Retro: Table Runner (Advanced Ceramics, Spring 2011)

Today I installed my final advanced ceramics piece of the year, a retro-inspired table runner. The pieces are clay slabs painted with underglaze, about 1/2" thick and ranging from 3"-7" in diameter. 

My studio table is about 31"x 68".

The photos go through a small progression of in-progress work to the final studio set up.

Field Experience: Hughes High School

Our art education content III field experience this Spring quarter took place at Hughes High School, a Cincinnati Public School near The University of Cincinnati's main campus. Our objective this quarter was to teach in teams of two and work one-on-one with a table of students in the art classroom.Our content class was given a lesson plan by our mentor teacher and we were to teach the students about still lifes through the use of four different artist with varying styles. 

Mark Fox

 Rice gallery . (n.d.). Dust: rice gallery. Retrieved from http://www.ricegallery.org/new/exhibition/dust.html 

 Portia Munson

Munson, P. (2011). Portia munson. Retrieved from http://www.portiamunson.com/home.html

Kehinde Wiley

National portrait gallery . (2011, april 26). National portrait gallery:recognize! hip hop and contemporary portraiture. Retrieved from http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/paintings.html

My stylist says . (2011). Kehinde wiley art: my stylist says. Retrieved from http://www.mystylistsays.com/chloe-loves/kehinde-wiley/ 

 Janet Fish

Amherst bulletin . (2007). Amherst bulletin: into the light: mount holyoke college exhibits the luminous work of janet fish. Retrieved from http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/92201/

My teaching partner and I had an interesting field experience in that we originally started with two students, and then each week after that we would have two new students that were absent in the  previous weeks. So we were always re-teaching our first lesson and constantly coming across this hurdle of: How do we build on the knowledge base each week that we establish the week before when we always have new students?

In our last two visits we made to Hughes, all five of the students we had taught were present  and we did a small project based on the work of Kehinde Wiley's layering and photorealistic processes. Using bristol, vintage flowered wallpaper designs, magazine figure cutouts, markers, and glue, the students collaged figures with background patterns and made a piece reminiscent of Kehinde. Here's some examples of the working process of our students and their results:

 A major part of our Hughes experiences was figuring out and exploring the uses of philosophical inquiry in the classroom. We had a lot of discussion with our students over the course of our teaching and we mainly wanted to get them just talking about art. 

A discussion activity called Yes, No, Maybe... that we did with the work of Mark Fox, posed the question to the students of: Do you consider Mark's Dust installation art? One student took the role of 'Yes,' and one took the role of 'No.' Through forcing the students to take sides, it required them to think about what they value and what they personally consider art.

They are so used to going through the motions of art class that it was really great to see how we could challenge them and dig into deeper levels of artistic understandings. Our mentor teacher noted to our content class that students who never perform in her class were fully engaged in our lessons and were really excited for us to come to class on Friday afternoon. It was a really great feeling to know that we could be thrown into this unknown situation and come out with such great results! It was a definitely a quarter of experiencing 'the unknown' and figuring out how to deal.

Shelfari: Building Your Classroom Library

Shelfari is a site that we have discussed in class that I thought would be really helpful for building a classroom library. It would be a great way to get book suggestions and look into resources that you may have never thought of! Shelfari would definitely be of assistance when doing artist and lesson research as well as exploring new areas of artistic study. Shelfari. (2011). Shelfari. Retrieved from http://www.shelfari.com/

ArtWorks Cincinnati

ArtWorks is an amazing non-profit organization that provides many opportunities for ways to get involved in the art community of Cincinnati. The site contains information about calls for entries, public art projects, ways to volunteer, and ways to donate to the organization.
Artworks. (n.d.). Artworks. Retrieved from http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/

UC Art Blog

The UC Art Blog has all the latest information about visiting artists, lecture series, and downtown openings! Very helpful and a great way to get involved in the School of Art and the artistic community of Cincinnati.

SOA. (2010). Uc art blog. Retrieved from http://ucartblog.blogspot.com/

Kuler

The Kuler website is a great resource when it comes to thinking about color relationships, patterns, and combinations. I have referenced this site quite a lot in my ceramic work and glaze studies. This site would be very helpful in the art classroom when learning about the color wheel, temperatures, schemes, etc. A posible activity would be to have the students color their piece based on a scheme from the Kuler site, practicing color mixing and application, and explaining why they chose the scheme and how the colors make them feel. 

