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Keep up with Illustration alumni and the department at http://parsonsillustration.wordpress.com.
Aldo Becci ’49 is donating 20 percent of sales of his note cards available at www.aldobecci.com to the Parsons annual fund as part of the Parsons Washington, DC alumni network's current scholarship fundraising efforts. In addition, all Parsons alumni also receive a 10 percent discount on his creations. Just enter “Parsons” in the Redeem Discount Code box on the check out page and click the update tab.
Hector deCordova, Interior Design, Cert. ’58, created a painting to the jazz improvisation of the Chris DiMeglio Quartet LIVE in November at the Synergy Arts Gallery Port Jefferson, New York. deCordova’s one of kind artwork was then auctioned off at the end of the event, which uniquely blended the world of art and music.
Susan Dade, Fashion Design ’62 was a fashion illustrator on staff of Womens Wear Daily until 1968 when she moved over to the staff of Glamour magazine as illustrator/graphic designer. She left in 1978 as a new mom. Teaching fit her lifestyle at FIT,Traphagen. In 1994 she moved to NC and has become a well-known local artist. She would love to hear from her classmates! For more information, please visit www.susandade.com.
Arleene Schloss, Certificate, Illustration ’64, with Alan Raymond and Douglas Reichter, has put together a selection of four short films and videos to document the redefinition of the Bowery through the last 40 years. The films are called How Do You Like the Bowery?, Performance Art Workshop On Subway NYC 1979, New York Underground Venues Late 70s/Early 80s, and Ducks in the Window.
Susan Andreasen, Illustration ’69 is an “EcoArtist,” teaching an eight-week class at the Armory Arts Center in Palm Beach, Florida on how to capture live wild animals on canvas and collect landscape information. She is also an environmentalist and an endangered species advocate who has devoted her career to promoting “green consumerism” and environmental awareness through her artwork. In addition, she donates a portion of her paintings sold to an environmental or endangered species charity.
Lois Joy Johnson, Illustration, ’70, is a well-known beauty and fashion editor, who has spent 25 years interviewing, reporting and shooting about and with the best of the best. Her versatility as a writer, editor, and media spokesperson on style for the 40-plus market is well established and respected in both industries. From supermodels like Christie Brinkley, Paulina Porizkova, and Lauren Hutton to hair and makeup gurus like Frederic fekkai, Laura Mercier and Bobbi brown, to fashion icons like Diane Von Furstenberg, Vera Wang and Norma Kamali, every "name" has graced her editorial pages. Johnson is a highly sought after media pro who appears on television and radio shows. She has been a frequent contributor to The Today Show, The Early Show, Extra and CNN. As beauty & fashion director of MORE magazine from 1998 to 2008, her lively personal column was also syndicated in Knight Ridder newspapers. Johnson has given speeches on beauty, fashion and dermatology at conventions and workshops. She adored her years at Parsons and has great gratitude to her former teachers, Marvin Israel and Albert Elia who started her on the road.
Timothy Button, BFA, Architectural Design, ’75 has just completed the interiors of his third green residential high rise building for Albanese Development with Pelli Clarke Pelli. The Visionaire located in New York City will achieve a LEED Platinum rating, joining The Solaire ( LEED Gold) and The Verdesian (LEED Platinum).
Seth Bornstein, BFA, Architectural Design, ’78 is the Assistant Dean for Economic Development at LaGuardia Community College. One of the most interesting programs he administers is NYDesigns, a business incubator for emerging designers. Opened in 2006, the incubator includes 19 studio spaces. Their prototype lab, classes, business counseling and virtual tenancy programs are open to any designer seeking to grow their business.
Debra Wells, BFA, Communication Design ’83 has worked in corporate art departments at American Express and TIAA-CREF after graduating from Parsons. She now lives in Long Island with her husband, Mark and two teenage boys, Andrew and Matthew. Working freelance after starting a family, Debbie has used her design skills and has won numerous awards from Graphic Design: USA magazine over the years for her newsletter and logo design work. Currently, she designs products, logos and packaging for FashionCraft, a leader in the wedding and baby favor industry. This year, she has expanded her interests as guest curator at the Nassau County Museum of Art. Her exhibits on pop-up books have a special appeal to children and has added life to the museum’s collection as reported by the New York Times this fall.
Young Yang Chung, AAS, Illustration, ’84 has published books with Harry N Abrams, Inc., including History of East Asian Textile, Silken Thread, The Art of Oriental Embroidery, and Painting with a needle over the course of her career.
Leslie Wayne, BFA, Illustration ’85 had a solo show of paintings entitled No Going Back at Solomon Projects in Atlanta, GA and was in several recent group exhibitions: Material Color at the Hunterdon Museum of Art in Clifton, NJ (reviewed in Joanne Mattera Art Blog, October 18); Couples at the Islip Art Museum in Islip, NY (reviewed in New York Newsday, April 11 and The New York Times, April 27); The Idea of Nature at 33 Bond Street Gallery, NYC; and Process and the Contemporary Print at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL and at The College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, MN, which she also curated (reviewed in Minneapolis/St.Paul Star Tribune, March 27).
Mandy Green, BFA, Communication Design ’86 is currently working for Disney consumer products in Glendale, California as lead product packaging designer for the Food, Healthy and Beauty, Pets team. Prior to her work at Disney, she worked at Nestle, and had her own design firm for the last 7 years. In addition to her work, she has been teaching at the AI of Hollywood in courses on packaging, concept develop and branding.
Michael Storrings, BFA, Illustration '86 had a celebration for his publication, A Very New York Christmas , at The Corner Bookstore on Madison Avenue in November. In A Very New York Christmas, Storrings captures the magical landscape and excitement of the holiday season in dozens of watercolors. The book includes a forward from Cynthia Nixon and combines festive quotations from literature and popular culture with Storring's watercolors of forty cherished New York holiday scenes.
Christy Trotter, BFA, Communication Design, ’86 a.k.a. Little Shiva lives in Charleroi, Belgium and is launching a new magazine project called Fingerpainting on Mars. Home base is http://www.littleshiva.com, as always.
Carolita Johnson, BFA, Fashion Design ’87 is a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine. Her cartoons appear in The New Yorker and in “Sex and Sensibility” by Liza Donnelly, as well as “The Rejection Collection I & II.” Her work as a freelance illustrator can be seen in books this year: The Power of No and Damn it Feels Great to be a Banker. Carolita has a blog called newyorkette.com and also still works in fashion in the capacity of fit model, putting her patternmaking skills to use. She is currently working on her own “Style Bestiary.”
Rebecca Zilenziger, BFA, Photography ’89 and her photography were recently featured in the December issue of Artes Magazine.
Kirsten Sibilia, BFA, Product Design ’90 was named JCJ Architecture’s first chief marketing officer. Based in New York, Ms. Sibilia, works with each of the company's six offices across the United States on strategic marketing and communications efforts. She is also a key member of the JCJ Management Committee.
Ms. Sibilia has over 18 years of experience in marketing, sales, public relations, communications, and product design. Most recently, she spent ten years with FXFOWLE Architects, overseeing marketing, business development, public relations, and graphics for the firm's two offices. Her efforts there contributed to the firm's steady growth and diversification, as well as its successful penetration into new markets. Prior to FXFOWLE, Ms. Sibilia did marketing for Mitchell/Giurgola and sales for Larry Winderbaum Inc. and Andrea Aranow Textile Documents.
Robert Spiotta’s, MA, History of Decorative Arts & Design ’91 interior design and art consultation for the Manhattan penthouse of Cole-Haan CEO, Jim Seuss, appeared in the Sept./Oct. Southern Accents magazine. Spiotta was also one of 11 designers asked to create spaces for the new Artefacto Style House Atlanta.
Lea Ann Hutter, BFA, Communication Design ’93 is a User Experience Designer at ThisNext.com, a social shopping site based in Santa Monica, CA. Visit her profile at www.thisnext.com/by/lahutter/.
Julia Tortolani, BFA, Illustration ’94 is VP Creative at The Marketing Store Worldwide. She is currently heading up a team of toy 14 designers at TMSW Chicago. Each year her team creates more than 1,400 toy designs. From those designs, TMSW manufactures more than 2.2 billion toys, working with licensors such as Mattel (Barbie, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket), Hasbro (My Little Pony, Nerf, Strawberry Shortcake), Fox (Shrek, Madagascar, Night at the Museum, Ice Age), Hello Kitty, Pucca, Cartoon Network (Power Puff Girls, Batman, Ben10, Star Wars, Naruto), and Nickelodeon (Sponge Bob, The Last Airbender, El Tigre). And yet none of these toys can be found in your local toy aisle. Can you guess where all these toys can be found? Answer: McDonalds Happy Meal!
Kathleen Cook, BFA, Fashion Design '95 has launched a new line of designer swimwear and resortwear for 2009 called Kathleen Cook Swim. For more information, visit http://www.kathleencookswim.com.
