Portfolio - Montserrat College Of Art

Portfolio 

volume nine • fall 2010

2 

Thorpe Feidt 3 

Travel Abroad 4 & 5 

Alumni News 6 

Faculty News 9 

Community 12 

Trustees 18 

Editor: Jo Broderick 

Design: Terry Slater 

Writers: 

Howard Amidon 

Jo Broderick 

Kathleen Burke 

Shana Dumont 

Steve Swartz 

Cover: Thorpe Feidt 

Impromput: The 

Ambiguities 189, 

1987 & 2008 

©Montserrat College of Art 

Dear Friends, 

As the anniversary of my first full year at Montserrat is on the horizon, I continue to be impressed 

with the quality, commitment, and creativity of this wonderful campus community. I have truly 

found a home at Montserrat and am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this special place. 

Montserrat is a community that values the individual voice of each of its members while at the 

same time believes in the importance of living and working together as an academic community. 

This means that we encourage students to explore, test, and develop their personal artistic 

vision while contributing to, and benefiting from, working, living, and sharing their experiences with teachers, colleagues, 

and friends. We were excited to welcome an unusually talented group of 116 new students to the campus this fall. They 

have already become part of the Montserrat family, learning what it means to work hard, push their limits, and be part 

of a college community. 

Our incredibly dedicated faculty of working artists will open a number of their own exhibitions this year (p.9) and we 

are proud to share their accomplishments with you. Our alumni (p.6) are also sending us news of their exhibitions 

and accomplishments in the many fields in which they chose to work and create. The experience of Montserrat’s 

alumni reinforces the reality that an education in the arts is flexible preparing creative problem solvers to excel in many 

fields of making art and beyond. We invite our alumni to return to campus and/or communicate with us to share their 

experiences, creativity and connections for internships, apprenticeships and other ways to mentor current students and 

continue the chain of artists teaching artists. 

I hope you will take advantage of all the college has to offer including our exciting gallery exhibitions (p.19), lectures, and 

events intended to take art beyond the classroom. We offer many opportunities to be involved with Montserrat and the 

visual arts including Continuing Education classes (p.13) for youths, teens, and adults; attendance at our annual Open 

House (our 40th) on April 16 where all are welcome to see the latest work by students of all years and concentrations; 

and our spring Artrageous! art auction on April 30, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 

We want the college to serve as a resource to you and we welcome your feedback. I hope to see you on campus soon. 

Steve Immerman, President 

Preparing Students for Success in the “Real World” 

With the creative industries becoming increasingly 

important to our economic well-being and Daniel 

Pink’s* prediction that "the MFA will be the new MBA," 

Montserrat is focusing on improving student preparation 

for meaningful creative work after graduation. “Trained 

as makers and creative thinkers and problem solvers, 

our students are in a unique position to succeed in this 

growing sector of the marketplace, but they need the 

confidence and a few more basic skills to be successful,” 

says Academic Dean Laura Tonelli. 

Throughout the 2010-11 academic year, Dean Tonelli will 

lead a group of faculty, staff and students in exploring 

new ways to introduce to students the rich variety of job 

opportunities available to them and to expand their "artist 

tool kit." The committee’s goal is to create a comprehensive 

four-year plan to enhance current offerings, through new 

course components and visiting artists, scholars and 

business people. Under consideration by the faculty is a 

professional practice requirement for all BFA students to 

complement the internship program, instituted in 2006. 

Already in place are a series of Professional Practice 

workshops led by contemporary artists and curators 

who will share business and marketing tips and provide 

concrete information on how to approach a gallerist 

or curator, write a grant or produce a polished public 

presentation. In the planning stage is a full day program 

every semester devoted to presentations on topics 

ranging from tax issues for artists, applying to artist 

residencies and graduate programs, copyright law, and 

writing a business plan. 

Take note alumni! Some of these workshops are open to 

you too! (See schedule on the Gallery website.) Would 

you like to come share your experience after graduation? 

We are seeking alumni to join panel discussions. Contact 

Maggie Cavallo, Outreach Coordinator: Gallery and 

Visiting Artist Program at mcavallo@montserrat.edu. 

*Daniel Pink first wrote this in the Harvard Business Review in February 

2004. He is the author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will rule 

the Future (2006). 

President Steve Immerman photo: Gabrielle Keller

Thorpe Feidt photo: Terry Slater 

story by Jo Broderick 

Thorpe Feidt 

Thorpe Feidt’s laugh is 

contagious, warm, and 

wonderful to watch. It 

changes his face from 

professor to friend. He 

is memorable from the 

start; the kind of man 

you want to remember 

and talk with. An 

interesting mix of artist, writer, thespian 

and orator, Feidt is the kind of professor that 

alumni inquire about many years after they 

have left Montserrat. He makes his mark. 

Feidt is passionate about his "current" series 

that he has been working on since 1975. It may 

be seen in part at an exhibit at the University 

of Southern Maine, featuring many of his 

works from The Ambiguities series, on display 

through Oct. 29 at the college’s Portland, 

Maine gallery. He is humble about this solo 

show, but proud and pleased that his work 

was chosen by curator Carolyn Eyler, who 

describes his work as “saturated with color.” 

The show came about through another 

Montserrat connection, Professor Tim Harney, 

who was curating a show in Newton a few 

years ago which included some of Feidt’s work. 

His work was noted by Richard Brown Lethem, 

a professor at the University of Southern 

Maine who passed on his thoughts of the 

pieces to curator Carolyn Eyler. 

The title, The Ambiguities comes from a novel 

by Herman Melville, Pierre, he explains while 

sitting in his gold and orange-soaked, lightfilled, 

art studio. "I began the series because 

of that book. It had a big influence on me. I 

originally intended to make 333 paintings, 

which is an important number in the book, but 

I reached that number in 1998 and realized all 

I wanted to do was go on." 

And on and on he has as The Ambiguities, 

now numbering 453 completed (and 

some reworked), continues to capture his 

imagination and fill his non-teaching hours 

with days of rich brush strokes on multi-sized 

canvases in his home studio. 

"I just used to number them in the beginning, 

but I name them now as well," he said. 

Although he had a solo exhibit at Montserrat 

in 2008, most of the work in the Southern 

Maine exhibit has not been previously shown. 

Feidt says with his signature chuckle, "there’s 

no end date to this series – I’ll stop when I die 

and that will be the end." 

Trying to describe his work, Feidt admits, 

"Painting is not verbal – it has to do with 

various subjects such as mythology, religion, 

and alchemy. The images are referential – 

precipitated by painting." "Painting Is the 

language," he emphasizes. "It must be that way. 

That doesn’t mean it’s a closed speech that 

no one else can understand…just like jazz...as 

Ray Charles says, 'everybody understands the 

blues'– it’s remarkably accessible as a complex 

language." 

"I was in my mid- 

30s when I began 

the series. In the 

Maine show, I have 

taken old paintings 

from the mid-60s 

from when I was 

a grad student in 

New York at Pratt, 

and a teacher there. 

I painted on top 

of some of those 

paintings – at the 

time I was painting 

very thick." Now, 

his layers are 

lighter, but there 

are many of them. 

A faculty member at Montserrat since 1973, 

just a few years after the college was founded, 

faculty profile 

The Philosophers’ Garden: The Ambiguities 402 & 403, 2002, acrylic on canvas, 36h x 72w inches 

Blues for J.T.F.: 

The Ambiguities 320, 1997 

acrylic on canvas 

60h x 36w inches 

Feidt still loves to teach and talk art. He has 

seen many changes over the years but is 

pleased where the college stands today, still 

carrying on the mentoring of students and 

the feeling of community that brought him 

on board so many years ago. He was asked to 

join the faculty by founding Director Joseph 

Jeswald, who had a studio across the hall from 

him in downtown Gloucester. (Joseph Jeswald 

passed away in 2009.) 

The history of the college is in part, his history, 

and the telling of history is part of what he 

wants to do in his work. 

"Anybody’s paintings, but especially mine, 

have a history,” he says. “I like that. It says 

this person has something to say. I want my 

paintings to have a story to tell – you tell a story 

with what you improvise – I want the paintings 

to have that, too." 

Even though the exhibit in Maine is large, 

Feidt’s studio remains filled with a number 

of luscious-tinted works, and some stark, 

contrasting black, white, and gray pieces. 

Some are promised to people, but most are 

like friends he surrounds himself with – there 

to stay. He does not favor hanging many of 

them on his walls, though, because he feels 

they become too much like a background that 

is easy to ignore. 

"Picasso said, 'the best way to ignore a 

painting is to put it up on the wall.'" Instead, 

Feidt moves them around his house and studio, 

leaning them at angles to catch the changing 

light beams of the day – and tell their stories to 

visitors who are lucky enough to “hear” them. 

3

commencement story by Jo Broderick 

Sixty students graduated from Montserrat 

College of Art Friday, May 28 at 10 a.m. 

in the Cabot Cinema, 286 Cabot St., Beverly. 

Barry Moser, noted artist, illustrator and 

author, was the speaker and was awarded an 

Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. 

The students received Bachelor of Fine Arts 

degrees in concentrations including graphic 

design, illustration, interdisciplinary arts, 

painting and drawing, photography and video, 

printmaking, and sculpture. Two students were 

awarded the Art Education Initial Licensure. 

The faculty speaker was Professor Scott 

Hadfield of the Painting Department. Shane 

Murphy of Manchester, NH, was chosen by 

his peers as the student speaker. A reception 

for students and their guests followed the 

ceremonies. 

"This year’s speaker 

Barry Moser, is 

probably the most 

important book 

illustrator working in 

America today," said 

Nicholas Basbanes, 

acclaimed author of 

A Gentle Madness, 

travel abroad 

Montserrat offers two Wintersession 

Programs and in addition to the Japan 

trip each summer, offers an annual journey to 

Viterbo, Italy to allow students to earn credit, 

experience the richness of art from other 

cultures, and broaden their world view. 

Mali, Africa 

The Wintersession Mali, Africa program, Dec. 

27 – Jan. 12, allows students to earn three 

credits in art history. The course, African Art 

in Africa, provides the opportunity to study 

4 

Keynote 

Speaker: 

Barry Moser 

and long-time literary editor of the Worcester, 

Telegram & Gazette. 

Interestingly, Moser may crinkle at the term 

illustrator. To ask him, he is a booksmith, a 

person who makes a book. "I design them, I 

do the typography… I am conscious of all the 

elements, that includes the letter spacing, the 

small caps, the non-aligning numerals within 

the text, and how the ellipses are spaced. 

Then there’s the design of the binding, the 

decoration of the binding, whatever goes on 

it, all the way to book jacket and the design 

African art in context. 

In 2011 the course will 

focus on the art and 

culture of the Bambara 

and Dogon peoples. 

