BFA
Katelynn Acord
Taylor Chavez
Ilyssa Chavez
Dee Mejia
Nairoby Mello
Natalie Miraziz
Jordan Monteiro
Tiffany Pech
BA
Azhar Akram
Alma Carrillo
Sydney Castle
Katherine Crossley
Elizabeth Davies
Fabian Espinosa
Christina Guerrero
Patricia Martins
Tiana Moua
Randi Newburg
Destinee Perales
Alexsandra Ruiz
Alexis Sanchez
Peter Shallow
Edward Silva
Chentelle De La Torre
The University Art Gallery is delighted to present this year’s Graduating BFA/BA Seniors’ Exhibition. This exhibition and accompanying catalog showcase the many talented artists graduating this year from the Department of Art at California State University, Stanislaus. The past few years have been very challenging, but it is wonderful to see that our students have demonstrated the patience and perseverance necessary to meet those challenges and make meaningful and important works of art.
As Gallery Director and Professor of Art, I have had the pleasure of working with students in their endeavors to complete the BFA and BA programs. These degrees are a pivotal part of their development as artists. As a result of their accomplishments, I am pleased to call these graduating students “colleagues”. I look forward to seeing them have wonderful and meaningful careers in the arts.
This year I would also like to acknowledge the contributions that Dr. Patricia Eshagh has made to the gallery programs and to the Department of Art. When I arrived at California State University, Stanislaus, Patricia worked with me as the gallery assistant. In her role she helped to make the galleries better and to expand our presence on campus and in our community. As a professor of Art History Patricia has had an ever increasing role in educating our students. This year Patricia will be retiring and I would like to thank her for all that she has done for California State University, Stanislaus and our students.
Many colleagues have been instrumental in this exhibition. I would like to thank the BFA and BA students of the Department of Art for exhibiting their work. I would also like to thank Brad Peatross of the School of the Arts, California State University, Stanislaus for the catalog design and Parks Printing for the printing.
Much gratitude is extended to the Instructionally Related Activates Program of California State University, Stanislaus, as well as anonymous donors for the funding of the exhibition and catalogue. Their support is greatly appreciated.
Dean De Cocker, Gallery Director California State University, Stanislaus
I have always had interest in Art since I was a kid, and my parents also were supportive of my art interest. My father would take meto build snowman during the winters and spray paint on the walls during the summer. He would also take me to catch different bugs to study them and encourage me to draw them. This influenced me to be more creative in life and showed me different possibilities in Art, it also motivated me to take different kinds of Art classesand helped me find the medium that I like the most, which is Digital Art.With Digital Art, I find it more fun and easier to combine different medium such as photography and painting or even 3D modeling with cinematography. I creative art in different mediums because I like exploring different outcomes. Combining different mediums are also fun because it feels like science experiments to me, and it always showed me different “chemistry reactions”.Most of my artwork are based on my interests or thoughts at the time that theartpieces are being created,so there is not a clear pattern through most of my artwork,I like the liquidity of my works since I do not like to be defined as one specific type of artist.
Boat, digital painting
Floor is Kusama, 3D model
Rotting World, copper printing
My work tends to lean more towards the figurative, with the depiction of the movements and emotions of those figures being something I am interested in depicting because of how I find both factors to be very expressive, whether it be by using one or the both of them together. One of the ideas that guides my practice is for all my work to have a sense of flow to it. I am fascinated by the imagery of flowing dresses, clothes, just about anything capable of pulling off that flowing action. To me, that type of visual can make the work itself have a form of elegance and even provide a sense of movement to the piece if done well. That same fluid movement is something I also try to go for whenever I am sketching out poses so that the pieces themselves do not have any stiffness to it. One other main philosophy that guides my practice involves expressions and body language. Just like with flowing imagery, facial expressions and body language are concepts that I am drawn to. Both concepts, to me, can be powerful forms of expressing what a character or figure is feeling without having to verbally say it; it can be especially more powerful in mediums that do not really have literal movements to them. Whenever
I am drawing a subject that can depict some form of expression and/or body language, I try my best to have those two aspects reflect the emotion I want the character to depict to really amplify the present emotion.