Adobe systems inc. (2006). Kuler. Retrieved from http://kuler.adobe.com/#

Guy Michael Davis

Guy Michael Davis is another fellow ceramics professor who creates work in conjunction with Katie Parker. This link is to Mike's personal blog with updates of his new, intricate, porcelain slip-cast work. 

Davis, g.m. (2007). Guy michael davis. Retrieved from http://www.guymichaeldavis.blogspot.com/

Katie Parker

Katie Parker has been my ceramics professor for many quarters now. I have linked this post to her blog because I find her work very inspirational, interesting, and intriguing. Her opinions and suggestions obviously influence my work, studio attitude, and developing ceramic interests and skills!

Parker, K. (2006). New work. Retrieved from http://katiesnewwork.blogspot.com/

Ceramic Object Lesson: Mold Making

"Object lesson is an experiment in the design and production of ceramic objects from students of various disciplines. All the projects shown are cast in porcelain, molded from both hand carved and machined forms." [University of Cincinnati: DAAP: Ceramic Student work from mold making studio]
Ceramic Object Lesson
Parker, K. (2009, march). Ceramic object lesson. Retrieved from  http://ceramicobjectlesson.blogspot.com/

Interview With a Professional: Matt Klaber: Introduction to Commercial Design: Grades 10-12

      Klaber, as we liked to call him, was my favorite, most influential art teacher my sophomore year of high school. He was a young, bald, and buff former repo-man turned high school commercial design educator. So of course when I thought of having to interview a professional, I immediately thought of Mr. Klaber.

            One of the funniest memories I have of Mr. Klaber was when he came into class on a Monday morning with a rather large sunburn on the top of his bald head in the shape of a perfect circle. Little did we know he was doing yard work all weekend while wearing a visor- he remembered the visor, but forgot the sunscreen. It took weeks for his head to be back to normal, but her never wore a visor again. Matt Klaber received his Bachelor’s of Art Education at Miami University and took Master’s classes in Educational Technology at Grand Canyon University and Boise State University. I had explained to Mr. Klaber that we were learning about aesthetics this quarter and how to incorporate them into the classroom and how we can write about and learn from our own aesthetic experiences. I asked him how he would define aesthetic experience? He said, “I would define an aesthetic experience as an experience (usually that involves senses) that leaves an indelible mark on one's life or even moment in time.” He went on to say, “The concept of aesthetics (basic nutshell: appreciating art and defining what beauty is) in my work is ever present; all art is extremely subjective and each person defines beauty and appreciates art in different ways and tastes. My job is to TRY and meld all those different types so each person can find their own beauty and appreciate art in their own way.” I was really intrigued by how he used the word ‘TRY’ because every experience that we have is different. Coming into this quarter, I had no idea what an aesthetic experience was, let alone if I had had one. It takes a lot of exploration and layers for students to think about aesthetic experiences in the ways that we have in Content III.

            With all of the aesthetic success that we have encountered this quarter, I was dying to know just how it had all happened, and asked Mr. Klaber: How do we teach aesthetics? To which he said, ”I don't think it's anything you can really teach since everyone thinks of art and beauty in different terms. But is is something you can share and appreciate through sharing and common experiences. Just the simple task of putting creamer into coffee can be turned into an aesthetic experience if you just watch the creamer interact with the coffee in a whirl of color and clouds...some people might not think that's an aesthetic experience but it something you can share.” WOW. Who would have thought that something that little could be considered and aesthetic experience? I think that our aesthetic success in the classroom can be contributed to the fact that we share everything, and can visualize what others see as beautiful and meaningful. Klaber said that he’s had a lot of aesthetic experiences in the classroom, “ Especially, when a student is really into their work and does work that really knocks the wind out of me with detail, craftsmanship, or execution.”

