College of Fine and Applied Arts

Micah Carter’s entry, “Twist,” was selected as the winner of the Sixth Annual Chair Design Competition at Appalachian State University. Judge Todd Campbell said that this year’s competition was a “premiere year.”

The third place prize at Appalachian’s Chair Design Competition went to Brian Harris for “Apportare.”

Senior furniture design student Micah Carter of Winston-Salem was named the first place winner at Appalachian State University’s Sixth Annual Chair Design Competition April 30 at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center.

The competition, which featured 14 chairs, is the culmination of student work throughout the academic year. The competition evaluates students’ design concepts, construction techniques, finishing techniques and feasibility of production. The designs of the chairs must be original and unique.

Second place went to Ryan Klinger of Huntersville, a junior product and furniture design major. Brian Harris of Hershey, Pa., took third place. He is a junior industrial and product design major. The first honorable mention in the competition’s history went to senior product design major Lee Owen of Henderson.

The competition is coordinated by the Department of Technology. The top three entries received purchase offers from Appalachian. If the students decide to sell their chairs to the university, the first place winner will receive $1,500, second place $1,000 and $750 for third place.

Members of the judging committee were Todd Campbell from Bernhardt Design, Terry McKinney from Johnston Casuals Furniture and Gail Fredell from Western Piedmont Community College.

For more information about the Chair Design Competition, contact Kern Maass at maasskd@appstate.edu or (828) 262-6356.

An image by senior technical photography student Hallie Hochmann was selected as the cover photo for the May 2009 issue of “A! Magazine for the Arts.”

Featured is a detail of Hochman’s photo “The Contra Dance.” The image won the Culture category in the 2009 Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition.

About the image, Hochmann says, “Contra dancing is all about motion. It intrigued me so much that I had to try and capture it.”

Published monthly by the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire (AAME), “A!” prints news from the entire Tri-Cities region of Tennessee with primary distribution to Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

Six area businesses and non-profit organizations got a public relations boost when an Appalachian State University class took them on as clients for the semester. The companies’ business increased while the students got real-world experience.

The goal of the project was to increase the clients’ customer base by using public relations skills learned in Public Relations Practices, a class taught by Dr. Heather Preston in the Department of Communication. The class was comprised mainly of senior public relations majors and focused on relating the real-world aspect of working directly with a client.

The class worked with WhytheWoods nonprofit organization, Special Olympics, Samaritan’s Purse, Tipsy Taxi, Klondike Café and the Watauga County Office of the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina. All the groups that worked with these clients were successful in attracting publicity to the business or organization. The class allowed all students involved to further their public relations skills and get ready to enter the job market.

Students commented that the class was a very valuable way to gain experience and confidence while helping local businesses or nonprofit agencies in Boone.

Hugh Owings’ chair, “One Man’s Treasure,” took first place at the 2008 Appalachian State University Chair Design Competition.

Appalachian State University students in the Department of Technology will compete in the Sixth Annual Chair Design Competition Thursday, April 30, at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center in Boone.

The competition, coordinated by the Department of Technology, is a semester-long project that teaches students design concepts, human factors and construction techniques in context to the chair form. The designs of the chairs must be original and unique.

Winning entries will receive purchase offers from Appalachian. The university will offer a purchase price of $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $750 for third place.

Previous participants in the Appalachian competition have gone on to win at the bi-annual Association of Woodworking and Furniture Suppliers (AWFS) Fresh Wood student competition in Las Vegas.

The chairs will be on display for public viewing from 9 a.m. to noon. Judging will take place during this time as well with winners announced at the conclusion of judging.

Members of the judging committee are Todd Campbell from Bernhardt Design, Terry McKinney from Johnston Casuals Furniture and Gail Fredell from Western Piedmont Community College.

For more information about the Chair Design Competition, contact Kern Maass at maasskd@appstate.edu or (828) 262-6356.

An internship completed at Samaritan’s Purse by Cissie Graham Lynch while a student in the Department of Communication has resulted in a new reality program, “Children’s Heart.”

The program tells the story of three children with life-threatening heart defects. To see the trailer for the program and air times and channels, visit http://www.childrensheart.tv/.

Lynch, the granddaughter of evangelist Billy Graham, graduated from Appalachian in August 2008.