20 Years of Dorothy Lemelson Scholars — Pacific Northwest College of Art

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

1999-2020

Cover artwork by Darja Bajagić ’12

Artwork by Molly Mendoza ’14

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART FEATURED RECIPIENTS — ROBYN APLEY DARJA BAJAGIĆ MADISON CLARK CAMCAM JENA CUMMISKEY JAMES FINK ADRIAN GAUT JEREMY LE GRAND ALEXANDRA HULSEY EMILY HYDE MOLLY MENDOZA DANIELA REPAS ADAM WAGGENER SARAH WHALE

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

TWENTY YEARS OF IMPACT—STUDENTS WHO HAVE STUDIED PHOTOGRAPHY, PAINTING, INTERMEDIA, COMMUNICATION DESIGN, ILLUSTRATION, GENERAL FINE ARTS, AND PRINTMAKING.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

A TIMELESS GIFT Dorothy Lemelson has been an inspiration to me, and countless others, through her personal example of giving from her heart with passion and conviction. Her commitment to the mission of PNCA, and to the students who are educated and guided by that mission, is extraordinary. Over the last 20 years, the Dorothy Lemelson Scholarship Program has allowed 21 students to attend the college, focusing on their studies and their creativity without financial burden. For these students, and for the people they will impact throughout their lives, this gift is transformational. The students chosen as Dorothy Lemelson Scholars demonstrate exceptional talent, ability, and promise in art and design. Mrs. Lemelson’s faith in the ability of these students, evidenced by her unprecedented generosity, has allowed them to grow, to thrive, and to truly live a life of creative practice across all disciplines and professions.

I am deeply grateful for the example of clarity and intentionality demonstrated through Mrs. Lemelson’s philanthropy and the philanthropic work of her Foundation—evaluating the long-term effects, and structuring her giving for the broadest and most lasting impacts. The Dorothy Lemelson Scholarship Program changes not only the lives of the individual students, but benefits the college as a whole, the community of Portland, and the state of Oregon, continuing through time and space to wherever these students live and practice.

In the words of her beloved students, her gift changed the course of their lives, giving them the courage to pursue their practice. By believing in them, she has given back to all of us.

Ann Edlen Governor Emeritus Former Chairperson PNCA Board of Governors

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

ROBYN APLEY

Printmaking Candidate ’20 Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

This scholarship has lifted the financial barrier that would have prevented or made difficult my path towards a working social practice. As my time at PNCA approaches an end, I have reflected on the importance of education in my life.

For many years, I thought an education was about a piece of paper you received after four or so years, one that would help your resume appear impressive, and that would make future employers more inclined to glance your way. But, this BFA experience at PNCA alone will shape me beyond what I believed possible. Not only am I learning as much as I can in my classes at PNCA, but I am pursuing other opportunities as well.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

2018 Solo Show in the V-Effect Project Space; 2019 Natural Silkscreen Ink and Pigment Residency in Oaxaca, MX; 2019 Group Show at PLACE Gallery; 2019 MiXeR Residency in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

As I look back at the past three years I have spent in Portland, trying new classes and making connections, I remain incredibly humbled at just how vast this creative field truly is. Who would have thought my experiences at this art school would lead me to such an interest in conservation and ecology, allowing me to truly see the merit creative practice can have in other fields. As this dark stage of climate change looms over us, I see light in the creative solutions many of my peers start to ponder. This school has taught me not only how to hone in on my craft and celebrate the tradition I am honored to be a part of, but also how to question the thinking I am inclined to participate in. I am absolutely ecstatic at this opportunity you so graciously gave me three years ago.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

DARJA BAJAGIĆ Intermedia ’12

Resides in Chicago, Illinois Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

Had it not been for Mrs. Lemelson’s generous gift, I would have not been able to afford college. Most importantly, the Lemelson Scholarship gave me a sense of direction, purpose, and courage to pursue my passion, and confidently approach my art-making—and continues to do so. Thanks to Mrs. Lemelson’s greathearted support, I have gone on to receive a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University, and have since continued to pursue my artistic career. I am forever grateful.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

I live and work in Chicago. Immediately after receiving my BFA from PNCA, I attended Yale University where I graduated with a Masters of Fine Art in 2014.

