.msstate.edu]
(photos by Aaron McElfish and Megan Bean)

[See image gallery at caad.msstate.edu]
(Photos by Aaron McElfish)

A reception was held on April 21 for works by eleven graduating fine art majors at Mississippi State are on display through April 28 in two university art galleries.

Free and open to all, the weeklong Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, “Epitome,” features images reflecting the students’ successful conclusion of research, writing, presentation and advanced studio practice, as well foundational coursework, survey, art history, academic and emphasis classes.

Read more about the exhibition.

Critz Campbell (Photo by Blake McCollum)

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

A Mississippi State art faculty member is positioned to officially join the policy making body of an international institution specializing in craft education.

Critz Campbell, an associate professor at the university, recently was elected to an eight-year term as a board trustee at North Carolina’s Penland School of Crafts. A West Point resident and Clay County native, he is a Penland alumnus.

Founded in 1929 and annually enrolling more than 1,400, the school located in the Blue Ridge Mountains northeast of Asheville, North Carolina, is dedicated to “helping people live creative lives.” In addition to training in such artistic media as clay, glass, iron, metals and wood, it features artist residencies and community collaboration programs, among other offerings. For more, see www.penland.org.

An MSU faculty member since 2005, Campbell coordinates the art department’s sculpture emphasis program. He currently teaches introductory and advanced sculpture and earlier led courses in furniture design and metal fabrication, among others.

He attended Penland after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Parnham College in England. Other studies were completed at the Arco Centro de Communicao in Portugal.

“I am excited to serve the school that nurtured me for 20-plus years and has such an impact on craft education,” Campbell said of the trustee role that begins in November.

“The opportunity to represent MSU at an institution as important to craft education as Penland School of Crafts is a great honor, especially when I am representing the College of Architecture, Art and Design, where our mission includes engaging students in the highest level of craft,” he said.

Trustee duties will help him grow as an educator and leader by “gaining a deeper relationship with the American craft community and greater understanding and ability in the pedagogy of craft,” Campbell said, adding that Penland “has a very active board and I expect my role to evolve as I gain experience in the group.

“What excites me most about the opportunity is the relationships I can build with renowned craft educators and advocates,” he said.

Campbell’s artistic creations have been featured at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and International Contemporary Furniture Fair, both in New York, deCordova Museum in Massachusetts and LIMN Gallery in California, among other prominent national venues.

His professional career also has been honored with awards and grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts. For more biographical information, visit www.critzcampbell.com.

[See image gallery at caad.msstate.edu]

Students in Assistant Professor Neil Callander’s Design II class presented their Barn Quilt paintings on Tues., April 26.

The Barn Quilt Project is a collaboration between Callander’s class, the Starkville Area Arts Council and community sponsors.

To date, MSU art students have created 17 original barn quilts, which constitute a major portion of the growing Oktibbeha County Barn Quilt Trail.

A special thanks to this year’s community sponsors Don and Leslie Fye, Laura-Lee Cobb, US Lawns and the MSU Department of Art.  Also, thanks goes to Oktibbeha County Barn Quilt Trail organizer Vicki Burnett.

(Photos submitted by Neil Callander)

Angi Bourgeois (photo by Megan Bean / © Mississippi State University)

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

A longtime faculty member in Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design is the new permanent leader of its art department.

Since 2014, Angi Elsea Bourgeois has headed the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program on an interim basis. Her permanent appointment begins July 1.

In making the announcement, Dean Jim West said Bourgeois “brings broad experience in administrative responsibilities to this critical leadership role,” adding that he is confident “the department will flourish and the College of Architecture, Art and Design will benefit from her leadership as well.”

After graduating with honors in art history from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, Bourgeois went on to complete a doctorate in Italian Renaissance and medieval art history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since joining the Mississippi State faculty in 2002, Bourgeois has taught a variety of art history courses and has climbed the academic ranks with a promotion to professor coinciding with her new appointment.

“I have spent my career as a member of this great department and am constantly in awe of the amazing work that is created by our students and our faculty every day,” Bourgeois said. “I am excited to lead the department into the future, growing our strengths and expanding our mission in the coming years.”

Earlier this year, she was elected to a two-year term as secretary for the Italian Arts Society, an international scholarly organization where she has been a member since 2004.

