unusual journal 03 | December 2024
Creativity needs Celebrating!
Hey Art Educators!
Happy Friday and end to Fall B. Here’s a special edition Unusual Journal to kick off our holiday break with some celebrations!
Corita often teaches me important lessons about celebration & art, even in times of lows (personal and societal).
Pursuing a creative life, while the highlights are glamorous, is also filled with the daily work of making that all happen. In the classroom, I’m constantly reminded of this process. The set ups, plans, and clean ups all to find an afternoon of flow. Reminding students of this in the learning process, I sometimes feel like a broken record when the learning gets tough.
Which is why I feel Corita Kent made “Celebration” an important aspect of her teaching. She writes,
“Celebration is a kind of food we all need in our lives, and each individual brings a special recipe or offering, so that together we will make a great feast. Celebration is a human need that we must not, and can not, deny. It is richer and fuller when many work and then celebrate together” (Kent and Steward, 2008).
She practiced these beliefs and became very well known for her on-campus design and execution of the Mary’s Day Parade (image below).
In every class I teach, I learn a little bit more what she means by it is richer and fuller when many work and celebrate together. Not just in my own teaching, but also in every corner of my life. That taking time to celebrate, big and small, brings attention to all of the people and little things that help us reach our daily creativity. Whether you just completed a course, filled a sketchbook, or survived the hectic week - bringing celebration into your life adds to your creativity and fuels it for more.
Being able to examine ideas from multiple perspectives like each chapter in Learning by Heart offers is all connecting to the multitudes of creativity. Corita gives us various methods to pay attention to our creativity in the Looking, Sources, and Structure chapters which she follows up with the practical applications of that creative learning in chapters Connect + Create, Tools & Techniques, and Work Play. In her final chapter, she reminds us all that this hard work (whether in taking a course, having a baby, finishing a big project, planting a garden, i.e.) is solidified through our celebration.
For those who have not yet taken AE2230 and read Learning by Heart by Corita Kent and Jan Steward - think of this process of “hard work” she’s describing as your past year. As we approach the Winter Solstice and closing of 2024, we’re reminded that celebrating wins and loved ones is a great source of creative fuel. Living creatively takes work, time, effort, and even the difficult moments - celebrating brings attention to each part of the process and connects with others to use their own creative skills.
How are you celebrating today? This week? This year?
REFERENCE
Kent, C., & Steward, J. (2008). Learning by heart: Teachings to free the creative spirit. essay, Allworth Press.
2024 RMCAD Art Education Department Celebrations
Abel M., Zu T., & Mae R. (with support from Professor Dr. Black) with a new mural on campus!
We LOVE Feminism for the classroom - this amazing RMCAD blog is a prime example of what being a socially-just art educator can look like in the world. I really enjoyed learning about the 360 Thinkers club in how they combined learning, researching, and collaboration to create a new mural on campus honoring important female figures throughout RMCAD’s history.
RMCAD BLOG POST LINK
This learning and reflecting is so important for art teachers to always practice as we share and connect with visuals in our own work and classrooms!
“The 360 Thinkers wanted to acknowledge the tribal land where RMCAD’s campus now stands with care and sensitivity.
As such, a faculty member connected the club with an Indigenous artist, Chelsea Kaiah James, for insights on depicting Chipeta respectfully. Tothova shared that through these conversations, the club learned that Chipeta wouldn’t have “wanted to have her face on a wall because it wouldn’t align with her beliefs.”. Instead, it was suggested that the club find a way to honor her without having her “closed in” ensuring the freedom for her people and herself was depicted. The 360 Thinkers didn’t want to lose this important acknowledgment, so they took an even deeper dive into their research. A breakthrough came in the form of translation. In Ute Shoshonean, Chipeta’s name translates to “singing white bird.” This inspired the club to depict Chipeta as a white songbird flying freely above the Colorado landscape.”
AE Student Mark P. with award winning work in the Fall Student Show!
AE Student Nysia Orsborn wrote,
“I am celebrating my first ever, new, creative job! I became the Art Program Coordinator at the Boys and Girls Club in my city. There’s an entire Art Room to my name. I’m practically manifesting and living out my dream while in school to be an Art Teacher with a degree. This is my creative win! If someone told little me, I could have a lock and key to an Art Room where there’s an abundance of supplies, and youth who adore having a safe space for creativity, I think I would have settled into that. I think I would have avoided all conflict and smiled much more, and I was already known for my endless smiles as a kid. But I would have left ALL tears behind. Childhood and all of life is about experiencing joy and harnessing it!
I am attaching a recent piece of mine in celebration of this new position. Thinned acrylic and #2 pencil on 8x10 recycled paper, titled “Symphony”
Professor Li Lambert shared, “I celebrate waking up each day with the passion to create new works of art. Attached is a photo of me and a new painting I recently finished.”
Website: https://ligel.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ligellambert/
Professor Tessa Clowes has had a fun year, she shared the following celebrations!
“I am currently working on a commissioned oil painting and preparing sticks for another large public installation in Boulder. I am also collaborating with three other artists on a public art proposal for the city of Denver. Coming soon: Two art videos created by Third Dune Productions document my recent public art Installation at Dryden (1140 Bannock St, Denver).”
Website: theresaclowes.art
Instagram: @theresa.clowes
Professor Emily Knight shares her celebrations as “2024 was an inspired year filled with a handful of successful art shows, commissioned opportunities, workshops and so many paintings! I am celebrating a year full of muse and creation in my Studio Art practice!”
Instagram: @_pattern_co
Professor Morgan Diepold is celebrating “being able to devote more time to my own practice - both my little ones have started sleeping through the night, and I'm a recharged human able to function in the studio again. Also, I've been experimenting with AI and exploring the line between tool (research, planning, etc.) and the loss of ownership of a piece is... It's an interesting question that will gain more and more relevance as technology advances. For example, the following images are an original mixed media piece of mine that I then uploaded into an AI image generator and asked it to create a figure image using the original painting as aesthetic inspiration. Do I have artistic "ownership" of the second piece (woman's face) because it was sourced from my original work, or is that artistry entirely that of the AI? I'd love to hear Art Ed's faculty and students' thoughts on this topic!”
Professor Slu is celebrating a new heater for her studio and a successful year of leading workshops for various communities outside of RMCAD (gotta keep those teaching skills sharp amiright?)
Website: www.drawingfromnaturestudio.com
Instagram: @drawingfromnature
Sending well wishes and happy celebrations to you all, have a restful and fun winter break.
This Unusual Journal was written and edited by Associate Professor Andrea Slusarski with the help and contributions of the amazing RMCAD Art Education Department.