Dawn Ertl
Dawn Ertl is our fearless leader! She is the current president of Fine Arts Roundtable (FAR), the grad student art organization at CSULB School of Art, and has been for the last 3 years. FAR hosts the Greater Los Angeles Master of Fine Art (GLAMFA) show which is a juried show exhibiting work from MFA students in the Southern California Area. She specifically timed her class schedule so that she would be able to direct our 10th anniversary GLAMFA exhibition!
We are very glad she did because there's a steep learning curve when a new FAR president steps in to run the the annual GLAMFA show. Dawn says that "I've also learned about several aspects that most artists going through a grad program might not experience, so much about the behind the scenes of jurying and curating, and other 'outside of the studio' aspects. I've met a lot of great people, and made a lot of amazing friends."
Dawn is also the organizer of a teaching program CSULB, designed to give MFA grads more opportunities to teach and get experience.
Her own art practice deals with the relationships between people and the socially constructed perception of nature. It is an unhealthy relationship influenced by our attitudes towards craft, industrialization, community, mass production, self worth/market worth, and more.
Dawn's work makes use of weaving, knitting, and fiber. Many first assume she is a Fibers major but in fact she is a Sculpture major.
Her studio will be open to the public on August 31st, 2014 at California State University, Long Beach. If you would like to meet her, be prepared to ask around as she will be very busy overseeing the amazing event happening on that day! I guarantee, though, that the extra little chase will be worth it. :)