Spotlight on Education New Clay on Campus

Students gather around a table for a critique of their final projects.

A modern art form breaks new ground with the first-ever college-level polymer course.

by Annie Pennington

64 Art Jewelry ■ March 2015 Process photos by Xxx. hat began as a goal put forth to the polymer community at large during the 2011 Polymer Symposium in Racine, Wis. was brought to fruition in 2014 by the hard work and dedica- tion of painter and instructor, Diane Levesque. After visiting the exhibition, Terra Nova: Polymer Art at the Crossroads at the Racine Art Museum, Levesque took it upon herself to expand her polymer skillset and work with Carthage College in Keno- sha, Wis. to begin the country’s first full-credit, college-level polymer course.

Student Vicki Lumbert’s version of Lindly Haunani’s Pinched Petal Necklace (and custom tool!).

Getting polymer into college A painter and educator by trade, Diane Levesque has worked with polymer most of her career, predominantly making dolls and figurines. When she chose to embark on this mission of launching a college-level polymer course, she knew she needed to expand her polymer skillset even further in order to effectively instruct a classroom full of eager students. So, she enrolled in a workshop with Lindly Haunani at Arrow- mont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlin- burg, Tenn. She returned from the class engergized and even more determined to bring polymer into a college setting. This would be one more step toward polymer being viewed as a serious artistic medium alongside sculpture, ceramics, and other traditional craft media. Levesque has taught painting, drawing, and illustration at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. for years, so she knew what she had to do. Teaching a credited class at the college level is nothing like teaching a workshop; the entire process must be transparent. Specific fine-arts requirements must be met. Critiques of student work must follow each completed project assignment. The information learned in the course must be able to be translated into other fields. Despite all the hoops she knew she’d need to jump through when beginning a course with no precedent, one thing struck Levesque as the perfect entry to proposing

Cane-work study: Students made three beads based on one color palette. Beads by Heidi Hollmann. www.ArtJewelryMag.com 65 Students show off their first polymer project: a black-and-white covered Altoid tin. a polymer course. Carthage’s curriculum has long leaned heavily on color theory: Levesque encouraged the students to ex- What better way to present the class than plore sculptural forms in addition to jewelry. as another way to learn about color? Poly- This Mayan Figure Jar is Melanie Grady’s final mer is moldable color, so the students piece for the faux techniques assignment. would be exposed to a new way of mixing color, in contrast with, but similar to paint- of color theory would likely have resulted ing or ceramic glazes. Polymer test tiles = in distracting color combinations that ceramic glaze test tiles = paint color charts: would detract from the work. Starting they’re all the same thing translated into with just black and white turned out to different media. How could they say no? be the perfect introduction to polymer She pitched her proposal to the school, for the students, most of whom were not and waited for the results. art majors, but students in other fields of study who needed to fulfill their fine-arts Clay troubles requirement. The reformulated project was In May 2013, the course was approved such a success that Levesque intends to and scheduled for the winter semester continue teaching it as the introductory of 2014. It was really happening! Levesque project in future classes. arranged for the students’ materials to Levesque also put a call in to Maggie be delivered, and chose the textbook for Maggio about her clay-delivery problem. the course. Everything was on track, and Maggie to the rescue! Maggio boxed up the class started filling up — Levesque’s some of her scrap clay for the students to own energy and excitement proved a use. Not only did the students now have strong draw. And then, winter struck. material to work with, but these discarded Anyone in the Midwest will recall the “scraps” from a polymer master were not horrific winter of early 2014. Due to the accordion-fold, and checkerboard, but your ordinary toss-able bits. By digging early snowstorms, the clay shipment was because they were limited to black, white, through the scrapped canes and seeing delayed … the students wouldn’t receive and values of the two mixed together, the color combinations, the students were their materials until three weeks into the they didn’t have to worry about color. able to use this generous gift to find trea- course! Levesque was faced with an im- In retrospect, Levesque feels, this was sures within the trash. possible question: How can you teach an unexpected benefit. Learning a new When the official clay finally arrived, the a polymer class with no clay? material and techniques separate from students were able to apply the techniques She hit up every craft store in the area the huge variable of color mixing allowed they had already learned to the fresh, to buy as much black and white clay as she the students to focus on initial skill build- colored clay, and were off and running! could and redesigned the first class pro- ing and technical exploration without ject. The students would be asked to cover immediately getting bogged down in Textbook exercises an Altoid tin. She still taught the students color theory. Jumping right into working The required textbook for the course was basic caning, forming, and sculpting with the wide array of colors available in Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio’s book techniques including the Skinner blend, polymer without a solid understanding Polymer Clay Color Inspirations: Techniques

