Week 16

Southwest high school: Wednesday, 12:30-3:30

Walker Arts Center: Saturday, 11:30-12:30

At my final day at Southwest high school, the IB/AP students worked on a project where they created portraits of students from another country that they would mail back, created with whatever materials they wished, with a note of the student's name and favorite color. The Beginning Painting class were beginning experimentation for their final watercolor piece. Many students were frustrated with watercolor's tendencies when comparing it to the layerable acrylic. I am happy that students said that they would miss me when I thanked them for their time.

At the Walker Arts Center, I gave a one-hour activity during their Free First Saturday event themed with Jason Moran's exhibit, which had entire sets recreated from his memory. My one-hour lesson, attended by the families and other attendees during this event, was about creating objects from memory from Model Magic, a material which is moldable for even the weakest fingers. Attendees often followed the prompt, but many simply wanted to create - this event had participants from toddler age to adult. Many students needed to be reminded to not use all the available materials, but were amenable to being nudged in the right direction. I could see the importance of the physical and sculptural with how much each attendee enjoyed getting their hands on the material.

Week 15

Walker Art Center: 9:00-12:00 Southwest- Wednesday 12:30-3:30, Friday 12:30-3:30

At the Walker, I discussed the current exhibition and possible lesson plans, as well as tested materials in a few meetings with key coordinators. We decided on a time and plan for the following Free First Saturday.

The Beginning Painting students began small watercolor pieces of a mountain, following after key parts of a video Bob-Ross-style. Students found watercolor frustrating but they were able to create beautiful textures with the natural qualities of the watercolor and paper. 

At Southwest high school, I finished my lesson with the students in the AP/IB class. While photographing each piece, I gave the students a chance to discuss their pieces with each other, as well as personally asking them about how and why they utilized the principle of design they chose for their poster, and how they felt about their piece and the process as a whole. Some students who did not participate were doing exam work. Some students told me they enjoyed the project and I am glad that this project allowed students to direct the project how they wished. 

Week 14

Southwest- Wednesday 12:30-3:30, Friday 12:30-3:30

In this week at Southwest high school, the IB exams were in full, so the IB/AP classes had to focus on that. Students were finishing up pieces for the exam, as well as mounting pieces on board for clean, proper presentation. I assisted a student in both mounting and photographing her pieces, despite the mild wind and snow outside. She, who had a very illustration-oriented style, had questions about what illustration was and how it was applied and I did my best to answer. During one day, a visiting artist showed students how to marble paper and make zines, which I peeked at while speaking to students about their longer ongoing projects.

The Beginning Painting students were beginning to work with watercolors, beginning simple technique exploration. As this section came directly after acrylic, students had an interesting time negotiating with the peculiarities of watercolor after the stark and layerable acrylic. The salt got absolutely everywhere.

Week 13

Wednesday 9-12 (The Walker), 12:30-3:30 (Southwest High School) 

Friday 12:30-3:30 (Southwest High School)

At the Walker, I shadowed and assisted in a tour and art lab focused on the Allen Ruppersburg: Intellectual Property exhibit. Before the tour, the students separated into groups and these groups began with an exercise in which the students said their name and something they were interested in. The tour focused on the idea private and public identity. The students were given the opportunity to discuss their feelings and thoughts on selected works, as well as ones that interested them. Discussions began with observations and delved into analysis and feelings. The lab was about making empty journals personalized with appropriated materials from magazines, customized to represent each student. Combined with a sheet on which the students pondered their public and private identity, this exercise allowed the students to work with similar media as well as connect to the ideas of the artist. Students were comfortable to express very personal thoughts, such as how divorce and mental health have affected them and shaped them into the person they are today.

At Southwest high school, I gave the first part of my lesson. I showed students my portfolio to help them understand what I mean by illustration as well as to understand me so we could connect, before I presented a powerpoint on elements of design that they would use to create an illustrated band poster (band of their choice) utilizing one or more elements of design, to prove they understand them. This also gives the students a new perspective on illustration, which many students had misconceptions about, equating all illustration to children's books This lesson provided the students with design vocabulary they could use later on in their art.

