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Nick Thomas

Making Art is a Walk in the Park for 3D Design Students

12/17/2015 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

This fall a group of 3D design students, led by Professor Lisa Nappa, cruised out to Turnbull, EWU’s neighboring National Wildlife Refuge. The students’ goal: to make art with just their imagination and the raw materials found in Mother Nature.

Before venturing out of the studio they watched excerpts from “Rivers and Tides,” the documentary about Andy Goldsworthy, who is a guru of ephemeral sculptures made strictly from elements of nature. They also had a brief practice session across the street at Sutton Park, where they quickly learned that sketching ideas ahead of time wouldn’t help.

“You have to play with the materials long enough to know what you can and can’t do with them,” said Monica Hoblin, a senior majoring in Visual Communications.

Students Hoblin and Al Abdul Karem at work (Lisa Nappa photo)
Students Hoblin and Al Abdul Karem at work (Lisa Nappa photo)

Arriving at Turnbull Wildlife Refuge, Hoblin paired up with Aziz Al Abdul Karem, a studio art major from Saudi Arabia, to arch long sticks over a small boulder, forming a cage-like canopy. The result is that your eye focuses not just on the cage but on the rock underneath, an object you wouldn’t notice otherwise.

Other students sewed leaves together with thorns, or filled the cracks of a fallen log with moss, implementing basic design principles such as line-form and contrast.

One student wreathed a boulder with bunchgrass, creating what looked like an eye peering out of the dry grass.

Nystrom's collage adorns a birch tree (artist photo)
Nystrom’s collage adorns a birch tree (artist photo)

“It was fun to get outside,” said Linnea Nystrom, a junior Occupational Therapy major from Olympia. She said the exercise made her pay closer attention to the colors of the particular season. “The fall colors contrasted with the grey mud and the white birch bark.”  Though not an art major, she took Nappa’s 3D Design class as an elective, or as she put it, “for fun!”

Working directly with nature to sculpt works of art, the students knew nothing they made would last more than a day or two.

“You have to let it go,” says Hoblin. “It can’t be precious.”

She wove together fiery leaves, sticks and trumpet blossoms into a collage that adorned a birch tree trunk.

And yep: U.S. Park Rangers granted permission for this student project. It’s just one of the great parts of the strong relationship between EWU and the wildlife refuge.

Filed Under: Academics, Location Tagged With: art, class, Design, elective, Graphic design, major, nature, project, research, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge

Weekend Roadtrip!

12/08/2015 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

One of the world's premier, undeveloped hot springs is in EWU's backyard. Goldbug Hot Springs outside Salmon, Idaho, is well worth a weekend trip from Cheney.

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The stunning landscapes of Idaho and Montana make the time fly by. It’s even more powerful when you realize you’re passing through the same mountain ranges that blew the minds of the 1805 Lewis and Clark expedition.

Traveling east from EWU, and after skipping through Spokane, you pass beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene and the historic mining towns of the Silver Valley. Then you descend Lookout Pass into Montana.

Missoula is the perfect halfway point. Before turning due south refuel at one the towns’  restaurants and coffee shops. Recommendations include the delicious Catalyst Café, which has a fresh, unique menu and great coffee, or The Bridge Pizza, which offers up fresh pizza by the slice.

Geology fans  should take note of the strange lines running across Missoula’s foothills. Those lines are high water marks made by the historic Lake Missoula thousands of years ago, the same lake whose ancient floodwaters carved out the current rugged landscape of the Inland Northwest and the territory around EWU.

Leaving Missoula you are soon flanked on either side by the peaks of the Bitterroot Mountain range, rising up to just over 10,000 feet.

Be sure to top off at Tower Creek Road and take in The Pyramid Rocks. Known as Hoodoos, these soft rocks are eroded by rain and wind to resemble their Egyptian namesakes.

After passing through Salmon, the birthplace of Sacajawea, you are almost to Goldbug. Just past the community of Elk Bend turn left on unpaved, unmarked Warm Springs Road. Be sure to Google map it, as the turn off is easy to miss.

