Vonrd's Master of Fine Arts thesis show from 1985

[Vonrd]

While websurfing I decided to take a look at the Ohio State University archives and came across my MFA Thesis from 1985. Unfortunately it was a pretty poor quality PDF especially because I didn't use archival materials when assembling it. Pretty sure that I used spray adhesive to mount the photos because there was lots of adhesive bleed which discolored the paper. I've spent the last week or so Photoshopping the images to somewhat bring them back to how I remember them to have been.

The text is somewhat embarrassing as to it's quality and you can probably tell from the images subject matter that I wasn't in the best emotional shape at the time. But I do have really good memories from that time and miss all of the friends that I had.

Having to re-build almost all of the studio equipment made me somewhat resentful at the time but it lead to my future careers as Studio Manager at both RISD and CCAC.

I'm attaching the photos here. To see the thesis and all of the photos go to Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ss69zyeg5roda02wuwsop/ADLV7_aFnFbbt7STkSm0prY?rlkey=hxsz88iw8nxc583xjpsxj4sye&st=vn7m4mhp&dl=0

[Etzel]

Wow, some of those artworks look quite impressive... thx for sharing

[Flyboy]

That’s some great work! Is a lot of that with glass? What came first the artist or aircraft mechanic? Or were you doing both at same time?

[Butzzell]

Salvador Dali is envious.

[Vonrd]

8 hours ago, Flyboy said:

Is a lot of that with glass?

Everything except the black and white photos are glass. I minored in photography.

8 hours ago, Flyboy said:

What came first the artist or aircraft mechanic?

As far back as I remember I was an aviation nut building models both plastic / static and flying. First free flight / control line then RC. My first RC was rudder only with rubber band powered escapement... super Old School. I was also always drawing / painting airplane art and eventually moved to surf art and landscapes. By college undergraduate I had focused on art and discovered glassblowing. I focused on glass art through graduate school and right after grad school got a job as Studio Manager at the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the premier art institutions in the USA. I was finally making a fair amount of money, enough to fulfill my dream of flying. Got my PPL and by that point began to get disillusioned with Academia and Art in general. It seemed to me that to be successful, you had to kowtow to rich patrons and gallery owners. I got the idea that if I became an aircraft mechanic I could buy an aircraft and save lots of money by doing all my own maintenance. I went cross country to attend A&P school in Oakland and was also working at California College of Arts and Crafts as Studio Manager. Well, A&P school cost a lot and when I graduated there was very little demand for mechanics. So I continued the Studio Manager gig while working part time doing dope and fabric restorations. Pay was fair but not enough to buy a plane. After settling in the Bay Area working in GA there was never enough spare bucks so I never did buy a plane. Now that I'm retired, I dabbling again in glass and still hoping to find a "barn find" fixer upper plane.  

[Flyboy]

My wife hates to fly so never made sense to buy an airplane (plus I’m not a mechanic to do my own maintenance). Flight sim is the compromise and it’s a lot cheaper and safer!

[Klaiber]

This is fantastic work, Vonrd!

I especially like this glass work.  The reds are really stunning.

On 4/17/2025 at 3:57 AM, Vonrd said: