Artists at Work
Not all of them started as CFAM students, but these Mavericks make their living making art
By Courtney Smith
Jamie Burmeister
Jamie Burmeister has “been everywhere, man.” To six continents, 46 countries and all 50 U.S. States.
Well, at least the small ceramic figures he creates have been everywhere.
Called “vermin,” the 4-inch-tall clay figures have been installed in subway stations, casinos, restaurants, national parks and numerous other points since 2010. People take photos of them and post to social media.
An artist, sculptor and educator, Burmeister has been pushing creative boundaries for more than 20 years, producing a diverse body of work that revolves around his conscious experience of the world. His vermin and other work incorporates elements of humor, absurdity and the mundane. Some are interactive. Some have been exhibited in museums across the country and his work ha received numerous honors and awards.
Art is his calling, if not his major. At UNO, Burmeister earned a master’s degree in health education. But cross-disciplinary course work fed his desire to work more creatively.
“The lessons learned in UNO art classes were very important to my development as an artist,” Burmeister says. “I also met some great artists at UNO that inspire me to be the best artist I can be.”
After graduating in 1995 he earned an MFA in sculpture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2005. Burmeister also taught health and art classes at UNO.
Today, he’s an art instructor at Metropolitan Community College. But his social media-meets-art project keeps him busy making new pieces every day – more than 9,000 vermin to date.
“I wake up every day excited to create something new to share with the world,” Burmeister says.
See more: jamieburmeister.com
Paul Pape
Paul Pape never made it to the big stage himself. But his made-from-scratch, custom-designed collectables have taken center stage with the likes of “The Tonight Show’s” Jimmy Fallon, Angelina Jolie and Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus.
Pape’s “Tonight Show” debut was a plastic figure of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. More popular was “The Trumpscar,” a mini gold statue of the president featured with Fallon’s “Fake News Awards.”
Pape’s been at this for 17 years, creating one-of-a-kind gifts like engagement ring boxes, wedding cake toppers, personalized figures, retirement awards and even urns. He’s created thousands of other personalized collectables, too.
It’s not where he intended to be back when he was pursuing a degree in theater design. Pape’s goal then was to become an actor. Along the way, though, he was exposed to a variety of ways to express his creativity, learned different skill sets and became aware of other opportunities available in the field.
“I'll be the first to tell people that my superpowers originated from my experiences in undergrad,” Pape says.
After graduating from UNO in 1999, he earned a master's degree in scenic and props design at the University of California-San Diego in 2002. He spent five years acting and teaching theatre while still making creations for people.
Eventually, he devoted himself full time to the latter. These days, he’s doing so as owner of Paul Pape Designs and TinkerVise Studios. People bring him ideas that he turns into reality in his Bellevue, Nebraska, workshop with three computer screens, a pair of 3D printers and a laser cutter.
And sometimes even making the stage, as he did with his original set of miniature furniture for the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “I Am My Own Wife” on Broadway.
Pape is generous with credit for his alma mater:
“That well-rounded education got me every opportunity that I've encountered,” he says. “That and a lot of hard work and pride in what I do.”
See more: paulpapedesigns.com
Shirley Neary
Shirley Neary has had a lifetime love of art in all its forms — drawing, painting, photography, stitching, writing, etc.
But it wasn’t until she received her BFA in 1992 — at 40 years old — that she began making, showing and selling her work. Most notably, that’s been with studio art quilts, a passion sparked by an art quilt magazine her mother sent her on her 40th birthday.
“UNO played a very significant role,” Neary says. “First, it gave me the opportunity to learn in an academic setting, and to take my art seriously. Then, it gave me an environment of professors who were encouraging, and other students who were interesting and inspiring. UNO introduced me to the whole world of art and art history.”
In 2004, Neary was honored with the Nebraska Art Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship for her “Small Town Iowa Stories; Growing Up in the ’60’s” series.
Now 66, she says she enjoys the freedom of being creative in her studio work, unlike when she was a student, when she says she was more likely to follow the rules. She says she is most proud of how viewers respond to her work, and how the stories and humor make them happy as they identify with it.
“I look for opportunities that inspire me, such as Miracle on Farnam, Midtown Crossing’s call for artists to design a storefront holiday themed window,” Neary says. “In Nov/Dec. 2018, I partnered with No More Empty Pots and their very original-thinking volunteers to do the JELL-O Project. It was inspired by Andy Warhol’s pop art of the ’60s, where he used ordinary supermarket items.”
John Derry
John Derry went from tool user to toolmaker. And now his expressive brushes are used worldwide by millions of digital artists.
A 1979 UNO graduate, Derry was at the forefront of expressive, digital natural-media software as one of the original authors of the Corel Painter digital painting application. He did so by translating his familiarity of traditional paint and drawing art tools into creating digital brushes that provide realistic marks in a digital environment.
“One of my goals has been to blur the distinction between painting and photography, leaving the viewer to ask whether one is looking at a painterly photograph or photorealistic painting,” he says. “For the viewer, it is like trying to solve a puzzle.”
