Spotlighting the New Media Design Department

What’s your brand?  What’s your organization’s brand?  Why does it matter??!!  A brand demonstrates how a company presents themselves and the products they are selling–it is a crucial introduction to an organization and a way to solidify a reputation. Three students in the New Media Design Department wanted to explore how brand development and design intersect and were able to delve into this topic by working on the Charlotte Urban Design Center Branding Project, led by Professor Melissa Gamez. The seeds for this project were planted in an independent study that Sara Diaz completed with Professor Gamez the previous semester. Also interested in brand development, Connor Davies and Ida Osterman joined the project to learn more about it.

Professor Gamez stated that the Urban Design Center Branding Project consisted of the group “creat[ing] a cohesive brand for the city of Charlotte’s Urban Design Center that could unify and represent its many activities and areas of focus,” aligning with the department’s mission of “advanc[ing] the quality of the built environment, creat[ing] public awareness, and communicat[ing] the importance of urban design to the city.” 

Sara Diaz, Professor Melissa Gamez, and Ida Osterman with their mounted posters

The experiential learning involved with this project was definitive. Connor Davies, a senior majoring in New Media Design, articulated his own experience in collaboration with the group: “I think along with getting a good look into what the real world wants from us as designers I really got to bond with a small team. Everyone in the group was great and I really couldn’t have asked for anything better from them.”

Ida Osterman, a sophomore on the Queens triathlon team who is majoring in New Media Design and double-minoring in Studio Art and Philosophy, elaborated on what the project’s collaborative learning entailed: “the experience of working with UDC as well as my team taught me how to combine my creative process with others. Throughout the process, we were meeting regularly to share ideas and designs; we worked on each other’s designs to see how we could develop them differently. This way of working made it possible for us to see the design in new perspectives to make the final logo in the best possible way.” Accordingly, the students dedicated time throughout the duration of the semester to independent work and weekly group meetings that would culminate in a successful presentation by the end of the semester.

Diaz, a senior from Cali, Colombia also on the triathlon team with a New Media Design major and Arts Leadership and Administration minor, noted as well how the UDC Branding Project taught her more “about design, client relationship and teamwork,” thanks in part to consistent communication with the Urban Design Center, who provided feedback for the group’s work throughout the semester.  She also highlights how Queens in general has contributed to her success: “Having small class sizes and being able to communicate with professor[s] at any time have been a key part to my success.” 

Professor Gamez commended the students for their involvement with the project as they took on this project along with “their normal class load and sports commitments,” declaring how their “willingness and interest speaks volumes about their integrity and passion in what they are studying and the kind of community we are fostering here at Queens.” The students also expressed gratitude for Professor Gamez’s guidance and support throughout the process.

The project was able to blossom with “financial support for this project from the Wells Fargo Center [for Community Engagement] and the stupendous Jennifer Marts,” as expressed by Professor Gamez. Using Queens resources, the students printed out four professional-grade 24×36 mounted posters that Diaz and Osterman formally presented to the Urban Design Center at their offices. These posters are now on permanent display in the Urban Design Center’s office, which is open for a monthly gallery crawl in South End. This exhibit will allow the quality work of Queens students to be shown to designers around Charlotte–quite a branding achievement!

Emily Iknayan

Spotlighting the Queens University of Charlotte CAS Blog Staff and what they are looking forward to in 2020!

Hi! I’m Gabrielle Girard. I’m majoring in Creative Writing, minoring in Studio Art, and writing and editing for the CAS blog. I’ve been thinking about how my professors have supported me this semester, and throughout my whole time at Queens, and — it’s not too much eggnog — I am just so moved! This year, I was able to show work in the Student Art Show, publish poems in Signet, and travel to Atlanta with Nia, Dr. Hull, and Dr. Shishko to present undergraduate research at SAMLA. I’ve had the most fabulous academic advisor, Professor Sarah Creech. Queens has given me countless opportunities to grow and shine as a student in ways I never knew I could. As we break on a new decade, I am excited for my final semester and even have grad school applications in the works. Whatever is lurking in the future, I know that the things I’ve learned at Queens are permanent installations.

