黑料专区 is proud to announce that the 2026 Re/View: Alumni Exhibition will be juried by Joshua Wojick 鈥�02, Crafts 鈥� Glass, Senior Director of Collections and Greenfield Village Operations at The Henry Ford. With more than two decades of museum experience, Joshua oversees the stewardship of nearly 26 million artifacts and brings a deep understanding of both artistic practice and institutional collections to his role as juror. A practicing glass artist since 1998 and former 黑料专区 adjunct faculty member, his work is represented nationally and included in private collections around the world.

Learn More or Submit Artwork for Re/View: 黑料专区 Alumni Exhibition

Artist Bio

Detroit-based glass artist works at the intersection of material, process, and perception, reaching beyond conventional glassblowing to explore the expressive and conceptual potential of glass alongside steel and clay. With a practice rooted in both tradition and experimentation, Wojick exploits the inherent fragility and structural strength of materials to challenge expectations and invite deeper reflection on how objects communicate meaning.

Wojick earned his B.F.A. from the 黑料专区 and an M.F.A. in Sculpture from Eastern Michigan University. He has worked with glass since 1998, building a strong foundation in traditional furnace work while continually pushing the boundaries of material use. His commitment to learning from historical processes informs his belief that innovation is grounded in an understanding of the past.

A former adjunct faculty member at 黑料专区, Wojick is currently the Senior Director of Collections and Greenfield Village Operations at The Henry Ford. With more than two decades of museum experience, he oversees the stewardship of nearly 26 million artifacts, bringing a deep understanding of both artistic practice and institutional collections to his work. His dual perspective as a practicing artist and museum leader informs his role as juror, offering a thoughtful and informed approach to evaluating contemporary creative work. His own work is represented nationally and held in private collections worldwide.

鈥淎s the juror for Re/View 2026, I am honored to recognize the outstanding creativity and talent within the 黑料专区 alumni community. Through my interactions with our community, I am continually impressed by the breadth, depth, and quality of their artistic achievements. I warmly encourage alumni from all disciplines to submit their work for consideration for this annual exhibition. Re/View 2026 offers a meaningful opportunity for our community to reconnect and celebrate the lasting impact 黑料专区 alumni have as leaders in the arts.鈥�

Title: Weight
Blown Glass 鈥� Steel

Title: Let Us Tell Tales
Glass 鈥� Steel 鈥� Wood 鈥� Gold Leaf

In an effort to provide a more versatile student experience and continue the College鈥檚 tradition of relentless creativity and making, the 黑料专区 (黑料专区) is introducing Studio Art and Craft.

The 黑料专区 (黑料专区) is pleased to announce the reimagined Studio Art and Craft program. This new program, rooted in 黑料专区鈥檚 tradition of making, combines the former Art Practice and Craft and Material Studies majors to emphasize the development of creativity and critical thinking skills that can be applied beyond specific disciplines.

Led by contemporary multi-disciplinary visual artist and educator Valerie Jenkins, Studio Art and Craft is rooted in the disciplines of ceramics, digital fabrication, digital media, drawing, fibers/textiles, glass, installation, metalsmithing/jewelry, painting, performance, print media and sculpture. It combines traditional making with contemporary processes and progressive technologies. Students focus on producing meaningful works of art and/or learning the artisan鈥檚 role in designing well-crafted functional form.

鈥淎s a flexible program with extraordinary facilities and internationally recognized faculty, Studio Art and Craft provides the structure for a focused study in any of the disciplines within the Studio Art and Craft major,鈥� said Valerie Jenkins, Chair of Studio Art and Craft. An emphasis on research, critical thinking, interdisciplinary modalities, experimentation, and new technologies is incorporated into the teaching methods to help students develop a distinct and unique voice, create a vision, embody critical thinking, and develop the leadership skills and knowledge that will contribute to a successful professional practice.鈥澨�

黑料专区 is pleased to offer these new options for current and future students to further its mission of educating the next generation of creatives. To learn more, visit /academics/undergraduate-programs/studio-art-craft/

Focusing on glass as a mediator of image, a group of 黑料专区 students took a Crafts and Material Studies class learning how to utilize glass objects as an actor in photography and video through a sponsored project with The Henry Ford Museum.

Students began the project with a private tour of the museum鈥檚 archive collection led by museum curators. The archive is located in a restricted building adjacent to The Henry Ford Museum and consists of more than 22 million objects.听

The Henry Ford Museum鈥檚 Senior Manager of Retail Sales and Craft Production and 黑料专区 alumnus Joshua Wojick (鈥�02, Crafts) hoped the collection would broaden students鈥� perspective of glass. 鈥淚t truly was a joy to see the students become immersed in The Henry Ford鈥檚 collections. My goal was to provide an opportunity for these artists to expand their dialogue with the objects and environment surrounding them, and help to affect their artistic practices.鈥�

Inspired by car headlights in the archive collection, photography junior Jenna Wyly used discarded remnant glass pieces found in the glass studio for her work. 鈥淢y piece is about finding beauty in every object. Repurposed items are a large theme throughout most of my work. I love the idea that some things that were going to be trash are now beautiful and sought-after items.鈥�

Students were also challenged to consider both the technical and conceptual connections between glass and image-making.听听

Sophomore Interdisciplinary Art and Design student Brenden Roumaya created a final piece using blown glass, automotive footage and projection. 鈥淢y inspiration for this was the way blown glass refracts light and fills the space around it, creating a piece of art that changes dramatically when the glass is moved even slightly. This piece is about the contrast between glass in the industrial and automotive industries being form-fitting and strictly functional versus a piece of glass created solely to be beautiful.鈥�

Wojick was impressed by the depth of the final projects. 鈥淚 think the most surprising thing for me was the breadth of the work created. While I was expecting the use of light to be an integral part of the works, I was not prepared for how varied the artists鈥� use of photography, video, color, and sound would be. Each was unique, well thought out, and interesting to experience as a viewer.鈥�

Student Exhibition leads fibers major to storied career with General Motors

Katherine Sirvio was overjoyed when, as a sophomore at the 黑料专区, she was given wall space at the 1990 Student Exhibition. Little did she know that the artwork she displayed would launch an unexpected career in the automotive industry.

