"a different intention of the eye"

After the most eventful first weekend in recent memory, OS31 is settling nicely into the swing of things here at Oxbow starting with their first class, "Observation," which is team taught by an art faculty and a humanities faculty: Painting/Science, New Media/English, and Sculpture/History combine for a uniquely Oxbowhemian liberal arts experience.

Students in Painting/Science split their time between the studio and the gardens, familiarizing themselves with all Oxbow's systems of "at home" food production. While drawing and painting in the gardens and the studios, students considered the shared qualities of artistic and scientific observation. They study form and function through dissection, consider micro and macro scales, and channel these into field studies, mapping, and diagramming. 

photography: Megan, Sam, and Charley

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Students in New Media/English employed visuals and text to record the world around them as actively participating artists and storytellers. Through engaging with photography, audio, and film, students formed nascent portraits of their new homes in Napa. Enjoy this piece by Hannah W:

"The Bird" by Hannah W.

I walked behind a small building

and listened to the leaves rustling in the wind,
quiet whispers that echoed against the concrete walls. 
A few small leave caught my eye,
their careful blades gently scraping the concrete
as the breeze swept under them.
I held my camera up, the viewfinder creating a tiny crease on my nose, and aimed it at the brown and red leaves.
                                                     With a click, I snapped a picture and moved farther down the line of leaves,
                                                      like I was following a trail of breadcrumbs.

But those leaves led me to something unexpected. 
A bird laid lifeless against the wall, its eyes closed halfway
and its talons clenched tightly.
It laid on its back so that its talons faced the sky
and its wings draped around it like a blanket.
The wings. 
The wings were like clusters of tree trunks made from satin,
one on top of the other.
To see such beauty and sadness is rare,

                                                      so I raised my camera.

                                                     With a click, its intricate wings appeared on the screen.
                                                     Fifty clicks rattled by, and the bird was captured in my camera. 

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The Sculpture/History Observation project is Top Secret. 

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This week's post title is excerpted from Henry David Thoreau's "Autumnal Tints"

OS31 Rocks the House!

Well OS31 is certainly off to a rollicking start! Within a week of meeting each other, we rode out a 6.0 earthquake together in the dead of night just 9 miles north of the epicenter. Though it was the region's strongest temblor in 25 years, no one on campus was injured, damage to school facilities (though they did occur) was sparse, and an "Earthquake Playlist" is in the works!* Damage to Napa at large, however, was quite extensive and we will attempt to aid our neighbors through the process of recovery as we are needed. Thanks to an all day dorm evacuation, OS31 has already spent many hours in the studios on assignments and personal work. With any luck, this is a sign of an exciting (though hopefully less life threatening) semester in store for us as we enter our 16th year of operation.

Check this blog throughout the semester for weekly posts and contributions from our students!

Meet OS31!




*track list coming soon