Fascination
On Tuesdays at noon we meet at the studio to consider our dreams in visual form. There are many reasons to pursue the meaning of dreams. Of course each one of you will come to this art/dream workshop with your own affinities and goals in progress. Here is a rare opportunity to observe more closely the fleeting imagery of your night fancy.
Take a close look at the characteristics of objects and places, the relationships and contexts that hold great meaning. In the studio, action and materials allow us to slow down our thinking and observe again in concrete form the visual details. The dream continues in our waking involvement.
"Listen to the colour of your dreams" THE BEATLES, Tomorrow Never Knows
These are excerpts of correspondence from Lisa Feder-Feitel of The Alliance of Young Artist &Writers with other people in her organization and my statement to her about Erika's project:
Hi Rebecca,
We worked with Stiller Zusman at the gallery in Ithaca. Marvelous, amazing work by Stiller and Erika!
What a great thing to be able to support such a gifted community gallery and the artist who runs it.
Yours, Lisa
Hello Lisa,
I am finally getting a minute to get back to you about the Summer. Erika had a very successful
week at Abovoagogo.She began with her image of the empty coat as a character, and launched whole heartedly into the process
of transforming this ethereal image into a concrete sculpture.
I believe this has been a great adventure for her,
allowing her to consider the coat as a container or shelter. I have attached some images of this process. Erika is
a talented and energetic artist and I hope to continue my work with her over the school year Thank you for
making her work at Abovoagogo possible!All the best
Stiller
ps. Thanks to Lisa for allowing me post her comments!
Leap of Framing | April 9 – 13, 2012 go to the gallery
It’s a visual story and it was a great week in the studio. The kids made some amazing images, both photos and paintings. They became much more observant and they got together as a group. There was cooperation, helpfulness, shared aesthetic and lots of jokes. Looking through the frame of the camera is a way of focusing what you see. When you can see the frame, you know the relationship of everything inside it.
Composition is intuitive. When something works visually, it is recognizable. We may not know why, but we can find out why. Then we can use these ideas of composition in drawing and painting. Out of thousands of images, some stood out again and again.
I liked watching everyone mastering their cameras, not just in knowing how to set them, but also in being able to “push the envelope” of what is visually possible through the lens. A photograph can be just a record, or it can be a piece of art!
I observed everyone becoming more self-directed in the studio, working on their own projects and following through on their ideas. When I step away from the classroom as a model for teaching and move towards the idea of the studio as a shared creative workspace, then the expectation is that the children will fend for themselves and think independently. And they did!
Having a new projector prompted Gwen and I to consider combining photo and painting in a workshop. It seemed like it would be an expedient way for kids to learn composition. The approach of spring made us want to step outside with everyone, see a few sights and breath some air. "Leap of Framing" week was a first outing for our “big idea”. of going out to be on location and then bringing images back to the studio. The children are our best teachers and we look forward to continuing over the Summer with the camp Trek Weeks. When you look at the photos and paintings in this blog and in the Leap Gallery, you can recognize the children's fine accomplishments.
I have not written since the winter. A lot has happened since then. Always at the end of a session, Fall , Winter, Spring , I am enamored with the student artwork of that session. Once again I am looking back at a body of work, in love. The children have produced beautiful art, week after week. So many classes and individuals involved in art process, each one unique, sweet and challenging. I like being part of the kids wild energetic scene.
What you see on this website is only a small fraction of the great volume of artwork that was produced in the studio this year. The children’s work is intuitive and energetic, sometimes tender and joyful. I will miss it. I have tried to collect some of the images here to share with you. Work from abovoagogo is hanging in houses all over Ithaca. Look through. You can see as the students gain mastery over the page and the composition begins to gel.
The parade was great fun. Thanks to everyone whgo helped to make it happen. So many people call out “abovoagopgo abovoagogo!” as I walked down the street. This town has learned to say abovoagogo! Its been a great year.
Now it is July. Camp is begining, sculpture, puppets. There are three tons of new sand in my yard, the canopy is up and the cement mixer is ready to go. The sand box is a beautiful thing. Fascinating to watch it change, day by day. Cody and Lyal (my kids) have established their territories, creating outposts, houses, roads and dams., "Sylvestertown". There are now many more children claiming their mother’s attention and working in their yard. They are staking out their territories. Here in the sandbox we see a reflection of dispute and detant. A political balance. I embrace this new sandbox, let the party begin. I will be casting until the snow flies.
