Save the date for the 2014 Harvest event!

Our annual internship event, The Harvest, is right around the corner! If you're looking for an intern, save the date and c'mon by during the evening on Thursday, December 4 from 5-8 to talk to our students, check out their work and possibly pick up an intern in the process.

Illustration & design by senior JC Franco

The KCAI Illustration Department requires our students to have an internship. We want to connect local internship sites with the best possible interns. Our students are interested in pursuing internships in a wide variety of fields. Come see what our students have to offer!

Join us on Thursday, December 4th from 5-8 pm to "harvest" your intern(s). Enjoy refreshments while you peruse The Illustration studios, which will be set up trade show style. The students will have samples of their work and will be available to talk to any interested potential internship sites.

The KCAI Illustration Department is located at 324 E. 43rd Street, KCMO, 64111. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Christen Baker at cbaker@kcai.edu or 816.802.3518.

Disintegration: Works by John Ferry

John Ferry, our beloved professor has a new show opening Friday, November 14th. Disintegration will feature 27 pieces, and is at the Lawrence Arts Center at 940 New Hampshire Street in Lawrence, Kansas. John works in oil and typically at a small scale.

Field #4, 5'' x 7''. Oil 

He paints similar scenes repeatedly, leveraging his technical fluency to invigorate an image of, say, a street in Decatur Illinois, or a distant view of the Manhattan Bridge when it is painted for the dozenth time. His work focuses on the material quality of the paint and the ways that a painting can modulate between an industrial or architectural vista on one hand and a delicately labored object, a record of thousands of strokes, scrapes and layers of oil on the other.

JF: I paint what I know.  All my scenes are from my home-town or other places I've lived and observed daily.  I find it a challenge to paint the same scene multiple times and be able to bring something fresh to it each time.  

Given that so much emphasis in the work is on texture and the objecthood of the painting, the work gains immensely from being seen in person. So go out and see his show (really though.)

JF: I thought I was going to be in the larger gallery so I was afraid that the 27 paintings I'm displaying were still not going to be enough to fill it sufficiently.  When I found out it was in the smaller gallery, I knew the show would look fine. It's always a great learning opportunity to see your work displayed.  And when it's in such a beautiful and well cared for space, it always helps bring a kind of closure to the process.

The small size gives more weight to the detail and character of his paintings, and also adds to the strength of the work's presentation; when I've had the opportunity to see John's work in person, it feels more akin to reading a series of love letters - the work is so small, it demands a real kind of intimacy, a one on one interaction with the piece that is too often forgone in contemporary art. John's work is not trying to dazzle you with gimmicks, nor is it didactic, trying to communicate any heavy handed conceptual idea. His work is honest, rich, and deeply personal.

Decatur #2. 6''x8.5''. Oil

JF: I try to put together a solid group of work which is usually inclusive of a theme(s) of work that show well together. I show the strongest work I have at the time.  I adhere to Niles Spencer's philosophy when displaying work.  He said, "I don't let a painting leave my studio until I don't know how to make it any better."

Disintegration will be on exhibit at the Lawrence Arts Center November 14, 2014 - January 3, 2015 with an opening reception on Friday, November 21, 2014 from 5-7 pm and an artist talk on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 7 pm.  

Post written by Jacob Canyon Robinson

Remembering John Muller

As many of you may know, graphic artist John Muller died unexpectedly last week. A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute ('73 Design), John worked for various graphic design firms in Kansas City and Washington, D.C. After their son, John Stewart Muller, was born, John and his wife Kathy returned to Kansas City where they founded the award-winning advertising and design agency Muller + Company in 1983.

Known for high quality, award-winning creative work, John’s creative leadership helped Muller + Company create classic campaigns for Tivol Jewels, North Kansas City Hospital, The Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival, The Lyric Opera, and many more local and national clients. He was a member of the Kansas City Art Institute Board of Directors and a fellow member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. His graphic art received international recognition, including exhibits in New York, Zurich, Kansas City, Tokyo, and Los Angeles, and is in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.

