Welcome to 2018 and The View From the Studio Door

Converting the promise of art into the practice of art.

Welcome to the first blog for AP Studio Art, let’s see if you can grab this bit of technology and put some solid conversation into it (for some of you this is easy – for others… well… it’s going to be a stretch – and that’s OK!) We begin our chapter in the blog-o-sphere by allowing YOU to be in charge. A very special thanks to author Ted Orland for the second of his books on what it takes to make art (that you don’t necessarily learn in school) and the conversation he has added to our conversation about his book and thoughts. We are going to explore the ideas and concerns that we, as artists, have with the world that we are in.

The obstacles are many, as Ted Orland states, “the first step to building a life in the arts is simply getting past the obstacles that keep the initial brush stroke from ever reaching the canvas in the first place.” What are the obstacles that are in your way, every day in the classroom and out of the classroom, that inhibit you making your best artwork? As you read, as you make your art, remember to make art that is the conceptual leap from the last work. Make sure you are making art that matters to you. Make art that fits into your days and lifestyle. Don’t fret, don’t get all worked up… just work.

Appreciate what we have together – community. This may be one of the few groups that you will belong to where what you do, what you make, is valued as much as it is! The way our blog works is this… you have all been awarded chapters that you will be reading and sketching out your responses to in our blog. After the appropriate reading / sketching of it, you will make the first “post” that everyone will be contributing to. There are very specific posting dates that EVERYONE must meet. Monday – when the sketch is due – is the day our post will be up and part of the blog page.

I have assigned the Chapters as weekly sketchbook assignments (yes Sammy – sketchbook assignments) to see where in the journey you currently are and where you have already been. You – the chapter reader –  will read the chapter each week, create a sketchbook SKETCH and POST it to the website (I’ll demonstrate) with a brief response to the chapter. The posting and artwork will be a sketchbook grade.

 

Chapter 1 – Making Sense of the World
Chapter 2 – Making Sense of Art
Chapter 3 – Art and Society
Chapter 4 – The Education of the Artist
Chapter 5 – Surviving Graduation
Chapter 6 – Audience
Chapter 7 – From Monet to Money
Chapter 8 – Making Art that Matters
Chapter 9 – Ecology 
Chapter 10 – A Community of Artists
Afterword

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The View has NEW ARTWORK!

Clicking on Matt Hansen’s “Audience” painting will take you to the rest of the AP Studio Art Artist’s works that help Ted Orland describe and educate about the world of art as seen through the studio door. Hopefully there will be commentary in the near future to go along with the images. The book has been read and understood (maybe). Go ahead and get a  copy for yourself, more to learn than just art lessons. Enjoy!

Ted Orland comes to WUHS

Ted Orland and the AP Artists

Ted Orland took a break from his Wisconsin vacation to stop by my classroom at Waterford Union High School to visit with and share his life experiences. A great big THANKS to Ted for his generous offer and enormous gratitude to the students for the interest, respect, and great questions they posed to Ted. Enjoy the slideshow and here’s a link to the images: http://bit.ly/aTyNtP

Frank

Welcome to “The View…”

… From the (AP) Studio Door.”

Converting the promise of art into the practice of art.

Welcome to the first blog for AP Studio Art, let’s see if you can grab this bit of technology and put some soild conversationinto it. We begin our chapter in the blog-o-sphere by allowing YOU to be in charge. A very special thanks to author Ted Orland for the second of his books on what it takes to make art (that you don’t necessarily learn in school and the conversation he has added to our conversation about his book and thoughts. We are going to explore the ideas and concerns that we, as artists, have with the world that we are in.

The obstacles are many, Mr. Orland states, “the first step to building a life in the arts is simply getting past the obstacles that keep the initial brush stroke from ever reaching the canvas in the first place.” What are the obstacles that are in your way, every day in the classroom and out of the classroom, that inhibit you making your best artwork? As you read, as you make your art, remember to make art that is the conceptual leap from the last work. Make sure you are making art that matters to you. Make art that fits into your days and lifestyle. Don’t fret, don’t get all worked up… just work.

