Finlandia Gallery to host International School of Art and Design Alumni Exhibit Jan. 21 - March 19

"Opportunities in Color," 2014, Digital Print by Amanda (Moyer) Rogers. A 2011 Finlandia alumna, Rogers now lives in Metro Detroit and works as marketing coordinator at Pewabic -- a non-profit historic ceramic studio located in Detroit. (Photos courtesy Finlandia University)

HANCOCK -- The Finlandia University International School of Art and Design (ISAD) will present an alumni exhibit at the Finlandia University Gallery, located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, Hancock, from Jan. 21 to March 19, 2016.

An opening reception for the artists will take place at the gallery from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21. An artist talk will begin at 7:15 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

"Great Blue," Watercolor and Ink, 2015, by D.C. Wilson, a 2010 Finlandia alumna. Wilson now lives in Madison, Wis., where she is the Arts and Web Coordinator at a day center for adults with developmental delays. Wilson designs art projects and helps arrange gallery shows for her clients.

In the 17 years since the bachelor of fine arts (BFA) degree program began at Finlandia University, 148 students have graduated in five concentration areas: Ceramic Design, Fiber Arts and Fashion Design, Integrated Design, Graphic Design and Digital Art, and Studio Arts.

The Alumni 2016 exhibit spotlights the current work of 20 Finlandia BFA graduates.

"Osteology," woodblock print book, three-page spread, by Bonnie Loukus. Finlandia graduate Loukus combines letterpress printing, bookbinding, papermaking and block printing to create limited edition books, cards, broadsides and prints. She currently works as Assistant Director at the Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock.

"Our graduates have moved to all parts of the world to pursue their careers in art," notes Gallery Director Carrie Flaspohler. "It is wonderful to see where their life journeys have taken them."

Flaspohler says Finlandia's ISAD alumni study and work as far away as South Korea and Oregon, while some continue to live and work in Hancock.

The Finlandia University Gallery is in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy Street, Hancock. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday noon to 4 p.m., or by appointment. Please call 906-487-7500 for more information.