Faculty Presentations

Tammie Rubin

Tammie’s work is very interesting. As a graphic designer, I hadn’t given much thought to 3-D work. However, after seeing Tammie’s interpretation of ceramics as sculptural, rather than functional, I am very intrigued. The idea of a chimera, something that it hoped or wished for but is actually illusionary, is really thought provoking. Her work reminds me of surrealism, but takes on a new life because of the medium. I am also very interested in how the places that Tammie has lived affect her artwork. I had never thought of interaction with nature as controlled or uncontrolled, but it makes perfect sense when you see her work and think about it in relation to Chicago and Seattle.

Kim Garza

Kim worked as a designer for fourteen years before she became a professor. It really shows in the way she showed us her work on an app. It felt like she was pitching the idea to clients, which she has. In contrast, her passion project “Till the Clouds Roll By” was a completely different animal. Her work with her husband on this film felt more like fine art than any digital rendering I’ve seen before. I was starting to worry that the digital medium was simply meant for communication arts alone, but Kim has proved that digital can be just as beautiful as any traditional medium.

James Shurin

I was really interested that James’ topic has stayed pretty much consistent throughout his work. It makes sense, considering it’s such a broad and engaging idea. Things that happen “by accident” or without aesthetic intention are often the most beautiful. The challenge comes in being able to record that accident or recreate it artistically without making it seem staged.

Course Reflection

I’ve really enjoyed my first semester in the visual studies program at St. Edward’s. I think that this class is a good way to frame the program for students just entering the program. I definitely have benefitted from spending time with art and photo comm students who I’m not sure I would have met otherwise. It’s also really cool to be taught by the professors who we’ll be learning from later in our St. Ed’s careers – a way to see where we are headed. There wasn’t a lot of structure to the course, but I enjoyed that. We were able to let the conversation guide what we learned and that was very insightful.