When your co-worker wants you to meet someone nicknamed “Melinda the Martian”, anywhere but RISD that might fill you with trepidation.  Melinda Rainsberger ‘04 FAV, however, is anything but frightening.   This amazing young alum (celebrating her fifth reunion!) not only teaches in Continuing Education at RISD and runs her own company, but also had time to whip up the amazing video above about the joys of attending RISD by Design.   If you speak RISD you should have no problem understanding it!

Do You Speak RISD? Of course, you do. All RISD grads do. And this October you’ll have an opportunity to speak RISD once again with other 2004 classmates at special RISD Reunions parties for young alumni.

Boston: Thursday, October 8^th, 6:30pm, Channel Café,
300 Summer Street

New York: Thursday, October 8^th, 6:30pm, Boucarou Lounge, 64 East 1^st Street

San Francisco: Thursday, October 8^th, 6:30pm, Taverna Aventine, 582 Washington Street

Providence: Saturday, October 10^th, 9pm – 12am,
Main Gallery, The RISD Museum, 20 North Main Street

So register today—it’s free! And easy. If you’re attending in Boston, New York or San Francisco, just send an e-mail to MMiller02@RISD.edu or call us at (401) 454-6656.

In Providence, register by going online to rbd.risd.edu/register (registration is free for Young Alumni) or calling 401.454.6379.

Then get ready to enjoy that special vibe that comes from hanging out with people who look at light fragmenting through the ice cubes in a drink and see an intricate pattern of possibilities for next week’s project. Or if you’re merely thirsty and want to see old friends, then this is the event for you, too!

Join the ’04 Facebook group at: Rhode Island School of Design - Class of 2004

image designed by Melinda Rainsberger ‘04 FAV

Have you found a place to stay yet for RISD By Design weekend?  if you are tired of hotels, or want to save a few $$, consider AirBnB, or AirBed and Breakfast, an online service created by alumni Joe Gebbia ‘05 ID and Brian Chesky ‘04 ID. The online marketplace allows  private residents to rent out their extra space, including vacation rentals, private rooms, entire apartments, bed and breakfasts, etc.

So, as Joe says on the website, if you are looking for a place to stay where the hospitality is genuine and the M&M’s don’t cost $6, check it out!

I think it is totally cool that RISD was founded by a group of tenacious women, after several unsuccessful attempts by a number of groups in the years previous to 1877! You can hear the whole story and more during a presentation and panel discussion with several of the contributing authors of Infinite Radius: Founding Rhode Island School of Design, a compendium of rare archival photographs, scholarly essays, previously unpublished manuscripts and reproductions of early acquisitions in RISD’s impressive collection of art and design. The public launch celebration will take place on Saturday, October 10, beginning at 1pm in the Metcalf Auditorium, followed by a book signing from 2–3pm in the first floor lobby of RISD’s Chace Center at 20 North Main Street.

If you can’t wait till then to purchase the book at risd|works or the risd:store, it may be ordered online!

On Saturday, October 10^th join RISD Ceramics students and faculty not at the ISB lot on campus, but at Tillinghast Farm (231 Nayatt Road, Barrington) for an Earth, Water, Fire and Air experience in a beautiful country setting.

From 11:30 to 3:30 pm, Larry Bush, Professor and Department Head of Ceramics, will orchestrate a multi-firing extravaganza for RISD By Design featuring these ongoing events:

• Medieval Japanese Raku glaze firing. Glaze your own piece and see it fired for a nominal cost. All proceeds go to the RISD Clay Club Scholarship Fund.
• Ancient Egyptian Paste firing, also known as “Egyptian Fiance” (see Treasures of the Nile catalog at the RISD Museum). Make your own amulet with this ancient material of royalty!
• Down by the river, join students from Brown’s Archaeology Department as RISD demonstrates the firing of objects fabricated from native Rhode Island clay using a 35,000-year-old method from prehistoric Europe.

Take the designated shuttle van from Chace Center that runs between the campus and Tillinghast Farm. Shuttles will loop on an hourly schedule.

Somehow, in the mysterious and complex process that is the assembly of our brochure, this event slipped out of the copy.  But let me assure you, it’s happening!

Books + Prints Sale

10am–4pm | former RISD Library, College Building, 236 Benefit Street

Browse through a fascinating selection of used books and prints in the beautiful Fleet Library. Proceeds from sales support the acquisition of new items for the library’s collection.

Do you still have the car you drove while you were at RISD?  Well I don’t, but Corky Frost ‘59 BArch does!  Here’s a photo taken of him recently behind the wheel. Sweet!  Corky is coming to his 50th reunion this year, not sure if he’ll be bringing the car along, though….

What’s on their mind?  Today’s RISD students share many of the hopes and aspirations that you did, and will soon face some of the same challenges you did as you began to make your way in the worlds of art and design beyond RISD’s walls. Come to the Alumni Cafe in The Met on Saturday, October 10, from 5-7 pm, and share your experiences, including some examples of your work (photos or a laptop) with the next generation of RISD artists and designers. light snacks will be provided.

How about a rendezvous at the Tap Room to catch up with classmates from your decade, and to see work by fellow classmates?  Submit a jpg or tif file of recent work to Anj Shaw at risdalumniwork*at*gmail.com.  Then, show up at the times posted for your reunion year (see below) and view them along with friends work while enjoying snacks, drinks and music.  Here’s your chance to show + tell with fellow alums!

Show up anytime, but we’ve designated the following times for grads from

the 50’s and 60’s from 1:30-2:30pm

the 70’s and 80’s from 2:30-3:30pm

the 90’s and 2000’s from 3:30-4:30pm

Hey, did you know you get free Museum admission ALL WEEKEND with your Reunion and Parents’ Weekend registration?  Now go check out some art!

Several galleries in the Chace Center and Radeke Building will present special exhibitions including:

West & West: New Works by Joe Deal

an exhibition of images from Kansas and Nebraska along the 6th Principal Meridian, which was used to grid off real estate in that region)

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480–1650

exploring the art of engraving and its dynamic transformations during the European Renaissance

Inner City

an installation of 120 figurative and architectural ceramic elements by Arnie Zimmerman

Shih Chieh Huang/Connected: Eject before disconnecting

a piece by the renowed Taiwanese artist, who uses a low-tech approach to create installations with which the viewer interacts through sound and movement)

Nature/Artifice: Contemporary Works from the Collection

examining the relationship between nature and artifice, reality and fiction, through a selection of contemporary paintings, sculpture, and video from the Museum’s collections

Watercolors in the Porcelain Gallery: Flower and Still Life Painters

pieces from the Museum’s top-notch collection of 18th and 19th century British watercolors

Indonesia and the Zone of Attraction: Textiles from the Permanent Collection

selections from the Museum’s permanent collection

Mountains and Rivers: Scenic Views of Japan

Japanese woodblock prints, including work by Hokusai and Hiroshige