This was another interesting show I attended in the month of May. The Faculty and Staff Art Exhibition offered an interesting, set of images, creations, and arrangements of objects that one could enjoy. Though the pieces were present for us to enjoy, the more interesting feat to recognize about this is that these artist have the time as workers of the university. Handling any amount of work be that of a student, professor and staff member can be quite taxing because you're keeping yourself afloat, your teaching style or even the services of the university afloat. I appreciate the time taken to create such works of art. It kind of serves as a reminder for me that in the future there is always a way to make time for the other passions you have in your life. With respect to the pieces that blew my mind, the couple that comes to mind are "Room Fan's First Recital" by Ed Warga and "Big Bang" by Trent Thigpen. The first one was because of the composition he made. It allows for the visual to create sound and it personified inanimate objects by the utilizing the term "recital". I thought that was pretty witty. As for Big Bang, the composition again was amazing because it followed the idea of what the big bang was all about. And it did so by using red dead fire ants! As I got closer, I realized the material he used was vaguely familiar and and they were in fact fire ants when I checked the name card. With the personal connection to the ants as a medium, he says it creates an awareness of one of the many systems we have in the universe. I really appreciate attending art events as much as possible because you get to see how other people think about things and what processes go into producing their bodies of work. By attending more of these I hope to ascertain my own style in the realm of artistry that I can rely on when I have free time.
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Like I mentioned in my last post, my Maymester course has long hours. This is why this post is coming at you in the start of my second week! It's a little late, but that extra time gave me some time to reflect on what I have been learning. Firstly, I essentially had to learn how to deal with clay all over again because the last time I dabbled in any clay work was when I was in elementary. This was the only reason I remembered how to score and slip. Though this was my, what I am considering my first, class in ceramics, my professor and classmates really helped the few of us out that were new to ceramics. I really appreciated it because of their excitement to witness our advancements in our skill. Our first week was to make, and make, and make some more with wet clay because the following, final, week would be for glazing and firing our Raku creations. Our first project was to make pinch pots. It was a super neat process but as a disclaimer, your hands WILL get tired if you are not used to the constant motion. Mine sure did, but with more practice and handiwork with the clay, you find techniques to combat the muscle fatigue. I did so by switching hands and leaning the clay up against the work table. Later on, we viewed some more demos on how to create pieces using slabs, coiled clay, handles, and throwing and pulling. It was a lot of information in the hours we had to work, but since I am able to write about it, at least some of it has been ingrained in my mind for my future with works related to ceramics. I am excited to see where my work will go in the next week, I hope it will be works that I am very proud to start from. Below are some images from the first week of class! Enjoy! For those of you wondering what a Maymester is, it is as it sounds— a semester of school in the month of May. Another interesting thing to note about Maymesters is that they only last two weeks. How can you get anything done in only two weeks? Well the thing is, you CAN. With long hours and dedication to learning new techniques, tricks and tips, It was totally possible! Now that you know what a Maymester is, of course since I am mentioning it on this website, it has to do with something art related. I took the Intermediate Ceramics class my school has to offer. This was my first college level ceramics class so I had a lot of catching up to do in terms of how to manipulate the Raku clay, but It was great learning experience. The coming posts will talk more about the processes I learned and a little bit about my idea conception. Please look forward to it! |
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