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Reggie
Registration comes to life courtesy of art student Darrell Steinnen |
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Reggie
Registration comes to life courtesy of art student Darrell Steinnen |
Back to Apache home page |
By April Biswell
Reggie Registration, a Great Blue Heron appearing on continuing education publicity materials, is the creation of art student Darrell Steinnen.
"It (Reggie) was a quick sketch and short deadline, but I am happy with it," Steinnen said. "I could not put too much detail in it because of the printing process. In printing they shrink the drawing and the details are erased."
The idea for Reggie, and his name, emerged from a brainstorming session which included
Mary Lou Meader, director of continuing education; Kelly Conrad, director of admissions; and Sue Isermann, chair of the engineering and math division.
Meader said, "I just wanted something a little different to help us get noticed in a light-hearted manner."
Reggie has already attracted some attention. More than 30 students have already collected a prize for mentioning they saw Reggie in a brochure.
Why pick a Great Blue Heron?
"There are so many Great Blue Herons visible in this area," Meader said.
Steinnen became Reggie’s creator when Meader asked art instructor David Bergsieker to recruit a student artist.
A visual communications major in his fourth semester at IVCC, Steinnen had worked on other projects-on-demand. Last spring Steinnen was one of ten student artists creating an eight-paneled monument for Streator, the Streator Train Station as it looked during World War II.
"The illustrations were blown up so someone could carve it onto stone slabs," Steinnen explained.
The train project was a learning experience.
"Do not work for free," he said. "It was hard work and we had to redo it many times."
For Reggie, he was paid $25 per sketch.
In addition to his classes, Steinnen works as the art department lab assistant, spending about 15 hours a week mixing clay, firing the kiln and cleaning up.
Saying that he has always wanted a career in art, Steinnen studied art in high school, first in Naperville, Ill. and then in Ottawa.
"My inspiration came from my high school art teacher," he said. "Most of my teachers were strict and gave us deadlines. My high school teacher was more interested in quality not quantity. He let me do my own thing."
At one time Steinnen wanted to be an art teacher, but he realized there was more money to be earned in visual communication.
"I can always teach later if I want, but there just isn’t enough pay. I want to make lots of money."
After earning an A.A. here, Steinnen plans to transfer to NIU. Once he earns a B.A., he would like to work in the advertising business in the Boston area. A hockey player himself, it is not surprising that he is a Boston Bruins fan.
Steinnen, who was born in Freemont, N.H., explained that he wants to go back East to be near his family.
"All my family lives there (Boston), my aunts, uncles and many others," he said.
The only members of his family not in the Boston area are his parents and his three younger brothers, with whom he lives in Ottawa.
Steinnen’s parents support his career choice.
"Some parents would be happier if their kids choose a business major," he said. "I appreciate the fact that they support my decision."
1/28/99 the Apache