In the latest Make/Time interview, Stu Kestenbaum talks with Rowland Ricketts is an indigo grower and artist based in Bloomington, Indiana. He studied traditional indigo making and dyeing techniques in Japan, where he was living after college and where he met his wife, Chinami, who is a weaver. He came to dyeing after he realized that his photography work was polluting the streams around his farmhouse in the rural Nara prefecture. Here, Rowland talks about originality, process, living with nature, discovery, and how to find a work you never retire from. You can find out more about the Ricketts' work here: http://www.rickettsindigo.com/
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Bruce Dehnert Elected To International Academy of Ceramics
Craftschools.us is proud to announce the launch of our new Podcast series, Make/Time!
Hosted by Stuart Kestenbaum, the series explores fine craft, inspiration and the creative process through interviews with established craft artists from across the field. The podcast is geared toward anyone interested in the people or the behind-the-scenes perspectives of makers. Episodes are approximately 20 minutes long. The first three interviews, www.craftschools.us/podcast.htmlnow available on iTunes or through www.craftschools.us/podcast feature craft artists from varying disciplines and experiences.
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Bill May is the executive director of Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. He established a studio specializing in architectural art glass which he directed for twenty-five years.
Twenty–eight years ago, having enrolled in my first craft workshop, I sat in the auditorium at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, waiting to be welcomed by the school director and wondering exactly what I had gotten myself into. A Humanities major and a high school English teacher who had grown up in a home that had only a hammer and a single screwdriver in the way of tools, I felt certain I was in a room full of real artists and makers, and it would soon be discovered that I came only equipped with curiosity and enthusiasm. As I have learned over the last three decades, that was all I really needed.
I now know that the focus of a craft workshop is not about what you don’t know, but rather what you can learn. Successful craft schools provide a welcoming and safe place to reflect, explore, question, problem solve, and create with others engaged in the same pursuit. It is a shared pursuit, one without competition, one based on respect and possibility. The anxiety and excitement that comes from thinking about something, trying something, making something unites students of different ages, backgrounds, and skill levels. Those attempting to create understand the sentiment expressed by the writer Oscar Wilde, “The anxiety is unbearable. I only hope it lasts forever.” My understanding of what is possible during a craft school workshop is a based on the many ways I have participated and the many perspectives I have enjoyed. As a student through the years, I appreciated that my progress was ungraded, measured against my personal understanding of what was possible, more anticipation than expectation. Then, as a designer and studio owner, I realized that the skills and techniques I learned furthered my artistic career and my ability to support myself as an artist. Later, as a workshop instructor myself, I was always aware that I was learning as much as I was teaching, receiving as much as I was giving. And now, as the executive director of Arrowmont, I am encouraged when an 18 year old and an 83 year old student approach me separately, but with the same words, ““When I am here, I am with my tribe.” It is exciting to work in a place where people seek to improve their skills and their understanding of materials and process. It is inspiring to work with instructors, staff, and students who want to share and learn from each other – to respect and communicate and care for each other in a creative community. The learning that takes place in this setting is active and profound. This learning allows one to know more about craft, more about others, and more about one’s self. The craft school experience enriches, even changes lives. I know it did mine.
Love this? Take it and share! Download it (and others) here for sharing on your own social media and blog.
Love this? Take it and share! Download it (and others) here for sharing on your own social media and blog.
Love this? Take it and share! Download it (and others) here for sharing on your own social media and blog.
by James Baker
James Baker is Executive Director of the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle and Stanwood, Washington. Over his long career he has served as President of Maine College of Art, was Program Director for Photography and then the Executive Director of Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado, and held tenured faculty positions in art at both Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas at Dallas.
Over the past 43 years, having served in various faculty and administrative positions in both higher education and workshop programs, I’ve been intrigued in the ways the two differ from one another in how they deliver knowledge and experience. Though I value the role of higher education, I’ve come to realize that I have a much greater affinity for communities that provide workshop education. Here are some differences:
Short- vs. long-term learning. Workshops are usually one- to three-week full immersion experiences with rapid development of ideas and techniques. I’ve noticed the best workshop leaders quickly ‘read’ and act upon their participants’ needs and capabilities. Colleges offer two- to four-year degree courses of study with semesters ranging from 10 to 15 weeks. Concepts and techniques built one upon another through a series of courses. The best professors help students to progress over each semester and through a multi-year period. Experiential vs. tested learning. In craft communities, you learn with your hands and through direct experience with materials. The measure of success is the level of engagement in a non-competitive environment. There are no tests; the goal is to leave with a sketchbook full of ideas to work on later. In academia, theory and practice are taught in tandem with one another, progress is measured through assignments and testing. Work is evaluated through critiques and then performance is ranked through grading and/or reviews culminating in graduation. Self-directed vs. prescribed curriculum. In effect, workshop participants develop their own courses of study that can extend across the span of their lives. They may first attend when they are beginners and come back later as professionals exploring new directions in their work. College students follow a prescribed curriculum in an accredited program from which they graduate and rarely return for further training. Range of expertise. Workshops are typically led by renowned practitioners with a wealth of direct experience in the subjects they teach and who provide direct links to the world of professional artists. In academia, students study with faculty who may or may not be actively practicing artists though most often are experienced teachers. The definition of community. In order to learn, workshop participants choose to leave daily life to temporarily join a community. They are usually attracted to the community’s values such those centered on craft, personal expression, professional development, etc. At the same time, an unexpected benefit is the degree to which participants make deep connections with one another from across the various classes being offered in the same session. These participants are from a wide range of backgrounds who find themselves at similar junctures in their lives. Universities have a diversity of disciplines that co-exist while at the same time reflecting many philosophies. Segregated by fields of study, there is a clear hierarchy among the faculty and students reflected in the stratification of roles. While I’m making the case in favor of the learning that happens at the craft school communities, it’s for the purpose of highlighting the attributes of workshops rather than to undervalue the importance of higher education. Each has its role. Ultimately, I look at them as symbiotic forms of education that ideally fit the needs and time in one’s life when they are the right form of learning. |
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