Journal 16

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS – JES REYES – 3.5 HOURS

This was my last session at Spectrum for the semester.  It was a perfect last time.  For the first half of the time I assisted Levi in his lesson that he facilitated.  The whole concept was collaboration and animation through a constantly changing surface.  The paper surface changed when the artists drew something on it, and then passed it to the person next to them.  It was very interesting to see all of these artists from different disciplines coming together on one page.  Individual styles really showed through as well, as there wasn’t much time on each drawing.  It was a fun time.

The last half of the session was spent in the studio, assisting and conversing with the artists.  Just like last week, it was a quieter session, even though there were a lot of people in the studio.  Everyone seemed happy with his or her work, and it was a really lighthearted session all around.  People might’ve been feeling a lot better from the great weather, and summer coming up.  I can only thank Spectrum, Jes, Christi, and all of the artists for being so wonderful throughout this entire time.  It was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything.  I hope that the artists got from me as much as they gave. 

I’m pleased to say that I’ll be going back to Spectrum in the summer for an internship involving studio work and facilitating lessons.  But for now, see you later!

Journal 14

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS – JES REYES – 4.5 HOURS

This week at Spectrum was a nice, quiet session.  There weren’t as many people in the studio as usual, but it was nice to come back after my teaching session.  Most of the conversations were casual, but technical at times.  The time in the studio was spent facilitating all of the artists’ needs, but also checking in on how they are doing in general.  The biggest development is that I will facilitate more lessons at Spectrum Artworks over the summer, as part of a studio internship opportunity that Jes so graciously extended to me.  Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be figuring out the intricacies of when I’ll be done for the spring, and when I’ll start in the summer.  Ideally I’ll be teaching a few different sessions over the summer, as well as taking time to assist in the studio as well.

MIA – CHRIS BOWMAN – 3 HOURS

At the MIA I continued to work with the same teacher as last week, continuing on the lesson that will be three weeks.  This week the class worked with printmaking, specifically in reference to Japanese prints on rice paper.  I’m finding that letting children use unnatural materials allows for really interesting results.  The class was working hard, and genuinely excited.  But, sometimes a child would get frustrated, and one kid ended up having a bit of a breakdown.  It was understandable, and it did take a while to get the child back working.  I don’t have much experience in handling unruly or outspoken kids, so it was nice to see how the TA and the instructor handled it.  They were able to reason with most of the kids, and sometimes the child would need some time alone, and giving them attention can just add more fuel to their tantrum. 

I’m also anticipating being done with my internships in the next couple of weeks, so final preparations for that will be made.

Journal 13

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS - JES REYES – 1 HOUR

I was only able to be at Spectrum for a short while, but I was able to see the tile work from my lesson there all dried and put in the display case we are using.  Once again, it’s so impressive and amazing to see all of the different artistic voices being shown in this project, and I can only say that I would love to do more lessons like this in the future!

MIA – CHRIS BOWMAN – 5 ½ HOURS

I resumed my time at the MIA working in the studio with children’s classes.  This week another new teacher came in, Jonathan, and began the first of three teaching sessions revolving around mountains and what specifically makes a mountain a mountain.  There is a large range of different age kids, so one of the challenges is formatting activities to appeal and engage all of the kids.  Jonathan did a great job engaging the kids anyway, asking questions and making the activities available for a large range of kids.  It is a large group of kids, so having myself and another Teaching Assistant there seemed to help him be able to focus on teaching, while we took care of kids’ individual problems and setting up materials.  Every now and then I’ll get a chance to instruct a few of the kids and give some technical advice, which is great. 

I was originally not sure how much I wanted to work with children, seeing as I had only worked with teenagers and adults.  However, the amount of surprises that I experience around these kids seems to echo my experience at Spectrum.  I see an individual voice and intent in both settings, and I’m excited to continue.

Journal 12

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS – JES REYES – 4 HOURS

This week at Spectrum I taught my lesson that I’d been preparing for!  It was based on found objects in art, with an emphasis in play and exploration.  I was sure to come a bit before the lesson started, to set up and get materials together.  I had some reference images from various books on found objects, going from Dada art to Robert Rauschenberg.  It was also really great to have Jes, Christi, Levi, Kandace, and Lynda there, helping the artists alongside myself.  Once everything was set up, the artists came in, and while there were only 12 signed up we ended up having 16 come in.  This blew my mind, as I was only anticipating about 5-8 people to come in, so I was incredibly happy to have this many people come in.  After a small demonstration from the reference materials, the artists were free to explore their own content.  I found that most of the louder people sat at a table together, and the quieter people grouped together, which was just fine.  I wanted this to have as little anxiety as possible, and so I didn’t want to steer the artists in one way or the other in regards to content.  I mainly just wanted to be there for technical things.  I did give a small demo on mixing acrylic paint with mediums, and that seemed to really benefit those that needed it.  The rest of the time was essentially going from person to person, seeing how they were doing, and making sure everyone was getting what they needed.  I also was able to have a lot of conversations about each person’s individual vision of what they wanted out of the lesson, and also their own style.  All 50 tiles that we started out with were gone by the end of the lesson, and each work that came out of the lesson was small, but contained a voice and intent that I was so happy to see.  I loved instructing the lesson, and would be so happy to do more there.