Liz Lomax, Illustration ’98 taught Œ3D Illustration for several years as well as ŒMaterials + Methods and a Foundation ŒIntroduction to Illustration) She is pleased to share her latest sculpted illustrations for MasterCard’s Priceless campaign! These images can be seen Nationwide on many telephone kiosks, bus shelters, giant billboards (locally at Houston Street/Sullivan), on taxicabs and in most major magazines. For more, please visit http://lizlomax.com and http://lizlomax.blogspot.com.
Wendy Sullivan, BFA, Photography, ’99 was recently promoted to Design Manager of Nike Retail at Nike’s World Headquarters near Portland, Oregon.
Sonya Sklaroff, MFA, Painting, ’00 had an exhibition titled “Lightscapes: Finding Beauty in the Mundane” at The Gallery at Steuben Glass last fall.
Rob O’Neill, MFA, Design & Technology ’02 released Digital Character Development: Theory and Practice Monday, November 10th, 2008. Published by Morgan Kaufmann (Elsevier), the textbook is a theoretical overview of character technology for animation and video games. Digital Character Development bridges the gap between rigging concepts, algorithms, and techniques via software-agnostic descriptions that apply to any animation applications. Presenting the anatomical considerations for rigging a character alongside the expectations of an animator, a road map for character development is carefully laid out through rich illustrations and visual code examples illuminating the development of digital characters for film and games.
Natalia Argüello, MFA, Design & Technology, ’03 has been appointed Associate Director for NY Designs/CUNY, a business incubator for design businesses in New York. Natalia is in charge of programming and marketing for NY Designs. She was also awarded the 2009 LERN International Award for Excellence in Brochure Design and Marketing; and the 2008 Best Integrated Marketing Communications Plan by NYU's Division of Programs in Business.
James Garrett, MRCH, Architecture, ’04 in 2007 partnered with engineering firm DMJM Harris on the new Central Corridor Light Rail Transit project in Minneapolist/St. Paul, Minnesota and is in the process of designing all 16 LRT train stations along the corridor that will link downtown St. Paul, the University of Minnesota (West Bank campus), and downtown Minneapolis (connecting to the existing Hiawatha LRT line and the new Minnesota twins ballpark) along University Avenue. The $900 million project is in the final stages of design with construction scheduled to begin in mid-2009 and substantial completion set for mid-2014...the CCLRT will be Minnesota’s largest and most significant mass transportation investment to date.
Lucky Michaels, BFA, Photography ’05 released a new book of documentary photographs, Shelter, which examines a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young people living, off and on, at a homeless shelter in Hell’s Kitchen. He shot roughly 4,000 images over three years, 2003 to 2006, while he worked as an overnight counselor at the shelter, Sylvia’s Place. The 120 images in the 192-page book- at once intimate, stark and unsparing- are interspersed with first-person accounts and a brief narrative written by Mr. Michaels with Tanino Minneci, a social worker at the shelter.
Christopher Canlas, Fashion Studies ’06 left his consulting position at Versace to work as designer for Vivienne Tam. In February 2008 he accepted a position to become the bridal designer for David's Bridal.
Bonnie Gloris, BFA, Illustration, ’06 had her Sensory Overload featured on the cover of the scientific journal Brain Research. The oil painting was commissioned for a special issue on the topic of multisensory integration. Ms. Gloris is available for commissions through www.bonniegloris.com and bonnie@bonniegloris.com. You can also find her work in Creative Quarterly Magazine in December and 3x3 Magazine's Illustration Annual in January.
Timothy Hull, MFA, Fine Arts, ’06 recently had a solo exhibition at Brown Project Space in Milan, Italy titled Come l'Egitto Ha Rovinato la mia Vita and was also included in Timeless Drawings at the Morris Museum in New Jersey and a recent sculpture exhibition at Museum 52 in New York.
Taylor Davidson, BBA, Design and Management ’07 married Jesse Sanchez in June, 2008. Fellow Design and Management alumni Liza Wolfe and Susi Kenna attended as bridesmaids. Following her marriage, Taylor was promoted to Consumer Insight Analyst at The Estēe Lauder Companies Inc. in July.
Julian Hector, BFA, Illustration ’07 had his first picture book, The Little Matador (Disney/Hyperion), released in July. His second, This is the Firefighter, (Disney/Hyperion) will be released in March 2009. He is currently illustrating Monday is One Day (Scholastic), written by Arthur A. Levine (publisher/editor of Harry Potter), writing and illustrating two new books titled The Gentleman Bug (Disney/Hyperion) and Vulcan (Simon and Schuster), and was just asked to illustrate a book titled Once Upon a Time/Habia Una Vez (Harper Collins).
Dorie Herman, AAS, Graphic Design, ’07 took a position as graphic designer for the Promotions Department at House Beautiful magazine, a Hearst publication, last August.
Shiva Sadri, AAS, Fashion Studies, ’07 recently founded Gunny + Galloon, a textile design studio located in Brooklyn. Shiva studied surface design for her undergraduate degree in California and worked for several years as a hand-knits designer before moving to New York to attend Parsons. An internship during her second semester inspired her to return to her textile roots and after graduating she spent the next two years freelancing as a textile designer. During this time she created work for a number of New York designers such as Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Behnaz Sarafpour, Richard Chai and Thakoon.
Gunny + Galloon is a design studio specializing in the creation of handmade techniques and treatments on fabric. The company is dedicated to preserving and reviving the tradition of the handcrafted and to finding ways to make this artform not only relevant but rather an
indispensable resource in today's competitive global fashion environment. G + G's approach to design is experimental and collaborative; always looking to find innovative ways to alter, embellish and adorn fabrics and believing in the potential of new discoveries when creative minds come together. For more information, please visit www.gunnyandgalloon.com.
Cat Lauigan, BFA, Illustration, ’08 participated in the Torino International Book Fair in May 2008. She, as well as other students, submitted book projects that were then selected by the well-known Italian art and design publisher, Corraini. In addition to Parsons, the MFA School of Visual Arts, the Estonian Academy of Arts, the School of Design Hongik University of Seoul, and the Instituto Europeo de Design were other art and design institutions that participated in the fair.
Lindsay Podd, BFA, Illustration '08 and current Illustration student Roxanna Vizcarra are two of the six winners of the Vimobot Design Contest. Their designs are now available in Mimobot USB flash drives. Click here for Lindsay's mimobot and here for Roxie's mimobot.
Prateek Sachdev, BBA, Design & Management ’08 now works as retail operations analyst for Versace USA, after joining Bachrach in May 2008 as a planner for furnishing departments for 43 stores.
Carol McCranie, BFA, Illustration '86 was accepted into an exhibition curated by internationally renowned photography dealer, Peter MacGill of Manhattan's Pace MacGill Gallery last fall. The event, Spectra '07 National Photography Triennial, was held at the Silvermine Guild Galleries in New Canaan, Connecticut and included McCranie's photograph, "Blue Tank (Through Prouve' Porthole)". McCranie's photograph, a C-Print backed to aluminum and measured 20 x 30 inches, was in the running for one of the top prizes out of a group of 13 semi-finalists and was also included in the exhibition catalogue.
 Upon graduating from Parsons, Gina DeDomenico Flanagan, BFA, Fashion Design '89 became a costume illustrator for feature films, working for Steven Spielberg, Rob Reiner and Spike Lee. Now she has started a business called KidsLunchBoxCards to put her skills to work for children. Gina is now illustrating for much tougher critics-kids! KidsLunchBoxCards began when Gina, a mom to three, included daily whimsical notes in her kids' lunch boxes. Full of fun facts, riddles and quizzes, they generated much excitement. Writes Gina, “My daughter would come home with stories of sitting alone at lunch and feeling like she had no friends. School can be so tough! The lunch cards changed all that. Now kids flock to her to see her newest cards! I feel compelled to share them with other kids, too, and KidsLunchBoxCards was born.” Visit Gina’s website at www.kidslunchboxcards.com and make lunch FUN for your kids!
Karen J (Jaojoco), BFA, Communication Design, '89 is senior manager of creative for Gap, Inc in San Francisco, California.
Nanc Gordon, BFA, Communication Design '76 is the founder of Nanc Gordon Designs, a decorative painting and graphic design firm. Projects range from custom high end finishes for the home and office furnishings to licensed designs for paper products. Past clients have included Metropolitan Museum of Art, the United Nations and the Big Dig construction project in Boston, Nanc completed a Certificate in Decorative Painting from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been shown at the Decordova Museum in Lincoln, MA, the Rhode Island School of Design, and group shows, such as 'Everything Begins in Water' a New England regional exhibition juried by Judi Rotenberg and Abigail Ross. Nanc has also been an adjunct instructor at the Massachusetts College of Art. Nanc was awarded the honor of painting the official 'kick off cow' for Cow Parade Boston. Cow Parade Boston, which benefits the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is a public art exhibition of life-sized fiberglass cows designed and painted to showcase the best of the Boston area. Sponsored by Equity Office Properties, Nanc's cow depicting the "T" transit system permanently grazes at Boston's South Station terminal. Nanc Gordon Designs will be returning for the third year to the licensing show, Surtex 2008, May 18- 20, booth 711, at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.
