Sculpture student Taylor Freeman is looking to his PAFA professors for guidance as he embarks on a career as an artist. “I really like Steve Nocella, he is my favorite teacher. He’s taught me a lot about welding and plaster sculpture and bronze pours. I want to learn all of that stuff and soak it up…
Second-year MFA student Andrew Snow is turning memories tossed aside by others into art. Discarded Philadelphia Parking Authority tickets become self-portraits for Snow: “It’s playing off of memory and kind of the ghost of a memory.”
“All of art history is here for us. It’s this huge banquet of guilty pleasures, and you can take from Tarbell, you can take from Eakins, you can take from everybody,” said PAFA drawing chair Renee Foulks.
Printmaking major Jesse Castor uses her art practice to center herself. The manual work required for printmaking allows Castor to be grounded in her work.
For the two years Claudia Valenti (MFA ’20) is studying at PAFA for her MFA, she is making the most of her time. As a VAP coordinator, Valenti meets with all of the Visiting Artists, and goes out of her way to make sure her fellow students are taking advantage of the program. “Visiting artists like…
A 3-D print of a skull made its way to a forensic reconstruction workshop, and into the hands of PAFA student Kathleen Gallo. Through her work transforming the skull into a face, Gallo was able to help a family identify a missing person.
Visual artist and PAFA alumna Njideka Akunyili Crosby returned to campus on November 9, 2018, as part of the Visiting Artist Program organized by students of the School of Fine Arts. The Visiting Artists Program is a student-run venture that brings an outstanding roster of local, national and…
Natalie Klett '19 rebelled against her artist family by studying geology. But the idea of a desk job gave Klett pause. Pursuing an MFA seemed out of the question for her, until a family member suggested she give a post-baccalaureate program a try to build up her portfolio. Klett chose PAFA because…
"Illustration is not a style, it's not a medium, it's an approach," Illustration department chair Jessica Abel says. By utilizing core skills learned in PAFA's First Year curriculum, along with classes in other departments, Abel helps Illustration students discover their visual voice.
Nat Bombeke ’22 grew up in a community of artists. Since he knew so many PAFA graduates, it only seemed fitting to follow in their footsteps. At PAFA, printmaking captured Bombeke’s interest. After seeing the joy printmaking has brought him, he wants to make sure more people have access to the…
The practice of printmaking has Jonathan Lyndon Chase (MFA ’16) thinking about his work in new and different ways. But an opportunity from the Brodsky Center at PAFA gave Chase the chance to tread new ground. As the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at the Brodsky Center at PAFA, he has had the…
Studying art was a dream Rebecca Segall '20 knew she would get to someday, but wasn’t sure how, or when it would happen. Life took her on a different path as she raised her family and started a business. She eventually took a few classes at the Main Line Arts Center, but it was a chance meeting with…
Charles Mason III '19 is about to graduate with his MFA. His art has always centered on race, but the way he expresses that has changed over the course of his two years at PAFA. As other students prepare for the ASE, Mason has chosen to exhibit his thesis at a local art gallery.
After more than 20 years at companies such as Gap and AT&T, Sally Richards '20 decided to focus on her art. She began by taking classes in the Continuing Education program, subsequently enrolling in PAFA's Certificate program to expand and refine her skills. That desire to zero in and focus has…
As a student ambassador, Nasir Young ‘21 can’t help himself when it comes to sharing his excitement about art and PAFA. Young said he’s excited about the school because it took him a few years to finally get here. As a transfer student, Young found that experiencing community college first was…
At PAFA, first-year undergraduate student Aimee Liriano '22 is more than a thousand miles away from home, but she’s keeping the Dominican Republic close to her every day. Liriano transferred to PAFA as a graphic design student but quickly realized illustration is where her true passion lies. Outside…
After spending 3 years out of the country, Ash-Bob initially wanted to stay in California to pursue art. Her art teacher and PAFA alumnus Andrew Walker Patterson '07 encouraged her to look east. Even though she expected to be a figure painter at PAFA, the desire for connection and to share with…
As he prepares for the Annual Student Exhibition, the impact Philadelphia's landscape on Daniel Flinchbaugh's (BFA '19) artistic work is apparent—the city is deeply reflected in the subject matter and presentation of his work. After graduating from PAFA this May, Daniel plans to attend UPenn for…
Cardin Moffett '19 came to PAFA to study painting but he couldn’t shake the nearly 20 years experience he has working in technology, as a graphic designer and programmer. As a recipient of a grant from PAFA’s Fine Arts Venture Fund, Moffett was able to marry his technology skills with art and create…
