Part of being an art major includes yearly assessments. They are zero credits and act as a pass/fail. Each assessment is a bit different, but essentially, we display some of our best work from our studio art courses of that year and talk about them in front of a couple of art professors. We get graded on our artist statement and resume, technical artistic aspects, the concept of our work, and our knowledge of relevant historical and contemporary influences. If we fail the assessment, we can no longer take any art courses.
In our senior year, we take two assessments: a mid-project assessment and a final project assessment. After the final assessment, our work goes up in the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) for about a month.
My senior project was titled “Healing Through Humor,” and it consisted of eight different ceramic pieces, based on four children’s drawings. I received the drawings from Glory Reins Ranch, a barn just on the edge of Farmville that helps children and family deal with trauma in their lives. Each child has a story, just as the drawing I received had a story, and the pieces that went along with the drawings had stories.
Artist Statement
How can artists create work that engages their audience? Along with other emerging artists, this is something that I am striving to figure out through the process of making pottery. When working on my pieces, I want both my audience and myself to be captivated. The process is part of the journey; it is not all about the finished product.
These pieces are made inspired by the artistic drawings of children with difficult or traumatic pasts. Throughout this project, there has been a process and journey to the inspiration, design, and creation, all stemming from the original drawings. In addition to the physical process, there is an unseen one of healing that the young artists will experience over time through the humor in the cups.