Classes will be taught 

primarily in the city 

of Segou, but will 

include a camping trip 

to the remote country 

inhabited by the Dogon people. This program 

is directed by Asst. Prof. Caroline Bagenal. 

Vieques, Puerto Rico 

Montserrat College of Art, Class of 2010 

The Wintersession 

Vieques, Puerto Rico 

program, taught by 

Professor Judy Brown 

and Shana Dumont, 

allows students to 

earn three credits, 

of the copy on the end flaps…I want people to 

notice the heart of my books, the subtleties'" 

(as noted in an interview for Olswanger.com). 

Moser is also a printer, a painter, printmaker, 

designer, author, essayist, teacher, and lecturer. 

He is on faculty at the Rhode Island School of 

Design and Smith College, where he serves as 

professor in residence in the Department of 

Art, and as the printer to the college. 

take yoga, and learn meditation techniques, 

Jan. 3 – Jan. 15. Registration is due in October 

and the program is limited to 10 students. The 

courses offered are Interdisciplinary Nature 

and Abstraction and Topics in Art History: Art 

and Protest in Latin America. 

Photos: Jenn Frankavitz ‘07, Commencement ; Shana Dumont, Puerto Rico; Caroline Bagenal, Mali

Photos: Blyth Hazen, Kenrokuen Garden; Len Thomas-Vickory, Tokyo; Elaine Brodie, Italy 

Japan 

by Shana Dumont 

Drawn in part by a pre-existing love of 

Japanese art forms such as anime and 

manga, nine Montserrat students traveled 

with Associate Professor Blyth Hazen and 

Assistant Dean of Student Services and 

Print Faculty Len Thomas-Vickory on a study 

tour of Japan from May 29 through June 24, 

2010. A student from the Cleveland School of 

the Arts joined the group, which took classes 

and workshops in Japanese art and culture 

and explored numerous cities by rail. Based in 

Niigata, on the North coast of Japan, the heart 

of their stay took place on the campus of the 

Niigata College of Art and Design (NCAD). 

The college’s warm, welcoming atmosphere 

was instrumental to the success of the trip. 

The illustration, design and photo 

concentrators learned about the culture by 

primary experience. They stayed with host 

families and traveled either by train or on foot 

to and from campus, observing, for example, 

how adults also read manga; the illustrated 

adventures with graphic figures believed 

to be relegated solely to alternative youth 

culture. Armed with a two-day crash course of 

Japanese language and culture that included a 

trip into the art storage of the Peabody Essex 

Museum, the students gamely introduced 

themselves to Japanese students in the 

unfamiliar language and navigated signage 

labeled only with characters. 

At NCAD students took workshops in 

woodblock printmaking, calligraphy, design 

(the designer took them shopping to ogle 

cool, technical, new, Japanese designs), and 

art history. On a field trip to JAM (Japan 

Anime Manga College) they took a tour of 

the campus, perused the extensive manga 

library, and participated in workshops led by 

Kanazawa, Kenrokuen Garden 

experimented with classic, manga, technical 

drawing skills like inking and toning. 

Time in the classroom was complemented by 10 

days of travel to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. 

The group visited shrines, temples, shopping 

centers, and numerous museums, including 

the museums of the “God of Manga,” Osamu 

Tezuka, and Anime’ master Hayao Miyazaki. 

Tokyo! People everywhere. 

Viterbo, Italy 

The summer Viterbo program 

runs through the month of July. 

Courses offered include Art History, 

Landscape Painting, Landscape 

Photography, Journalistic Drawing 

and Journal Writing. Students may 

earn up to to six credits. Space is 

limited and registration is due by 

mid-February. 

travel abroad 

"Tokyo makes New York City feel quaint," said 

Hazen. It is a clean, orderly, urban environment 

where earthquake-proof, efficient buildings 

rise high on small footprints. Because of the 

formal, societal structure, even the busiest 

train stations in the world did not feel 

claustrophobic. In Tokyo and Osaka hundreds 

of tiny, inexpensive restaurants reveal that 

eating out is a part of social life for citizens 

whose tiny, apartments prevent them from 

cooking for friends at home. The range of 

shrines, from immense, historic structures 

in Nara to ubiquitous, tiny, roadside shrines, 

indicate how a blend of Buddhist and Shinto 

faiths intertwine with daily life. 

It was only upon returning to the United States, 

during a layover in the chaotic Newark airport, 

that the students realized just how formal and 

efficient Japan is in comparison to the United 

States. From streets swarmed with bicycles 

and umbrellas to the Hello Kitty cell phone 

charms owned by businessmen and students 

alike, the experience opened the students’ 

worlds and gave them new perspective on the 

Japanese culture. 

NCAD offers two and three-year degrees 

with a path to continued study at Montserrat 

College of Art. "The students were wonderful; 

a great match for Montserrat," said Blyth 

Hazen. She and Len Thomas-Vickory lead 

efforts to recruit students from Niigata in the 

next few years. In 2010 Tetsuya Kamimura, 

NCAD grad, finished his studies at Montserrat. 

An excellent student, he was honored with 

two awards at graduation. He is now living 

and working at a gallery in Tokyo. Hazen and 

Thomas-Vickory look forward to returning 

the generosity that was given them and their 

students, and anticipate a visit from President 

Kato and their main contact, NCAD faculty 

Emi Okamoto (Montserrat 2001 alumna, who 

is also a NCAD graduate), in March 2011. 

Pit stop in the sunflower field on the way back from a day trip with 

Montserrat student Tommy Hirsch ‘13, Dean Laura Tonelli, and 

RISD students Nan Luo and Anna Rosenfeld. 

JAM faculty. During the workshops students For more information, please visit www.montserrat edu/academics/study-abroad 

5

alumni news 

Building 

Connectivity 

As Montserrat’s graduates 

enter the professional 

world most are faced by 

the same challenges that 

have faced alumni who 

preceded them. How do I 

translate my Montserrat 

experience into success in “the real world?” 

Some feel better prepared than others, 

but most - whether graphic artist, painter, 

illustrator, sculptor, printer, art educator - 

could benefit from the life experiences of 

those who have come before. Conversations 

with students have informed me that many do 

not have connections with Montserrat alumni 

with whom they have not been in school or 

interned. Alumni relate that most don’t know 

fellow alumni from different generations. 

Creating more opportunities for meaningful 

connectivity and interaction between students 

and alumni and between alumni of different 

eras is a primary goal for this coming year. I 

would appreciate your thoughts and ideas 

on how we may gather alums and students 

in settings that would be meaningful and 

convenient for interaction; and how to 

build and maintain communication and 

conversation between these gatherings. 

The alumni program will best serve you if we 

clearly understand your needs, and I want 

to ensure that we offer programs that are 

sustainable and valuable for you. Please call or 

email me directly at (978) 921-4242 x 1116 

or hamidon@montserrat.edu or, better yet, 

come by and visit. I look forward to hearing 

your thoughts and Montserrat stories. 

Howard Amidon 

Dean of Development 

We Want Your News! 

Please send us news of your exhibits, jobs, 

projects, promotions and just life! We will 

publish it on the college’s website and 

include it in the blog. Make sure you send 

us a link to your website if you have one. 

Email to alumni@montserrat.edu. 

6 

Catherine Tersigni ‘03 

Catherine is employed in the art department 

of Redcoat Publishing, Beverly, publishers 

of American Executive and seven other 

magazines. As traffic coordinator, she is 

responsible for ensuring that all advertising 

material is correct and meets deadlines. 

Here’s how Montserrat helped in her art 

career and present job: 

For as long as I can remember I was always 

interested in art. Even at the age of four, I knew 

what I wanted be… a painter! 

How did you get to Montserrat? 

I began thinking about art as a career in high 

school, but had no idea exactly what I wanted 

to do. I loved to tell stories with my artwork 

and express myself through painting. To my 

parents’ surprise, I began looking at liberal arts 

and art colleges, including Pratt, University of 

Hartford, SUNY New Paltz and Montserrat. 

Although they had concerns, my parents never 

discouraged me from pursuing art as a career; 

if anything they became more interested in 

the arts! 

As a budding artist, did you wait until coming 

to Montserrat to learn more? 

During the end of high school, my parents 

would take me to New York City to exhibits 

at the MOMA and the Guggenheim to study 

Van Gogh, Monet, Jackson Pollock and even 

the Rockwell exhibit. I was always nervous that 

I wouldn’t know enough about art, so it was 

really important to go out and see art whenever 

I could. These artists have always inspired me, 

and I try to emulate the way they captured the 

emotions of scene through intense colors and 

brush strokes in my own work. 

On to your career at Montserrat: 

I was accepted in ‘99 and fell in love with the 

idea of being an illustrator. Montserrat really 

opened up a whole new world in which I was 

able to completely study and create art. My 

freshman year was a real eye-opener! I knew 

I wanted to be an illustrator and tell stories 

with my work. In 2002, through Montserrat, I 

was able to travel to Japan, spent three weeks 

doodling in a sketchbook. I graduated in 2003 

with a BFA in Illustration. 

Did you land a job right after Montserrat? 

I had a few jobs, working in a bakery and at 

Barnes and Nobles. I even worked at the college 

in student services while sending out artwork 

to publishers and getting rejection notices back 

– an essential part of the learning curve. 

In July 2004, I got a job 

at Redcoat Publishing. 

In addition to traffic 

coordinator, I work 

with the art studio 

when they design 

ads. I am responsible 

for finding out what 

the advertiser wants, 

gathering photos and 

logos, and working 

with the creative team. 

Advertisement by 

Catherine Tersigni for 

retail-merchandiser.com 

I am also responsible for getting photos, color 

correcting and meeting deadlines. 

Did Montserrat provide you with the tools for 

your job? 

My illustration background comes in handy. 

Being an illustrator, I understand the 

importance of specific sizes and techniques. 

Of course the job is very deadline oriented, 

and Montserrat gave me that discipline. 

Montserrat’s computer-based courses 

helped me understand how to use Photoshop, 

and Corel, my favorite. All digital, Corel 

allows mixing colors like a "real" palette, but 

eliminates mess and drying times. It’s fast 

and enables me to stay on top of deadlines. 

I still pick up a paintbrush for commissioned 

pieces. 

Finally, why did you choose Montserrat? 

Three reasons: small classes, an inspiring 

artistic community, and teachers that gave me 

one-on-one instruction that I could not receive 

at a larger school. I’m proud of my portfolio – 

occasionally I even get to do cover art on a 

Redcoat magazine. But in my heart, I’m still the 

4-year-old with a paintbrush! 

Howard Amidon photo: Terry Slater

Photos: Dina Rudick/Boston Globe Staff, Stephanie Goode and Carolyn Hulbert; Salem News: Gregory Orfanos 

Kathleen Gerdon 

Archer ’03 exhibits 

her new series 

of photographic 

portraits in a solo 

exhibition, Choice, 

at The Carney 

Gallery at Regis 

College from Oct. 

