Visual Arts and Design

Biography
I began working at RCC in 2007, and am currently full time faculty and Director of the Art Galleries. I teach a range of classes in 2D art, art history, and sculpture, and recently began working in the 3D modelling program ZBrush as part of the sculpture curriculum. In addition my teaching, I enjoy creating and organizing special projects, in topics such as tattoo art, artists’ portraits, and student project such as murals and collaborative work. Primarily working in painting and drawing, I also explore a breadth of media, including installation, printmaking, collage, murals, and worked for 15 years as a professional scenic artist and designer.

Teaching Experience
Boise State University; Utah State University; Community College of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh; Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama; University of Wyoming; Eastern Wyoming College; Rogue Community College

Selected Grants and Awards
Graduate Scholarship, School of Visual Arts; Vice-President’s Fellowship for Creative Research, Utah State University; Idaho Commission on the Arts, Artist’s Individual Fellowship; Juror’s Award, Boise Museum of Art Biennial; Honor Student Teacher’s Award, CCAC Pittsburgh; Berkman Faculty Development Grant, Carnegie Mellon; Faculty Senate Award of Distinction in Innovation, RCC; Best of Show, Southern Oregon Art Show

Selected Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
Herrett Museum for Arts and Sciences, College of Southern Idaho, Harper-Howell Gallery, Grants Pass, OR; Firehouse Gallery, Grants Pass, OR; Eastern Wyoming College; Chadron State University, Nebraska; Pittsburgh Center for the Arts; Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Gallery; LaFond Galleries, Pittsburgh; Chase Center for the Arts, Annapolis Maryland; Saint Xavier College, Chicago; Northern Kentucky University; Viterbo College, Wisconsin

Selected Scenic Designs
The Merchant of Venice, RCC; Book of Days, University of Wyoming; The Marriage of Figaro, CMU School of Drama; Watching my Hair Grow, Boston Performing Arts Center; Grand Hotel, Kennedy Center, Washington, DC; The Imaginary Invalid, Point Park College Conservatory, Pittsburgh; Children of Eden, CCAC South Campus, West Mifflin, PA; The Wiz, Island Center for the Arts, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Degrees Earned
AA, College of Southern Idaho
BFA, Boise State University
Graduate Study in Painting with Will Insley and Lucio Pozzi at the School of Visual Arts in New York
MFA in Drawing and Painting, Utah State University.

Read more about Karl Brake and see his work.

Department Chair/Faculty/Advisor
Biography
Working as an Illustrator, Designer, Audio Engineer, and Touring Musician has been/is a rewarding and valued part of my career. But rather than bore you with a list of accomplishments, I’d rather focus on teaching. My one true passion!

I like to introduce students to the idea of visual analysis, focusing on their work as well as the work of others while using the principles taught in art and design. It's essential that students learn to think carefully about the decisions they make concerning technique and materials/programs and that they relate these decisions to personal, theoretical, and historical contexts. I want students to leave my class with a better understanding of the multitude of possibilities we offer them through education and the courage to create work that is uniquely their own and makes them valued in their respective fields and to themselves. This has always been a collaborative process for me, as the students, and I, grow creative theories and unique work together.

A quote from Joseph Beuys has been a guiding light over the last several years. "To be a teacher is my greatest work of art."

Let's make something! Art + Music = Life

Degrees Earned
BFA in Painting/Printmaking at Southern Utah University (SUU)
MFA in Illustration/Design from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Degrees Earned
San Francisco Art Institute, BFA
San Francisco State University, MFA

Degrees Earned
Southern Oregon University, BFA
Southern Oregon University, MAT

See Jennifer Eufusia's work.

Biography
Heidi Lee Harless is an award-winning educator, designer and artist living in Oregon’s scenic Rogue Valley. Currently, she is a Faculty Instructor and the Design + Digital Media Program Coordinator for Rogue Community College. She has also taught for Crater Renaissance Academy High School and Southern Oregon University.

With twenty years of professional experience in technology and the arts, Harless has created courses where students succeed in core standards while gaining design and software expertise. In 1993, she began her career publishing software at Apple Computer. She has assisted both Adobe and Microsoft in their marketing efforts, including the highly successful launch of the Microsoft Network. As principal of Heidi Lee Harless Designs, her art direction talents can be seen in the advertising and design of Fortune 500 corporations as well as non-profit companies like Woodland Park Zoo and Asante.

Ms. Harless has honored degrees in Humanities from San José University, Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Seattle, and a Master of Arts from Southern Oregon University. As a small business owner, she has received grants and awards for her work educating at-risk youth. She is also a recipient of a 2007 Kum Tux Hiju Fellowship, a 2010 Miller Foundation Teaching Award, an Alumni Ambassador Award from SOU in 2013, and a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany in 2015.

Her passion for great design is only rivaled by a commitment to education and working to solve equity issues. Through past work as a School Board Member and current involvement with local charities, and as a CTE Industry Advisory Chairperson, she is committed to creating interactive dialogues between students and the community so that our region can sustain a thriving, intellectually diverse and successful economy for generations to come.

Degrees Earned
San Jose State University, B.A.
Art Institute of Seattle, A.A.
Southern Oregon University, M.A.

Biography
Irene is an internationally known artist, author and speaker. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NYC and MFA from the Royal College of Art in London and was an Instructor of Design at Penn State University. She posed for George Segal and her images are now in the Whitney Museum, NYC and the San Diego Museum of Art, CA. She traveled extensively to countries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia and is fluent in Chinese. Irene is a long time supporter of peace initiatives. She designed the logo for the Culture of Peace Initiative, a United Nations Peace Messenger Organization, and her inspiring Peace Dove image hangs in the United Nations building in New York City. The logo and website are used around the world and highlighted annually on the International Day of Peace in September. Her two published books - The Golden Mountain: Beyond the American Dream and What Do You See? have been chosen for course studies in major universities and have won Independent Publisher Awards for Best book of the year for Multicultural Non-fiction and Freedom Fighter Award for promoting free speech, racial and religious tolerance.

Degrees Earned
Royal College of Art, MFA
School of Visual Arts, BFA

Biography
I've worked with several academic departments since 1997 and really enjoy my job duties and the contact with faculty and students.

Degrees Earned
Central Washington State College, B.A.