Hi! My name is Nia Murat and I’m a junior with a double major in Creative Writing and Literature here at Queens. I’m also minoring in Music, as well as being a part of the Preyers Honors Program. As a native of Portland, Oregon, the move to Queens was daunting. However, I’ve found nothing but support and friendship in the Queens community – especially from the wonderful people within the English and Music departments. With the support of professors like Dr. Hull and Dr. Shishko, I was able to produce and present a paper at SAMLA (alongside the amazing Gabrielle) and take part in a life-altering experience. My voice teacher, Professor Rhyne-Bray, has also served as a guiding light, encouraging me to share my voice in multiple recitals. I’ll be spending the Spring 2020 semester in London, England at Regent’s University, traveling through one of Queens’ study abroad programs. Look out – I’ll be sending updates of my adventures abroad!

Hi everybody! My name is Emily Iknayan. I am a sophomore from Charlotte, double majoring in History and Professional Writing and Rhetoric and minoring in Philosophy. I’m clearly a big fan of the Humanities, and my short time at Queens has allowed me to fully realize this. Queens has provided me with a great support system, from faculty to staff, that have encouraged me in many facets. In 2020, I will be heading to Northern Ireland to learn about the peace, justice, and reconciliation that has followed the conflict in the area.  I’ll be traveling with a small group from Queens–students from various disciplines and a few members of my support system, including Dr. Mowrey, Professor McCrary, and Queens Chaplain (and alum!) Joey Haynes. The story of my experience in Northern Ireland might make an appearance on this very blog in 2020!

Faculty editor’s note: It is a great honor and privilege to work with students as talented as Gabby, Nia, and Emily; the QU CAS faculty and staff look forward to seeing what they accomplish in 2020 and beyond.  Happy New Year to all!  ~ Helen Hull

CAS (and Queens) Success Sometimes Means Taking a Break!

It’s exam week at Queens University of Charlotte, but on Monday night, professors weren’t dishing out finals. Faculty showed up in their favorite PJs and elf hats, serving free breakfast food. On the menu: pancakes with a buffet of toppings, biscuits, donuts, coffee and more.

Trexler, the Queens dining hall, was packed. “Honestly, Exam Break Breakfast is one of my favorite [events] at Queens,” said Erin Iknayan, a duel degree student with majors in Exercise Sports Science and Psychology. “It is a fun way to get together with everyone and be stressed out together.” Some students emerged from the library for brain fuel, while others came decked out in Christmas PJs, but everyone was ready to celebrate the semester.

 

Breakfast food was the study break everyone needed, and bingo kept them on their toes. Students played for gift cards and prizes.

Santa heard this was better than the cookies kids leave by the fireplace, and all students were asking for was extra credit.

Exam Break Breakfast is a beloved tradition, 20 years running, and just one of the many ways Queens prioritizes mental health and supports students during finals and all year long. Getting a degree is hard work, but pancakes and incredible faculty are a recipe for success.

Gabrielle Girard

The Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts & Civic Engagement has been a work in progress for over a year, but finally, in the months before its official opening in February of 2020, it is nearing completion. For music students the wait has felt like an eternity, but we were finally able recently to get a quick look at the new space. The Arts at Queens organized a tour for all students in the Fine Arts and related departments – from Creative Writing to Interior Design – to show what will be available to them in the Spring of 2020. Just from what we were able to see from the hour-long tour, the wait was well worth it.

Walking into the entrance area of the Gambrell Center, you’re greeted with clean, white walls and clear glass. The simplicity of the design just highlights the two murals on your immediate left and right: two faces bathed in cool colors that represent students looking to the future as they create in this building. From there, the sprawling floor plan becomes a labyrinth of white walls ready to be adorned with student art.

Though the renovation makes for a completely reformed building, there are elements of spirit from Dana that remain. This is particularly evident in the new and absolutely glorious auditorium. Music students and the choir director let out an audible gasp of joy at the first peek, and for good reason; this auditorium comes with all the bells and whistles, including a backstage space for theatre productions, an orchestra pit, and three levels of seating that can accommodate a thousand people. The wood paneling on the side has an antique quality, reminiscent of the previous Dana Auditorium, but is updated with modern architecture and very comfortable seats. As a music minor and performer myself, I stood on the stage awestruck as the tour continued on.

Susan Little Recital Hall experienced a similar re-vamping, its basement position now full of light and life, with plenty of fantastic new practice rooms. The building that was once dark and relatively cramped now seems illuminated from top to bottom – though I will still probably need a map to navigate the expansive space!

Of course, the building was made for more than just the Music and Music Therapy students here at Queens. The building will be home to the entire Art, Design, and Music Department. The third floor – accessible by both stairs and a sleek elevator – has offices for the Studio Arts department, as well as a darkroom for photography and studio space. Suzanne Little will host literary readings as well as performances.

