NAU School of Art + Design

FRIDAY!!! Be sure to join us for the opening reception of the Spring 2026 Bachelor of Fine Arts Capstone Reception!

FRIDAY!!! Be sure to join us for the opening reception of the Spring 2026 Bachelor of Fine Arts Capstone Reception! #nausoad #nauartsandletters #bfaexhibition #flagstaffart #flagstaffartexhibit

Tonight at please join us for the second installment of Artist Talks, as part of the current NAU School of Art + Design Faculty Exhibition! Featuring J.R. MacKenzie, Ryan Hawk, Tai Lipan, and David Van Ness.

Tonight at @claramlovettartmuseum please join us for the second installment of Artist Talks, as part of the current NAU School of Art + Design Faculty Exhibition! Featuring J.R. MacKenzie, Ryan Hawk, Tai Lipan, and David Van Ness. #nausoad #nauartsandletters #flagstaffart #flagstaffartexhibit

Today at 2:20! Be sure to join us at for a special talk by Paul Bustamante, as part of the SOA+D Visiting Lecture Series! Bustamante is a local Flagstaff architect with over 30 years of experience, including working as the Architect of Record for the Roden Crater.

Today at 2:20! Be sure to join us at @naubeasleygallery for a special talk by Paul Bustamante, as part of the SOA+D Visiting Lecture Series! Bustamante is a local Flagstaff architect with over 30 years of experience, including working as the Architect of Record for the Roden Crater. #nausoad #nauvisitinglectureseries #flagstaffarchitecture #flagstaffinteriordesign

Please join us Thursday for the SOA+D Interior Design Department’s Refinish Project opening reception and silent auction from 5 - 7pm! During the event you can bid on refinished furniture items, created by our interior design majors for this special fundraiser event. The silent auction continues until noon on Saturday, with the winning bidders announced at that time. See you at
interiordesign refinishedfurniture

Please join us Thursday for the SOA+D Interior Design Department’s Refinish Project opening reception and silent auction from 5 - 7pm! During the event you can bid on refinished furniture items, created by our interior design majors for this special fundraiser event. The silent auction continues until noon on Saturday, with the winning bidders announced at that time. See you at @naubeasleygallery #nausoad #nauinteriordesign #idvoice #naucal #naufundraiser interiordesign refinishedfurniture

Tomorrow night at please join us for the first installment of Artist Talks, as part of the current NAU School of Art + Design Faculty Exhibition! Featuring Christopher Taylor, Elisa Wiedeman, Neal Galloway, and Caryn Bopp.

Tomorrow night at @claramlovettartmuseum please join us for the first installment of Artist Talks, as part of the current NAU School of Art + Design Faculty Exhibition! Featuring Christopher Taylor, Elisa Wiedeman, Neal Galloway, and Caryn Bopp. #nausoad #nauartsandletters #flagstaffart #flagstaffartexhibit

⏰ 🎨 🍕 Junior and Rising Senior BFA Students! This is a reminder to attend Junior’s Night tomorrow, Tuesday April 7, 4:30-6pm in the Beasley Gallery.

This is an opportunity to introduce you to the Capstone process, so you’re better prepared for your Senior year. The sooner you begin thinking/planning your Capstone projects, the better. We want to help you improve the quality of your work and reduce stress. Also, your attendance is mandatory before you enroll in Capstone.

We’ll have food, presentations by faculty and students, and plenty of time to answer any questions. Mark your calendars and plan to attend!

⏰ 🎨 🍕 Junior and Rising Senior BFA Students! This is a reminder to attend Junior’s Night tomorrow, Tuesday April 7, 4:30-6pm in the Beasley Gallery. @naubeasleygallery This is an opportunity to introduce you to the Capstone process, so you’re better prepared for your Senior year. The sooner you begin thinking/planning your Capstone projects, the better. We want to help you improve the quality of your work and reduce stress. Also, your attendance is mandatory before you enroll in Capstone. We’ll have food, presentations by faculty and students, and plenty of time to answer any questions. Mark your calendars and plan to attend!

Thanks for joining us yesterday at for Mega Salon!

Thanks for joining us yesterday at @naubeasleygallery for Mega Salon! #nausoad #nauartsandletters #flagstaffart #flagstaffartexhibit

BIG HEAD PARADE

In Thomas Pomarico’s 3D Design course, students construct a wearable “big head” using a cardboard armature, paper mâché, and painted surface. Each piece represents a mythological character.

Once completed, the class activates the work through a performative parade that moves through the library. This procession interrupts the routine atmosphere of the space, transforming it into a site of spectacle. The project introduces an element of festival and surrealism into an otherwise quiet, everyday environment, inviting viewers to momentarily step outside the ordinary.

