Art

Being crowned Miss Crawford County launched Brianna Layman’s pageant career — and helped her choose a new professional one.

Layman, a 21-year-old rising senior at Allegheny College who will compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant starting today, was a member of the college’s pre-health club and likely headed to medical school after graduation.

But when a friend suggested she compete in the 2015 Miss Crawford County pageant, she needed to find a cause to support.

“I couldn’t put my finger on anything except my passion for art,” Layman said. “It’s very sad to me that programs for art and music and theater and drama have been substantially cut and devolved into very small programs.”

Layman now plans to graduate with a degree in biochemistry and enroll in a master’s program in fine arts. Ultimately, she wants to combine the two interests and work in the emerging field of bio art: The artistic representation of science and scientific research.

She spoke with the Erie Times-News about competition, the biggest misconception about pageants, and her ultimate goal.

Read the full article.

ERICA ERWIN of the Erie Times-News can be reached at 870-1846 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNerwin. Read the Happier Ed education blog at blogs.goerie.com/education and post comments.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Being crowned Miss Crawford County launched Brianna Layman’s pageant career — and helped her choose a new professional one.

Layman, a 21-year-old rising senior at Allegheny College who will compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant starting today, was a member of the college’s pre-health club and likely headed to medical school after graduation.

But when a friend suggested she compete in the 2015 Miss Crawford County pageant, she needed to find a cause to support.

“I couldn’t put my finger on anything except my passion for art,” Layman said. “It’s very sad to me that programs for art and music and theater and drama have been substantially cut and devolved into very small programs.”

Layman now plans to graduate with a degree in biochemistry and enroll in a master’s program in fine arts. Ultimately, she wants to combine the two interests and work in the emerging field of bio art: The artistic representation of science and scientific research.

She spoke with the Erie Times-News about competition, the biggest misconception about pageants, and her ultimate goal.

Read the full article.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Brianna Layman is using her beauty to advocate brain power.

As a biochemistry major and upcoming senior at Allegheny College, the 21-year-old Franklin Park resident said she is living proof that music and art education are vital to understanding science and math. When schools eliminate the arts from their curriculum, she said they are committing a great disservice to students.

To better spread her message, she entered her first pageant — a local pageant near her college campus in Meadville — where she competed in swimsuit and evening-gown competitions, a talent contest, on-stage questioning and creation of a personal platform based on an issue she will work to promote.

Layman’s platform, titled “The Art of Science: From STEM to STEAM,” stresses the importance of music and art education in schools, where subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, are taking increased precedence and funding. The “A” in STEAM stands for “arts.”

Read the full article.

This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Laurie Rees is a freelance writer. Photo courtesy of Brittany Marie Photography.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Brianna Layman is using her beauty to advocate brain power.

As a biochemistry major and upcoming senior at Allegheny College, the 21-year-old Franklin Park resident said she is living proof that music and art education are vital to understanding science and math. When schools eliminate the arts from their curriculum, she said they are committing a great disservice to students.

To better spread her message, she entered her first pageant — a local pageant near her college campus in Meadville — where she competed in swimsuit and evening-gown competitions, a talent contest, on-stage questioning and creation of a personal platform based on an issue she will work to promote.

Layman’s platform, titled “The Art of Science: From STEM to STEAM,” stresses the importance of music and art education in schools, where subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, are taking increased precedence and funding. The “A” in STEAM stands for “arts.”

Read the full article.

This article appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Laurie Rees is a freelance writer. Photo courtesy of Brittany Marie Photography.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The following article about Allegheny alumnus John Vanco ’68 appeared in the Erie Times-News. 

Spring sunlight poured into John Vanco’s all-white office at the Erie Art Museum, illuminating the floral artwork hanging on one of the walls.

Vanco, 69, of Erie, has been director of the Erie Art Museum since 1968.

In those 47 years, he’s shepherded major growth at the museum, including the addition of various free programs and events — one of which, the Mid-Day Art Break, starts anew Wednesday.

The weekly event is free and open to the public. It features live local music every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. on the Erie Art Museum’s Fifth Street patio all summerlong.

“It’s been very successful, especially in highlighting our free admission on Wednesdays,” Vanco said.

