Week 12: March 30 - April 3

Week 12: home / studio / classroom

This is the first week back after two weeks of break, and I’m finally starting to feel myself again after struggling with adjusting to the physical distancing and uncertainty and grief. I’ve been doing some small things that have helped me get excited for getting back into my studio practice (literally). I’ve been making tiny weavings on my hand-sized cardboard loom. A thumb-sized clay sheep. The tiniest kite made of paper and thread (Alyssa Baguss sent me a pattern). They’re not for class but just for me, since making has always been my happy place. It’s me giving myself permission to rest and experience joy in the midst of collective trauma. To take getting back into school and deadlines and heavy intellectual brainwork at a slower pace.

Honestly that brings me to an interesting thought about my studio practice. Making and doing what brings me joy has always been what drives my work. The scope and scale and context are dependent on the resources I have available and the inner work or external concerns that I am interested in speaking to through it. But I follow the joy. And that’s what keeps me making and exploring and seeking. Alyssa talked about doing what makes her happy and following the joy through her studio work the last time I saw her (about a month ago) and it really resonated with me. 

The other thing is I know I’ll be able to finish the large-scale work I was making once I have space and access again. I have a lot of little things that relate to my studio practice and research that I’ve wanted to work on but haven’t had time to. I’m grateful to be able to take this time to explore and think about process more as it relates to my current studio work. One of my professors asked us to think about what a studio practice of a working artist looks like out of school, and 90% of the time it’s process. MCAD is very product-focused, which makes sense since it’s easier to quantify feedback from products than process (though this raises the interesting question of how can we as educators teach process while still assessing growth? How can we change this model, since it often causes an excess of stress in students? Food for thought). Anyway, I have some small things I’m excited to work on. Literally–some small handmade paper casting, tiny prints, and steps towards larger works while I work with what I have.  

Week 11: Perpich Center for Arts Education. March 9-13

Week 11, Residency 2. 3 hrs. Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN.

This week I gave a bookbinding demo to my high school classes at Perpich! The lesson was on a simple figure-8 sewn, single-signature booklet with soft covers. The covers were folded on the fore-edge to double the thickness and give the book a nice finished look. I brought the paper for the covers (lokta, mulberry, and other fine art papers that I use often in my own work), and brought some of the binding supplies, such as waxed thread, needles, and bone folders. Jeremy cut down text weight paper for the pages and provided the remaining bookbinding tools from the class supplies, including awls and sponges for punching the holes. I had two-sided goal for the project: to show how even the simplest book structure can be used in a fine arts application, and to make it as accessible as possible. This was the logic behind the sponges (since book cradles are not super easy to find but a simple kitchen sponge is something most everyone can get ahold of). I brought examples of books made with single signatures, figure-8 sewing, or a combination of both, to show some of the various ways the structure the students were learning could be applied. This included zines that my collogues created, my own studio journals, and a variety of blank sample books in different sizes that I’d made or acquired. 

I gave the same demo twice, once to each section of the class. It was about a half an hour long and the students followed along, making the books as I demonstrated each step. My time at MCBA earlier this year really helped me streamline my lesson plan and I think it went smoothly. The students were all super engaged and it really was a joy to do this with them. Every student made a book of their own, and a few went ahead and made more since I had extra supplies. That was my favorite part–seeing them take the ideas and run with it. A couple of the students said they’d make more over the summer, and some were right away working the new structure into their plans for their current longer-term project for the class. I showed one student how to do a double-signature book (I’d brought an example of one, my current journal). Overall the lesson felt successful and the feedback I’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive. There are a few things I would change about how I gave the demo, but they were mainly things that I didn’t anticipate and are part of a learning curve for me, such as when to hand out materials or how to fill a break in my talking while students completed a step (sometimes silence is just fine). This was a wonderful opportunity for me to grow my teaching, communication, critical thinking, and self-reflection skills, as will all future lessons I give. That’s the nature of being a teacher–we’re always learning too. 

I can’t wait for the next time I teach. It brings me a lot of joy, in ways I really never expected.

Week 9: Perpich Center for Arts Education. February 24-28

Week 9, Residency 2. 3 hours. Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN.