            The final question that I asked Mr. Klaber was: What is the role of aesthetic experiences in today’s culture? Being the Commercial Design Educator that he is, Klaber replied, “The role of an aesthetic experience in today's culture is often found in mass marketing appeal since everything is fast-paced, information-based, and digested at such a quick speed. It's often hard to capture someone's attention with something that takes their breath away but it happens. I find myself sometimes utterly blown away by commercials that are just beautifully done and extremely captivating.” [T.Rowe Price: Ocean: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihwXcBokl134] By answering this question, he had supplied me with an idea of his own personal aesthetics. If you watch the YouTube video, you can really see what Klaber views as beautiful and why he enjoys teaching his class so much, because it is all about using technology to convey a message to a larger audience.

            It was really great to catch up with Mr. Klaber in this interview. It is even greater knowing that the Dafler tradition still lives on with my little sister, Allyson, a senior, taking my place in Klaber’s class as “Lauren’s Sister.” Klaber is truly an inspirational teacher, and my reason for going into art education; his passion for teaching and art appreciation foster the growth of aesthetic experiences in his classroom. 

Saturday Morning Art Program: Autumn 2010

DAAP's Saturday Morning Art program was our first teaching experience as beginning art educators. My teaching group was assigned to 3rd and 4th graders, about 15 students were in our group. Over the course of five Saturdays (9:00-11:00) we taught an entire unit and had a final exhibition of all of the student work from all of Saturday Art the sixth week. 

The 'Big Idea' of our unit was Collections, so we did projects based on the collection art of Andy Goldsworthy, Mark Dion, Portia Munson, and Tara Donovan.

These first few pictures were from the first activity that we did based on the nature work of Andy Goldsworthy. We went outside of our DAAP classroom and had the students make their own pieces using nature: they could choose to use whatever nature materials they wanted, colors, height, construction, location, etc. They didn't respond as well to working as a class and collaboratively making one large piece, but they did enjoy working in small groups gathering materials, and really utilized their spaces and materials available.  Here are a few results: 

The next activity that we did with the students was a Tara Donovan sculpture building project. I had cut slits into Bristol paper circles and they were to apply glue to slits and then fashion the circles together to build up their sculpture. In theory, this sounded like a really great idea, and worked perfectly when I tried the activity on my own. But there is only so far planning an activity can take you, until the students actually have to do it- that's where problems happen, because IT WAS A DISASTER! The biggest lesson that I took away from today was 'patience.' I think that was the biggest issue because the glue took too long to dry and the bristol was too fragile to work with. There were tears, but in the end, every student managed to crank out a great Tara Donovan-esque sculpture that was reflective of their building process... which I would consider a success!

This picture is from the final exhibition on the sixth Saturday of the program. The other two projects shown on the table are the Mark Dion vessel activity, where our students hand-built and painted a vessel out of air-dry clay to house an item of their own personal collection. For the exhibition students placed an item of their collection into their vessel: golf ball, bottle caps, ponies, coins, etc. The books that are standing up contain a review of everything that we did in Saturday Art. There are artist insert sheets that contain information about each artist that we discussed and essential question that correspond with each. The covers are mixed media collages that are representative of artist Portia Munson- working in all one color. I LOVED our final exhibition! Saturday Art was a really great first teaching experience, especially since we were just thrown into it during our first weeks of content classes. I really don't think that I would change anything major (except for the horror of the Donovan activity) because there were such great outcomes of the decisions that we made working collaboratively as a teaching team.

Betty Hensellek: Von Heimat

This is a link to a fellow classmate's jewelry/ fashion/ inspiration blog. Betty is currently working on her BFA, a BA in art history, and will be attending grad school at NYU in the fall. Betty creates beautiful and  sculptural jewelry based on cultures unfamiliar to her, taking into account the local:  people, wildlife, organic environment, art, and architecture that identifies a specific geographic region. 