After the presentation, I spoke with each student as they worked on thumbnails for the final piece, to discuss how they can personally fit their art practice in with this assignment, what interests or gives them reservations about this assignment, and so forth. The students seemed more excited about the project after I spoke with them. One student was excited to incorporate collage once they realized they could for this assignment. I'm glad I got the opportunity to engage these students in my practice and I can't wait to see what they turn out with.

Week 12

Walker Arts Center, Saturday 9:30-3:30

At Free First Saturday at the Walker, I helped with a bookmaking art lab activity inspired by the Allen Ruppersberg: Intellectual Property exhibit. Populated mostly by children and their parents, in this activity, the guests would fold a large piece of colorful paper to become a four-page book, and use a smaller piece of paper to become the cover, with words or without, the three block-printed sayings being "HARDCORE 24 HRS. A DAY", "YOU AND ME AND ME AND YOU", and "WHERE SHOULD I GO?". A variety of fun stamps were provided, many letters and some pictures. While I would talk with the guests, clean and prepare materials throughout the day, my main jobs were greeting and explaining the concept to each person who came through, and helping with instructions for those who had difficulty. Each guest found themselves able to express themselves, from children near infancy who simply enjoyed smashing stamps against paper, to families and older children who worked together to create something they liked out of the resources they had. 

Week 11

3/28 Walker 9-11:30, Southwest 12:30-3:30

This week at the Walker, I helped prepare for and followed a tour and art lab for a small group of high school students from Wisconsin, focused on the concept of a time capsule, considering this concept while exploring a few exhibits from the I M U U R 2 (I am you, you are too) exhibit. As there were so few students (4!) the dialogue and interaction with each student was really emphasized. They were very curious, so as well as the few exhibits we focused on according to the tour, the students got to have a dialogue about pieces that really drew them in. In the art lab, we made our own time capsules, where each student, and their teacher, got to think about themselves and their goals and interests. The combination of interactive tour and a lab that allowed students to consider how what they can do fits in with the concepts they explored left the students in a great mood.

At Southwest, the IB/AP students were working on a few last pieces to turn in before their break, and the Beginning Painting students were proving their understanding of value with color by filling in paint-by-numbers-ified (no numbers, I mean unlabeled blobs of implied value) portraits of themselves. The painting students were otherwise getting the rest of their previous assignments done, as their workbooks were due at the upcoming break. IB/AP Students mostly worked on their concentration pieces, which are 6 pieces that focus on a specific subject/technicque, so a collage student might work to think about in what ways they can apply collage. I spoke to the collage student because I was really excited about what ways he could apply his collage, especially after working with stickers in the art lab in the morning. The AP students were working on art essays for AP, so instead of asking about their work, I asked them about their thoughts, where they were gonna go, etc regarding their essays. Sometimes processing out loud is helpful to written work for me, so if a student seemed receptive, I asked them to talk about their thoughts on the works they chose for their essay. I'm excited to begin my assignment with them next time we meet.

Week 10

Wednesday 12:30-3:30, Friday 12:30-3:30

This week, the IB students continued working on their research in coming for the exams, and the AP students worked on larger pieces for their concentration, while the Beginning Painting class worked on making greyscale works, particularly working on self-portraits and using value scales to recreate black and white photographs.

One of the Painting class students I spoke to was interested in pursuing college art education, but doubted that he could make a living without being in advertising and graphic design. I listed a number of venues that he could feasibly make money in, particularly regarding his style as somewhere in between fine art and illustration. Another student showed me a number of works he had created in Blender, a 3D rendering program, and translated his mental process from 3D and how that affects how he makes work in 2D. Students drawing themselves were often frustrated by its difficulty and had a tendency to think of drawing as a whole rather than breaking it down, and focusing on detail before structure – ie drawing each strand of hair rather than the hair’s shape, thinking of facial structure as one shape rather than many together.

