School of Art & Design Speaker Series

As a passionate designer and associate with MSR Design, Veronica believes that the most successful projects arise from an inter-disciplinary approach.  Working in a broad spectrum of areas, including furniture, products, fashion, graphic, and interior design, she is constantly toggling between the big picture concept and the fine details that, together, make a project remarkable. Veronica creates spaces that not only tread lightly on our environment and bodies, but also are generative and promote the well-being of those experiencing them.  She current serves as cochair of Carbon Leadership Forum Minnesota Regional Hub and a member of the University of Wisconsin-Stout School of Art and Design Professional Advisory Committee.  Veronica participated in the Metropolis Sustainability Hackaton workshops over the summer, which culminated in the Metropolis Climate Toolkit for Interior Design, launched at the end of August.  

Presentation Topic: 

Veronica will give a presentation on Design Concepts as it relates to Library Design, the importance of these public spaces, and how sustainability is carried out in this type of design.  

Jessica Calderwood is an Associate Professor of Metals and Jewelry at Ball State University in Indiana, where she has taught since 2016.  Previously from 2008-2016, she was an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.   

Jessica earned her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her MFA from Arizona State with an emphasis in metalsmithing.  Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally in solo, group, and juried exhibitions.  Including “Conversations”: An International Exhibition of Enamel on Metal, Musee des Beaux-arts des Limoges, France, from May to November 2022, and Colorful Minds at Gallery Baum in Seoul, Korea.   

Jessica has lectured and presented workshops at many universities and craft centers.  Notably, she was the keynote speaker at the National Enamelist Society’s annual conference in 2015. She has also participated as an artist in residence at John Michael Kohler Arts Center in 2002 and 2014 and the Mesa Art Center. Jessica’s work has been in Metalsmith Magazine, American Craft, Niche, Ornament, Lark 500 series, and The Art of Enameling. 

Presentation Topic: 

A more detailed description of Jessica's presentation is coming soon. In the meantime, check out her website for more more of her work!

Corinne Teed is a research-based artist working in printmaking, book arts, time-based media, and social practice. Their work lives at the intersections of queer theory, ecology, and critical animal studies in the context of settler colonialism. Much of their creative practice centers on relationships, whether through collaboration, participation, interviews, or encounters with the more-than-human. Teed currently works as an Assistant Professor in the Art Department of University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on unceded Dakota territory. 

Presentation Topic: 

A more detailed description of Corinne's presentation is coming soon!

Ger Xiong was born in Thailand and immigrated to the United States in 1993 as a Hmong refugee of the Vietnam War. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with an Emphasis in Metals and Jewelry at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and his Master of Fine Arts at New Mexico State University. He received a ten-month Fulbright Fellowship from 2019-2020 to research and collaborate with Hmong artisans working in silversmithing and textiles in Chiang Mai, Thailand through the University affiliation of the Faculty of Social Science, Chiang Mai University

Presentation Topic: 

In this workshop, we will use everyday materials and objects that will be constructed and reconstructed to create something new. Materials reflect our everyday lifestyle and have various meanings to their history whether it’s personal, political, comical, cultural, etc. Students will learn new ways to construct and reconstruct new surfaces to paint on, objects, adornments, and sculptures. Students will be asked to bring materials they find interesting whether it’s from their home, everyday materials, things on the streets. We will explore ways to connect and reconnect materials together through materials such as metal wire, embroidery floss, fabric, and many other forms of connections. We will explore materiality and how it may signify our own personal narratives by constructing and reconstructing materials to create new forms of meaning.

Faythe Levine (she/her) is a creative laborer and has been in service to the arts for over twenty years advocating for creativity to be used as a vehicle to build community, personal independence and empowerment. Motivatedby reimagining archives and collections through a queer feminist lens, her practice intersects with curatorial projects, consulting, writing, documentary film, and happenings. Levine’s core belief that visual culture is a conduit forradical change and generative dialog can perpetuate momentum towards a future that holds space for collaboration, transparency, accountability and complexity.

Levine has worked in both traditional and DIY spaces. She currently works with Women’s Studio Workshop as the Exhibition and Residency Manager in Rosendale NY. Prior to moving, she worked at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center as Director of the Arts/Industry program (2017-2021) where she was

responsible for the development and administration of the residency hosted at Kohler Co. and curating relatedexhibitions and projects at the Arts Center and Art Preserve in Sheboygan, WI. Levine has worked as a freelance artist and curator with institutions for the past ten years including Ruffles, Repair & Ritual; at the Wedding Cake House with the support of the Warhol Foundation, 2019; For Hire: Contemporary Sign Painting in America, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, 2017; Counter Craft: Voices of the Indie Craft Community, Fuller Craft Museum, 2016; and Craftivism, UW-Green Bay Lawton Gallery, 2008. She also curated two non-traditional gallery spaces in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Sky High Gallery (2010-2014) and Paper Boat Gallery (2005-2009) that focused on collaborations with emerging artists from around the United States. Levine was the founder and director of Milwaukee’s premier maker fair, Art vs. Craft (2004-2014) that annually drew thousands of visitors.

Her most widely known projects, Sign Painters (2013) and Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft and Design (2009), both feature length documentaries with accompanying books published by Princeton Architectural Press, have toured extensively in venues such as the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Brooklyn Museum,Museum of Arts and Design, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Presentation Topic: 

A more detailed description of Faythe's presentation is coming soon. In the meantime, check out her website for more of her work!