Nancy Minsky, Cert., Fashion Design, '76 has a new book, Denim Revolution, with DIY designs created from re-cycled denim, which will be released in May 2008 by Random House. Nancy currently lives in Brussels. For more information about her activities visit her blog at http://21centurydressmakers.blogspot.com.
Reginald Cortez Woolery, BFA, Illustration '82 showed his DVD, design.grid.composition, in "Blacks In and Out of the Box" (video art and photo-based work by African-American artists) at the California African American Museum (CAAM), 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA September 13-December 30, 2007. The exhibit highlighted the ongoing dialogue that contemporary artists have with their historical and ancestral past while tracing the technical developments of the photographic medium, which encompasses film, mixed media, and digital technology.
Coco Masuda Comitini, BFA, Illustration '83 announces that her prints and products are finally available online. For fine prints of her artwork with custom framing, visit CocoEditions.com and for posters, calendar prints, and unique gifts, visit CocoGoods.com.
Alexandra Rheault, BFA, Illustration '85 opened drawing room, a space where community and drawing collide in November 2006. Located in Portland, Maine, the intimate space exhibits artwork from all media, hosts events and discussions, as well as encourages collaborative work. Rheault also teaches regularly as a visiting artist at the Maine College of Art in its Illustration and Printmaking programs. Last August, she had a solo exhibit at Filament Gallery in Portland, ME, where she showed drawings, paintings, prints on fabric, and installation work. In April, she will participate in the symposium “New Museum, New Museology” at the Savannah College of Art. She is on the board of the Vermont College of Fine Art and the Winter Harbor Theater Company. To find out more, visit www.drawingroomportlandmaine.com. You can also visit her blog, http://headonastick2.blogspot.com and her personal website, www.alexrheault.com.
Michael Storrings, BFA, Illustration '86 had new ornaments, plates, mugs, coasters, placemats, and a new book for the holiday season. His new book, A Very New York Christmas was a limited edition (1,000 copies) and available at Saks. Actress Cynthia Nixon has written the foreword and Regis Philbin has said about it, "Nobody celebrates Christmas like New Yorkers. And no town gets all dressed up like New York at Christmastime. It's a feast for the eyes. It's happiness and good cheer on every corner and Michael Storrings has captured it all for you in this book."
Elizabeth Hubbard, BFA, Illustration '87 has been a senior handbag accessory designer for 20 years.
Isabel Samaras, BFA, Illustration '87 just editioned a new jigsaw puzzle. You can check it out at http://isamaras.wordpress.com.
Illustration adjunct faculty Bob Sikoryak, BFA, Illustration ’87 was part of the January 8 edition of Comic Book Club at the People’s Impriov Theater in New York City. Named as part of the Best New York Press 2007, Comic Book Club is a live weekly talk show about comic books, hosted by Justin Tyler, Pete LePage, and Alex Zalben. See http://www2.parsons.edu/illustration/index.html for more.
Jonathan Bauer, BFA, Communication Design '93 is a painter living in Denmark. To see his work please visit www.jdbauer.org. For The Heady Pepper cooking show see www.improvkitchen.blogspot.com. For his blog please visit www.jdbauer.blogspot.com.
Angie Mason, BFA, Illustration ’97 showed 34 works in “Bits & Pieces: A Show That Looks Back” at Frozen Monkey Gallery in Hoboken, NJ in December and January. Also, Angie’s “Life Sore Spores Behind the Scenes” documini can be viewed at http://brainspills.blogspot.com/2007/11/angie-mason-documini-life-sore-spores.html or at http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=22619515.
Henry Min, BFA, Communication Design '97 relocated to Los Angeles to join The_Groop as creative director. For more information, visit http://thegroop.net/press/56.
Kazumi Terada-Ovalle, BFA, Environmental Design '97 is the president and co-founder of Fifth Line. In July 2007, FIFTH LINE Group, LLC was accepted into NY Designs, the design business incubator program in Long Island City. On March 22nd, 2008, FIFTH LINE Group is launching its original children's characters called Molly the Giraffe, and Kai the Penguin, with a multi-lingual children's book that is customizable on-demand with any three languages. For more information, please see www.fifthlinegroup.com.
Brian Wood, BFA, Illustration ’97 recently had his comic book DMZ featured in PRINT Magazine. The magazine says, “(DMZ is an) ongoing series, which imagines a devastating civil war in the United States, is one of a new class of mainstream comics: stories that are clearly responding to the war in Iraq without referring to it directly. Using settings and characters that are futuristic, surreal, or satiric, these new comics go where the network news fears to tread.”
Suzanne Chan, BBA, Design and Management ’01 is currently the senior marketing manager at ESI Design. Formerly she was director of marketing & new business development at FITCH. She’s launching greenbaby-nyc.com, an online GREEN baby store in March 2008.
Ilan Altman, AAS, Graphic Design ‘02 is the art director for advertising and marketing for OK! Magazine. He was hired to recreate U.S. brand of the magazine. Prior to OK! Magazine, he worked for a year at MORE magazine and for five years at Time Out New York.
Katelyn Aprile, BFA, Fashion Design ’03 recently moved to Los Angeles and is the knitwear designer for Cynthia Vincent. Prior to moving to LA, she spent four years working for Nanette Lepore as a knitwear designer.
Carolina Spielmann, MFA, Painting, ’03 (Parsons Paris) will be exhibiting her artwork at the Florence Biennale 2007 December 1-9. For more information, visit her website at www.carolinaspielmann.com
Miao Wang, MFA, Design and Technology '05 is the filmmaker and producer of Yellow Ox Mountain, which premiered on Channel 13 in the New York City tri-state area. The film reflects on the artistic inspirations and personal journeys of two contemporary Chinese artists Zhang Hongtu (b. 1943) and Zhang Jian-Jun (b. 1955). Their lives and work span from the post-Cultural Revolution political environment of China to today's thriving Chinese contemporary art community of New York. Through engaging in work that deals with the psyche of their historical context, they have cast away Mao's shadows. Their works are enriched by not only a deeply rooted tradition but also a profound awareness of the cycles of history and the importance of the dissenting voice in society.
Timothy Hull, MFA, Fine Arts ’06 recently had a solo exhibition at Freight+Volume gallery in New York titled 'The Swarm of Possible Meanings Surrounding the Ancient Pyramids,' which dealt with the West's pre-occupation with the mysteries and artifacts of Ancient Egypt. Hull has a research trip to Egypt planned for Spring 2008 as well as a forthcoming curatorial project and exhibition in Los Angeles with Taylor de Cordoba Gallery.
Parsons Illustration alumna Leah Hayes created the front and back cover art for McSweeney’s 25, a quarterly journal that features a wide range of literary and artistic endeavors including illustrated fables, sketchbooks, short stories, audio recordings, and comics. Hayes also has an upcoming full-length graphic novel, Funeral of the Heart. See http://www2.parsons.edu/illustration/index.html for more.
Adrian Lam, BFA, Photography ‘05 currently works for ABCnews.com as a photo editor.
Harry Weisburd, BA, Fashion Illustration '54 has been invited to exhibit at the MIAD, Venado Tuerto, International Digital Art Exhibition, Argentina for the Museum of the Americas, Doral, Florida July through August 2008.
Erik Hilgerdt, Cert., Graphic Design '59 worked as a film editor after graduating and then as a drawing and design instructor, and designed and built theatrical sets, while freelancing as an illustrator. His cartoons can be viewed at cartoonbank.com.
Andy Libertone, Graphic Design '62 showed his drawings and sculpture at the Pattern Shop Studio in Denver, Colorado this May and June.
Louise Dillon, Cert., Graphic Design '63 "self published" a book on lulu.com in July 2006. The Lion's Roar is a children's book that she wrote and illustrated. Louise is currently working on illustrating another children's book as well as doing freelance illustration work for a few clients.
Eve Lindsay, BFA, Fashion Design '73 runs her own company, Savvy Style, which provides image and style advice plus fashion design in Hong Kong. She has been based in Hong Kong working as a fashion designer since 1980. She started working there in the 1970s while living in New York. Lindsay was moved to San Franscisco by Esprit, which sent her constantly traveling all over Asia working as a designer for the next few years. Eventually she settled in Hong Kong, working as an international fashion designer and she loves it there. She taught fashion design at the Hong Kong Swire School of Design in the 1990s and trained in makeup artistry and started her own image advice company in 2001. Lindsay met her husband in Hong Kong and they have two daughters, Asia and Jasmine. Visit her website at www.savvystyle.com.
Laura (Lou) Pollack, BFA, Illustration '78 just finished a designing a children's book for kids with learning disabilities. She has also been teaching creativity classes for all ages, developing licensing projects with her own character, LoulaBelle, illustration, book and graphic design, and selling her fine art paintings and assemblages that work with color and energetic symbols. Pollack currently lives in a hamlet of Woodstock, New York.