Instructor David Terrill and a group of seniors recently visited Muller + Bressler + Brown. Along with the presentation/tour by Creative Director Shan Neeley and Art Director/Illustrator Kevin Brimmer, they shared a film that was made about John a couple years ago. He was being honored by AIGA. It was made by his son.

With all that MBB had going on preparing material/work for John's memorial service and dealing with the loss, they still welcomed our students and spent almost 2 hours with them. They felt that is was fitting considering how much John loved KCAI. Our hearts go out to John’s wife, Kathy and their entire family.

Check out the short film about John, here: 

Pulverize Hesitation: The Graphic Art of John D. Muller

Scarritt Elementary School Murals

The Scarritt Elementary School murals are an ongoing community project lead by instructor Hector Casanova to beautify a closed school building in the historic Northeast neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. The city contacted Casanova about the project in April of this year after he made an open call for any organizations that had an interest in community art. Casanova began planning immediately after the city informed him that there were some three hundred panels to be painted in order for the project to reach completion. Thus, a new annual project began — students in their fall semester of their junior year now have the chance to make a large scale work that will be appreciated by the community for years to come. This is the first time the KCAI illustration department has had the opportunity to become so involved in the community and leave their mark on the city.

Scarritt Elementary before the murals were installed.

The first group installing their murals!

Every class in the illustration department is divided into two sections that switch instructors after midterms. Each junior section chooses their own smaller group to present and execute an idea for each component of the larger mural, working together on concepts and themes that revolve around the community and it’s wishes for the art that will enhance their neighborhood. Some of these themes as suggested by the residents include cultural representation, cooperation, and growth. Presently, with the first half of the semester behind us you can find eight completed murals already installed at the school with the next group following quickly behind.

The second section of the class working hard on their murals.

The school is located at 3509 Anderson Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, 64123 if you would like to visit these amazing murals as they continue to progress throughout the fall semesters!

For more photos as well as a behind the scenes look at how the panels are coming together, check out the Scarritt Elementary School Mural Project page on Facebook, here: https://www.facebook.com/ScarrittElementarySchoolMurals

Post written by Johannah Miller and Taylor Fourt

Our new Facebook page & more!

Woohoooo! We're official, people! We now have a KCAI Illustration Web Team! The current Web Team is Cassie Allen, Jacob Robinson, Rosie Ruzicka, Purps Percival, Maddie Kennedy, Taylor Fourt, Johannah Miller and Slimm Fabert. We also just launched a shiny new Facebook page! We'll be posting all sorts of stuff on here so be sure to check back often. BiG THANKS to our new web team for your help in making things happen. Our first profile pic is by alum MeShelle Scott ('13, KCAI Illustration) and our first cover image is by senior Coleman Stampley. 

Our new Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/illustrationkcai

In addition to the new Facebook page, the web team has been busy setting up an Instagram page, a Twitter page and a Tumblr page. Although we're still figuring out how we're going to use these tools to best suit our needs, we'd love to get submissions/ideas from current KCAI Illustration students as well as from our alums. Additionally, we're also planning on changing out both the profile pic and the cover image on our Facebook page from time to time.

Over the next month we're going to be kicking off Student Features and Faculty Features. We're hoping to have a different student feature every week and a different faculty feature every month. We will have a Student Feature Submission box located within the department starting tomorrow, November 12. Student feature submissions are voluntary. The web team will randomly pick a student name from the box every week. Stay tuned for more info on that soon.

To submit illustrations/ideas/stories/etc, please email the web team at kcai dot illu at gmail dot com.

Visiting Artist Fall 2014: VICTO NGAI

Every semester, the KCAI Illustration department compiles a list of artists that the students admire and are inspired by to invite to speak and present at our school. After the list of artists is put together, the students vote on the two they want to see most, and one of each of those two artists comes each semester. The visiting artist sends an assignment for all the students in the department to complete a couple weeks before they come and speak, prompting the whole department to turn out their best work in hopes of being chosen as one of the best by the visiting artist.

