Art News

UIU art program welcomes two new faculty
Two new art faculty will teach courses at UIU's Fayette
campus beginning fall semester 2008

Danni Xi, Visiting Artist and Guest Lecturer from Bejing,
will teach a drawing class during fall term I. Her visit is a
collaborative effort with UIU's International Program.

Elissa Cox, Assistant Professor of Art, will teach ceramics,
sculpture, 3-D foundations, environmental art, and non-
western art history. Cox earned her Master in Fine Arts
in 2007 at Ohio University in Athens OH. She graduated
in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics and a
Bachelor of Art in art history from the University of Minnesota
in Minneapolis, MN. She most recently taught at the University
of Kentucky in Lexington, before coming to Upper Iowa.

Twenty-Fifth Northeast Iowa High School Art Show
More than 150 area high school students and their teachers
attended the Twenty-Fifth Northeast Iowa High School Art
Show Friday, April 18, 2008 on the Upper Iowa University
campus in Fayette.  Thirteen area schools participated in the
daylong activities sponsored by the Art Educators of Iowa,
Keystone AEA and Upper Iowa University.
Click here to see photos from the High School Art Show.  

Students displayed their works in a juried exhibition, judged
by Sara Sheets, Independence, a freelance artist who is a
retired art teacher from the East Buchanan School District.
Categories for the competition included: printmaking, drawing,
colored drawing, painting, craft, sculpture, ceramics, computer
media, photography and mixed media.  

Students also attended workshops that featured Iowa artists
and educators. Bethany Hackman, Elgin, discussed her work
as an illustrator and graphic designer. Kelly Ludeking, Frankville,
gave a presentation on sculpture and metal casting. Rita Rickels,
who teaches at Muscatine High School, gave a presentation
on art education. Sheets and Rickels both are Upper Iowa
University alumni.

Web Photo Galleries
Click on the following links to view photographs from recent
activities in the Art Program at Upper Iowa University:
UIU's All-Art Alumni Reunion (13 October 2007)
Rededication of Edgar Fine Arts and the Bing Davis Gallery
Interior photographs of our newly remodeled facility
For more information about the Edgar renovation project, check
out our Facilities page.

Alumni Art Show
Show dates are October 12-November 12, 2007.
As part of Upper Iowa University’s 150th anniversary celebration,
the Art Department will host an Alumni Art Show in the newly-
renovated Edgar Fine Arts building.

UIU art professor designs corn maze
The Country Heritage Maize Maze in Elgin is partnering with Upper
Iowa University to help UIU celebrate its 150th Anniversary.  The
pattern for the 2007 maze, by John Siblik, UIU assistant professor
of art, will have an Upper Iowa University theme. The Country
Heritage Maize Maze is located at the Gilbertson Conservation
Education Area, one half-mile east of Elgin on Highway 64.
The maze is open from July 14 to Oct. 31. For more information
about the Maize Maze, contact the Gilbertson Nature Center
at 563-426-5740.

Saturday art program
More than 50 Fayette County elementary students participated
in the Saturday Art Program during four sessions held during late
January and early February 2007 on the Upper Iowa University
campus in Fayette. Students worked with a variety of materials
including paint, clay, and printmaking media. “ I was very happy
with the response. I guess we have an art-hungry public here in
Fayette County,” John Siblik, Upper Iowa University Assistant
Professor of Art, said. Siblik organized the Saturday art program
which was supported by a grant from the Fayette County Community
Foundation.

Siblik was assisted by UIU students. “We had Art Education Student
Teachers as lead teachers in two of the sections: Luke Neilsen of
Mason City and Lauranda Hook of Mineral, Arizona. We also had
students from the Art Club, various sororities and fraternities,
as well as volunteers from student government,” Siblik said. Next
year, UIU will host the Saturday Art Program in the Edgar Fine Art
Building which is currently being renovated. “We are very pleased
with the progress of the renovation project and excited to share
our facilities with our up-and-coming young artists in the surrounding
area,” Siblik added.