This program was temporarily interrupted by finals...

I was in the throws of my annual series on a Handmade Christmas when BAM! it was finals week and all other activities came to a screeching halt. I had displays to make, polishing to do and the hardest thing EVER for an artist...editing. I won't go into it right now, but one of these days we are going to have to talk about the secret hell and blessings of editing. Until recently, I never really knew it existed beyond term papers and conversations.

Before we can return to our previously scheduled programming, I have to share with you the final critique for sculpture 1. You really have to see the diversity amongst the students and their work. I learned so much this semester from both our wonderful professor Annie, and my classmates who had a variety of backgrounds and experience. There were some of us that were totally new to 3-D expression, some who had already chosen it as their specialty and some who were expanding on their successful illustration or painting backgrounds. Some were 1st year students, some were graduating seniors. It was a hybrid of experience, age, interpretations and interests. It was probably the most significant course I have taken in art school and it has definitely inspired me to become a sculpture major. There is something about the conceptual experience in 3-D that is so much more consuming than 2-D. I learned to access different parts of my creative self and while it did not come naturally, I enjoyed every sweaty, stumbling step of the journey. I am a better artist for it.

We created four pieces during the semester. The first was a clay bust of either a self portrait or a morph between two or more things. The conceptual was as much a part of the grade as the execution.

Next we made sculptures out of wax which were then cast into bronze. Once returned to us, we had to painstakingly remove the excess metal, grind down the surface to a more refined piece and use a patina to add some contrast. This is a difficult process that involves a lot of heavy machinery, patience and determination.

Our third piece was again made of clay but this time we were free to express ourselves anyway we would like. And our forth piece was a plaster carving. We made large plaster molds in a bucket, then used a chisel and other tools to carve our blocks into a masterpiece. It was very physical and tedious but most of us enjoyed it.

So get some popcorn and a drink, sit back and enjoy this slide show of our final critique....