8 – Nov. 7. An 

a c c o m p l i s h e d 

photographer of street-side scenes, Archer 

shifts her subject to representations of women. 

Sitters brought fabric of personal significance 

to her studio, and the artist created a portrait 

of each woman with the fabric wrapped over 

her hair. 

Andy Curlowe ’06 is included in the current 

issue of New American Paintings, Mid-West 

#89. Curlowe and Jessica Langly (VCU ’08) 

were awarded a $100,000 grant for a public 

art installation at the Cedar Rapids stop 

of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit 

Authority. The artists will create a wall of 

22,400 interactive LED screens that move 

with pedestrians as they walk to and from the 

train station. Curlowe, Laura Skehan ’06, and 

Beth Whalley founded the gallery PROXIMITY 

in midtown Cleveland in July. 

Dani Shirtcliff ’09 joins Matt Eddy and 

videographer Jay Duchin to break a world 

record by making the shortest possible trip 

by wheelchair from Boston to California to 

raise money for Matt’s Place, a nonprofit 

organization that improves the lives of 

individuals living with disabilities. Eddy, 

wheelchair-bound with complications of 

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, founded 

Matt’s Place in 2000 and initiated this journey 

from his native Massachusetts. Shirtcliff, a 

photography major, documents the trip that 

is due to triumphantly end at the Aquarium of 

the Pacific in Long Beach, CA. 

The work of the late 

Frances Carreiro 

’01 was exhibited at 

St. John’s Episcopal 

Church, Beverly in 

September. Organized 

by her husband, 

Nicholas, and her 

granddaughter, Kim 

Arntsen, the exhibit 

celebrated Carreiro’s life and artwork. A 

scholarship in Mrs. Carreiro’s name is awarded 

each year during Montserrat’s annual Open 

House celebration. 

Mainly Murder Press releases the mystery 

novel A Nose for Hanky Panky by Sharon Love 

Cook ’83 in October. 

Stephanie Goode (left) and Carolyn Hulbert co-produced 

25 Emerging Boston Artists 2010, a coffee-table book that 

is made to order. 

Carolyn Hulbert ’07 collaborated with 

photographer Stephanie Goode to found the 

artist collective Rifrakt in 2009. The group 

exhibited in Hallway Gallery in Jamaica 

Plain, and in people’s homes, and created 25 

Emerging Boston Artists 2010, a hard-cover 

coffee table book profiled in a Boston Globe 

article by Cate McQuaid in August. 

Gulu Gulu Cafe 

owner Steve 

Feldman invited 

Gregory Orfanos 

’01 to create 

‘unexpected art’ 

near his cafe in downtown Salem. Orfanos, 

who created the cafe’s eye-catching dog 

mascots, painted and collaged a sprinkler 

and utility box near the cafe’s exterior with 

bright, whimsical figures. Feldman worked 

with the Salem Redevelopment Authority for 

permission to alter the boxes and plans to 

expand the idea to other municipal spots in 

the city. 

Heidi Daub ’82 

exhibits work in 

Downeast Sails 

Uptown at the 

By Design Art 

Gallery in Bangor, 

ME from Aug 20 

- Oct 2, and in 

Personal Vision: 

Landscapes at 

Helios Rising Peason Legacy 

Gallery, Deer Isle, ME from Sept. 9 - Oct. 3. 

Daub’s work and other recent exhibitions are 

at http://mainartscene.com. 

alumni news 

Gary Naumann ’85, of Cottage Grove, WI, 

illustrated a young adult book, The Franklin 

Trees, written by his brother, Jonathan 

Naumann of Beverly. He is working as 

senior graphic designer for Intervarsity in 

Wisconsin. 

Nikki Michael ’09 became associate graphic 

designer at Cambridge Healthtech Institute in 

Needham. 

Montserrat welcomed alumna, Lisa Perkins 

’05, to the adjunct faculty; she is now teaching 

the Writing and Reading Workshop for Art 

Educators. Lisa is a candidate for a Master’s 

Degree in Curriculum and Teaching (2012) 

from Fitchburg State. 

Chris Parent ‘10 taught a paper-making 

workshop to children at the Wenham Museum 

through the Montserrat Continuing Education 

Program. He also taught art classes to St. 

Mary’s Elementary School students, both 

during school hours and in an after school 

program. 

Gail Boucher, Striped Bass 

Gail Boucher ’02 offers Instruction in 

Goytaku Fish Printing at the Newburyport Art 

Association on Oct. 17 from 9 am to noon. Call 

978-465-8769 for more information. 

Josh Wiles ’07 teaches in a neighborhood 

school in Brooklyn with a New York teaching 

fellowship as he works toward his Master’s 

Degree in Special Education. 

Keith Fallon ’08 was accepted to a graduate 

program in Special Education at Salem Sate 

College. 

Emma Johnson Stokes ’05 is in her second year 

in graduate school at SUNY, New Paltz, NY. She 

joined a Creative Art Committee at the Center 

for Discovery and is dedicated to bringing visual 

art to the staff and residents with disabilities 

(www.thecenterfordiscovery.org). 

7

alumni news 

Bre Mahoney ’05 teaches art at the Ferryway 

School in Malden. Her 7th and 8th grade 

students presented their work at the Adobe 

Youth Voices final event at the Institute of 

Contemporary Art, Boston, in May. 

Margaurita Spear ’09 received press attention 

for her work with the children in her church 

community in The Daily Item, Lynn, in May. 

Work by Hyun-Ah Jang ‘10, and students 

Jessica Occhipinti, and Rick DeCosta, was 

selected for publication from more than 3,500 

entries in the Best of College Photography 

Annual 2010. Occhipinti and Jang received 

Honorable Mentions. 

David Schoerner ’07 published his second 

monograph of photographs: Photographs. The 

book is a limited edition. Printed Matter in New 

York hosted a book launch for David in May. 

Photographs from the book were included in 

the exhibition Self Publish, Be Happy, at the 

Photographers’ Gallery in London, UK. David’s 

work was also in the group show 4x4 at the 

Kopelkin Gallery, West Hollywood, CA and 

The Year in Pictures at Danziger Projects in New 

York. Since 2007 David Schoerner and Hassla 

Books (www.hasslabooks.com) has published 

12 limited-edition monographs by artists from 

all over the world. 

Bear Gallery 

Student-run Gallery Offers Innovative Exhibitions 

Since its move into the Student Village in 

2009, the Bear Gallery has thrived as a hub 

of creative expression and friendly interaction 

among students, faculty, and staff. Students 

learn curatorial and gallery skills as they 

cultivate community. With all students eligible 

to get involved, whether to help organize the 

exhibitions or show their work, it is a great way 

for freshmen and seniors alike to make their 

mark. 

The first exhibition of the season, Wabi Sabi, 

featured the sketchbooks kept by students 

during their study trip to Japan in June 2010. 

Wabi Sabi, a Japanese aesthetic that embraces 

imperfections and impermanence as integral 

to beauty, fits the character of incomplete, yet 

distinct, vibrant and perceptive impressions 

recorded in the sketchbooks. 

8 

Devon Clapp ‘06 is attending the MFA 

program at Pratt and is a Lithography Teaching 

Assistant. 

Lara Chard ‘04 was accepted to a Masters of 

Education program in California. 

Eben Kling ’08 co-organized and executed the 

nationally reviewed show Paper Girl Project in 

Northampton in Fall 2009 and shows work at 

the 119 Gallery, Lowell. 

Lindsey Parker ’09 shows her work at the 119 

Gallery, Lowell. 

Anthony Palocci ‘09 began his MFA at Pratt 

Institute this fall. 

Tim Zercie, ‘09 received his MA from Eastern 

Illinois University, where he was a teacher’s 

assistant during the 2009-2010 year. 

Bea Modisett ’07 participated in a Residency 

at Hambridge Center in Rabun Gap, Georgia. 

Casey Baker ’01, MFA, Pratt Institute ’08, had 

a solo exhibition of works on paper at the Carol 

Schlosberg Alumni Gallery in March. 

The Illustration Department Facebook Group 

was launched and has attracted 164 members 

This year the current staff, Justin Anderson, 

Jensina Ohly, Amy Rodriguez, Michelle 

Shugrue, Liz Sultzer, and Arielle Winchester, 

begin the year by reaching out to the student 

body for suggestions on how to make the 

gallery relevant to them. As always, they 

accept exhibition ideas on a revolving basis. 

so far, all of whom are faculty, students and 

alumni. Contact Montserrat Illustration to 

become a member. 

Dormant 

Alumna Sarah Dineen 

’97 hosted an Open 

Studio in her new space 

in Brewster on Oct. 9. 

The evening included 

art, music, and 

refreshments. She can 

be contacted at www. 

sarahdineen.com . 

Bettie Hamilton ‘79 was chosen for inclusion 

in the New England Watercolor Exhibition in 

Gloucester which runs through Oct. 24 at the 

North Shore Art Association. 

IN MEMORIAM 

Eileen Wolf ’73 died June 26 in Elizabeth, NJ. A 

visual artist and poet, Wolf lived in Centerville 

for much of her life. Her paintings were 

exhibited throughout New England, including 

the North Shore and Rockport Art associations 

and at North Shore Community College. She 

published three books of poems and was an 

Artist in Residence at Ragdale, an artist retreat 

in Evanston, Illinois. 


The students follow on the strong academic 

year of 2009-2010, the first year in the 

lower level of the Student Village, where 15 

exhibitions demonstrated the enthusiasm of 

the student body to show and view new art. 

Last year’s exhibitions included Bits and Pieces, 

where curator Amber Hakim ’12 assembled 

nuanced, innovative self-portraits by four 

sophomores, and Invasive Kandie, an exhibition 

and performance by Michael Meador ’10, 

George Dietz ’07, and Bradford Russick ’09. 

The visually engaging, thought-provoking 

exhibitions continue this year. 

Hours of Operation 

Mon – Fri • 11:30 am - 1:30 pm 

For more information about The Bear Gallery 

please visit: www.beargallery.blogspot.com/ 

and www.montserrat.edu/galleries. 

Photo: Len Thomas-Vickory, Japan

Gordon Arnold and Rob Roy photo: Terry Slater 

Visual Responses to War 

From the left Prof. Gordon Arnold and Prof. Rob Roy 

At Commencement last May, faculty 

members Gordon Arnold and Rob Roy 

received support from the college to realize 

their long-term aspiration to curate an 

exhibition about war. The Luz Dorrien Faculty 

Development Award, presented by Dean Laura 

Tonelli, provides financial assistance to publish 

an exhibition catalog. Arnold, a historian and 

a professor of liberal arts, and Roy, a painter 

and professor of painting, have pursued a 

dialogue on the subject of war for more than 

20 years. The exhibition will debut at the 

Montserrat Gallery and is expected to travel to 

additional venues. 

