15,000+ Attendees and Growing at the WPPI Convention in Las Vegas

The Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) held its 30th anniversary this year reaching record high attendance. Photographers from Japan, Russia, Australia and several other countries joined 15,000+ photographers to share and learn the tricks of the trade.

Living Arts College photography students experienced four nights in Las Vegas, at one of the largest photography conventions in the world. They mingled, socialized and learned from the world’s most talented photographers.

For the city that never sleeps, the photography students attended classes by day and toured the city by night. They learned marketing strategies, photography techniques, and the must know basics of photography. They captured photos of the city lights and architecture.








The Canon Keynote Speaker Gregory Heisler, world renowned photographer presented an exciting overview of his portrait work for magazines, advertisements and private commissions. His photography has been featured in more than 70 issues of TIME magazine as well as LIFE, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, and The New York Times Magazine.









The photography student attendees had an overwhelming experience and had this to say:

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but the photographs don’t.” – Jill Brunkhorst

“I learned new things and loved meeting people from all over the world.” – Shaquanna Kelly

“WPPI was an awesome experience. I got to meet and learn from professional photographers and experience what the work force could be like.” – Renate Stokke

Alumni News

Barry Safley is a veteran of twelve years with Industrial Light and Magic. Barry worked most recently on the movies Star Wars and AVATAR. Barry is a compositor and loves NUKE for compositing.




Carl Schmidt was just promoted to Assistant Art Director at Electronic Arts. Carl has been working at EA for over six years on the SIMS project and is now busy on SIMS 3 AMBITIONS. Carl is also planning a spring wedding to his fiancé, Kristen.

Craig Slagle is coming up on his one year anniversary with Rhythm and Hues. Prior to Rhythm and Hues, Craig worked at EA for seven years. Craig is also a former Living Arts College @ the School of Communication Arts professor and is an avid runner.

Pierre Chastain is busy working on Zoo Keeper at Sony. Pierre recently worked on the just released movie, Alice in Wonderland.





Dean Sauls is now at AFK Interactive working on mobile apps. Dean was the owner of PRAXIS Studio before selling to a larger company. Dean and his wife, Tricia, just had their third baby.

“3 THE HARD WAY”
Documentary Screening - Three Unique Artists Collaborate

Living Arts College @ School of Communications Arts is proud to host “3 The Hard Way”, a film documentary by Octave Blue Entertainment Production an entrepreneur venture of LAC alumnus Robert King presented by “THE LoDi PROJECT.”

What happens when you bring together a graffiti artist from the streets of Philly, a cartoonist born and bred in the South, and a French Puerto Rican, mixed media/collage painter to collaborate on an artistic project?




Over the last ten months Sean Kernick and Paul Friedrick collaborated with Georges Le Chevallier, professor at Living Arts College, to create 14 canvasses and 15 drawings. Three artists from completely different backgrounds will present their work in a unique film documentary. Living Arts College is pleased to welcome alumnus Robert King who worked in conjunction with his wife Lisa King of Octave Blue Entertainment to film the year-long process.




“It will be interesting to see how three artists, with completely different backgrounds, processes and styles come together to create a finished painting. “
--Georges LeChevallier

“THE LoDi PROJECT” exists as a curatorial organization that strives to bring attention to current issues and ideas by creating an atmosphere of open dialogue through site- specific and traveling exhibitions, performances and productions.

Campus Director Enjoys a Fun Day at “The Walt Disney Family Museum”

The Walt Disney Family Museum is brand new. It just recently opened its doors in October and is located in the Presidio of South Florida. How convenient—just down the street from ILM!





The museum is arranged in chronological order of Walt Disney’s life, recounting the history of his life and career. The galleries are:

ADULT BEGINNINGS: Includes scenes from childhood, youth, and early adulthood.

HOLLYWOOD: Walt arriving in the movie capital. Includes original artwork that documents the silent-film series success of Mickey Mouse.

NEW HORIZONS IN THE 30’S: Success of Walt’s cartoons led to a revolution in the art and technology of animation.

THE MOVE TO FEATURES: Walt dares to produce a feature length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

WE WERE IN A NEW BUSINESS: A new studio was built in Burbank. Pinocchio, Fantasia and Bambi were produced here. This exhibit shows off rare production pieces along with multiple camera cranes used during production.

THE TOUGHEST PERIOD IN MY WHOLE LIFE: 1941. Disney experienced an animators strike. Training films for World War II also took place during this time.

POST WAR PRODUCTION: Walt ventures into live-action production. An under water camera used for filming 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea can be seen.

WALT & THE NATURAL WORLD: Walt’s documentary film production is illustrated with his specialized equipment used to produce wildlife films.

THE 1950’S & 1960’S—THE BIG SCREEN AND BEYOND: Walt branches out from motion pictures to television and creates an innovative theme park called Disney Land. These attractions were introduced at the 1964 World’s Fair.

DECEMBER 15, 1966: Walt’s death shocks and saddens the world, but his legacy will continue to inspire future generations.

“ARTISTS UNITE FOR HAITI”

Professors, alumni and students joined together at Living Arts College (LAC) to support their friend and colleague Georges LeChevallier in his efforts to bring relief to Haiti after the earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010.




