Levine Meg Jessica on sun 22 sep 96
Good for Dusty for expressing so articulately his experience between
undergraduate school at the Kansas City Art Institute and his current grad
school setting.
I, like Dawne Fawkes, was in Dusty's graduating class at Kansas City. It
was quite interesting that so many people applied and went to graduate
school right out of that BFA program.
Yet it probably is not that odd...many of the students in our class
were extremely serious about
ceramics and had had a lot of experience before attending KCAI. Some had
been apprentices before going to Kansas City. Others, like myself and
Dawne had been working in other fields, yet been making pots for years.
When I made the decision to return to school it was to get my MFA. I found
that I needed more of a foundational clay background which is one of the
reasons I studied at Kansas City before grad school.
I learned a tremendous amount in an academic setting
with other students who were serious about ceramics.
I have since gotten my MFA in Ceramics from the University of Colorado at
Boulder. Amongst other things, for me, grad school was an
opportunity to find the intellectual support for the work I was creating.
In addition, the materials and kilns were abundant which allowed me to
explore whatever I wanted in clay.
Everyone's grad school experience is unique and basically boils down
to what you are willing to create and learn during your time there.
I don't think there is a definitive answer to the grad school/
apprenticeship debate.
We are fortunate in life when we find good teachers. In ceramics, those
teachers are sometimes found in adademia and sometimes through an
apprenticeship. Sometimes we need to teach ourselves the things that we
need to learn.
Meg
In Boulder, Colorado where the aspen trees in the mountains are beginning
to turn a great shade of gold....
my new e-mail address is mlevine@dimensional.com
original message:
Thought I would throw my two cents in and I ditto what Dusty Martin
said. I too was a member of his graduating class at KCAI and I did go on
to grad school...
Dawne Jenelle Fowkes
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