Untitled, charcoal on toned paper, 24 5/16 x 18 1/16”, 2022
Untitled, graphite and white acrylic paint on 3D print, 7 3/16 x 10 ½ x 9 ¼”, 2021
Even if it is an emotion that could be simply stated, like
expressing, I think that if my art could have a chance ofUntitled, charcoal on paper, 18 x 24”, 2022
I am an artist yes, but firstly I am a student. Even after graduation I know I will continue to learn and be a student of art. I am learning and discovering what being an artist means to me. I have almost always been most interested in exploring art through painting. However, print making, specifically silk screen and intaglio have become my preferred method of working over the years at Stanislaus. Using the chosen medium and cerebrating its abilities is something that has been in my works recently. Weather it is leaving thick brush strokes on a canvas, or creating overlapping imagery with silk screen, the idea I am trying to explore is that sometimes the developing of an artwork and the way you make it is more interesting than the result. As I am developing my style, I am also cultivating my voice. Via my schooling and outside exploration, I am trying to discover what I want to talk about in my works. Nature, landscapes, floral motifs have always been a huge source of inspiration for my work. I do not foresee these themes ever disappearing from my work entirely. With that said, I am currently developing work that will surround the topic of women, body image, diet culture, and the emotional issues surrounding those aspects of women’s lives. These themes are personal to me as well as almost every woman from
their teens on. I eventually want this work to be able to shine a light on these topics and open the door to deeper and more thoughtful discussion on the pressures our society puts on women’s bodies. I am still in the development stage of this body of work, but I am excited for this new season.
Ideal Bodies: A Time for Renaissance to
My name is Kat Crossley and I am a 35 year old artist from Northridge, California. I recently moved to Merced, California to pursue a Bachelor of Art at Cal State Stanislaus. I started drawing in September of 2015. I wanted to try and impress a girl that I wanted to win back. It worked too--for a minute. More importantly, it lit something in me that was unlike any other fire before it. I had initially planned on being a professional musician; but two broken jaws threw a wrench in that plan. After that, I tried to pursue a degree in business, then criminal justice, then social work, finally humanities. I just could not figure out who I wanted to be or what I wanted to do. I had destroyed my GPA due to all my failed goals and financial aid was getting harder and harder to qualify for. It was my last shot at making something of myself. It was a true miracle moment when I heard a voice in my ear telling me to start drawing—out of literally nowhere. Once I started, I found that it was all I wanted to do—all day, every day. Every spare moment was spent drawing in either pen, color pencil, graphite, or watercolor pencil--at work, at home, wherever I could for 12 to 16 hours a day. I created my first painting in a beginning painting class at
Mt San Antonio College in 2019. I found that I loved it as much as I loved drawing. Initially, I was drawn to Pop Art painting and started creating mostly portraits in the style. I am now exploring different styles of art to find which one is going to work best for me. I have no idea what I want to say with my art at this point—I do not even know what kind
Elizabeth Davies is an artist, photographer, and graphic designer based in Turlock, California. For the past two years she has been working for the Health Education and Promotion office at California State University, Stanislaus as a graphic designer. She has enjoyed creating many different types of pieces for various purposes. Recently, she put together the layout of a children’s book that was published this year. She has also been a graphic designer for a magazine called The Archive for five years and editor-in-chief for two years. Her drawings and paintings mainly focus on everyday life, such as still life or landscapes. She is currently exploring the different ways other artists can influence her work. She has also become very interested in creating collages and using mixed media to create relatable narratives that capture her audience. Elizabeth will be graduating with a Bachelor of Art, Studio in May 2022 from California State University, Stanislaus. She is thankful for the professors at Stan State who have invested in her education and looks forward to continuing and progressing with art after graduation.
Untitled, oil on canvas, 20 x 14”, 2022
Self Portrait, mixed media, 8.25 x 12.25”, 2022
Untitled, mixed media, 8.25 x 12.25”, 2022
Visuals that show action and are striking to look at have always interested me growing up and as a tech nerd that got bored easily 3d digital art was the perfect way for me to blend two passions that I really enjoyed, video games and art. 3d digital art allows me to control every aspect of my work and change it in a very quick way, but it does have a very high learning curve, but I enjoy learning, so it was perfect for me because there is always something new to learn using this medium that will give great results. My work is inspired by game art and movie CGI and since both are constantly in motion, I try to show motion or some sort of action happening in my works. I create my art so that it can be used in game engines or implemented into a CGI shot or as a simple design that I could use in the future because I find it interesting. Therefore, many of my 3d models are focused on making sure the design fits within the scenes art style and that they are interesting to look at, especially if it’s the focus of the scene. I also try to tell a story or history of what the object I’m creating has gone thru; like adding rust to a metal object because its old or damaged paint from a car that was hit by another cars’ door or maybe even my character was in a fight, so it’s bruised up on the cheek. I think this adds character to my 3d models and helps the scenes look more realistic.
I am a multi-medium artist who comes from San Francisco, California. Raised in Los Banos I eventually developed an interest in art during middle school. Currently I work at a restaurant while she attends California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock. Media I tend to practice in includes are painting, watercolor and digital.
When describing myself I tend to be shy and quiet around new people or around certain people, depending on how overwhelming they are. Yet around familiar people I can be more talkative and jokes around. Spacing out is a common occurrence for me which often makes it difficult to focus on work or talking with others . Despite spacing out a lot, one of the activities that will always bring me back into focus is art.
