South High School - David Olson - Ceramics 0hrs.
March 19 - March 25
This is week I was not in the classroom. The week was busy with personal work, gallery, openings and lesson writing. After reworking my lesson it was decided that I will not be presenting it until after the MPS (Minneapolis Public Schools) spring break, which is the first week of April.
In my studio, I have been working on several projects; a table for Room and Board Competition, Stools, and developing what furniture is and my interest in the design world. Through this development, I was able to put to words that the act of art making is political. The idea of art and furniture being political in the sense that art creates this separation of class, and is often used as a status symbol. But, also that not everyone has access to the art that's being made. This exploration and development came about after a fellow student made a comment that I needed to take my work more seriously and use nicer materials. By this they meant, use more expensive materials that cheap materials are somehow bad. And while I do appreciate to beauty of more expensive materials, they don't fit the look and the aesthetic that I have for furniture. Whether it's unfortunate or not, I'm not sure, but the materials that I do like much more happen to be priced significantly cheaper. I think whether an artist uses cheap or expensive materials doesn't matter; while it is nice to invest in ones craft and experiment, I feel that the main thing is making work not look cheap.