Sharon Coney, BFA, Communication Design '81 has recently "entered into the world of corporate 'graphics'." After two decades working in toy package design she says she is now "playing the game and trying to keep a level of artistic integrity," which she find challenging. Coney says, "Most corporate decisions are not based on good taste...HA! As designers, we need to continually lead the visually impaired in the right direction."
Gretchen Mokry, BFA, Architectural Design '82 has been promoted to an associate at the San Francisco office of Perkins+Will, a architectural design and planning firm. During her time at the firm she has been a project manager on the Lagoons, a mixed use project in Dubai. Over the last 15 years, Mokry has served as project manager/architect on healthcare, retail, educational, and hospitality projects. She has also contributed to the design of significant civic projects, such as the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles while with the office of Gehry Partners.
Hatun Aytug, BFA, Communication Design '89 is currently working in the fashion industry as Senior Director of Product Development and Production for - MARTIN + OSA / American Eagle Outfitters.
Joceline Arseneault, BFA, Illustration '92 recently joined Organic, a digital marketing agency as the manager of operations for the New York office.
Michelle Haim, BFA, Interior Design '00 recently joined the London office of HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates as an interior designer. HBA is a well respected Hospitality Design firm ranked among the highest in its category.
Clay Ward, MFA, Sculpture '00 is creating a new technology for enabling responsible consumerism. Check out www.ThoughtAndMemory.org and find out what the ravens are chatting about.
Chae Hong Park, MFA, Design and Technology '01 has been working as a senior programmer, developing and supporting business critical systems, at Philips Lighting for five years.
Ryan Germick, BFA, Illustration '03 designed the icon for Google's Street View, then starred in the demo video, which was recently one of the top five videos viewed on YouTube.
Rodrigo Saiani, AAS, Graphic Design '04 runs a design studio, Niramekko, in Brazil with work ranging from print and identity to website and interface design.
Katherine Tsina, AAS, Fashion Design '05 is featured in the July 2007 issue of Vogue ("3 to Watch," page 78). She came to the AAS program at Parsons after studying dance with Merce Cunningham.
Christopher Canlas, AAS, Fashion Design '06 is currently a design consultant for Versace.
Susan (Wilder) Neuhaus, BFA, Communication Design '82 and her husband, David Neuhaus, are owners/operators of NeuStudio, which services small publishers with book, collateral and interactive design, and editorial illustration.
Judith O'Neill, BFA, Communication Design '83 has been busy raising two children with her husband, Mike, on their small horse farm in upstate New York. She also has a graphic design studio in her home.
Marcia Rieff, BFA, Communication Design '72 is a senior package designer specializing in toy, school supply, cosmetic, and food industries. She was packaging manager and art director for Best Foods, Inc. for over 20 years where she worked on packaging for brands including Skippy Peanut Butter, Knorr Products, Hellmann's, Mazola, Entenmann's, and Thomas'. Marcia is the winner of the 2002 American Graphic Design Award and the 2000 Women of the Year TWIN Award. Recently she assisted in art classes for autistic children at the Art School of Old Church in Glen Rock, New Jersey and exhibited her work at Glen Rock Library, also at the Art School at Old Church.
Armand Aubery, BFA, Environmental Design '83 designed a new lounge, which opened in April 2006 at the Hotel on Rivington in New York City. Check out his vintage store in Miami at www.livingglobal.com.
Jonathan Bauer, BFA, Communication Design '93 is a painter and blogger living in the south of Denmark. His works can be seen at www.jdbauer.org and his blog can be read at www.collectiveheartburn.com.
Hajime Ando, BFA, Communication Design '94 is a senior art director at the New York office of Publicis, a worldwide advertising agency network, working with clients such as BMW, UBS, P & G, and Sanofi. He is also actively working on personal photography projects.
Julia Tortolani, BFA, Illustration '94 is creative director at LeapFrog Enterprises, an educational toy and game company in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Andrea Ruggiero, BFA, Product Design '95 is actively involved in the design and development of visual identity systems, furniture, packaging, and environments. His multi-disciplinary practice, Andrea Ruggiero Design LLC, focuses on delivering comprehensive design solutions to start-up ventures and internationally established brands. His work appears regularly in leading design and lifestyle publications and has been selected for numerous awards, including the Good Design Award, the International Furniture Design Fair award in Japan, and ID Magazine's Annual Design Review. Prior to establishing his own practice, Andrea was a senior designer at Razorfish, where as a part of the Physical Solutions Lab he was responsible for developing next-generation digital communication devices and defining new product-user scenarios. He now teaches Product Design at Parsons. For a recent interview with Andrea in the online magazine, flashfilm, click here.
Nina Seirafi, BFA, Interior Design '98 recently decorated a home for Tom Green, who served as general counsel for Dell through the computer company's rise to success in the 1990s. The Austin, Texas home and Nina's interior design work was featured in the January 2007 issue of Elle Decor. For more information visit Nina's website at www.ninaseirafi.com.
Alex Yampolsky, BFA, Communication Design '98 is a principal of BrandOptions, a communication design consultancy. He is also a faculty member in the Department of Graphic Design at The Art Institute of Philadelphia and an adjunct professor in the Department of Advertising at Temple University.
Jada (Casteel) Loveless, AAS, Fashion Marketing '01 launched a luxury handbag line on September 28, 2006. Within just six weeks of launching the line, it was picked up by Jeffrey New York and Atlanta, and Jada is meeting with other major luxury retailers over the course of the next several weeks. The collection is comprised of elegant clutches and minaudieres made of fine quality exotic skins, and jewerly of vermeil encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones. Visit jadaloveless.com for complete details, including photos and press coverage.
 Aline Lica, BFA, Interior Design '02 is very involved with the design field in Israel. She says that she practices everything she learned at Parsons. Aline hosts a TV show about design, writes in many magazines about design, and even has her own design column in MAARIV, a very popular magazine in Israel. She is also developing a new four-story design store dedicated to design and lifestyle in Tel Aviv.
Jacky Myint and Jung Hee "Jenni" Sohn, both MFA, Design & Technology '02 are working at the Associated Press as interactive designers pursuing visual journalism.
Natasha Sehgal, AAS, Fashion Design '04 has returned to India and launched Nat Non. The label is having success in India and may expand to retail in other nations in Europe and the U.S. She previously worked at New York and Company after interning at DKNY and Anna Sui. Natasha participated in the USA Fashion Show in 2006 and photos from the show and of her designs can be seen on her website, www.natashasehgal.com or by clicking here.
Patrick Baird, BFA, Photography '05 is a graphic designer at the New York office of Hill & Knowlton, a global PR consultancy and WPP company. Patrick designs presentation materials for new business pitches and creates custom design solutions for current clients including HP, Motorola, Merck, Forest Laboratories, Feld Entertainment, Bausch & Lomb, Nixon Peabody, Tahitian Noni, Schering-Plough, Cendant, Verisign, and Fitch Ratings. Patrick lives in Manhattan and is currently pursuing an MA degree in Media Studies at The New School for General Studies.
Marcia Pearl, BFA, Communication Design '05 is assistant professor in the Visual Communications Department at Prince Georges Community College in Largo, Maryland, where she is currently in her third year.
Susanne Vargarden and Steven Joureau, both BFA, Communication Design '05 have started DEUXS, a design firm on Guadeloupe, French West Indies. DEUXS is an international multidisciplinary design firm, whose first assignment will be designing costumes for the Guadeloupe Carnival 2007. Both graduates have worked full-time within communication design in NYC and worldwide since graduating. Clients include: Condé Nast, Honda, Citibank, Levi's, Indika, DiVA fair, Cupecoy Home fashion etc. DEUXS can be reached on www.deuxs.com.
Hillary Vermont, Graphic Design '72 has her own manufacturing business, Tic Toc Rocks, in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Inspired by the beauty of the Southwest, Hillary buys rocks by the ton and makes them into affordable home accessories including clocks, coasters, and tables. She decorates them by etching them with ancient artist motifs and her own designs, which are inspired by her "fabulous teachers at Parsons... especially John Russo." Prior to this Hillary worked for 10 years in advertising at large agencies and CBS Records Advertising and then started her own graphic licensing business, Hillary Vermont Designs. In this endeavor, Hillary's work appeared on printable products including tees, greeting cards, beverageware, and towels. Her licensees included MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Smithsonian. Hillary welcomes contact from her fellow alumni. Email her at hillaryvermont@hotmail.com and check out her work www.tictocrocks.com and www.hillaryvermont.oakcreekprintworks.com .
Susan Mendola Angelo, BFA, Communication Design '85 currently does freelance special publications work for major corporations including Gannett. Prior to this she worked for Savvy magazine and Arista Records, for eight years, until taking a break to spend time with her children.
Leslie Wayne, BFA, Fine Arts '85 was the recipient of the 2006 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting. This year her work has been shown in group shows including, "Selections from the Permanent Collection Since the 1950's" at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, "Poesie" at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City, "Peace Tower/Whitney Biennial" at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, and "Pull" at the Red Gallery at Savannah College of Art and Design. She will have a solo show titled "Trouble in Paradise" at the Jack Shainman Gallery in 2007.
