Emily
Silet, 2000, Art Educator
Paul Neseth, 1983,
Architect
Sam Chung, 1992,
Associate Art Professor of Art and Design
Beth Dow, 1987, Fine-art Photographer
Melissa Erikson,
1989, Landscape Architect
Tom Jacobsen,
1989, Senior Visual Effects Artist/Designer
Elizabeth Hauser, 1994,
Freelance Toy Designer and Children's Book Author
Krisin Solid, 1994, 3D Animator
Chris Strom, 1995,
Architect
Page
2
Opie Otterstad,
1992, Professional Studio Artist
Steve Gardner,
1990, Professional Studio Artist
David LaRochelle,
1983, Children's Book Writer and Illustrator
Sarah Ammentorp,
2004, Designer
Michael Braun,
1983, Art Director/Designer
David Carp, 1986,
Senior Designer
Kevin Ludwig,
1984, Signmaker/Graphic Designer
Scott Lindberg,
1992, Graphic Designer
Katherine (Broderius) Norrie,
1999, High School Visual Art Teacher
Page 4
Job Title: Assistant Professor of Digital Art, Clarkson University, Potsdam ,NY
I graduated from Olaf and entered graduate school as a sculptor. When I received my MFA, my exhibition was a blend of both sculpture and digital media. The foundation that Olaf built on my art training has really helped me in every step of the way, from graduate school to teaching. I'm married to another art Ole (Emily Bennett Beck), and have been recently hired to design and implement an entirely new digital art curriculum at Clarkson University, in Potsdam, NY. Personal Website: www.davebeck.org
Dave's St. Olaf Experience:
Not only did I meet my current wife in the art department at Olaf, but I
had three outstanding professors that helped in my artistic growth.
Irve, John, and Christie are the reason I am teaching in higher
education today. Also, the apprenticeship program was probably the most
integral part in molding my future in graduate school. Without the
ability to build such a strong portfolio, it would have been very hard
to hold my own in the graduate setting at UW-Madison (where I was
without a doubt one of the youngest). I'm once again looking to those
mentors as I begin a teaching position at Clarkson University. I find
myself sometimes asking "What would they do in this situation?", and
without a doubt that has helped me make the right choice in numerous
occasions.
Job Title: I am currently serving as an Adjunct Instructor at St. Lawrence University, Clarkson University, and SUNY Potsdam. I’m teaching a variety of classes including Drawing, Painting, 2D design, and Color Theory.
Check out my website: www.emilybennettbeck.com
Emily's St. Olaf Experience:
St. Olaf has an exceptional fine arts curriculum run by talented, intelligent and engaging faculty and staff. I had a fantastic experience as an art major at St. Olaf and will always have incredibly high standards for arts programs because of this.
ANTHONY
CLUNE, Class of 2003
Job Title: Brooklyn based Artist & Designer
Tony's St. Olaf Experience:
The St. Olaf art department is an incubator equipped warm lights in the form of faculty and staff that come prepared to work and encourage the students to spread their wings. The technical and conceptual guidance I received early on formed a foundation which I am still building on today. The liberal arts approach is without a doubt the best way to encourage the creative mind.
I am currently "living the dream" in Brooklyn, NY - Maintaining my studio practice and building my art-world crossover project : www.TonkyDesigns.com
ERIKCA SCHMELZER , Class of 2000
Job Title: Architectural Preservation with the Colorado Historical Society
GLENN
HERNANDEZ, Class of
2002
Job Title: Grad Student
in Animation at the Art Instute of California in San Francisco.
I am moving on the Masters program in Animation and am working on
pre-production for my animated thesis film.
Glenn's St. Olaf Experience:
I must admit that while my art experience at St. Olaf was inspiring
I did leave the school with a foreboding feeling that I was to have
a rough time ahead in the real world...and I did (I spent a few
years working various odd jobs as a barista a freelance graphic
designer and a store clerk at two art supply stores... I was bored
to tears). At St. Olaf I had witnessed that fine Art could make
for a great career but I felt ultimately that "fine" Art
was not were I belonged. Nonetheless, St. Olaf was were the clouds
began to part for me. I found that I loved painting, but I also
loved music, theatre and writing. St. Olaf was the perfect place
for all four of my passions and I met professors and friends alike
that inspired me to do something bigger with these passions. My
senior year was difficult especially towards the end but it was
that year that I began looking at animation as an ultimate art form
incorporating musical timing, acting technique, storytelling and
draftsmanship. This realization helped inform my final piece and
although the Animation thing lay dormant for the next two and a
half years it was while looking at my slides from the senior show
that I realized Animation was my calling. I learned many lessons
at St. Olaf that have informed me on this new path most importantly
the lesson of collaboration and synergy. My time in the St. Olaf
choir helped me with this considerably. At the Art Institute, I
am continuing my educational experience with the same spirit and
passion that drove me at St. Olaf. I feel that because of my experience
at St. Olaf I am able to deal with the rigorous competition by being
true to myself and also helping others who are having difficulties
in traditional and 3-d animation. My fiancee and I plan to get married
after I graduate from the Masters program. My production Blog:
glenn-cartoon-me.blogspot.com.
Website (still under construction): www.cartoon-me.com
KATE
ELLIOTT , Class of 1998
Job Title: Ph.D. Candidate
in Art History, University of Iowa
I am currently at work on my dissertation on American nineteenth-century history paintings depicting First Contacts between European explorers and Native populations
Kate's St.
Olaf Experience:
Graduate students often speak of the dissertation-writing process
as the point where you are finally “set free” to do
your own thing, to write the book you have been thinking about since
starting grad school. I am coming to realize that my project didn’t
start with my enrollment in grad school – it started the fall
semester of my first-year at St. Olaf, sitting in the dark of the
old art building’s auditorium, watching slide after slide
of Greek statues click past. I sat there listening to the voice
of first, Katy Smith-Abbott and later, Matt Rohn, outlining the
course of history through art. It was a revelation to me, first
that history, which I had always found so dry and disconnected to
my life, could be taught in this engaging way and second, that there
were people out there who love what they do and are passionate about
passing their knowledge on to others.
When I was studying at St. Olaf, I didn’t fully appreciate the wide-ranging education we receive. It is a cliché, hopelessly overused, but a liberal arts education truly prepares a student to be an active, interested citizen of the world. I find myself constantly drawing from my literature, history, and gender studies classes from Olaf to help me to understand and process the issues that arise in my research. My studio degree also sets me apart from my colleagues, many of who have no undergraduate studio experience. They often struggle with understanding the process of art making, how an artist prepares a canvas for paint, what makes a platinum print different from a silver gelatin photograph. The interconnected nature of the St. Olaf art department is unique to our institution and has truly made a difference in my graduate studies.
