fine art

fine art Program Highlights

While pursuing either the Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art degree or the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Art degree, you may select from one of the following areas of concentration: photography, painting, drawing, fiber or ceramics. You may also choose to pursue internships, independent study, and special topics in art and design. Our fine art degree programs can help equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a career in fine art, in a museum or gallery setting, and other fields in which fine art is valued.

**Congratulations!**

During your education at Park University in these challenging years, you have each demonstrated great creativity and resilience. These invaluable qualities will serve you well in whatever you decide to pursue. It is now time to celebrate your all of your accomplishments and look toward your amazing futures. We wish you all the best, and we know that the best is yet to come!

**Michalski, Elaina. MFA.**
*Program Coordinator*
Art & Design Faculty

Email/ Website/ Facebook/ Twitter

8700 NW River Park Drive,
Kansas City, MO 64152
816-741-2000

The Student Research & Creative Arts Symposium

Please join us this Friday, May 5th for the Fine Art Seniors’ artist reception in the Campanella Gallery in Norrington Center. It will be an open-house format with refreshments. Hope you can join us!

Senior Art Exhibit
Campanella gallery.
April 24th-25th, 2023

The Student Research & Creative Arts Symposium is here! Come see the fabulous work Park students have done Monday April 24 & Tuesday April 25. We’ll have displays in Park Avenue and oral presentations in Watson Literacy Classroom. We have two days of events so there’s plenty to see and experience. Let’s show our students how appreciative we are of the work they did inside & outside the classroom this year. I’ve attached the detailed program so you can see which presentations you can’t miss..

2023
FINE ART SENIORS

**Jazmin Gutierrez**
Major: B.S.E., K-12 Art Education
Especialización universitaria: B.S.E., K-12 Art Education
Declaración del Artista

Biography
Jazmin Gutierrez knew she wanted to be an art teacher from an early age. Her mission as an educator is to create a safe space for students to take risks to learn and explore their intrinsic curiosity and creativity. As an artist, Jazmin enjoys creating three-dimensional works in various mediums to express different emotions. She hopes to guide her students towards their own creativity and find different means of expression.

Artist Statement
My art reflects my life. This series explores the coming of age from teen-hood into womanhood. With these ceramic vessels and embroidery techniques, I explore womanhood through various symbols in nature. Using motifs of nature and clay, which contain minerals of the earth, these pieces express my overall vision and methodology.

I explore symbols of nature such as leaves, the lotus flower, bamboo trees, and mythical creatures like the phoenix and dragon. These motifs represent transformation, growth, feminine energy, and harmony. My intention in creating this body of work is to express this discovery and exploration, as well as this change in my life that is meaningful and represents my current state of mind. My hope for viewers is to reflect on transformation, specifically finding appreciation for change and the journey that accompanies new chapters in life.

Declaración del Artista
Especialización universitaria: B.S.E., K-12 Art Education
Mi arte es un reflejo de mi vida. Esta serie explora la mayoría de edad de la adolescencia a la adultez. Con estas vasijas de barro y técnicas de bordado, exploró la feminidad a través de varios símbolos de la naturaleza. Utilizando motivos de la naturaleza y el barro, que contienen minerales de la tierra, estas piezas demuestran mi visión y metodología.
Exploro símbolos de la naturaleza como las hojas, la flor de loto, los árboles de bambú y criaturas míticas como el fénix y el dragón. Estos motivos representan transformación, crecimiento, energía femenina y la armonía. Mi intención al crear esta serie es expresar este descubrimiento y exploración, así como este cambio en mi vida, que es significativo y representa mi estado mental actual. Mi esperanza para los espectadores es reflexionar sobre la transformación, específicamente encontrar aprecio por el cambio y el viaje que acompaña los nuevos capítulos de la vida.

Artist Statement
As a kid, I loved cartoons. My brother and I watched an unhealthy amount of television while our mom begged us to go outside and play. I didn’t want to go outside, I just wanted to draw. I’d press the paper onto the TV screen to use it like a light table, and trace the cartoon characters. I’d focus on the line, weight, shapes, the proportions, and get totally lost in the process.

As a teenager, I found my love for caricatures while working for Kaman’s Art Shoppe at “World’s of Fun.” I loved to make people laugh with my caricatures (especially because I got paid to make fun of them). I found many inspirations for my work during this time, such as the band, the “Gorillaz,” the television show, “Invader Zim,” and the webcomic, “Bluechair.” I particularly found interest in the bold, stylized animation.

As a young adult, I’m still transfixed and inspired by how expressive and fluid cartoons can be. In my work, it is my goal to express myself in a way that is wild, yet only in the tight constraints I allow it to be. While I love to get a reaction from my viewers, I work hard to only seek validation from myself. It took me a long time to realize that my art has always been for me.

This series explores themes of possession, validation and ideation. This is the journey of a recovering ex-people pleaser. I personally believe that art can have a different meaning for everyone despite the artists’ intentions, so take from it what you will

**GAGE RABIDEAUX**
Major: B.S.E., K-12 Art Education

Biography
Gage Rabideaux is an aspiring art teacher who was born and raised in Kansas City. She enjoys 2D media, especially paint and ink pens. She enjoys cartoons and expressive, gestural art. She became inspired by her own teachers from the past and hopes to leave a positive impression on her future students. Gage is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree in K-12 Art Education from Park University. Expected graduation date is May, 2024.

**Skylar Seitz**
Major: B.F.A., Fine Art
Minor: History

Biography
Skylar Seitz earned her Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and minor in Art History from Park University in 2023. As a spiritual artist, her purpose in life is to manifest artworks which communicate one’s ability to overcome the shared trials of the human experience and express the amazing, surreal grace of God. She has a love for naturalism and creating surrealistic figurative work from clay.

Artist Statement

It is not that I want to be an artist. This is fate, my spiritual duty and destiny to create artworks which display the human experience. In pursuit of my original plan to become a medical doctor, my soul ached for more. Even though I was pursuing a respectful and profitable career like I had always dreamt of, my life still felt imperfect and empty. I began to take out my frustrations and anxieties on my body. After losing nearly half my body weight in 2 months, I had surpassed all of my fitness goals, yet I still felt incomplete. I continued to chase my false sense of perfection with even more tenacity. I felt myself withering away.

I crawled through the darkness and, after much soul searching, was rescued by the light. I realized my professional goals needed to change if I wanted to be truly happy. After just one drawing class it was clear that I was designed to be an artist. My soul finally feels the bliss and peace it longed for through creating art and following Jesus Christ, instead of trying to pursue happiness through a vision of perfection. My ultimate fulfillment comes from manifesting artworks which communicate the shared trials of human existence and the amazing, surreal grace of God.

This series explores overcoming hardships and valuing the divinity in all humans through depictions of the figure and Christian motifs. One of the most powerful symbols in my art is the dogwood tree. Jesus’s cross was made of dogwood. The flowers are promised to bloom each Spring at Easter, and the petals serve as symbolic reminders of Jesus’s death on the cross. Another important symbol in my art is the magnificent lotus flower, which against all odds blooms from the darkest, muddiest water. This flower reminds me that without life’s difficult experiences, we would have no opportunity to grow and triumph.