NCCCIAP
2023 NCCCIAP
STEERING COMMITTEE
Julie Ward
She/Her
Chair
Julie was an Artist in Residence at SLOSS from 2001-2008. Ward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2010 with an MFA in Sculpture. In 2014 Ward completed a second MFA in Electronic Media from the University of Cincinnati’s department of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Julie is currently an Associate Professor and Area Head of Sculpture at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.
Page Burch
He/Him
Co-Chair
Page Burch is a Lecturer of Sculpture and runs the Master Craftsman Program at Kennesaw
State University. He received his BFA in Studio Art - Sculpture from Georgia Southern University in 2007, an MA in Sculpture from SCAD-Atlanta in 2009, and an MFA in Sculpture from SCAD-Atlanta in 2014, because everyone needs three degrees and crushing debt. He is trained in foundry, fine woodworking, and metal fabrication. He prefers wooden patterns, cupolettes, botting with a stick, and believes that folks who make IPAs are too lazy to make good beer. He does not have a lot of time to make artwork, but when he does, it is usually pretty asinine. His spirit tool is a ¾” Stanley Sweetheart 750 socket chisel.
Lindsey Christina
She/Her
Ex Officio Sloss Representative
Lindsey is a Birmingham native and a long time administrator of various local arts events. She brings a stellar track record of managerial skills coupled with self-motivation and discipline to the cast iron community.
Lindsey is committed to the success of Sloss Metal Arts and aims to improve business practices among employees, collaborators, and colleagues. Her Masters degree of Arts Leadership & Cultural Management from Colorado State University guides her strategic leadership, relationship development, creative thinking, and an entrepreneurial spirit. She has been a local arts leader for six years and prides herself on her commitment to Birmingham’s artistic communities.
Jesse Blumenthal
He/him
Performances Director
Jesse Blumenthal is an internationally exhibited, museum collected Artist and Educator residing in Missoula, Montana. In 2019 Blumenthal’s work received a permanent collection purchase award from The Yellowstone Art Museum, was awarded a Montana Arts Council Artists in Schools and Communities Grant supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, and received four separate regional grants to support community based foundry events. Recent public sites have included Salem Art Works, Bozeman Sculpture Park, The International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art, Sculpture in the Wild, and Open AiR. Jesse was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He attended UMass Amherst, earning a BFA in Sculpture in 2007, and completed his graduate work at The University of Montana, earning an MFA in 2019. Jesse's work will be featured as a fellow at Franconia Sculpture Park and Burning Man Arts and Music Festival in 2021 as well as a solo exhibition at The Holter Museum of Art in 2022.
David Marquez
He/him
Exhibitions Director
David was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised primarily in the rural farm areas of the commonwealth. He is an explorer and maker of things. He received a BFA in graphic design from Western Kentucky University and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Iowa. An avid maker, builder, mold maker, and metal caster, his work has been exhibited in national exhibitions throughout the east coast and midwest. He has shown internationally in group exhibitions in Australia and Germany. His series, entitled Germination, was presented in a solo exhibition in South Korea. He is an Assistant Professor of Sculpture at his alma mater, Western Kentucky University. He is a board member for Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum and founding mentor to the WKU League of Sculptors. David's passion for metal casting stems from his desire to connect to a larger art community.
Hannah Hirsekorn
She/her
Panels and Presentations
Director
Hannah is an artist, fabricator and herbalist living on Vashon Island in the Puget Sound. Originally from California, Hannah received her BFA from the University of Oregon. Hannah worked as a fabricator and moldmaker at a bronze art foundry in Chicago. She then managed the light metals facilities and foundry at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago while simultaneously getting her MFA from the Fibers Department. A recent artist-in-residence at Mildred’s Lane, the Chicago Public Library and the Mobile Moon Coop, she is currently co-founding an artist residency on Vashon Island and continues to work in community herbalist care.
Al Johnson
He/him
Guest Furnaces Director
Alex “Al” Johnson was born and raised in Macomb, Illinois. After high school, he attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, completing a Bachelors of Fine Art in Photography in 2010. During his time at NIU, he gained exposure to sculpture and metal casting, shifting his artistic interests. In 2012, he was accepted into the graduate program at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi in sculpture. After completing his MFA, he accepted his current position at Collin College in Plano, Texas. As the Art Labs Coordinator, he oversees multiple studios in addition to the sculpture and foundry areas.
Kaleigh Suddarth
She/her
Demonstrations Director
Kaleigh is a Chicago based Artist, working primarily in cast Iron and Bronze. She draws inspiration from her coastal hometown, and the movement of the ocean in correlation with human emotions. Kaleigh grew up in Destin, Florida and later moved to Chicago and completed her BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2017. For the past five years Kaleigh has worked as a Glass and Metal Artisan, at a Glass Shop and Bronze Foundry called West Supply, in Chicago.