This week the students were beginning a new project–a final book project for the term plus a single, multi-layered print. Process prints are also a part of the project. Today, Jeremy and I went around to each student to ask what they’re working on/thinking of for this project and offer what guidance might be useful. I mostly listened, a role that I feel much more comfortable in now than before. It’s not doing nothing––by listening and observing now I’ll much better be able to help students later. Plus, I was observing not just the students’ work but Jeremy’s process, which is useful for thinking about my own teaching practice and questions I can ask students in the future. Note to self: take physical notes, because my memory is trash.

Some of the things the students are learning currently are how to do a reduction print, how to think about sequence and passage of time in a book form (the books can be a collection of prints showing a reductive relief process, or something else), and how to begin thinking of tying concept to form. It’s wild to me to think of everything they’re being exposed to in this class. I was homeschooled and didn’t even have a word for or mental concept of linoleum/wood-block relief printing or artist books. It makes me excited to think of where they can go if they choose to pursue fine arts after high school. I wonder what it could change for them, especially if they were to attend an art school like MCAD. How does it affect their understanding of art? How does being in an arts-focused institution at an earlier age inform their practice?

Week 10: March 2-6. Shadowing

Shadowing, Week 10. 3 hours with Kerri Mulcare (subbing for Jessie Merriam), 4 hours with Laura Brown.

This week was wonderful. On Friday night, my friend Kerri and I co-taught a monotype workshop at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Jessie, who I have been shadowing, was supposed to teach it but Kerri took over for her while she’s out of town. Which is totally fine: it gave me a wonderful opportunity to teach a class with one of my favorite people and close friends.

Kerri had things mostly set up by the time I arrived, since I was coming from my Friday afternoon class. There were 10 students, all adults. Some had prior printmaking experience, but for many, this was their first exposure to printmaking. 

Kerri gave a short demo on how to roll oil-based ink onto a plexi plate with brayers, how to use brushes and mineral spirits to draw on the inked plate, and how to use paper stencils. She then had everyone try using the brushes on her test plate before demoing how to print it on a press. The rest of the two-hour class was work time, where Kerri and I guided the students as they used the press and answered questions. Monotypes are a wonderful media to introduce printmaking with, because they’re so immediate and low-stakes. It’s easy to make many in a short amount of time, even when sharing one press with a lot of other people, so if you mess one up it’s not a big deal. The students were quick to start experimenting with all kinds of layering, mark-making, and using random materials and techniques. I was super excited to watch them all take the instruction and run with it, and grow more confident in trying new things as the evening progressed. They were also learning from one another, which was awesome. 

Afterwards Kerri and I cleaned up—we had each student clean their plexis, but the mineral spirits were pretty strong and the studio didn’t have very good ventilation, so we just let them go and cleaned up while wearing our respirators. It was a lot of work, but worth it. I felt really good after the class, both from the confidence the experience afforded me and from the students’ excitement and joy. Definitely can’t wait to teach more printmaking classes like that again! Also, the collaboration was ideal. With that many students, it is really helpful to have two people teaching and I absolutely love working with my friends that way.

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The next day (Saturday), I shadowed Laura while she taught a sewing class for adults out of her studio. The class was a 4-hour, learn-to-use-your-sewing-machine workshop meant to familiarize the students with their machines so they can keep using them on their own. Each of the six students brought their own sewing machine, and Laura provided fabric for them to use. I rotary cut fabric for samplers and for small drawstring bags while Laura guided the students through threading their machines, tensioning them, troubleshooting problems, and then trying out different stitch patterns on their sampler scraps. It was the perfect place for me to observe and be helpful to Laura at the same time. (I also spent time talking to the students and problem-solving with them). By the end of the class, each student had made a simple drawstring bag, which as Laura observed, is an uncomplicated project that incorporates a lot of important techniques that are used in other things like garment sewing or quilting.

It is such a blessing to watch Laura work–I’ve likely said that many times before. She really knows how to make people feel comfortable in a learning environment, which means they’re less afraid to make mistakes. 

