Rachel Ferber is an interdisciplinary artist and designer. She holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art. With a focus on video, sculpture and cross-disciplinary design, her work investigates the complicated nature of the designed world, and its influence on our psychological, corporeal and material sensibilities. In addition to her studio, she runs an experimental natural dye project called The Dye Bath, and she is one half of the art and design initiative NEW NEW NEW. Ferber comes to Kenyon after having taught previously at Kansas City Art Institute where she taught in the departments of foundation and sculpture. She has held solo and group exhibitions across the United States.

Areas of Expertise

Interdisciplinary Design, Video, Textiles

Education

2018 — Master of Fine Arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art

2011 — Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pacific Northwest College of A

Courses Recently Taught

This course introduces students to the medium of drawing as an essential means of visual communication. A variety of methods and materials are used for both in-class studies as well as for larger and more comprehensive projects. Challenging and complex drawings will be produced with a sharp focus on both formal and conceptual issues. Technical aspects of drawing will be balanced with imaginative and experimental approaches throughout the semester. Presentations and class discussions will supplement assignments to aid in expansion of the understanding of project goals. This counts toward the introductory requirement for the major and minor. No prerequisite. Offered every semester.

This introductory course will enable students to explore digital media while engaging in aesthetic and conceptual practices in contemporary art. They will come to understand the fundamentals of visual form and to develop technical skills with a variety of camera and computer tools, including still-image and video editing programs. Personal studio projects will cover a variety of subjects, such as the relationship between the arts, popular culture and the liberal arts, the historic role of technology in the arts, and the role of one's cultural and historical context in the creation and interpretation of artwork. Through theory and practice, students will enhance their art-criticism skills, allowing for productive group interactions and the defining of personal aesthetic vision. Presentations and demonstrations by the professor will be supplemented by student research and response to contemporary artists and issues. At least ten hours of work per week outside of class is required. This counts toward the introductory requirement for the major and minor. No prerequisite. Offered every semester.

Required for majors in studio arts, this first semester of a two-semester sequence of courses is designed to enable students to develop their personal artistic vision based on the foundation of introductory and intermediate studio art courses. Students will be expected to develop a self-generated body of creative work based on a concentrated investigation of materials, methods and ideas. They will develop oral and written presentation and research skills as they work toward a professional exhibition in the second semester. Critiques, discussions, presentations and readings will provide context and feedback for this process. Students will learn to develop the elements necessary for professional exhibition of a cohesive body of work, including developing ideas, writing an artist's statement and resume, and perfecting presentation skills. Studio art majors are expected to take this class and ARTS 481 with two different faculty members. Prerequisite: senior art major or permission of instructor. Offered every fall.