FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2009

MUW seniors exhibit artwork and host reception

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Artwork by six seniors graduating from Mississippi University for Women will be on display April 20-29 in the Eugenia Summer Gallery of the Art and Design Building. The gallery reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held Saturday, April 25 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Students participating in the exhibition:

Laura Foster is from Louisville and graduated from Winston Academy in 2005.

Foster knew she wanted to be involved in the art world at an early age.
After discovering graphic design her senior year of high school, she
decided to attend MUW as a freshman graphic design major.

“Graphic design gives me the opportunity to create work that combines my love for traditional media, such as drawing and painting, with my love for digital design.”

After graduation, Foster will be getting married in September and plans to look for a graphic design position in the Tupelo area.

Heather Krider is from Tupelo and graduated from Tupelo High School in 2005.

Krider always had an interest in creating digital images ever since
high school and decided to further her education in the graphic design
field.

She said, “Creating art is important to me. It allows me to be
creative in my own way."

After graduation, Krider plans to work in a print shop to gain
knowledge about the fundamentals of printing graphic design work and eventually land a career at a graphic design firm.

Laura Sewell is from Northport, Ala., and graduated from Tuscaloosa
County High School in 2004.

Sewell began her college career at the University of Alabama as an art history major, but soon realized her desire to be more involved in the processes of making art. She transferred to MUW in the fall of 2006 to pursue a degree in art education.

“This senior exhibition marks the end of my time at MUW, but is
hopefully the first of many upcoming exhibitions as my career as an
artist continues,” she said.

Sewell plans to teach high school art and to attend graduate school in
studio art.

Amanda Lee Patrick is from Corinth and graduated from Mississippi
School for the Arts.

After developing a love for all media, she couldn't choose just one
favorite medium to express herself.

"I chose to major in graphic design so I could apply the principles and
techniques from my studio classes toward my graphic designs."

Patrick plans to attend graduate school, but she also wants to stay in
the South and find work to develop experience in the graphic design
field.

Jonathan Cumberland is from Caledonia and graduated from Caledonia High School in 2005.

Cumberland chose to pursue art at a young age. It wasn’t until high
school that he decided on graphic design. He new that he wanted to work in the creative field and that it was the right path for him.

“If you have a dream you should fulfill it, otherwise you will wish
you had for the rest of your life.”

Cumberland will be getting married this June, and he will attend
graduate school next fall at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Shana Gibson is from Starkville and graduated from Starkville High
School in 2004.

As a child, Gibson had always been interested in art, but it wasn’t
until high school that she began to focus on graphic design as a major
and career choice. When her high school no longer offered drafting at
the vocational center and replaced it with computer graphics technology, graphic design became her main interest and her choice as a major in college.

“There is no greater feeling than someone thinking your designs are
great; graphic design gives me the chance to express my creativity,
while designing to make others happy as well” Gibson said.

After graduation, she plans on working in a graphic design firm and
later attending graduate school.