The deadline to submit online student proposals for the first SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference has been extended to Sunday, February 15. The conference will be held on the SUNY Brockport campus on Friday, April 10, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Student proposals for research poster sessions, oral presentations, and performances of creative work are welcome. For guidelines and further information, please visit the SURC conference website and online submission portal.

Please advise students who will graduate in May 2015 that the deadline to submit applications for graduation is Friday, February 6. Students who will graduate in August 2015 and are interested in having their names listed in the May Commencement booklet must also adhere to this deadline. Students may download the form from the Graduate School website or complete the form in the Graduate School Office in Cleveland Hall 204.  

Applications may be submitted in person to Cleveland Hall 204, electronically to gradoffc@buffalostate.edu, or via fax at (716) 878-5630. Questions may be directed to Adrian Thompson, graduation coordinator.

The Graduate Advisory Council announces a call for nominations for Outstanding Master’s Theses and Outstanding Master’s Projects. The purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding student research and applied scholarship. Up to three thesis awards and three project awards will be made. Applications will be accepted for students who have graduated in J-Term 2014, May 2014, August 2014, or December 2014.

Nominations may be made by thesis or project advisers or by students themselves. Additional reviews are required from the department chair and one external evaluator. Guidelines and forms are available on the Graduate School website.

The deadline to submit nominations and evaluation forms to the Graduate School, Cleveland Hall 204, is Wednesday, February 11. Please direct questions to Marnie Letzelter, assistant to the dean of the Graduate School, ext. 5609.

Through National Student Exchange, students have the opportunity to study for a semester or an academic year at one of 200 participating colleges or universities at affordable tuition rates. Please contact Christine Frezza, director of special programs, ext. 4328, to schedule a class visit. Provide your students with this possibility for enriching their college experience and let them know about the upcoming information sessions on Tuesday, February 3, and Thursday, February 5, from 12:15 to 1:00 p.m. in Bacon Hall 117. Thank you.

The NYS & CSEA Partnership for Education and Training is accepting applications for the spring 2015 Skills for Success courses. Skills for Success courses are free and provide employees with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to accomplish job assignments more effectively. The course catalog (PDF) and application form are available on the NYS & CSEA Partnership website. Course listings and applications are also available in the Human Resource Management Office, Cleveland Hall 410.

Artist Lloyd Marsh will discuss his search for a personal style with watercolors on Friday, May 8, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Admission is free with M&T Second Friday.

Marsh will also host a hands-on watercolor workshop, "With a Broad Brush," on Saturday, May 9, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the center. Following a demonstration in various unconventional techniques, participants will explore the medium of watercolor in a new context. Working with an 8-inch-wide brush, they will create large color studies and abstract sketches in landscape through vigorous markings and strokes. 

Marsh has delved into many mediums over the decades but always returns to his Asian sensibility using the medium of watercolor. Using a broad brush, he creates bold strokes highlighted by connective threads. His abstract paintings are influenced by California land and sea scrapes and have an atmospheric quality also found in Mark Rothko’s work.

As a lifelong student of material culture and a graduate in historical museum work, Marsh began his career as an architectural historian, working in historical preservation throughout New England. Upon moving to the West Coast, he embraced architectural model making and architectural art, and managed an architectural and design bookstore. His pursuit of life in art has included studying stained glass in Vermont, designing rugs in Oaxaca, Mexico, and delving into wood carvings in Bali. He now paints full time primarily in the medium of watercolor.

To register for this workshop, please contact Kathy Gaye Shiroki, curator of museum learning and community engagement, 878-3549, or download the registration form (PDF) from the Burchfield's International Center for Watercolor website.

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Upcoming summer watercolor salons:

Thursday evenings June-August at the Burchfield Penney Art Center

The Graduate Student Association will sponsor merit-based scholarship opportunities for full- or part-time matriculated graduate students at Buffalo State with a minimum GPA of 3.5. Students in their first semester are not eligible to apply for this scholarship.

Applicants must submit the following:

• An essay of no more than 1,000 words explaining why they deserve to be considered for the scholarship and how the scholarship will contribute to their academic development.
• Two letters of recommendation testifying to their academic accomplishments and academic potential for graduate success at Buffalo State. Letters must be written by members of the faculty, administration, or staff at Buffalo State.

All materials must be submitted to the Graduate School, Cleveland Hall 204, by 4:30 p.m. Friday, February 6.