Rob Roy, Witness # 36 

Arnold and Roy’s exhibition Setting the Record 

Straight: Searching for Objectivity in Global 

Illustration instructor, 

was appointed full-time 

faculty in the Animation 

and Illustration for 

2010-2011. He has 

an MFA from UMass 

Dartmouth and a BFA 

from Rhode Island 

Mark Hoffmann, Booths School of Design. 

He has taught illustration and animation at 

Montserrat and the New Hampshire Institute 

of Art for six years and previously worked 

10 years in the animation and illustration 


Conflicts shifts their 

theoretical discussion into 

the pragmatic exhibition 

planning. They anchor 

their search with Roy’s 

monotypes. His work 

has been exhibited at the 

Danforth Museum of Art 

in Framingham, Smith 

College in Northampton, 

and the Worcester Art 

Museum, among many 

other venues. 

The full grouping, once 

selected, will open their conversation to a 

broad range of people. While objectivity is their 

goal, the subject matter of war is contentious 

by definition and sure to spark healthy debate 

on and beyond the Montserrat campus. 

The exhibition assembles visual art to explore 

war from objective points of view, rather 

than from party lines. Can war, an undeniably 

polarizing issue, be impartially observed 

or represented? The question provokes 

occasional differences of opinion even 

between the collaborators. Intriguingly, they 

find their strength in these distinct views. 

Arnold says, "One of the great things about 

this long conversation has been that we have 

discovered a way to talk about hot-button 

issues like war in a way that isn’t dependent on 

arriving at the same conclusions. We exchange 

views and ideas to think about, rather than 

argue about them." The dialogue prompts 

considerations beyond a direct 'pro' or 

'con' stance. 

industries. Paintings from his fanciful new 

series about carnival life will be on view in the 

Carol Schlosberg Alumni Gallery in October. 

Kelly Murphy, The Alchemist 

Illustration instructor 

work will be shown 

among fellow awardwinning 

illustrators, 

including Caldecott 

Medal winners, in an 

exhibit of children’s 

book illustrations 

at Brush Gallery, 

Rob Roy, Witness # 37 

faculty news 

Despite their occasionally varying opinions, 

Arnold and Roy share a curiosity about war 

as an enduring social phenomena, outside 

of the left/right political parties dominating 

American politics. "Visual responses seemed 

a promising way to achieve this bigger way of 

looking at war," said Arnold. The exhibition will 

not focus on one particular conflict or period so 

the curators can make connections throughout 

history. 

Arnold has written extensively about the 

Vietnam War, including the 2006 book The 

Afterlife of America’s War in Vietnam. Roy’s 

artwork persistently includes allusions to 

the Gulf War such as oil containers and 

helicopters, as in the 2009 monotypes Witness 

#36 and #37. The professors strive to create a 

visual forum to complicate previous, polarized 

understandings of war with artistic visions of 

its realities. 

The show’s debut tentatively set for the fall of 

2011. 

Lowell, from Sept. 19 – Oct. 24. A freelancer for 

various fields of editorial illustration, Murphy 

creates artwork for picture books, posters, and 

consults with the film and toy industries for 

character design. 

Assoc. Prof. Elissa Della-Piana’s gallery in 

Wenham was named North Shore Magazine’s 

best art gallery on the North Shore in 2009. 

As Lovely as a Tree (August – Oct. 9) drew an 

unprecedented amount of entries. The next 

exhibit, MATH=FUN!, featuring illustrations 

by Stuart J. Murphy from the MATHSTART 

children’s books, opens in late October. 

9

faculty news 

Prof. Tim Harney had an exhibit of his collages 

and paintings from his series The View from 

Andrew’s Room on display at the George 

Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME. 

Montserrat alumnus and Illustration Instructor 

Nate Walker created a live painting of Curious 

George during a broadcast of WGBH’s on-air 

fundraiser in May. 

Photos by Prof. Gabrielle Keller were part of 

the international exhibition Animalia at the 

Center of Fine Art Photography in Collins, CO 

in May and June. 

Assoc. Prof. Meredith Morten participated in 

a residency at the Watershed Center for the 

Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME in August. 

She was awarded a residency at the Vermont 

Studio Center in Johnson, VT for January 2011. 

Morten worked at the International Ceramics 

Studio in Hungary as a Fulbright Scholar in 

2009. She continues work on her series in clay, 

Terrain, inspired by the Great Hungarian Plain. 

10 

Tim Harney, Table 

Gabrielle Keller, show bird #2 

Her work will be exhibited at Asst. Prof. John 

Colan’s Gallery, Hallspace, in Dorchester in 

March/April 2011. 

Marilu Swett, Under My Skin 

Assistant Sculpture Prof. Marilu Swett’s 

works were in a solo exhibition at Boston 

Sculptors Gallery, Harrison Avenue, Casting 

Off: Drawings in 2D and 3D, in September. In 

addition, she is in a group exhibition at Curry 

College in Milton, Seeing Science: Where Art 

and Science Meet, and at Allandale Farm in 

Brookline, Agriculture encounters Sculpture, 

will be on exhibit from Sept. 2 – Oct. 21. In 

the spring, Swett’s work will be featured in 

ALCHEMY: Art + Science at the Traina Center 

for the Arts, Clark University, Worcester, Feb. 

15 – April 11. 

Art work by Prof. 

Barbara Moody 

is included in 

the book Acrylic 

Innovation: Styles 

and Techniques 

Featuring 64 

Visionary Artists 

by Nancy Reyner, 

Northlight Books. 

Two full pages reproduce images of Moody’s 

work and describe her painting process. 

Prof. Rob Roy, chair of the Drawing and 

Painting Department, was awarded first 

Prize for his Monotype/Monoprint exhibition 

at the Fitchburg Art Museum. Juror Joann 

Moser, Senior Curator of Graphic Arts at 

the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 

recognized Roy’s Witness #37 for its quality as 

a print that pushes the definition of monotype 

and for its social content. Monotype/Monoprint 

is on view through January 2, 2011. His work 

is also included in thINK at the Belmont Art 

Gallery in Belmont, Oct. 15 – Nov. 19. The 

exhibition thINK was organized by the Boston 

Printmakers and will travel through 2012. 

Rose Olson, Last Yellow at Twilight 

Prof. Rose Olson was honored with the 

Cornelia Endowed Faculty Development 

Award at Commencement in May. She will use 

the funds to construct a special light module to 

simulate daylight in the gallery that shows her 

upcoming exhibition of new work. 

Liberal Arts Instructor Dawn Paul, whose 

fictional memoir The Country of Loneliness was 

published in 2009 to great reviews, will be a 

panelist at the Associated Writing Programs 

(AWP) Conference in Washington, DC in 

February 2011. Paul will focus on her third novel 

during a residency at The Vermont Studio 

Center in January 2011. 

Prof. Judith Brassard Brown is part of ArtRocks, 

an initiative at Logan Airport to support local 

artists and enhance public art. Sponsored by 

the UrbanArts Institute at MassArt, the project 

transforms rocking chairs into functional public 

art. One of 19 artists chosen from more than 

70 applicants, her theme, Somewhere Between, 

evokes the Italian landscape. 

Asst. Prof. Erin Dionne, author of two popular 

young adult books was interviewed on the 

show Boston Life on radio station Magic 

106.7. Dionne’s books include Models Don’t 

Eat Chocolate Cookies (Dial Books, 2009) and 

The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet (Dial, 

2010).

Diane Ayott, Floater 

Prof. Diane Ayott, (Drawing and Painting and 

Art Education) was one of four artists in the 

mixed media exhibition Pattern and Repetition 

at the Trustman Art Gallery at Simmons 

College, Boston, during September. 

Judith Brassard Brown, By the Book #9 

The Kingston Gallery at 450 Harrison Avenue, 

Boston featured the work of Montserrat 

faculty members Judith Brassard Brown, 

Barbara Moody, Rose Olson and Mary Bucci 

McCoy in September. Barbara Moody will be in 

the invitational show Dialogue in January 2011. 

Liberal Arts faculty Caroline Kerr had two 

articles published: Flannery O’Connor Review 

"Flannery O’Connor in Joyce Carol Oates' ‘The 

Bingo Master" and one in Christianity and 

Literature “Stomaching the Truth: Getting to the 

Roots of Nausea in Jean Paul Sartre and Flannery 

O’Connor." She received her MFA in Creative 

Writing from Goddard College in June. 

Asst. Prof. Sarah Smith has work in the show 

Pulling from History: Letterpress at the Print 

Center in Philadelphia through Nov. 20. 

Barbara Moody, Getting There 

Prof. Barbara Moody will also have a solo 

exhibition at Albright Gallery in Concord in 

March 2011. 

Mary Bucci McCoy, At Once 

Mary Bucci McCoy: New Paintings, curated 

by James Montford, gallery director, was on 

exhibit Sept. 9 – 30 at the Hall Space Gallery at 

Rhode Island College. She is also in the exhibit, 

Papyrus, with Susan Belle, Edda Hansen and 

Mathilde Roussel-Giroudy at the AG Gallery, 

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY which runs from 

Sept. 17 – Nov. 21. 

Asst. Prof. Caroline Bagenal, Instructor Julia 

Shepley along with Asst. Sculpture Prof. 

Marilu Swett participated in the exhibition On/ 

Of/Like/About Paper at the Boston Sculptors 

Gallery on Harrison Avenue in Boston in July. 

Their work will appear together again at the 

Boston Sculptors Gallery from Oct. 6 – Nov. 7. 

Boston Globe reporter Cate McQuaid wrote a 

favorable review of the exhibition, describing 

Bagenal’s work Cut Tree Rings as “elegantly 

poised” and Shepley’s mixed media drawings 

as possessing "delicate intimacy." Caroline’s 

work at the Boston Sculptor’s Gallery exhibit 

was also favorably noted by writer Taryn 

Plumb in the September/October issue of 

Artscope Magazine. 

faculty news 

Masako Kamiya, Trace 

Assoc. Prof. Masako Kamiya received a 

2010 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist 

Fellowship. The grants provide support to 

artists across a range of disciplines, recognize 

exceptional work and promote further 

development of their talents. Kamiya had 

two solo shows last spring at The Danforth 

Museum and Gallery Naga. 

Writing Center Director Colleen Michaels’ 

poem The Second Poem Speaks is part of the art 

and poetry exhibition Saints and Sinners at the 

Durrell Theatre in Cambridge. 

