SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH
Nine Mississippi University for Women art students will be featured in an upcoming senior exhibition in the Eugenia Summer Art Gallery on campus. The public is invited to a free reception Friday, April 20, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the gallery located in the Art and Design Building.
Artists featured are Amanda Brewer, Kaite Coffey, Leslie Crunkilton, Frances Hairston, LaSquizzie Kern, Kari Mancil, Chelsea Mitchell, Joshua Moore and Ernest Rogers. All have been working toward Bachelor of Fine Arts or Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Graphic design
Amanda Brewer, Kara Mancil, Chelsea Mitchell and Earnest Rogers are graphic design majors.
“An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one,” a quote by Charles Horton Cooley, is a favorite of Brewer, of Walls. She has exhibited in MUW juried student shows and has competed in the juried Mississippi Collegiate Show. Presently, she utilizes her graphic design skills in the MUW Stark Recreation Center. Brewer will graduate with a BFA in August, after completing an internship in Memphis, Tenn.
Mancil, a Columbus resident, completed her graphic design internship in 2011 at Starkville’s Visions Signs and Screen-printing, where she worked on the Starkville High School Band summer T-shirts. Mancil, who aspires to one day have her own design company, said, “I intend on never stopping my learning with design with the hopes of making a name for myself one day.”
Mitchell hails from Illinois but has lived in Columbus for the past 10 years and is a graduate of Columbus High School. She has won several awards in graphic design, printmaking and illustration. Recently, her poster design was chosen for Columbus’ 2012 Sounds of Summer.
Rogers, of Crawford, graduated from East Oktibbeha High School. At MUW, he has won first place in two poster design competitions, for the 2010 Empty Bowls and the 2011 Market Street Festival. He currently works as an advertising graphic designer at The Commercial Dispatch, where he plans to continue after graduation.
“My design process helps individuals identify who they are, their uniqueness and intention for their business,” he said.
Photography
Crunkilton, a BFA candidate with an emphasis in photography, has won several awards in juried student exhibition and in the Mississippi Collegiate Show. She was a finalist in Photographer’s Forum magazine’s 32nd annual College and High School photo contest in 2012. Her work will be featured in a hardcover book, “Best of College Photography 2012.” Born in California, Crunkilton has spent most of her life in Columbus.
Kaite Coffey is a fine arts major whose mother, two sisters and a cousin graduated from MUW. Coffey, who attended New Hope High School, won first place in illustration in the 2010 student show.
“My work will consist mainly of photography and some of serigraphy,” she said. “I enjoy observing and studying relationships.”
Drawing, painting
Moore, of Newton, is seeking a BFA with an emphasis in drawing and painting. His wife, Apryl Suzanne Moore, will also be graduating from MUW, with a master’s degree in speech pathology. A non-traditional student, Moore is serving in the military.
“Being able to live in Columbus and attend MUW has been something I have greatly enjoyed. After taking a year and a half off from school to serve in Afghanistan, I was eager to get back home and finish my degree,” he said. “I can honestly say the city of Columbus and the art department at MUW are a big reason for that.”
Moore is president of Kappa Pi, the art honorary fraternity. His work contains paintings, prints, illustrations and graphic design pieces.
Hairston grew up in Belzoni, but has spent most of her life near Crawford. She is working on her third degree from MUW, a BFA with emphasis in oil painting. She graduated in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in history and in 1973 with a master’s degree in history.
After the death of her husband, she returned to MUW to work on an art degree and to do “something I had always wanted to learn to do, to draw and to paint.” She is the mother of three children and has seven grandchildren (one granddaughter attends MUW).
An active member of Kappa Pi, Hairston has served as secretary and president. She has exhibited in several juried art shows, including MUW exhibits, Mississippi Collegiate Show, Kappa Pi International exhibit, Market Street Festival, Cotton District Arts Festival and the Bi-State Competition in Meridian. She received honorable mention in two Kappa Pi competitions and, in 2010, was chosen for the MUW art department faculty’s Most Outstanding Student award.
“My experience in the MUW art department has been invaluable. I have learned to carefully observe, to think, and to process through my paintings, all with the skills and patience of my professors nudging and pushing me.” Her work will include oil painting and ink washes.
LaSquizzie Kern grew up in Ethel and is attending MUW with her sister, LaVosha. She is the only one of the nine exhibitors who is seeking a BFA in art education. She exhibited in the Mississippi Collegiate Show and the juried MUW student shows. Kern won honorable mention in 2010 Kappa Pi International Art Competition.
The senior exhibit will be in place April 17 through May 5 in the Eugenia Summer Gallery, which is open to the public Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.