The Wheel!

Ceramics Round 3

In The Raticant, Bourriaud poses questions regarding globalization, multiculturalism, and postmodernism and the place these words have within the context of the art world. For example, why is it that globalization has so often been discussed from sociological, political, and economic points of view, but almost never from an aesthetic perspective? What is happening in the world is reflected in the art world and in dialogue with the contexts in which artworks are produced, creating a global vocabulary and dialogue. According to Bourriaud, within the context of postmodernism, multicultural ideology is 'a machine for erasing the origins of the "typical" and "authentic" elements that it propagates. The postmodern scene is one of contradictions where there is a play between universalism and preservation of the primitive, creating a tense relationship between colonizer and colonized. Modernism was even more far removed in its attempt at universalism because of its roots being purely western and rooted in industrialization. With the global and altermodernism landscape of today being embraced by most, is in a tough to consider the potential negative of cultures overlapping so much that cultural identity and tradition is in danger of being lost. We can defend diversity only by raising it to the level of cherished value which again can feel condescending. So, what do we do? We become radicant, setting ones roots in motion, growing new roots as it advances, denying them to completely define ones' identity, translating ideas, transcoding images, transplanting behaviors and exchanging rather than imposing, where journey takes form in contemporary culture.

As far as projects, all is well but the pressure is on. My boots have been bisque fired and I'm still planning to test tiles with Iron Oxide. I'm happy with my slip casted water bottles. I feel like they will be very marketable and am looking forward to treating each one very differently with glazes and plan to do a bit of experimenting. I have made twelve, two of which I trashed and ten of which have a quality of craftsmanship I can feel proud of. The wheel has been really frustrating for me but I have managed to make two cylinders for my mugs. Centering takes me a half an hour and is still not second nature but I'm feeling increasingly more comfortable with the whole process. I am enjoying it and wish I had more time with it but such is the nature of this course. I don't know if I have access to a wheel in my classroom in Barcelona but if so, I plan to take the time to master it next year!

Ceramics Round 2

The article The Margins discusses the age old debate of art verses craft within the medium of clay and how the materiality of clay affects the content of a piece. In the article Ceramics is broken down into three main veins, technical, historical and conceptual. A main purpose of this article is to discuss a shift in artists being trained in a specific medium that they produce work within to considering the material as changeable and able to combine with other mediums to attain a conceptual idea where the material is chosen because of the way in which it supports the concept.

The article Altermodernism is about a show at the Tate Triennial 2009 curated by Nicolas Bourriaud. He claims that Postmodernism is dead and labels where the art world is and will continue to be as 'altermodern'. The word is complex and has many different angles including being a reaction against standardization and commercialism and an embrace of globalization and its economic, political and cultural conditions. He refers to the experience of altermoderism as one of wandering- in space, time and mediums. The eight components or 'continents' of altermoderism are 8 Continents of Altermodernism are energy, travel, borders, exiles, archive, viatorisation, heterochronia and docu-fiction. The later three being words constructed by Bourriaud. In talking about these continents he says, "our civilization, which bears the imprints of a multicultural explosion and the proliferation of cultural strata, resembles a structureless constellation, awaiting transformation into an archipelago.” I'm not sure how much I feel like altermodernism has 'stuck' in the art world as what artists, curators and critics uniformally refer to as the art movement we are currently in. I say this because the term was foreign to me until reading this article that was written over a year ago. However, I do feel that it well describes what is happening with the world at large as well as the art world. This generation is less multicultural and more global, aware of the differences of others from the beginning. However, there is still an issue of access. Most are now able to access the internet and all of the amenities that come with it but for those that don't, it becomes an issue of privilege rather than availability.

Weekend Warriors!

Ceramics Round 1

After making clay and test tiles and experimenting with different routes toward a conceptual theme for my first hand built project, I think I have come to a place of clarity. For this piece I am hand building a pair of life sized boots with coils. It has been difficult to shape the toe to ankle, front portion of the boot but have succeeded. I think I'll wait to share more about the concept of this project until the wet critique for those who are not sure of what I'm making my boots for.

The readings we did for this week were fitting. I enjoyed Miwon Kwon's 'One Place After Another' about site-specific art and locational identity. I was most interested in the paragraph where socially conscious and politically committed art public art is addressed. The article addresses the idea that these sort of pieces become domesticated by their assimilation into the dominant culture, which is a notion I have not really considered. I also enjoyed our conversation about reproduction and art verses craft. I've not come to a conclusion on how I feel about the craftmaker not recieving any credit when an artists idea is done through the hands of another. This is a loaded issue and an age old debate and my feelings fluctuate about the issue.

Making Clay!

We made clay in ceramics today. Nasty chemicals, 100lbs of clay and 100* weather make Tiff a dull art student... (!) The process quickly redeemed itself when I realized how beautiful the recipe turned out though! :)

9-12 Student Artwork

K-8 Student Work

Portfolio

To be updated August 2010 as much of this work is very old!

A Little Bio...

In the Spring of 2004 I graduated with a BA in studio art and art history from St. Mary’s College in Maryland. In December of 2007 I completed a nationally accredited teacher certification program at Metropolitan State College in Colorado. I am currently enrolled in a Summer intensive Master of Science in Visual Arts Education at The State University of New York at New Paltz. I am going on my 6th year of teaching and have worked with Head Start, Public and Montessori schools, which has enabled me to acquire a unique set of skills to share. While working with Head Start and during my student teaching my classroom consisted of over 90% English language learners and 100% of students who received free or reduced lunch. This population quickly earned a place in my heart and have inspired me to want to increase my proficiency in speaking Spanish. Luckily, I have recently acquired a position teaching K-5 Art at Benjamin Franklin International School in Barcelona, Spain. The breakdown of the school is one third North American Students, one third Spanish students and one third students from other parts of the world. The curriculum is American and taught in English and leads to a diploma that is recognized in both The United States and Spain. I am very much looking forwardto the opportunity of creating an environment where children discover the language of art with a focus on the integration of other cultures while I too will be exploring another culture and language. I will be writing my graduate thesis on Multiculturalism while creating a curriculum for my program in Barcelona. My thesis statement as of now is as follows; “In order to address the various learning needs of a diverse student population as well as create empathetic and culturally aware students, art education should be taught with high regard for multiculturalism.” The purpose of my thesis is to expose students to other cultures and traditions, celebrate their culture and find ways to respond creatively to what they are exposed to. It is my goal through this process to enhance these students' construction of social and moral awareness and independent thought that they are comfortable to express through visual images.