Michael Storrings, BFA, Illustration '86 had his 2006 ornament signings at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City and at Adler's in New Orleans in November and December. The 2006 ornaments included a limited edition Park Avenue ornament with Swarovski crystals and a Mardi Gras-themed ornament for which a portion of the proceeds were donated to the PRCNO.
Aileen Addalia, BBA, Design & Management '89 has been working as a freelance makeup artist for Lancome cosmetics since 1999. Upon graduation in 1989, she worked as a merchandiser for Liz Claiborne then as product development manager for Geoffrey Beene Menswear at PVH until 1998. Aileen is married to John Addalia, and they have a son, Alec, who is 8 years old. Aileen also has a financial services business with Primerica. She is fully licensed for loans, investments, and insurance in New York and New Jersey.
Daisy Hu, BBA, Design & Management '99 is an account supervisor at The Bromley Group, a public relations and marketing firm in New York City.
Olja Stipanovic, BFA, Fine Arts '98, MFA, Painting '00 will be exhibiting photographs at the Centre Culturel Francais de Turin, in Turin, Italy from December 13 to January 20. The exhibition, titled "Video Dia Loghi" features several international artists.
Siddharth Jatia, MFA, Design & Technology '02 has been working with the design firm, Razorfish for the last year as senior web strategist and user experience lead. He previously worked for Electronic Arts for over four years leading the production of games like NCAA Football and Madden NFL Foortball.
Moulsari Jain, BFA, Communication Design '04 worked with Real Design in New York City for two years, creating branding and materials for The Silk Road Project, Bill T. Jones Dance Company, Rubin Museum of Art, and others. She recently moved to Amsterdam for a new experience.
Charles Rutherford, Interior Design '51 was elected Life Member of the Interior Designers Guild, the oldest interior designers group in Texas.
Laura Pollack, BFA, Illustration '78 is working with character development for publishing and product, painting and creating assemblages, and facilitating creativity classes for personal exploration. She lives in Woodstock, New York.
Ellen (Howard) Burkhart, BFA, Fashion Design '81 worked in the industry at Jack Mulqueen for eight months out of school then at Donnkenny Apparel for 16+ years as designer, senior designer, then director of technical design for the $300 million company. She is currently married with twin 7-year old boys and has her own soap company in Florida.
Lisa Petker Mintz, BFA, Fine Arts '87 had a solo show at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library in November and December. Lisa has exhibited her artwork in New York City and Long Island for the past 20 years. The centerpieces of her latest exhibition were her floral collages. Also on display were her highly intricate linear graphite studies.
Louisa Bertman, BFA, Illustration '92 had seven portraits for sale in the “Rock and Art Auction” at The Opera House in Boston, Massachusetts on November 8. Her work includes images of Huey Lewis, Chicago, Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, Bunny Wailer, Anna Nalick and Chris Isaak. For more of Louisa's work, www.louisabertman.com.
Aneta Genova, BFA, Fashion Design '00 is involved in building a helpful website for fashion students. The website, www.fashionstudentsource.com/ny lists a variety of sources for fabrics, trims, leather, knitting, and all kinds of fashion and art supplies.
Michelle Haim, BFA, Interior Design '00 recently won a first place award in the Hospitality category of the 2006 design competition sponsored by the American Society of Interior Designers South Florida Chapter for her conceptual designs for Centro, a new restaurant and lounge in Miami. Michelle is senior designer at the firm of Fanny Haim & Associates.
Sonya Sklaroff, MFA, Painting '00 showed her paintings in a solo exhibition at Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco, CA. See www.sonyasklaroff.com for more information.
Sumit Kumar, AAS, Fashion Marketing '01 has been able to successfully combine his Parsons degree with his engineering background from MIT in Supply Chain Management. He currently works in the field of Operations and Logistics as a consultant with Capgemini (formerly Ernst & Young) Consulting.
Jeffrey Olinger, BFA, Architectural Design '03 received a fellowship from EDAW London to work on the 2012 Olympic games. He was also a finalist in the 2005 Green Builders Design Competition hosted by the USGBC.
Natalia Allen, BFA, Fashion Design '04 gave a lecture at Parsons titled "The Relevancy of Technology in Fashion." The lecture was held on November 27 in the fashion design building and was geared towards students and professionals interested in the future of fashion.
Harry Weisburd's, BA, Illustration '54 landscape painting has been accepted for inclusion in the artwanted.com's 2007 landscape calendar, which is available in November. Harry is also now listed with Saatchi Gallery, London. He has figurative and landscape paintings listed.
Jack Looney, Graphic Design ’56 recently published a book, Now Batting, Number…The Mystique, Superstition, and Lore of Baseball’s Uniform Numbers (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers). It took him 14 years to compile this passionate look at the numbers in the game of baseball. It has everything: dream teams, boyhood idols, history, retired numbers, behind-the-scenes tales, complete rosters, hundreds of photographs and more. Jack and his book were featured on the front page of the sports section of the Bergen County Record in August and on ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza” in July. He has also been on more than 50 radio shows nationwide.
Leslie Singer, BFA, Graphic Design '76 currently speaks to entrepreneurial groups, as well
as business and communication students about the Profit Power of Corporate
Identity (and how to do it right the first time). She also speaks about running and operating a design firm and the politics of client management. After a 13-year career in advertising, Leslie started a design firm called Singer Design that she owned for 11 years before selling it to The McCann Erickson Worldgroup, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) in 1999. She worked for them up until 9/11, after which she returned to her "chronic entrepreneurial roots." Her website is www.lesliesinger.com.
 Stacye Leanza, BFA, Illustration '82 recently completed her ninth public art mural. This one was her second largest at 70 feet by 14 feet and took almost nine months to complete. The project was commissioned by the Siler City Mural Society in North Carolina.
Patricia Valle Muhilly, BFA, Communication Design '87 was an art director for cosmetic companies for 16 years in New York City before moving to Seattle for project management work with Starbucks Coffee. In 2000 she moved back to the east coast and in 2005, she started her own interiors business.
Karen De Balbian Verster, BFA, Communication Design '79 has just published her first novel, Boob, A Story of Sex, Cancer & Stupidity, and completed a book tour with readings and signings in five states, culminating in a reading and signing at Borders in New York City. Karen has been invited to read at KGB, the Knitting Factory, Posman Booksellers, and St. Peters Church, among other locations. Many excerpts from Boob, A Story of Sex, Cancer & Stupidity and her novel-in-progress, Desperately Seeking Dutch, have been published in literary reviews and anthologies such as Widener Review, Global City Review, and The Breast: An Anthology, Promethean, Shore Stories, Lifestories, and Amuse. Karen's poetry has appeared in Rising to the Dawn, Calliope, and poetsonline.com. To read an excerpt, visit http://mysite.verizon.net/kdebv.
Mary Ting, BFA, Illustration '83 had her work featured in an exhibit titled "Metaphor" at Photo New York October 6-8.
Cara Enteles, BFA, Fashion Design '87 had an open studio at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Center’s Open Studios 2006 in October. For more on Cara’s work visit www.Caraenteles.com.
Rima Fujita, BFA, Illustration '87 has published the children's books, Wonder Garden, Wonder Talk, (forewords by the Dalai Lama,) Little Black Box, and Simple Meditation. She has established a nonprofit organization, "Books for Children," which produces children's books and donates them to the kids in needy countries. Her Wonder Talk was officially selected as recommended reading by the U.N. Rima's website is www.rimafujita.com.
Daniel Stark, BFA, Communication Design '93 is the co-author of a new book called Stoked: The Evolution of Action Sports, due out next month. He is also the principal of Stark Design in New York City.
Amanda Perez, BFA, Photography '97 is currently working as the senior exhibit and graphic designer at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. She has spent the last three years designing the exhibit graphics and art directing the Asia Trail exhibit that is now open to the public. Her photography training from Parsons proved to be a real asset when she was assigned the task of shooting the atmospheric and theatrical images for the exhibit. Amanda got the opportunity to travel to India and China for this shooting assignment and the exhibit development. One of her images from the India trip won first place in the Smithsonian staff photo contest.
Sonya Sklaroff, MFA, Painting '00 was married to Michael Bagalman on October 15, 2006 in New York City. She is an artist (www.SonyaSklaroff.com) represented in New York by the David Findlay Gallery and in California by the Jenkins Johnson Gallery. She is currently preparing for her Paris debut in the spring of 2007. The bridegroom is an executive with Publicis Dialog, a global marketing services
company.
Edwin Murillo, BFA, Illustration '03 created an entire line of American Idol "tween" products to hit Wal-Mart stores in early 2007.
Sarah Schwaber, BFA, Architectural Design '05 has worked on a project that will appear as the "featured idea house" in the November issue of Coastal Living Magazine.
Gina Cassese, BFA, Photography '06 is working as a graphic designer for LiveTechnology, which is a provider of marketing communications technology offering a diversity of online business solutions and technologies. Tools focus on managing the execution of effective communications while enabling corporate brand control and local/regional flexibility. Gina has recently designed an application for voice over IP communications geared towards the online gaming community.
