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Brad Bernard
As a child, Brad Bernard hoped to become a comic book artist. His degree in Painting from MIAD led him in different and ultimately unique directions — art education, professional art, and community service. His showing experience is extensive — Milwaukee's Black Holocaust Museum, the Mississippi Museum of Art, the University of Mississippi-Oxford, as well as several murals to his credit. Asked about the relationship of artist to community and culture, Bernard responded, "I wish that every living being on the planet would come to the realization that Humanity is about love, reciprocity, and a collective communal understanding. In dedication to the creator."
Allyson Mellberg Taylor
 "I loved the time I spent at MIAD. I started taking classes there in the pre-college program when I was still in high school. Now, as a teacher, I am still discovering how much I really learned while I was there." An extensive résumé sits on top of a stack of papers on my cluttered desk. Single-spaced, and slightly intimidating, it boasts of professional work experience and gallery exhibitions. Since graduating from MIAD in 2000, Mellberg Taylor hasn't stood still, and her résumé is proves it. In graduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill, Mellberg Taylor gained extensive teaching and curatorial experience. Whether teaching in the classroom, or making it in her studio, art continues to play an integral role in her life. Mellberg Taylor has exhibited work nationwide, from New York to California.
A. I learned how to draw, and care about drawing -- not just from my drawing teachers, but also from my printmaking and painting teachers. Q. What's the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you have experienced life after graduation?
A. I was a painting major to begin with, and I felt very strongly that painting was the most important thing a person could do. But then, I fell in love with printmaking, and added it as a minor. I am much more of a printmaker, I think like a printmaker, I went to graduate school to focus on printmaking. I am glad that I was involved in both majors at MIAD, and that I stayed an extra year to complete my minor (I added it very late in the game). I'm very glad that I allowed myself to open up to other mediums and ways of making things. I enjoy working on paper, and I still love to paint. Right now, nine years later, I am making egg tempera paintings. When you choose your major at MIAD, you never know where it may take you. I wasn't sure if I would ever paint again, because I became so immersed in printmaking. But now I do both and I don't even think about the space between the two. I learned so many things about painting and printmaking during my time at MIAD... I think you store away some of that knowledge for later, you never know when you will need it.
Solo Exhibitions:
Selected Collections:
Zane Lancaster
"Absorb everything..." Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today? A. My education from MIAD redefined my conceptions of art making and my perception of life in general.
Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD? A. Who I am. Q. What's the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you've experienced life after graduation? A. Absorb everything and don't take the experience for granted. It will shape who you become.
Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life? A. Right now, I'm waiting to hear from graduate schools, and that's kind of blocking anything farther down the line. I'm just going to keep painting and see what happens.
Q. What are some of your hobbies and interests? A. The banjo and Arby's beef and cheddar sandwiches.
Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you would like to share? A. I recently received an Individual Artists Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council, and have an upcoming exhibition at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts.
Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years. A. Painting was supreme. Still is.
Katie Musolff
Q. What did you want to be when you grew up? A. I always knew I was going to be an artist. My grandmother painted, my dad is a notorious doodler, and my older sister paints as well. Art was all around me. Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today? A. MIAD was the first place where people put value on intuition. It was the first time I realized that my intuition deserved a main role in my work. Q. What's the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you've experienced life after graduation?
Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be? A. Currently, I'm working as a full-time painter. Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life? A. I paint people from all around the community, sometimes on commission. My goal is to continue doing so until I am old and gray, and keep doing it some more. I would be completely content if I could paint full-time for the rest of my life. Painting brings a richness to my life. It serves as a constant education.
A. I have solo shows scheduled at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Brookfield, WI) in October 2007, and at the Watrous Gallery at the Madison Overature Gallery (Madison, WI) in March 2008. I recently had a solo show at Elaine Erickson Gallery (Milwaukee, WI) in March 2006.
Musolff spent three months painting Ron Greenlaw [nicknamed 'Moses'] at the St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care (Milwaukee, WI). Greenlaw, at 47, has been confined to a wheelchair since 1982 after shooting himself in the head. You can read the whole story of the evolution of the painting and their friendship on Journal Sentinel Online, http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=439327. to see more work by Musolff, please visit: www.katiemusolff.com |
"The MIAD Career Services Office helped me to establish a diverse client/reference base as well as a versatile portfolio. I also began my first teaching experience through a collaboration between MIAD and the Inner City Arts Council."
Q. As a child, what did you think you wanted to be when you grew up?
Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years.
"MIAD was the first place where people put value on intuition."
A. The funny thing about art school is that it made such a deep impression on me and shaped my work. While I attended MIAD, someone (actually a number of people) advised me on the fact that I would have to 'unlearn' everything learned in school. I am now beginning to understand that. My work and way of thinking is drastically different than it was in school, but without a foundation, I wouldn't have been able to grow and change.![Julie, oil on canvas, 2004 [student work]](/images/stories/static_content/small/musolff_05.jpg "Julie, oil on canvas, 2004 [student work]")
Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you'd like to share?