Wall of Honor Installed
Wall of Honor Installed
The new Wall of Honor in the lobby of The James F. Dicke College of Business Administration is an original piece of wall sculpture, sponsored by American Trim.
Audra Keiber, artist with American Trim’s Lima, Ohio, facility, says when Steve Hatkevich, director of research and development for the company, asked if she wanted to take on the project, she looked for inspiration in the building itself.
“When Toby (ONU’s First Lady Toby Baker, BFA '06) was telling me about the essence of the building and brought me through to do a tour, I saw such a great mix of materials, the angular structure and the awesome growth line, a significant symbol in business. So we did an abstract to try and capture the essence of the building,” Keiber says.
In her artist’s statement, which accompanies the work, she writes, “The contemporary flair of the building architecture is the overall abstract of the piece. The kaleidoscope of color, found on the building’s interior are picked up with the combination of metals and finish treatments used on the surfaces. The symbolic growth line on the buildings façade serves as an anchor for the acrylic used to honor those for whom this piece was created.”
To capture the colors of the natural colors of the building, Keiber turned to copper and used a pattern of flame treatment to create the strong colors that anchor the work. The acrylic plaques will list the names of alumni and friends of The James F. Dicke College of Business Administration who have attained significant professional accomplishments and who have made generous contributions to the college and ONU.
“I am an artist but this isn’t what I do on a regular basis,” says Keiber, “but I do a lot of work with metal. I interpret trends and pattern work onto metal.”
Decorative metal is one of the things that have made American Trim, known for metal forming, decorating and coating, a leader in its field. And Keiber has a unique perspective on the process.
“I actually started out in production for the company over 18 years ago. I worked as a color tech in the coatings department and a process engineer for years. I decided to go back to art school and I structured my education to fit the job. Not many people can do that,” she says. Currently she is completing her graduate thesis in color from the International Association of Color Consultants and Designers.
