1/15/21 at 5pm:
My name is Dylan Scott Lundsten, and I am a painter, animator, and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has been my dream to be an art teacher since I graduated from Perpich Center for the Arts in 2016, where I first experienced the incredible value and importance of integrated arts education. That is why I am more than thrilled to begin my residency at the Performing Institute of Minnesota Arts High School (PiM Arts). Even though it will be mostly a digital experience, I consider myself extremely lucky to be granted such an opportunity in this turbulent time.
Today I began emailing Mandy Stringer, a Visual Arts teacher from PiM about a possible placement in her ceramics courses this semester. We discussed setting up a meeting this week to talk about logistics. I am very excited to begin, and I hope that everything pans out! I have heard great things about PiM from my former teacher Pat Benincasa, who helped to develop their visual arts program. I am particularly excited to work with high school students, as for me that age was one of most pivotal moments in my development as an artist.
1/21/21 at 3:30pm:
Today I met with Mandy Stringer over Zoom, and we discussed the details of her Ceramics 1 and 2 courses. I really enjoyed Mandy’s positive energy, and I can’t wait to work more with her. We went over the general plan for her classes, subject to change: The students will be using clay that does not require a kiln, and using paint to finish rather than a ceramic glaze. Although the last time I made ceramic work was in high school, we think that I will be able to assist more in the painting part of the process. In my work I mostly paint very transparently, and have knowledge to share about mixing colors optically through building layers of very thin pigment. Perhaps I will be able to encourage the students to think about color mixing in a new way. The meeting left me even more excited than I was initially, and I can’t wait to get started.
1/29/21 at 4:26pm:
This week was my first week back at MCAD for my senior year. My studies are almost exclusively academic this semester, focusing on teaching and developing my professional practice. It is a refreshing change of pace and it feels like I am finally making strides towards my personal goals. I also have the comfort of knowing that my last semester will allow me to focus heavily on my artwork. As for my residency, we have determined that I will be teaching in all three of Mandy’s Ceramic courses every Thursday. For right now, all I can do is wait for my background check to go through, which may take a little while.