When creating art, I established a mindset of “ I don’t want this to feel like a waste of time”. It sounds strict but it’s more, so I want to have fun with what is being created. When planning a drawing I imagine the form, perspective and even the movement. Once a sketch is finished, I go to my favorite part of choosing lighting and colors and seeing how they blend. It’s a very long process that takes hours or days at most. The reason I
spend so long with color is due to study or admiration on trying to replicate colors I see in real life. In fact, I get a lot of color inspiration from the Rococo and Impressionism era.
Elephant Model, digital 3D, 4 x 5”, 2022
To the Portal, digital, 11 x 8”, 2022
Batman Recolor, digital, 8 x 10”, 2020
Patricia Martins is a digital artist, painter and aspiring teacher hailing from Turlock, California. She is currently finishing her degree at California State University, Stanislaus. Melding her love for art, teaching and the world, she plans on moving to South Korea to teach English to children while utilizing art based instruction. Patricia’s style is a fusion of ink wash painting and watercolor done digitally in her program of choice, Procreate. Much of her personal work regards nature, the beauty of the world and ideas of hope. Her influence is rooted in her less than ideal childhood and tribulations faced in adulthood. Instead of using her artwork as an outlook to reflect these hardships, she considers the contrary. As art is a means of limitless creation, she believes it is the only place in which idealism is possible. Despite this, her work also conveys the heavy meaning of that fact. Her biggest concern is not creating a deep or meaningful impact on the viewer, it is the opposite. She states that her job is done when the viewer is able to forget about the corrupt and hellish world humanity dwells in, even if just for a moment. Patricia believes that art holds a multitude of different purposes, all of which are important. She claims that art will always be relevant in recounting and retelling the condition of the times it was created in, but that it is also important in acting as a reprieve from those conditions as well.
Tiny Friend, digital, iPad with Procreate, 2048 x 2732px, 2021
April Star, digital, iPad with Procreate, 2048 x 2809px, 2019
Tiger With Sword, digital, iPad with Procreate, 2732 x 2048px, 2020
Tiana Moua is a contemporary mixed media artist and home based in Merced, California. She is currently an undergrad student attending Stanislaus State University and plans to graduate in Spring 2022.
As a Hmong-American, she plans to bring her culture as in influence on her creativity in art and showcase a new medium that no one has laid eyes on. Moua plans to redefine what it means to be an American artist who can make even the smallest change to help artist out there to find their calling.
One of her goals is also to change the way Asians are treated and viewed from the artwork that she plans to create now and in the future.
Falling Sky, drypoint, 6 x 9”, 2021
Viro, color relief, 6 x 9”, 2021
Falling Memories, collagraph, 6 x 9, 2021
My name is Randi Newburg. I have been drawing and creating artwork since I was a senior in high school. My medium usually consists of pen and ink, pencils (graphite, colored pencil), and charcoal. Mostly I work in black and white. Not because I do not like color (love it) but because I like the clean smoothness of solid black lines on white paper/canvases. My style can change based on the content of the work and the viewers I am trying to reach. Usually I will go with something that is realistic over something cartoon or abstract. If I go with cartoon style, it is usually some type of whimsical or humorous piece. Otherwise, my work focuses more with the realistic aspect but simplified through lines and cross-hatching.
One Day…, silkscreen print
“Scary, silkscreen print
Nightmare, silkscreen print
Destinée Perales Headshot & Artist Bio As an artist, there are many ways you can create art. Picking an art medium has always been my struggle. Within the last year, I have started working with charcoal. I fell in love with how it moved along the paper and blended so nicely. That is when I created my “Untitled” charcoal drawings. The first was inspired by the elegant movement of a ballet dancer. The second was inspired by my son. While creating these pieces I still felt like I was missing something. I was also doing a lot of sewing and embroidery around this time. I ended up deciding I would start incorporating my other mediums into my art. I started working by putting different needlework into my pieces. Creating my “Untitled” embroidery on canvas. This was a piece was inspired by the black and white combination, I created with my charcoal. Once I found my liking for mixing different mediums I created “You?”. This was an abstract carving form piece. As I came closer to finishing my design, I got inspiration from Absolem from Alice in wonderland. Changing my design and creating a whole different piece. My journey as an artist is nowhere near its end. I cannot wait to explore what other mediums I can combine.
As an artist I have grown to work with different material during my time here at Stanislaus and I have learned to showcase different sides of my personality and emotions in my art. This has led to creating a semi-loose and a somewhat messy style when I work which is reflected in my different artworks. My artworks even when containing hard lines and edges always have an element of chaos or freedom in my strokes. I enjoy being able to plot down paint or whatever material I am using directly on the surface of what I’m working on and spreading it and seeing what comes out of it. I also love layering and experimenting with the material; when it comes to ink, I enjoy watching it spread and the transparency it can create. When I work with charcoal, I’m even messier than usual using my own hands and creating different textured effects. No matter the material or medium I have learned to appreciate what the material itself brings to a piece working with it to create something with character and charm.
