Part II: Insights from PCA&D students

The current exhibition in PCA&D’s Main Gallery, Selected Artworks from the BFA Program at PCA&D, features a selection of outstanding artwork created by three dozen of our rising junior and senior BFA students. A wide variety of media are represented including digital and hand-painted illustration, sculpture, painting, printmaking, photography and graphic design.

The exhibit runs through July 21. Summer Hours for PCA&D’s Main Gallery are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Open First Friday until 8 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Sundays. Opening Reception: First Friday, July 7, 5 -8 p.m.  See a preview slide show of the work in the exhibit

This is the second in a series of posts where PCA&D students talk about their art, inspirations and influences, and thoughts about their education. Today  several students share their thoughts about their internship plans for the summer, their inspirations and their process of art making. 

Work by Devon Forst (detail).

Do you have an internship or mentorship planned for this summer? What are you looking forward to about this summer?    (Internships are required the summer before Senior Year)

Devon Forst, Illustration, Senior, Dysart PA

I do! I’m currently being mentored by Nicholas Kole– an illustrator who has illustrated books for the Disney Company, and done character designs for games and animations. I’m really looking forward to getting a new perspective on character design and creating appealing and fun designs to look at, whether it be for books or on screen.

Antoinette Troller, Illustration, Junior, Effort PA

I have been given an assignment to create 100 hands in one sketchbook and I am really looking forward to see how much that will help me understand the anatomy of a hand. It will also be pretty cool to have a sketchbook full of them when I am all done.

Thomas White, Fine Art, Senior, York PA

I will be interning with mural artist, Eric Okdeh in Philadelphia. I am looking forward to learning the step by step process of curating and executing a mural in a public space.

Chris Morris, Digital Media, Junior, Bear DE

I am currently in an awesome 3D modeling mentorship with Jack Ebensteiner, an animator at Sony who is currently working on the new God of War game.  This summer, I look forward to continuing my work with Jack, and taking a week-long trip to Los Angeles for the SIGGRAPHConference where I’ll be working as a student volunteer with a few PCA&D friends. (Note: SIGGRAPH is one of PCA&D’s Professional Clubs for students)

Julya Nichols, Photography, Senior, Parkesburg PA

I have two internships for this summer. One at TC Studios in Lancaster, Pa and one with the photographer Elinor Carucci in New York. These two internships are what I am looking towards the most this summer. Not only is it a great opportunity towards my career and growing as a professional, I am also meeting the best people through this journey.

What inspires you to create?

Michaela Robertson, Photography Junior, Hershey, PA

A lot of the inspiration for my work comes from self reflection. In the past year or so, I’ve realized that I have taken a lot of what I have in life for granted. I was so focused on materialistic objects and petty social situations, that I neglected to appreciate the insanely incredible and interesting people in my family. My work has been huge part of reconnecting with them.

Cathrine Spengler, Graphic Design, Junior, Lancaster PA

Everything and everyone around me.

Julya Nichols, Photography, Senior, Parkesburg PA

The thing that inspires me the most to create is being able to express what I want to say through a visual representation that allows the viewer to react to the message in their own personal way.

Amanda C. Rivera Segundo, Digital Media, Senior, Mount Joy PA

The fact that I can create things others have not.

Melanie Vera, Fine Art, Junior, Bel Air MD

I love to work hands-on and express my thoughts and views through my work. I want to get people to open their minds and question what they are seeing, rather than simply being visually appealing.

When or how did you begin making art, and what does the process of making art mean to you?

Brigitte Errickson, Fine Art, Junior, Changewater NJ

I’ve been making art since I was really little. I have a sketch book with really terribly drawn birds from 2003. It used to hurt to look at it, because I used to be proud of those birds. I wrote my name in huge letters next to them.  Now it just amuses me. Art is my outlet; it has been for years. It’s my way of bringing my thoughts out of my head. Sometimes it’s really simple stuff, just sketches to pass the time and give me entertainment. Sometimes it’s more introspective. Sometimes it’s just the fulfillment of an assignment. Whatever the reason, art helps clear my head.

Devon Forst, Illustration, Senior, Dysart PA

Well, if we want to go way back, I started creating art in kindergarten! I remember writing in my kindergarten “class book” that I wanted to be an artist when I got older, and that goal never really changed for me. I drew almost every day, doodled on the back of my homework, came up with my own stories… granted I wasn’t SUPER good back then, but it’s all been part of the growing experience as an artist!

Charcoal illustration by Antoinette Troller.

Antoinette Troller, Illustration, Junior, Effort PA

I have always been busy making something since I could remember. It is such a crazy process because sometimes everything comes together perfectly and other times it is a struggle until the end. But either way, I always enjoy the process because that’s how you discover and learn what you need to practice and what comes easy for you.

Michaela Robertson, Photography Junior, Hershey, PA

I really didn’t start making art until my last year of high school and it completely changed my life. I’m a totally different person now and I attribute a lot of that to the art process and the artist community as a whole. It constantly makes you look inward on who you are and what you stand for.