Title | 007_Biography_Page 1 |
OCR Text | Show Martin Blundell I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 5, 1949, the first child of Harry and Beverly Blundell. My first formal experiences with art were in junior high school when I took an art class in the seventh grade. I had some inclination toward art and an interest in visual objects. Our family moved to Bountiful when I was fourteen, and when I entered Viewmont High School as a sophomore I decided to take art more seriously. I began taking as many classes as I could fit into my schedule. I was fortunate to have Dorothy Schimmelphennig as a high school art instructor, who was a disciplined teacher that took art seriously. Her classes were demanding. She also taught a comprehensive survey of art history from her considerable slide library, and encouraged me and mentored my art progress. I was the high school Sterling Scholar in art from Viewmont High School in 1968. During my high school years I learned drawing and painting skills and became proficient in woodcut and screen-printing. I experimented with textile screen prints and developed freelance printing opportunities for t-shirts and apparel. I understood graphic photomechanical screen print techniques and subsequently completed commercial screen-printed signage projects. In the Fall of 1 968 I entered the art program at the University of Utah, then served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Korea from 1969 to 1971. I had opportunities to visit the major art museums in Seoul, Korea. I became acquainted with oriental calligraphy, wood block prints, and pottery. In the summer of 1971 I married Norma Christensen. She has been an unwavering support to me. Norma worked at Circuit and Eddington a local advertising and design company before we were married. She introduced me to Ralph Huddlestone, a designer at Circuit and Eddington and also an instructor at the Salt Lake Community College. Ralph had photomechanical screen print equipment and helped me produce professional quality screens for freelance posters I created for the University of Utah Special Events Center. Most of the posters were advertisements for concerts and sporting events that Ted Jacobson was promoting through the ticket office at the Special Events Center. I worked part time for Stevens Brown Design, a company supporting sporting goods businesses in screen-printed textiles including t-shirts, sweatshirts, athletic uniforms, etc. We began working with the major ski manufactures from the USA and Europe, to develop clothing accessory lines as advertising programs. These subsequently turned into profit centers for the ski companies, including K2, Rossignol, Salomon, Kneissl, Blizzard, etc. I re-entered the art program at the University of Utah in the fall of 1971 resuming the foundation program and survey art history. I feel fortunate to have studied under the faculty at the University of Utah. Alvin Gittens, Doug Snow, Tony Smith, Ed Maryon, Richard Johnston, Robert Olpin, Frank Sanguinetti, and Robert Kleinschmidt. It was Robert Kleinschmidt who became a mentor and advocate for me at the University. I had a natural affinity and interest in printmaking and began taking classes in intaglio as a sophomore. During my junior and Senior year I was able to participate in the Honors program in the art department as a printmaking student. Working closely with Robert Kleinschmidt and other faculty members was invaluable in the development of my work. |
Creator | Blundell |
Format | image/jpeg |
Identifier | 007_Biography_Page 1.tif |
ARK | ark:/87278/s6pr7tzf |
Setname | uu_uap_ephemera |
ID | 392262 |
Reference URL | https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6pr7tzf |