I also did not go to my other internship at the MIA because I was out of town on spring break, but will most likely meet up with Chris this week to talk about my lesson.

Journal 11

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS – JES REYES – 5 HOURS

This was my last week of preparation before my teaching session at Spectrum and things are coming together.  Final preparations were made, consisting of putting together the materials, making final announcements about the lesson, and then starting to map out where the finished pieces will be displayed in the building.  I kept up my discussions with the artists in the studio as well, discussing problems in art and the things that were working.  Once again all of their projects are well thought out and moving along very well, so there is a lot of work being done throughout the day.  Outside of the studio I’ve continued getting materials to show the artists including visuals of artists works that have used found objects, and various books on the subject of found objects.  Jes emailed me saying that there were around 12 people signed up, which was surprising and exciting, so I’m feeling ready for tomorrow!

MIA – CHRIS BOWMAN – 4 HOURS

My time at the MIA this week was spent helping with Sarah, a new teaching artist who I’ve worked with before.  I was able to be there for the last lesson of the class that was based around the Hapsburg show at the MIA.  I’m finding that with younger kids, there tends to be more technical questions than conceptual questions.  Most of the time, they know what they want to do, and they know how they want it to look.  I also had a lesson plan that I was to write up, so that added to some more time outside of the internship space.

Journal 10

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS - JES REYES - 4.5 HOURS

The weeks at Spectrum are going by incredibly fast as my date to teach gets closer.  I’ve been slowly collecting materials and getting further along with prepping other mediums and furthering my own exploration of what I want from this lesson, and what the artists are wanting from this time next Monday.  I also ended up making a visit along with Jes to one of the Collective member’s studios, which I was really excited to get to be a part of.  While I have been observing and interacting with these artists, I find that seeing an artists’ workspace or studio can give greater understanding about their work.  Once again I’m always blown away with the level of talent and motivation, but also with the level of acceptance that takes place at Spectrum. 

MIA - CHRIS BOWMAN - 4 HOURS

After some small corrections over the week, I went to observe and assist a 3-week lesson being taught by Emily LaCrone.  The kids in this class are a larger range of ages (4-8) so engaging all of the kids in ways that would be challenging for them was something that Emily did incredibly successfully.  Observing and assisting her gave me a greater sense of how to both teach children, and keep things interesting and engaging.  While she keeps things fun for the kids, she also develops ways to make sure they listen and pay attention when she is instructing.  She will say that if you put your hands on your head you are listening, or that a child can only continue on to the next step in a project if they are sitting at their seat calmly and quietly.  I think working with younger children, it’s important to be clear when the time to be energized is, and when it’s time to calm down and listen.

Journal 9

JES REYES - SPECTRUM ARTWORKS - 4 HOURS

This week at Spectrum I’ve been continuing to work on my lesson, which is coming up in two weeks, and how it will be formatted.  Though I already know the artists pretty well by now, it’s still a bit intimidating to think about the aspect of instructing.  But, I have heard from some of the artists that they are excited about it, so I’m optimistic. 

I also continued consulting the members on some of their projects, and one of the artists there had brought in a piece that was from some years ago.  She thought it wasn’t very good and that she wanted to just throw it away.  I immediately understood where she was coming from.  It is so tempting to see work from a long time ago and just get rid of it.  However, I’ve found that keeping some of that work gives both the artist and others a good idea of just how much can change as far as technique, style change, medium and subject.  Having this record of your work can say a lot, which I think is very valuable. 

CHRIS BOWMAN-MIA-3 HOURS

I began my second week at the MIA working with and observing a new instructor who focused their session on the new Hapsburg show and it was a very interesting time.  There were two different classes going on, so while I saw most of one session, I was also able to peek in on the other class that was going on next door.  I found it interesting to see the two different teaching artists using their own styles of teaching.  One was more vocal with giving directions, and the other chose to look more and observe the class, and talk after a while.  I think it was important for me to observe this, as it will give me an idea of how to think of myself in that position and how I want to portray myself.

