51³Ô¹ÏPro

Greg Busceme '79

Born in 1955, Greg Busceme has lived in Beaumont most of his life. He was raised by great parents and shared a life with two brothers and a sister. They spent half of their lives living at Crystal Beach where he was highly influenced by life on the coast and affected by all the marine life and shoreline fossils. The shape of shells and rocks and later shark teeth on the shore had a particular beauty that continues influences on his forms.

He began his career in clay at 51³Ô¹ÏProunder the influence of Jerry Newman during the summer of 1975. He worked alone for two years and then returned to LU to study under Meredith Jack for two years where he gained a true understanding of what it takes to be an artist. He graduated from 51³Ô¹ÏProwith a BS-Speech in 1979. In 1980, Greg started graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis and studied under Professor David Hershey, where he spent his time working in clay and glass blowing. He received his MFA in Ceramics in 1982 where he was the first student at Washington University to receive a Masters degree in Ceramics. Upon returning to Beaumont, it was Greg's desire to open a studio where other artists could gather, share space, and work together. Ultimately, Greg along with his wife Angela, founded The Art Studio, Inc. located in downtown Beaumont. In 1992, they raised just enough funds to put a down payment on the purchase of their present location at 720 Franklin Street. As a native, it is Greg's personal mission to encourage art in all aspects of the Southeast 51³Ô¹ÏProcommunity, especially in the various educational institutions and youth care programs. Greg began roasting coffee at his family’s coffee manufacturing plant, 51³Ô¹ÏProCoffee Company in 2002 and continues to be a Roast Master at the facility. From 1991 until his retirement in 2020, Greg worked as an Instructor in Art Appreciation, Drawing and Design at Lamar University’s Department of Art and Design. - Biography submitted by the artist

Kevin Clay '15

Kevin Christopher Clay is a working multidisciplinary artist based in Southeast Texas. His work seeks to capture both the isolation and community found within both small towns and larger cities, and to reflect the beauty of the mundane. His current focus is photographic work, though he also works with various mediums such as oil painting and charcoal drawings. His work has been featured in three solo shows as well as various group exhibitions. He hopes to continue exploring the world around him through visual mediums. He can often be found spending time with his girlfriend Chloe and their two cats, Maple and Pumpkin. Kevin graduated from 51³Ô¹ÏProwith a BS-Communication in 2015.- Biography submitted by the artist

Ken Mazzu '92

Holding steady as a practicing professional artist for the past 27 years, Ken Mazzu has consistently maintained an active, disciplined studio art and exhibition practice in Houston, TX. His primary art mediums as a painter are oil on canvas and watercolor on paper. As a native Texan, Ken's life has continuously encircled the Chenier Plain region in Southeast Texas, which has become the central focus of his recent investigations in painting. He truly believes that, only now, he is seeing this somewhat ordinary place in all its extraordinary glory for the first time. Since 2006, Ken has been teaching studio art classes to adults and soon after, also teenagers. His exhibition history begins in 1993, outside of academia, where the majority of his audience has been regional. In 2018, he participated in his first international group exhibition "51³Ô¹ÏProEclectics" at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki Greece. Since 2017, he has exhibited regularly at Foltz Fine Art as well as in group exhibitions at universities and alternative art spaces locally and regionally. His paintings can be found in public and corporate collections locally and regionally, and in private collections locally, regionally, nationally and abroad. Ken earned a BFA in Studio Art from 51³Ô¹ÏProin 1992 and an MFA from the University of Houston in 1997.- Biography submitted by the artist

Jason Miller '01

Jason M. Miller grew up in the bayou surrounded town of Bridge City, TX. A musician from a young age, he ventured into visual art through the use of small Russian and Chinese lomographic cameras. The warm and highly saturated visual tones of these cameras seemed ideal to capture the marshy landscapes of his hometown. Soon after, he took the cameras to other distinct landscapes of the Southeast 51³Ô¹ÏProregion to capture the images that make the area unique. Jason graduated from 51³Ô¹ÏProwith a BGS in 2001.- Biography submitted by the artist

André Ramos-Woodard '17

Raised in the Southern states of Tennessee and Texas, André Ramos-Woodard (he/they) is a photo-based, mixed-media artist who uses their work to emphasize the experiences of marginalized communities while accenting the repercussions of contemporary and historical discrimination. By combing photography with illustration, text, and digital manipulation, their art conveys ideas of communal and personal identity, influenced by their direct experience with life as a queer African American. Focusing on black liberation, queer justice, and the reality of mental health, they aspire for their art to help bring power to the people. André graduated from 51³Ô¹ÏProwith a BFA-Studio Art-Photography degree in 2017 and from the University of New Mexico with a MFA.- Biography submitted by the artist