For this semester, our department nominated our visiting artist to be Victo Ngai. Victo Ngai is only at the beginning of her career, and is already one of the most successful young illustrators in the industry. Born in Hong Kong, she developed a love of art very early in her life, and even showed us images from when she was six in her presentation to us. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2010, which means she has only been professionally freelancing for less than five years, and has already been published by the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, IMAX, McDonalds, and so many more prestigious clients. Her lushly detailed, vibrantly colored work, with her blunt sense of humor and incredible skill had made her a favorite inspiration and role model in the Illustration department even before we officially invited her to be a visiting artist with us a week ago.

The assignment for Victo’s visit was to create a wine label for a Pinot Noir called “The Magician”. We were to make an image that would not only create a sense of wonder and mysticism but also speak to the complex flavors of the wine. We received the assignment a week before Victo arrived, which may seem like a lot of time, but once we all started working on our pieces it definitely didn’t seem like enough! However, by the time the due date came around we were all blown away by the amazing pieces we all managed to produce in such a short amount of time.

Students looking through all the artwork that was done for Victo's assignment

Once everyone had their labels done we got them all sent off to Victo and she spent a night going through and picking her 25-30 favourites that we would discuss the next day. She picked a wide variety of images. Some were very typography based, others were character based and many were a wonderful combination of the two. Normally, the visiting artist would have everything set up in such a way that they would pick their top 25 or so favourites, and then have between 3-5 that would get to go to dinner with them and the Illustration faculty at Cafe Trio, a local restaurant. But this time, Victo liked many of them so much that she was only able to narrow them down to 6 that she liked and had the students vote on their top three. Our winners this year were Kelsey Wroten, Coleman Stampley, and Kristopher Martin.

Pictured clockwise, from bottom left: Victo Ngai, Coleman Stampley, Kristopher Martin and Kelsey Wroten.

Having worked as a successful illustrator for several years now, Victo had some words of wisdom to impart to us. She stressed the importance of communication in art. An illustrator’s job is to create a visual bridge that connects the idea of the client to their audience. One way to ensure that is not to set too many boundaries for yourself when you’re just starting out, such as, “I will only paint in red and blue” or “I will only draw images of cats.” She expressed that, despite the fact that editorials are often the bread and butter of most illustrators’ careers, that we should still be open to venues that we wouldn’t often think to seek out. One instance is Tor, a sci-fi/fantasy book publisher. They seek out artists that don’t often do sci-fi/fantasy work, so that their covers don’t become clichéd and stale. Other times you might have to do imagery for an article about something that doesn’t interest you at all, like retirement funds. Regardless of the subject, you should strive to enjoy what you’re doing, because often times it will take you in a new direction or help you discover something that you might not have thought you would like. Last but not least, as a freelance artist you should always remember that YOU are working for YOURSELF. When you go to meet that art director to discuss your fancy cool new job you’re going there on equal footing. You’re working together as a partnership to visually solve a problem so it’s important to go in there with confidence in yourself and the things that you do. Don’t worry too much about it because that art director WANTS you to be there. They picked you for a reason.

It was a huge pleasure and honor to have such an accomplished, incredible artist come speak at our school, to offer us both critique on our work and wisdom she’d learned from her’s. We can’t thank Victo enough, and wish her much more success in the future!

Faculty & student dinner with Victo. Pictured clockwise, from left: Hector Casanova, Victo Ngai, Kristopher Martin, John Ferry, Kelsey Wroten, David Terrill, Maura Cluthe and Coleman Stampley. Photo by department chair Steve Mayse.

And here are the three winning images...

Coleman Stampley

Kristopher Martin

Kelsey Wroten

...and the three runner-ups! Congrats to all!

Kelsey Borchering

Cory Montero

Emily Stout

Post written by Cassie Allen and Purps Percival

New Missouri Bank Artboard by KCAI Illustration alum Andy Ozier

The Missouri Bank Crossroads Branch, 125 Southwest Blvd., is displaying a new set of large-scale commissioned images by Kansas City artist Andy Ozier (’13 illustration) on its Artboards through the end of November. The intention of the design is to communicate the buzz surrounding the rich barbecue culture that the Kansas City community embraces and takes pride in on an international scale. Pictured: “Everyone’s Talking About Our Barbecue,” Andy Ozier, 2014.

