Art by Cazenovia College Student, Brighid Docherty, Shown at Cazenovia McDonald's Restaurant

2012 Jan 19

The display case at McDonald's Restaurant in Cazenovia, N.Y. is the site of illustration work by students in Cazenovia College's Visual Communications Program. One of the artists is Brighid A. Docherty, of Castleton on Hudson, N.Y., a sophomore in the program. The winter and holiday-themed illustration work will be on display through February.

The work was done in a class taught by Dan Salamida, an adjunct instructor in the program. Salamida said, "Our Introduction to Illustration class focused on exposing students to the art of illustration through a series of assignments in which students were allowed to make their own choices regarding materials and methods. For the final project, students were required to use Adobe Illustrator, a complicated piece of software that is universally used in the graphic arts, and focused on illustration that might be used in the stationery or apparel industries."

The repeating patterns in the work displayed, Salamida noted, "were all created in Adobe Illustrator. Some of the students created elements by hand and then scanned and traced them in Illustrator. Other students created the elements directly in Illustrator. The techniques and software that the students used are similar to those used in professional studios to create repeats for wrapping paper or apparel."

Scott Jensen, assistant professor of visual communications, said, "This project allowed our visual communications students to apply the skills they've learned in a realistic professional context. Dan Salamida is a very experienced illustrator who understands both the business and the creative aspects. He was able to bring that knowledge and insight to the classroom, and the students really appreciated that."

Photo: Lego Avalanche, by Josh Skibbee, is an example of the work displayed at the Cazenovia McDonald's Restaurant.

Joshua Skibbee of Ringoes, N.J., wondered, "What would a Lego avalanche look like . . ."

Jess LaCelle, of Syracuse, N.Y., said, "I love Christmas time, so I was really excited to do this project. I plan on using it to wrap some gifts this year too!"

Mickey Hornbeck, of Walton, NY, said, "I never used so many guidelines on a project before."

Brighid Docherty of Castleton, N.Y., said, "I loved the opportunity to push my personal boundaries and explore the style of Bruce Timm while working in a new medium. The work was definitely worth it!"

Kara Bielik, of Randolph, N.J., said, "I try my hardest to keep my work original and enjoy using my own photography as reference. For this pattern I used my own photographs of butterflies and flowers for reference and recreated them as vector art in Adobe Illustrator."

Katie Anderson of Delhi, N.Y., said, "I started making this project with the tree, and thought it would be fun to use something less conventional to make the tree out of. I tried several different techniques before settling on using the spiral tool. I enjoyed doing this project because it was different from any other project I've done, which made it a lot of fun. I really liked this project because it fit really well with the holiday season, and I even wrapped some of my presents for my friends and family in it."

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.