Betty Hensellek: Von Heimat

Hensellek, B. (2011). Von heimat. Retrieved from http://vonheimat.blogspot.com/

Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati

Like the Cincinnati Art Museum post, this link to the Contemporary Arts Center goes directly to the museum's educational resources page that is complete with: lesson plans, reading lists, workshops, and presentations.
Contemporary arts center. (2010). Educational resources: contemporary arts center. Retrieved from http://contemporaryartscenter.org/learn/educational-resources

Cincinnati Art Museum

Here's a link to the educational and teaching programs page at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Cincinnati art museum, Initials. (2011). Cincinnati art museum: school and teacher programs. Retrieved from http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/absolutenm/templates/ArtTempActivities.aspx?articleid=75&zoneid=231

Meredith Host

Meredith Host BLOG
Host, M. Meredith host. Retrieved from http://meredithhost.com/ho

Russel Wright

An American industrial designer, famous for American Modern, the most widely sold ceramic dinnerware in history. Wright's color palette's and retro style have become another of my main artistic inspirations for my current ceramic 'retro' work. 
Russel Wright
Russel wright studios llc, Initials. (2006). Russel wright studios llc. Retrieved from http://www.russelwrightstudios.com/index.htm

Marcel Wanders: Product Design & Interior Design

As I mentioned in my Personal Aesthetics post, I consider the design work of Marcel Wanders to be extremely influential in my contemporary ceramics work and aesthetic values. Below is a link to Marcel's product and interior design site- take a look and prepare to be amazed!
Marcel Wanders: Product Design and Interior Design



Wanders, M. (2010). Marcel wanders- product design & interior design. Retrieved from http://www.marcelwanders.com/index.html

Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA)

Much like the NAEA, the OAEA provides career assistance and financial aid opportunities for future art educators and members of the organization.
OAEA Website


OAEA. (2010). Oaea- home. Retrieved from http://www.oaea.org/?page=home&style=bodytextmiddle

National Art Education Association (NAEA)

Here's a link to the National Art Education Association's Website. The NAEA site contains a lot of information and assistance in how to personally advance in the field of art education through collaboration with other teaching professionals. Memberships are available, as well as research grants and awards, career information, advocacy resources, a lesson planning resources gallery, and so much more... take a look!
NAEA Website


NAEA. (2011). Home- national art education association. Retrieved from http://www.arteducators.org/

Personal Aesthetics: Bulbous, Undulating, and Overwhelming

         I like to think that I can find beauty in everything, and that inspiration can be found everywhere. That is definitely not the truth when it comes to my personal preferences and how I choose not only what I deem as ‘valuable’, but what I regard as beautiful.

Design is beautiful. I had never considered formal design until my junior year when I took mold-making studio. The artist that I took most inspiration from was Marcel Wanders, a product and interior designer from the Netherlands. Specifically in Marcel’s Egg Vase I draw a lot of aesthetic beauty. Egg Vase comes in three different sizes and varies from 10x9 cm, 14.5x9 cm, to 14.5x12.5 cm., and the form is made from hard-boiled eggs dropped into latex condoms. I am most drawn to Marcel’s work because of its delicate cutout patterns and ‘bubbly’ boldness. Being interested in design has led me to be drawn to simplicity- in both form and surface. 

Marcel Wanders

Egg Vase

Porcelain

1997

http://www.marcelwanders.nl/wanders/pages/acc-eggvase_1_4_grouppage.shtml

Being a ceramics major has caused me to look at everything I see from a different perspective. I consider how was something built? What processes were involved in the production of an object? How does the final product affect the viewer? I also consider elements of product design in my work, especially in mold-making. I am naturally drawn to multiples and repetition, I am so POMO! I think that the most aesthetically pleasing art is art that observes the relationship of multiples and their interactions with one another. I think I am so drawn to this art because of the power that multiples can have and the impact that their size has on the viewer, for example in Tara Donovan’s work (below). Multiples and bulbous forms can be overwhelming, undulating, and yet, complete. Which I love.

Tara Donovan

Untitled, 2003

Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue

Dimensions Variable

Ace Gallery Los Angeles, 2005

http://www.acegallery.net/artwork.php?pageNum_ACE=10&Artist=8

  

Eva Zeisel

                                Prototype for Ceramic Wall Dividers                                   

1958

Eva Zeisel

  Up Vase Series

1958

           Sticking with the beauty of design, the ceramic work of 105 year-old Eva Zeisel is extremely aesthetically pleasing to me. I really enjoy the way that Eva’s forms fit together and how her work serves a purpose. Eva’s color palette is very rich and inviting to the viewer. Color is something that I deem aesthetically pleasing and valuable because I am always drawn to vivid colors and relationships that make work stand out and stand alone.