Anna Hepler: Intricate Universe catalog 

designed by Asst. Prof John Colan 

Gallery Director Leonie Bradbury was 

awarded a grant from the New England 

Foundation for the Arts to attend ArtBasel: 

Miami Beach, 2010. In May she became 

the New England representative of the 

Association of Academic Museums and 

Galleries Board of Directors. The exhibition 

catalog for a show Bradbury curated, Anna 

Hepler: Intricate Universe, in the Montserrat 

Gallery in 2009, was honored with first place 

for exhibition catalogues by the New England 

Museum Association Publication Awards. 

The catalog was designed by Asst. Prof. 

John Colan. 

11

community 

Montserrat in the Community 

Montserrat student Jordan Elquist teaching a Beverly Artsfest visitor how to make a 

silkscreen print. 

Montserrat is proud of its commitment 

to community events which benefit 

the City of Beverly, and other non-profit 

organizations, and several faculty and staff 

volunteer their time serving on boards and 

committees and taking part in area-wide 

celebrations. 

In June, the college took an active role in the 

annual ArtsFest Beverly, a Friday and Saturday 

cultural event sponsored and run by Beverly 

Main Streets, during which Cabot Street is 

closed to traffic and the street is lined with 

artists’ booths, entertainment, and musicians. 

The college set up a printmaking booth in 

which attendees could screenprint their own 

recyclable shopping bags and also hosted a 

"Writers Studio" which featured many poetry 

readings and events throughout the day, run by 

Colleen Michaels, director of the Montserrat 

Writing Center. 

Montserrat is taking an active role in the 

implementation of Beverly Main Streets’ 

efforts to improve the downtown and President 

Steve Immerman, a strong proponent of smart 

growth and the creative economy, has been 

included in the planning meetings through a 

Main Streets downtown subcommittee. Jo 

Broderick, dean of college relations, serves on 

the board of Beverly Main Streets along with 

Donna Musumeci, executive assistant to the 

president. 

Each spring, the college hosts the Sixth 

Essex Congressional District High School Art 

Competition and Reception for Congressman 

John F. Tierney. The event brings together 

12 

the works of area 

public and private 

high school students 

and the grand award 

winner’s work is flown 

to Washington DC 

and hung in the capitol 

building for a year. 

The award winner and 

his/her parents are 

also invited to attend 

a reception there. 

This year was the 

16th year the college 

has hosted the event 

and provided Pre- 

College Scholarships 

to several of the award 

winners. This year’s winning piece was created 

by Lina Juozelskis of Masconomet Regional 

High School. 

Sixth Essex Congressional District High School Art 

Competition. From the left: Montserrat College of Art 

President Stephen Immerman, Grand Prize Winner Lina 

Juozelskis, and U.S. Congressman John F. Tierney’s District 

Director Gary Barrett. 

Montserrat is also about to embark on an 

exciting new project first started by artist 

Faye Chandler of Boston, founder of the Art 

Connection. Under the supervision of Leonie 

Bradbury, director of the gallery and visiting 

artists program, the college will create the 

Montserrat Art Connection the goal of which 

is to provide area non-profits, meeting certain 

criteria, with donated art for their public 

spaces. The program will be kicked off this fall. 

A sampling of other faculty and staff 

community involvement follows: 

Jo Broderick, dean of college relations is 

president of the Beverly Rotary Club for 

2010-2011. Rotary is a 1.2 million member 

international organization which raises money 

and funds programs to help communities 

locally and abroad and was selected by the 

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the 

recipient of a $355 million challenge to end 

polio worldwide. 

Professor Barbara Moody donates paintings 

to Wellspring (for abused women and children 

in Gloucester) and to the Essex Art Center (art 

classes for kids in need) in Lawrence every 

year. 

Gallery Director Leonie Bradbury is cochair 

of the Beverly Cultural Council and 

chair of New England Museum Association’s 

professional affiliate group for college and 

university galleries and museums. 

Admissions Coordinator Kerrie Smith is 

involved in the PTO at Marblehead Community 

Charter School, where she also teaches an 

after-school enrichment class. 

Director of Career Services and Internships 

Joan Milnes teaches life-skills and career 

counseling at Beverly Bootstraps food pantry. 

Assistant Registrar Jacqueline Cooper is 

a board member for the Wenham Village 

Improvement Society and volunteers to run 

their summer program. She also assists at 

Beverly Bootstraps. 

Assistant Director of Human Resources 

Christin Bouranis volunteers 70 hours a 

month for her congregation in Saugus, MA. 

Faculty member Mary Bucci McCoy is a 

member of the Beverly Cultural Council, 

which provides grants to local programs 

which promote the arts in the community. 

She is also on the steering committee of the 

Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition 

(MALC), a statewide artist advocacy group. 

Assoc. Professor Elissa Della-Piana is 

involved with Citizens for Adequate Housing 

(CAH) in Peabody and is a regular contributor 

to the Accord Pantry in Hamilton, the Wenham 

Museum in Wenham, and MASSPURG. 

Faculty member Dawn Paul was this year’s 

judge for the Beverly Public Library’s High 

School & Middle School Poetry Contest. 

Photos: Terry Slater, Artsfest; Jenn Frankavitz ‘08, Congressional HS Art Competition

Photos: Stephen Simons, Crate Family; Jenn Frankavitz ‘08, CE 

Courses 

The Continuing Education (CE) Department 

was busy evenings and weekends with 

225 students attending thirty-three painting, 

drawing, photography, and youth art courses. 

Lots of new faces participated with 64% more 

new students in CE programs. 

CE offered a new Sculptural Weaving course 

in the winter taught by Nathalie Miebach, 

a professional artist and teacher. Students 

learned about the relationship between 

materials and techniques. The class was as 

much about weaving as it was about discovery 

and invention. A student wrote "The class 

was exciting and thorough and Nathalie is an 

excellent teacher and very dedicated. 

Sculpture Weaving Course 

During Fall ‘10 and Spring ‘11 CE will continue 

to offer evening and weekend courses to build 

on artists’ skills and professional development. 

Classes are offered day and night. Check out 

the website for the latest listing of courses: 

www.montserrat.edu/continuing-ed or contact 

ce@montserrat.edu. 

The Crate Family 

W 

" hat initially attracted us to Montserrat," 

says Nancy Crate, “was the story of its 

resurgence and effect the college’s momentum 

was having on the feel of downtown Beverly. 

We wanted to ensure Montserrat’s continued 

success and, as an extension, the community 

at large. As we became more deeply involved 

Summer Pre-College 

More than 60 high school students arrived 

in July to attend the three week Pre- 

College Program. "It’s an opportunity to test 

the waters and let students see if this is the 

school they want to attend," explains Kathleen 

Burke, director of continuing education. The 

majority of students lived on campus in the 

new Student Village. As well as taking daily 

foundation drawing class, students had 

the opportunity to explore different media 

through electives: sculpture, painting, digital 

art, photography, printmaking, or illustration. 

When not in class, students were offered open 

studio time, activities, and field trips to Boston 

museums. They earned three college credits 

and now have the beginning of their portfolio. 

This year, 96% of the students said they 

with the college and especially students, we 

learned what a truly vibrant and exciting place 

it is.” 

Now a member of Montserrat’s Board 

of Trustees and co-chair of the Catalyst 

Campaign, Nancy and her husband, Darrell, 

have become avid supporters. They are annual 

donors and have made a major commitment 

to the campaign, but their support extends far 

beyond financial. As passionate and effective 

advocates, they work tirelessly to expand the 

college’s reach. "The students are remarkable. 

Seeing firsthand the transformation they 

undergo during their years at Montserrat, with 

the guidance of the longstanding faculty and 

committed staff, is what compelled our family 

to become more deeply involved," Nancy says. 

"We want to help broaden the community 

continuing education 

Foundation Drawing 

would recommend the Pre-College Program 

to their friends. As one student said, "I 

would recommend the program because 

it’s an enlightening experience. It provides 

exponential growth artistically, a taste of 

independence, and social experience not 

found elsewhere." 

Parents liked the program as well. From 

one parent: "I am thrilled with my teenage 

daughter emerging as an adult artist after such 

a short time. Art school is a little intimidating 

for a parent with a traditional education. It 

was very reassuring to see there is an aptitude 

and potential for my daughter to follow her 

desire and build a life around something so 

important to her. These skills can’t be judged 

by report cards and school projects." 

supporting Montserrat 

of people who are involved with Montserrat 

so they can enjoy the pleasure that we have 

found." 

Toward that end, the Crates have brought 

people to campus and hosted dinners in their 

home to introduce President Immerman to 

new circles. Last summer they hosted an 

exciting evening for Montserrat and one of its 

alumni, renowned Maine artist Eric Hopkins 

’73, at their home in Maine. The event drew 

more than 75 guests who summer in Maine 

but reside all over the country. 

"The best way to discover Montserrat," she 

said, “is to simply come to campus, "When 

you spend time with the faculty and students, 

you will understand what a gift the college is to 

Beverly, the North Shore and beyond.” 

13

year in review 

Montserrat College of Art 

Annual Report 

OPERATING INCOME 

Montserrat remains overly dependent on 

tuition and housing revenues. They currently 

comprise more than 86% of all non-Catalyst 

Campaign related income. Consequently 

the college relies very heavily on achieving 

student enrollment and retention goals. 

Annual fundraising, primarily unrestricted gifts 

and support raised through the Artrageous 

auction, totaled $478,214, about 5% of total 

income. Additional income from growth in 

the annual fund and Auction, as well as from 

Continuing Education Programs, represents 

tremendous potential for the future. 

OPERATING EXPENSE 

A Montserrat education is built on close 

interaction with faculty members, and 

consequently on a low (1:12) faculty/student 

ratio, so personnel is a major expense. The cost 

of financial aid is an increasing and strategically 

important expense. This past fiscal year, 

Montserrat awarded $2,396,028 in financial 

aid in the form of direct tuition discounts. Had 

this money been collected and available to fund 

operations it would have boosted the working 

income, not including campaign gifts, by 27%; 

but not awarding it likely would have impacted 

enrollment significantly. The intentional 

increase in aid, up 48% from the $1,624,720 

that was awarded the previous fiscal year, was 

critical for attracting and retaining students in 

the evermore competitive higher education 

market. This large sum also represents the 

significant commitment made by Montserrat 

to help minimize the debt that students 

must incur to obtain their education. Both of 

these initiatives will grow in importance in 

coming years. Increasing annual support and 

supplementing the use of operating revenues 

with endowed financial aid will free funds for 

other uses and will enable further increased 

financial aid. 