Read the full article.

Sarah Stemen is the online reporter for the Erie Times-News and @GoErie.

Photo by SARAH CROSBY/ERIE TIMES-NEWS.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

The following article about Allegheny alumnus John Vanco ’68 appeared in the Erie Times-News. 

Spring sunlight poured into John Vanco’s all-white office at the Erie Art Museum, illuminating the floral artwork hanging on one of the walls.

Vanco, 69, of Erie, has been director of the Erie Art Museum since 1968.

In those 47 years, he’s shepherded major growth at the museum, including the addition of various free programs and events — one of which, the Mid-Day Art Break, starts anew Wednesday.

The weekly event is free and open to the public. It features live local music every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. on the Erie Art Museum’s Fifth Street patio all summer long.

“It’s been very successful, especially in highlighting our free admission on Wednesdays,” Vanco said.

Sarah Stemen is the online reporter for the Erie Times-News and @GoErie.

Photo by SARAH CROSBY/ERIE TIMES-NEWS.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Assistant Professor of Art Steve Prince is exhibiting in a group show titled “Contemporary Artists Respond to the New Orleans Baby Dolls” at the George and Leah McKenna Museum in New Orleans. Professor Prince is showcasing a 9 x 20 foot pencil drawing titled “Bird in Hand: Second Line for Michigan,” March 27-June 6. He presented a lecture, “The Second Line: Art as a catalyst for Communal Change,” at the National Art Education Association Conference in New Orleans on March 28. Professor Prince had a one-man show at Indiana Wesleyan University Beard Arts Center, titled “Old Testament: Covenantal Relationships,” February 11-March 12. Hinging on the premise that “true love is like an old testament made new each day,” the series is laden with subtle symbolism and narrative on couples and relationships.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Assistant Professor of Art Steve Prince is exhibiting in a group show titled “Contemporary Artists Respond to the New Orleans Baby Dolls” at the George and Leah McKenna Museum in New Orleans. Professor Prince is showcasing a 9 x 20 foot pencil drawing titled “Bird in Hand: Second Line for Michigan,” March 27-June 6. He presented a lecture, “The Second Line: Art as a catalyst for Communal Change,” at the National Art Education Association Conference in New Orleans on March 28. Professor Prince had a one-man show at Indiana Wesleyan University Beard Arts Center, titled “Old Testament: Covenantal Relationships,” February 11-March 12. Hinging on the premise that “true love is like an old testament made new each day,” the series is laden with subtle symbolism and narrative on couples and relationships.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Ceramics and Sculpture Technician Ian F. Thomas’s solo exhibition “Something Sweet” is at BLUEOrange Contemporary Art Gallery in Houston, Texas through April 25. “Something Sweet” is an examination of gender inequality found in commercial cereal advertising. The multidisciplinary exhibition, with use of classical cereal iconography and the utopic vision it supplies us, poses questions about masculinity and dominance within this seemingly all-inclusive realm. Thomas also had a solo exhibition, “Specifically,” at Western Illinois University’s art gallery February 6 through March 14. The interactive installation, completed with the assistance of the students of the WIU art department, examined art, labor, and community. Thomas also participated in the NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) Biennial. He was one of 50 artists whose work was selected out of 1,500, submitted internationally. On display at Brown University’s David Winston Bell Gallery, the exhibition ran from January 24 through March 29.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Ceramics and Sculpture Technician Ian F. Thomas’s solo exhibition “Something Sweet” is at BLUEOrange Contemporary Art Gallery in Houston, Texas through April 25. “Something Sweet” is an examination of gender inequality found in commercial cereal advertising. The multidisciplinary exhibition, with use of classical cereal iconography and the utopic vision it supplies us, poses questions about masculinity and dominance within this seemingly all-inclusive realm. Thomas also had a solo exhibition, “Specifically,” at Western Illinois University’s art gallery February 6 through March 14. The interactive installation, completed with the assistance of the students of the WIU art department, examined art, labor, and community. Thomas also participated in the NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) Biennial. He was one of 50 artists whose work was selected out of 1,500, submitted internationally. On display at Brown University’s David Winston Bell Gallery, the exhibition ran from January 24 through March 29.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research