Journal 8

JES REYES - SPECTRUM ARTWORKS - 3 HOURS

My time at Spectrum this week was focused more on getting some parts of the Artworks studio more organized and continuing to work on honing my ideas for the lesson I’ll teach.  I began work on my teaching plan and am hoping to talk with Jes more this coming week as well as continue to talk with the artists there about what they hope to get out of a lesson with me.  I value their opinions a lot and want this to be a positive experience for them.  I’m thinking my lesson with revolve around found objects and incorporating them into art, maybe having a presentation about artists who have used found objects in their own practices.

CHRIS BOWMAN - MIA MUSEUM EDUCATION - 5 HOURS

I also began my other internship this weekend with Chris in Museum education.  It was just a day of observation while Chris taught a lesson, but I was able to get a lot of information from it.  I think it’s interesting to be working with two very different populations with my two internships, and still see how much alike they can be in terms of making art.  All that I can say right now is that I’m excited and can’t wait to see what happens continuing from here.

Journal 7

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS - JES REYES - 3.5 HOURS

This week at Spectrum I continued working with both the artists that come into the studio semi-regularly, and the artists of the collective at the Artworks.  All of the artists are so talented, and seem to all know what it is they are trying to achieve with their work, which is something that I would really love to have in my own practice.  Of course there is always a sense of experimentation or play throughout the time in the Artworks, which is always refreshing and good to see in the artists.  I also continued talking with Jes Reyes about further planning for my teaching day at Spectrum, which will be taking place on March 30, or the last Monday of March.  While plans are still getting solidified, there’s a great dynamic that I’m hoping to incorporate with found objects and new mediums which I’ll want to talk with Lynda about soon.  

Journal 6 - Feb 15-21

SPECTRUM ARTWORKS – JESS REYES – 4 HOURS

This week I began my week at Spectrum by meeting with Jes and talking about the workshop that I’ll be teaching there in March.  We talked about how my time at Spectrum had been going since it’s been a little more than a month since starting there.  We were also able to begin brainstorming on what to do for the workshop.  Jes got me interested in these ceramic tiles that were found in the building and never were used for anything.   I think this will work in well with my own interests, as in my artistic practice I sometimes let found objects work as a prompt for the piece itself.  We are also debated pairing up with an artist in the collective who would be interested in this project as well, but this will come together as March gets closer. 

      The rest of the time at Spectrum was spent helping out the artists and talking about any sort of problems that had been coming up in their lives and in their artistic practice.  The environment of Artworks is really welcoming and it still makes me so happy when the artists surprise me with artistic wisdom in conversation.  I’m starting to feel the amount of give and take that happens in situations like these, and I really cannot wait to see what happens as I continue my time at Spectrum.

Journal 5 - Feb 8-14

JES REYES – SPECTRUM ARTWORKS INTERNSHIP – 3 HOURS

This week’s time went by very fast, as it was full of work and starting to put together projects and help the artists continue working on their pieces for their upcoming show.  My time there is feeling more natural, and therefore I’m able to help the artists better when they have questions about getting supplies or about their art in particular.  When the artists have these questions about their own art, it’s become easier to give thoughtful and concise advice from seeing the artists’ work methods and individual style.  Most of my own growth at Spectrum has been through observing the artists at work and continuing to try to assist the artists in the best way possible.  Moving forward with Spectrum, I’ll begin working with Jes Reyes on a lesson plan for the workshop-type experience I’ll hopefully teach in the next couple of weeks.

This week I also met with Chris Bowman at the MIA to begin prepping for my internship there.  We were able to get a tentative schedule in the works and hopefully an idea of what to expect with some of the instructors involved.  All in all I’m very excited to begin that process as well.

Journal 4 – February 1-7

JES REYES - SPECTRUM ARTWORKS - 3 HOURS

Being about four weeks into my internship, I’m feeling more capable as an assistant to all of the great artists at Spectrum, and continuing to work with the artists continues to bring new scenarios and problems to be solved.  Many of the artists are beginning to work on their pieces for a show they will be putting on called “Impossible Things” that will take place in a couple of months.  While many of the artists’ pieces are coming along, there are still questions that are being raised, and most often only time will tell if there will be an answer for these questions.  Over thinking is something that I myself have a problem with in my own artistic practice, and I think sometimes some of the other artists can have some of the same issues with over thinking that I have.  While some answers to artistic problems can be long and tedious, sometimes just making simple decisions to a piece can alter the answer to a question or get rid of the question altogether.  While art is an amazing and wonderful practice, it’s not without difficult issues.  All in all the artists working at Spectrum are extremely talented and welcoming. I’m still excited to continue my time there and see what more the artists can do.