Since that time I have had exhibitions at C6ld c6mf6rt., Room East, New York, NY; The Offal Truth, New Galerie, Paris, FR; Street Steve, The Window On Broad, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA; Unlimited Hate, Künstlerhaus, Halle für Kunst & Medien (KM–), Graz, AT; Nobody Knows I’m Funny, Carlos/Ishikawa, London, GB; Damnatio Memoriae, Spazio Maiocchi, Milan, IT; and Transfiguration, New Galerie, Paris, FR. I am in the process of two other exhibitions in France and Norway planned for 2020. I have been in numerous group exhibitions since graduation and have published a series entitled, Sketchbooks by Kaleidoscope, 2017 and Darja Bajagić: Unlimited Hate. Sternberg Press, 2016.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

Thank you, Mrs. Lemelson, for everything that you’ve done for me. You are inspirational, and your generosity is stirring, and impactful—you have changed the course of my life. Thank you, for making my attending college and graduate school a possibility, and for believing in me and my art. Your support gave me the determination and strength to always aim high, and believe in my abilities, talents—in myself. I owe as far as I have come to you, and I hope that I have made you proud. I will always cherish my memories of you—the times that we’d met, and I had the enormous pleasure of speaking with you, and receiving your guidance and wisdom. Thank you, from myself and from my parents, for your measureless and limitless gift. It is a lifelong gift. I hope that one day, soon, we will meet again.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

MADISON CLARK CAMCAM Painting ’17

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

I was the first person from my family to graduate college, and was only able to go because of Mrs. Lemelson’s gift—receiving a full-tuition scholarship at PNCA changed my life. I moved to Portland without ever having been west of the Rocky Mountains and met my husband in student housing on move-in day.

My artistic practice has grown in ways that I never expected from my education and experience at PNCA. I was able to shift and grow in ways unique to my own intellect. My work was equally challenged as it was nurtured by professors who cared deeply, was supported by remarkable academic resources, and encouraged to create without boundaries. I graduated making work that felt like an extension of myself.

In the years that have passed since graduating, I have kept PNCA ties with supportive professors and staff, as I continue to navigate my career in the arts.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

During my time at PNCA, I was honored to be featured in the exhibitions, Luma (2016) and Window Waiting (2018). In 2017, I received the Argyle Winery Scholarship in which I worked closely with folks from Argyle Winery to create a painting featured on a wine label. Other awards include two Gamblin Painting awards, in 2015 and 2017.

Since graduation, I have worked in freelance web and graphic design while also continuing my artistic practice and career as a painter completing a number of commissions, including a portrait for Ms. Susan Buffett. In the last year, my husband and I launched Casa Camcam, an online store, and a gallery that sells small, accessible paintings for people’s homes. We’ve so far done quite well and have sold over 60 paintings in the U.S., the Philippines, Korea, and London.

Meanwhile, I’ve been focusing on developing a post-graduate body of paintings and am now beginning to complete applications for shows and grants.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

I would just like to sincerely thank you, Mrs. Lemelson, for the amazing opportunity that you gave me. My entire life was changed by my education, PNCA, and my move to Portland. I can not express my gratitude; I often think about the person I would be if I had never left Omaha. I am so overwhelmingly thankful for the place I am in now.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

JENA CUMMISKEY Intermedia ’12

Resides in Seattle, Washington Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

As a student, this scholarship allowed me to fully immerse myself in my practice and education. Even after my time at PNCA, this scholarship provided me with the opportunity to pursue an MFA and continue my creative practice as an adult.

