She's got an ear for art
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

HOPPY ART- Rebecca Tice stands by her Dust Bunny sculpture at Cal State Channel Islands. She's a studio art major and will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in May. Once she graduates, Tice plans to obtain her masters so that she can become an art professor and professional artist.

The 9-foot-tall Dust Bunny created by Moorpark resident Rebecca Tice will be on display at the upcoming Cal State University Channel Islands "Assimilation and Annotation" art show, which opens Sunday and continues through April 28.

The exhibit of about 200 pieces of art will take place on campus at Studio Channel Islands Art Center Gallery. It will feature drawings, paintings, sculpture and ceramics as well as experimental mixed media, graphic design, digital photography, multimedia and hi-tech and digital video art.

"This exhibition presents an exciting and comprehensive assembling of artworks that represent the outstanding talent and creative output of our art students," said Jack Reilly, profes- sor of art and chair of the CSUCI art program.

Tice's bunny is unique because it's unusually large and covered with laundry lint.

"It draws people like 'a circus side show oddity,'" said the art student, who likes to challenge the way people view art and the common objects that surround them in their daily lives.

"Art should be fun, exploratory and accessible to everyone," she said.

Tice spent eight weeks working on the unusual art piece, gathering lint from Laundromats, professors and classmates to create the sculpture.

Although she was teased by her classmates for bringing allergens into the classroom and ended many of her days with lint and glue stuck to her fingers and hair, Tice said, she loved working on the project.

She began taking art classes at Moorpark High and will graduate from Cal State next month. The young artist plans to continue her studies in graduate school and keep up her community service, she said.

Tice works with a small group of other art students on a community outreach project, conducting art activities with children in lowincome affordable housing in Ventura County.

"I want people to stop running around in their busy lives long enough to admire the world around them; and if by chance they happen to wander by my giant Dust Bunny, I want them to smile," Tice said.

For more information contact Reilly at (805) 4378863 or email: art@csuci.edu. Information is also available at art.csuci.edu.

Art gallery offers space to exhibit CSUCI student work

The university's art program has announced the opening of CSUCI Exhibitions, an art gallery at 92 Palm Drive in "Old Town" Camarillo.

The gallery will feature an ongoing series of exhibitions by Cal State Channel Islands students and faculty as well as curated shows of regional, national and international artists.

This cultural outreach is a partnership between the CSUCI art program and Michael Czubiak, who provided and renovated the space in his Camarillo building for the benefit of students.

The inaugural exhibition, "Diverse Explorations," opens on April 12 and will continue through April 30.

"We are especially grateful to Dr. Michael Czubiak for his generosity and support of the CSUCI art program," Reilly said.