Department of Art and Design Archives

Chris Rodgers joins art and design faculty

May 13, 2025 by Reynolds College

The Department of Art and Design has a new face in the ceramics studio, and he’s already making waves with his thoughtful teaching and grounded artistic practice.

Originally from Charleston, West Virginia, Chris Rodgers comes to Missouri State University with a passion for clay, community and creative risk-taking.

Rodgers’ work spans clay, steel and cast concrete, often shaped by self-imposed project parameters. “The problem-solving of working with ceramics is a huge part of what continues to draw me to this material,” he said.

Roundabout path leads to passion for ceramics

Rodgers didn’t always know he’d end up working with ceramics. Like many students, he shifted majors a few times during college before discovering a spark in an unexpected place — a hand-building class.

“I was completely fascinated by the material possibilities and uncertainties of working with glaze,” he said. That curiosity stuck. Since then, ceramics has become both his medium and his way of thinking. A turning point for him came during graduate school with a series of six sculptures titled “Leaning from the Steep Slope.”

“That was also the first time I made something and thought, ‘I’d be excited to see this if it wasn’t mine,’” he recalled.

Dr. Mitzi Kirkland-Ives publishes new book on Hans Memling

May 6, 2025 by Reynolds College

The Department of Art and Design’s Dr. Mitzi Kirkland-Ives, professor of art history and visual culture, has published her latest research on the fifteenth-century German painter Hans Memling.

Released in April 2025 through Reaktion Books and the University of Chicago Press, “Hans Memling and the Merchants,” takes readers into Memling’s world in Bruges, Belgium, far from the courts and churches that usually defined artistic success.

Vibrant career in fifteenth century Bruges

Book cover featuring artwork of Hans Memling — Click book cover image to learn more.

Kirkland-Ives noted that instead of painting for kings or cardinals, Memling found his audience within the rising urban middle class among bankers, politicians and artisans. He subsequently built a thriving career in Bruges.

“He’s an interesting figure,” she said. “He’s not originally from the Low Countries, but he shows up in Bruges and winds up being one of the most called upon painters of his moment there.”

The book builds on Kirkland-Ives’s long-standing interest in the intersections of art, ritual and society in late medieval Europe. Her previous book, “In the Footsteps of Christ: Hans Memling’s Passion Narratives and the Devotional Imagination in the Early Modern Netherlands,” offers a close study of Memling’s narrative strategies and the ways viewers engaged with images as part of their devotional lives.

In that book, Kirkland-Ives invites readers to consider how a single panel painting could guide the imagination through complex religious experience.

She expands on this theme further in her new book by exploring the social and material realities of Memling’s world.

This includes how his workshop operated, how he sourced his pigments and how his portraits and altarpieces reflected the politics and power plays within Bruges. In fact, Memling’s works often elevated an individual’s or a family’s status or publicly demonstrated status that they already had.

Bruges was an international hotspot at the time, Kirkland-Ives noted. Memling’s client list reflected this. His work traveled across Europe—from Castile to Florence—thanks to a system of patrons who often ordered pieces while visiting and had them shipped home. [Read more…] about Dr. Mitzi Kirkland-Ives publishes new book on Hans Memling

BFA in Design Senior Exhibition now on view at Carolla Arts Exhibition Center

April 30, 2025 by Reynolds College

Missouri State University’s Department of Art and Design announces this semester’s BFA in Design: Professional Design Practicum Exhibition is on view at the Carolla Arts Exhibition Center.

The exhibition is open April 28-May 9 and includes the First Friday Art Walk May 2 from 6-9 p.m.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Capstone course features client-based projects

This capstone exhibition features the individual projects, portfolios and client-based projects of graduating seniors in the BFA in Design program.

Projects range from branding and marketing materials to digital media and product design and graphic novels, reflecting the diverse interests and skills of the Spring 2025 cohort.

Most of the clients who worked with the students are small business owners, but some are institutional, coming from local museums, non-profits, churches and artistic or musical initiatives.

As part of the practicum, students present self-promotional materials, including business cards, portfolios and branded merchandise, alongside real-world design solutions developed in collaboration with clients.

Exhibit wall displaying design projects — More projects from the 2025 BFA in Design exhibition now on view.

Associate professors Jacek Fraczak and Cole Closser teach the practicum course. They emphasize student engagement and interaction with clients, including communication, project management and creative problem-solving.

“The first long-term assignment is a real-life professional experience, when a student needs to find for themselves an existing client expressing the needs in the domain of graphic design or illustration,” Fraczak explained. “The clients may be local, regional or even international. Students have worked for clients from Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico, Slovakia and Germany.”

Senior graphic design major Mckenna Johnson said working with real-life clients was both exciting and motivating.

“It pushed me creatively as I worked to create a full brand identity from scratch,” she noted. “With strict deadlines, I had to communicate clearly, manage my time effectively and stay focused to deliver a final product that both my client and I were proud of.”

Vonda Yarberry, professor and head of Department of Art and Design, to retire Aug. 1

April 27, 2025 by Lynn M. Lansdown

After 36 years, Vonda Yarberry says it’s a good time to retire.

Yarberry has served as head of Missouri State University’s Department of Art and Design since 2016. She started teaching digital art and animation for the department in 1989.

During her nine-year tenure as department head, Yarberry oversaw several momentous changes. She assisted with helping the department move from the main campus to its current downtown location, Brick City. Under her guidance, the department increased its campus and community presence with new exhibition galleries and collaborative programs. And, Yarberry navigated the department through its darkest days during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yarberry admitted that she had never imagined herself in this role. But as it turns out, it has been the most rewarding time of her life.

“Being a department head has been the most fun of any of my roles over the last 36 years.”

A creative and inspirational “legacy leader”

Dean Shawn Wahl of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH), described Yarberry as a “legacy leader.”

“Under her leadership, the Department of Art and Design has expanded in numerous ways, including new graduate programs, gallery expansion, robust community arts partnerships and fundraising,” Wahl noted.

Man and woman at an awards ceremony — Yarberry accepting the Judy Award for “University Citizenship” from Dean Wahl. Photo credit: Jesse Scheve/Missouri State University.

Yet even before she became department head, Yarberry displayed innovative leadership, according to Angela Barker, Director of Information Technology and Operations for RCASH.

Barker, who started working for Missouri State in 1999, recalled how Yarberry developed a long-range technology equipment plan. The plan created a workflow that maintained and redistributed state-of-the-art computer technology to standard computer labs.

“It laid the groundwork for the technology standards we continue today,” Barker said.

In addition to being innovative, Yarberry’s leadership is inspirational, according to Dr. Steve Willis, professor of art.

“In my 49 years in the profession, I have never known a more conscientious educator with such an incredibly high work ethic than Professor Yarberry,” Willis said. “She has the ability to motivate people to achieve at their highest level.”

Professor Sarah Williams also described Yarberry’s leadership as inspirational.

“I’ve found it truly is rare to work with someone whose first instinct — when faced with a problem or difficult situation — isn’t to bristle or go into panic mode but rather to view it as an opportunity to learn something, investigate in a new context and problem solve in a calm yet professional manner,” Williams said. “She’s been an amazing role model.”

BFA in Art Senior Exhibition now on view at Brick City Gallery

April 17, 2025 by Reynolds College

Missouri State University’s Department of Art and Design announces the BFA in Art Senior Exhibition is on view at the Brick City Gallery.

The exhibition is open April 22-May 2 and ends with the First Friday Art Walk May 2 from 6-9 p.m. Visitors can enjoy a range of artworks, including drawing, sculpture, metal work and new media.

The event is free and open to the public.