            My sense of aesthetic meaning and value has changed over time because my interests and knowledge have shaped and fostered this change. I think that maturity and my growth of knowledge and the want to learn has caused my aesthetic value to change since my freshman year of college. Learning about different artists and their styles has developed my mind as an educator and artist and led to the development of my own personal working style. I am now more artistically informed and have moved on from ‘crafty’ art, to art with craft.

 

Responses to: Roymieco A. Carter (2007) "Can Aesthetics Be Taught In Urban Education?"

Summary: Carter's article is about how aesthetics is understood and taught in urban education. It concludes by saying that the teaching of aesthetics in urban education is better understood if tied to lived experiences within the urban environment; The people, spaces, and objects in their everyday experiences become treasured embodiments of beauty. Aesthetics, a tool of critical inquiry, can provide a nontraditional framework for teaching concepts of beauty and value to an urban student. 

Quotes:  "Aesthetics helps the urban student to observe connections and respond with a clear view of responsibility and understanding to the environment. The reflection of the student in relation to the work of art will raise the student's awareness of the subject matter. The aesthetic distance is short and the reflection is clear."

"The path between expression and experience becomes the new 'truth' that is beauty."

"The basis of this inquiry is to address the aesthetic as a key that connects fundamental knowledge production to the lived experience."

Response: I think that Carter's article clearly defined what aesthetics is and how we can use what we see everyday to teach it to students. The part of the article that made aesthetics most clear was when Carter broke it down into conceptual and formal approaches. Conceptual aesthetics concerns itself with the nature of truth, beauty, value, and taste; constructions of social interaction and change. Formal aesthetics focuses on the rules of composition and visual principles and elements. I think that it was really interesting how Carter used hip hop music, graffiti, and style as an urban comparison of aesthetic quality. Using these examples shows how we can be influenced aesthetically by our surroundings/adapt  and use what we know as a basis for teaching aesthetics in the classroom. 

LINK TO Roymieco A. Carter (2007) "Can Aesthetics Be Taught In Urban Education?":  http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/55775319?access_key=key  1seuk1yqwd1azaxkwh1z

Oui, Non, Peut-être: Mona Lisa

For this content assignment, we were to write about an image, video, music file, or other phenomenon and compose an argument that considers its aesthetic qualities and applicability (or non-applicability) as an object of study in art education.

          An aesthetic experience I’ve had recently has been the opportunity of seeing the DaVinci’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre this past spring break. I was so excited to finally see the ‘monumental’ Mona Lisa I had built up in my mind, but when I finally saw it in person- it was a very depressing Mona Lisa nugget (about 30in.x21in.) I had built up in my head this idea of what the Mona Lisa would be like when I actually approached it- bare on the wall so I could get up close and examine the brush strokes and details that a book couldn’t provide. Boy was I wrong. The Mona Lisa was behind glass, behind a wooden barrier and pretty much the only thing you could do was take a picture of it and claim that you were really there. What if the barrier hadn’t been there? How would my aesthetic experience have changed? What if the Mona Lisa had been bigger?

           

            The aesthetic experience I had while at the Louvre can be applied to the classroom when discussing the contexts in which we view art and the expectations we have for these experiences. Students have a preconceived notion that all works of art are monumental, yet many of them are making these assumptions based off of what they see in their textbooks and view in slides in the classroom. I think that this lesson of viewing art in different contexts could be applied to all age groups.

Our discussions in the classroom could lead to visiting nearby museums and seeing works that were previously discussed. Seeing actual works in person would show the students that there is a difference between viewing works in museums, galleries, home, and in a textbook. It will make them want to have the aesthetic experience of being in front of a piece of art.

Having this aesthetic experience will encourage students to answer philosophical questions about what art is? How their perception of art changes when viewing it in different contexts? How would they describe and interpret their aesthetic experience?

The study of the image comparison of the Mona Lisa would be beneficial as an object of study in art education because it would allow students to discuss aesthetic experiences and what they are/ can be/ how they can happen? Until this quarter I haven’t thought much about aesthetic experiences, let alone know what one was. I think that if we introduce this idea to students earlier in their art careers, it may help them connect with their work and get more involved in art and philosophical discussions with other classmates.