A Program Spotlight: “Studio Projects: Rites of Passage”
By Grace Selvig
Studio Projects: Rites Of Passage is a 16 credit, 3 quarter program based in ceramics and ritual studies. The program is very structured with two theme projects a quarter as well as weekly readings, essays, lectures and skills assignments. We have two classes a week in the studio and one on zoom for seminar. Every week we spend time in our “design lab” creating multimedia projects that challenge and engage with the elements of design (form, balance, shape, texture, etc). In order to keep up with our class work and projects, many of us come into open studio hours multiple times a week. At the end of every quarter we assemble an extensive portfolio of all the work we created.
Our program faculty is Evan Blackwell. Evan is an enthusiastic instructor. He cracks jokes in lectures and workshops to keep the energy light. His teaching style embraces the phrase “show, don’t just tell” by giving wheel throwing demonstrations weekly, as well as including a plethora of examples of work in his lecture presentations. I have a habit of writing down some of his quotable moments in lectures and seminars. Today he said “I love seeing the world through clay, through your hands.” Evan’s attitude towards the art we create in class is the most supportive I have had in an arts faculty here at Evergreen. It feels like he is getting just as much out of the program as we are.
Our readings, theme projects, and lectures all encompass/connect to our program theme “Rites of Passage”. Rites of passage are events, ceremonies, rituals, and experiences like birth, death, graduation, marriage, as well as “coming-of-age” experiences. Rites of passage involve stepping away from an old identity and forming a new one. They can be broken down into 3 stages: separation, transition, and re-incorporation. The separation stage is one being removed from their community or home in some way, be it physically or socially. The transition stage is the “in-between”, it’s a liminal space. Anything can happen in the transitional stage. It is a threshold. The re-incorporation stage is where the new identity begins, after going through the stage of transition you are returned to the community, but not returned the same as before.
In our program seminar sessions we talk in depth about the human experience surrounding rites and rituals as well as how the shifting societal culture, the patriarchy, and western society impacts them. Another common theme of reading and discussion in our program is how humans see the world and interpret it through visual art. Like many programs I have taken, in seminars we weave together our themes with connections and recognition of patterns. A few of our readings have been Ways of Seeing by John Berger, Letters to a Young Poet written by Raiiner Maria Rilke & translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, Thurston County by Rachel Corrie, and Clay by Suzanne Staubach. We are currently reading How to See the World by Nicholas Mirzoeff.
Learning about rites of passage has fed the part of my brain that’s interested in history and humanities while all the studio work has fed my desire to create 3-dimensional art with my bare hands. Our first program theme project was titled “Making History”, where we researched ceramic objects from ancient history and tried to recreate them. The recreation proved more challenging than anticipated and I think that made it the perfect introduction to clay. It helped us un-learn colonial descriptions like “primitive”. We often associate the word “primitive” with other words like “basic”, “low skill or intellect” and “uncomplex”. Using this language de-values the effort, skill, and planning actually used to create things. While I was trying to recreate vessels that I had researched from Northern Iraq circa 7000-6001 BC, I was struggling to make the proportions and angles the way I saw in the photos. The whole process was anything but simple.
Clay as a material is fascinating. It has plasticity and can be manipulated into any direction; dry clay can be seamlessly re-incorporated into wet clay with the right amount of water, and the firing process can turn it into a sturdy and versatile material. After the firing process you can decorate your creations with glaze and fire them again to reveal beautiful and complex colors and designs. In our readings and lecture we learned just how important the development of ceramic pots were to the survival of human beings. Prolonging the shelf life of food meant more people surviving the winter months.
Working with clay has taught me to be patient, not just with the material but with myself. As I have been working with clay I have tried to remind myself to cast aside an idea of perfection—and even deconstructing what I think perfection means—and instead keep an open mind and not follow the instinct to stop brainstorming after the first good sounding idea.
Getting to see my creations come out of the kiln is exciting, but I don’t always fall in love right away. Sometimes when I am trying out new glazes or experimenting, they take some time to grow on me. But I eventually end up seeing them for what they are; something that I made with my own hands and that makes it special enough for me.
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Keep your eyes out in the spring because Rights of Passage is going to be doing a group exhibition of our work!
