A reception and artists’ talk will be held today, Feb. 25 for “Stimulus,” an exhibition of works by graduate students in East Tennessee State University’s Department of Art and Design.The event will take place from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Reece Museum, where the exhibit – now under way – will continue through March 4.

ETSU master of fine arts students represented in the exhibit are:

Ani Volkan, who holds a bachelor of fine arts from Birmingham Southern College in Alabama, and whose work has been accepted in national juried exhibitions and an international catalog of figure drawings, as well as published in Creative Quarterly;

Samuel Crowe, who projects human qualities onto animals and animal qualities onto deities in his artwork using digital tools as well as traditional methods and techniques;

Megan Levacy, who holds a bachelor of fine arts in printmaking and photography and a master of arts in painting, both from Arkansas State University, Jonesboro;

Kevin Reaves, who emphasizes social commentary and the human condition in his jewelry and metalsmithing creations;

Jason Sabbides, a military veteran from Springfield, Mass., who holds a bachelor of fine arts from the University of North Carolina-Asheville and synthesizes myth, alchemy, mysticism, spirituality and “old world” ideals in his artwork;

Justin Hammer, a native East Tennessean and color theory instructor at ETSU who holds a bachelor of fine arts in painting from the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y., and whose work is built upon concepts of simplicity and repetition;

Sherry Tucciarone, a ceramics graduate from Hollins University, Roanoke, Va., who emphasizes form and surface design in her soda-fired porcelain pieces;

Jing Jing of China, whose mixed media drawings feature dangerous deep-sea animals;

Charles Haskins, an Ohio native and Shawnee State University (Portsmouth, Ohio) bachelor of fine arts in painting graduate, who is preparing for a solo exhibition entitled “Canked,” which will be held this spring at the Johnson City Area Arts Council;

Scott Brown, who holds a bachelor of fine arts in sculpture from Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C., and who incorporates repetition and balance in his works using various shapes and types of wood;

John Simmons, a fifth generation Texan who enjoys working with high-temperature stoneware clay and firing it in ETSU’s large wood-fired kiln for several days.

The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. Regular museum hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday.

For more information or for special assistance for those with disabilities, call 423-439-4392.

Author