Among the classrooms is a rooftop outdoor area accessible by students and staff. Presumably, this space will be used for studying and departmental get-togethers, but the glass wall that connects to the hall adjacent to it creates a sense of inclusion. And reaffirms: this is a space that was built to celebrate all the arts.

Just as students across all creative disciplines were invited to be a part of this tour, these same students will be welcome to express themselves in the Gambrell Center. I, for one, am absolutely ecstatic to see what Queens will create.

You, too, will get to finally see the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement in action next semester! Join us for the various events of the opening weekend, which will be kicked off by An Evening With Sutton Foster, February 20, 2020. We look forward to seeing you on campus!

Nia Murat

Spotlighting the Interior Architecture and Design Department

Every fall, students in the Interior Architecture and Design department take an excursion to the High Point Market as preparation for their Residential Environments course in the spring. Growing up around High Point, Emily Surmons, a sophomore from Kernersville, North Carolina, majoring in Interior Architecture and Design, was already familiar with the High Point Market before entering it with her classmates. However, this entrance provided her with a new perspective of her hometown, where she found “a whole entire city” within a city at the High Point Market, a marketplace of home furnishings and insights about what it means to be an interior designer, where people from all around the world were in attendance. 

Emily Surmons browsing materials at the High Point Market

Professor Bill Furman, the coordinator of the Interior Architecture and Design Department, details what a day at the High Point Market consists of: “Students visit the showrooms, hear from manufacture representatives, and see firsthand the technical, aesthetic, and marketing trends of the highly competitive world of residential furnishings.” 

At the High Point Market, the students were “looking at how the room was set up to be filled,” said Surmons. The showrooms are more than the furnishings that occupy them; they are also the work of interior designers and architects, who must consider how their work in designing the showrooms highlights certain furnishings. 

Interior Architecture and Design students at the High Point Market

Surmons found a similarly distinct environment at Queens, where she did not have to choose between pursuing her passion of Interior Architecture and Design and attending a small school — because she could do both at Queens. She describes Queens as a place that “felt like home” and that would foster learning, explaining, “From the first classes that I took, the simple, basic drawing, drafting classes, I felt like this is something I could do for a long time, and I was still interested in it.”

Surmons’ time at the High Point Market also illustrates how Queens faculty recognize that experiences outside the classroom influence the learning in a classroom setting.  Surmons notes that “I took a million pictures while I was there, so when I do projects here, I definitely relate or think back to that, like how the table was full marble and it was reinforced. I have to think about that.” Some questions that occur to her in her work are: “Do I need to reinforce the floor for something? Do I have to reinforce the wall?” This semester in the Interior Architecture and Design program has led Surmons to consider practicality in her own design practices, and this consideration has been substantiated by her observations at the High Point Fall Market.

The Interior Architecture and Design department is a hub for critical thinking. Professor Furman emphasizes that “exposure and awareness to current practice is vastly important” to learning in the Interior Architecture and Design department, which is why experiences like the High Point Market are essential. For Professor Furman, an education in design epitomizes what it means to receive a liberal arts education. He explains: “On a constant and continual basis we tackle creative problems. Not problems where we know what we want, but the unknown, the future. These critical design thinking skills are usable anywhere. As one ventures into the domain of design one begins to understand that design is a synthesis of applied history, psychology, sociology, philosophy, beliefs, linguistics, and the arts and sciences.”

Emily Iknayan

Spotlighting the Department of Mathematics and Physics

Stefanie Kraack, a Math major with a minor in General Business, has been following wide receiver stats since the off-season, and it has nothing to do with Fantasy Football. In the final yards before graduation, Queens students complete a capstone project. Kraack partnered with a student in the Sports Management Department and says their work “focuses on . . . determining if the events during [the NFL Combine] are accurate predictors” of the future performance of NFL wide receivers.

Every February, college athletes converge at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, competing for a spot in the draft. They complete specific tests to showcase their strength and agility, but Kraack is gearing up to discover whether these challenges truly reveal star wide receivers. “I am doing statistical analysis of Combine data and college data from wide receivers that played in the NFL anytime between 2009 to 2018,” said Kraack.