Bourgeois is the author of “Reconstructing the Lost Frescoes of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome from the ‘Meditationes’ of Cardinal Juan de Torquemada: A Case Study in the History of Art” (Edwin Mellen Press, 2009). In 2010, she published a digital textbook for art history survey courses titled “The History of the Art of the Western World from Prehistory through the Gothic.” For more biographical information, see http://caad.msstate.edu/wpmu/abourgeois.

Alex Bostic (photo by Megan Bean / © Mississippi State University)

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

For Alex Bostic, the road to a successful art career began with a spark of imagination—literally.

At the age of seven, he discovered his artistic talents with help from his older brother Charles and a make-believe game of “war” the two played using wood matches.

“One day, a woman who lived next door came out and told us to stop, but we just kept playing. Ten minutes later, a fire truck showed up,” Bostic said. “The firemen who came gave us a ride to the fire station, and the fire chief told us he didn’t want us playing with matches anymore. Instead, he gave us paper and pencils and said, ‘I want you to draw.’”

Bostic ultimately presented nearly 10 fire truck drawings to the fire chief, who put them on display in the fire station’s community announcement box. “That was basically my gallery for two to three years before we moved,” Bostic said with a smile.

Always the “art guy” in school, Bostic started receiving private art lessons in seventh grade from his beloved teacher, Ellen Kuenzel. To this day, mentor and student make it a point to speak at least three times a month over the phone.

After completing associate in arts, bachelor of fine arts and master of arts degrees, Bostic landed his first job as a greeting card designer for Hallmark. He worked for a time in advertising before deciding to join the U.S. Navy as an illustrator draftsman. Prior to teaching stints at California’s Woodbury University, Kansas City Art Institute and Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute, Bostic worked as a concept artist for the film industry in Hollywood. Later on, a 23-year career at Virginia Commonwealth University opened the door for drawing and graphic work for big-name clients, like NASA.

Now in his sixth year as an associate professor of drawing at MSU, Bostic is passionate about providing his students with a solid foundation in the arts. Focus and determination to succeed are concepts he emphasizes in the classroom.

“Learning to draw and think in a sequential way is important,” Bostic said. “If you’re a thinker who can draw creative ideas, you can make a living with your craft and use your talents to change lives.”

As the southeast director for the U.S. Air Force Art Program, Bostic has lent his talents while documenting tragic events in countries such as Germany, Haiti and Japan. His paintings, as well as works by artists from other branches of the military, are on display at The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Specializing in portraiture, Bostic is fascinated with the human figure and seeks to make a connection with the human condition through his artwork. Regardless of the subject matter, his goal always is to have fun.

“Art is a really good escape,” Bostic said. “I get to create something every day.”

This series of three images by Keats Haupt, titled “People & Hydrants,” was recently selected as a runner up in Creative Quarterly.

Works by six students, faculty and alumni in the Department of Art at Mississippi State have again been selected by a major international publication.

Based in New York City, Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design showcases graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art works of talented students and professionals worldwide.

Featured in the fall 2016 online Runners-Up gallery are:

• Fine Arts Student Category: Katye Drew (May 2016 graduate); James “Eric” Jackson 
• Graphic Design Professional Category: Professor and Graphic Design Concentration Coordinator Jamie Burwell Mixon
• Graphic Design Student Category: Austin Grove (May 2016 graduate)
• Photography Professional Category: Professor and Photography Concentration Coordinator Marita Gootee
• Photography Student Category: Keats Haupt

“This is a great accomplishment and wonderful recognition for all areas of our program,” said Angi E. Bourgeois, department head.

Seven artworks from Professor Brent Funderburk’s “Flying World” and New Solar Myths” watercolor painting series are featured in the August issue of Watercolor Artist magazine. Titled “Drama, Extravagance and Poetry,” an eight-page article written by New York writer, author and artist John A. Parks highlights Funderburk’s creative background and processes used to produce vibrant, award-winning works. (Photo by Brent Funderburk)

By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University

A longtime faculty member and former head of the Mississippi State College of Architecture, Art and Design’s art department is receiving national recognition.

Seven artworks from Professor Brent Funderburk’s “Flying World” and New Solar Myths” watercolor painting series appear in the August issue of Watercolor Artist magazine. Published by ArtistsNetwork, Watercolor Artist is the watermedia artist’s definitive source for creative inspiration and technical information. For more, visit http://www.artistsnetwork.com/watercolor-artist.

