Art + Design Students Recognized

The Department of Art + Design recognized Marial Leatherman as the outstanding junior and Joellen Badertscher as outstanding senior at Ashland University's Academic Honors Convocation. The ceremony was held Sunday, April 18 in Ashland University's Myers Convocation Center.

Mariel Leatherman is a junior Art Education major with a concentration in sculpture with a focus in textiles. On campus, Mariel has been involved with the Campus Activities Board, OSEA, The Well, Ashland’s Club Quidditch team, and is a student employee of the Coburn Art Gallery. After graduation, she hopes to get a job as an art teacher in Ohio, while continuing to create art as a practicing fine artist, and farther down the road Leatherman hopes to go back to attend graduate school to obtain her Masters in Art Education.

Joellen Badertscher is from Apple Creek, OH. She is a junior at Ashland University studying Art Education with a concentration in Ceramics. Joellen has her own pottery business and sells her wares locally at Vines Bakery and also works at the Ashland University Recreation Center as a Facility Manager. Joellen was selected for an 2021 summer art education program internship at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield Ohio.

Leatherman and Badertscher were chosen from a very prestigious group of students within the department for their academic and personal achievements.

The purpose of the 2021 Academic Honors Convocation Awards Ceremony is to celebrate academic achievement, promote community and recognize outstanding students in each Department.

Senior Exhibition Awards Announced

Congratulations to our 2021 Senior Art + Design Exhibition awards winners-Hannah Osborn was selected for the senior exhibition art award and the Honorable Mention senior award recipient was Harlie Gregory. Both awards were selected by the Ashland University Art + Design Department faculty.

Hannah will graduate from Ashland University with a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Art with a concentration in Graphic Design with a minor in Religion. Hannah is from Chatham, Ohio where she lives with her father, Steve, her mother, Heather, and her brother, Steven. She is a graduate of Cloverleaf High School and the Medina County Career Center where she learned under the instruction of Ron Kostechak about printing, pre-press, offset press, silk screen printing, and of course graphic design. During her three year at Ashland, Hannah has been exhibited in the Juried Student Art Exhibition multiple times and has been awarded the Dean’s Award, the Alumni “Wink” Award, and the Bernini Award. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and other circumstances, Hannah chose to do classes remotely for the remainder of her schooling. Because of this, she was not able to be as active on campus as she would have liked to be. However, she was able to go on a mission trip with campus ministry to Tennessee and an educational trip to Israel before this had happened. Hannah also was an intern for OneIT, the Medina County Career Center, and Vinyl Marketing where she participated in a variety of design work and learning experiences. She plans to continue graphic design by finding a full time position in the Columbus area after graduation.

Gregory, from Cambridge, OH, will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Art with a concentration in Graphic Design and a minor in Marketing. She is a youngest child of Janie Jackson and Frank Gregory. Gregory attended John Glenn High School where she graduated with an Honors Diploma. At Ashland, she is an active member of FCA and is a part of a worship team. Gregory received Outstanding Junior of the Year for the Art Department. She has also been a part of three juried student exhibitions. Gregory gained an internship the summer of 2020 that allowed her to better understand the field and for her to improve her skill. She is extremely thankful to be able to have the opportunities she’s had here, including an art department trip to New York City to view world-renowned works.