After the workshop was over, Laura and I talked about teaching while we cleaned the studio up. One thing she mentioned was the idea of radical hospitality in the studio, which I am really into. She provided snacks and stuff (with options for potential food sensitivities); for a four-hour class this was helpful! The care Laura has for people seriously inspires me and is what I hope to live up to. Another thing that I really appreciate is Laura’s model of self-care. She is busy and does so much but sets aside time to take care of herself (from getting food and sleep, to doing finances & those little things that always get put off), and encourages others to as well. AND she doesn’t hide being imperfect about those things, which is super important because it makes me feel safe not being perfect either. 

Week 8: Perpich Center for Arts Education. February 17-21

Week 8, Residency 2. 3 hours. Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN.

This week was easier than last week. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I had to overcome a lot of fear and it was difficult to make myself go back, but I had a commitment to fulfill; and thankfully Lynda was able to talk me through my concerns, even though they felt overwhelming at the time. I thought maybe classroom teaching was something I’d never want to do, but it’s probably just my fear over my lack of experience being the louder voice. 

This week, we had a silent, written critique of the book projects in both sections of the class. I spent the entire time writing feedback for the students’ books and it was really good practice; I’d just come out of my art history class in the morning so I was in full art analysis mode. The visual analysis method that Lynda taught us were super helpful too. One of the prompts for the critique called for a judgement statement of the work, but since I hadn’t been with the students from the beginning of this project and didn’t know their thoughts behind their projects, I didn’t feel right giving that. Instead, I asked questions about the work and left it open for them to think critically and make their own decisions about the success of their pieces. This is probably one of the most valuable things that I’ve learned through the teaching artist program––I never felt like I understood how to critique something until we covered visual analysis strategies in Theory & Methods last semester. 

My only regret was I wasn’t able to get to everyone’s books in the time we had. But as I was leaving, one of the students came up to me in the hall and said my feedback was really helpful, which was a huge confidence booster.  That’s all I want: to help them!

Week 7: Perpich Center for Arts Education. February 10-14

Week 7, Residency 2. 3 hours. Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN.

Finally started at Perpich this week! Jeremy introduced me to his 12:45-2:05pm section, and they introduced themselves to me as well. The class period is 80 minutes, and today was worktime as they are in the middle of a project. I felt pretty awkward but did my best to visit different students and get to know them, and understand what they were making. They were working on small folded books as well as an edition of screen prints (Jeremy likes to have two projects running simultaneously so if they don’t feel like working on one thing one day, they can work on the other. Helps when the class is every day). Then after the first class period was over, we repeated it all with the second section of the class. It’s really great being there for the two different sections. Jeremy does a great job of treating both groups with equal care and attention, and it’s helping me pay more attention to individuals somehow. 

I struggled a ton with my own insecurities and fears after this first day though. I felt like I didn’t know when to talk to the students, or when to let them be. Some of them asked for help and I didn’t always know how to–screenprinting isn’t my strongest area when it comes to technical steps; though I learned a lot just from one day of observing. I had to draw on my resident assistant training and realize it’s ok to delegate—in this case, wait for Jeremy to come back and help us figure it out. 

Week 6: Perpich Center for Arts Education. February 3-7

Week 6. Residency 2, 3 hours. Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN.

I’m writing this from a couple of weeks later, so it won’t be as long. A lot has happened this past few weeks. I was supposed to begin my residency at Perpich on Feb. 6, but Jeremy had to cancel so I didn’t end up going. It was okay in the end because I’ve had a lot of busy studio production happening. Working on a weaving, continuing with my big CNC project, and producing a community arts project all at the same time. I was talking with one of my professors about stuff and we both agreed that community based arts, especially combined with teaching, take a lot of time and labor (and losing sleep) but are SO worth it. I have fallen in love with relational art and look forward to continuing to learn more. The semester is just starting.

I also changed my mind about senior project…several times….and was feeling really confused and unsure how to proceed for a while. I’m such a process-based thinker that I really have to be making things I can hold in my hands before I fully know what a piece is about conceptually. This causes conflict when writing proposals because they always seem to call for the concept to be delivered right out of the gate, before anything has been made. I had a great conversation with someone recently about this very thing. I don’t have any answers still, but at least writing and rewriting my proposal several times has brought me closer to what I want to do. It’s good practice too.

Week 5: Perpich Center for Arts Education. January 27-31

Week 5, Residency 2. 1 hour. Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN.