My career and life would not be the same if it weren’t for the affordances this scholarship has created.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

Master of Fine Arts at the University of California San Diego, Teaching Assistantship at University of California San Diego (3 years), UCSD Graduate Research Grants, work exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, guest lectures at University of San Diego; currently working on my first written work and continuing to work on my practice while leading product design at an EdTech company Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

There is not a week that goes by where I am not reminded of the impact your generosity has made on my life, and the lives of countless other students, artists, and creators. For so many of us, your contributions to the arts and our creative pursuits is nothing short of life-changing. There is no question that I would not be the person I am today if it were not for your support. Thank you for the opportunities you have given to us all. I’m honored to know you and to be a part of your continued legacy within the arts. I look forward to continuing to give back to the community on your behalf.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

JAMES FINK Intermedia ’18

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

This scholarship helped motivate me past my expectations. Not only would I not have been able to attend a private art school without the generous support of Mrs. Lemelson, it also offered me an incredible launching point to get outside of my hometown in the Midwest and interact with an entirely different social ecology in the Pacific Northwest. The amount of connections, friendships and general life realizations I have had because of this opportunity keeps me motivated and grateful everyday. I think about this incredible gift often as it allowed me to pursue my passion, and continues to inspire me to push myself harder and to take pride in the work I make.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

Since graduating roughly a year and a half ago I have had numerous life changing art and career opportunities. Firstly, I solidified a cut and sew clothing brand that I started in school with a peer and now operate as a solo project. I treat this project as an extension of my fine art practice, hand-making bespoke garments with a focus on sustainability and material interactions. In the past year I have collaborated with artists and design firms in both Portland and Los Angeles, as well as made garments for musicians such as Toro y Moi. Secondly, I have been working as Gallery Manager for FISK Gallery in Portland for almost a year.

This has been an incredible career opportunity allowing me to expand upon my interest in exhibition strategies and curation which were first sparked while working in the exhibitions work study program at PNCA. Getting to work with artists from all over the world and help realize their visions had been a dream.

Working in that setting has also given me the chance to teach workshops related to my textile practice. Thirdly, my fine art practice has continued on top of these other two career ventures. My first solo exhibition at Stephanie Chefas Projects in Portland, Oregon just closed.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

I have nothing but sheer gratitude to express to Mrs. Lemelson. She truly has changed my life in ways I could never imagine and hold all of the experiences and opportunities close to my heart. I sincerely hope that in my future I am able to provide support and motivation to others the way I have felt it from Mrs. Lemelson’s kindness.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

ADRIAN GAUT Photography ’03

Resides in New York City, New York Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

As a student, I don’t think I would have been able to attend a four-year program in the arts, and it was in retrospect, essential to my practice now to have those years without financial pressure and in a stimulating and creatively challenging environment in order to develop my own approach to photography. Having that opportunity, as well as the semester I spent in New York through the studio program was invaluable in setting the course which I am still on. Having the validation and appreciation of my work at such a young age gave me the confidence to pursue my vision regardless of the hardships that would eventually come. Having come out on the other side of that struggle doing exactly what I imagined myself doing 18 years ago is gratifying, and being able to live the life that I do, with my beautiful family and everything else, can all be traced back to that fortuitous application to PNCA. Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

I have had a prolific and successful career as a commercial photographer. Mostly Architecture, Travel and Portraiture, my photographs have been widely published in just about every major magazine—Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, Architectural Digest, The New York Times, and Wall Street Journal. In 2016, I published a monograph of my photographs of Los Angeles entitled WILSHIRE BLVD, which has now sold out its first print run.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

Firstly, I want to apologize for not finding a way to reach out sooner to let you know how meaningful your contribution to my life has been. I think about you often, and I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that your generosity has made possible. I am very fortunate in that my life is fulfilling and creatively engaging every day, and I am able to do what I love and enjoy a fantastic quality of life supporting myself and my family in an endeavor in which many people struggle to find success. Some of the credit for that most certainly goes to you and your vision for the Lemelson Scholarship. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

Artwork by James Fink ’18

JEREMY LE GRAND Intermedia ’09

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

Initially it provided me an opportunity to attend an institution I would have otherwise not been a part of. I came from a single parent, working class household, and the cost of PNCA wasn’t practical, especially considering the career prospects afforded by an art degree. Once I started, the scholarship afforded me freedom to work in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise. New materials, processes, and approaches were now viable without having to worry too much about the associated cost, which pushed my work in various (and sometimes silly) directions. After graduation, it provided additional freedom by eliminating the burden of student loan debt. While my fellow classmates were working full time just to keep up with their monthly payments, I was able to take on a lesser workload and maintain a consistent studio practice. The goal is always to make work. Keep making work.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