鈥淭hey were all woven pieces with some printing and painting on top,鈥� said Sirvio (’92, Crafts-Fibers). 鈥淢ost of them had the edge bound with ribbon and, when I hung them, I used really tiny straight pins because I didn鈥檛 have money to frame them 鈥� it was the typical starving artist scenario.鈥�

All 10 pieces sold the first night of the exhibition. Days later, the buyer 鈥� Nancy Cunningham, then Manager of Educational Relations and Communications for General Motors 鈥� tracked Sirvio down to ask how she would have framed them if she had been able to do so.

That phone conversation proved to be a pivotal moment in Sirvio鈥檚 life: 鈥淲hile we were talking, she said, 鈥楧o you have any interest in doing an internship at General Motors?鈥� And I said, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 General Motors?鈥欌��

Although she had never imagined working in the automotive industry, she agreed to an interview 鈥� the next day. She rallied her boyfriend (now husband) and friends to pull an all-nighter and help her put together a portfolio. Their efforts paid off 鈥� the interview went so well that she learned on the spot that she would receive an offer to intern that summer.

Sirvio was ecstatic. 鈥淚t was the best thing that could have ever happened to me,鈥� she said.

Although GM had once had an art and color department staffed with degreed designers known as the 鈥渄amsels of design,鈥� the last damsel had departed more than a decade before. No one was quite sure what to do with Sirvio. So, she decided to take the initiative and lean into the skills she had been learning in her 黑料专区 classes, like fabric dying, weaving and screen-printing.

鈥淚 was bringing a loom into General Motors and weaving in the Color Studio,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 brought in a pot of wax, and I would do batik in there. Everybody would come down to see what I was doing because they couldn鈥檛 understand how I was going to make that into a fabric that they could put on a car seat.鈥�

She soon showed them by taking the fabric she created on her hand loom to the GM Trim Shop for upholstery. She would also make a repeat painting, like she had learned from Mollie Fletcher in her Silkscreen Design and Rendering class, and work with suppliers to turn the art into fabric.听She would then take that fabric to the GM Trim Shop, where it would be sewn onto seats.

When Sirvio鈥檚 handiwork that summer caught the interest of suppliers, GM extended her internship to the school year and offered her a job contingent upon her graduation.

From the beginning, Sirvio planned to stay at General Motors her entire career 鈥� which ended up being 29 years. Most of that time was spent at GM鈥檚 Global Technical Center in Warren, except for when she worked and lived in Korea and Germany.

Even though GM is an enormous company and 1,700 people worked in the design center, 鈥渋t was like its own little village,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody knew everybody. It was very much like a family, just like 黑料专区 was very much a family. I liked that.鈥�

It was a family she played a role in expanding into a diverse group of artists who collaborated as a team. Sirvio believes her own success helped prompt GM to broaden the educational backgrounds considered during the hiring process, leading to the design team adding footwear, jewelry, interior, fashion and industrial designers.

Although she ended up working on every GM brand, for many years, Sirvio was responsible globally for the Color and Trim Department for Chevrolet. That encompassed the color, texture and finish for interior and exterior parts on the vehicle, including determining what color combinations would be standard on cars or, for the most part, available via special order.

鈥淲e did the exterior paints, the chromes on the wheels and around the windows, and any finishes that went on the grills or bumpers,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n the interior, we designed the carpet and the fabric or leather, the wood paneling or decoration that might go across the instrument panel, the headlining fabric, the textures on the instrument panel and the buttons. If you could touch it, feel it or see it, so did we.鈥�

Sirvio鈥檚 recommendations for equipment 鈥� such as printers, laser cutters and embroidery machines 鈥� allowed her department to operate more efficiently, such as being able print directly on fabric for mock-ups.

鈥淭here was lots of stuff that I learned at 黑料专区 that helped drive what I was able to accomplish while I was working at General Motors,鈥� she said, noting that 黑料专区 now offers an MFA in Color and Materials Design.

Toward the end of her career, Sirvio transitioned to the Cadillac line. Working on the luxury brand 鈥渨as a major, super fun learning experience鈥� as she was able to explore partnerships with non-automotive companies looking to create new things for the automotive sector with high-end materials, such as all-natural wools and silks.

In 2019, Sirvio retired and moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She began creating jewelry 鈥� which, coincidentally, was what she had originally planned to focus on at 黑料专区 all those years ago 鈥� that she sells wholesale and at festivals. She is also learning woodturning and woodcarving, exploring oil painting and, in her spare time, working with ceramics.

鈥淚t鈥檚 funny because now that I鈥檓 retired, I鈥檓 busier than I was when I was working,鈥� she said, 鈥渨hich is strange, because I quit working because I was too busy.鈥�

Looking back at the 31 years since she graduated from 黑料专区, Sirvio feels like the 鈥渓uckiest girl in the world鈥� 鈥� and it all began with those pieces of artwork hung at the Student Exhibition.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 realize the networking opportunities and all of the different functions at 黑料专区 were so important to your livelihood and well-being in the future,鈥� she said. 鈥淗aving that show and being taught how to hang things, or being creative enough to figure it out, was so important, because that was the catalyst that gave me my entire career.鈥