News

Discouraging News on the Conservation Front

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Zoological Society of London (ZSL) just released a new report detailing a 49% decline "in the size of marine populations between 1970 and 2012."

This follows their 2014 report which states in part that over the past 40 years:

Populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have declined by an average of 52%.  Freshwater species populations have suffered a 76% decline, an average loss almost double that of land and marine species."

Aspire Magazine Coverage on Summer Achievements

The University of Saint Mary not only issued a press release a little over a month ago on my summer exhibitions and awards, but also just published an article about it in the Fall 2015 issue of Aspire Magazine.

KNCK Radio 1390 AM / 94.9 FM Interview

I just recently completed a radio interview about my career thus far with host Loren Swenson on KNCK Radio 1390 AM / 94.9 FM for the CHS Alumni Moment series.  (I attended Concordia High School from 2000-2004.)

I can't directly link to the piece, but if you're interested, visit KNCK Radio's website and then in the black header in the upper center of the page there's a button titled Alumni Moment.  If you click on that, you can find my interview!

Another Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Article on 3P Quick Cure Clay

I'm so pleased 3P Quick Cure Clay has been getting so much press lately!  This latest article titled "An LSU professor has invented a curious clay with a range of applications, from art to industry" from the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report highlights my work with the product here:

About two years before officially launching 3P QuickCure Clay, Pojman reached out to art students at LSU to get some insight on his products. Pojman started working with former LSU graduate student Shelby Prindaville to mold his mixture into something more useful to artists by perfecting the consistency. Then he began selling it online.

“He would send me test products, and I would tell him what needed to be tweaked,” Prindaville says. “At some point we reached the stage where I thought it was a really viable sculpting medium and I started making things with it. And he figured out how to make it cheaply enough that he launched the product out into the world.”

The final version of 3P QuickCure Clay allows artists to bypass much of the difficult and tricky parts of sculpting, eliminating the need for a kiln. Also, 3P Quick Cure Clay is strong enough to build sculptures without first creating wire and paper “skeletons” or armatures, Prindaville says.

Prindaville used the medium to create a series of small sculptures of lizards called Anoles. The whimsical figures depict the lizards in various positions, like one balancing straight up its thin tail, that are impossible to create using other types of clay without wire armatures.

Prindaville, now the art program director at the University of Saint Mary in Kansas, uses 3PQuickCure Clay in her classroom because students can cure their work with a heat gun before the class period ends. She says the college cancels classes for one week each spring and students work on projects outside the school’s curriculum.

“Last year, I invited John to come up; he shipped us a large amount of clay and sold us a large amount of the clay. The students did all sorts of stuff and they created a show at the end,” Prindaville says. Some of the student’s creations now mingle alongside the chemistry books and salamander tank in Pojman’s office at LSU.

Dig Baton Rouge "Breaking the Mold" Article on 3P Quick Cure Clay

And here's Dig Baton Rouge with their new article "Breaking the Mold" on 3P Quick Cure Clay including some discussion of my work with it:

Working together with former LSU graduate student Shelby Prindaville, Pojman developed the clay from its original houseware repair model to a final product fit as an artist aid.

“So that’s how it evolved into art,” said Pojman.

[...]

Pojman’s website contains examples of several art projects using QuickCure from the University of Saint Mary in Kansas where Prindaville serves as the art program director. “It was really exciting just to work with the students, get their feedback on features they liked, and also help them use it, and then see where their creativity went,” said Pojman.

Of the works the students created using QuickCure, Pojman notes his favorite are the lizards as they demonstrate the strength of the clay.  “That’s not something you can do with regular ceramics,” said Pojman.

University of Saint Mary News Release

My university, the University of Saint Mary, recently issued this news release on several of my accomplishments this summer:

USM Art Program Director Honored for Her Impressive Work

8/17/2015 12:00:00 AM
(Leavenworth, Kan.)—The University of Saint Mary Art Program Director Shelby Prindaville was recently chosen by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to be one of only three featured tour artists within Art Works for Change’s new exhibition, “Footing the Bill: Art and Our Ecological Footprint,” for her extraordinary work capturing the beauty and frailty of the natural world. The subjects of both her painting and sculpture work encourage humanity to appreciate all creatures in nature—large and small—and reflect on our connection to them. The WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization, dedicated to conserving nature and addressing its most pressing threats.  

Art Works for Change’s “Footing the Bill: Art and Our Ecological Footprint” exhibition highlights our urgent need to live sustainably—choosing wisely how and where to use Earth’s finite resources. Prindaville was one of only 28 artists selected for the curated international exhibition. The exhibit is accessible online at artworksforchange.org. Art Works for Change is a nonprofit organization creating contemporary art exhibitions that highlight critical social and environmental issues.

“I am beyond honored to have my works recognized by both the WWF and Art Works for Change,” said Prindaville. “I whole-heartedly support the mission of both charitable organizations, and these honors reinforce why I do what I do—to call on human reflection and influence change.”

On top of both of these impressive accomplishments, Prindaville also recently won the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri “Best in Show” for her bison painting “Confrontation.” The painting was selected by juror Ruth Ann Reese in the “Wild Things” national exhibition at the Council.  