Georges LeChevallier, LAC Professor and Activist

Georges & Carrie LeChevallier, directors of the curatorial organization “THE LoDi PROJECT”, collaborated with LAC’s professor of photography, Peter Eversoll, to put out an international call for artists to create art to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti. Georges LeChevallier’s cousin, Gerard LeChevallier, who worked for the United Nations in Haiti was never found after the earthquake. THE LoDi Project strives to bring attention to current issues and ideas by creating an atmosphere of open dialogue through site- specific and traveling exhibitions, performances and productions.

“Humbling to see how the human spirit works.” -- Georges LeChevallier

The “Artists Unite for Haiti” artwork sold for twenty five dollars each and the artists’ names remained anonymous until each piece was sold. The exhibit raised over 12,000 dollars. Many local artists donated pieces to the auction including LAC’s students, alumni and professors. Proceeds were donated to Mercy Corps and designated to the immediate relief of the Haitian people.

Over 300 artists from fourteen countries reached out to “THE LoDi PROJECT”, donating over 1,000 pieces of artwork which included paintings, sketches, poems, collages and a unique dissertation. The unification of such efforts was humbling to all those who participated in the exhibition.

Living Arts College is proud of the support that photography professor, Peter Eversoll, gave to the “Artists Unite for Haiti” effort. In 2009, he spent time in Haiti photographing its people and culture as part of a greater project that aims to portray a face of humanity within a context of underdevelopment.

Living Arts College Students Wowed at Game Developer’s Conference

Motion control and social gaming were the hot topics at GDC, the annual convention for game designers, programmers and creatives.

The Game Developer’s Conference is the place to be and Living Arts College students and faculty were there to “rub elbows” with the industry leaders.

Sony shook up the conference with a splashy introduction of the PlayStation Move. Watch out Nintendo… this will rival the Wii.





The biggest buzz was reserved for social gaming, a form of easy-to-play online multiplayer games. The success of “Farmville” and “Mafia Wars” is amazing. LAC students Holly Rowland, Michael Grant, Alexa Riley and Alex Loeffler checked out “Power Gig.” The upcoming guitar game was introduced in a mocked-up living room populated with hipsters rocking out to “Power Gig.”








“Civilization” and “Railroad Tycoon” designer Sid Meier delivered a keynote speech to hundreds of onlookers on the psychology of game design. Meier is the Director of Creative Development at Firaxis Games.

The students who attended had these things to say:

“GDC was a terrific experience and it was very exciting to meet so many industry professionals.” Holly Rowland

“It was big, it was long, very educational……definitely a learning experience.” Alexa Riley

“It was a great opportunity to get a ton of insight in the industry.” Michael Grant

“GDC was a very good opportunity to meet and network with industry professionals.” Patrick VanNortwick

“It was a great networking opportunity.” Alex Loeffler

College Director Networking for Success in Placement at GDC

Learning Arts College @ School of Communication Arts has a long association with industry leaders in animation, game design, film and audio. Assisting graduates to move into top positions in these industries is accomplished by the graduate using their unique skill sets gained at the College.



















The College’s “secret weapon” is the Campus Director’s networking with colleagues that she has known for over 25 years. “Networking is my sole reason for attending Game Developer’s Conference” states College Director Debra Ann Hooper. I can shake hands with leaders from Blizzard, Lucas Arts, Epic, Ubisoft, Insomniac Games, Naughty Dog, Disney Interactive Media Group and Crytek Gmbh, all under the same roof. “My goal is to be able to text, email, or phone an industry contact when I have a talented graduate that I know has the skill set needed for their company,” reports Ms. Hooper.

LAC Students Take Home Four ADDY Awards

“It’s all about the art of the message", reports College Director Debra Hooper. “We won in this tough advertising competition because the goal at the College is to develop great content skills. We are moving students beyond learning Photoshop techniques to exciting audiences with stories and images that count.”





Living Arts College @ School of Communication Arts (LAC) students took home four awards at the 2010 Triangle ADDY Awards. The awards were announced and hosted by legendary Advertising Executive, Charlotte Beers. It was a fun-filled Gala evening at the ADDYs honoring LAC students Nicole Litts, Geoff Helderman and Austin Burley in student categories.

Nicole Litts received a gold ADDY and was “Best in Show” for her TV spot for the Truth.com campaign on anti-smoking and “Mothers with Birth Defects.” Two Silver ADDY awards were presented to Geoff Helderman, “Drunk Driving Prevention Ad” and Austin Burley for the typographic illustration of “Christopher Walken”. LAC is thrilled to honor the students and the recognition they will receive in pursuing careers in the interactive media industry.






“Support from Instructors was tremendous and helped me shape my creative concepts into digital media.” – Nicole Litts

"Winning this award is a true benchmark in my life. Not only can I look at it proudly, I can also smile knowing this is only the beginning." – Austin Burley

“It was a true honor to win an award for a project I put so much time and effort into. Working on the MADD campaign was a great experience.” – Geoff Helderman








College staff includes professionals who are representative of the talent and strength of the local Raleigh ADDY Award group--American Advertising Federation. Michael Winslow, Creative Director at LAC is the recipient of the 2009 AAF Silver Medal Award, recognizing men and women who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and who have been active in furthering the industry’s creative standards. Winslow participates in developing the College’s special focus on design content. “Our programs incorporate the talents of staff members like Michael Winslow, who transfer years of practical content know-how to critiquing portfolios. This is why we have developed a Greenlight process for mentoring student development,” reports College Director Debra Hooper.