Some Artists to look at

It has been awhile since I posted some links here. Better late than never?

Check these out:

Ayumi Horie

Eric Van Eimeren

Jason Huff

Julia Galloway

Kari Radasch

Independent Project Proposal

For the final portion of ART 363 (from Reading Week onwards) each of you will be working on your own project. This project will be proposed by you and then we will come to some sort of agreement after that. Basically you are creating your own assignment for the last half of the term.

Here are some of the things to consider for your proposal:

The Idea - have a general description of the work you would like to focus on – throwing, sculpture, etc. What are these forms and what is your intention with the forms. For example, you might want to make a series of bowls, cups and vases or maybe you want to work sculpturally or on the wall. Think about how you would like the work to be fired? What clay will you use? Will you have to make some new glazes?

Outcome – what you would like to have complete at the end of term. Think here about not only what you would like to have complete for the term, but also what you COULD have done this term – what will you present at the final critique? As you are creating your own assignment, this is what you will be marked against.

Numbers -not only how many you would like to have complete at the end of term but also, how many will you make on your way to completing your work. For example, in order to turn in 20 bowls, how many are you going to have to make along the way? How maybe glaze tests will you have to do? Will you try different kiln firings?

Timeline – make a calender. Be reasonable and sane in what you can accomplish. This is designed to help you plan out the rest of term. You don’t want to have to do it all at the last minute.

Research – what are you going to research to help you get your work done – firings, clays, artists, new techniques?

Influences – finally, give me the names of two artists (ceramic or otherwise) that you are looking at and I will try to come up with two more for you to look at while working towards your final ideas.

Your Proposal is Due Monday February 23 and I will have notes back to you on the 25th. The Proposal must be typed up before being handed in and if it helps to include sketches, calenders, photocopies or whatever else with the proposal, please do.

The Woodfiring

Here are the Times and Dates for the Woodfiring:

Cutting Wood: Tuesday Afternoon

Hauling Kiln Furniture: Tuesday Afternoon

Loading Kiln: Wednesday Afternoon

Firing Kiln: Thursday 7:00 am – Midnight

Unloading: Monday Afternoon (March 2)

For more information please talk to Matt or Jenny

A test statement

More unsolicited advice.

Happy New Year. Sorry for the continued delay

Dear Classes, It is a crazy time of year but I seem to be having trouble uploading files to this website right now. Until I get this fixed, I will be handing things out in class.

Sorry for the inconvience.

A quick bit of Advice

For those of you who can not wait for more assignments, comments, images, etc, here is a link to a bit of advice….from a 23 year old historian.

Only Collect

Only Collect; that is to say, collect everything, indiscriminately. You’re five years old. Don’t presume too much to know what’s important and what isn’t. Photocopy journal articles, photograph archives; create bibliographies, buy books; make notes on every article or book you read, even if it’s just one line saying “Never read this again”; collect newspaper clippings and email them to yourself; collect quotes; save your ideas for future papers, future projects, future conferences, even if they seem wildly implausible now. Hoarding must become instinctual, it must be an uncontrollable, primal urge. And the higher, civilizing impulse that kicks in after the fact is organization, or librarianship. You must keep tabs on everything you collect, somehow; a system must be had, and the system must be idiot-proof. That is to say, you should be able to look back on it six months for now and not be completely stymied as to why you’ve organized things that way. (The present versions of ourselves are invariably the biggest idiots, and six months will make that clear).

Enjoy. Soon – pictures from the term…..

Artist Statements

As you all know, for the final project in ART 361/461 you will need to have an artist statement.

But…..what is an artist statement? Your artist’s statement can be anything you want it to be, but primarily, it should help a views to understand what you believe to be the most important aspects of your art and the techniques you use to make it. The statement should summarize these things in as few words as possible and not be a lengthy dissertation on your place in the future history of art. A paragraph of three or four sentences should do it. You won’t keep your readers much longer than that.

I hope that helps a bit – but if not, I have attached a file that has some advice for writing an artist statement.

writing-artist-statements

Finally….the Final Project!

The Box Assignment

Aim
To work within a set or parameters to create an aesthetically and conceptually sound multi-media project.

Task
Each of you will be given an identical wooden box. Using this as your starting point or framing structure, you will create a ceramic object (or objects) to go in the box. There are no requirements as to what this object has to be – it does not have to be functional, it does not have to be a single piece, it does not have to be multiple pieces, it can include a dozen (or two) found objects or no found objects. It does, however, have to be fired (I am looking at ceramics, not clay) but does not have to be glazed.

You can feel free to modify the box as you see fit – paint it, carve it, add to it, cut out of it, stain it (I would strongly recommend at least staining it), mount it to the wall or set it on its side. There really are very few limitations to this assignment.

Due date
This box will be due for the final interview (date to be determined.) If you would like, you can display if for the class at the final critique too.

Artist Statement
There is a second part to this assignment – an artist statement. For the final presentation please have a one – two paragraph artist statement ready. This should talk a bit about what you have created or about what your artist practice is about in general. This statement will NOT be marked but it is required for this assignment. Also, I am fully ready, able and willing to help you with your artist statement any time you would like.

Download the complete assignment: art361-assignment5

Art and the creative process

Jillian Tamaki, a Brooklyn-based illustrator and art instructor, recently posted an elegant essay on her personal creative process, explaining step by step how she creates her work and offering advice to those who hope to be effective artists.

The essay is an excellent insight into not only the creative process of an artist, but also the process behind appreciating art and creativity. Her advice boils down to one straightforward concept: “The viewer should be charmed, intrigued, empathetic, repulsed, provoked. SOMETHING. They should be touched enough to want to cut the illustration out of the magazine.” It really is as simple as that. SHe might not be a ceramic artist but I think you might find the article interesting – especially if you have hit a wall.

Read it HERE.

Ceramics 361:: Assignment IV :: Artist Reviews

Aim: To look at contemporary art and ceramics magazines and books to develop an awareness of the convention of writing artist’s statements.

Task: Look through books, magazines and/or the Internet to find articles on artists that interest you.  Read the article and make a brief review (one-half to one page typed and double-spaced) about the article and respond to what the artists said.  Submit your review along with a good photocopy of the statement you are discussing.

Writing Skills Assistance: Need free help with your writing assignments? The Writing Skills Tutor is available to assist you with all aspects of writing – including research and planning, sentence and paragraph structure, thesis statements, grammar, spelling, and the correct usage of style guides (eg. APA, MLA). You’re welcome to e-mail an essay or other writing assignment to the tutor. She will read it over, insert helpful comments on how the paper can be improved, and then e-mail it back to you. Please ensure that the tutor receives your assignment at least three business days before you’d like it returned to you.

For more information about this service, or to submit an assignment for review, please contact:

Heather Vander Plaat – Writing Skills Tutor
heather.vanderplaat@rdc.ab.ca
403.343.4064

Download the full assignment here: art361-assignment4