A few years after graduation, a local jeweler and I started an artist run studio called Civilian Studios in a large warehouse in NE Portland. We’ve been going strong since 2012, providing over 35 workspaces and a full woodshop to local artists. Since our inception hundreds of artists have had studios there, including a few PNCA alumni and faculty. Last year (2018), I teamed up with a group of artists to start Carnation Contemporary, an artist-run gallery located in Disjecta Contemporary Arts Center. We have 14 members, all local artists, and bring additional artists in through curated group shows and open calls. It started as a way to address a couple of problems with the gallery climate in Portland. First, the complete lack of representation afforded by a city with literally thousands of artists and barely a dozen viable venues, and second, to relieve artists from the pressure of making commercially viable works. Your exhibition month is yours.

Host a workshop, use it as a studio, show a group of paintings, curate a group show. Get it and make it yours. I currently have a solo show at Carnation titled The Genesis Lobby. It’s broadly about building meaning through iteration and repetition and the various forms symbols can take through shifts in context. Specifically, it’s about my preoccupation with Peter Bruegel the Elder and Jorge Luis Borges, using the former’s imagery and the latter’s approach to narrative to build an exhibition.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

THANK YOU. My life would not be what it is without you.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

ALEXANDRA HULSEY Photography ’16

Resides in Dallas, Texas Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

I am impacted by the opportunity of this scholarship everyday. Mrs. Lemelson’s graciousness to foster my career as a young creative has been amazing. I spent my early academic career aspiring to attend a four-year art college. Despite the many college acceptance letters, the reality that I would not be able to attend because of finances, debilitated me. I worked hard towards this but was neglected based on the income of myself and my family. When I was chosen to receive The Dorothy Lemelson Scholarship, I didn’t think twice about attending PNCA. Because of this education, I learned methodologies to conduct academic research for my projects, for critiques, for applying for exhibitions, in writing artists’ biographies, and much more. Being academically trained gives me an advantage in talking about my work both personally and professionally to others. I’d like to truly thank the faculty I worked with during my time at PNCA for that.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

I currently work as a freelance art director, photographer, and artist. After graduating, I relocated back to Dallas and obtained the role of Gallery Manager at galerie frank elbaz. There, I created promotional writings for exhibitions, helped to launch the opening reception of the gallery’s Dallas location, and most rewardingly, had the chance to speak conceptually regarding the featured work to attendees. I now spend time creating content for brands and individuals. Most recently, I created a sixteen-piece series in preparation for The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi. The images are made by using both physical and digital collages and have informed future projects.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

I would like to sincerely thank Mrs. Lemelson for granting me the means to creatively flourish. I’d also like to share an anecdote about receiving this Scholarship. I knew I had been accepted to PNCA but had not yet been informed.

It was my final class of the day; photography, when our visual department chair entered the room. She looked unsettled, clearing her throat she announced my name, “Alexandra,... you’ve done it this time.” The entire class was wide-eyed and staring straight through me. After a moment she said, “You’ve received a fulltuition scholarship to Pacific Northwest College of Art!” I sat in complete shock as my classmates went wild and cheered. I stumbled out of the room to call my Mom and when I said the words, “I received the Dorothy Lemelson Scholarship” aloud, it felt real.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

EMILY HYDE Intermedia ’15

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

When I received the Dorothy Lemelson Scholarship to attend the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2007, it was absolutely transformative. Not only did this extraordinary gift validate my aspirations as an artist, it gave me the freedom and confidence to explore my creativity in a truly remarkable environment. Above all else, the teachers at PNCA, whom I believe are the heart of the school, had the greatest impact on my life and creative practice. As accomplished artists and educators of their craft, they are exemplary models for how to live. Their influence will continue to guide me, both personally and professionally, in all aspects of my life and work.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

