Barton Open School - Allison Rubin - Uppers (7th and 8th Grade) - 0 hrs
February 5 - February 11
Though I did not spend anytime on site this week, the week was devoted to my own practice and prepping student work for production. The experience of working with someone else's work and having little, to no, input in the art making process was invaluable. The experience was most rewarding in that I was afforded the opportunity to get a glimpse at the creative side of each individual student. Being able to look at a student name, know exactly who they were in the class, and then get to see their work was a rather interesting experience. It made me think of the feeling that educators must get when they spend every day for a school year with a student and then to seem them years later, and hear about their successes.
Typically, in my own practice and commissioned work, I primarily work in wood and steel, and have very basic textile work, or piece specific patterning. For this piece to be almost all textile work and a piece that is meant to display work of several different individuals, it was a very interesting experience. The space in which I was working taught me a lot, especially due to the scale of the piece and the fact that the space is inherently messy and dirty. Keeping things clean was a feat all of its own.
All in all, it was a rather enjoyable experience, one that I will definitely think about in the following months. All that's left to do at this point is to deliver and install the finished tapestry in the space where it will remain until there is a need for the space.
The final design:
