Seventeen University of Nebraska-Lincoln students will exhibit their contemporary fashion and textile design work in the 2007-2008 Biennial Juried Exhibition at UNL’s Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery through January 30.
Dr. Jean L. Parsons, currently an associate professor at Iowa State University in the Department of Textiles and Clothing, was the juror for this edition of the exhibition, evaluating the 65 works that students entered in the competition. In a blind review process, Parsons selected work based solely on the merits of the entries. This show includes 27 pieces of fashion and textile design, representing the work of five graduate and twelve undergraduate students.
The exhibition highlights the diverse areas of work in the design specialization of the UNL textiles and apparel program, said Wendy Weiss, director of Hillestad Gallery. Students will be showing work completed in courses ranging from freshman to graduate levels. Their talents range from creating original fabric using dye, print and paint processes to creating apparel of their own design. One student incorporated beads, duck feathers, and horse and goat hair into her work, while another student utilized recycled clothing in her garment.
Students enrolled in Textiles, Clothing and Design courses in the past two years and students completing projects in the Undergraduate Creative Awareness and Research Experiences (UCARE) program were able to submit original design coursework or projects developed from Spring 2007 to the present. Each student could enter up to four pieces. While the entries were primarily in the apparel category, students also submitted textile designs and illustrations on board and fabric, including digitally-printed, hand-painted, and screen-printed. Each type of work is represented in the exhibition.
Parsons, coauthor of 20TH CENTURY DRESS IN THE UNITED STATES published by Fairchild Publications in 2007, said "I enjoyed seeing the range of work, and especially the varied interpretations of inspiration sources. Pieces chosen ranged from those with clean and crisp lines to those that were complexly draped forms. I was particularly drawn to the apparel designs that combined attention to the craft process with a less traditional approach to shape and use of seaming."
The Hillestad Gallery is part of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design at UNL and is located on the second floor of the Home Economics Building, north of 35th Street and East Campus Loop. The gallery is open to the public without charge Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and weekends by special request. Call (402)472-2911 to request weekend opening. The gallery is closed during university holidays and between shows.
There was an opening reception for the exhibition from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, January 16, with an awards presentation at 6:30 p.m. Monetary awards underwritten by the Friends were presented to graduate students Tacia Booton and Mary Pattavina, and to undergraduates Michelle Higgins and Danielle Smith. Congratulations to these students on their accomplishments!
Following is a list of participating students.
UNDERGRADUATES/Home town
Cashmere Boehle/Grand Island, NE
Dan Buhrdorf/Lincoln, NE
Cassandra Clayton/Spring Green, WI
Abby Gross/ Blair, NE
Sara Harper/
Michelle Higgins/Fremont, NE
Tiffany Hopkins/ Schuyler, NE
Lisa Kalt/ Mansfield, SD
Stephanie Luna/Lincoln, NE
Natalie Moravec/Grand Island, NE
Madison Simmons/Bellevue, NE
Danielle Smith/Bellevue, NE
GRADUATE STUDENTS/Home town
Tacia Booton/Malcolm, NE
Melissa Caldwell
Katie Taylor Frisch/Lincoln, NE
Mary Pattavina/Lincoln, NE
Erica White
