Hello from New Mexico,

Over the years I have gone back to RISD in October for various reasons, sailing, alumni meetings and friends, but the best part is walking through the street sale on Benefit Street, seeing old friends and drinking in the fall season, that is the memory of being at RISD, a new year with all the potential.  I will be there this year as well, though I would love to be there when the new president is installed.

At the moment I am preparing for the new show here at Sculpture Ranch, the theme of the show is Oil & Water, a semi political show. It will open on Sept 6th with about a dozen artists. Five of the artists will be Alumni as well. There will be performances at the opening and music, a demonstration of a Hydrogen hybrid vehicle and the preparations for float my wife Alice is putting together, for the Santa Fe Historical/Hysterical Parade the next day.

I can be found at sculptureranch.org and at nat15*@*swcp.com

All the best

Nat Hesse Sculpture ‘76

Hello RISD friends! A long title, but the only way I summarize how I feel at the moment.

This year, I decided to spend my summer holiday here in Providence for the first time. I work in the Development Office, which has been a treat. I’ve been enjoying the quiet albeit slightly soggy days, visiting with other straggler friends, moving into and fixing up my first apartment, and learning about the organization and practicalities of the College Annual Fund. It’s been an engaging behind-the-scenes look at how everything works; an interesting complement to the two years I spent as a Phonathon caller for the College Annual Fund. The most exciting part of my summer, however, has been … reading about all of you! I’ve been given the opportunity to put together the 50th reunion booklet for the RISD graduating class of 1958. I’ve been delighted to read your stories, hear about your achievements, your families, your loves, your epiphanies. Designing the reunion booklet has made me reflect on my own RISD experiences. I’ve perused old issues of Blockprint, read your senior yearbook cover to cover, and been delighted to see the people you “grew up” to be. In the anticipation for the fall, my senior year and beyond, I have also come to anticipate the RISD By Design Weekend just as much.

(more…)

From 1965-1967, my mother worked for RISD. She was an administrative assistant but back then they called them secretaries. When I was growing up, my mother used to talk about working there(here) and she always seemed to have fond memories. She especially liked to reminisce about a young man named Martin Mull who would come into her office and play the guitar. She also had a work-study student named Ruth (Dealy), who eventually became a teacher at RISD and is now a well known local painter.

Now some four decades later, I am the Executive Chef at RISD. Currently, I have survived and usually enjoyed four RISD by Designs. This year will be my fifth. As each one passes, I spend more time at the school wondering if I won’t be talking to my own children, years from now, about who I fed at some special event or what student I befriended that ended up becoming a ‘name’ in the artistic community. It is a fascinating prospect to think of the future creators, mingling with the past creators, in the present. One of the best aspects of RISD by Design is the bridging of generational gaps through art; the best part for me is, that like art, food tends to bring people together on common ground.

Come one, come all, and take our inaugural poll! More to come, and if you have ideas for others, please email me!

 Loading ...

OK, I’m married to a RISD alumnus, my brother is an alumnus,  and my oldest son will soon be an alumnus.  So there’s a whole lot of RISD in my family.  During the last year, I’ve met a few other families who can number several alumni among their kin.  Are there more of you out there?

I can still remember my parents return from dropping my brother (3 years older) off at RISD for the start of his freshman year. There was a mixture of confusion and yes, horror, on their faces as they shared their impressions of the school and students they met. I’m not sure if a Parents’ Weekend existed then (1967) - if it did, they did not attend - but it certainly would have helped them to understand what kind of experience my brother was having at RISD, and what it meant to go to “art school,” especially since neither of my parents came from an art or design background.

This year, parents can participate in hands-on classes, talk with Freshman Foundation faculty about first year curriculum, attend departmental presentations, meet new President John Maeda ,and visit classrooms and studios to get a feel for the magic that happens every day at RISD, and to rest assured that your student is in the right place.

