Glimpses of Project X

The Project X show is finally installed! This is the first long term project of the semester where students pursue their own line of inquiry via in depth research and artistic experimentation. For long term followers of this blog and experts of Ox-lore, you'll remember that Project X is a top secret deal, the details of which are kept under lock and key each semester until the launch. In the spirit of keeping secrets (but also wanting to showcase OS31's incredible work), here are tiny peeks of each piece created over the past month.

Enjoy!

Beach Date!

Wednesday: Final Project proposal deadline

Thursday: THE BEACH

OS31 spent a celebratory day at the beach at Tennessee Valley in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The perfect way to decompress after a proposal deadline and regroup before the full blown Final Project production phase begins!

photos: Megan and Logan L.

Approaching the Home Stretch

OS31's Final Project Proposals were due today! This is a chance for students to propose their initial ideas for research and art production during their last month at Oxbow. It can be a nerve-wracking time for many as they present their personal work for review and support. As always, the faculty spent the entire day together reading each proposal and suggesting countless resources. Students will receive their proposals back soon and move forward into full production.

In the meantime, have a look at what's floating around in OS31's heads!

proposed topics: Sense of self; Capitalism/American guilt; The language of emotion; Cults and mental illness; Religion, Culture, and morals; Utopia; The Death Penalty, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Sexism, Quilting as Storytelling; Fear in the post 9/11 world; Historical and modern perceptions of beauty; Mythology: established ideas of good vs. evil; Science of emotions; Surveillance; Metacognition; Subvertising; Censorship and cultural isolation; Coming of age; Interior design; Graphic novels; Absence; Rituals; Social networks; Multiple Personality Disorder; Divination; Alter egos; Physical, mental, and social health; Mental illness.

Stay tuned for updates from the studios and be sure to mark your calendars for the weekend of our Final Show - December 13/14.

We'll Be Here All Week

A day at Oxbow is a wild ride, and a whole week is a roller coaster. There's always so much activity all over campus, whether it's a late night in the studios, a school-wide gardening effort, a lively gallery opening, or frenzied last minute cleaning before Room Checks. This week, Kai has summarized OS31's typical experience for you so you can get a sneak peek into how madcap and exciting our lives are around here.

I believe I can say that for all of us, Oxbow has been an interesting experience so far. Unlike any other school I have attended, Oxbow provides a variety of activities  - whether curricular or just things I can do around campus in my free time (there’s always the chickens we can mess around with). Let’s recap this week: On Monday, we started our Focus classes which have been very thought provoking so far. For the first month, English, History, and Science were part of one co-taught class called "Connections," but now they're separated and we get to delve further into each subject. On Tuesday, we helped the gardeners distribute 20 cubic yards (about 10 tons!) of compost around campus. That same day, we had our first Visiting Artist Lecture with Anna von Mertens who is also in residence here until next Tuesday.  On Thursday, we started our new co-curriculars, and we have an Ice Cream Social on Friday that we are all looking forward to.   

Here's to many more great weeks for OS31!

photos by Abbey, Megan, and Mo.

 In the dark for a slideshow.

"Ox-Chix" is a weekly campus crew. Students switch off each week, collecting eggs and caring for the ladies. 

Science instructor Alex installed a slackline and it is now a favorite past time (as with most semesters).

SO MUCH COMPOST. Many thanks to the gardeners for all their hard work and even more thanks to the students who joined us just for this morning of smelly schlepping. 

Megan and Bella cleared out the last of the marigolds. Painting instructor Chris will lead a dyeing workshop this weekend using indigo and marigolds from the gardens. 

Art School P.E.

As OS31 reaches the end of their first co-curriculars, students already have lots to share with each other and you! This past month, our co-curriculars were full of surprises and each had a great send-off before our Early Break weekend! Hiking and Yoga explored a local regional park and reached an awesome creek, Quad Games ventured far afield to play some serious disc golf, Gardening found a praying mantis while harvesting potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers for the kitchen, Walkabout discovered the area surrounding the school on foot, and the Oxbikers powered up several mountains. How cool! Students will rotate through two other co-curriculars in the coming months. Who knows what's next!

The hiking Yogis. 

It's hit and miss with "Sports Game Face" at art school.

Another beautiful morning spent tending and harvesting….

…and making little friends.

Walkabout's reflective outings take them on some hidden gems of trails around town.

We're hoping no phones were broken during the taking of this photo.

The fittest of us all - Patrick's biking crew. 

This post brought to you by Micah and Niki. Photos by Niki, Logan, Jennifer, Megan, and Patrick.

studio time: Stretching Our Boundaries

Each day at Oxbow is a venture into the unknown. We are experimenting, stepping out of our comfort zones, and stretching ourselves in both creation and social interaction. As we enter the final week before Early Break, we've gotten into the rhythm of a typical Ox-Day and friendships are continuing to deepen. Each day after class, the studios remain open for several hours before dinner and it's then that we really have a chance to engage with each other as working artists. Enjoy these couple of shots from afternoon studio life, a time where assignments and personal work are started and finished, trashed, and reinvented. 

 (Kendall, Isabella, and Abbey)

During the Place project last week, Sculpture students created a series of temporary street art installations that interacted with specific areas of the town of Napa. Made of contact paper, the stickers were installed guerrilla style then removed after documentation…for the most part  - there are still a few "hanging out." 

(From top left: Clare M., Alex, Sam, Logan)

For the Place project in Painting, students work on a series inspired by a place of significance. To get the ideas flowing, they first complete the following assignment:

"Think about a place that is special to you. Tap into the memories, emotions, and associations this place embodies. Mix 25 colors that evoke how this place looks and feels. Do not be limited by local color alone. Use color to describe your feelings about this location in addition to its physical attributes. Name each color. In your journal, address how your perceptions and associations regarding color are tied to cultural context, personal experience, and memory."

In the New Media Place project, students dive into the possibilities of movie-making as a complex visual/aural medium. Responding to various "challenges" -- in writing, still photography, sound collection and video -- students build their skills of awareness and composition. Students are also exposed to readings and films designed to grow their understanding of how time, rhythm, association and editing are powerful tools to achieve a particular meaning, effect or outcome for the audience. 

Enjoy these videos from Maxine, Palmer, and Isabella:

This week's blog post brought to you with the assistance of Kevin