To see her work, visit shelbyprindaville.com.

Newspaper Articles in Catalan about Bòlit Artist Presentation

Somewhat belatedly, I thought I'd share two newspaper articles published in the Diari de Girona in Catalan about the artist presentation I took part in at the Bòlit Centre d'Art Contemporani in Girona, Spain.  

Els quatre artistes becats pel Bòlit amb residència presenten els projectes

Un becat pel Bòlit «reviurà» cinc edificis desapareguts de Girona

Studies Confirm Nature Is Soothing

Research coming out of Stanford University's Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources is unsurprisingly showing that:

A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in the process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.

Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Article on 3P Quick Cure Clay

I was interviewed for this article on Dr. John Pojman's innovative 3P Quick Cure Clay.  Here's an excerpt:

About four years ago, Pojman started working with former LSU graduate student Shelby Prindaville to mold his mixture into something useful to artists, and began selling it online. Now 3P QuickCure Clay can be found in art stores in New Orleans and New Mexico.

The clay they developed allows artists to bypass much of the difficult and tricky parts of sculpting, eliminating the need for a kiln. Also, 3P QuickCure Clay is strong enough to build sculptures without first creating wire and paper “skeletons” or armatures.

Prindaville is now art program director at the University of Saint Mary in Kansas, and uses 3PQuickCure Clay in her classroom because students can use a heat gun to cure their work before the class period ends. She orders it by the pound from Pojman, who produces it from his office space at the Louisiana Business and Technology Center at LSU—a step up from his garage where he used to mix it on weekends.

“I think it’s a really interesting and innovative medium,” Prindaville says. “The great things is, it gives instant results. With regular clay you have to be careful about the moisture, and you can’t apply wet clay to a finished product, but with 3P you can apply wet to dry.”

From the Lab Bench Interview

Dr. Paige Jarreau has just published an interview with me on From the Lab Bench!  

Paige is herself an extremely impressive and multi-talented science journalist and photographer, so I'm very pleased to count her as a friend, as well.  When you're done reading that fantastic write-up, make sure to dig around the site a while as it has loads of other interesting features including a page devoted to her beautiful photography.

Swiss Cheese Holes Caused By Hay Dust

Have you noticed fewer holes in your Swiss cheese over the years?  Apparently this cheese (also known as Emmental cheese overseas - something I accidentally discovered for myself on residency in Iceland) had a lot of holes because small particles of hay dust used to regularly drift their way into the milk in the normal course of farming.  Our increasingly industrialized processes sterilized the cheesemaking environment so much that the holes have been mysteriously disappearing.  Now that the cause has been discovered, though, cheesemakers can judiciously add hay dust back into the milk.

Let's Talk Arts Interview

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's Let's Talk Arts series has published their interview with me!  There are two ways to view it:

I really appreciate Dr. Joni Hand's insightful questions as well as all the work the council members and staff and juror Ruth Ann Reese put into the Wild Things national juried exhibition and follow-up with me.

Artist Presentation at the Bòlit. Centre d'Art Contemporani

Tonight I will be presenting my residency work at the Bòlit. Centre in Girona, Spain.  Here's the announcement page, with an excerpt below in the original Catalan (edited slightly as they accidentally reported my birth year as 1996, which I have corrected below):

Presentació de projectes dels artistes Ferran Cardona (Bòlit), Shelby Prindaville (Nau Côclea),  Kubra Khademi (La Muga Caula) i Job Ramos (Casa Forestal de Sant Martí d'Empúries)  i de dues noves convocatòries: Beca Brack/Nau Côclea/Singcat i ETAC 2016

Dijous 25 de juny, 19 h
Bòlit_StNicolau

Shelby Prindaville (Kansas, EUA, 1986) és una artista visual i directora del Programa d'Art de la Saint Mary University a Leavenworth, Kansas que treballa principalment pintura i dibuix, encara que també fa incursions en tècniques mixtes, l'escultura i la instal·lació. Interessada en el paper de l'ésser humà en la construcció d'equilibri ecològic i en crear imatges centrades en la bella fragilitat i resiliència del món natural, Prindaville treballa amb el seu entorn més immediat i documenta les ecologies internacionals com a manera d'ampliar el seu propi món i el dels seus espectadors. La seva obra combina temes i ambients abstractes relacionats amb les descobertes científiques i propers a les il·lustracions taxonòmiques i de descripció zoològica. A les seves peces intenta, literalment i simbòlicament accentuar la delicadesa i la immanència de la natura, amb l'objectiu de connectar amb l'espectador i interactuar-hi emocionalment.

First Fully Warm-Blooded Fish Identified!

This is cool:

"The opah, or moonfish, is the first known fully warm-blooded fish, according to a study published in the journal Science.
...
Certain other fish, such as some sharks and tuna, have what’s known as 'regional endothermy,' or limited warm-bloodedness. It allows them to stay active in colder depths, as well as shallower waters. But the fully warm-blooded opah are unlike all other fish, at least so far as we know it."