Ferris Plans Wildlife Art Exposition

The Ferris State campus will be home to a major wildlife art exposition Aug. 1-3, 2003. The inaugural event is expected to draw dozens of artists from across the United States to compete in the juried competition portion of the expo.

Cole Johnson, Sharon Sommers and Ron Kleiber will be the exhibition’s featured artists.

Kleiber, who has created the image for the exposition’s official poster, has won several state stamp competitions and national wildlife awards.

In addition to her bronze wildlife sculptures, Sommers has created public work for the UAW-Ford Building in Detroit, the Henry Ford II World Center in Dearborn and others.

Johnson’s drawings have garnered him such awards as the 2001 New York State Fair Wildlife Art Exhibit People’s Choice Award and the “Art and the Animal” Award of Excellence at the 2000 Society of Animal Artists.

“I feel that the advent of the Wildlife Expo will bring a new and exciting dimension to the Ferris State campus,” says Carrie Weis-Taylor, director of the Rankin Center Gallery, who is coordinating the expo. “We hope to create an exciting learning atmosphere that combines a celebration of our natural environment, wildlife and art.”

Weis-Taylor expects as many as 100 fine artists to display their work in the Rankin Center during the expo.

In addition, Terry Bell, special events coordinator for the Federal Duck Stamp Program, will be making the expo a stop for its Original Art Tour for 2003.

Other events being planned include educational exhibits and lectures on wildlife behavior and habitat, tours of the Card Wildlife Center, children’s art contest and exhibition of selected prints from the University’s Canadian Collection of fine art prints.

Additional information will appear in the Spring 2003 issue of Crimson & Gold.

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