Appreciate what we have together – community. This may be one of the few groups that you will belong to where what you do, what you make, is valued as much as it is! The way our blog works is this… you have all been awarded chapters that you will be reading and summarizing for the blog. After the appropriate reading of it, you will make the first “post” that everyone needs to respond to. There will be very specific posting dates that EVERYONE must meet. This is a college course, online course work is a common college practice. This is a technique that you will learn to tackle.

I have assigned the Chapters (at right) to see where in the journey you currently are and where you have already been. You – the chapter reader –  will read the chapter and write up a 200 word response to the chapter. You will e-mail your summation and thoughts me at fkorb@waterforduhs.k12.wi.us. In addition to the 200 word response, each of you will be required to complete an artowrk (think breadth) that corrosponds/summarizes/visually explains your chapter. This will be photographed, edited (just like the AP requirements for the portfolio) and attached to your e-mail to Mr. Korb on the due date. The posting and artwork will be an art grade. In addition to the edit at 72 dpi, I need you to create (first) an edit of 300 dpi with a minimum measurement of 6″ and a maximum of 10″ for a final assemblage that Mr. Korb is going to be putting together. If you have any questions about that, please ask. E-mail both edits of the original artwork to Mr. Korb.

Chapter 1 – Making Sense of the World – Dustin Fell – Sept. 19
Chapter 2 – Making Sense of Art – Jaci Duff and Megan Barker – Sept. 26
Chapter 3 – Art and Society – Jenna Fiorita and Sydney Zyduck – Oct. 3
Chapter 4 – The Education of the Artist – Cheyenne Gilles – Oct. 9
Chapter 5 – Surviving Graduation – Sara Grisius – Oct. 17
Chapter 6 – Audience – Matt Hansen and Rachel Wroblewski – Oct. 24
Chapter 7 – From Monet to Money – Justen Lee – Oct 31
Chapter 8 – Making Art that Matters – Kari Pelleteri and Carli Fell – Nov. 7
Chapter 9 – Ecology – Krista Roessger – Nov. 14
Chapter 10 – A Community of Artists – Pavel Schroeder and Andy Hannula – Nov. 21
Afterword – Mr. Korb and Guest – Nov. 28

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Happy Summer – a Note from Ted Orland too…

Hello all! Welcome to Summer Vacation 2010! I have made a couple of comments ona  couple of the posts, but really, the e-mail from Ted Orland is far more interesting… maybe more-so for me than my students, but regarless… a well penned comment from him to my students (in parts… some of the e-mail I want to keep to myself because I don’t want to give all of the advice and secrets up, I sure don’t want to show my poker hand and give it all up!).

From Ted –

—

Hi Frank,

Wow, what a wonderful surprise package! Many, many thanks for the Collection of your students’ ideas and artwork! I feel more than a bit guilty receiving such a gift, given that I’ve been pretty much missing in action from your class blog this year – but I will savor and sift thru the contents at length.
 
— My basic job is not to turn my students into artists — it’s simply to keep them from quitting. If they’re still makng art ten years after they’ve had my class, they WILL have become good artists.

— The amount of time they spend with me is really pretty minescule, and about the best I can do is hold up my life as an example of what it’s like to build a life around artmaking, and open a door for them into that same world.

— Students know perfectly well how much effort — or more precisely, how little effort – I have any right to impose on them in a three-unit elective… I ask them to simply aim for making the results a Personal Best. I’ve found that if they set the bar themselves, they actually set it higher than I would have – and throw more energy into it because in a very personal sense they’re doing it for themselves rather than for me.

—  I have a certain technical expertise and some scar tissue built up from surviving in the art world, but I certainly have no monopoly on seeing the world clearly or in having unique experiences to draw upon as raw material for artmaking. And though your high school students don’t have our range of experience – parenthood, a career, etc – as many of my college students, the world they do inhabit on a day to day basis is no less intense or all-consuming than anyone else’s.

— Artists are not in competition with each other. Ditto students.

Well, I could go on & on, but I’d best stop here or I’ll never get this sent. Thanks, though, for stimulating my thinking with your note and your students’ work. And for what it’s worth, I was particularly taken with the written entries by Jackie Graham and Carli Fell, and I think my favorite art piece was the one by Andy Hannula (though my favorites wander with each pass.)

With All Good Wishes,
Ted O

And a photograph…

"A pic that sums up my thinking these days. T.Orland"