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studio time through college????

updated sat 7 mar 98

 

Jim West on wed 4 mar 98

The past two semesters, I have taken an evening ceramics course at the
local state university here in Pennsylvania. Well, it looks like this
semester they won t be offering the class. But I still want to get in there
and make pots even if it is not an organized class.

Has anyone on the list had any experience with arranging for studio time
through a college? I sure could use some pointers on where to get started
with this.

Thanks

Jim West
jimmiew@sprynet.com

Yvonne M. Pund on thu 5 mar 98

Good luck, unless you happen to know the professor quite well and he knows
you quite well and he/she is going to be in the studio when you are there
it is doubtful that you could get into a college studio without being
enrolled. Liability, plus the expensive equipment and supplies are
generally not available to any individuals. The department head of the
ceramics area is where to start, however don't get you hopes up. I have
had some luck with local "craft ceramists" that would fire my greenware
for me for a fee, before I acquired my own kiln. Even this is hard to do
because unless the kiln owner knows your work and is confident that it
will not explode in her kiln and ruin her work, he/she is not willing to
risk it.
Yvonne

On Wed, 4 Mar 1998, Jim West wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> The past two semesters, I have taken an evening ceramics course at the
> local state university here in Pennsylvania. Well, it looks like this
> semester they won t be offering the class. But I still want to get in there
> and make pots even if it is not an organized class.
>
> Has anyone on the list had any experience with arranging for studio time
> through a college? I sure could use some pointers on where to get started
> with this.
>
> Thanks
>
> Jim West
> jimmiew@sprynet.com
>

JJohn98942 on thu 5 mar 98

Jim:
years ago at a small community college with a strong arts department, i
inquired with the ceramics prof. ,who after a short skills test advised i
could use the studio in off schedule times. This developed into a work study
position for which i was paid! SO, my point is, ask the prof. and suggest
being willing to trade studio time for cleanup/clay mixing/whatever-task
time. It was a tremendous asset for me as i had extensive access to the prof.
that allowed me to learn a great deal more than the students taking clay
101,102 or whatever!

Ernesto Burciaga on fri 6 mar 98

In my first semister in ceramics I learned to fire the kilns. By the
end of that semister I was doing all the firing which happened in the
late evenings and night. That required a key, which they gave me to the
entire art department (small college). I got a lot of time in the clay
areas and also in the printmaking studio. Good times were had. So
offer, you may just get a good deal.

Ernesto Burciaga
eburciag@rt66.com

CShie673 on fri 6 mar 98

Jim,
Try reading the very fine print in the Extension catalog. At San Diego State
University a person can sign up for one to three units of independent study
coursework (when going through Extension you are billed by the unit, unlike
regularly enrolled university students who are billed by full- or part-time
status.) The student talks to the ceramics department and to see if they're
willing to accept her or him as an independent study student. If they
approve, then the student can go ahead and enroll. At SDSU independent study
is pretty flexible- you propose a project for yourself at the beginning of the
semester then meet regularly with a professor and usually the other
independent students to discuss your work. A lot of students have done this
to develop a portfolio to use to apply for graduate programs, and some have
done it simply because there was work that they wanted to make. The
information for this sort of arrangement tends to get buried in the catalog in
some goofy area where you wouldn't normally look for it...probably somewhere
near the "cafetria hours of operation" and other odd ball items. Good
Luck!!:)