Chris Clarke on thu 21 sep 00
In my class we had all the wheels (about 40) facing the front in kind of a
rounded way. Everyone had a view and everyone had a bit of privacy, I sat
in the back (shy).
chris clarke
Temecula, CA
chris@ccpots.com
www.ccpots.com
look again
----- Original Message -----
From: vince pitelka
To:
Sent: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 5:25 PM
Subject: Re: studio ideas
> When I advocate the wheels being out in the room, I am certainly not
talking
> about people being right in each other's faces. That seems obvious,
doesn't
> it? I like the idea of the wheels facing each other with a nice long low
> table between them. At the Craft Center we have such a table, as Mel
> mentioned - about 14 feet long and four feet wide, topped with wooden
slats.
> (Dannon and Mel have both worked in this studio) Great place for each
> student to put their clay supply and wareboards. It moves the students
far
> enough apart that they do not get claustrophobic, and do not ever seem to
> carry on conversations with anyone opposite them. When I am doing demos,
I
> can just sit at one of the wheels and everyone can see me. I usually sit
> and throw with my students during class, so I can see all of them, and I
can
> quietly get up and go help anyone who needs it. And when I am watching
> them, I often see them stop and watch other students throwing, and then
> resume, incorporating something they have just picked up. I cannot
imagine
> a teaching studio that does not offer this opportunity. Seems to me that
> this is some of the most important learning that takes place in a throwing
> studio.
>
> I was a painfully self-conscious youngster, and I can see that this might
be
> a very different issue in high school. But at college-level, whether or
not
> one hates to have other people watch them throw is less of an issue. I
feel
> bad for someone who is very self-conscious, but for god's sake, they are
in
> SCHOOL. They need to get over it, especially at the college level. The
> important issue here is "How much learning is taking place?" I see more
> learning take place when the wheels are out in the room with open lines of
> sight. I have taught in both kinds of setups, and from everything I have
> seen the "open" arrangement works better.
>
> In my throwing classes we routinely do timed throwing exercises. Whether
> throwing off the wheelhead or off the hump, we start with five-minute
pots,
> and work our way down to one-minute or even 30-second pots. It is a great
> exercise, and the students accomplish a lot. They generally surprise
> themselves. We have a good time at it, and I cannot imagine doing this
> exercise without everyone being able to see what others are doing. It
would
> not have the same sense of community.
> Best wishes -
> - Vince
>
> Vince Pitelka
> Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
> 615/597-5376
> Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
> 615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
> Appalachian Center for Crafts
> Tennessee Technological University
> 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
> http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
>
>
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