Timothy Collins, AAS, Illustration ’84 exhibited at the African-American Cultural Center in Chicago this month. His solo exhibit, “Inconsistent Work’ing” was a collection of landscapes and abstract and representational works. He uses oils and acrylics on canvas, wood, and found objects to communicate his vision.
Daniel Springer, BFA, Illustration '84 has been named Fine & Performing Arts Chair at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Since graduating, Dan has earned his Master's in English Literature and has been teaching in the Arts and Humanities for the last 19 years. In addition to his work at the high school, Dan teaches regularly at The Cape Cod Museum of Art, and had his first solo show of landscapes this past May at the Brestwer Ladies Library. He has also presented at the last two National Art Education Association conventions in Boston and Chicago and is looking forward to the 2007 convention in NYC. He can be reached at work at springed@dy-regional.k12.ma.us and would love to hear from his old(er)classmates!
Gloria Haske, BFA, Product Design '87 teaches jewelry design and photography to high school students at a private, independent school.
Kathryn Letson, BFA, Fashion Design '89 runs her own trend and consulting firm, Trend Inc. Previously she spent 20 years in the fashion industry in New York City working for such companies as Abercrombie and Fitch, Donna Karan, and the Gap.
Kara Gott, BFA, Illustration '91 has been working as a knitwear designer for the past five years. Her company, igottknits, creates fun and quirky designs for children and adults. She just launched a new line of hand knitting patterns geared toward hobby knitters and will be announcing a line of knitting kits of the same patterns in winter 2007. Kara's patternline is featured on her website, www.igottknits.com.
Andriana Meyer-Ochoa, BFA, Communication Design '94 was an art director and photographer in New York from 1994 until 2000. In 2001 she teamed up with renowned artist Tomas Ochoa and is co-author in all video and photography projects. Tomas Ochoa and Andriana Meyer live and work in Switzerland and Argentina.
Elisa Carlucci, BFA, Illustration '96 is director of design for Victoria Hagan Perfect Pieces. Perfect Pieces is a new line of decorative accessories, small furniture pieces, and lighting, which just launched at Target. The line is featured in the October issue of Elle, Time's "Style" supplement, and November's In Style. In addition, a commercial for the new line will air on networks in October. (Victoria Hagan is a 1984 graduate of Parsons' environmental design program.)
JP (Juan) Fassari, BFA, Communication Design '98 started his own company, X5 Studios, two years ago.
Marie Havens, BFA, Fashion Design '99 has relocated to California to become creative director of a new nonprofit, Invisible Children, Inc. Previously, Marie spent 13 years in the fashion and photography industries and after documenting the war and poverty in Northern Uganda first-hand in 2005, she knew she had to make a drastic change. Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com) is dedicated to aiding, educating, and bringing awareness to the war-affected children of Uganda. Marie handles all aesthetic, publishing deals, and media-driven products that are created at the organization. She plans to return to the East Coast in 1-2 years to hopefully manage the first Invisible Children office in New York City or Washington DC.
Fennel Doyle, AAS, Graphic Design '00 spent five years working in New York City after graduation (as the coat check girl at the Village Vanguard), then headed to the Fiji Islands where she made websites for small businesses. She recently returned to the U.S. from Australia where she earned a master's degree in information technology and worked as the senior web producer at a high-tech start up in the Silicon Valley. She is now enjoying San Francisco and looking for "something new."
Jasmin Curth, BFA, Photography '01 is the photo coordinator for Condé Nast Publications.
Jillian McNamara, BFA, Communication Design '01 is now a senior designer for Court TV Online.
Arley-Rose Torsone, BFA, Integrated Design Curriculum '04 is the communications director of AS220, a nonprofit community arts space (as220.org) and part of the Dirt Palace collective that works out of Olneyville (dirtpalace.org). She is happily living in an abandoned library making music, designing posters that speak out against the current gentrification of Olneyville and teaching drawing at the state's Juvenile Prison. Before leaving New York, she worked for Michel Gondry as a studio assistant.
Elizabeth Sackett, AAS, Fashion Marketing '06 works in the press office at Hermès.
Lina Morielli, Certificate, Graphic Design '70 showed her work as part of the new gallery member show, "Three Visions," at Art/Place in Southport, Connecticut in August.
Jim Palam, BFA, Graphic Design '71 is owner and creative director of Jim Palam & Partners, an award-winning, full-service advertising agency located in Santa Barbara, California.
Pamela Arnold Pollack, BFA, Communication Design '79 is working as a freelance graphic designer. Her clients include the New York City Department of Education and NASFT. She is also a graphic design professor at Kingborough College. In addition, she and her husband own a wholesale baking company called the "Savory Pie Company." She has two college-age daughters.
Mary Ting, BFA, Illustration '83 had art in the following group shows this summer: photography at SCOPE in Wainscott, NY; video projection at Site Specifics in Islip, NY; and sculpture at Breaking the Mold at the Ernest Rubenstein Gallery in New York City.
Leonardo De Armas, BFA, Fashion Design '86 started his own couture company in 1989 in Caracas. He has also been lecturing at the Altos de Chavon fashion design department since 2004.
Christopher Vilardi, BFA, Illustration '90 was asked by the president of Fordham University to create a sculpture inspired by the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Catholic Jesuit Order, to serve as a corner stone to the university’s campus. Chris' work can be seen on the lawn of the main campus of Fordham University in The Bronx and a twin can be seen at the Lincoln Center campus. For more information, visit www.cvilardi.com.
Vinita Chand, AAS, Graphic Design '93 has started a design studio and is working on a variety of projects covering elements of graphic design as well as illustration.
Gregory Feller, BFA, Environmental Design '93 is president of Feller Design, Inc. Founded in 1998, the design firm specializes in retail and high-end residential interior design. In 2004 he opened Hudson Home, a furniture and home furnishings showroom in Hudson, New York (www.hudson-home.com).
Michael Godsey, BFA, Photography '94 does contract work (multimedia and web development) with various organizations, including Microsoft. Last summer he taught Computer Arts to 5-10 year olds at The Frist Museum of Visual Arts in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. That experience led him to leave corporate work behind, for the most part, and he is currently pursuing a teaching career and doing art for art's sake. He and his wife are currently in Shanghai, China for several months on business. Michael would love to see old friends when he visits New York City in late September!
Erik Babcock, BFA, Fine Arts '97 and Kathy Oh, BFA, Fine Arts '97 exhibited work at the Summer Salon group show at Gerald Peters Gallery in New York City this month.
Lauren Fensterstock's, BFA, Product Design '97 work was selected to appear in Metalsmith Magazine's prestigious annual juried issue, "Exhibition in Print 2006." Her work will also be on display at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in the exhibition "Laced in History" in January.
Mark Mangion, BFA, Fine Arts '01 has completed an installation called "Iran 2005," which will be on display at St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in Malta this September. Mark and his co-artist, Juame Sabater I Garau traveled to Iran and focused on aspects of the landscapes and the people to create this installation. Mark is an artist working in a wide range of media. He earned an MA in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art (London) in 2005.
Sarah Song, BFA, Product Design '01 is director of Visual Merchandising in the Store Design Department at Lancome. She has been in the cosmetics field for about five years. Also, Sarah bought and renovated a small studio apartment in Chelsea, which appeared on the HGTV show, "Small Space Big Style" a couple of months ago. Therefore, she says she has been keeping her "furniture design going on a more personal level."
Edward Aguasanta, AAS, Fashion Design '02 joined the Marines after graduation and served in Iraq. He lives in Florida, freelances in Miami, and says he now has a "desert perspective" on his new collection.
Marcy Rye, MFA, Design & Technology '02 has started her own communications design firm, WireMedia Communications. WireMedia Communications provides creative services, including creative strategy and print and web design and development. Most recently the firm has launched “Talentcase,” a website product for emerging artists. To learn more about this product and WireMedia visit www.talentcase.com and www.wiremedia.net.
Karen Kramer, BFA, Fine Arts '03 is the visual information specialist for the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS), an independent, nonprofit, member-supported organization dedicated to research, public education, and conservation programs for the marine and coastal environments. Her position with the center encompasses a multitude of tasks all pertaining to the way PCCS represents itself visually. In her time working for PCCS, she has had the opportunity to design logos, newsletters, T-shirts, and posters. She has also been given the opportunity to put her skills as a painter to use by creating the illustrations used for an educational chart of the species of sea turtles of the western North Atlantic. Karen is proud to work for such an engaging and important organization and is grateful for the opportunity to put her Parsons education to use for such a purpose.
Tamae Ishii, AAS, Fashion Design '05 has started her own high-end women's apparel line. See www.ishiinyc.com.
Beth Mooney, BFA, Integrated Design Curriculum '05 had one of her designs selected as a notable entry in the 2006 Light Objects Design competition. For more information about the contest, visit www.core77.com/lightobjects.