Many students working on their concentration were frustrated with the use of new materials, or excited to work on a much larger scale than normal. A student with a cartoon-like style made a large graffiti-like painting, and the majority of the other large-scale paintings (2 to 4 foot works) had a graffiti feel as well. A student who was struggling to find new formats for his collages, and I suggested he consider the art object, which he seemed very excited about. This class has a startlingly high number of people who do papercraft, which leads me to believe there was a previous project that introduced this to them, but each student handles the format differently (stencil, background no background etc).

Week 8

Week 8 (Mar 6-11)
Southwest, Wednesday 12:30-3:30
This week at Southwest, the students in the IP/AB class continued to work on concentration and sketchbook work in preparation for their exams, and the Beginning Painting class began a new set of projects focused on value rather than color.

Of the students that I spoke one on one with, a student who largely drew cartoons showed an interest in exploring animation, and abstract representations of people in the room as they moved and changed places in time and space. Another student who makes abstract art was interested in understanding different media, especially acrylic and gouache as mixed media, and was very excited to explore the solubility of gouache after I pointed it out to him. Another girl who makes abstract art spoke to me about her work and process – she creates marker drawings that have a stained-glass, Lisa-frank-camouflage-like appearance, and, like many of the students, create work procedurally according to feeling. Many of the students procedurally generate their work in response to their own instincts,  except the students who draw specific characters, or the ones whose process is laborious (papercut, embroidery).

The Beginning Painting class had mixed feelings about the bowls they painted according to a value scale they made, but a number of students felt that their grip on acrylic as a media is getting firmer. One student responded well to applying makeup language to painting (highlight, contour), and was very excited to think of painting in terminology of something they loved.

Week 7 (Feb 17-Mar 5)

Wednesday 12:30-3:30, Friday 12:30-3:30

This week the students continued to work on their 31 nights, portfolio website, and concentration pieces in the AP/IB class, and the students in the Beginning Painting class finished up their color paintings and their section on color in general.

I got to talk one-on-one with many students, connecting with more about their interests and art. One student was very passionate about character design, and their sketches were filled with drawings of characters from an intricate world they have created, even making a language and cipher for the world. A few students excitedly revealed their fanart for various video games and anime. Showing investment in their interests can make a student become so animated. Before I showed that I took their interests, specifically anime, seriously, a number of students were very shy and reluctant to open up.  The AP/IB class especially is so individualized that it's crucial to engage with the students' mindset and interests as an artist more quickly than a class where only technique is taught. Many of the pieces were personal not through interest but through experiences - some students made pieces to process grief or their memories.

The students in the Beginning Painting class were experimenting with acrylic as they painted. A number of students were frustrated by the medium and needed encouragement, but some students were very excited at the opportunity to express themselves creatively. Along with the paintings the students did to portray an emotion while showing they understand palette vocabulary, the students wrote a reflection about their feelings on the piece as well as the process.

Week 6 (Feb 20-26)

Wednesday 12:30-3:30, Friday 12:30-3:30

This week at Southwest, students in the AP/IB combined class continued to work on portfolio websites, as well as work on their 31 Nights daily sketchbook, as well as pieces for a larger series. The IB/AP class works contemporaneously in the same room, despite having different programs. I got to talk to each student about their pieces they worked on as well as what they like to draw in general. The 31 Nights assignment encourages daily work while working at the same time on other pieces, to experiment and try to develop a visual vocabulary for future art-making, or touch upon themes the student may want to explore later. Many students incorporated collage into their work, and there were a variety of material concentrations in the room – multiple students’ concentrations were in embroidery or papercut. I’m excited to see where each student can go with their concentrations – I spoke with a student who used collage and symmetric paint to create insectoid pieces reminiscent of 1980’s punk zine, and a student who cut out paper to create a structural skeleton of an image, usually bodies and faces, to project light through or spraypaint over. A few students had difficulty considering what concepts interested them enough to explore for a number of paintings, so I got to consult with them, and encourage their interests.

The students in the Beginning Painting class painted color wheels, tint gradients, as well as paintings that represent an emotion. With these projects, the students prove an understanding of painting vocabulary as well as technique – the students had to decide a color scheme that both matched a vocabulary term and fit the emotion they were to portray in acrylic. I got to consult with the students on their painting concepts and colors. Many students were unfamiliar with paint, so for many, this class would be a newer experience for mixing and applying acrylic.

