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When visiting artists Richard Polsky, Brian Gormley, and Vivian Fishbone want to digitally manipulate images to use in their work, they go to Stephanie Moss ’05 (Linwood, N.J.), and she makes it happen.
Moss, who will spend the next semester studying in London, is working this summer as a studio apprentice to Lew Minter, the art department’s media lab director, through the EXCEL Scholars program.
An award-winning designer, Minter has guided more than 70 students in independent studies in graphic design. He has mounted five solo shows of his paintings and sculpture and participated in a dozen group exhibitions. His work is included in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Rome and dozens of private and corporate collections.
In addition to working with professional artists, Moss has been helping to set up a dozen new high-end Macintosh computers for students to use, and exploring her passion — computer animation.
“I’ve always been really fascinated with it,” Moss says, explaining that from the time she first saw Toy Story nearly 10 years ago, she wanted to learn more.
Moss got a big part of her wish granted this summer during a two-day on-campus demonstration of the animation program Maya.
“It was like a crash course in animation from the beginning until now,” she says.
Minter says that experience will benefit both Moss and the media lab.” Part of her job has been to research software and make some recommendations,” he says.
He says that Moss, who took several of his design courses, began her apprenticeship with strong Photoshop and Freehand skills.
“She’s completely computer-savvy,” he explains. “She thinks things out logically, which is not to say that she’s afraid to take chances. She pushes her thinking way, way out. And she has a very strong work ethic. If it takes her twice as long to do something the way she thinks it should be done, then so be it.”
Moss, who hopes to use animation in a year-long research project next year, says the chance to learn more about it — and to have a say in the software she’ll use — has been especially valuable.
“The art professors have really encouraged me,” she says.
Moss adds that she’s grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with working artists and do a little painting of her own in the Williams Visual Arts Building.
“It’s really exciting,” she says.
A graduate of Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, Moss is a member of the yearbook staff and the Lafayette Arts Society.