PSU Magazine Fall 2005

• Gerald "J erry" Hubbard is 2005 president-elect or the lrons Oaks Foundation, which supports a nature preserve and education center near Chicago. Hubbard also is on the board of the Make a Difference Youth Foundation or Chicago. I le is vice president and director or corporate services for Van Kampen Investments. Michele Farrell is project man– ager at outhern California Edi– son, an electric utility company in Rosemead, alifornia. Herbe rt French is an instructor in psychology and alcohol and drug counseling at Portland Community College. He is com– pleting a doctorate in social psy– chology and is an adjunct professor at Portland tale. Robe rta Kirk is owner at Kirk– Wo rks Fine An and Graphics in Newport. Kirk says she is a full– time fiber artist and tea her, liv– ing at the beautiful central Oregon coast with my husband of 34 years." Michae l uthe rland is presi– dent and ch ief executive officer at Uti li ty Trailer Sales and Car– rier Transicold or Central Cali– fornia in Lathrop, California. Somtim Tobiga is an attorney practicing law in Accra, the apital or Ghana, and a legal and financial adviser to the Yakote Women Farmers and Trades Association. Tobiga returned to Ghana 10 years ago. Elaine Drakulich M , PhD '93 is an assistant superintendent with the North Clackamas School District. Drakulich also is an adjunct prorcssor at PSU and a member of Friends of the Graduate School of Education. She lives in Milwaukie. Lee Jenkins is executive direc– tor of the Vancouver Police Activities League in Van ouver, Washington. Jenkins formerly was director of the University Park Community Center in North Portland. Philip Kennewell is director of marketing for the Grapevine (Texas) Convention and Visitors Bureau. Kennewell previously was the marketing director for car and rail products with Travelocity. Yerlena Orr is an author and poet. Orrs first full-length col– lection of poetry, Break in the Cloud Cover, published by Howlet Press on a handset let– terpress, followed publication of two chapbooks, 1Dance Septem– ber Naked in the Rain and Woman Who Hea,·s Voices. She lives in Portland. Success in the world of contemporary art C AROLYN COLE '76 HAS ACCOMPLISHED what most aspiring artists dream of-her work is shown in six galleries nationwide and her boldly colored contempo– rary paintings are held in over 500 private and corporate collections. Cole goes beyond a flat surface by incor– porating texture through multiple layers of vibrant acrylic paint and collage elements. "I glue recycled envelopes over my can– vas surfaces, then paint over them," she explains. ''[ add pages from textbooks, as well, painting over the text, obstrncting much of tt, and then scraping the surface with a palette knife to reveal the layers underneath. By building up layers, the paintings become infused with a cultural history, and at the same time they allow a viewer to create a personal history." Coles own history as an artist is equally layered While at Portland State she worked mghts and summers as a typist m a law firm, but managed to graduate with high honors. Several of her earliest shows were at PSU. including a 1979 group exhibition titled "Works on Paper" tn the White Galle1)'. It then traveled across six Western states. For the next few year - Cole was part of several other significant local exhi– bitions. Wanting to expenence a broader, international scope of art, Cole and future husband and fellow PSU graduate, James Minden '77, also an artist, moved to New York in 30 P U MAGAZINE FALL 200 1981. They married in 1984. ''New York was a stimulating place to live and work, and we enjoyed 10 great years of interacting with a huge art community there," reflects Cole. ''Although my art was in a lot of shows, and there were opportunities, we missed Portlands affordable housing and lifestyle.·· In 1991 Cole and Minden returned to the West Coast to a grmving art com– munity. The mid-'90s were a turning point in her career. Coles canvases sold well, and she sought and obtained rep– resentation in galleries in Los Angeles, Chicago, Carmel , San Francisco, Seattle, and ew York. In Portland, Cole is rep– resented by Bmters Gallery. Her work is m the private corporate collections of American Express. Campbell Soup Company, Heinz Corporation, IBM, and Walt Disney Productions, to name a few. Coles career continues to nounsh. She conststently sells nearly e\·ery piece created, is m demand for commission work, and her work 1s nationally sought after hy corporate and private collectors alike. Yet she remains down to earth . "Dunng the first 20 years I had many part-lime jobs to support myself, but my anwork always came first. I'm grate– ful that people connect wtth my pamtings, and that I make a h\·ing workmg as a full-ume artist Domg what I love is somethmg l ne\·er take for granted. " -Jcmnc1 Moth-Lope::.