After the classes, I spoke to Cecily about the project I would give the class, as well as any presentations I would provide. We think it wise to wait until after they submit their AP, to give this project as a chance to rest. Cecily suggested I make a slideshow of my portfolio to help them understand what goes in a portfolio, but also to get the students familiarized with me. With my project, in which they will be making fake band event posters using design elements, I will teach them design vocabulary they have not received in their class.

Week 5 (Feb 13-19)

Walker on Wednesday from 9:00-11:00

The Walker is currently in process for creating and changing programs for disabled visitors, particularly those on the autism spectrum. On Wednesday I shadowed a tour for mentally disabled students from a local grade school with varying ages, where the tour aimed to give these students a fulfilling and interactive visit to a new place. It was a small tour, around 6 students and 4 chaperones not including the tour guide and me. The way the program found ways for each student to find or put themselves in the work by relating each piece to the students was engaging, and the flexibility of the tour helped it suit the student's needs and interests, even to the point of skipping over some exhibits in the tour and adding on new pieces that the students expressed interest in. I'm glad I got to shadow this tour, because I think this level of receptiveness and flexibility to students made their experience engaging and more valuable to them.

Week 4 (Feb 5-12)

Hours: Walker: Wednesday 2-4, Southwest: Friday 12:30-3:30, Walker: Saturday 9-3

This week I prepped with the Walker to set up a booth for Free First Saturday, postponed because of the Super Bowl. On the first day, we discussed and set up the booth I would be working at, making postcards. I made examples, pictured below, in the style of a kid's drawing to be accessible, made instruction sheets and Ikea lamps. The day itself was eventful, with about 300 people, kids and parents, drawing on postcards. 

At Southwest, I shadowed Cecily Spano and observed two of her classes, helping with materials and prep for class, as well as solidifying the lesson I would teach her class - I hope to teach them to make an event poster for any band, proving an understanding of at least one design elements/vocabulary I will have delineated.

Week 3 (Jan 23-Feb 4)

Residency - Walker Art Center - Sarah Abare - 3 hrs

Residency - SouthWest High School - Cecily Spano - 2 hrs

This week I had a tour, debriefing, and brainstorming with Sarah Abare from the Walker Art Center, and spent some time with Cecily Spano and the Revolution-180 class in the middle of Lake Harriet's frozen surface at their Revolution Shack.

(The shack and lake in question.)

The Walker Art Center is in a period of departmental change, so to witness the perspective of the new educational department's processes was interesting. There seemed to be great care in considering the experience of visitors on the autism spectrum, which is wonderful. I'm excited to experience and help out with their free family-oriented Saturday event.

On the lake, Southwest high school hosted a number of shacks customized by the students with different themes and activities, with students braving the cold to direct visitors to the various huts. The revolution shack was filled with poetry with the idea of revolution in mind, and this shack was where I discussed with Cecily the work I was going to undertake with her class.

Week 2 (Jan 22-28)

Cecily and I had a meeting this week to discuss more about my placement with the Walker Arts Center. It sounds like I have a wide variety of experiences to look forward to and I hope to serve the new program well. I’m very excited to be able to interact with the community and I will begin the teaching practice in my residency soon.

Week 1 (Jan 15-21)

This week I contacted Sarah and Cecily to get more details on the time/place of my residencies. Cecily gave me the choice between teaching the Advanced Art class, who would be setting up their websites for their portfolios, and their Beginning Painting class, who would be learning about color theory. I chose the Beginning Painting class because I have more expertise in color theory than web design. Sarah informed me that while the Walker has had students from MCAD before, I would be their first since the institution of their new program. I’m very excited to see where this leads.

Pre-Start Journal

I'm excited to begin my residencies with Cecily Spano at Southwest High School, Sarah Abare and the Walker Art Center, and my shadowing of Marie Olofsdotter, the children's book artist. I hope to learn a lot and make great connections during the time I get to spend with these institutions, teachers, and of course their students.