First, she had to collect the data. This proved to be a massive challenge. “We wanted to collect data from the player’s total career but also have data for each year for each player” said Kraack. Once in possession of those stats, she started making correlations. Kraack reported using “hundreds of linear regressions and many multi-step regressions to analyze the data.” Through this much wider mathematical lens, Kraack said she could “begin determining which college or Combine variables [scouts can use] most often . . . to predict the performance of prospective wide receivers.”

Queens’ resources were ready to help Kraack tackle her equation. “I used the Everett Library databases to do all my research about previous studies on Combine data effects on NFL performance,” she said. As always, Queens faculty were first-string players. Kraack’s capstone advisor, Dr. Teneal Pardue, is an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics and Physics Department and was always ready to help. “Dr. Pardue . . . assisted me by listening to my ideas and helping find the right process to get the most accurate results I can,” said Kraack.

While her project found traction on campus, Kraack’s training started long before she started her capstone. She said she took “numerous statistics related courses and probability courses [that] helped [her] have a background in the processes” that she would need. With a finance-based class load, Kraack’s friendships on campus led her to new ideas. Teaming up with a Sports Management major in a unique play, Kraack said she “could not be more excited.”

During her time at Queens, she also had the opportunity to study abroad with the JBIB program. She translated the innovation she witnessed in Yap, Micronesia into her work. She said “this [trip] inspired [her] to be creative with [her] capstone and really try to find ways to go about [her] topic . . . in a unique way.”

Sprinting towards final exams and the playoffs, Kraack is excited to present her capstone. She plans to “create a few different predicative models that can assist scouts and General Managers” and could change “the way in which wide receivers are drafted” in the NFL. With the College of Arts and Sciences behind her, Kraack is conditioned and ready to write new formulas into the playbook of the future.

Gabrielle Girard

 

 

Of all the noises often heard wafting up from the basement of McEwen throughout the day, one of the only instruments I had yet to hear was bells – that is, until last week. While students listen to lectures and the like in classrooms above, the Music and Music Therapy students are hard at work honing their musical prowess in their temporary home in McEwen as the new Fine Arts Building nears completion. Through Queens’ Music Therapy program, students are allowed the chance to work with clients in the community starting their first year in the Music Therapy Clinic, and it’s in the clinic that I discovered from where the mysterious sounds of bells emanated. Their source? The Queens University Frances J. McClain Bell Choir.

   

Music Therapy Students from the Queens University of Charlotte Music Therapy page

The Bell Choir was founded in 1997 by its namesake Frances J. McClain, who also founded Queens’ on-campus Music Therapy Clinic. McClain was dedicated to connecting the Music Therapy students with the surrounding community to help them develop their skills and bond with clients, a goal that current head of the Bell Choir and Music Therapy Clinical Coordinator Professor Meg Stanley Johnson has continued.

According to Johnson, students can ask to be a part of the choir as part of their field placement requirement, where they work with clients “on individual goals in a social setting.” Though there is a limit of 3-4 students at a time to keep the group small, different students may come and participate every Tuesday at 5pm as it suits their schedule. And as clients return week after week – and, in the case of two students, week after week since the Choir’s conception nearly 22 years ago – they are able to form deep connections with the students and each other, here on campus in a safe space.

The choir itself uses bells, specifically tone chimes, because of their durability and ease of use. Johnson leads the group in a greeting song at the start of each session, using sign language to signal what to play. Each bell has colored tape on it that corresponds to which chord the bell belongs in, which Johnson then signals with the first letter of each color in sign language. This allows Johnson to cue the group while keeping time and singing along. Next, the group moves into working on different notes, rhythms, and eventually songs, switching out the bells as needed for the variety of chords necessary. Finally, Johnson closes out each hour-long session with a goodbye song. According to Johnson, the inclusion of a greeting and goodbye helps create relationships within the group as students and clients get to connect names and faces.

Sign Language ‘R,’ ‘Y,’ and ‘B’ used to indicate colors

Ultimately, these sessions are also rehearsals, as the group also performs on and off-campus, at churches and other locations in the community. They have one performance on campus in December, bringing some holiday cheer to finals week, and they participate in the Musical Therapy Department’s Spring Celebration tradition.

I’m glad I got to experience the Frances J. Bell Choir, as it acts as both a point of connection and community within the Musical Therapy Department. If you hear the sound of bells wafting from Trexler as students and professors prepare for winter break, take a moment to enjoy the sweet tones of the Bell Choir.

