2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition
Western Connecticut State University
June 16 – July 3, 2026
Reception Thursday, June 18, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Loren Birtha, Interdisciplinary Artist
Octavia C. Byrd, Painter
Jacqueline Joyce, Illustrator
Katherine Moran, Interdisciplinary Artist
Riley Weaver, Interdisciplinary Artist
The MFA Thesis Exhibition is the capstone experience of WCSU’s Department of Art’s Graduate Program. MFA degrees are available in Painting, Illustration, and Interdisciplinary Visual Art. The exhibition is supported by the Jason and Ellen Hancock Student Endowment Fund at WCSU. Five graduate students will present their thesis work this year, featuring diverse media and innovative approaches that reflect their unique artistic visions.
Loren Birtha, a Connecticut artist, explores topics of self, nature, and fantasy through an ongoing investigation of the unseen connections that tie us to the natural world and to each other. Her various media include photography, painting, drawing, sculpture, digital creation and video. Loren’s work has been shown in Bridgeport, CT, at the Schelfhaudt Gallery in four exhibitions from Fall 2021 to Spring 2023. Earning awards for her panoramic landscapes and abstract images, she is the founder and director of LAB Photography, a portrait photography business she established in 2019.
About her work, Loren writes, “As I continue to explore the territory of interdisciplinary creativity, I want my art to transcend boundaries, inspire wonder, and appeal to an idea of shared discovery. . . Each piece is an invitation to experience a world where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are just a little hazy. I am fascinated by the intricate dance between the small, overlooked details of the world and the wide-ranging realms of our imagination. My work comes from a deep-rooted curiosity and fascination about the physical, natural and fantastical.”
Octavia C. Byrd is a Connecticut painter whose work explores femininity, chronic illness, and embodied empathy. Drawing from her personal experience living with endometriosis, her paintings center on tenderness, resilience, and the quiet strength of the female body. Her work has been exhibited throughout Connecticut, including Ferguson Library in Stamford and City Lights in Bridgeport. She has contributed to numerous community art initiatives and nonprofit collaborations, as well as mural projects in Milford, CT, and Boston, MA. Since 2019, Octavia has been teaching art classes in Milford, Bridgeport, and Hartford public schools.
Octavia writes, “Through painting and drawing, I approach the figure with softness and empathy. I create spaces where femininity, fragility, strength, and grace can coexist. My work holds tension between discomfort and delicacy, between what is felt internally and what is presented externally. I often use pink to empower femininity, layered textures, and fluid forms to suggest both the tenderness and complexity of the female experience. Chronic illness can feel isolating, but it can also deepen one’s awareness of the body and spirit. Ultimately, my paintings are offerings — to myself, and to every woman who has learned to carry strength quietly. Through tenderness, I seek to make space for recognition, healing, and shared understanding.”
Jacqueline Joyce is a New York artist who specializes in drawings, paintings, prints and other illustrative works of the fantasy genre. Her work is often based on characters, places and events that only exist in the fantastic realms of fiction. For her thesis exhibition, she developed and constructed “Mall Rats”, a board game, complete with character pieces and player forms, based on the rules set of Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition, and inspired by an abandoned suburban mall. Jacqueline has participated in conventions and fairs for the past five years, and received commissions for album cover designs. Her work has been exhibited in group shows since 2018, when she was included in the “Young Artists” exhibition at the Katonah Museum of Art. Additionally, she has curated shows in Peekskill and Purchase, NY.
In Jacqueline’s own words, “I've always been a big daydreamer and a fan of folklore and fantasy, and the veil between worlds. Heavily influenced by titles such as Lord of the Rings, my deep love of medieval, renaissance and Victorian art history, and my fascination with dead malls, liminal spaces and the decline of the accessible third space, my work is often about fantasy realms and storytelling as an escape from the real world.”
Katherine Moran is an interdisciplinary artist from Newtown, CT. Her practice is anchored in printmaking, alternative photography, painting and sculpture. She often combines unlikely materials, utilizing physical space and materiality. In her artist statement, Katherine writes, “My art navigates my interest in the fragility and resiliency of life. Creating a delicate tension between unexpected materials allows me to explore grief, memory, and the intimacy of small, everyday moments. I often collect images and phrasing that repeatedly weave their way into my work. By incorporating found objects to act as the vessels that hold my art, I’m pushed to explore the boundaries of materials to print on.”
Katherine’s artwork has been exhibited in Danbury and Newtown, CT. She has worked as a studio assistant for CT artists, and as Theater Manager at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, CT. Through her design and installations, she has led numerous community art projects. She is now Manager for Greenwood Features where she continues her creative practice in community work.
Riley Weaver is a New York multimedia artist. His work explores process through the use of discarded materials and various methods, with a concentration in printmaking. He draws a connection between the discarded physical consumer world and the people and places in his life, personifying materials to tell a story.
Riley writes, “When we as artists create, we allow the experiences that make us who we are inform our art. Growing up with the rise of digital cameras and the early days of the internet, I was exposed to a lot of photography and design, all while enjoying more traditional art forms. . . I love to experiment with new media as the opportunity arises, depending on the task or message I want to convey. With my love for typography, collaging my photos, 3D printing, or learning a new medium for the sake of a project, my irreverent humor and artistic expression challenge the norms and dare to ask, “Why not”?
Riley’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions in Danbury and Waterbury, CT, and in group shows, recently in “Words”, an exhibition at Yonkers Arts, NY. He has contributed to the publication, design, and marketing for several programs and projects at WCSU.