Share Your Stories
Thanks to those of you who sent an alumni news update to us after seeing the new digital CFA Magazine. Although we know that many of you send your news directly to the academic program from which you graduated, we would love for you to fill out our alumni contact form so we can help to let your classmates know what you’ve been doing.
Here are the stories that came through last time!
Still working as an artist, Hilda Demsky moved to a retirement facility and creates within a big, shared studio. She continues to paint in oil, focusing on abstract meaningful paintings about nature, often while listening to classical music. Demsky spent two years of the pandemic painting her interpretation of poems by U.S. Poets Laureate. She has been exhibiting the 36 paintings around Westchester County in universities and libraries. The overall collection is called “The Gratitude Project." Demsky is an alumna from the School of Art, BFA 1958.
After finishing an MFA at the School of Art and spending two years at the Robotics Institute, Daniel Pillis transitioned to the MIT Media Lab, where he continued working with robotics and tangible media. Now, as an assistant professor of virtual production at Emerson College in the heart of Boston, he is working with large-scale physical/virtual environments and robotic actors to create experiences and experiments with artificial intelligence. An article from the Berkeley Beacon highlights Pillis’ work with a robot named Jibo, which Pillis calls his “teaching assistant.” Pillis is an alumnus from the School of Art, MFA 2016.
Jorge Vera, a native of Pirayú, a tiny farming community in Paraguay, began his violin studies at age 9. In his community, 40 students shared the nine instruments their village could afford. He was not deterred and dedicated himself to his music studies. This summer, Vera began to change the lives of young musicians, as he stepped into a full-time position with the Allentown Symphony Association, where he will play in the orchestra and teach members of its youth orchestra. Vera is an alumnus from the School of Music, MFA 2024, Certificate (Advanced Studies) 2025. Read more about Vera's story.
Sherri WOLFGANG is a painter specializing in life-size figurative work, which draws on Renaissance painting traditions in combination with Old Master painting techniques. WOLFGANG is represented by George Billis Gallery and Dacia Gallery, both in New York City, as well as M.A. Doran Gallery in Tulsa, Okla. Her work, pictured above, is on display in the Cohon University Center, as well. WOLFGANG is an alumna from the School of Art, BFA 1983.
Find out what alumni are doing across the School of Architecture, School of Art, School of Design, School of Drama, School of Music and BXA Intercollege Degree Programs.
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