by KP | Sep 27, 2015 | Education, Social Issues
A wise-beyond-her-years high school junior wrote recently to ask for my perspective on whether liberal arts schools or art colleges were “better” for someone who wants to major in art. She’s a serious student and a talented, hardworking artist. It has been a joy to...
by KP | Sep 6, 2015 | Education, Social Issues
It is an early August evening in northern Michigan. When I first arrived at Interlochen seven weeks ago, the daylight stretched until after 10 p.m, and we watched late-night campfires sparkling into summer nights before midnight caught up with us. Now the evenings...
by KP | Jun 16, 2015 | Ceramics, Education
My students finish out the school year by packing their bags. They depart soon after the last class for service trips in foreign countries, sports camps at colleges, or down time at the shore house. I need to pack my own bags soon, to begin my second summer of work...
by KP | Apr 1, 2015 | Ceramics, Education
Last week, my Ceramics I students set up their first bisqued mugs all over our studio tables for our second attempt at critique. The first round, after they created simple pinch pots, was barely even a discussion of the work. We talked about skills, and I asked them...
by KP | Mar 2, 2015 | Ceramics, Education
It’s a winter Saturday morning, and we just helped Chris Staley move a few stools and tables to set up the art center’s studios. My student Joe – who has perhaps taught me more than I’ve taught him – and I are about to spend the day...
by KP | Dec 26, 2014 | Ceramics, Education, Social Issues
Holidays challenge me. In my role as a teacher, one of the hardest parts of a holiday is accepting gifts from my students. Post-Santa, I was raised to understand that celebratory gifts are, conceptually, an exchange – you give a gift, you get a gift, with some...
