2012 Spring Fellow

Olajide Cooper

Fashion Designer

I once had the erroneous belief that life was polarized. Things had to be one way or the other; black and white. By letting go of hesitations and going after all of my interests, I found that thought to be incorrect. Born and raised in North Omaha, I have always had a deep desire to create. I have been sewing by hand for as long as I can remember, and got my first sewing machine at 15. Since then, I have been sewing for myself and for others. I am a student at The University of Nebraska | Omaha majoring in Elementary Education with a specialization in Deaf Education and Spanish. I currently use my sign language and Spanish skills by teaching at local day care centers.

Being a person with multiple interests, I have the same space in my heart for education as I do for fashion design. It took e a little trial and error to find a path that would work for me. Now that I have a clear direction, I know my possibilities are endless.

2012 Spring Fellows

Kjell Peterson

Ceramicist + Sculptor

Maranda Allbritten + Tom McCauley

Bookmaker + Author

Sarah Kolar

Fiber Artist

Andrew Monbouquette + Dan Susman

Filmmakers

Jackie Sterba

Sculptor