66 Art Jewelry ■ March 2015 For more information on this ground- breaking class, visit the class blog at www.polymerclaycarthage.tumblr.com. and Jewelry Projects for Creating Successful establishing a permanent collection of Palettes, which is a thorough study of color polymer art. The students were able to theory as applied to polymer. The students take a field trip to RAM, where curator worked their way through the book, com- Lena Vigna brought out some of the pleting a variety of exercises and projects, collection (handled with white gloves, the importance of the class for the but applying the techniques to their own as all other artwork in the collection is) students, and they returned to their style and format of work. One of the for the class to view and study. Being able projects reenergized. projects they completed was Haunani’s to see the artists’ work and binders full Because Levesque is also the director personal-color-palette-inspired Pinched of polymer samples in person solidified of the H.F. Johnson Gallery of Art (the Petal Necklace. Carthage College campus gallery), she Not wanting the class to become coordinated a polymer exhibit, A Re- jewelry-centric, Levesque encouraged visioning: New Works in Polymer, with the students to choose whether to make the RAM exhibition, (in)Organic, and the a vessel, sculpture, or piece of jewelry second polymer symposium, Polymer 2.0: using the components and techniques The Field at the Beginning of the 21st Century. required for each project. As a result, In a rare series of exhibitions and events, students presented everything from the students were able to immerse them- jewelry to sculptural objects at each selves in the work of master polymer critique. The key was to learn about the artists, something that is, unfortunately, material, not make a specific type of piece. not a common experience. Students were also encouraged to bring their own field of study into their projects, Put it in writing and experiment with and push their While learning about color theory through techniques based on personal expecta- hands-on practice is key, so is internalizing tions and skill level. They were free to try what you’ve learned and applying those different formats for each of their projects theories across medium boundaries to find which one clicked for them, but by the midpoint of the course, it was clear which students preferred jewelry, vessels, or sculpture. Each student’s direction was Melanie Grady hard at work adding beginning to take shape. color-matched caps to her beads. Some of the other techniques from the book the students completed were: John Warnock works on his caned • Color inspiration collage Map of the U.S.A. for his final project. • Veneers, image transfer, and translucent inlays • Log-cabin pin using stripe blends • Faux-work techniques, such as ivory, coral, turquoise, wood, and pearl

Studying the masters One of the most important experiences in any fine-arts education is to study the masters in a given field to become familiar with what came before. On one hand, polymer students had an advantage — the history of the polymer field only goes back about 30 years. But on the other, the relative youth of the field means that historical collections of work or authorita- tive reviews of artistic antecedents are excedingly rare, if they exist at all. One of the advantages of this pivotal course being offered in southern Wiscon- sin is its proximity to the Racine Art Muse- um (RAM), one of the first museums in the country to commit itself to showing and

www.ArtJewelryMag.com 67 Headshot by Robert Kameczura.

a note from diane levesque Overall, this was such a rewarding class to pull together and teach. I must emphasize that without the feedback of Lindly Haunani and Maggie Maggio, I don’t think the course would have been as cohesive as it turned out to be. Both offered much advice on the class schedule, which pasta machines to use, which ovens Photos by Diane Levesque. Diane by Photos to purchase, and so many other Lena Vigna (left), curator at the Racine Art things. Rachel Carren and Elise Museum (RAM), shows students part of RAM’s Winters were also very helpful permanent polymer collection. as mentors as I was putting this program together. Another example of the variety of the faux techniques Levesque taught: student Clayton Irwin’s Faux Bone with Elephant Pendant. through writing about it. Levesque often hard work of the artists themselves and gave the students response assignments. this pivotal polymer class. The students They were shown work by an artist and who enrolled in the course signed up with- their inspiration, and were required to out knowing this history; it was simply a pinpoint the artists’ color or pattern inspi- new material with which to create, a tool ration. Often, she’d match up polymer art they could use to bring their ideas to fru- with work from other artists in different ition. While there’s certainly room to grow media, such as installation, ceramics, and space to inject polymer further into painting, etc. This helped expand the fine-art discussions, this course elevates students’ knowledge of polymer art polymer and gives it additional credibility. and helped them place it in context Levesque hopes that educators who see within the larger art world. work. Once new to polymer, each student the value in polymer as art will approach left the class with a newfound understand- their own schools with a proposal to begin A race to the finish ing and appreciation of this modern and a course, that polymer artists without a Just when it seemed as though everything versatile material. degree will step up and apply to be visiting was going smoothly, one month from the artists at universities, and that the teaching end of the semester, the students were Moving forward and acceptance of polymer at the college about to run out of clay. On the verge of The struggle polymer has had in recent level will have a snowball effect around the hitting up the local shops again to get the years to overcome its stigma as a “child’s country. The next polymer course is being students enough clay to complete their toy” or “my grandkid plays with that stuff” offered at Carthage College in the Fall final project, Levesque received the happy is slowly fading away, due in part to the semester of 2015. news that Polyform was going to donate new clay to the program! Now, not only would the students be able to complete ASK THE ARTIST: ANNIE PENNINGTON the class, they also had some of the new- If you could study with one artist (living or dead), est materials with which to work. who would you choose? As the semester came to an end, the “‘My choice changes daily! Right now, I’d choose to study with students excitedly finished their projects, the ceramic artist, Sergei Isupov. I’d like to increase the narrative and each put together a 15-minute presen- aspect of my work, and though he works in a diferent medium, tation exploring his or her chosen polymer his techniques and idea-development would be readily adapt- artist’s inspiration, the technique or style able to my current work with metal and polymer.” they’re known for, and the format of their Contact: www.anniepennington.com; [email protected]

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