Andy Ozier's Artboard, First Friday in the Crossroads, October 2014

Celina Curry, 2013 KCAI Illustration graduate chosen for local grant

Hats off to Celina Curry (’13 Illustration) who will be creating artwork for upcoming streetcar stops in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Curry was selected by the Municipal Arts Commission as one of two artists to receive a $100,000 grant to beautify the pathway along a 2.2-mile streetcar line for which construction is now underway. For more information about this project, visit www.inkkc.com/content/on-my-mind-celina-curry-illustrator-designing-streetcar-stops/. 

To learn more about Curry and view some of her artwork via her personal website, celinacurry.com.

Celina Curry works out of her home studio in midtown Kansas City. (Photo by Jill Toyoshiba, The Kansas City Star)

Celina Curry, self portrait with plants.

KCAI Illustration End of Year Show 2014

Join us THIS FRIDAY, May 9, 2014 from 5 - 8 pm for the opening of the 2014 End of Semester Illustration Exhibition featuring works by sophomore, junior and senior illustration students. Refreshments will be served.

The KCAI Illustration Department End of Semester Exhibition will be open to the public Friday, May 9 and will be open throughout the weekend.

Hours:
Friday, May 9th: 5-8 PM
Saturday, May 10th: 10 AM - 5 PM
Sunday, May 11th: 12 - 5 PM

Here's a sneak peek of some of the great work from the show. We're proud of the work the students have been doing & hope to see you there!

2014 KCAI Illustration Show poster by (junior) Spencer Pullen.

Coleman Stampley

Austin Pritchett

Amanda Muzquiz

Ash Miyagawa

Angelita Gonzales

Chloe Compton

Brittany Plachecki

Adam Soyring

Greg Healy

Cassie Allen

Spencer Owen

Tara Raweewon

Taylor Fourt

Sharon Moore

Cal DeSmith

Maria Dlabick

Nathan Hall

Kim Chapman

Purps Percival

Kristopher Martin

Juan Osorio

Katherine Dodson

Kelsey Wroten

Austin Gober

Emily Woodson

David White

Rosie Ruzicka

Emma Jennings

Christina Larkins

JC Franco

Kendall Quack

Taylor Smith

Johannah Miller

Emily Stout

Iggi Daugherty

Hayley Books

Karolina Akimov

Kelsey Borcherding

Laura Hughes

Clinton Walker

Wow! Thanks for looking through our sneak peek! This is just a small sample of the 100+ pieces  that make up this year's show. We'll be open all weekend, so stop on by! 

a trip to the Kansas City Ballet

Last month Steve Mayse, Illustration Department Chair & Professor, took a group of illustration students to the Kansas City Ballet so that they could spend time sketching some of the dancers in rehearsal for "Dracula". They then had an opportunity to go, as a group, to a February 27 performance at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Participating students included Chandler Dudley, Cassandra Allen, Jessica Becker, Brantly Sheffield, Taylor Fourt, Johanna Miller, Carrie Riehl, Tobias Rose, Jayme Murgas, Christina Fabert, Taylor Toone, Emily Woodson, Kate Dittmann and Derek Hutchens.

Society of Illustrators Student Competition winners!

We just found out that 9 of our students (4 alums and 5 current students) have had work accepted into the Society of Illustrators Student Competition and we couldn't be more proud!  This is the fourth year that we've existed as a department since it was re-established and the third year that our students have entered work into this competition. Every year we've entered, we've had more work accepted into the show, which is a great feeling. Big congrats to all of our talented illustrators! 

All the pieces below will be on display at the Museum of American Illustration in New York, NY from May 7 - 31 with an opening reception on Friday, May 9, 2014.

Check out the winning pieces below. To see all of the student work that's going to be in the show, visit the Society of Illustrators.

Emma Jennings, Heir Loom, 2013

Spencer Pullen, Exotic Interior, 2013

Tierra Nelson, Babe In The Woods, 2014

Kelsey Wroten, Monster Mosh, 2013

Kelsey Wroten, Pilgrim, 2013

Claire Faulhaber, Thinking of You, 2013

Kelsey Borcherding, Bok, 2013

Kelsey Borcherding, Fields, 2013

Clinton Walker, Unplugged, 2013

Andy Ozier, Double Bass Sketchbook Spread, 2013

Andy Ozier, Everyone's Talking About BBQ, 2013

Celina Curry, Playground, 2013

BiG thanks!

