Student Artwork Included in International Exhibition

The work of 10 students in Buffalo State’s Art Education and Design departments is included in the prestigious 14th annual International Mini Textile Exhibition opening Tuesday, May 15, in Bratislava, Slovakia. 

The show, titled Ordinariness and Grace, will travel to at least two additional galleries in Europe in exhibits running through mid-June.

Out of a total of 118 entries, including that of 30 students in 25 countries, the jury selected 60 artists’ work, plus that of 20 students, half of whom are enrolled at Buffalo State.

“I feel very proud of our students and was truly surprised when I found out about this year’s jury selections,” said Jozef Bajus, associate professor of design. “We apply every year for the show, but the usual selection is three to four students from our classes.”

Nineteen pieces of art created by Buffalo State students using a wide variety of materials—paper, wood, yarn, plastic, fabric, and wire—will be included.

The student artists are: Courtney Craig (fibers/design); Jaymee Karabin (art education); Mary K. Morrison (fibers/design); Ashley Wiggins (art education); Amanda Hippert  (art education); Destiny Perez (fibers/design and art education);  Heather Melnyk (fine arts, fibers/design minor); Mary Ann Tran (fashion technology and fibers/design), Erin Curry (fibers/design); and Jennifer Dref (fibers/design). Additionally, Bajusand Hillary Fayle, a 2010 graduate of the design program, had artwork selected for the exhibit’s professional artists category.

All the entries stemmed from work completed in Bajus’ fibers course.

“The theme aims to inspect relationships between the daily and the ordinary, the cheap and the extraordinary, the noble and the graceful. Somehow this fit very well with our assignment, and students came out with fascinating projects,” Bajus said, adding that Bruce Fox, photography and graphics coordinator with Instructional Resources, did a terrific job capturing the essence of every artwork. The judging process is based upon digital images that the college sent to jurors in March. Selections were announced in April.

“All together, this is our great contribution to Year of the Arts at Buffalo State College,” Bajus said.