While attending PNCA, I had the great fortune of receiving a Princess Grace Award in Filmmaking in 2011. More recently, I was awarded the inaugural Bex Frankel Fellowship in Film & Filmmaking at Vermont Studio Center. Currently, I am a candidate in the Graduate Certificate Program in Critical Theory and Creative Research at the Oregon Institute for Creative Research. As a student and research associate at OICR, I have received invaluable experience in teaching, leading lectures, developing curriculum as well as organizing and participating in numerous colloquia and artist residencies. Though my work, at this time, is heavily immersed in research and writing, the image—its sovereignty and creation—remain a central concern of mine. It is my hope that the completion of the OICR program will embolden a return to the visual arts and lay the foundations for the work that I will complete as part of a master’s degree.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

Again, I am afraid that I will not be able to do justice to the profound effect that Mrs. Lemelson has had on my life. I wish to thank her from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to become a part of the PNCA community and to pursue whole-heartedly a life of creativity and art. The once-in-a-lifetime experience of being a Lemelson Scholar at PNCA has had a profound effect on my life and will continue to replenish, inform, and inspire my work for many years to come. I cannot thank Mrs. Lemelson enough for her generosity but also for her vision of the arts and their necessity in the world.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

Maybe

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

MOLLY MENDOZA Illustration ’14

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

When applying to schools I knew I would need to find some way to get the entirety of the costs covered. School, especially art school, was not an option financially for my family and me. However, because of the Lemelson Scholarship, I was able to have a chance at that opportunity. I seized the chance with everything I had and over the course of my time at PNCA I developed life long friendships and bonds with my peers. My professors challenged me to grow, to think on a macroscopic and microscopic level in regards to my art, and to attack all goals that lie ahead of me. Although the school is no longer in the warehouse on 13th I still feel sentimental when I run into my peers or visit the new 511 campus to talk to former professors. I am thankful that I had that experience to connect with other artists across different departments. Meeting them changed the way I think about making and collaboration for the better. There was a time where I shook nervously before giving my thesis defense and I thought I wouldn’t be able to pull through. Now I can pitch mural concepts to panels, talk about comics at indie press shows to a room of strangers, and give tutorials on my work to students and other artists. I don’t know that I would have the confidence to do all of that, to be where I am now, without the help I got to seize that first chance.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

Illustrated for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Hazlitt, The Scientists, Portland Monthly, Portland Mercury, Buzzfeed, Adobe Creative Cloud, Elysium Health, Distilled, Sabor, Keen, OMFGCO, Instrument, and The Marshall Project, to name just a few. I have had my comics published by ShortBox Comics and Nobrow Press. I am currently working on my first children’s books with Scholastic and Nobrow Press. I have created murals, with the help of RACC and the Fresh Paint Program, for Open Signal and TriMet. The future awaits with more murals, more books, and hopefully more cool things.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

Mrs. Lemelson, I cannot thank you enough for the help you have given me. If it weren’t for you I don’t know that I would be where I am right now—It was a lot of hard work to get here but your generosity made the journey easier. Thank you for believing in me, for seeing the potential in me, for giving me a chance. My life now is just like the dreams I had when I was a little girl—I am doing the damn thing!

One of my favorite memories is when I got to meet you and we both sat together with glasses of wine at dinner. I remember thinking that you were so wonderful but also just so cool at the same time. I have new dreams now and they include giving back in the future, to students and up and coming artists, just as you did for me.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No 20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

DANIELA REPAS Intermedia ’08

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

The Lemelson Scholarship has changed my path as an artist, a student and a professional. During my undergrad studies I was able to focus on my practice and fully immerse myself into the art community. Receiving this scholarship has opened many doors and gave me the exposure needed for furthering my professional practice.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

Since my graduation in 2008 I have had numerous exhibitions, worked as an editor on a full feature documentary film and as a director of my own film, receiving multiple awards throughout the national film festival circuit. I was recently awarded a Princess Grace Film Award for my current film, which I am working on as a part of my MFA studies.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

I want to tell you how much I miss you and how much you mean to me. You will always have a special place in my heart and I would love to see you again and introduce my three year old son, Ilija Kingsley Wilson. I hope your life is still full of joy, love and happiness!