Although last semester seems like forever ago (!), we wanted to stop and give a special shout out to Pam and Gary Gradinger for their generous support and for sponsoring our department. Your belief in our department and our students means the world to us and to KCAI. Thank you!!

Here are just a few picks from the Illustration NOW show, held on December 5, 2013.

Thank you Pam & Gary!

What is normally classroom space was transformed into gallery space for Illustration NOW 2013.

Junior Rosie Ruzicka talking about her piece with patrons Cindy and Steve Kunz.

Several juniors checking out the work in the show.

Professor David Terrill and senior Christina Larkins talking about the show.

Professor and Department Chair Steve Mayse talking with patron Cindy Kunz about the show. (That's me, prof Maura Cluthe, on the right ready with some red dots. I was more than happy to place red dots on some pieces that night!)

Society of Korea lllusart (SOKI) winners

Last December, the Society of Korea Illusart (SOKI) had a call for entries for their annual illustration competition. Welcoming entries from around the world, the SOKI competition is broken down into several categories including Character Illustration, Fashion Illustration (styles and patterns), Scientific and Technical Illustration, 3D Illustration, Typography Illustration, Gallery Illustration, Installation Illustration and Illustration for Communication Design.

We are pleased to announce that Taylor Fourt and Johannah Miller (both KCAI Illustration sophomores) have both been accepted into the SOKI international art competition in Seoul, Korea and have both been acknowledged and awarded for their entries into the competition. In addition, they are both honorary members of SOKI. Way to go, Taylor and Johannah!! Congratulations!

Taylor Fourt, 2013

Johannah Miller, 2013

Illustrators 56

Illustration faculty member and alumni Maura Cluthe (Illustration, '93) has been selected for inclusion in The Society of Illustrators show Illustrators 56. The piece, Assembly Unknown, will be on display during the first part of the two-part annual exhibition Illustrators 56 to be held at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York, NY January 7 to February 1, 2014. The exhibit features works by leading contemporary illustrators worldwide, selected by a prestigious jury of professionals. For more information about the show, visit the Society of Illustrators website.

http://www.societyillustrators.org/The-Museum/2014/UIAM/Illustrators-56--Part-One.aspx

"Assembly Unknown, measures 6x8 inches and was originally done for a group show at a gallery in Seaside, Oregon. It's a mixed media piece on board that includes etching, letterpress, and a few found bits. It's one of three pieces that were done around the same time; one of the other pieces went to a group show in London, the other one went to a private collection." - Maura Cluthe, 2013.

Maura Cluthe, Assembly Unknown, 2013

ILLUSTRATION NOW preview #2

We're just a few days away from ILLUSTRATION NOW 2013! We're going to be prepping and painting the space tonight and the work will be hung tomorrow. So exciting! Here's some additional work that will be in the show.

Juan Carlos Franco • Niku, digital painting, 2013, $60 framed, $15 unframed

Cassie Allen • spread from Stranger Things, hand-made book, ink on paper, 2013, $150

Ellen Fox • Bumbershoot, pencil, digital, 2013, $60 framed, $30 unframed

Spencer Pullen • interior (exterior) interior, ink on paper, 2013, $275

Adam Soyring • Feet of Lead and Wings of Tin, found object sculpture, 2013, $225

Christina Larkins • Poe Intoxication, digital painting,2013, $40 framed, $20 unframed 

Nathan Hall • Troll, ballpoint pen on panel, 2013, $600

Thanks for looking! We hope to see you sometime this weekend! (See previous post for exhibition details.)

ILLUSTRATION NOW preview

ILLUSTRATION NOW 2013 is just over a week away and we couldn't be more excited! Between the ILLUSTRATION NOW show next weekend, The Harvest Internship Event on December 12 and all the work the students are finishing up before the winter break, the studios are buzzing!