14 

for Fiscal Year 2010 (July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010) 

OVERVIEW 

Montserrat had a very good fiscal year, especially considering the difficult economic 

conditions. With all revenues and income totaling $9,329,972 and all expenses totaling 

$8,320,759 the college completed the fiscal year with a significant increase in its total assets and 

a small cash operating deficit of $16,000, less than .2%. Thanks to the exceptional generosity of 

donors to the Catalyst Campaign Montserrat’s capital debt resulting from the construction of 

the Student Village was reduced by $1.1 million dollars during the year. The college’s total assets, 

including depreciation and one-time write-downs, increased to $4,013,901 from $3,004,688, a 

net gain of $1,009,213, about 34%. This significantly improves the college’s assets to liabilities 

ratio. 

OPERATING INCOME 

OPERATING EXPENSE 

Montserrat Hardie photo: Jo Broderick Charts: Chris Cormio

Photos: Julie O’Boyle ‘06, Auction; Terry Slater, Plein air drawing 

The Year in Fundraising 

ANNUAL FUND 

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE ($10,000 + ) 

Christopher and Lisa Collins 

Lee and Liz Dellicker 

Anderson and Ann Devereaux 

Steven and Anne Dodge 

Plein air drawing on Beverly Common 

GIVING 7/1/09 to 6/30/10 

Henrietta Gates and Heaton Robertson 

NB Guest Street Associates 

SynQor, Inc 

Lecia Turcotte and Stuart Scantlebury 

COLLECTOR’S CIRCLE ($5,000 - 9,999) 

Nancy and Darrell Crate 

Craig and Laurel Deery 

Linda and Richard Harvey 

Hershey Entertainment & Resorts 

The Lynch Foundation 

Jurrien and Deborah Timmer 

Joseph and Gail Winn 

Katherine B. Winter 

GALLERY CIRCLE ($1,000 - 4,999) 

Stephen Archer 

and Kathleen Archer ‘03 

Louisa and Neale Attenborough 

Walter and Gina Beinecke 

Joseph P. Blake 

Donald and Amy Bowen 

Timothy and Emily Collins 

James and Christina Donovan 

R. Hilliard and Cathy Ebling 

Julia Farwell-Clay and Walter Clay 

Betsy Hopkins and Steve Mushkin 

Stephen and Darcy Immerman 

Microsoft Matching Gifts Program 

Raymond and Dawna Ozzie 

Shane Foundation 

Harvey Steinberg 

Charles and Nicole Whitten 

Alan Wilson and 

Charlotte Bensdorp Wilson 

Carolyn and Nick Winslow 

STUDIO CIRCLE ($250-999) 

Anonymous 

All Pro Electric, Inc. 

Apple Lane Foundation 

Art Supplies Wholesale 

Diane M. Ayott and Jane M. Lyman 

Beverly Garden Suites 

Beatrice Britton ‘98 and Peter Britton 

Jo and Philip Broderick 

Pamela Jean and William Casey 

Crandall and Patricia Deery 

Eye Care and Laser Surgery 

of Newton-Wellesley 

Mary E. Kuconis 

John and Sarah Lalone 

Rick and Joanne Longo 

Clayton and Charlotte Marsh 

Mastwood Foundation 

Meridian Associates Inc. 

Michael B. Milsom 

Judson and Lisa Reis 

David and Marie Louise Scudder 

D. Wesley and Georgia Slate 

Donna A. Stafford ‘75 

and Michael Stafford 

James A. Starkey and Ann Harrison 

Gilbert and Sally Steward 

Ann L. Sullivan and Lawrence E. Modisett 

Laura and Dan Tonelli 

Constance Turcotte 

Wayside Trans. Corp. 

Valerie A. Wyckoff ‘94 

PORTFOLIO CIRCLE (Gift to $249) 

Thomas and Jane Alexander 

Catherine and Herbert Allard 

Diane Allenberg and James Latham 

Robert and Hope Bachelder 

Fiscal year 2010 was 

quite successful. Almost 

$2 million was raised in 

gifts and pledges. Of that, 

$478,000+ was generated 

in direct operating support 

for financial aid through the 

annual fund and Artrageous 

auction. An additional $1.5 

million was raised in gifts and 

pledges toward the Catalyst 

Campaign to help fund the 

cost of the Student Residence Village. As 

the annual report on page 14 indicates, these 

funds had a significant positive impact on 

the College’s financial strength. As we move 

into the new fiscal year, new strategies and 

resources are being employed to build on last 

year’s success. 

Karen S. Bandhauer ‘75 

Beverly Cooperative Bank 

Jay and Kathy Bothwick 

Cynthia and David Bowen 

Leonie and C.J. Bradbury 

John and Jane Bradley 

Judith Brassard Brown and Larry Pryor 

Business Systems Consultants, Inc. 

Lauri and Brian Chertok 

John and Lisa Colucci 

Michael Comb 

Sharon L. Cook ‘83 

Crane Foundation, Inc. 

Barbara and Arthur Cronk 

Thomas and Robyn Culbertson 

Dan Clasby & Company, CPA’s 

David and Mary Dearborn 

Shelley DeSimone 

Erin Dionne 

Stephanie A. Duchin 

Kevin Duffy ‘77 

Tad and Gail Ebling 

William and Amy Evans 

Michael and Susan Farrell 

John and Christine Galanis 

John and Kathleen Galligan 

Joan and Charles Gilligan 

Constance P. Glore ‘79 and Frederick Glore 

John and Andrea Glovsky 

Jack and Susan Good 

GW Financial LLC 

Anne Hayes 

Blyth Hazen and Jennifer A. Hall 

Caroline L. Herter and Miles Herter 

Gary and Deborah Hind 

John and Sally Huss 

Elaine Insero ‘92 and Frank Insero 

Ipswich Bay Advisors, Inc. 

Masako Kamiya, ‘97 

Susan Kauder ‘83 

KC Precision Machining, Inc. 

Kelley Media 

Joan Ladd ‘87 

Deborah L. Magill ‘74 

Binney Meigs ‘77 

Alice T. Miller 

Morris and Ida Miller 

Eileen Muniz ‘95 and Andrew P. Muniz 

Robert J. Munnelly 

Donna and Joel Musumeci 

Faith Oker ‘74 

Rose Olson ‘77 and Neil Olson 

John and Barbara Our 

Mark S. Panall 

Thomas E. Peckham 

Richard and Carol Peterson 

Corinne Preston ‘05 

Richard and Joanne Purinton 

Jeanne M. Rankin 

David and Sybil Richardson 

Charlotte Roberts 

Jacqueline Rousseau 

Patrick and Molly Ryan 

Sacks Antiques 

Leonard and Nadia Santarsiero 

Dale and Campbell Seamans 

Sally Seamans ‘93 

Madelyn and Tom Shields 

Theresa and Gregg Skelly 

Terry and Jon Slater 

June Southworth 

Sondi and John Stanton 

Irving and Priscilla Stark 

Stonehenge Tavern, Inc. 

Ingrid and Carl Swanson 

William and Donna Vachon 

Maria Vitagliano 

Catherine and Curtis Vouwie 

Gail Wartell ‘73 

Charles E. Wear III 

Mary P. Weatherall ‘87 and 

Robert K. Weatherall 

Ken and Lee Wells 

Gari D. Wong 

Karyn J. Zervalis 

giving 

Montserrat students prepare to display art during the live auction. 

The entire Montserrat community is deeply 

grateful to all of you who have generously 

provided support this year through your 

financial commitments and through your 

gifts of your art and time. At Montserrat, 

every donor and every gift makes a difference. 

Thank you one and all! 

CATALYST CAMPAIGN 

Anonymous 

Anonymous 

Stephen Archer and 

Kathleen Archer ‘03 


Beverly National Bank 

Beatrice Britton ‘98 and Peter Britton 

Janice Colby ‘94 

Crane Foundation, Inc. 

Danversbank Charitable Foundation 


Glovsky & Glovsky, LLC 

Michael Harrington 

Infiniti, LLC 

Ipswich Investment Management Co., Inc. 

Jackson Lumber & Millwork 

Caleb Loring III 

Caleb Loring, Jr. 

John P. Margolis 

Peter V. Markarian 

Steven J. Moskowitz 

Rose Olson ‘77 and Neil B. Olson 

Robert P. Powers 

Eric B. Schultz 


Jurrien and Deborah Timmer 

Gail and Ernst von Metzsch 

William and Mary Wasserman 

Mary P. Weatherall ‘87 and 

Robert K. Weatherall 


15

art auction 

Artrageous!24 

CORPORATE SPONSORS 

PLATINUM ($10,000 + ) 

Windover Development LLC 

GOLD ($5,000+) 

Brookwood School, Inc. 

Brookwood Financial Partners, LP 

Crate Family 

Cummings Center 

Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., LTD. 

New England BioLabs, Inc. 

SILVER ($2,500+) 

AECOM Technology Corporation 


Cell Signaling Technology, Inc. 

Collins Nickas & Co. 

Danversbank 

Demeo & Associates, P. C. 

Ditto Editions 

First Atlantic Capital LLC 

Glovsky & Glovsky, LLC 

J. Barrett & Company 

Kaminski Auctioneers 

Keller Williams Realty 

Stonebridge Associates LLC 

Timberline Enterprises LLC 

BRONZE ($1,000+) 

Appleseed’s 

Beverly Rotary Club, Inc. 

16 

Honorary Artist 

Alumnus Eric Hopkins 

Artrageous!24 was a 

big success on Saturday, 

May 1 at 72 Cherry Hill 

Drive, Beverly, in space 

donated by Brookwood 

Financial Partners. 

We are most grateful to 

alumnus Eric Hopkins 

of North Haven Island, 

Maine, who was this 

year’s honorary artist and to our Auction Co-Chairs 

Linda Harvey and Liz Dellicker. 

The auction included work by some of the finest 

professional artists in the region including alumni, 

faculty, staff, students, artists who have shown in 

the Montserrat Galleries, trustees and friends. 

The event consisted of silent and live auctions juried 

by Carey Vose of Vose Gallery, Martha Richardson of 

the Martha Richardson Gallery and Zola Solamente 

of Arden Galley. 

We thank our wonderful sponsors, patrons and 

advertisers who helped to support this year’s event. 

Proceeds directly fund scholarships, enabling 

Montserrat students to obtain a first-rate fine arts 

education. At present, close to 95% of Montserrat 

students receive aid. 

Brick Ends Farm 

Deschamps Printing Co., Inc. 

Essex Alarm & Security, Inc. 

Henry’s of North Beverly 

George Kaplan, P.C. 

Klemmer Associates LLC 

Madison Security Group, Inc. 

