Faculty Spotlight: Brian Rust

Ten years ago, Brian Rust was invited to participate in a nature-based sculpture program at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens at Clemson University—an ongoing program for artists to build sculptures that are semi-permanent, that change over time, and that are affected by other surrounding elements.

The professor of art at ASU sculpted Earthen Bridge, a footbridge that spans over a stream and is made of rammed earth. The bridge, which is still at the gardens, will get a facelift in February.

“Artists are being invited back to ‘re-envision’ or ‘update’ their work at the Botanical Gardens,” says Mr. Rust. “Beginning in February, I am going to be the featured artist of the month. I am very excited about it.”

Landscape architecture students at Clemson University got involved with the project 10 years ago, and current art students will be helping Mr. Rust in February.

Interestingly, one of the students who originally helped Mr. Rust build Earthen Bridge went on to work with Blanchard & Calhoun in Augusta as a landscape architect.

“He called me and asked if I wanted to sculpt something for the entryway to a neighborhood called Bartram Trail in Columbia County,” Mr. Rust says. “Blanchard & Calhoun wanted something unique and different.”

The Washington state native finished the art at the entryway this summer. It resembles the shape of a leaf and is made out of large stones. He wanted the artwork, which he appropriately named Stone Leaf, to feel natural and look as though it grew there and wasn’t out of place.

In addition to sculpting, Mr. Rust also draws and uses collage imagery. “It’s my immediate gratification, I suppose. It helps me retain ideas for my sculptures,” he says.

His fascination with art started at an early age, but it wasn’t until graduate school that he realized he wanted to teach. Like many students wanting to take that route, Mr. Rust wasn’t sure if he would be any good at it.

But the artist swallowed his doubts and began teaching at Wayne State University in 1991. After one term, Mr. Rust moved to Georgia and began teaching at Augusta State. Through the years, he has developed one philosophy that he says works for him and his students. He calls it peer-to-peer teaching, where students learn from other students.

“When they hear criticism from each other in addition to me, it’s more valid,” Mr. Rust says. “I think it’s a very healthy, effective way of teaching. I focus the discussion and bring up relative points, and the students help each other.”

Mr. Rust has garnered national attention and has had six permanent sculptures in places such as Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and California. He also has had 11 sculptural installations, six solo exhibitions, and more than 30 group exhibitions.

He received an associate’s degree from Columbia Basin Community College in Pacso, Wash., a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and a master’s degree from the University of California in Berkeley.

Who: Brian Rust

Position: Professor of art

How long at ASU: Fourteen years

Family: Wife, Kristin; children, Jacob, Ana, and Amy

What do you love most about working at ASU? “What I like most is the sense of community here at ASU. I have been here long enough, and ASU is small enough that I know so many of the folks I work with on a daily basis. It makes your day just that much easier."

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