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

ADAM WAGGENER Painting ’05

Resides in Portland, Oregon Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

It gave me the foundation I needed to begin pursuing my vision for painting.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

Dorothy Lemelson’s scholarship was the best thing to ever happen to me. I never would have made it through college without the scholarship. I never felt like anyone believed in me, or cared enough to help me when I was growing up. When the college offered me the scholarship, it was the first time I felt like anyone saw my potential, or believed in me, or gave me a chance. I had a passion for art, but I had no idea how to even get started following that passion before college.

College gave me the foundation I needed to begin pursuing my vision for painting.

I was so discouraged before starting school, and my teachers at PNCA inspired me, challenged me, believed in me, and helped me get creatively back on track.

I work on art projects every day now, and I never feel like I’m lacking in passion, or inspiration, or creativity, or drive. I still face a lot of challenges, but I’m very optimistic that if I keep trying all of this hard work will pay off, somehow. I would sincerely like to thank Dorothy Lemelson again for the scholarship; I feel like I can’t thank her enough.

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

No

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

SARAH WHALE

Communication Design ’07 Resides in Cleveland, Ohio Please tell us how the scholarship has impacted your creative practice?

Being sponsored by Mrs. Lemelson allowed me to immerse myself completely into my course of study while at PNCA without having as many financial concerns as I would have without the scholarship. Not having a significant loan to repay has allowed me to travel more, create self-produced work and fulfill more goals.

Please list significant milestones or achievements in your practice or career.

Thanks to the Lemelson scholarship I currently hold a full time faculty position at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, OH where I have been a professor of dance and the Dance Program Coordinator since 2010. Part of my workload requires me to create all the visual marketing materials for the Department of Theatre and Dance, creating artwork for an average of twenty productions per season.

In 2011 I performed in the Idaho Shakespeare Festival/Great Lakes Theatre production of Cabaret, which toured from Boise, ID to Cleveland, OH. Each year I direct, choreograph and collaborate with set and costume designers to create Baldwin Wallace University’s annual dance concert which takes its inspiration from an academic professor’s research. For example, the 2020 production is using research on the aesthetics of beauty in the 18th century as its source material. In previous years I have collaborated with the Sociology department (Media and 9/11), Public Health (How the Indian Hijra population and health care professionals find common ground), Biology (the mating habits of squirrels), and Political Science (female political candidates). Currently, I am directing a production titled Marginalia which uses movement and text to introduce viewers to some of Edgar Allan Poe’s less well known works while offering fresh versions of his classics.

Is there anything else you would like us to share with Mrs. Lemelson?

I can honestly say that not a month goes by that I don't remind myself how grateful I am for the opportunity I was given by Mrs. Lemelson. Her generosity, and most especially her passion for beautiful things, art, aesthetics, and discovery has positively impacted my work and my life and allowed me to experience EVERYTHING as art. Thank you so much Dolly!!!!!

Would you have attended PNCA without the Scholarship?

Maybe

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART

20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS

DOROTHY LEMELSON’S GENEROSITY HAS HAD A DIRECT INFLUENCE ON THE LIVES AND CAREERS OF THESE ARTISTS. 20 YEARS OF DOROTHY LEMELSON SCHOLARS — ADRIAN GAUT ’03 YANA STEFANOVA ’03 KA’ILA FARRELL-SMITH ’04 ANDREA PAUSTENBAUGH ’06 ADAM WAGGENER ’05 SARA WHALE ’07 JACKIE HOLMSTROM ’08 DANIELA REPAS ’08 JEREMY LEGRAND ’09 DARJA BAJAGIC ’12 JENA CUMMISKEY ’12 MOLLY MENDOZA ’14 GARY WISEMAN ’14 EMILY HYDE ’15 ALEXANDRA HULSEY ’16 MADISON CAMCAM ’17 CHRISTIN ENGELBERTH ’18 JAMES FINK ’18 ROBYN APLEY ’20 CANDIDATE JAMES QUINAZ CHELSEA RUST (Right) Artwork by Alexandra Hulsey ’16

A SCHOLARSHIP GIFT THAT IS VISIONARY, UNPRECEDENTED AND TRANSFORMATIONAL.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART