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Part V, Q&A: What can you expect at art school?

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Wednesday, June 15th, 2016

In this blog post, five art students —  Josh Gingerich, Sara White, Patrick Foley, Brandon Boggs and Samantha Ferrizzi —  talk about their favorite media and how PCA&D professors have influenced them. This is the seventh in a 9-part blog series, where we hear directly from the students about what it is like to attend art school, their art, inspirations and influences.

Selected Artworks from the BFA Program at PCA&D, will be exhibited in the Main Gallery through August 12.  The exhibit features a selection of outstanding artwork created by two 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.

Work by Samantha Ferrizzi

Work by Samantha Ferrizzi

What is your favorite medium to work with? Have you discovered a new media during your studies that you never thought you would use? If so, describe the media and how it has changed or influenced your work.

Josh Gingerich, Graphic Design, Class of 2018

I’ve had the chance to explore a lot of new and exciting ones over these past couple years! Photography is an easy answer, but recently I’ve been exploring Alternative Process photography – printing with Cyanotype, Van-Dyke Brown and other light-sensitive emulsions. I think this medium offers a vast amount of control and unique effects available to the artist, and it’s something everybody should learn.

Sara White, Photography, Class of 2018

I primarily work with photography and am a photography major but I have also done three-dimensional work with clay and cardboard. Within my photography experience I’ve worked with film photography which really made me slow down and think about what I was photographing. I had to take my time and think about the light and the framing among other things.

Patrick Foley, Graphic Design, Class of 2018

My favorite medium is print design. I never thought I would work with wood, but I discovered that working with my hands to build can be incredibly satisfying. Wood has allowed me to push my work further in displays when necessary.

Brandon Boggs, Illustration, Class of 2018

My favorite medium is pen and ink, but I dabble in acrylics, oils, graphite, and charcoal. Sometimes I like to sculpt, but my work is mostly two dimensional. PCA&D has introduced me to digital art, and I am slowly becoming more comfortable with my abilities to paint in photoshop. I also look forward to trying to work more watercolor into my illustrations.

Samantha Ferrizzi, Fine Art, Class of 2018

I work mainly in clay and plaster craft. I always knew that I enjoyed clay, but recently fell back in love with it due to its versatility. I still plan on getting into metal work, and am very much looking forward to doing so.

Work by Josh Gingerich

Work by Josh Gingerich

Has there been any particular assignment, or certain faculty member who has strongly influenced your work?

Josh Gingerich, Graphic Design, Class of 2018

I think Megan Zettlemoyer has been rather influential in the design of my assignments; many of the projects created in her classes were some of my favorite ones to date, and they all felt like finished, polished pieces at the end. Perhaps the French Paper Catalog was the most dramatic of these, inviting us to create solutions to problems in our earlier design schemes. It was certainly a fantastic experience.

Sara White, Photography, Class of 2018

Every assignment this past year has been so different and challenged me in different ways. One in particular was the Mysterious Narrative assignment from David Johanson‘s class where we looked at the work of Gregory Crewdson and drew inspiration from his work as well as his processes. Through this project I created a twenty piece portfolio entitled “Fight or Flight.”

Brandon Boggs, Illustration, Class of 2018

The majority of instructors and staff at PCA&D have been very supportive and helpful. They are professional and experienced, and I feel like I am being sufficiently prepared for a career in illustration.

Samantha Ferrizzi, FA, 2018

Evan Kitson and his sculpture class has strongly influenced my current work in clay sculpture. In his class I have found multiple projects that I am currently taking further.

“Selected Artworks from the BFA program at PCA&D” will be on exhibit in the Main Gallery at Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, 204 N Prince Street, Lancaster, from June 3 to August 12, 2016.  Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

More information is available at pcad.edu/gallery.