Biography
Alexis Sanchez is a 26-year-old born and raised Merced resident. She first noticed she had a talent for drawing at the age of 13. In high school she took art classes for three years when she decided to continue with her love for art in college. She then graduated Merced College with her associates in arts to transfer to CSU Stanislaus for her bachelor’s in art where then after she will focus on getting her credentials to teach studio art.
Artist Statement
Today we are expected to go into a field of medicine or law to make our parents proud. An art degree does not seem like much to most parents, especially those of different cultures. It is frowned upon to go to college for 4 plus years only to receive a bachelors or master’s degree in art. As if wanting to create a living and a career off your passion is bad. However, I found a love for art, and I have been fortunate enough to have parents who support me through it all. I am allowed to use my talent to voice my creativity and bring to life my imagination.
To be able to recreate what I see with my bare eyes is something that I have always liked to do. I do not limit myself with my media or concepts. I generally like to do any type of artwork, painting, carving, sculpting, printmaking, drawings. However, I have found myself drawn to painting nature and more recently I have
found myself wanting to create big Styrofoam carvings. Nature itself is very organic and mistakes can be made. Those simple mistakes are what gives the piece that spark it may need. Realism is something that I have always reached for. However, creating a 2D painting is very different then creating a 3D carving. Both are challenging but carving forces you to use your touch sense instead of just your sight. You need to be able to visualize what you want to create in a 3D space with sometimes only a 2D sketch.
My work takes a small inspiration on what interests me at the moment, whether it is music, shows, or movies. I work best with charcoal, color, and digital media. Some of my work represents abstract form and is inspired by artist Sigmar Polke. The process in my work starts with multiple sketches to find the right composition.
Untitled, digital media, 24 x 18”, 2019
Untitled, charcoal, 15 x 15”, 2019
Untitled, mixed media, 14 x 14”, 2019
I have found that fast and loose paintings work better for my methods. As such, my 3 paintings were made under a time constraint of one hour. This exercise is of placing ideas and concepts to formation more than anything else and to bring forth an emotion from the subject. My final offering is a ceramic sculptural work, while not adhering to my painting requirements, emphasizes bringing an idea made from observation and transferring it through the sculpting process.
The first one, Sound Wormhole, is my attempt to bring dimension and movement through the use of colors and shapes. It is an exercise to give the viewer the feeling of an expanding display through the use of color and simplistic shapes and lines.
The second, A Lost Realm, is my translation of a gloomy dreamscape. The view of a distant castle in rolling hills with clouds contrasted with the dread as much of the space is filled with dark ashen color washed upon it. Certain details were left out on purpose to add more mystery and dread in the painting.
The 3rd painting, Throne,frames a momentary situation of an armed individual standing in front front of a massive chair like object. It is a moment of wonder and expectation i was going for in this work as well as mystery.
My work can feel disconnected from the outside world as the scope of my work is very personal. I am never trying to make some grand statement about the ways of the world or a large-scale commentary on current affairs. Instead, the work I make is very much about myself or those around me and the process of creation. I often use art as a means of reflection and exploration of my own identity, and over time as that is changing, it is put into what I create. When creating around the people I care for, my perception of them feeds into and colors the product. My biases and personal feelings about them are carried along with it. I have not found one medium in particular to focus in on, so the medium of any given piece itself often decides the subject of the work. But as I explore the medium, the pattern continues. What I hope to get across to the viewers is this sense of interest and connection in their life as I share these bits of my own small life. We are now part of each other’s lived experience no matter how small.
Brainmap,
California State University, Stanislaus
Dr. Ellen Junn, President
Dr. Kimberly Greer, Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs
Dr. James A. Tuedio, Dean, College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Art
Martin Azevedo, Associate Professor, Chair
Tricia Cooper, Lecturer
Dean De Cocker, Professor
James Deitz, Lecturer
Daniel Edwards, Associate Professor
Patrica Eshagh, Lecturer
Jessica Gomula-Kruzic, Professor
Daniel Heskamp, Lecturer
Chad Hunter, Lecturer
Dr. Carmen Robbin, Professor
Ellen Roehne, Lecturer
Dr. Staci Scheiwiller, Associate Professor
Susan Stephenson, Associate Professor
Jake Weigel, Associate Professor
Mirabel Wigon, Assistant Professor
Meg Broderick, Administrative Support Assistant II
Alex Quinones Instructional Tech II
Kyle Rambatt, Equipment Technician II
University Art Galleries
Dean De Cocker, Director
School of the Arts
Brad Peatross, Graphic Specialist