The Graduate Advisory Council will review applications and award two full-time student awards of $1,000 each and two part-time student awards of $500 each. The scholarships are merit-based, given to high-achieving students. Only academic ability and academic potential will be considered in awarding the scholarships. Students may receive the scholarship only once during their course of study.

For more information, please visit the Graduate Student Association website.

Explore ways that watercolor pencils can be used in the construction of a painting and how they can add emphasis to values during this workshop with Norine Spurling, "Pencils in Your Palette," on Sunday, April 26, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Participants will experiment with techniques in which watercolor pencils can be integrated into a watercolor painting.

Norine Spurling was born in Bermuda and, as a child, attended painting classes with a local watercolor artist who encouraged her to look at art as a career choice. Spurling attended Moore College of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia, where she was exposed to a wide spectrum of art studies. After living in California and raising a family, she moved to Western New York, completed her formal education at the University at Buffalo, and taught drawing there for several years. Spurling is the past president of the Buffalo Society of Artists and serves on the board of the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society. Her recently published book of poetry is titled Poems.

To register for this workshop, please contact Kathy Gaye Shiroki, curator of museum learning and community engagement, ext. 3549, or download the registration form (PDF) from the Burchfield's International Center for Watercolor website.

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Coming Full Circle / Presentation with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Friday, May 8

With a Broad Brush / Workshop with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Saturday, May 9

Please join the Burchfield Penney Art Center for the workshop "Travel Sketching: Pen, Ink, and a Splash of Watercolor," with Bill Elkins, on Sunday, April 19, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.

How do you determine what to sketch, and how do you get started? Weather permitting, participants will step outside to sketch the museum’s landscape with ink, adding touches of color that capture the light of their subject.

Elkins, a practicing architect in Syracuse for over 30 years, visited Monhegan Island, where he was inspired to try his hand at watercolor. He studied composition and color with his mentor Nicora Gangi, a professor of painting at Syracuse University. Elkins taught workshops at View, the former Old Forge Arts Center, and at the Art Guilds in Syracuse, New York. He is a member and past president of the Onondaga Art Guild and a signature member and past president of the Central New York Watercolor Society. His work has been exhibited nationally and is in private collections.

To register for this workshop, please contact Kathy Gaye Shiroki, curator of museum learning and community engagement, ext. 3549, or download the registration form (PDF) from the Burchfield's International Center for Watercolor.

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Upcoming Workshops and Presentations

Pencils in Your Palette / Workshop with Watercolorist Norine Spurling
Sunday, April 26

Coming Full Circle / Presentation with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Friday, May 8

With a Broad Brush / Workshop with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Saturday, May 9

Please join the Burchfield Penney Art Center for the workshop "Beyond Watercolor," an experimental approach to watercolor with artist Caitlin Cass, on Sunday, March 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Working with everything from cling wrap to tape to collage, we will explore texture and masking techniques. Equal parts demonstration and collaborative experimentation, this workshop is all about getting out of your comfort zone, playing with materials, and discovering new techniques. Expect to leave with test sheets rather than finished masterpieces.

Cass makes art that elevates the importance of mistakes and uncertainty throughout history. Working across many mediums, she makes comics, paintings, and counterfeit museum exhibits that celebrate failure. Not surprisingly, she welcomes experimentation and failure in her own artistic process. Cass holds an M.F.A. in visual studies from the University at Buffalo. She exhibits her work nationally and internationally with recent shows at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, the University of Rochester, the Niagara Falls History Museum, and the Print Center at the Today Art Museum in Beijing, China. She was a 2012 artist-in-residence at the Frans Masereel Centrum in Kasterlee, Belgium, and a 2011 artist fellow at the Contemporary Artist Center Woodside in Troy, New York. Her comics have appeared in the Chicago Reader, Artvoice, and the Public and on Toronto's subway monitors (presented by Art for Commuters). When she's not making art, she teaches art at Buffalo Seminary.

To register for this workshop, please contact Kathy Gaye Shiroki, curator of museum learning and community engagement, ext. 3549, or download the registration form (PDF) from the Burchfield's International Center for Watercolor.

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Upcoming Workshops and Presentations

Travel Sketching: Pen, Ink, and a Splash of Watercolor / Workshop with Bill Elkins
Sunday, April 19

Pencils in Your Palette / Workshop with Watercolorist Norine Spurling
Sunday, April 26

Coming Full Circle / Presentation with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Friday, May 8

With a Broad Brush / Workshop with Artist Lloyd Marsh
Saturday, May 9