This week I met with Jeremy Lundquist, who I will be assisting during my second residency, which is at the Perpich Center for Arts Education. Jeremy teaches printmaking and bookbinding classes there to junior & senior level high schoolers. The classes are pretty much daily, but I’ll be there one day a week. There will be a lot of work time, some demos, and likely critique—quite different from the one-time, intensely energetic workshops I’ve assisted with at MCBA. I’m excited and a little nervous for this residency. Straight-up work time is probably my weakest area teaching-wise, but it’s a good opportunity for me to work on jumping in, asking questions, being available and observing closely without hovering…I’ll figure it out. I want to be able to take an active role as a TA, and not just sit around watching. 

I didn’t do any hours in my other residency/shadowing placements this week, but I made serious progress on my thesis project ideation. I’m planning to make a large-scale artist book that explores themes of displacement and queer kinship in relation to my personal life. I also have the beginnings of plans for some long-term projects in a couple of my other classes. In Post-Digital Printmaking, I’m learning how to use a CNC router to cut a large-scale wood block for printing (think 4ft across) and I also learned a new Adobe Illustrator skill (how to line trace a drawing to convert it to a vector file). In Art in Community this week we visited the Whittier Alliance and talked with two of the people who run it. I feel like community engagement is going to be an important part of my work going forward so it was really wonderful to learn more about the area and some of the ways that people are working on the ground to build community here and protect it. 

Week 4: January 22. Minnesota Center for Book Arts

Week 4, Residency 1. 2 hours. Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN.

Week four of my residency—classes have started at MCAD so I only spent one morning at MCBA. We had another group of young adults come in for a Sumingashi lesson, like the one two weeks ago. A different teaching artist was leading it, so I was able to get another perspective on teaching the content. The students each pulled several sheets of colorful marbled paper, using various techniques that were taught throughout the lesson. I noticed more this time that some students preferred one technique or were making up their own as they went along–there seemed to be a lot of freedom and less reliance on the structure of the lesson. I think this may have been in part with their teacher (from their school) who was with them. This particular teacher was very into the abstract nature of sumi marbling and was encouraging the students to push that, and interpret the work they made in their own way. A few students worked together to marble a sheet of paper; collaboration is near to my heart so this was fun to see.

I can hardly believe how fast the last few weeks have gone by. I’ve learned more than I thought possible in so short a space of time. It’s really changed my perspective and helped me overcome a lot of fears I had around working with people at different life and learning stages than my own (especially young children), and it’s grown my confidence in my ability to lead and be a positive influence in other people’s lives. I’m beyond thankful for that, and for the teaching artists who have supported me in this residency.

Week 3: January 14-16. Minnesota Center for Book Arts

Residency 1, Week 3. 11.75 hours. Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN.

My teaching experience at MCBA is going to be something I remember for a long time. I really love it more than I can express.

This week, we started on Tuesday with two groups of 2nd graders doing a book arts project, led by two teaching artists. I assisted with one group. The project we were doing was a special kind of accordion book structure called a hidden page book, which I had never made before (but it was very simple to figure out from the lesson plan). It involves cutting horizontal slits in accordion fold pages and inserting separate sheets of paper to create a Jacob’s-ladder type action in the book, which allows it to open up in the middle, revealing a “hidden” spread. Ideal for tiny secrets or secret garden illustrated books. It’s a GREAT project for kids this age because it’s so simple to make yet has a big “wow” factor once they figure out what it can do. I loved seeing the kids’ reactions to how it unfolded (literally). The students took the books back to their school to fill them with collages and other content.

On Wednesday we had another group of young adults (ages 18-21) with learning disabilities come for a papermaking workshop. They were so excited and it really brought me a lot of joy to see them getting their hands dirty and making beautiful paper. We had prepared two vats of pre-beaten cotton pulp (one with purple pigment, one white with wood shaving inclusions) and the students made small sheets–around 5”x8.” The students pulled the sheets with molds & deckles and couched them on wet felts with our assistance, and then we pressed the paper in a hydraulic press while explaining the process. The students then took the still-wet sheets of paper and stuck them onto the studio’s big glass windows (my favorite part of teaching papermaking at MCBA). We took them down later to dry on racks and send to them at their school.