I loved Rollerblading-this is back in 1994, when they were still cool and novel. I grew up in the city, so I could whip around the streets like no ones business-without a scratch. So when I got to school and unpacked my South Hall dorm room, I was ready to hit the streets-but it was dark , so I thought, these hallways look good. So I thought. I put on my skates, and ravaged the halls. But no more then 5 minutes my RA comes out, and says “UGH -No way”, but I was to say a very young freshman ,and subtly ignored him. Here I am , in 1994 raver gear, going through the halls that connect all the rooms, saying hello , trying to be popular -and  there he was . Every freshman girl had a crush on this kid, you know the one-he looks older then 18 for sure, actually is dressed cool-oh and of course, foreign. I cooly tried to ignore him , but thought I could show my “skills”. I tried to twirl, and speed down a slight ramp, but in my star struck love haze lost control and went flying against the closest wall. FACE FIRST. Mind you boy wonder did not come to my rescue, but RISD Security sure did. As  I lay there on the ground , lip bleeding, my baggy jeans torn, my glow in the dark shirt smeared with god knows what- I realized, my first day here at RISD-and I’m “THAT GIRL”

• All nighters in Homer Hall?
• Al Falk’s fabulous buffets in the Refectory  (aka The Met)?
• The costume ball at the Biltmore?
• Colab?
• The dorms weren’t co-ed?
• Professor Ho?
• The Tap Room served Gansett beer?

I’ve worked at RISD for some time now, but walking around campus always brings back more memories…..

The best years of our lives. A lot of people remorse that those years are behind them, our reunion demonstrated that our best years are what we make of the past, but can also be what we do in the present.

For the class of 1986 20^th reunion we put together a committee of four: Robyn Ericsson, Maud Gabriel, Kate Petrie and myself. Over the course of about 9 months, we conversed by phone and were assisted the whole time by RISD staff member Courtney Capizzo (she was instrumental to our success). We decided what kind of events we wanted to have and dove tailed them with RISD Reunion Weekend pre-planned events.

RISD was very generous with space, but each of us on the committee contributed about $150 for refreshments for events during the weekend. I mention this not to pat ourselves on the back at what we contributed, but to say to other alumni classes what they can achieve in spending so little to do so much.

We started the weekend with registration and a reception at Woods-Gerry (along with all the other grad classes). Scores of grads returned. We figure that the key to our success was organizing a phone tree that re-connected our class throughout the preceding months.

After Woods-Gerry we walked as a group downtown for a casual interlude at Tazza café. We hugged, we kissed, we danced, we ate, we drank and I think a few sneaked around the corner to smoke pot.

The next day we had our personalized tour of RISD. I’m not sure the locations we chose were the most interesting or personally historical, but the main point and the best pleasure was being together and being silly.

That night we had another reception at Woods-Gerry. It was just our class with a few interlopers from our sister years (1985s, 1987s etc.), who had nowhere else to go and were welcome in our midst.

We then went to another all RISD event at the museum. A few of us older single studs tried to hook up with some recent grads, without much luck needless to say, but with the wealth of beauty that was our class, why bother anyway?

Then it was on to a private party and Robyn Ericsson’s (and her husband Chris’) beautiful Queen Anne house in the Armory District. In the parlor we danced the night away to the music of our years. We chatted in the living room and kitchen and smoked on the porch. We went much later than we could have ever gone at the Tap Room.

Finally on Sunday, we met for breakfast in the Refectory. Nearly everyone came. We stayed for hours. Through the morning people slowly gathered their things and intermittently disappeared to pass back into their home place worlds. Toward mid-day we hung out on the Refectory terrace in the beautiful Sun, took pictures and made plans to be together in the future. It was really like we had never left or been separate so long.

In all we had about 60 grads (+spouses, partners and children) come back. Or about 12% of our class. This is unheard of, but any other class can make it happen.

We were also very lucky to have Bill Gilbert, ’86, with us. Its safe for me to say that he had a great time. Bill passed away not to long after our reunion. Never put off today what you hope you can do tomorrow. I hope we have even a better turnout at the next one.

The photo links below to Maud’s Facebook pages will do the best job of telling what a time we had and what we did.

Isaac

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22372&id=672078111

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22457&id=672078111

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22460&id=672078111

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22463&id=672078111

RISD by Design registration should be live by the end of this week (fingers crossed)!

The schedule of events for the weekend is now uploaded here.