It may be located clear at the edge of campus, but Eastern's art department is center stage for some of the most creative minds on campus. Stop by any given day and you'll see a building alive with activity as abstract ideas are turned into works of art. From pottery to cast metal to canvas, there's no limit to where students' creativity can take them.

"We have a real gem of a program here," says Elisa Nappa, EWU ceramics instructor. "I went to one of the best art schools in the country and there really is not another graduate art program out there which provides as much attention to its students as we do here."

Student artists at Eastern have four degree programs to choose from: Arts in Education, Art History, Studio Arts, or the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). Some areas of concentration are wheel-thrown and large-scale ceramics, water and oil based painting, welded and cast metal sculpture, and public sculpture.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is especially unique because it invites art professionals to Eastern to review BFA students' work. These outside reviews are part of many graduate programs, but not often found at the BFA level.

The department also sponsors a Gallery program and a Visiting Artists series. These serve as tools for teaching as well as for inspiring students and faculty. The gallery program features eight exhibits each year of work done by professional artists who are well known both regionally and nationally. From time to time successful alumni who have distinguished themselves in the art community are asked to return to show their work and talk about their experiences. For example, alumnus Bradd Skubinna, (BA, '89) who completed his Master of Fine Arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York, had an exhibition this March. Gallery exhibits typically open the first Thursday of each month and are free to students, alumni, and the general public.

"The best thing about my time in the EWU Art Department was the encouragement of certain members of the faculty," says Skubinna. "Tom Askman was the person who affected me the most. His quiet and humble style of teaching helped me to begin thinking of myself as an artist of substance."

Skubinna's recent exhibit was held at the Lorinda Knight Gallery in Spokane, and gallery owner Lorinda Knight couldn't be happier with the response it received. "This exhibit has been more popular with the general public than any other I have shown in the four years since I've been here," she says. "It attracted and pleased all ages too, from teens to 85 year olds!"

Skubinna himself is modest about his work, and sees his EWU art education as instrumental in his current success.

"It was at Eastern that I started to realize it was possible for a 'Spokane artist' to see himself as part of the larger world, as taking part in the discourse of artists from other places," he says.

The Visiting Artists series features international art world luminaries. The series is developed each year by art professionals from a consortium of EWU, Spokane Falls Community College and the Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC, formerly the Cheney Cowles Museum).

Some of the distinguished artists who have visited the EWU campus include Kiki Smith, Mel Chin, and Sue Coe. All three are artists whose work has been seen in museums and international biennials throughout the world, as well as popular sources such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Interview Magazine and – even (in the case of Mel Chin) on TV in Melrose Place.

The EWU Art Department strives to provide the perfect mix of programs and faculty to help students reach the goals they seek. Eastern art students have a local reputation for producing quality art and are routinely invited to display their art at places such as the Chase Gallery inside Spokane City Hall.

They also participate in internship programs at places such as the City of Spokane's Art Commission, the Artists at Work Museum, the Lorinda Knight Private Gallery and at the Museum of Art and Culture. Technological advancements are also bringing exciting new opportunities to students; some students have even interned at a software company that creates computer games.

After completing their undergraduate education, art students from Eastern have gone on to prestigious graduate schools such as San Francisco State University in California, the Cranbrook Art Institute in Michigan, the University of Texas at Austin and Claremont College in California, among others.

Part of the success of the art program can be attributed to the low student-to-teacher ratio, the diverse selection of courses and to the reputation of the department's faculty. It is not uncommon for students to transfer from larger schools to EWU because they have heard about the department faculty's excellent reputation in the art community and about the personalized attention and mentoring that students receive from those dedicated faculty members.

Bruce Thompson, now pursuing a master's in art at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan, went to EWU, transferred to the University of Washington, then transferred back to Eastern because he liked the high level of faculty involvement here.

"I remember he came back to me and said there was lots of equipment there, but nobody paid attention to him," says Lisa Nappa, one of Thompson's professors. "He ended up getting his degree here, then on my advice he took some time off and added to his portfolio before applying to graduate schools. When he did apply, he was accepted to every master's program to which he applied."

Another example of successful art students at Eastern is Anjel Luna, the first in his family to go to college, who has been accepted to the University of Idaho graduate program in art.

The majority of the Art Department faculty has been teaching at Eastern for over 20 years, and faculty successes have not gone unrecognized in the art community. Lanny DeVuono, Art Department Chair, says, "The Art Department is a jewel because of the students and the faculty."

The Faculty

Tom Askman has taught painting, public sculpture, and alternative media at EWU more than 20 years and has gained national attention for public sculptures which can be seen in Connecticut, Alaska, Florida, and all over Washington state. His recent project for the Bob Hope Memorial is significant in terms of both its scope and the people who have commissioned the work.

Drawing and Contemporary Art professor, Lanny DeVuono, is currently serving as Chair of the Art Department. She also writes articles and reviews for national magazines including The New Art Examiner, and is a contributing editor for Art Week. Her paintings are included in a number of public collections across Washington State.

Dr. Greg Hawkins, who has acted as both Chair and Dean of the Art Department, before returning to teaching, has twice been named the Higher Educator of the Year by the Washington Art Education Association.

Computer Art and Photography professor, Bob Lloyd, has taught for over 20 years and was editor-in chief and publisher of the African American Voice. EWU art students are privileged to learn from instructors like Renaissance art historian Dr. Barbara Miller, whose travels and research have led to the development of exciting new courses such as "Castles" and "From El Greco to Picasso." These courses are explorations in art history that step out of traditional chronologies and were designed to engage students of art history as well as students from other disciplines.

Ceramics instructor, Elisa Nappa, has created quite a following of students and alumni. She consistently mentors students while helping them into graduate programs. Her work was recently part of an important exhibit at the Tacoma Museum honoring the work done by early artist residents at the Pilchuck School.

Chris Sublett has taught here for more than 20 years. He has published a book of his photographs of the Palouse region of eastern Washington and recently displayed a retrospective of his work in the EWU Art Gallery.

Professor of sculpture, Rub³n Trejo, has had his work shown in museums and galleries throughout the US, Canada, South America, and Asia. Many of his sculptures have been displayed at prestigious galleries, including the Smithsonian, which purchased one of his sculptures.

$25,000 Scholarship Challenge

EWU alumnus Dr. Phil Grub (BA, '53) returned to the Inland Northwest after working as a consultant with the international business community and serving as a professor of International Business and Chair of the Business Department at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Dr. Grub has always maintained a profound love for music and the arts and he often talks about the importance of cultural arts in the business world. He has consistently supported EWU by helping existing programs and encouraging the arts to flourish and grow.

In support of the Art Department and what it offers educationally, he recently offered a $25,000 challenge gift to be used toward scholarships for art students. To meet this challenge, the Art Department must raise $25,000 by July 2002. A number of fund-raising events are currently in the works to help raise this money, including an art auction.

Art Department Chair Lanny DeVuono says, "Students' needs are so great, this type of scholarship will significantly lower the financial burden that attending a university can create. We have to ensure that we meet Dr. Grub's generous offer by matching his $25,000."

Please contact DeVuono at 509-359-6996 or by e-mail at ldevuono@mail.ewu.edu to learn more about the Art Department, the Phil Grub challenge and/or to become involved in the development of this very important scholarship.

You also can log on to: http://visual.arts.ewu.edu/