Yi-Chen Mu, MFA, Design & Technology '06 has submitted her street game "Lightning Buzz" to the first Come Out & Play Festival in New York City. Her submission has been accepted and the event will be held September 22-24. See http://a.parsons.edu/~yichen/lightningbuzz.html for more information.
Barbara Thulin-Joyce, BFA, Fashion Design '87 is designer and owner of Decadent Digs, home decor pet pampering accoutrements. For more information visit www.decadentdigs.com.
Andrea Ipaktchi, BFA, Illustration '89 has been drawing and writing a monthly cartoon series called "April in Paris" in a English monthly magazine in Paris, France. She is also waiting for another cartoon series, "Freaks of Nature," to be published.
David Kessler, BFA, Communication Design '92 has launched a t-shirt line, ACTION DAVE, which will be profiled in the October 2006 issue of Stuff magazine. Visit www.actiondaveltd.com for more information.
Rivy Ng, BBA, Design & Management '97 has launched his own knitwear collections. He has also exhibited knitwear at La Triennale di Milano (Modern Art Musem of Milan, Italy) and served as director of Dsquared Collections for North and South American markets.
Lola Liz Bernabe, BFA, Communication Design '98 recently won a Black Book AR100 award for her design of the Visiting Nurses of New York 2004 annual report, through the company she works for, Suka Design.
Alexandra (Gruneberg) Dionisio, BBA, Design & Management '99 is living in Germany and is about to publish her first book on wedding planning and design. She went to work as a wedding designer after getting hooked on the diversity of the wedding business after her own 2002 wedding, which was featured in Modern Bride. After graduating from Parsons, she stayed in New York for six years, working as a jewelry designer for Avon Products and an account manager for a small jewelry company serving clients such as BCBG, Coach, and Banana Republic.
Julia Barnes, BFA, Fine Arts '01 received an MFA in Studio Art from Hunter College in May 2006.
Collin Carrothers, BFA, Photography '01 moved to Spain last year but is currently in New York for the summer. She has a new portfolio of the spring religious festivals in Valencia and is continuing her project here shooting beaches on Long Island.
Hilary Svihla, BFA, Photography '02 teaches art to high school students at a public school in East Harlem. She just finished her third year of teaching.
Hazel Hocke, AAS, Graphic Design '03 is currently deputy director of Design Services at the New York City Department of Transportation.
Elizabeth Nielson, BFA, Product Design '03 is the individual volunteer coordinator at Habitat for Humanity in Santiago, Chile. She also does freelance work and volunteers as a translator for other NGOs. Previously she lived in Brazil for over a year. Elizabeth has completed a certificate in English-Portuguese Translation from the University of Toronto and is currently working on one for Spanish-English.
Debbie Tan-lin Lin, AAS, Interior Design '03 and Vicky Wan-ling Hsu, AAS, Graphic Design '04 established their interior and graphic design business together in 2005, relocating to Vancouver, BC, Canada. For more information, see www.nycdesign.ca.
Natalia Allen, BFA, Fashion Design '04 is a fashion design consultant working in the areas of marketing and product development for diverse multi-national brands. Last month she was contacted by U.S. News & World Report for her expertise on the claims made by manufacturers of "performance materials" such as wicking and anti-microbial fabrics.
Erik Bjorklund, BFA, Communication Design '04 is successfully pursuing a career in advertising as he has just completed his second year as an art director at BBDO NY, working for such clients as the NFL and Gillette.
Hyun Jung Kang, AAS, Fashion Design '06 is launching a jewelry brand called "Potion NY." The website will be www.potionny.com.
Susan Steindler, BFA, Architectural Design '82 runs a small consulting firm in Santa Barbara, California and recently gave a presentation at NeoCon on "Daylighting and Rowhousing." She completed her master's of architecture degree at the University of Oregon in 1993 and worked for the City of Portland as a planner.
Panteleimon (Pantelis) Melissinos, BFA, Illustration '85 & MFA, Painting '87 is a third generation sandal maker in Athens, Greece. He took over the business from his father, the famous "Poet Sandal Maker of Athens." Featured in Vogue and various newspapers and on NBC during the Olympics, Melissinos Art has made sandals for many celebrities including Jackie Onassis, the Beatles, Barbra Streisand, and more. Visit www.melissinos-art.com for more information. Photo: Pantelis with Lily Tomlin who visited his store recently.
Heidi (Hubjer) Jacobsen, BFA, Environmental Design '89, a blues singer, opened the second annual Blues Diva Showcase at Cheers in Fort Lauderdale recently. The Diva Showcase is a production of the South Florida Blues Society, an affiliate of the Blues Foundation in Memphis. When she's not singing the blues, Heidi works as a screenwriter for a film company in Delray Beach, Florida.
Liz Wilson, AAS, Illustration '89 showed her oil and acrylic paintings in "Hidden Works" at the Cupola House Gallery in Essex, New York.
Daisy de Villeneuve, BFA, Fine Arts '99 has been living in London for the past seven years where she works as an illustrator, writer, and designer. Her clients include Topshop, Nike, and The Victoria & Albert Museum. She has also written and illustrated two books, He Said She Said and What Goes Around Comes Around, both published by Chronicle Books (www.chroniclebooks.com).
Andrea Dionisio, BFA, Communication Design '00 has co-founded a broadcast design and animation studio, METAphrenie, in Berlin, Germany. He is currently working on a global campaign for Adidas and the World Cup.
David Ezra Stein, BFA, Illustration '00 is a children's book author/illustrator in New York. His debut, Cowboy Ned & Andy, will be released on July 1 of this year from Simon & Schuster. He has two sequels on the way, plus two other books with Penguin Putnam due out next year. Visit David at www.davidezra.com.
Ozlem Paker, MFA, Design & Technology '01 recently became editor of Photoshop Magazin, a digital design magazine, in Istanbul, Turkey (www.photoshopmagazin.com). After serving on the faculty of the Product Design and Communication Design departments at Parsons, she relocated to her hometown of Istanbul in 2002 and reestablished her design and art studio, Trans-it-Design (www.TiDstudio.com). In addition, Ozlem became the mother of a baby boy on January 16, 2006.
Juan Hinojosa, BFA, Fine Arts '02 exhibited four pieces at the Affordable Arts Fair (AAF), a place for new and established collectors to discover and buy paintings, drawings, and sculptures from distinguished galleries, at the Metropolitan Pavilion.
Marcel Yunes, BFA, Communication Design '04 recently returned to New York City to take the position of art director at BBDO. Previously he worked at a new ad agency in Brazil called African Propaganda.
Allison Fox, BFA, Photography '06 had her first show of her photography, "Allison Fox: Persona Non Grata," at Residue Gallery. For more information, visit www.allisonfox.com.
Evienia "Nany" Zarikian, BFA, Illustration '84 married George, her boyfriend at the time of her graduation from Parsons, and they have two children, Natalia and Elena. She has worked as a freelance illustrator and art director on magazines. In 1999 she won a Coca-Cola bottle contest and her bottle now represents Greece. She is currently working as a marketing and image maker for a paint company. Nany has been living in Greece for the last 20 years.
Alice Lim, BFA, Fashion Design '86 has not worked in the industry since leaving Calvin Klein Ltd. in 1987. She has been busy raising a family and has a teenager who keeps her busy all the time. She would love to get in touch with some of her instructors from Parsons and The New School as well as some of her classmates.
Rosa Vargas, BFA, Communication Design '86 is currently designing one-, two-, and four-color ads for Image magazine and has designed ads for the Corcoran Group as well as a sponsorship ad in collaboration with Martha Stewart.
Luis Ramos, Jr., BFA, Communication Design '90 has recently turned his attention back to illustration and fine art after spending many years working in the publication design field. He is currently working freelance and maintains a studio for painting projects. Check out his work at www.petcasso.com.
Stephannie Barba, BFA, Illustration '94 has recently become the creative director of CoutureMaps.com, an illustration house dedicated to creating personalized maps.
Arini Subianto, BFA, Fashion Design '94 partnered with her high school friend and established, Aksara, the first lifestyle store in Jakarta, Indonesia. The store carries books, CDs, gifts, and furniture. The website is www.aksara.com. Arini has abandoned fashion design for interior design consulting work.
Jumi Bae, BFA, Photography '96 is a permanent artist at Galerie Capazza in France.
David Burns, MFA, Design & Technology '01 was recently hired as an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His 3D animated short film was recently screened at the Museum of Photography Film & Television in England. David's creative work has been presented in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Greece over the past year.
Maria Cepeda, MFA, Design & Technology '01 is currently working as a production manager for KBNT Univision 17 and XHAS Telemundo 33 in San Diego, California. Previously she was an art director for J. Walter Thompson Houston, doing television and print campaigns for Shell and Texaco, a freelancer for Global Hue NY for Verizon, manager for the motion graphics department at the History Channel and A & E Mundo Latin America in Venezuela, and art director for Lopez Negrete Communications in Texas.
Mark Mangion, BFA, Fine Arts '01 recently earned an MA from the Royal College of Art in London.
