Yesterday was my first day at Tyler School of Art, where I'm attempting to get my Master's of Art Education. This semester I'm taking an art history seminar, Art Education Research, and Graduate Fibers Projects. I've attended my art history and projects class so far, and tomorrow will have the first art ed course.
The best thing that has happened in the last 2 days was being granted a STUDIO SPACE in the Fibers Department. It's really just a 6ft table in a 10 ftsq room, and I'm sharing it with 3 other fiber senior undergrads, but I don't care IT"S A STUDIO! If you've been reading, you'll know that I've been lamenting the fact that Art Ed grads don't have dedicated space.
So this evening I bought a rolling 3-drawer storage box, a brand new bicycle, and will move myself in tomorrow afternoon.
In other news, the stair stitching is complete and I'm debating whether to add the birds or not. I'll have pics in a few days.
Check out this link for an awesome sculpture artist I discovered yesterday.
Wednesday, September 2
Sunday, August 30
NLArts Camp wrap-up
For the past 2 weeks I've been teaching at NLArts Performing and Visual Arts Camp in Northern Liberties. About 13 campers aged 9-11 were under my charge and they were a fantastic group of kids (including my own daughter- so I'm biased). During the performing arts camp the first week, they were key players in producing the props we used as well as the dialogue we wrote for the final play.
This past week during the Visual Arts Camp the campers focused on the theme "Go Green". All the projects were driven either conceptually or materially by the idea of environmental consciousness. The first project my group completed was a fence weaving, shown above, which reused fabric strips salvaged from interior design samples. The peace sign was a popular motif, but we also had recycling arrows and the 3 R's. Before weaving we talked about how fabric is made, whether it's natural/sustainable or synthetic, how far textiles are shipped around the world for our use and what choices they should make when buying clothes.
These 2 images above and below feature the wheat-pasted mural created by the entire camp. Students trekked down to Liberty Lands park to do tree/leaf/texture rubbings on paper. We talked about how it's possible to use nature for inspiration without taking anything away from nature to make art. The rubbings were torn and cut to be pasted into the tree shapes on the side of the building. The paste was made from flour and water, and the campers got VERY messy!!! The one below was made almost entirely by my daughter (proud mama here). Both of the projects above should still be visible if you got to 3rd and Fairmount.
All of the remaining images show my campers' animal/habitat sculptures. The animals were made with clay, which was then painted. The habitats were created with reused cardboard leftover from the previous week's play props, paint, and rocks and sticks found around the building. In preparing for the project the campers brainstormed their favorite animals, what was special about their habitat, and how each animal has special qualities to survive in their habitat. Most of our week's projects were collaborative and more public art. This was the only project that the kids really got to take home.
Cats and dogs with indoor/outdoor habitat- a collaboration between 2 campers.
Duck Pond! I'm intrigued by the cartoonishness...
Beaver and nibbled tree in the forest.
Mama and baby Skunk in woodland burrow. This one is my daughter's!
Elephant at the watering hole in the savannah.
Polar Bear on his lonely iceberg. I like how she did iceberg cutouts to place at the bottom of her tableau, making the top edge sort of snowflake-like.
One camper wanted to use more of his imagination and created his own creature.
This past week during the Visual Arts Camp the campers focused on the theme "Go Green". All the projects were driven either conceptually or materially by the idea of environmental consciousness. The first project my group completed was a fence weaving, shown above, which reused fabric strips salvaged from interior design samples. The peace sign was a popular motif, but we also had recycling arrows and the 3 R's. Before weaving we talked about how fabric is made, whether it's natural/sustainable or synthetic, how far textiles are shipped around the world for our use and what choices they should make when buying clothes.These 2 images above and below feature the wheat-pasted mural created by the entire camp. Students trekked down to Liberty Lands park to do tree/leaf/texture rubbings on paper. We talked about how it's possible to use nature for inspiration without taking anything away from nature to make art. The rubbings were torn and cut to be pasted into the tree shapes on the side of the building. The paste was made from flour and water, and the campers got VERY messy!!! The one below was made almost entirely by my daughter (proud mama here). Both of the projects above should still be visible if you got to 3rd and Fairmount.All of the remaining images show my campers' animal/habitat sculptures. The animals were made with clay, which was then painted. The habitats were created with reused cardboard leftover from the previous week's play props, paint, and rocks and sticks found around the building. In preparing for the project the campers brainstormed their favorite animals, what was special about their habitat, and how each animal has special qualities to survive in their habitat. Most of our week's projects were collaborative and more public art. This was the only project that the kids really got to take home.
Cats and dogs with indoor/outdoor habitat- a collaboration between 2 campers.Duck Pond! I'm intrigued by the cartoonishness...
Beaver and nibbled tree in the forest.Mama and baby Skunk in woodland burrow. This one is my daughter's!Elephant at the watering hole in the savannah.One camper wanted to use more of his imagination and created his own creature.
Saturday, August 29
Embroidery in the Landscape
Hooray! My workshop at Peters Valley Craft Center is officially running. My mother will be accompanying me and friend and fellow fiber artist Dianne Hricko will be teaching the same weekend. I am definitely looking forward to a fabulous weekend up in the Delaware Water Gap. Now pray it doesn't rain!
