September 5, 2018
Six art students awarded undergraduate research scholarships to investigate new printmaking technology
Submitted by Katelin Schmedemann
Six students from the art department in the College of Arts and Sciences have been awarded undergraduate research scholarships from the college, which they will use to apply their expertise to printmaking research this fall.
Mikayla Bond, Gardner; Kailey Prior, Greenleaf; Madeleine Wolff, Olathe; Byron Ashley, Topeka; Rachel Hermes, Wichita; and Melissa Donlon, LaFayette, Georgia, will work with Jason Scuilla, printmaking professor and principal investigator, on the project, "Transforming Printmaking through Chemical Innovation."
The students will join an interdisciplinary team of nationally recognized artists, chemists and industry experts who are collaborating on the project to empower contemporary printmakers with tools and knowledge necessary to create prints using safer, environmentally friendly methods equal or superior to classical techniques.
Scuilla was awarded an Art Works grant from the National Endowment of the Arts to support the project. The project seeks to transfer technology from the microbiology, circuit board and commercial plating industries into contemporary printmaking.
The students will assist Scuilla in further developing this technology. They also will collaborate with a team of chemists led by Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry and co-principal investigator, create etchings utilizing this new technology, and assist nationally recognized artists who will be visiting to support this research.
The art department prepares its students to become practicing artists who possess visual literacy, cultural and historical awareness, sound aesthetic judgment, and creative problem-solving skills.
To learn more, visit the department's website.