Lumination Newscast, November 14th, 2013

In the twelfth week of the 2013-2014 school year, Joe Sanderson and Savanna Schubert are behind the news desk to update you about what is happening on campus and around the Nashville community. Brianna Langley fills you in on the week’s top world news headlines, Madeline Smith give the scoop on all things with Nashville entertainment and the CMA Awards, Aaron Schmelzer gives you the weather forecast and Chad Johnson brings you up to speed with sports. This week, we’ll give you exclusive interviews with the cast of Les Miserables after their final performance, bring you highlights from the battle of the boulevard and take a look at who took home the trophy at this year’s Stomp Fest. We’ll also feature a new up and coming artist and fill you in on what Thanksgiving traditions Lipscomb students are looking forward to this year. Be sure to stay tuned for future newscasts published every Friday here on...

Artist Victoria Martinez uses inspiration from childhood surroundings to influence her work

Lipscomb’s OPEN Gallery is exploring contemporary art with Chicago-based artist Victoria Martinez’s Secret Garden exhibition. The student-run gallery is curated by Lipscomb art students Callan Downing and Seth Lykins and displays work from different artists every month. “It’s run entirely by students,” student and Lipscomb Artist-in-Residence Seth Lykins said. “We’re in charge of finding the artists each month and bringing them down here, and we install and de-install the work.” This month’s featured artist is 25-year-old Victoria Martinez. A Pilsen, Chicago native, Martinez was born to Mexican parents and grew up with a strong connection to her heritage. “My art is influenced by the color of my culture and the make-do attitude of my people,” Martinez said. A 2010 Minneapolis College of Art and Design graduate, Martinez describes her work as “mixed media ephemeral collages.” Playing around with textures, textiles and patterns, Martinez’s works bring to mind such artists as Frida Kahlo, but in 3D. “I just collect a lot of random items from the street and when I go for walks, I collect cassettes, pieces of paper or rocks and I bring them to my studio,” Martinez said. “I lay them down on my table and draw them. Or I like to go to thrift stores and collect items with vibrant patterns and colors. I pin them to my walls and collage them to see what I have.” The finished product is what Martinez refers to as a “soft sculpture.” “When I was growing up, I was inspired by my neighborhood a lot,” Martinez said. “There were a lot of gang wars, sirens. Now there’s a lot of...

Brittany Barker looks to take love for theatre, graphic design and Disney into professional world

Brittany Barker is not your average student here at Lipscomb University. She has many talents and aspirations and has put those talents into good use during her time here. A graphic design major, Barker has used her graphing design skills outside of the classroom through her involvement with Lipscomb’s Theatre Department. Barker has been associated with productions like Hairspray, Les Misérables and other shows on campus. She is currently set to graduate this fall and seeks to embark on the next chapter of her life after college. Soon after graduation, Barker plans to get her master’s degree in graphic design and have a teaching internship as well. One thing to know about Barker is that she’s a devoted Disney World fan. As a matter of fact, one of her posts on Facebook reads, “NOTHING like Disney,” when she shared a link on her wall about a “fake Disney World” that she had seen online. Barker isn’t only a fan of the Disney franchise. She hopes to join the company, putting her major graphic design to work. “I see myself owning my own business and working at Disney, designing cool logos for them,” Barker said when asked to peek into her future five years from now. Friendships are important to Barker, but the most important relationship she worked on while at Lipscomb was her faith with Jesus Christ.  She says her walk with Jesus hasn’t changed much since coming to Lipscomb, but something did change. “My walk with Jesus hasn’t much changed since first coming to Lipscomb University, but  my faith has grown stronger since being here,” Barker said. “Lipscomb has helped me...

Lipscomb’s art department garners local acclaim

It’s hip, it’s current, it’s an art department – Lipscomb’s art department to be exact. According to Nashville Scene Arts Editor Laura Hutson, Lipscomb University “secretly harbors one of the hippest art programs in Nashville.” Lipscomb professor Rocky Horton and Artist-in-Residence Seth Lykins couldn’t agree more. The Lipscomb art department offers several opportunities for students to immerse themselves in the art world. Associate Art Professor Rocky Horton says the work produced by students and professors is very contemporary-progressive and cutting-edge. “That atmosphere paired with this amazing [Presidential] Lectureship series, as well as the OPEN Gallery downtown, has pushed us to the forefront of programs in Nashville,” Horton said. The Presidential Lectureship series for Art and Art History brings prominent artists, art historians, and critics to lecture and interact with the community with studio visits and exhibitions. Past lectures have included Daniel Johnston, Nick Cave and Jose Parla, to name a few. “Lipscomb’s art department is super conceptual,” said Lykins, a junior studio art major. “It really challenges you in how you think about art. There are also a lot of opportunities for students.” As Artist-in-Residence, Lykins is offered a cash award that allows him to spend the summer as a working artist, presenting his work at the beginning of the fall semester. Lipscomb also offers a Visiting Artist Program, which highlights several artists throughout the academic year from all over the country and brings them to Nashville to interact on an intimate level with students and the community over a period of two or three days. Lykins curates the OPEN Art Gallery in the Arcade downtown, a gallery run entirely by...

Ginger Santiago helps environment through plarning

Helping the environment and saving people money with a new type of crocheting is Accounts Payable Clerk Ginger Santiago’s passion. Santiago acquired her crafting skills from  family tradition and began crocheting in high school. Her mother paints and her grandmother knits, so Santiago picked up on crocheting. Santiago found a new form of crafting, called plarning, from searching on the internet. She thought it would help her create things for her grandchildren. “I knew I was going to make the grandkids stuff often, but I didn’t want to spend all the money at one time,” Santiago said. “Plarning is a free way for me to make whatever I want.” Plarning involves cutting plastic grocery bags into strings similar to yarn and then crocheting them together. Santiago says she has received many bags from her coworkers. “I got everyone in the office to bring me their grocery bags, which is when I really started having fun,” she said. Santiago says she did not realize until she made several items that she was recycling in a fun way. “Plarning is a free hobby that helps the environment as well, and it can’t get much better than that,” Santiago said. Santiago’s plarning helps save the environment and helps her customers save money. Santiago’s mother sells her own paintings, as well as Santiago’s plarning items. “Since the plastic bags are free, the items sell for just a few dollars, which helps a lot in today’s world,” Santiago said. Purses, coasters, sandals, cup holders and hats are just a few of the items that can be made through plarning. Since different stores have different color bags,...