BIG HEAD PARADE In Thomas Pomarico’s 3D Design course, students construct a wearable “big head” using a cardboard armature, paper mâché, and painted surface. Each piece represents a mythological character. Once completed, the class activates the work through a performative parade that moves through the library. This procession interrupts the routine atmosphere of the space, transforming it into a site of spectacle. The project introduces an element of festival and surrealism into an otherwise quiet, everyday environment, inviting viewers to momentarily step outside the ordinary. #nausoad #nauartsandletters #maskmaking #costume #papermache

SoA+D MEGA SALON Opening Reception is next Thursday, April 2! Featuring lots of great art and free 🍕!!! Come out to at 1:30, and see what your classmates have been up to this semester. The Beasley Gallery will be filled to the brim with student works in progress, and every current studio art class will be represented. See you there! From 1:30pm till the pizza runs out!

SoA+D MEGA SALON Opening Reception is next Thursday, April 2! Featuring lots of great art and free 🍕!!! Come out to @naubeasleygallery at 1:30, and see what your classmates have been up to this semester. The Beasley Gallery will be filled to the brim with student works in progress, and every current studio art class will be represented. See you there! From 1:30pm till the pizza runs out! #nauart #nausoad #wip

Congratulations to Rain Orchard, awarded Outstanding Senior of the School of Art and Design and Distinguished Senior of the College of Arts and Letters! They have been selected as Emerging Artist in Residence at the Grand Canyon for summer 2026.

Sonora Rain Orchard is a ceramic artist, environmentalist, and desert rat. Their life before NAU included volunteering as an interpretive docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, studying in ceramics studios across the Southwest, organizing q***r community groups, and a career as a Veterinary nurse.

At NAU they have been a Lumberjacks Thrive mentee and a SPARcS grant recipient, learning about public art and the processes of using locally sourced “wild” clay. Rain’s art practice has evolved into a multifaceted engagement of stories about human relationships to the Earth. Their work includes multimedia figurative sculpture, borrowed textures of the desert, and themes of speculative fiction.

As they launch their artistic career, Rain’s deep love for the desert serves to root their artistic mission in their values: inspiring discovery, advocating for environmental stewardship and community activism, imaging better futures, and depicting the human experience as an extension of the Earth.

Statement:
I am inspired by the human form, the beauty of the desert, and the relationship between art and personal experience. I strive to resist despair and paralysis regarding pressing issues of ecological degradation by using art to engage with them from a hopeful position - spreading education, accountability, empowerment, kinship, and belonging.

My art practice includes geological research and exploration of ecologies across Arizona from which I collect wild clay. By using these samples of the Earth to decorate the surface of my forms, I avoid using noxious materials often found in glazes that are extracted from the Earth via environmentally and socially detrimental industries.

I believe that art and speculative fiction are vital to imaging and manifesting humanity’s future. The narratives of my work imagine healthier, more compassionate, and reciprocal relationships between humanity, its creations, and our planet.

Congratulations to Rain Orchard, awarded Outstanding Senior of the School of Art and Design and Distinguished Senior of the College of Arts and Letters! They have been selected as Emerging Artist in Residence at the Grand Canyon for summer 2026. Sonora Rain Orchard is a ceramic artist, environmentalist, and desert rat. Their life before NAU included volunteering as an interpretive docent at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, studying in ceramics studios across the Southwest, organizing q***r community groups, and a career as a Veterinary nurse. At NAU they have been a Lumberjacks Thrive mentee and a SPARcS grant recipient, learning about public art and the processes of using locally sourced “wild” clay. Rain’s art practice has evolved into a multifaceted engagement of stories about human relationships to the Earth. Their work includes multimedia figurative sculpture, borrowed textures of the desert, and themes of speculative fiction. As they launch their artistic career, Rain’s deep love for the desert serves to root their artistic mission in their values: inspiring discovery, advocating for environmental stewardship and community activism, imaging better futures, and depicting the human experience as an extension of the Earth. Statement: I am inspired by the human form, the beauty of the desert, and the relationship between art and personal experience. I strive to resist despair and paralysis regarding pressing issues of ecological degradation by using art to engage with them from a hopeful position - spreading education, accountability, empowerment, kinship, and belonging. My art practice includes geological research and exploration of ecologies across Arizona from which I collect wild clay. By using these samples of the Earth to decorate the surface of my forms, I avoid using noxious materials often found in glazes that are extracted from the Earth via environmentally and socially detrimental industries. I believe that art and speculative fiction are vital to imaging and manifesting humanity’s future. The narratives of my work imagine healthier, more compassionate, and reciprocal relationships between humanity, its creations, and our planet.