The trailhead is a hundred yards down the dirt road. The hot springs is a two mile hike up a moderately steep trail. While camping is prohibited at the trailhead and within 500 feet from the springs, there’s plenty of flat spots to pitch a tent about a mile up the trail alongside the creek. There are also a few hotels in nearby Salmon if camping is not your thing, or if its too cold out.

The hot springs themselves sit in a series of pools connected by picturesque waterfalls. Temperatures vary from scalding hot to warm. If you’ve been to other springs you’ll be surprised by Goldbug’s crystal clear water, smooth, clean gravel floors and a distinct lack of the sulfur smell common to other hot springs. Settling into the crystal clear pools is the perfect reward for the long drive.

As you relax, take in the view. All around you steep mountains rise up, and the shimmering pool reflects the sky as you peer over the edge at the valley below.

Goldbug Hot Springs is an incredible outdoor experience you will never forget, and it’s a perfect weekend trip for a new EWU student.

Filed Under: EWU, Location, Student Life Tagged With: backpacking, Goldbug, hiking, hot springs, Idaho, Montanta, outdoor, recreation, roadtrip, weekend

Career Services’ Computing and Engineering Fair crushes it!

11/30/2015 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

STEM students showed up in droves at Career Services Computing and Engineering Fair in Hargreaves Hall Reading Room. The echo of collective networking bounced off the marble walls and created a literal buzz of excitement.

Some students simply passed through, getting a feel for employers and their internship process. Other students dressed for success in business suits and power dresses, and they carried their resumes and portfolios.

Clearly, this event is a big deal–and it's just one of many career fairs on campus each year!

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Dozens of regional companies such as Avista, Itron, and Chief Architect represented the all aspects of the tech industry. The event offered EWU students a chance to quickly explore a variety of career and internships opportunities. This time the Technology and Construction major was emphasized.

So who are the companies? One is Itron, a global company utility meter and analytics software company headquartered locally. They have over 500 employees in nearby Liberty Lake. Besides hiring interns, they regularly hire EWU grads full time. In fact both Itron recruiters are EWU alumni.

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Even Running start high school students showed up to learn about the many opportunities, too. Running Start student Kayla Lambert is a high school senior. As a future Computer Science major, she came to the Fair to get a look at her future job prospects. Kayla’s favorite company she talked to was Gravity Jack, a software company specializing in the new field of augmented reality marketing, especially for mobile apps. Kayla likes how the technology “incorporates real life.” Their apps let you view products as though it’s actually right in front of you.

ANR Group explained how their staffing company hires over 150 students and connects them to full time paid summer internships with the 300 + contractors at Hanford Nuclear Site. These jobs are valued for their highly technical experience. Sometimes students are offered extended contracts upon graduation. Another benefit of ANR is that interns have the opportunity to try different jobs each summer.

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Senior Andrew Decker was certainly impressed with the Fair. Kaiser Aluminum and Kaufman Engineering are two companies that stood out to him. The mechanical engineering major has already benefited from a year round internship at Altek in Liberty Lake where he makes parts for medical, fitness and aerospace.

Most all the companies at the fair hire interns throughout the year and accommodate student schedules, and all were interested in gathering resumes. Some were even scheduling interviews for entry level positions.

 

Filed Under: Academics, Community, EWU, Location Tagged With: career fair, computing, construction, engineering, STEM

Washington State Chinese Lantern Festival lights up Spokane

11/23/2015 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

The arrival of The Washington State Chinese Lantern Festival marked Riverfront Park's biggest event since the World's Fair was in Spokane in 1974.  It was the first Chinese lantern festival ever held in the United States.

A team from Sichuan Province in Southwest China spent two months constructing and hand-painting the thousands of illuminated fabric sculptures.

The Chinese Lantern Festival is a wonderland of light and color

Lanterns came in all shapes. Windmills. Flying dragons. Fruits of the fall harvest. Castles. A recreation of a traditional Chinese wedding. Hundreds of dinosaurs, zebras, pandas, ants, and more. Such a wonderland rivals the best Christmas light displays.

