Alumni
Taking Chances, Making Choices: Sculptor Molds Fulfilling Career
By Amy Milgrub Marshall
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman (’71 M.F.A. Ceramics) works surrounded by wolves, rabbits, dogs and the occasional bear or pig. No, she’s not toiling on some strange farm, raising a combination of wild and domesticated creatures. The animals are her own creations, molded lovingly in clay and displayed throughout her studio on window ledges, shelves and the floor, as evidence of the vast body of work she has created in her 34-year career as a sculptor.
Stevens-Sollman parlayed a childhood interest in molding clay into an impressive career marked by national and international honors, prestigious commissions and exhibitions around the world. She began sculpting before she really understood what clay was. As a youngster growing up in Rhode Island, she discovered a vein of clay in her backyard after a well was dug. “I was always amazed you could take this earthy stuff and make things,” she says.
Interested in art from a young age, Jeanne’s childhood included frequent visits to the New Hampshire potters’ guild with her aunt and Saturday art classes at the Rhode Island School of Design. Although she earned a bachelor’s degree in art education at Rhode Island College, she learned pottery through an independent study course. Acquiring that skill had been a longtime goal. “I was always drawn to potters. As a child, when I saw [New Hampshire potter] Jerry Williams on Captain Kangaroo, I thought, if I could ever do this, I’d be happy for the rest of my life.”
Although she has not made a career at the
potter’s wheel, Stevens-Sollman has carved out a
fulfilling life for herself, working out of the home
and studio she built with her husband, Phil, an
architect and furniture designer. They even collected
the stones used to build the house themselves. “Building the house was quite a wonderful
adventure for us,” she says.
Jeanne’s studio is located in the annex that also
houses Phil’s workroom and a gallery where they
both display their creations. Among her wolves,
rabbits and other sculptures are the medals she
began making while studying under John Cook,
a Penn State professor who designed many of the
medals that are given to winners of prestigious
awards at the University, such as the Alumni Fellow
Award. She says she was privileged to work
with Cook, who was a “wonderful teacher.”
Today Jeanne is following in his footsteps—she recently completed a medal for the new Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award, for University graduates under age 35, and a recognition piece for recipients of the College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Award. Although she now spends much of her time working on medals, she originally got involved in medallic art as a way to enhance her work with clay. “I never thought I would end up doing medals as commissioned work,” she notes. Jeanne received her first medal commission in 1987. In 1998, she received the top award for medallic art in The Hague, Netherlands, and in 1999 she received the J. Sanford Saltus Award for Signal Achievement in the Art of the Medal from the American Numismatic Society.
Jeanne is past president of the American
Medallic Sculpture Association and currently an advisor
to the organization. Since 2000, she has been
vice delegate to the Federation Internationale de la
Medaille Congress (FIDEM). For the past eight
years, she has directed and coordinated the biennial
Trout Run Medallic Art Symposium in St.
Marys, Pa.
Because Jeanne has begun to spend more time on medals, she recently “retired” from the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts after exhibiting there for nearly 30 years. Those who have stopped by Jeanne’s booth at the Arts Festival probably saw lots of rabbits—frolicking rabbits, sleeping rabbits, even dancing rabbits adorned with feathers. She focused on rabbits for many years, after reading Richard Adams’ Watership Down, about a group of rabbits fleeing the destruction of their home by a land developer. “By humanizing rabbits, he gave me ‘permission’ to make them,” Jeanne says.
The influence of Adams’ novel stemmed from what her Penn State professors had taught her. “My teachers always told me to make a space for myself in the art world,” she says. “I remember David Dontigny instilling in us the need to make the art our own.” Today, Jeanne clearly has her “own” art. That art is displayed in the collections of The British Museum, the Smithsonian Institute and the National Museum of History of the Ukraine, Kiev, among other museums, plus numerous private collections. In addition to her work for Penn State, other recent commissions include the Presidential Mace for Iowa State University (the institution’s first-ever mace) and a medal for the International Council of Fine Arts Deans (ICFAD).
According to Jeanne, life is about taking chances, and taking advantage of the opportunities presented to you. “Every day is a chance, because you never know if the choices you’re making are the right ones,” she notes. The choices she has made so far have made her extremely happy. “When you leave college, this [successful self-employment] is not something you walk into—you walk toward,” she explains. “I love my work. I don’t want to do anything differently— I just want to do it better.”
Landscape Architecture Alumni Earn Regional Honors
Daniel S. DiMucci (’69 B.S. L.Arch.), vice president of Pennoni Associates, Inc., a multidisciplined consulting engineering firm, has been confirmed as a member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Landscape Architects. He was nominated in August 2004 by Governor Ed Rendell and confirmed unanimously by all 50 members of the Pennsylvania Senate. The State Board of Landscape Architects is responsible for regulating the licensing and registration of landscape architects in order to promote the general welfare and safeguard the life, health and property of citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
DiMucci has more than 30 years of experience in landscape architecture and site planning, from conceptual design through project development. His project experience includes revitalization of central business districts, parks and recreation facilities, campus facilities, corporate office centers, industrial parks and sports complexes.
DiMucci has done design work for many prominent projects that are associated nationwide with the Philadelphia region, including the Avenue of the Arts, the Manayunk Canal Restoration and the Fairmount Park Recreation Path. He has also contributed to several projects for major sports teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles NovaCare Training Facility and the Pittsburgh Steelers Practice Facility. DiMucci serves as a member of the board of the Arts and Architecture/Performing Arts Alumni Society.
Andrew Witkin (’79 B.S. L.Arch.), operator of Witkin Design Group, a South Florida landscape architecture firm, recently became the first landscape architect to be inducted into the Builders Association of South Florida’s (BASF) prestigious Hall of Fame, established in 1989 to recognize individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the housing industry, the community and the association.
The 1,100-member BASF has inducted only 39 individuals into the Housing Hall of Fame over the past 16 years. Since joining BASF in 1988, Witkin has served as vice president and a life director. He is credited with spearheading efforts to revamp the organization’s annual parade of homes program, called South Florida’s Best. Witkin’s firm has been heavily involved with hurricane restoration for resorts in the Caribbean, as well as new projects and renovations there.
He is also involved with Penn State’s new Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. In recognition of his financial contribution, one of the building’s design studios will be named for him. He has served on Miami’s Historical Environmental and Preservation Board, on Miami-Dade’s Transportation Advisory Review Committee and as volunteer advisor to the City of Margate for its Landscape Ordinance Review. In the past he has donated landscape design services for a wide range of projects, including numerous houses of worship and six Habitat for Humanity homes.
