USAO’s ‘Legacy’ Art exhibition showcases prominent USAO alumni artists
The University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma recently welcomed alumni to the 3rd Floor Gallery for Legacy, an exhibition showcasing the unique work of talented USAO alumni artists. The reception, held on Nov. 2, brought together students, faculty alumni and community members to celebrate the accomplishments of four prominent alumni artists whose work reflects years of dedication to their craft and their shared foundation at USAO.
Freddy Baeza, a 2017 graduate with a BFA in Visual Arts, displayed a series of delicate, hand-thrown porcelain vases. Baeza spent two months at the Sanbao Ceramics Institute in Jingdezhen, China, perfecting his technique, “porcelain is a very finicky and hard material to work with. I spent years perfecting my technique. I also experiment constantly with the glazes making my own just to make the right ones for porcelain,” Baeza said.
Baeza currently teaches printmaking 1&2, 3d foundations, pottery on the wheel, co teaches expanded media, co teaches public art, and co teaches art in the public school/public school art.
Wendy Chambers, who earned her BFA from USAO in 2012 and an MFA from UNLV in 2016, said of her displayed works, “they’re all 2D, a mix of oil painting, digital illustration, and a little bit of photography. Conceptually I tend to gravitate towards themes involving the body, corporeality, and materiality.”
An experienced educator, Chambers currently teaches beginning drawing I & II, figure drawing I & II, graphic design I &II, computer illustration, business of art, and digital photography I, II, & III.
Andy Myers, a 2005 graduate with an MFA in Sculpture and Ceramics, presented thought-provoking pieces inspired by the metaphoric nature of trees. “I have always been intrigued in the physical and metaphoric nature of trees. In my work I challenge these ideas by linking the life and death of tree to the life and death of humans. By manipulating the natural qualities of trees, I change these mundane and often overlooked objects into something that questions our ideas of what tree mean to us,” Myers said.
Myers, teaches drawing I&II, design I&II, sculpture II, jewelry, and black & white photography.
Adam Heilman is an artist/teacher based in Chickasha OK. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from USAO in 2004. Adam has been working in the arts since 2005 holding various positions within the community.
He has been teaching art for the past 8 years, starting at Anadarko Middle School and more recently at Chickasha High School. Adam has also been an Adjunct Instructor at USAO teaching classes such as Beginning Drawing Studio 1 and Design/Composition Studio 1. Adam has also been a practicing artist since graduating, working in a wide variety of mediums from drawing and painting, to pottery and sculpture. With his wife Amber (who is also an artist/teacher, and USAO grad 2008) he formed a Fine Arts and Mural business named Aa Heilman Art in 2021. Adam is the big A, Amber is the little a. Together they have painted a number of Murals throughout Chickasha and the surrounding area. Most notably the Chickasha Public Library, CHS Fight’n Chick Watertower, and the Buffalo Nickel at First National Bank. The Heilmans have two children, a daughter Briana, works at a BioMedical Science lab in OKC, and son Cyrus, who is currently a student at USAO studying Art.
About the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma
As Oklahoma’s liberal arts college, the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma provides a distinctive education in the liberal arts and sciences, supporting both its interdisciplinary core curriculum and major fields of study with superior teaching. USAO fosters diversity of thought and practice to help students realize meaningful, purposeful and productive lives as global citizens in a rapidly-changing world.