Salem Cinema, Paul Van Ness 

Sigrid A. Olsen ‘74 

Siemasko + Verbridge 

Lecia A. Turcotte and 

Stuart Scantlebury 

PATRONS 

John Archer 

Louisa and Neale Attenborough 

James and Nancy Bildner 

R. Hilliard and Cathy Ebling 

Denise Roberts King ‘82 and 

Carl King 

Peter and Maria Lappin 

Peter and Babette Loring 

Susanne MacDonald 

Suzanne and Gerard Papin 

Robert and Jane Powers 

Bill and Emma Roberts 

Jacob and Linda Stone 

Jurrien and Deb Timmer 

Mark and Caroline Weld 

Charles and Nicole Whitten 

Alan Wilson and 

Charlotte Bensdorp Wilson 

ART DONORS 

Bethany Lawler Acheson 

Daisy Adams ‘02 

Lesley Alexander 

Barbara Almy 

John Archer 

Kathleen Gerdon Archer ‘03 

Sara Ashodian 

Jason Asselin ‘01 

Diane Ayott 

Donna Baldassari ‘83 

Oliver Balf 

Will Barnet 

Bruce Belben 

Coco Berkman 

Aaron Berger ‘11 

Ethan Berry 

Ted Bidwell 

Sheila Billings 

Natalie Bloom 

Deborah Bohnert 

Catherine Boucher ‘73 

Christopher Broughton ‘93 

Martha Stevens Brown ‘71 

Judith Brassard Brown 

Edward Burtynsky 

Casa de Moda 

Daniel Cheek 

Brian S. Chertok 

Christo and Jeanne-Claude 

Janice Colby ‘94 

Lynne Comb 

Kathy Connolly 

Laurel Deery 

Norma Dice 

Samuel Donohoe 

Eleanor Driscoll 

Stacey Durand ‘02 

Diane Gibson Faissler ‘91 

Jim Falck ‘91 

Keith Fallon ‘08 

Thorpe Feidt 

Anne Fitzpatrick 

George Gabin 

Heather Gartner 

Alyse Gause 

Ruth Hamill 

Bettie Hamilton ‘79 

Geoff Hargadon 

Timothy Harney 

Thomas Hauck 

Marcia Hermann ‘83 

Emma Hess 

Eric Hopkins ‘71 

Sarah Hulsey 

Kevin Ilacqua ‘11 

Barbara Jenkins 

Twinny Jenkins ‘88 

Tetsuya Kamimura ‘09 

Masako Kamiya ‘97 

Susan Kauder ‘83 

Gabrielle Keller 

Elizabeth Kellogg 

Dave Kinsey 

Ilene Kovacs ‘94 

Norman Laliberté 

Milton Lauenstein 

Sally O. Lee 

Patrick Lord ‘92 

Jean Lurcat 

Fred Lynch 

Maria Malatesta 

Harriet M. Malone 

Mariposa Giftware 

Roger Martin 

Thomas Martin 

Lindsey Mason ‘11 

Valerie McCaffrey 

John McCormick ‘74 

Henry McDaniel 

Rick McDermott 

Kathleen McDonough 

Emilee McGlory ‘10 

Jennifer McGuiness 

Erin McNeill ‘10 

Michael Meador ‘10 

Erin Miller 

Bea Modisett ‘07 

Anthony Montuori ‘09 

Barbara Moody ‘71 

Meredith Morten 

Shane Murphy ‘10 

Steve Negrón 

Mia Nehme 

Sigrid Olsen ‘74 

Rose Olson ‘77 

Mary O’Malley 

Margo Ouellette 

Krysta Owen 

Sean Palmatier ‘07 

Cathy Paige 

Anthony Palocci , Jr. ‘09 

Suzanne Papin ‘05 

Dawn Paul 

Sue Ann Pearson 

George Peet 

Rowena Perkins ‘90 

Jennifer Pierce 

Jordan Pomazon ‘11 

Michael Prince 

Julia Purinton 

Lauri Rakoff-Chertok 

Neal Rantoul 

Richard Knox Robinson 

Michael Sampson ‘93 

Chelsea Sams ‘08 

Sara Santarsiero ‘09 

Jill Schlanger 

Pat Shannon 

Terry Slater 

Sarah Smith 

Trina Smith 

Jane A. Spencer 

Ben Staples 

Christopher Stepler ‘09 

Caleb Stone 

Helen Tory 

Meredith Turcotte ‘09 

Lecia Ann Turcotte 

Janice Eaton Updike ‘91 

Yasmin Vazquez ‘09 

William Wasserman 

Alyssa Watters ‘07 

Mary Weatherall ‘87 

Allison White 


AUCTION DONORS 

Thomas and Jane Alexander 

Stephen Archer and Kathleen Archer ‘03 

Theodore H. Bidwell 

Leonie and C.J. Bradbury 

Patricia Brennan 

Frank Brophy 

Fay M. Chandler 

Chianti Restaurant 

Christopher and Lisa Collins 

Valerie S. Conroy 

Alice Coogan 

Christopher Costello 

Cranney Co. 


Lee and Liz Dellicker 

Ditto Editions 

Steven and Anne Dodge 

Chris Finn 

Finz Restaurant 

Richard Freedberg 

State Rep. Mary E. Grant 

Winifred P. Gray 

The Hannah Shop 

Mike Hart 

Scott Houseman 

Paula and Edward Hughes 

Huntington Theatre Company 

Tim Ingraham 

Susan Jacobs 

Kaminski Auctioneers 

The Landing Restaurant 

Corey Lewis 

Lois L. Lindauer Searches 

Dan Lohnes 

Kent Lucken 

Elizabeth C. Macomber 

Susanne G. MacDonald 

Robert A. McGlory 

Marta Meda 

Mingo Gallery 

Barbara A. Moody 

Marty Morgan 

New England Aquarium 

Northeast Nursery, Inc. 

Diana O’Loane 

Sigrid Olsen ‘74 

Margo Ouellette 

Suzanne Papin 

John R. Pingree 

Amalia Pomazon 

Todd Pomeroy 

Robert P. Powers 

Donald Ross 

Ryan & Wood Inc., Distilleries 

Greg Shlopak 

Dave Shuman 

Thaddeus S. Siemasko 


Helen B. Spaulding 

Kathleen Speranza 

Raymond J. Stecker 

Laura Tonelli 

Valentines of Newburyport 

Jeanne Westra 

Windover Development LLC 


SAVE THE DATE! 

Artrageous!25 

Saturday 

April 30, 2011 

75 Sylvan Street 

Danvers 

Eric Hopkins photo: Julie O’Boyle ‘06

Photo of Robyn Alvin and Matt Tanzi: Jo Broderick 

The Artful Difference: Financial Aid 

Robyn Alvin of Morissville, VT is a 

Montserrat senior. Her concentration 

is photography and she wants to earn her 

licensure to teach in grades kindergarten 

through five through the Art Education 

Program. "I want to teach, I love little kids," 

she says. 

She has been at Montserrat all four years and 

her friendly face is well-known on campus as 

an active participant in student life, 

government and college committees. 

She served on the Presidential 

Search Advisory Board and this year 

she serves as a resident assistant in a 

residence hall. 

By all accounts she is a model 

student. She is also on financial 

aid. She would not be at college 

without it. 

Alvin said, "I was a senior and 

wasn’t really thinking about college 

(because of finances) when one of the 

Montserrat admissions counselors came to 

my high school and talked about Montserrat. I 

don’t remember what she said, but she was so 

sincere and showed us this great student work 

and talked about community, and it made me 

want to attend." 

She said that soon thereafter she attended a 

Portfolio Day where she got advice on what 

Illustrating His Way to a Career by Jo Broderick 

Montserrat’s required internship program 

is now in its fifth year and to date, 184 

Montserrat students have completed their 

required 120 hour program of work/study for 

companies all over New England, New York 

and even Japan. 

Junior Matt Tanzi of Grafton, took 

part in his internship last summer 

with Dusenberry Entertainment 

(www.dusenberryentertainment.com) owned 

by entrepreneur Tom Dusenberry, whose 

company has pioneered new digital 

entertainment media formats and is currently 

perfecting interactive games to be played 

prior to the feature film showing at theaters. 

Matt Tanzi 

Tanzi, who is 

concentrating in 

illustration, plans 

to graduate, attend 

graduate school, and 

hopes eventually to 

teach illustration to 

college students. His 

internship was one of 

the paths to his future. 

Illustration for Movie Games "Battle of the Sexes." 

by Jo Broderick 

"I feel like I know what I am doing more and 

understand what I need to do to make it better. 

I’ve learned the importance of really working 

on a project and the countless hours that you 

put together really show," Tanzi said. "What 

I’m doing for Tom is really great." 

Logo design by 

Matt Tanzi 

Dusenberry, who has hosted 

many interns over his years 

in business, has enjoyed 

working with Tanzi as well. 

"Matt was put in a unique 

position here. He came 

here expecting to work 

for Robonica, which didn’t 

work out, so I had him work 

student profile 

her portfolio would need for her to apply. She 

did what was asked of her and was accepted 

to Montserrat. Next, she had to figure out a 

way to get here. 

"My mom is a sculptor and the owner 

of My Earthworks in Morisville, VT 

(www.myearthwork.com) and I knew she 

would not be able to help me much with paying 

for college," Alvin said. With her mom’s help, 

she applied for grants and financial aid and the 

two of them are carrying student loans to get 

her through college. 

Alvin noted that the majority of Montserrat 

students need financial aid to attend college 

"Most of us also have jobs here on campus, 

so it’s really great. It feels like, let’s all work 

together to help you get to graduation so you 

can become the awesome artist that you want 

to become." 

"I am so grateful for the help that I have 

received," she said. 

internship 

for me personally. It turned out to be a great 

experience for him. He wants to be a freelance 

illustrator and we worked very collaboratively 

where he would show me his work and I 

would ask him for changes. I needed to make 

a major presentation on five ideas to Hasbro 

and he made it happen. The projects are all 

going forward. "Tanzi said the products for 

Illustration for GI Joe’s “Party in a Box” 

Hasbro "will change the face of going to the 

movies."And for Tanzi, his illustrations will be 

a part of that future. 

17

trustee news 

The college has welcomed three new 

members of the board of trustees, with 

a variety of experience in education, law, and 

civic engagement. 

Since 1998, Miranda Gooding 

has served as an attorney with 

Glovsky & Glovsky in Beverly, 

where she concentrates in 

real estate law. She specializes 

in commercial real estate 

transactions, zoning, land use, and residential 

conveyancing. She previously worked at 

Hemenway & Barnes and Choate, Hall & 

Stewart in Boston. She holds a law degree from 

Boston College Law School and a Bachelor’s 

Degree from Dartmouth College. She is an 

active civic and community volunteer. 

Farewell to 

Our Friends 

In June, several trustees completed their 

tenures, and we wished them a fond 

farewell with deep gratitude for the progress 

the college saw as a result of their efforts. 

"We are extremely grateful for the many 

years of dedicated volunteer service of our 

retiring trustees," said President Stephen 

D. Immerman. "Through their perseverance, 

financial support, and faith in this institution; 

its faculty and administration, Montserrat 

offers a first-rate arts education and an 

opportunity for students to be part of an 

exceptionally caring community where art is 

supported and students thrive." 