Jennifer Fugo, BFA, Fashion Design '02 designs press kits for musicians, such as famous jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb, and bands, under her company's name, Skye Agency. She also photographs live performances. In her free time she's building a photography portfolio and is in the process of starting a jewelry line called "Skye" with her sister.
Joanna Hamilton, BBA, Design & Management '02 has been working on her import business for three years and is now getting into real estate.
Christy Pugh, BBA, Design & Management '03 has started her own marketing company, White Dog Agency, which caters to helping small businesses grow their business profitably. She has been in business since March 2006 and has 15 clients. Christy was recently named one of Fairfield County (CT)'s "Top 40 Under 40."
Luke Carter, BFA, Photography '05 recently moved back to the United States from Brazil. He is currently working at Jeff Koons Studios.
Mignonne Gavigan, AAS, Fashion Design '06 was hired as an assistant designer to alumnus Jerry Tam, AAS, Fashion Design '03, the creative director of FORM, an up and coming high-end women's fashion design company based in Soho.
Karl Shiu, BFA, Communication Design '74 is company director of KLS Planners in Hong Kong, a design office he set up in 1988.
Mario Locsin, BFA, Architectural Design '78 has been chosen to design new furnishings for the Cathedral of Saint Andrew in Grand Rapids, Michigan and as a design consultant for their second housing development project in the Philippines. Mario's residence has been featured in publications such as South Beach Style.
Eugenia Sawin, BFA, Illustration '79 currently paints in a studio in a large barn on her farm in Maine. She recently exhibited in Northampton, Massachusetts and was profiled in Maine Boats & Harbors magazine.
William Toth, Jr., BFA, Environmental Design '82 is a practicing architect licensed in NY and NJ. His primary focus is traditional residential architecture and historic restoration and renovation. For more information, see www.bolarchitecture.com.
Elisa Bussetti, BFA, Interior Design '98 is currently a freelance artist. Previously she worked for some prestigious residential firms and as the set designer for Being John Malkovich.
Deborah Sauls, BFA, Interior Design '98 is principal designer of Afrizen Design Studio. In 2002 she embarked on her dream to become an entrepreneur after a rewarding career as the head interior designer at the Brooklyn Home Depot.
Michelle Bortot, BFA, Fashion Design '99 has been living in Italy for the past four years and designing the girls line for Diesel Kids. Travel and research trips for her job have taken her all over Europe and as far as Japan and Turkey. She has also participated in several group exhibitions in Italy, showing her paintings.
Wendy Sullivan, BFA, Photography '99 is a designer at Nike's world headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
Nicole Bent, MFA, Design & Technology '01 is currently the Visual Communication Chair at American InterContinental University. She is also still painting and exhibiting in galleries around the U.S. For more information see www.nicolesart.net.
Vivian Lee '02 has returned to school for a degree in landscape architecture.
Benjamin Setiawan, BBA, Design & Management '02 assisted on the fashion feature spread for the upcoming Memorial Day issue of Hamptons magazine.
Tom Henry, BFA, Illustration '82 opened a fine art gallery with friends in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Trimbur-Henry Gallery is now in its second season. Previously he acted professionally for 20 years.
Riccardo Spina, AAS, Graphic Design '83 is creative director for Walmart.com. He says it's "thanks to Parsons" he is in his current position.
Ruba Abu-Nimah, BFA, Communication Design '89 is worldwide creative director for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics where she oversee every aspect of the brand's visuals including packaging, instore, and all collateral. She also runs her own studio designing books, posters, brochures - anything that needs a good font and nice design.
Alejandra Mark, BFA, Product Design '90 has been working in Miami where she has her own ceramic studio, Orbe Designs, Inc., since 1994. She has been very active in the community doing art with inner city children and women in prison. Currently she is working in two architectural projects involving ceramics and a series of clay sculptures that will be ready to exhibit at the end of the year.
David Kessler, BFA, Communication Design '92 is a comedian and has appeared on "The Late Late Show" with Craig Ferguson and "The Showbiz Show" with David Spade. He recently started a tee shirt line at www.actiondaveltd.com.
Lia Choi, BFA, Fashion Design '97 is creative director of Trendhunt in Seoul, Korea and has been working as a fashion stylist and fashion writer. She has worked with numerous influential photographers, celebrities, and ad campaign clients in Seoul, which has led to the publishing of a book and collaboration with emerging photographer David Byun. Lia's bio and current work can be seen at www.trendhunt.co.kr/portfolio_bio_lia.htm.
Vesper Stamper, BFA, Illustration '98 and her husband, Ben, have recently recorded an album with Sounds Familyre (Danielson Famile, Sufjan Stevens) under the name Ben + Vesper. They can be found at www.benandvesper.com.
Michelle Haim, BFA, Interior Design '00 writes "After winning my 'Designer of Year' award for Q Lounge, a restaurant in Miami and being published as a cover /feature story for a Bal Harbour residence in the The Miami Herald recently, I was also featured in Architectural Lighting Magazine and the international magazine, Casa Y Estilo as a feature story. I was commissioned to do more Interior Design projects. Among them, a 4,500 square foot restaurant/ lounge in Downtown Miami, in the prestigous Brickell Key area. Located on the ground floor of a highly respected new addition to the Miami skyline called The Espirito Santo Plaza, designed by New York's Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects. It is now open, and has been receiving tremendous compliments and great press. Along with these, a premiere medical spa in West Palm Beach is on its way as well as a high-end condo on the beach in a brand new skyline addition as well."
Tyler Johnson, BFA, Communication Design '01 is the founder and art director of Nomad Ink Studio, which has locations in Washington, DC and Brazil. The studio is currently celebrating two years of quality work and experimentation with the official launch of the Europa 2005 travel log. In July 2005, Nomad Ink Studio left Brazil and went on the road to do a 5-month study of European design and typography (www.europa.nomadink.com). Tyler has been serving clients virtually from his studio in Brazil for the last three years.
Stanley Tang, MFA, Design and Technology '01 is working as Art Director at Digital Dreams, a Hong Kong based animation studio, on 2D/3D animation projects. Prior to that, he worked as CG supervisor at Colossalvision in New York City on HD projects for clients such as Panasonic, Sharp, Macys, Motorola, CourtTV/Lowes, etc. There, he was responsible for the new opening VFX/animation for the Christmas Show in Radio City Music Hall. He also worked for animation studios like KWCC and Possible Worlds as a CG artist before and after graduation.
James Stephen Terrell, MFA, Painting '02 is receiving his Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary. His thesis exhibition and live performance "Art from the Soul: A Theological Perspective," was presented on March 26 at the Seminary's James Chapel.
Ana Cecilia Ventoso, BFA, Architectural Design '02 is currently completing her thesis in her last semester at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. She will graduate this June with a MArch.
Cira Gambino, AAS, Fashion Design '03 is working as a design assistant with the cashmere company, Belford.
Arifa Khan, AAS, Fashion Design '04 has been working with Victoria's Secret catalogue for over a year, directly dealing with set stylists and art directors. She and her director are the "only liaison between the creative team on set and the merchants, with a hand in the flow of the catalogue from building the roadmap, budgets, and finally getting the shoot prepared."
Francis Gyra, Graphic Design '36 is a painter whose work is currently being shown in an exhibition, "When Paint Becomes Atmosphere," at the Quechee Inn Art Gallery in Quechee, Vermont. Mr. Gyra's work has been shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Carnegie Institute, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and numerous other galleries. His one man shows include exhibits at the Art Association of Newport, RI, the Washington Arts Club DC, and the Robert Vose Galleries in Boston.
Margaret Stichman, BFA, Environmental Design '73 writes "After working for years in the interior design field, first as a designer then as a furniture & textile rep, I now work in commercial property management where my design background is put to good use."
Margaret Tsirantonakis, BFA, Fine Arts '80 is a painter whose painting was included in the exhibition, "Icons of the 21st Century," at the Lab Gallery at the Roger Smith Hotel in New York City.
Louisa Bertman, BFA, Illustration '92 has a portrait illustration featured every month in Jazziz Magazine. This month is Thelonious Monk and next month will be Frank Zappa. She also has portaits featured in Playgirl, Los Angeles Journal, YRB, and Hyphen Magazine, among others. Recent private portait commissions include Jenny and Jules Feiffer and Matt Damon. Louisa will be exhibiting with her father at the NYARTEXPO (March 2-6 at Booth 120). She would love for other Parsons alumni to stop by. Check out her work at www.louisabertman.com.
Candy Wang, BFA, Interior Design '01 is pursuing a master's degree in architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Se Jung Yoon, BFA, Photography '05 is VP of Solo Production, "which was created by a group of industry professionals (Parsons alumni) who felt that the photography business was in need of a more expedited yet quality driven service."
Maria Teresa Hidalgo, AAS, Fashion Design '05 has spent the last nine months working as the design assistant to Kai Kuhne, helping him launch his new label, "Myself." She has assisted with creating and producing his Spring 2005 and Fall 2006 collections.
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