Our newsletter is dedicated to celebrating the people and practices that make up the vibrant world of art, architecture, design, and museum studies at CC—bringing together students, staff, faculty, alumni, and anyone who shares our enthusiasm for creative endeavors.

Can you believe Block 1 is already over? 

As Block 2 gets underway, we want to celebrate what you've been creating. Have artwork to share? Working on a project? Planning an event or exhibition for Block 3?

Send your news, updates, and images to Cheri Arfsten at carfsten@coloradocollege.edu. We can't wait to see what you've been up to!

The Sam Dunlap Wall of Inspiration

Colorado Springs nonprofit Concrete Couch is creating a community-built mosaic honoring the life and legacy of Sam Dunlap (1933-2019), whose leadership and service left a lasting impact on generations of community members. Designed as a reflection of Southeast Colorado Springs, the large-scale public artwork celebrates local leaders, youth, and the values that shape the community today.

The project is led by CC alumni Sarah Bedell ’24 and Steve Wood ’84. Community members of all experience levels are invited to contribute by helping create and install the mosaic while learning the art of mosaic-making. Learn more about the project and upcoming volunteer sessions at Concrete Couch's Sam Dunlap Wall of Inspiration page.

Photo by Sarah Bedell ’24

We're excited to introduce 3D Shop Supervisor Bridget Mara-Williams, the newest member of our Art Department community. Her experiences as a sculptor have taken her work from galleries across the U.S. to exhibitions abroad. We are delighted to welcome her to Colorado College and look forward to the creativity, expertise, and perspective she brings to our students and department.

Bridget received her BFA in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2021 and her MFA in Sculpture from Fort Hays State University in 2026. Her work has been exhibited across the U.S., including the Boston Sculptors Gallery and the National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art and Practices, as well as internationally in a group show in Rudolstadt, Germany. Born and raised in Massachusetts, she considers herself to be a quintessential New Englander. Equal parts technician and sculptor, she blends her practical skills with her creative process. 

Opening Events - First Friday, October 2

Check out the work of three art studio faculty during the First Friday events at Coburn and the Fine Arts Center.

See REiteration, the work of Camila Friedman-Gerlicz and Kate Leonard at Coburn Gallery, on view Oct. 2 - Nov. 6, and Here and Now, Then and Always, a group show at the FAC which includes a sculpture by Scott Johnson, on view Oct. 2 - Feb. 27, 2027.

Block 2 Open House

Tuesday, October 13, 3-5 p.m.

Packard Hall, Coburn Gallery, and Fleming Gallery 

See the awesome work from Block 1! 

 

 

Brian Arnold ’93 

Between 2011-2022, Brian developed an interdisciplinary approach to photography in Indonesia, resulting in major projects as an educator, writer, historian, curator, and image-maker. Since 2024, he has been cultivating a similar approach in new geography on the Western Balkans/former Yugoslavia. Today, this is manifest in two major, ongoing projects. One, a series of essays he is writing about photography from the region between 1920s-present, and another, a photographic documentary about Bosnian immigrants in Utica, New York (largely refugees from the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina 1992-1995). Examples of all his work are available on Brian’s website. Click the image below for a sample of his work.

Two Women, Brian Arnold

William T. Carson ’15

William T. Carson currently has a solo exhibition on view in Los Angeles. Time Out of Time evolved out of William’s research into coal, deep time, timekeeping, and the history of land art. The exhibition considers the question—is it possible to have an experience of deep time? The works in the show are about time in all its layered and paradoxical forms: pairing geologic time with human time, mechanical time with cosmic time, and abstract time with the lived experience of time. 

At the center of the exhibition is a clepsydra (an ancient form of water clock, Greek for “water thief”) made out of a concrete mixer from the late 1800s. During the exhibition water slowly drips onto boulders of coal, both marking the passing of time and activating the coal to produce a delicate crackling sound. The slow drip of time falls upon sixty million years of accumulated time, creating an encounter between deep time and the present moment.

Time Out of Time is on view at Nüart Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica through Oct. 3.

 

Alan Ricks ’05

Alan Ricks has just received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is co-founder and principle of MASS Design (Model of Architecture Serving Society) in 2009, and is an internationally recognized advocate for architecture and design that promote human dignity, combining beauty with justice.

Here is his advice to current students of Design:

“A design education gives you a unique way of thinking, interrogating questions, and developing a theory about how design can create impact. We often work alongside experts in their own fields, brought in to help catalyze and amplify their work through the built environment. That position is a privilege. It means we are constantly learning from and inspired by the people we work for and the communities they serve.

We have found that our naiveté is actually an advantage. We can challenge the status quo and ask fundamental questions about why things are done the way they are. My advice is to not be afraid to ask those questions. Challenge what is assumed to be fixed. We start with questions: What is the mission? What is the role of design in unlocking new potential? How would we measure success? What do we aspire to that transcends the project itself? How can we shift markets and public expectations? These questions give us a north star to orient our work toward.”

Need a spark for your next project? Explore more than 135,000 artworks from 22 major museums, all in one place. Search by artist, color, mood, medium, or era and discover new inspiration for your research, teaching, or creative practice. Warning—this one is a rabbit hole!

Know an amazing online art space? We want to hear about it!
Share your favorite digital galleries, artist-run websites, online exhibitions, creative platforms, or art publications. We may feature your recommendations in a future issue of Wet Ink.

Not everything makes it into the newsletter! Check out News & Events on the Department of Art website, the grid for upcoming classes and CC Creatives for end of block work. 

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