Dezeen School Shows: a photography project that explores feelings of nostalgia and a restaurant design that contrasts rustic and contemporary elements are included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Kendall College of Art and Design.

Also included is an art history research project investigating identity in social spaces and a gender-neutral dress design inspired by the seven chakras.

Kendall College of Art and Design

School: Kendall College of Art and Design (KCAD), Ferris State University
Courses: Art Education, Art History, Collaborative Design, Digital Art and Design, Drawing, Fashion Studies, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Medical Illustration, Painting, Photography and Printmaking

School statement:

"Kendall College of Art and Design's (KCAD) annual Excellence Award exhibition showcases creative work from graduates who achieved a rare level of mastery and accomplishment in their chosen field.

"As a college within Ferris State University, KCAD prepares students for leadership in design, the visual arts and art history. It also provides innovative, collaborative education that fosters intellectual growth and individual creativity and promotes the ethical and civic responsibilities of artists and designers, locally and globally.

"KCAD faculty members are regionally and nationally known designers, artists and scholars who share their experience freely in the studio and beyond. Professors know their students by name and are invested in their success.

"KCAD's facilities provide well-resourced studios, classrooms, labs, workshops, exhibition spaces and cutting-edge technologies directly aligned with the systems and software used in the professional world.

"Visit the online showcase to view KCAD's Excellence Awards, Undergraduate Senior and Master's Thesis Exhibitions."

Forgotten by Madelyn Dickman

"After my mom passed away a few years ago, I lost a large part of my memory due to grief. I became obsessed with writing everything down so I wouldn't forget anymore.

"I mostly work in mixed media and collage, creating a collection of artworks that mimic my collection of memories.

"My process is very intuitive. I often start by pulling handmade paper and collecting plant material from various sources. It is important to me that my materials are eclectic.

"I then layer these materials onto my paintings, letting the paper hold weight within the composition. The intentional textual elements, plant material and handmade paper combine with the more expressive painterly marks in order to create an abstraction of memory."

Dickman's Forgotten is made from mixed media on panel.

Student: Madelyn Dickman
Course: BFA Painting

Muladhara Dress by Hazel Lovecraft

"My goal is not only to design one-of-a-kind garments but to create a magical experience that will empower the individual wearing them. For my capstone collection, I took inspiration from the seven chakras, meditating on each one and documenting my experiences with journal entries.

"I compiled images and fabric swatches that would inspire the piece and made thumbnail sketches of my ideas. Next, I painted the illustration of my final design with watercolours and created a technical flat drawing on my computer.

"Then I started pattern making and prototyping, where all the problem solving happens. Once the patterns were ready I cut my final fabric pieces and sewed the garment.

"My brand philosophy is to create gender-friendly and earth-friendly fashion. I’ve developed a unisex size range describing clothes by fit instead of gender and I use fabrics that are gentle on the environment."

Lovecraft's Muladhara Dress is made from deadstock vintage French fabric and is 100 per cent polyester.

Student: Hazel Lovecraft
Course: BFA Fashion Studies

Lore of a Lineage: Hawk's Dreamscape by Dani Hughes

"When navigating my source of inspiration and the physical act of creating, it's always linked to nostalgia.

"Photography is a perfect medium to emulate human memory and it pairs well with my exploration of time and sentimentalism. Whether it be my own memories or my curiosity surrounding bygone eras, I use photography as a visual narrative tool.

"The influences of my rural Midwest upbringing and family history often surface in my work and reflect an interest in preserving personal attributes of remembrance. I find connecting with your art process is just as valuable as connecting with the subject.

"The tactful patience and craft required when using traditional analog photography grounds the steady flow of ideas and passions that float around in my mind."

Student: Dani Hughes
Course: BFA Photography

Boya Nursing Chair by Boya Zhang

"The education at KCAD has expanded my philosophy of design beyond the product. I believe designers have the responsibility to design for the community, for those whose voices are missing and a good design is a creative solution that can make a greater and profound impact on our society.

"I am enthusiastic about designing solutions to cross boundaries and reconnect people with empathy and understanding.

"My approach to design is to apply design thinking systematically in an interdisciplinary and collaborative way to explore human-centred solutions that are accessible to all."

Zhang's Boya Nursing Chair render was made using Rhino, KeyShot and Photoshop.

Student: Boya Zhang
Course: BFA Furniture Design

Snake On My Boot by Jordan Thompson

"I'm focused on making bright, bold graphic work that represents someone with a personality like myself, who is just as bright and as bold.

"I work with acrylic paint and focus on fun, whimsical imagery of primarily animals and memories."

Student: Jordan Thompson
Course: BFA Illustration

Designing to Survive: Pandemic Architecture by Carter Teranes

"Through a research-oriented and project-specific approach, I consider my creative practice as one which views the design-as-problem-solving model in a holistic and critical way.

"I don't create solutions that claim to be the most objectively correct or efficient. Rather, I answer with work which is thought-provoking, aesthetically challenging, and above all, meaningful."

Student: Carter Teranes
Course: BFA Graphic Design

Ascaris by Josephine Hydell

"My creative practice involves a large amount of research followed by drawing a hefty amount of composition sketches. After drawing composition sketches, I do more research in preparation for detailed drawing.