Since the exhibition space within our department is somewhat small, we decided to keep this show simple and manageable. 38 students (out of 102) were selected by full-time faculty and invited to submit up to 3 pieces for consideration in the show. Once all the pieces were submitted, one piece per student was chosen. 

Since the show is almost a week away, we thought we'd post a little preview of some of the work that will be in the show. Check it out!

Lamya Al Douri • Hilawaa (Beauty) , graphite, digital, 2013, $75 framed

Kelsey Borcherding • Sketch #118, gouache, 2013, $150 framed original 

Salvador Carrasco • Eschaton, digital, 2013, $75 framed

Kim Chapman • Walk My Dog, 2013, digital, 2012, $60 framed, $30 unframed

Katherine Dodson • The Jungle Book, ink on board, 2013, $245 framed

Austin Gober • Just Numbers, acrylic and ink, 2013, $450

Angelita Medina Gonzales • Kishi Bashi, mixed media, 2013, $65 framed, $25 unframed

Phil Hernandez • Funkadelic, digital, 2013, $60 framed, $30 unframed

Emma Jennings • Untitled, graphite on paper, 2013, $350 framed

Kristopher Martin • Crow Mother of Country Club Drive, ink, acrylic, mixed media, 2013, $200 framed

Suzanne Nelson • Face Assemblage, mixed media, $275 / prints $45

Purps Percival • Kintsukuroi, watercolor and ink, 2013, $125

Brittany Plachecki • Blasphemy, digital, 2013, $50 framed, $20 unframed

Tara Raweewon • V---- d- M---, digital, 2013, $65 framed

Carrie Riehl • Tractor Ride, oil on canvas, 2013, $400

Jacob Robinson • The Transfiguration of Horselover Fat (Vast Active Living Intelligence Systems), mixed media + digital, 2013, $70 framed, $40 unframed

Rosemarie Ruzicka • Fox In Snow, silkscreen, 2011, $150 framed

This piece was a part of Illustrators 55, a juried exhibition on display at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York, January 2013.

Patti Ryland • Streptococcalroach, digital painting, 2013, $65 framed

Brantly Sheffield • Outfield, oil on masonite, 2013, $400

R.T. Smith • 400 Funerals, acrylic, watercolor, digital, 2013, $75 framed

Coleman Stampley • Rise and Fall, digital, 2013, $70 framed, $40 unframed

Clinton Walker • Artist's Block, ink and digital, 2013, $60 framed, $25 unframed

Allison Welter • Hindu Demon Mask, cut paper, 2013, $20 unframed print

Kelsey Wroten • Monster Mash, ink and digital on paper, 2013, $70 framed, $35 unframed

David White • It'sa Mario, cut paper and spray paint, 2013, $200

We will be posting additional work in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Patron Preview Night 
This is a ticketed event; Students, Faculty, and Patrons Welcome
Thursday, December 5th from 6 to 9 PM

For ticket information, visit kcai.edu/patronpreview

End of Semester Show 
FREE and open to the public
Friday, December 6th, Opening Reception from 5 to 7 PM; Weekend Hours: Saturday, December 7th from 10 AM to 5 PM, Sunday, December 8th from 12 to 5 PM

The Flex Space Gallery • KCAI Illustration Building, 324 East 43rd Street KCMO (Street parking is available)

Save the date for The Harvest!

It's quickly approaching that time of year once again; time for The Harvest, a KCAI Illustration Internship Event.

artwork by Senior Illustration student Kim Chapman

Need an Intern? 

We can help you with that. The KCAI Illustration Department requires our students to have an internship, and we want to help connect local internship sites with the best possible interns. Our students are interested in pursuing internships in a  wide variety of fields. Come see what our students have to offer!

Come Harvest

Join us on Thursday, December 12 from 5-8pm to harvest your intern(s). Enjoy refreshments while you peruse the Illustration studios, which will be set up trade show style. The students will have samples of their work and will be available to talk to any interested potential internship sites.

Tell Us Who's Coming

Your office-mate wants an intern too? Bring them along! We welcome any local creatives interested in sizing up potential interns. However, we do request that you RSVP with the approximate number of employees from your company that will be attending so we can plan and provide accordingly.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Skye Livingston at slivingston@kcai.edu or 816.802.3518.