Written by New York writer, author and artist John A. Parks, an eight-page article titled “Drama, Extravagance and Poetry” highlights Funderburk’s creative background and processes used to produce vibrant, award-winning works.

Funderburk

An MSU William L. Giles Distinguished Professor of Art and Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence award recipient, Funderburk recently was recognized with a 2016 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award.

Earlier this year, Funderburk’s work was featured for the fifth time in the New-York based and internationally distributed “Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design.”

In April, Funderburk’s watercolor painting “Flying World” was among 150 works selected for inclusion in one of the world’s largest competitive exhibits dedicated to water-based painting media. The traveling exhibit is being featured at a total of six museums around China.

“Flying World” previously was on display as part of the 2015-16 International Watercolor Biennial at Shenzhen Art Museum/Luohu Cultural Center in China’s fourth-largest city.

Funderburk is a North Carolina native who has taught at MSU since 1982. Over the decades, he has been honored by the university with the John Grisham Faculty Excellence and Burlington Northern Teaching Excellence awards.

A fine arts graduate of East Carolina University, he is a former MSU art department head who currently serves as its fine-arts thesis coordinator. Painting survey, watercolor, watermedia, senior thesis and advanced studio are among courses he has taught.

In 2010, Funderburk was named official artist for the Jackson-based USA International Ballet Competition. For additional biographical information, visit www.brentfunderburk.com.

Part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, MSU’s art department is the longtime home of the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program. It offers a bachelor of fine arts degree, with concentrations in graphic design, photography and fine art (ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture). Learn more at www.caad.msstate.edu, facebook.com/CAADatMSU, twitter.com/CAADatMSU and http://tinyurl.com/CAADatMSUYouTube.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

See the story at WTVA.com.

See the story in The Columbus Dispatch.

Read the announcement in MSU’s Maroon Memo.

[See image gallery at caad.msstate.edu]

(photos by Laura Smith Daniels)

Assistant Professor Suzanne Powney has been keeping her students busy in her letterpress course this summer.

At Mississippi State, the letterpress is specific to the graphic design program. Letterpresses are used to print textured designs, generally on invitations or posters, and these kinds of prints were common throughout the country until the 1960s when the industry moved to offset printing.

[See image gallery at caad.msstate.edu]

(Photos by Mississippi State University and Aaron McElfish)

Upper-level high school students participated in the Mississippi State Department of Art’s annual INvision summer camp from June 13-17.

Campers participated in workshops on photography, graphic design, drawing, ceramics and sculpting, among other media. Artist presentations, gallery exhibitions, movie nights and field trips were among the planned cultural and social activities.

At week’s end, camper-produced works were featured at the department’s Visual Arts Center Gallery at 808 University Drive.

For additional information about INvision, contact Nicole Jackson at 662-325-2970 or njackson@caad.msstate.edu.

[See image gallery at caad.msstate.edu]

(Images by Aaron McElfish)

Fall Convocation for the Department of Art was held on Aug. 19 at noon in the Robert and Freda Harrison Auditorium.

Important information about the upcoming year was shared, and faculty were introduced.

Students who participated in summer internships and other programs as well as student organizations spent time discussing these opportunities.

Lunch was provided immediately following.

“Sydney” | Alex Bostic

Alex Bostic, an associate professor in the Department of Art at Mississippi State University, had work featured in the “National Society of Painters in Casein & Acrylic Upper Gallery” in June.

According to the website, the “National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic” was founded to give artists opportunity to exhibit works regardless of style, “school” or subject matter. It is the foremost national showcase for the two aquamedia —casein and acrylic.

For more information, visit www.nationalsocietyofpaintersincaseinandacrylic.org.

“The Ocean” | a lumin print | Marita Gootee

Mississippi State University Department of Art Professor Marita Gootee had a photograph accepted into the 2016 SECAC Juried Exhibition.

Her image titled “The Ocean,” a lumin print, was selected for the exhibition that will be presented at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University in Roanoke, Va., from Sept. 1 through Oct. 22.

More than 300 artworks from 103 artists were viewed and juried for the exhibition. Of those, just 59 works were selected, including video, mixed media, paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, print and cut paper works.