Derry had envisioned a career in teaching art after graduating from UNO.
“The UNO Fine Arts Department provided an environment in which an aspiring art student could explore and experiment in depth,” Derry says. “Peter Hill, my painting professor, was instrumental in encouraging me to pursue a career in art. Until I was influenced by the computer revolution, I expected to model my career on Peter’s professorship.”
Derry followed his UNO studies with a two-year Nebraska Arts Council residency, through which he had attended computer graphic conferences that focused on the use of computer as an art-making tool. It was at the dawn of the desktop revolution.
UNO, though, still had its influence on him.
“Once I made the switch to digital art, Peter’s influence has continued to inspire me,” Derry says. “My experience with traditional art media has been instrumental in translating the nuances of traditional art tools into a digital format.”
He’s still at it, too, writing and recording digital painting art courses for LinkedIn Learning, with courses emphasizing the use of digital paint tools for personal expression.
See more: pixlart.com
Judi Wendt
Judi Wendt might have the smallest of canvasses, but she has made a big name for herself in the nail world.
It’s something she started while attending UNO pursuing a business degree.
“I learned business basics at UNO,” Wendt says. “How to interact professionally with clients, maintain business relationships, manage my books and finances to ensure long-term sustainability.”
“UNO laid the foundation for a lifetime of learning.”
Among the lessons she learned? She’s great at painting nails — perhaps the best in Omaha.
You probably wouldn’t get any disagreement from Lady Gaga. In 2011, Wendt was asked to assist Marian Newman, a famous nail technician from London, to paint Mother Monster’s nails for her video “You and I” that was filmed in Springfield, Nebraska.
That led to more work.
“Marian introduced me to a whole new world and invited me to assist her at fashion weeks in New York and London,” Wendt says. “It has been such an honor to represent her team and I hope to continue to work occasionally at Fashion Week.”
You don’t have to be a popstar or model, though, for Wendt to work her magic. She serves a variety of clients and accommodates all requests from a simple but elegant blush to wild and bedazzled.
She’s been at it for 25 years, these days at Rêvé Salon & Spa in Rockbrook Village.
“You never know when opportunity will fall in your lap,” Wendt says. “I’m thankful for my education and what it has done to make a difference in my career.”
Adam Weiss
Adam Weiss is bringing the heat, but not in law enforcement as he once planned on doing.
A custom copper artist, Weiss creates earrings, pendants, bracelets, abstract paintings and whimsical garden art. And one piece on UNO’s campus.
All of which come to life with intense heat.
“Pulling out bright blues with 1,200-degree heats and intense reds with 2,200-degree heat,” he says. “Using natural chemical reactions with 22 base elements and pulling out the shine at the end with a grinder, bringing the lustrous copper back into focus.”
He started his studies at UNO in the criminal justice program. While a student, though, he started working downtown at the Hot Shops art studios with Les Bruning, doing odd jobs for his numerous art projects. With the help of a nearby scrap center, Weiss started creating art from copper and was inspired to begin taking art classes at UNO.
“UNO gave me a lot of different classes to try out different forms of art,” he says. “Once learning different styles and genres I started off with representational art and after one of my teachers said I had a knack for Van Gough-style painting during an abstract assignment.
I started going with that.”
He first displayed his work at a couple local shows displaying his garden art. After graduating with an education degree in 2008 he became a full-time artist, traveling the country doing shows 20 weekends throughout the year and producing full time in his shop year-round.
Numerous Mavericks have seen his work — the 12-foot-tall Sandhill crane installed in front of UNO’s Mammel Hall when it opened.
Today he operates Weiss Custom Copper Design. He says he is most proud that he can support his family full time while doing what he loves.
See more: adamweissart.com
ALSO SHOWING
A few other UNO alumni who have made a name for themselves in the art world.
STEPHEN ROBERTS
Roberts in 1996 completed eight murals on the 14th floor of the Nebraska State Capitol’s Memorial Chamber, which honors those in military and civilian service. His work complements 12 murals completed in the chamber between 1954 and 1967. That work was abandoned because of a lack of funds but picked up again by Roberts in 1991. He stays busy at the canvas today as one of the area’s most sought-after portraitists.
REE SCHONLAU KANEKO
Kaneko in 1981 joined her husband, internationally renowned artist Jun Kaneko, Tony Hepburn and Lorne Falk in establishing what became Omaha’s Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts. It often is cited as one of the world’s top artist residency programs. To date, nearly 900 artists have participated in the residency program. In 1998, Ree and Jun formed KANEKO, a nonprofit cultural organization in the Old Market that serves the community as an open space for creativity.
MILTON WOLSKY
Wolsky during World War II drew maps and created book illustrations with the Eighth Army Engineers. After the war, he documented the rebuilding of Japan in sketches. His watercolor from that time, “Yokohoma Shrine,” won the coveted Frederick Whitaker award from the New York City chapter of the American Artists Professionals in 1946. Wolsky later moved to New York City and became one of the nation’s top magazine illustrators, regularly appearing in Time, Esquire, LIFE, the Saturday Evening Post and others.