R. Hilliard Ebling, who served 12 years, 

including two as chair, was followed in his 

years of service by Stephen C. Archer. Both 

also have long histories of involvement with 

the college prior to their trustee service. 

Archer became involved when his wife, 

Kathy Gerdon Archer, first began attending 

Montserrat, (she received her BFA in 2003.) 

Archer remains committed as a landlord of 

some of the college’s residential properties, 

and an advisor on facilities planning. He 

and his business partner, Michael Kersker, 

also made the first property donation to the 

college: two buildings on Knowlton St.; a 

residential facility and a classroom. Archer’s 

connections with the City of Beverly and the 

business community also proved invaluable to 

18 

Martha Buskirk is professor 

of art history and criticism 

at Montserrat, where she 

has taught since 1994. She is 

author of The Contingent Object 

of Contemporary Art (MIT Press, 

2003) and is currently completing a book, 

Perilous Success: Contemporary Art Between 

Museum and Marketplace. She is also co-editor 

of The Duchamp Effect, with Mignon Nixon 

(MIT Press, 1996) and The Destruction of Tilted 

Arc: Documents (MIT Press, 1990), with Clara 

Weyergraf-Serra. Buskirk earned her Ph.D. in 

Art History from City University of New York 

Graduate Center, and has held fellowships at 

the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in 

2000-2001, the Clark Art Institute in 2004, 

and the Henry Moore Institute in 2006. 

From left are retiring trutstees Stephen C. Archer, 

Dr. Beverly Shafer, R. Hilliard Ebling, Sigrid Olsen 

Gina Deschamps and Charles Boyer. Not shown are 

Frank Kaminski and Jon Barrett Gray 

Montserrat during his trustee service. 

Ebling first became involved with Montserrat 

thorugh the college’s annual auction, and 

has had a long family involvement with the 

school. Both he and his wife, Cathy, are former 

auction chairs, and their daughter, Panda, 

attended Yale to study art history, continuing 

the family’s involvement in the arts. Ebling, 

whose background is in finance and wealth 

management, was instrumental in creating 

policies to take best advantage of the college’s 

endowed funds. 

Both Ebling and Archer saw the college 

through many changes, including expansion in 

enrollment, facilities and programs; to tougher 

financial times; to the present where the 

college is again seeing positive but measured 

growth in both finances and enrollment. 

Alumna Sigrid Olsen, one of the college’s 

most well-known trustees with her selfbranded 

clothing line, watched the college 

by Jo Broderick 

John Peterman is the 

Headmaster of Brookwood 

School, Manchester, a position 

he has held since 1992. He 

previously served as Head 

of Middle School at the 

McDonogh School, in McDonogh, Maryland 

and at the Elgin Academy in Elgin, Illinois. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wittenberg 

University, and earned his Master’s in 

Education from Loyola University of Chicago. 

He has served as a board member for several 

organizations including the Association of 

Independent Schools in New England (AISNE), 

Wellspring House, and Esperanza Academy. 

He has done extensive work on issues of 

diversity and multiculturalism both regionally 

and nationally. 

grow programs and served as a continual 

voice for strong arts education. Often in the 

national limelight because of her company’s 

success, Olsen was generous with her public 

thanks to her alma mater for providing her the 

skills which allowed her to succeed. 

Former trustee Gina Deschamps, whose 

expertise in printing and graphics lead to her 

teaching a class at the college, served since 

2007 and continues her involvement with 

the institution. Auctioneer and Trustee Frank 

Kaminski’s talents were put in play as both 

the auctioneer and donor to Artrageous, and 

as an advisor to the board on selling items to 

benefit student scholarship. 

Professor Charles Boyer served his most 

recent term on the board during the transition 

between presidents and provided a strong 

voice for the faculty ensuring academics 

remained a consistent priority as the board 

prepared for new leadership. 

Dr. Beverly Shafer, an art college alumna who 

later went to medical school, understood the 

needs of the students and importance of a 

strong curriculum. Jon Barrett Gray, owner 

of J. Barrett Realty, brought his expertise in 

marketing and his connections to Montserrat 

along with a co-chairing Artrageous! 

President Immerman added, “The college 

owes its gratitude to our departing trustees 

and looks forward to working with our new 

trustees to continue the strong tradition of 

artists teaching artists on the North Shore.” 

Martha Buskirk photo: Robert Moeller

Art: Robert Amesbury, Nightvision, 2009 image courtesy of Carroll & Sons, Boston 

Exhibitions 2010/2011 

Robert Amesbury, Nightvision, 2009, goauche on paper 

MONTSERRAT GALLERY 

The Morning Exciting 

Aug. 28 – Oct. 23 • Curated by Shana Dumont 

The Morning Exciting transports viewers to 

alternative realities with myths, space travel, 

and surreal combinations of futurism and 

nostalgia, bleakness, and comfort. Robert 

Amesbury, Ronnie Bass, David OReilly, and 

Alexia Stamatiou contribute work that involves 

complexities concerning faith, war, and finding 

the path to inspiration and meaning. The 

paintings, videos, and animations tell stories 

that prompt questions such as overcoming 

fear, the role of religion in society, the influence 

of mainstream media, and representations of 

nature. Humor and exaggeration both cloud 

and enhance the sincerity of the messages, a 

paradox that makes the artists’ escapism all 

the more fascinating. 

On Location: Drawing Every Day 

Nov. 11, 2010 – Jan. 22, 2011 

Artist reception: Thurs. Nov. 18, 6-8pm 

Peter Arkle, Gabriel Campanario, Elissa 

Della-Piana, Danny Gregory, Margaret 

Hurst, Kyle David Lindholm, Fred Lynch, and 

Veronica Lawlor 

Inspired by the artistic practice of daily 

drawing, this exhibition features drawings 

created across the globe. Ranging from Seattle 

to Afghanistan, the images come directly from 

the sketchbooks of artists, illustrators and 

designers.The works connect to the tradition 

of the artist as reporter, the illustrated 

travelogue, and the newfound resurgence of 

observational drawing as seen in the urban 

sketchers movement. Together the drawings 

celebrate life. The artist’s sketchbook is often 

a site of personal expression and spontaneity, 

where one captures the energy of traveling 

and feels the freedom to experiment. It is also 

a reflection of the desire to observe and record 

the world. In the process of documenting the 

everyday, each artist presents something 

otherwise unseen. 

CAROL SCHLOSBERG ALUMNI GALLERY 

Vanishing Point: Christopher Mir 

Aug. 23 – Sept. 25 • Curated by Leonie Bradbury 

Skillfully blending the fantastic with the real, 

Mir’s highly detailed romantic paintings 

capture an illusive dream world. Small 

children, ethereal figures are set in a surreal 

landscape. Through a complex layering of 

visual and narrative elements Mir creates 

a simultaneously uncanny and utopian 

atmosphere. 

Into The Universe: Tomas Vu 

Sept. 28 – Oct. 30 • Curated by Leonie Bradbury 

Artist In Residence: Oct. 12-15 

Reception: Thurs. Oct. 14, 6-8 pm 

Into the Universe is a site-specific 

environmental installation of 42 mixed media 

‘drawings’ by Master printmaker Vu-Daniel. 

He uses a variety of materials and processes 

to build up his images, including laser cutouts, 

silkscreen, drawing, paint, and collage to create 

a dichotomy in which memory battles reality. 

Vu-Daniel’s complex images explore disaster 

and collapse amidst a futuristic, fast-paced 

world that seems to be floating in outer space. 

American Leisure: Mark Hoffmann 

Nov. 2 – Dec. 4 • Curated by Leonie Bradbury 

An exhibition of new gouache paintings 

by Montserrat Illustration Faculty Mark 

Hoffmann. Formally inspired by primitivism, 

folk art and African masks, Hoffmann’s images 

embrace narrative and humor. Hoffmann will 

create a site-specific installation by painting 

figures on the wall with painted masks for 

heads. 

Viterbo 

Dec. 7 – 23 

An exhibition of photographs, paintings and 

drawings created by students and faculty 

who participated in Montserrat’s four-week 

residential summer program in Viterbo, Italy. 

301 GALLERY 

Subtle: An Intervention by Alison Owen 

Aug. 30-Sept. 25 • Curated by Leonie Bradbury 

Owen’s installations quietly invade their 

environment, altering it in subtle yet significant 

ways. Her installations and objects repurpose 

the things that have become invisible due to 

their commonness: the dust we sweep up, the 

scraps we throw away, the materials we rely 

upon but rarely see. The compositions develop 

in response to the physical and emotional 

characteristics of the site and the objects within 

it. She highlights the overlooked architectural 

details of spaces, paying attention to corners, 

edges, and the point where one material meets 

another. 

The West is Now Closed: John Osorio-Buck 

Oct. 4 – 29 

Curated by Leonie Bradbury 

Reception Wed. Oct. 6, 6-8 pm 

Artist Talk Tues. Oct. 26, 11:30am 

This new body of large-scale work explores 

the end of the frontier, not only in the 

historical American context, but as well at the 

contemporaneous global mythos of the ‘West.’ 

The exhibition referencing a quote by historian 

Fredrick Jackson Turner, the exhibition 

questions who we are as ‘westerners,’ not 

only historically but currently. Osorio-Buck 

will create several large-scale objects, such 

as shipping containers, various shelters and 

porta-potties; objects that represent the 

current concept of ‘west’ and our relationship 

to them in a historical context. 

Illustration Thesis 

Nov. 8 – 12 

Fine Art Thesis II 

Nov. 29 – Dec. 3 

FRAME 301 

gallery events 

Fine Art Thesis I 

Nov. 15 – 19 

Art Education Thesis 

Dec. 6 – 17 

Raul Gonzalez: The Gang’s all Here, 

Minus a few featuring El Frijol, El Negrito 

and the Angel 

Sept. 2 – Oct. 4, 2010 

Please see www.montserrat.edu for updated 

information about artist talks. 

Follow us on Twitter: montgallery 

Contact us via email: gallery@montserrat.edu 

Find conversation, news, and updates on 

Facebook. 

19

23 Essex Street 

Beverly MA 01915 

Save the Date for Artrageous!25 

www.montserrat.edu 

Honorary Artist 

Rachel Perry Welty 

Auction Co-Chairs 

Linda Harvey and Liz Dellicker 

Saturday Evening 

April 30, 2011 

75 Sylvan St., Danvers 

Rachel Perry Welty 

(detail) Sin and Paradise, 2009 

fruit stickers and archival tape on paper 

21.5 x 21.5 inches 

photo: Clements/Howcroft, Boston

Portfolio - Montserrat College Of Art

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