Inquiry

What influences our creative community? Beyond the boundaries of art and design, where do they seek inspiration and knowledge? Hear members of the PNCA Community speak to these questions and more in pursuit of discovering their creative generators.

A Creative Mind Logo

Melanie Stevens

Assistant Professor, Intermedia, Thesis and Professional Practice
Director, Continuing Education Youth Program

Melanie Stevens is the creator of the graphic novel series WaterShed; co-founder and editor of Miss Anthology, which supports and publishes racially and economically diverse young female and genderqueer comic artists; and co-curator of Nat Turner Project, a migratory gallery space granting artists of color the freedom to create within and without the parameters of racial commodification or designation.

Hear More Perspectives

Bijan Berahimi

Assistant Professor, Graphic Design
Co-Curator and Co-Host of PNCA Design Lecture Series

Bijan Berahimi is an Iranian-American designer and founder of FISK, a studio and gallery in Portland, Oregon, that has become an ongoing project based around culture, community, and commerce through the lens of art and design.

Skye Moret

Assistant Professor, MFA Collaborative Design/Design Systems

Skye Moret believes in the power of visualization and meaningful engagement in bridging the gap between two traditionally polar disciplines: design and science. Her work investigates the complex relationship between humans, technology, and nature.

Garrick Imatani

Associate Professor & Chair, Foundation Program

Garrick Imatani’s creative practice places the complexities and nuances surrounding race, the body, and political history within the framework of slow-moving performance and constructed landscapes.

Yoshihiro Kitai

Assistant Professor, Printmaking
Assistant Professor, MFA Print Media

Yoshihiro Kitai studied ceramics for 25 years in his home country of Japan before moving to the United States. In his prints, Yoshihiro mixes a Western style of abstraction and a Japanese style of metal leafing, conceptually focusing on his perspective as a foreigner in the U.S.

David Eckard

Department Head & Associate Professor, Sculpture
Associate Professor, Foundation Program

David Eckard utilizes diverse materials, techniques, and presentational strategies in his studio practice, which primarily investigates futility, function, authority, and queer masculinity and persona.

Topics

FearlessnessActivismChaosInquiry

About A Creative Mind

The vibrancy of the creative energy at PNCA is amplified by the diversity of perspectives from within our community of artists, designers and educators. This project, conceived by the Office of Communication and Design, in collaboration with Daniela Repas ’08, MFA ’20 offers a platform to explore a range of topics relevant to one’s creative practice.  

The diversity of interpretations demonstrates the complexity behind the seeming simplicity of a singular word; where meaning is infused with cultural, social and personal influence. A creative practice is an ongoing engagement of curiosity, self-reflection, inquiry and criticality. At times, it is asking yourself the questions to which you don’t have answers; to be fully engaged and aware, with a willingness to adapt and evolve.

Over time, this platform will continue to expand its collection of voices, continually engaging with the PNCA community to share their perspectives on issues of relevance to artists, designers and educators.

Want to contribute your voice to the project?

Contact Communications