The event featured  cultural dancing and music on the main stage, and a covered restaurant served authentic Chinese food that rotated weekly to showcase the wide variety of options. Judging by the awestruck visitors arriving from across the Northwest, the festival organizers hope to make it an annual event.

And for those of you interested in studying Chinese, EWU offers first-year Chinese in the Modern Languages Department.

chinese lantern festival
Traditional music plays from this display while the fish on top spouts water into a flower (Nick Thomas photo)

Filed Under: Community, Location Tagged With: China, chinese, chinese lantern festival, culture, lantern festival, spokane lantern festival, washington state chinese lantern festival

EWU's newest arts event: SpoYo

11/10/2015 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

Arts and literature are everywhere at EWU, and EWU leads the region in supporting artists and writers. As a student you have a chance to attend and support nationally recognized events like Get Lit! and the Spokane International Film Festival. You can even listen to some of your professors on Public Radio.

On a sunny Saturday fall morning this year, the campus of EWU Spokane buzzed with activity. Children, teens, and parents from around the region converged for a day of celebrating books. They also attended workshops, made crafts, and listened to author readings.

It was all part of SpoYo, the Spokane Youth Books Festival. This is a new event hosted by EWU, and it’s another way EWU students and professors get involved in the Spokane community.

Authors travel to Spokane from all over the country, like Nick Bruel, famed author of the Bad Kitty series. They meet with their fans, give master classes for aspiring writers, and read from their books.

Bad Kitty author Nick Bruel talks books
Bad Kitty author Nick Bruel talks books with young fans (Jeff Bunch photo)

The event was organized by graduate students in the MFA creative writing program, and undergrad and high school students volunteered. The event is actually an offshoot of GetLit!, EWU’s week-long literary festival held each spring. It’s a great chance for EWU students to mingle with authors and get behind-the-scenes access to the authors and ideas that change our world.

If you’re interested in studying with EWU’s award-winning writing and English professors, be sure to check out the EWU English website.

Filed Under: Community, Student Life Tagged With: EWU, ewu events, ewu get lit!, ewu mfa, spoyo!

The art scene in Spokane: Terrain 8

11/02/2015 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

For the past 8 years, the nonprofit Terrain organization has hosted their hugely popular interactive art events in funky locations around Spokane. This October was the biggest yet: over 8,000 people visited throughout the single night event. And as you might expect, EWU students and faculty could be found nearly everywhere.

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Spokane Poetry Slam organizer Isaac Grambo stokes the crowd

Chris Leja

Terrain showcased 300 works of art by more than 150 regional artists. The event also featured live music, a poetry slam, author readings and artwork of all types. The event took place in the beautifully refurbished 120-year-old Washington Cracker Co. warehouse near EWU’s downtown Spokane campus.

Nearly every artwork boasted an orange “sold” sticker, and the event brought in over $10,000 in sales for local artists. Many of these artists are EWU students, alumni and faculty. One of them is Monica Hoblin, a senior in EWU’s highly respected graphic design program. You can see some of her projects on Behance.

Around the corner from Terrain, EWU professors Lisa Nappa, Roger Ralston and colleagues had installed a sprawling video projected onto the street level windows of the historic Ridpath Hotel. The project combined technology and design to transform the empty windows of a normally quiet city street into revolving fields of color.

terrrain2
Apollo astronaut spaces out on abstract art

Terrain was held on an already busy First Friday, which is the monthly art celebration in Spokane. The city’s galleries, restaurants, and cafes fill with crowds of all ages enjoying artwork and live music.

Access to a major city’s nightlife and art scene is just one of the key benefits of life as an EWU student, and it helps explain how EWU’s poets, artists, filmmakers, and designers are able to build dynamic portfolios even before they graduate from EWU

Filed Under: Community, Location, Student Life Tagged With: art, eagles, EWU, ewu alumni, ewu art, ewu spokane, first friday, Spokane, spokane art, spokane poetry slam, terrain

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