Thursday, we had another group of 2nd graders participating in a hidden page book lesson; and in the afternoon, we had a large group of combined middle schoolers and high schoolers (around 39 students) in for a joint papermaking and Japanese stab bound book workshop. The group split in two, one starting with papermaking (same setup as the day before with our young adult class) and the other started with stab bound books. I floated between the two groups as some steps required more assistance than others. The energy was high and everyone was very excited to be there–we let the students help engage the hydraulic press this time and they were very enthusiastic about that. The two groups each did both activities (papermaking and bookbinding) so everyone went home with a bound book and paper (well, we sent it to them after it dried). This was probably the highlight of the week for me. I really enjoy working with this age group, especially with papermaking & bookbinding projects. It was a whirlwind for the three of us teaching artists leading it, and we had to adjust some parts of the lesson halfway through—again, we are constantly learning as teachers. Finessing the timing, gauging the skill level of the students, and adjusting for both can be intense on the fly but worth the experience. And as a teaching assistant, it was super rewarding for me to help individual students tackle their sewn bindings and totally succeed. One student was about ready to give up but we worked through it together and it made my heart just about burst to see their pleasure in accomplishing a difficult new task. Sometimes it just takes a bit of encouragement. I’m proud of those kids, all of them. Also, one kid was singing Queen songs the whole time. Bravo. 

Week 2: January 11-12. Shadowing

Shadowing, Week 2. 3.5 hours with Jessie Merriam, 4 hours with Laura Brown.

This weekend I shadowed Jessie while she taught a 3-hour woodblock carving class to a group of adult women at the Women’s Woodshop in Minneapolis. There were eight students, and the theme was pet portraits (or other animals). Each student had brought an image to work with (one person brought a drawing of a dragon). The students learned how to transfer their design to prepared wood blocks, and then how to correctly use woodblock-carving-specific knives and chisels to make a relief carving on their block. The students were then able to make several prints and proofs from their carved blocks using water-based ink and barrens/wooden spoons for pressure (instead of a press). It was a really quiet class and a lot of fun. I really appreciate being able to work with Jessie—she is very straightforward, open and encouraging. She brings her humanness to her teaching practice and it makes me always want to be myself with confidence.

With the adult students, many of whom had not done printmaking before, it felt like perfectionism was a big hurdle. The thing about printmaking is it’s easiest to embrace where the process leads you and let it influence your path through the project. Trying to be too perfect is just frustrating because the material has a mind of its own. My biggest hurdle with this workshop was knowing when to step in and help, especially among a group of people who are my peers age-wise. Thankfully most of them were very open about when they needed guidance, and asked. 

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I also shadowed Laura Brown this weekend during one part of her two-day Intro to Book Arts class, which she co-taught with another artist at MCBA. The students were mainly middle-aged or older adults and they were learning introductory papermaking, screenprinting, letterpress, and bookbinding. I assisted Laura with the bookbinding portion, where she taught a sewn pamphlet stitch book and a meander/accordion fold book with hard covers, using materials they’d made during the previous sections of the workshop. For instance, the sewn book had a handmade paper cover, and the accordion book was folded from a screenprinted broadside they’d designed collaboratively.

Laura is a gift to work with—she is a master at leading with humor and grace. I learned a really valuable lesson from her this weekend, one which she explained while showing the students how to fold the paper for their books: the difference between perfection and precision. Perfection is not only subjective, it’s frustrating to attain and not always healthy to expect. Reframing your language as you teach and make art can make all the difference. By asking for precision, rather than perfection, you are setting a goal. If that goal isn’t reached, that’s okay. As an instructor, this is super helpful because it allows you to balance teaching skills that require precision and accuracy (like paper folding) without putting unnecessary pressure on students to be perfect while they’re just learning a new skill. 

Week 2: January 7-10. Minnesota Center for Book Arts

Residency 1, Week 2: 15.5 hours. Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN.

For my second week of my residency at MCBA, I was assisting various teaching artists with lessons nearly every day. Most classes had around 18-25 students, who were visiting from local schools.

On Tuesday, we had two 2nd grade classes again, and they doing the font poster lesson (see last week’s journal entry for a description of this lesson; it was just the font poster this week, not the books). 