Nia Murat

Spotlighting the Department of Biology

Llamas in Peru? Yes. Opportunities for students to engage with the medical field in Peru? Also that.

The John Belk International Program provides students at Queens the opportunity to study abroad. Oriana Jerez, a senior majoring in Biology, took an alternative route this summer by doing an internship in Peru. With the goal of going to medical school to become a physician, Jerez explained that she was “looking for clinical opportunities like these to learn, practice, and be inspired by the work of others in the area of medicine.” She found these clinical opportunities in Cusco, Peru, where she worked at two different clinics assisting healthcare professionals. 

Jerez with a llama

The first clinic Jerez worked at was called Belempampa, “a public rural clinic,” where her work allowed her to get a sense of the interactions between healthcare providers and their patients. She assisted various nurses in “provid[ing] care to the underserved population from the Cusco region.” During her internship, she “helped with patients’ monthly controls by measuring their height, weight, and vital signals” and “also participated in a large vaccination campaign administered by the government of Peru which prioritized the highest risk groups of the Cusco region.” Her experience at this clinic informed her how economic disparities could affect a family’s overall health.

The second clinic Jerez volunteered at was a private clinic called CIMA, where, she explained, the patients were mostly “people who work in industries that involve tourists or are people with better economic conditions living in the area.” The nature of her work changed at the second clinic as she “served as a bridge between patients and doctors as well as an aid for the laboratory biochemists by performing complete blood counts and clinical urine tests for patients,” becoming knowledgeable in “handl[ing] biochemical equipment to run the blood exams.” She was engaged in “the laboratory and research area” at CIMA, where her only interactions with patients occurred while blood samples were being obtained. 

Jerez looking through a microscope

Jerez appreciates her professors at Queens, identifying Dr. Scott Weir, Dr. Zachary White, and Dr. Patricia Koplas as three professors who have played an important role in her time at Queens. Their teachings, she explains, “have been perfect examples of what it truly means to be passionate about a career or a field in life. They have inspired me to be curious, to think outside of the box, to learn from my mistakes, and to find my greater purpose in life during my time in college.”

Thanks to such mentoring on campus, Jerez exemplifies that at Queens, learning is not limited to the classroom, as she traveled to a different country to put her knowledge of biology and medicine into practice. From this experience, she has gained “a realistic view of how life in a healthcare career could be,” expressing her value for the human interactions and healing processes required of the job.

Emily Iknayan

Spotlighting the Department of Political Science

While some people spent the summer hiking for the best views, Emily Sears had different motives for studying terrain. As a junior, majoring in Political Science and minoring in History and Interfaith Studies, she is fascinated by the way topography impacts the outcome of violence. This summer, she traveled to the University of North Texas to forage further into her topic with the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduate Students.

This opportunity “focused on the development of research in the Peace and Conflict discipline,” said Sears. During this eight-week course, she learned about “Research Design,” attended “STATA programming workshops,” and took an “introductory seminar on Geographic Information Systems.” Equipped with these resources, she set out to explore her own research as one of ten accepted students.

“My project focused on the impacts that mountainous topography has on the number of casualties associated with one-sided violence that has been perpetrated by the government,” said Sears. Violence is defined as “one-sided” when a government-affiliated group attacks its citizens to “gain some type of strategic, tactical, or political advantage in an on-going conflict” explained Sears.

While it is by no means a fair fight, sometimes the land itself stands up for its residents. “[T]he local population may have the upper hand because they have extensive knowledge of the land,” while the military may not “have the correct strategies and equipment to wage war in a number of geographical locations,” said Sears. Setting as a variable plays a huge role in the outcome of these conflicts.

Sears is deeply invested in this research and hopes to “draw more attention to these types of issues as the global climate continues to shape the nature and manifestations of conflict around the world.” Her long-term perspective fits perfectly with the program’s goal. “The object . . . was to help us become familiar with the type of research we can expect to do in graduate and Ph.D. programs later on in our careers” said Sears.

Boosting her on her climb, she was “fortunate enough to work with Dr. John Ishiyama and Dr. T. David Mason, both of whom are professors at the University of North Texas and have published numerous articles within [their] discipline.”

In addition to experts within the program, Sears has a strong anchoring system within the College of Arts and Sciences at Queens. “I would have never applied to this program had it not been for Dr. Maggie Commins in the Political Science department” said Sears. She also received endless encouragement and letters of recommendation from Dr. Alexa Royden, a professor in the Political Science department, and Dr. Sarah Griffith from the History department. “I am incredibly grateful for their support!” said Sears.

