Alex York getting creative in Canada

Storyboard artist Alex York (’09) is lighting up Vancouver’s vibrant animation scene. After graduating from the Department of Art and Design, York completed a two-year commercial animation program at Capilano University, which he has followed up with a string of storyboarding work at Kickstart Entertainment, Bron Studios and EH-OKAY Productions. His most recent credits include the soon-to-be-released feature films Ratchet and Clank and Henchmen, as well as PBS’ just-premiered Ready Jet Go!, an educational program funded in part by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Senior’s work among state’s best

Ashley Smith recently became the first A&D student to have her work selected for the prestigious Rising Eyes of Texas Exhibition. Now in its ninth year, this show surveys the best art made by graduate and undergraduate art students enrolled at Texas colleges and universities. Smith’s self-portrait “Open for Interpretation” was selected for the exhibition by this year’s prize juror Anna Slothart, Brown Foundation Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Rising Eyes of Texas opened at the Rockport Center for the Arts in Rockport on March 12 and runs through April 2. 

Broderick helps brand Abilene as ‘Storybook Capital’

Did you know Abilene is the official Storybook Capital of Texas? It’s true, and A&D’s own associate professor Geoff Broderick (’82) played a part in making that a reality. The Texas Legislature officially bestowed that title on the city in 2015, acknowledging Abilene’s nearly two-decades-long heritage of promoting children’s art and literature through attractions such as the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature and the Children’s Art and Literacy Festival. Broderick played an instrumental role in creating a walking tour of storybook characters downtown, using A&D’s in-house foundry to cast seven bronze sculptures of literary characters such as Jack Frost, The Sandman and The Tooth Fairy. Learn more about this unique project here. 

Shoemaker turns lifelong passion into a career

Josh Schoemaker (’02) has long had a love of drawing and painting. His degree is in fine arts but he’s not necessarily where you’d expect him to be: the fashion retail industry. Schoemaker is senior art director for JCPenney’s brand team, using his wide-ranging and highly sought skills to design and illustrate for campaigns and private brands as well as develop brand standards for consistency. Aside from his full-time career, he continues to pursue his first love through mediums such as canvas, collage and printmaking. He’s also developing new ways to animate his art for multimedia. Take a look at Josh’s artwork at joshschoemaker.com and his portfolio at joshschoemaker.me.

Reeves an invite designer to the stars

If you were lucky enough to receive a wedding invitation from Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (shown above), then you also received a creation from Alyssa (Waitt ’97) Reeves. Reeves designs beautiful event invitations for her company Paradise Design Co. and has quickly established a remarkable reputation – and clientele. Along with Romo, she's designed invites for the likes of Eli Manning, and her work has been featured in magazines such as Town & Country Weddings, Inside Weddings, Brides and D Weddings. Reeves also was featured in the Spring-Summer 2013 issue of ACU Today along with other impressive A&D alumni.  

Students leave mark at Intercollegiate Show

A&D students cleaned up at Abilene’s Center for Contemporary Arts Annual Intercollegiate show. Congratulations! Winners include: 

BEST OF SHOW: Shannon Major, “The Warped Branch,” sculpture 
PHOTOGRAPHY WINNERS: First place, Paulina Servin; second place, Miranda Henson 
2-D NON-DIGITAL WINNERS:  Second place, Sergio Hernandez; third place, Reilly Cox; honorable mentions, Rachel Cleo Sansing, Madelyn Wischmeyer, Katie J Paul, Katelyn Goodman, Reilly Cox, Nicole DiCicco and Anthia Nibizi  
3-DEMINSIONAL WINNERS: First place, Hannah Marshall; second place, Caroline Levinson

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