"I move my composition sketch into Adobe Photoshop and then render the detailed sketch digitally. After the majority of the rendering has been completed, I move into Adobe Illustrator or Adobe InDesign and add labels and text.

"I like to consider a lot of critiques while I'm working on a project and I'm always considering the feedback of others at every stage of development."

Student: Josephine Hydell
Course: BFA Medical Illustration

Kara Walker by Drue McPherson

"I often find myself pondering space, its setting, social and political contexts, and how space encompasses identity. As someone who is queer, I find both the private and public spheres a continual challenge.

"My writing and research practices focus largely on the in/visibility and cultural associations attached to Western constructs of identity.

"Connecting the past to the contemporary, I concentrate on how art and design live through experience and enable impact, both socially and culturally.

"By analysing identity, including my own, I was able to reconnect with what motivates, inspires, and ultimately moves me to transform. The visual of social influence and change through visual art and structure."

Student: Drue McPherson
Course: BA Art History

Aries by Kenna Savitri Marar

"Bringing animations to life has always been magical. I enjoy making animation appear so real that you not only see it move, but you understand that character's personality, intentions and motives.

"I am drawn to saturated colours when illustrating fictional characters in the fantastical worlds they exist in. Animals also capture my imagination, especially when used as metaphors for identity or abstract concepts.

"Creating work that can spur this same kind of passion in others motivates me to continue my practice of collaborative storytelling, where the input from other creatives always influences the life my animations take on."

Student: Kenna Savitri Marar
Course: BFA Digital Art and Design

Hammock Stand by Tyler Dally

"As an industrial designer, it is my responsibility to provide a higher standard to those interacting with the products and systems I've designed.

"My approach to achieving that standard has grown to be holistic in nature, focusing closely on each problem along the way while also taking the necessary steps back to see the project in its entirety.

"My goal is not necessarily to solve each and every item uncovered but to better understand the needs associated with the desired experience. I find great joy in applying my skills to provide a valuable experience for others."

Student: Tyler Dally
Course: BFA Industrial Design

Untitled by Katherine Westbrook

"My work is sensitive, quiet and contemplative, which is indicative of my own mannerisms and the way in which I work. I use the natural world in my subject matter as visually poetic metaphors that relate to my personal experiences.

"By focusing my practice primarily in lithography, I've found that I thrive in the long hours of arduous and intensive focus that the process demands.

"Lithography provides an outlet that is akin to the healing process. Healing is laborious, time-consuming, physically and mentally demanding, and never seems to quite go exactly as planned.

"With lithography, it's very much the same. It's like its own special form of therapy. You have to fully embrace the entire process in order for it to succeed and you have to be mindful every step of the way."

Westbrook's Untitled is made from lithograph, botanical contact print and spore print.

Student: Katherine Westbrook
Course: BFA Printmaking

Hospitality Design: Rosalita's Mexican Restaurant by Peyton Helsen

"My design philosophy is grounded in my curious nature. I strive to have a deeper understanding of those around me and the journeys that have made each of us unique.

"Originality is beauty, our differences are interesting. With this in mind, I aim to push people to stand out and embrace their personality in order to create a unique design solution.

"I draw excitement from the fact that everyone has different preferences in design. Personally, I tend to gather inspiration from natural elements and enjoy the contrast that can be created between rustic, historic and contemporary elements."

Student: Peyton Helsen
Course: BFA Interior Design

I Made This For You by Ashleigh Bowyer

"Art is the purest form of expression with the absence of words. It is an outlet that cultivates personal growth and improved problem-solving skills.

"These two things together are crucial in our world as it is ever-changing and in need of people who are empathetic and can use unconventional, artistic techniques to create change.

"As an art educator, it is my purpose to not only improve my students' artistic skills but to also prepare them for the outside world. After leaving my classroom, they will have a strong foundation on which to build themselves as irreplaceable participants in a global community."

Bowyer's I Made This For You was made using an intaglio printing technique.

Student: Ashleigh Bowyer
Course: BFA Art Education

Gate to Pollinate by Sierra Walters

"Through collaborative design and design thinking, I use holistic systems and visual communication to get my idea across.

"The design process encourages messy work and requires consideration of all stakeholders, big ideas and human-centred design."

Student: Sierra Walters
Course: BFA Collaborative Design

Untitled by Emily Beeman

"For most of my career as an artist, I focused just on graphite, making drawings about animals, roadkill, and the cyclical fragility of life.

"More recently I've been interested in the potential of embroidery and the messiness of the 'reverse side', the thread on the back takes a life of its own, both in and out of my control simultaneously, knotting and tangling as I work on the opposite side.

"When I work with both the front and the back I get the best of both worlds, a balance between control and surprise."

Beeman's Untitled was made using photo transfer and embroidery on muslin.

Student: Emily Beeman
Course: BFA Drawing

Teach Your Text: The Owl House by Vynne Lohman

"While I'm primarily an artist, writing has had a fundamental impact on the way I approach my work. I've always been told that I'm a bit wordy, but that's mainly because I'm passionate about what I write.

"To me, art is about telling stories, so my writing also tries to capture the magic that stories hold to us. After all, without stories, we wouldn't be the people we are. Storytelling is linked to our very being.

"From essays to prose, I try to make my words as vivid as I can because that's where the humanity of the work comes through."

Student: Vynne Lohman
Course: Pathways Academic Excellence Award, BFA Digital Art and Design

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.