John Humphries (Director of Architecture, Graduate Studies) and research apprentice Holly Reising (’21) will be exhibiting their project Trilobitic Surface at the Ohio Art’s Council Riffe Gallery in Columbus starting October 28. This project was funded by the Humanities Center’s Research Apprenticeship Program, which places outstanding undergraduate students and faculty in mutually beneficial collaborations aimed at advancing faculty research. As a student research apprentice, Reising assisted Humphries with the initial stages of the project before the spring 2020 lockdown. With Reising’s assistance and funding from the Humanities Center, Humphries was then able to complete Trilobitic Surface during the year in lockdown. Their collaboration was one of 56 selected from 1770 entries to be exhibited at the Riffe Gallery. 

Trilobitic Surface is part of a larger art project aimed at creating art for the visually impaired, titled Paintings for the Visually Impaired. Humphries explains that, “As a person with a disability, I am very interested in how art and design can be made accessible to all. Much art is for the sighted. Many people who have visual impairment do not have access to this art. The larger project, titled Paintings for the Visually Impaired, strives to use digital manufacturing technology, and ceramics to convert paintings into a format which is easier to experience.” To create Trilobitic Surface, Humphries carved plywood forms using a CNC robotic router and then pressed porcelain slabs into these to create tiles that he then hung in a grid configuration. 

Humphries thanked the Center for their support of this project. He says “Much thanks goes out to the Miami Humanities Center for providing funding for the project and an apprentice to assist.”

For more information on the Research Apprenticeship Program and how to apply, please visit our website.