PS: This embroidery is Penn Treaty Park, featuring the Delaware River from the southern end. Hopefully I'll get a piece featuring the source of the river out of the workshop.
PS: This embroidery is Penn Treaty Park, featuring the Delaware River from the southern end. Hopefully I'll get a piece featuring the source of the river out of the workshop.
Wednesday, August 26
Banister
What do you call the rods between the stair and the railing? Is it spindles? They're taking forever..............By the way, I only need one more student for my Wednesday morning Stitch and Surface class at Fleisher to run this Fall. Also need one more student for Color Theory to run on Monday nights. Any takers? www.fleisher.org
Oh, what a beautiful Day!
Today I began my grad school adventure at Tyler School of Art, Temple University. I had the pleasure of meeting Pepon Osorio, who is teaching in my department, as well as the Art Ed Chair, Joanna Moore, and the fibers head Rebecca Medel. They have very kindly allowed me to participate in the Graduate Fibers Projects course, usually reserved for MFA candidates. Despite the drudgery of a 2 hour-long woodshop orientation (zzzzzzz), it was a great day. My fellow art ed grad students are great, and I look forward to the next 2 years of study and collaboration.
Of course being on campus sets my mind whirling. I have to meet with the fibers chair next week to talk about what direction I'm interested in. So to that effect I though I'd post some of the various photographs I've been mulling over. Waiting for the bus home, standing very conspicuously in the hood, I was captured by the variety of decay and life/nature co-existing once again. (I then became even more conspicuous by whipping out my sketchbook!)
mural in Istanbul
Girard Ave in Fishtown
Berks and Front future Kensington CAPA site
Crazy caterpillar nest in Northern Liberties
Heh, thought I had more downloaded on my computer. Ah well, I still have prints. Finding beauty in the urban environment definitely interests me.
Sunday, August 23
Time
So I talked about space earlier this week, but I'm sort of curious about how much time people are able to spend on their art. It's a constant personal battle finding time to work, fighting against work responsibilities, family responsibilities, volunteer activities, and my own tendency toward inertia and wasteful computer hours. My best and most productive moments are between 10 pm and 1 am. These are the hours that are the quietest. It's time that's just my own with nobody asking me questions or wanting me to do anything, that I can just have for myself. I do sacrifice sleep time, though, and I'm worried that as I get older, I'm not going to be able to keep that up.
It is very important to me that I spend at least some time EVERY DAY making art. It keeps me grounded, centered. It validates my inner creative person who would like to be on the surface all day, every day.
So, if you're reading this, leave a comment for me. Tell me what your work habits are like. How many hours per day or days per week are you able to spend make art? What is your best time of day? Am I the only crazy artist working into the wee hours of the morn?
It is very important to me that I spend at least some time EVERY DAY making art. It keeps me grounded, centered. It validates my inner creative person who would like to be on the surface all day, every day.
So, if you're reading this, leave a comment for me. Tell me what your work habits are like. How many hours per day or days per week are you able to spend make art? What is your best time of day? Am I the only crazy artist working into the wee hours of the morn?
Saturday, August 22
Hand Embroidery Network!
Hooray! I've just discovered the Hand Embroidery Network, and have already got my blog listed on the blog-roll. Hopefully I'll be included in their upcoming "Living Organisms" online exhibition as well. So if you've found me through the network- Welcome! If you've never heard of it- check it out!
Those dates are written European-style and mean Sept 1-Nov 1, 2009
Those dates are written European-style and mean Sept 1-Nov 1, 2009
Friday, August 21
Sunflowers
Seems like all the bloggers I know have been posting sunflowers, so here's my version. My campers this week made sunflower head-dresses to use as props in their play about "The Lonely Sunflower". They're made of corrugated cardboard, tempera, and stapled together. Just imagine a troupe of 6-year-olds traipsing through a garden wearing these!some more stairs
Stairs are definitely a good theme this week. Thankfully my knee injury (incurred slipping on wet stairs) has recovered enough for me to climb stairs and run after campers this week.
Below is the Woodford Mansion work-in-progress. It's a bit hard to make out the stairs drawing in running stitch, but it's starting to take shape.
As you can see below, I started with some BIG basting stitches in blue sewing thread while it was still hanging on my board. Then fit it in a big hoop for the running stitches in brown.
Someone this week told me they were a little afraid of trying embroidery cause they only knew cross-stitch. I said, "Just think of it as drawing with a needle." Anyone who knows me well should be astounded at how ambitiously large in size this piece is!
Below is the Woodford Mansion work-in-progress. It's a bit hard to make out the stairs drawing in running stitch, but it's starting to take shape.
As you can see below, I started with some BIG basting stitches in blue sewing thread while it was still hanging on my board. Then fit it in a big hoop for the running stitches in brown.
Someone this week told me they were a little afraid of trying embroidery cause they only knew cross-stitch. I said, "Just think of it as drawing with a needle." Anyone who knows me well should be astounded at how ambitiously large in size this piece is!Stairs are also apropros metaphorically. I'm about to take some big steps in the next few weeks as grad school begins. Nervous and Excited!
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