The KCAI Illustration department is located at 324 E 43rd Street. Street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood. For a detailed map, please visit our CONTACT page.

artwork by Senior Illustration student Sharon Moore

ILLUSTRATION NOW 2013

ILLUSTRATION N0W 2013 is a faculty curated group show featuring the work of Kansas City Art Institute Illustration students. 

Featuring work by: Cassie Allen, Lamya Al Douri, Kelsey Borcherding, Salvador Carrasco, Kim Chapman, Katherine Dodson, Ellen Fox, Juan Carlos Franco, Caleb Gebel, Austin Gober, Angelita Gonzales, Nathan Hall, Phil Hernandez, Emma Jennings, Christina Larkins, Kristopher Martin, Suzanne Nelson, Purps Percival, Brittany Plachecki, Austin Pritchett, Spencer Pullen, Kendall Quack, Tara Raweewon, Carrie Riehl, Jacob Robinson, Rosie Ruzicka, Patti Ryland, Brantley Sheffield, Taylor Smith, Adam Soyring, Coleman Stampley, Luke Taylor, Clinton Walker, Alli Welter, Kelsey Wroten, David White

Find us on Facebook: ILLUSTRATION NOW 2013

On Thursday, December 5, 2013 the Kansas City Art Institute will host a Patron Preview from 6 to 10 p.m. on the eve of the public opening of the end-of-semester student exhibition and sale. Partygoers will have an opportunity to tour selected studio departments; view and purchase work before the exhibition and sale opens to the public; and enjoy a progressive evening of food and drinks. Proceeds benefit the student scholarship fund.

Exclusive Patron Preview
OPENING: Thursday, December 5, 2013, 6-9 pm
For ticket information, visit www.kcai.edu/PatronPreview or call 816-802-3483.

KCAI’s “End-of-semester student exhibition and sale” showcases work by students in the departments of ceramics, digital filmmaking, fiber, graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. 

End of Semester Exhibition Show & Sale
FREE TO THE PUBLIC
OPENING: Friday, December 6, 2013, 5-7pm
Weekend Hours: Saturday, December 7, 10am-5pm and Sunday, December 8, 12pm-5pm

Join us at The Flex Space Gallery in the KCAI Illustration Building, 324 East 43rd Street, KCMO

Street parking is available.

We hope to se you there!!

JFK - A Ghostly Evening

Last month visiting instructor Hector Casanova and his class of juniors teamed up with MeltingPot KC and the Just Off Broadway Theatre to create a poster / playbill cover to promote the upcoming theatrical production, JFK - A Ghostly Evening. The project was put together by Hector in an effort to establish symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationships with other artistic institutions in town. The students got an opportunity to work on a "real world" project, with the winning design getting published, and this small independent theatre company got the opportunity to choose from 16 poster designs. All the participating students got tickets to go see the performance on preview night, Thursday, November 21, where their work will be featured in the lobby of the theatre. Congratulations to junior Katherine Dodson, whose work was chosen for the poster and playbill!

When asked about the project Hector said, "This project went very well, and we hope to continue to work with Off Broadway Theatre for similar future projects."

JFK - A Ghostly Evening will be running at Just Off Broadway Theatre from November 22 - December 1, 2013.  For more information, visit their website or call 816-784-5020.

Katherine Dodson, JFK - A Ghostly Evening

Congratulations, too, to all the runners-up!

Jacob Robinson

Augustus Oberg

Adam Soyring

Kelsey Wroten

Kelsey Borcherding

It's time once again for the American Royal

Every year the folks from the American Royal host a competition within our department to illustrate and design the poster for this year's annual barbecue event. Any student is allowed to enter, but only one is chosen. The selected artwork then becomes the signage for the event and is used on everything from posters to t-shirts. The winner also receives a $750 check towards their scholarship. Congratulations to this year's winner, senior Christina Larkins!

34th Annual American Royal • Christina Larkins, 2013

Christina Larkins, receiving her award at the American Royal