The varying and eclectic art pieces spanned the course of four college careers.
The grace and power of a baseball player jumps off the page in a realistic graphic of former Cubs slugger Anthony Rizzo. A stylish white VW Bug juxtaposes against the blue-gray sky of the tropics. Expertly crafted and vaguely organic-inspired ceramics bust with blue, green and rich brown.
A circle of hands, representing people of varying races, body types, gender identities and styles, come together against a hyper-color backdrop of concentric hearts and the words “Love More.”
Four Franklin College students — Addison Csikos, Griffin Engbrecht, Maci French and Haven Tunin — will celebrate their time at the college by showcasing the work they’ve created. The annual senior exhibit features work chosen by the artists that represent their time in college, a challenge when trying to encapsulate everything from freshman year to graduation.
“It’s been organized chaos,” Csikos said. “It’s been very stressful to dig up things from freshman year. I did this when I was 18, so a lot has happened.”
Their work takes over the Branigin Atrium inside the Johnson Center for Fine Arts on the college’s campus from Monday to April 29. An opening reception will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, and is open to the public.
“We’ve known about it for so long, and all the sudden, it’s our turn. It’s an awe moment,” French said. “We’ve known that it’s been coming, and now it’s here. It’s surreal.”
Though all four students’ artistic ambitions have led them toward a degree in Franklin College, their journeys to this point have all been unique.
Csikos has devoted her time at Franklin College to studying graphic design. In addition to art, the Whiteland native is a business minor, a member of the softball team and an honorary of Chi Alpha Sigma.
Her attraction to graphic design, and to art in general, came from a ubiquitous source: her love of Disney.
“I went to Disney one time, and ever since then, I wanted to be part of that magical feeling,” she said. “That’s always been my goal to get there. Ever since then, I’ve known that’s what I’ve wanted to do.”
Graphic design is the academic focus of her artwork, but Csikos also likes to do drawings and illustrations in her free time. Her work is hyper-realistic, allowing her to expand her creativity, while her graphic design leans more abstract or minimalist.
“I love the journey of creating,” she said. “I’m a gift-giver; I like to give my art as gifts, and I love the joy that people get from that.”
Creativity is a family matter for French, a Lebanon native. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were woodworkers, and her mother was interested in painting.
“I just always grew up in that environment,” she said. “When I got to college, I wanted to be able to do something in the art industry that I could take into a career.”
As a graphic designer, French has enjoyed being able to showcase her art within digital design spaces. She loves painting, as it was the first art she did, but has felt increasingly drawn to design as she grew older.
“I was drawn to its simplicity. You can make it as complex as you’d like, but when it comes to design, I tend to be more minimalistic,” she said.
French is also a member of the women’s golf team and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. After college, she hopes to pursue a career as a graphic designer in marketing. First, she has secured a marketing internship with RefQuest+, a sports officiating company.
For Engbrecht, their curiosity in creativity started young.
Even as a little kid, they did a lot of drawing and building with materials such as shoeboxes and paper found around the house. They eventually grew more adept at illustration.
Once entering Franklin College, it became clear the Anderson native was on the right path.
“I didn’t know if I could do anything else. Not in the sense that I wasn’t capable, but doing a different career that didn’t involve some artistic pursuit,” they said.
Graphic design had the broadest scope in terms of career paths, so Engbrecht focused on that branch of artistry. Outside of course work, they tend to do illustrations of characters, settings and scenes from the science fiction world.
“I’m really drawn to games such as ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ and I really like video games of all kinds,” they said. “I love collecting vintage toys, so all of my art ends up with those elements — really colorful details that make things come alive.”
Engbrecht, who was involved in Franklin College’s Pride Alliance organization, is unsure what direction to take their passion for art after graduation.
“I like more craft-focused art, as well as graphic design, so I haven’t decided if I want to go into a small business situation with my art, or work in marketing for a large company,” they said. “I’m going to focus on graduating for now and see how things go after that.”
Balancing out her classmates’ graphic design work, Tunin will feature her ceramic creations in the exhibition. The Franklin native is blunt when describing what drew her toward art.
“I thought I was too dumb to do anything else,” she said, laughing.
Tunin took an advanced placement art class in high school, which was when she started to believe in her talent and abilities as an artist. Seeing other people appreciate her pieces gave her confidence to want to explore it further.
She started painting, but fell in love with ceramics after taking a course.
Tunin’s interest has turned into a business opportunity, as she’s started an online store to sell her ceramic work. She’s also participated in a number of art shows. Her mushroom mugs are particularly popular.
While at Franklin College, she has received many awards for her artwork, including the Best in Show award during the spring 2021 art show and Rinker Art Award, given to WHAT.
The hope is to carry on the momentum she’s built in the art world.
“I’m going to build a home studio and continue to sell my work online and at art shows,” she said.
If You Go
Senior art exhibit
What: A showcase of work from four Franklin College seniors: Addison Csikos, Griffin Engbrecht and Maci French, all graphic design majors, and Haven Tunin, a ceramics major
When: Opening reception 6 p.m. April 4; free and open to the public
Where: Elba L. & Gene Portteus Branigin Atrium in the Johnson Center for Fine Arts, located at the corner of Branigin Blvd. and Grizzly Drive, Franklin College