Overall, she chalks up a lot of her progress to the amazing faculty at Queens. “All of my professors at Queens have taught me to think critically, to analyze all sides of a situation, and then to produce work that fully encompasses the best representation of the information I have collected” said Sears. She recognizes a united goal to “create more thoughtful, innovative, and inquisitive citizens who will be able to impact their communities in extraordinary ways.” Sears is definitely one of those sure-footed students, blazing the trail to a more informed and peaceful future.

Gabrielle Girard

 

Spotlighting the Department of Art, Design, and Music

Professor Denny Gerwin is a resident ceramics artist at Queens University and an Associate Professor of Art in the Department of Art, Design, and Music. His work has enjoyed representation at Sozo Gallery since 2015. Gerwin is often seen walking around campus in a blue hat, clenching a giant studio mug.

This summer, as one of 12 invited artists, Gerwin, a truckload of unfired work, and one student traveled to The Clay Studio of Missoula for the Woodfire Invitational Symposium. Scott McClellan, the hosting artist, had just finished his two-year woodfire residency. He had been “a student of mine at Utah State University in 2010,” said Gerwin. “When I asked if I could bring [another] student along, how could he say no?”

Morasha Winokur is triple majoring in Art History, Arts Leadership and Administration, and Studio Art at Queens; she is interning with Gerwin this summer and was excited to accompany him.

The two of them “logged 7000 miles” and “131 hours in the truck,” according to Gerwin’s calculations. The work they carried with them was his contribution to the symposium’s massive kiln space. “You’re firing a school bus essentially” explained Gerwin, as a reference for the kiln’s size. The firing process incorporates large amounts of time as a key ingredient, and none of it went to waste. “We took some daytrips to National Parks while the kiln cooled off,” said Gerwin.

From exploring new places to watching experts’ techniques, Winokur was deeply engaged in the process. “I think it’s a unique experience for a student to assist in a National workshop. You’re working with 12 artists from across the country,” said Gerwin.

As much as she learned on the trip, Winokur attributes a lot of her growth to Gerwin. “Denny challenges me to be a better student, artist, and person” said Winokur. When she is not road tripping, she has been working to create website representation for his work.

“I pretty regularly do summer internships, with students I trust to take care of themselves in the studio” said Gerwin. This opportunity is highly educational and gives students both studio space and work experience. “It’s a one-to-one work exchange,” explained Gerwin. “Every hour they spend working on their own stuff, they spend an hour working for me, instead of renting studio space and working another job.”

The website Winokur has been building features Gerwin’s work from the past ten years. Since he is constantly creating, this is no small portfolio.

Lately, he has been spending “6-8 hours a day, 7 days a week” in the studio at Queens. “Right now, I have 6 pieces in process” said Gerwin. On a “successful” day he adds “one or two coils to each.”

Since the symposium, Gerwin has eliminated major deadlines and begun to work more slowly.

“It’s much more sensitive” he said. “I’ve been trying to slow down those vessels since the winter.”

The process has evolved as well. “I started to coil build [these pieces] instead of throw them on the wheel and I like them a whole lot better” said Gerwin. He finds that “they have a whole ‘nother life to them when the machine isn’t a part of the equation.”

“My pottery was always informed by the robust female figure” said Gerwin. His latest work considers this inspiration in vessel form. He “set out to make a sort of hybrid of the two,” “encorporat[ing] gestures from figures.”

Gerwin does not feel that he has executed this vision to its fullest expression so far. “Maybe that’s ok: that the reference can be there, and not in super explicit ways,” said Gerwin. Regardless, he has “been enjoying working with. . . hip to waist ratio.”

As much as his work reflects the female form, sometimes it hits a little closer to home. “I think [a vessel] is successful when I push on it and it reminds me of my own muffin top,” he jokes.

As Gerwin’s work grows, his studio is transforming around him as well. Tillet, Queens’ 3D Studio Art building, is undergoing major renovations this summer. This construction includes the addition of an outdoor studio space. Next semester, Gerwin is teaching an Advanced Studio Course, where he will lead students in building a new wood-burning kiln.

From mixing clay to countless hours of working alongside each other, Studio Art at Queens is a space of deep community. Although he usually smooths his marks off of pieces, Gerwin is a truly prolific artist, and always involved in his students and their work.

Gabrielle Girard