Winning art by Lauren Allen, left, Aaron Pozos and Kendall Pulido.

Three Studio Art students win SDA Outstanding Student Awards for 2022

July 8, 2022 — Each spring, instructors nominate students for Surface Design Association's Outstanding Student Award. Demonstration of inventive and innovative use of technique, materials, or concepts is what stands out in the winning entries. Congratulations to the CVAD winners and all 41 of the 2022 awardees across the nation and abroad! The SDA, founded in 1977, provides an expansive platform for the exchange of ideas, methods and materials.

Lauren Allen, graduate student, Studio Art
“Tenere,” 2022
Yarn, cord, thread, photographs, crochet structure, embroidery, woven structure encasing it 
24 x 60 inches
Part of a growing body of work reflecting on the artist’s experiences as a neurodivergent person also facing mental health concerns. Within the structures are hidden photographs capturing moments of peace that have been found. @leallen_art 

Aaron Pozos, M.F.A., 2022, Studio Art
“Technouroboros,” 2022
toned cyanotype, dyed fabric, appliqué, quilt
84 x96 inches
This quilt uses the interface of a Nokia phone with the game "snake" as an ouroboros, a circular symbol depicting a snake or dragon, swallowing its tail, as an emblem of wholeness or infinity, with an exit right within reach. This combination of technology and quilting creates a dialogue of past and present to imagine an ideal future. Instagram: @afterapture

Kendall Pulido, 2022, B.F.A., Studio Art
“Trophy,” 2022
fleece, plastic, polymer clay, hand sewn and hand sculpted
14 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
Melding cute, quaint and macabre — what is most important to Pulido is creating creatures with personality and life, she said. Each creature has a story, and with this piece, the viewer is asked to decide what the monster's story is. Instagram: @starlight_of_arraya