On Wednesday, we taught a group of young adults with learning disabilities sumingashi, a method of paper marbling. Stations were set up with trays of water, containers of colored ink, and color-coded brushes, and the students each made several sheets of marbled paper with various patterns, starting with concentric rings and moving to more varied patterns, formed by introducing movement and resists to the trays of water (such as gently blowing on the surface, drawing a stick through the water, or touching the water with a lotion-covered toothpick, which would push the ink away from it). The paper was hung up to dry in the wet studio’s big windows and sent to them later.

On Thursday, we had four more groups of 2nd graders come for the font poster project. I led a portion of the last lesson (printing the posters using the Vandercook press, once they had designed the template) which was super fun for me. I’ve just been shadowing/assisting the teaching artists, but my supervising artist/instructor wanted me to have the opportunity to lead all or a part of the exercise. I chose to do the printing since I wasn’t ready to teach the entire lesson. It went very well and I’m so glad I did. I didn’t forget anything and it was a big confidence booster (my biggest fear in teaching is that I’ll forget what I need to teach or lose my train of thought and not know how to pick it up again quickly). 

On Friday, we had one group of high schoolers come for a sewn pamphlet book with pockets on the cover. The students used cover-weight paper for the covers, which were folded and cut to make pockets on the inside, and text-weight paper for the single-signature body, which was sewn to the cover using a 5-hole figure-eight stitch.

It’s really cool to me how teaching and learning, especially in the arts, really do build social/physical/mental skills outside of the art content, not just for the students but also for instructors (if they are open to learning!). I really appreciate being in the middle. This week has been a fast track of learning–not only the concrete teachings skills (like what order to do things in, what kind of awl is appropriate for a ten-year-old, and what to say to communicate concepts effectively), but the softer skills (like when to jump in and help, when to give space, and being non-judgmental towards students regardless of their attention and focus–who knows what’s going on in their life? and if they’re having a hard time it’s likely not because of the lesson). Also, just the little things like how age, ability, and privilege can affect a student-teacher relationship. We have a lot of power in our hands as educators and I think that really hit home for me this week. It’s humbling. Especially as a white, able-bodied, queer person, I want to be able to use my position to afford agency to the people I teach and elevate voices that need to be heard. This residency is helping me see some of the ways that can happen in real life.

Week 1: January 2. Minnesota Center for Book Arts

Residency 1, Week 1. 4.75 hours. Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN.

It’s the best feeling, beginning to build on what Lynda’s taught me in a space that I truly love. My first day (and only day this week) I helped two teaching artists set up for a two-class event that is part of MCBA’s youth program. One of the classes was creating a font sampler poster, pressure-printed on a Vandercook press; and the other was constructing a bridge petal-fold book with rainbow pages.

The visiting students were a mixed group of K-5 children. The group (45+ students) divided into two sections, and one started with the printing lesson and the other with the book arts lesson. They swapped halfway through the day. Each teaching artist taught their lesson twice, once to each section, back-to-back. I assisted with the book arts lesson both times. In the book arts lesson, the kids were given a demo on how to fold colorful text-weight paper, origami style, into pages which were then glued together with simple cardstock covers. The resulting book opened out like an accordion. The books’ movement and visual appeal totally captured the kid’s attention and enthusiasm. The kids got to keep their books after the lessons were complete.

It was such a privilege working with the teaching artists hands-on. The teaching artist I shadowed was so clear and concise with her language and the way she kept the kids focused. They were wild and beautiful architects of chaos and I’m still trying to wrap my head around how she did it—it’s a whole other way of communicating that takes so much skill and patience. Teaching a lesson or a syllabus at any level involves teaching at least four things simultaneously, not just concepts and physical skills but also critical thinking, life skills, and how to interact in a positive way with a group of other people also trying to learn those same things. (Honestly, it’s no different in a college class; just leveled up). 

One question that was raised for me has to do with how to engage small children with difficult concepts or skills effectively in a large, mixed-age group that you only get to interact with one time. Some of the younger kids had more difficulty with the origami folds while the older kids finished them quickly and got bored. It wasn’t a huge problem (each child went home with a book in the end) but it’s something I’ll keep thinking about throughout my residency here.