Outtakes

When 44 students and 9 teachers live together in close proximity for four months, some funny things happen. We get to know each others' quirks, and we immediately notice when something changes--new shoes, new hairstyles, shifts in the social structure. And we begin to speak in a coded Ox-language. Morning announcements start to sound like this:

ST, caught lurking in the Breezeway on final cleaning day

"Snack Patrol. You know who you are. Stop slacking, the people want their Cheese-Its. New Dish Dawgs this week. Spread The Love--meet JP for lunch. Where are all the spoons? PFoy's art angels--turn in your journals. Mo's advisees--meet on the Pad after breakfast. Who's hoarding the Sculpture tape dispenser? And pleeeaaase make sure you've put your stuff on the server." 

We fall easily into routines, and certain roles are set early on: Piper always times the Minute of Silence, Jose and Alex are always late for breakfast, Grace always has candy if you need some, Raven will always hold the door open for Blair, and West A will always have the cleanest bathroom.

And then there are those wonderful moments when the Ox-bubble is burst--people who have been hiding in the shadows come out of their shells, roles are reversed, and some really hilarious stuff happens. What follows is a sort of photo essay of some of those moments. We'll call them the OS28 Semester Outtakes.

There was a Math Prom

These two students were caught selling unofficial Bottle Rock souvenirs

The Carrot Gods spoke

Izzy got...lost (not arrested)

OS28 went through an American Gothic period

This guy happened...

And on the very last day, THIS happened

Goodbye, for now

Farewell, OS28. Congratulations on a spectacular Final Show, and on all the amazing things you accomplished at Oxbow. It might feel sad and scary right now, but you are off to do more amazing things, and trust us: you are READY! When your Oxbow ache gets bad, read some poetry with breakfast. Make some art. Keep a journal. Hug a chicken. And know that all Oxbow paths will ultimately cross again. 

Be well, stay in touch, and remember, lunch is at 12:00. Come back any time.

We'll miss you. 

The Week Before

Sneak peek: artwork by Alex McD

It’s just a couple of days away from Final Show, and we here at Oxbow are about as busy as our new bees!  The week before final show, we as a community embark on our biggest collaboration of the semester: completely transforming all of the studios into gallery space. That includes sweeping the floors of any sawdust and copperplate shavings, pencil points and canvas trimmings, wiping down furniture before moving it all out of sight, spackling over memories of past installations, giving each wall a fresh coat of white paint, and, quite literally, clearing the cobwebs.

The journey from workspace to exhibition space is an exciting one. In many ways, it’s like any other move. During the month-long Final Project, the students really do move in to the studios, making it a second home. This means that in addition to all of the grunt work, The Week Before also includes returning clothes, coffee mugs, and iPods to their rightful owners, and, in the best cases, discovering items you thought were lost for good (like my phone charger!).

Last night, we officially finished installing all of the artwork. The tenor does shift here as the students turn over the space that has become so much theirs. As they walk around the studios looking at the work of their friends (some for the first time), it’s a lot like walking around the house you can’t come back to—at least not in the same way.

Sure, there are other things going on—like writing and revising artist statements, rehearsing presentations until the nerves subside, choosing the perfect outfit for the show, packing, a sense of triumph at having finished met with constant waves of nostalgia for the almost-over semester, and, of course, the bittersweet anticipation of the near goodbyes we have to face. But for right now, we are all proud, anxious for the big day, and really, really, tired. 

Hope to see you all at the show this weekend!

Sneak Peek

OS28 has a mere 4 days left to work on their Final Projects. Things are staring to heat up around here, and the Final Show is shaping up to be a really exciting one. Today we walked around the studios and asked students to describe their projects in just one or two sentences. Their responses confirmed what we already suspected...these are NOT your average teenagers! Here's what they had to say about their projects--note the depth and variety of the topics they are exploring. 

AUDREY:

"I am creating a series of paintings and drawings that push the boundaries of society's common gender definitions."

  

BLAIR:

"This is an attempt to make the struggles and joys of daily life tangible through a collection of drawings, text, and coffee spills."

GRACE:

"I started by researching conformity, and I'm trying to discover the role I play in conformity through my artwork. I am working in printmaking."

EVA:

"I am making a prototype for a nesting cube that holds all the necessary furnishings for a simplified, nomadic lifestyle."

CLAYTON:

"I am recreating an iconic photograph in sculpture."

LAUREN:

"My project is about perception and how each person's reality is unique."

WET PAINT

Three weeks into Final Project and the studios look...well, messy. Messy in a good way. Every surface is covered in evidence of artwork in progress. Here's what we found on one quick walk through the studios today:

 

                       

Bzzzzzzzz...The Ox-Bees Have Landed!

Photos by Lenora D. and friend of Oxbow Allison Watkins

The Oxbow gardens are an integral part of the school--they beautify the campus, provide food, and serve as a platform for artistic inspiration and scientific study. For the last three years, they have been undergoing a face lift. Each spring we've incorporated a major new element into the garden program, each one a step towards enhancing the program's main objectives--to sustain a closed-loop ecological system, to create a lab for the science course, and to provide lots of healthy, fresh, and delicious food to the dining hall. OS24 welcomed the Ox-Chix, which have since become one of the campus's most beloved features. The eggs go directly to the dining hall for breakfast, and the chix provide an important source of soil fertility. OS26 constructed a beautiful  greenhouse (generously donated by Oxbow board member Katie Wheeler), which has enriched the garden program in more ways than we ever could have imagined--namely by allowing us to start all of our own seedlings and to beef up our production of greens during the cold months. Bees were the missing link in our overarching vision for a sustainable garden program at Oxbow. Now, after over a year of planning, the gardens are host to a thriving new colony of honeybees.

 3lbs of bees!

The bees (approximately 10,000 of them!) arrived as a "package" -- a small screened box with a can of "bee food" (sugar syrup) attached. 

Worker bees covering the queen cage

Inside the package, the queen was isolated in her own little cage. To install the bees in their new home, we first removed the queen cage from the package...

The queen cage with candy plug

Her Royal Highness

...and attached it to a frame. Then we released the rest of the bees into the hive and put on the top cover. The little black tube you see on the queen cage (above right) is filled with candy, which the worker bees eat their way through. This takes a day or two, and during that time the hive acclimates to the new queen. When all the candy is gone, the queen crawls out of her cage and settles in for a lifetime of egg-laying.

The Ox-Hive

In a couple weeks, we'll look inside the hive to make sure that everything is going smoothly. For now, we'll keep our fingers crossed that our bees like their new digs. We've heard that other folks who install bee colonies on their property see an incredible increase in fruit and veggie production within the year, so we're very excited for that possibility. And, of course, there will be honey! 

An added bonus of beekeeping: bee suits make us look like aliens

Preliminary Research

Final Project is officially underway! After conducting some preliminary research over spring break, students turned in their project proposals on Wednesday. OS28 is now deep in the process of exploring and solidifying ideas for both research topics and artwork. We'll report back soon on what that process looks like. In the meantime, we'd like to invite you to engage in an activity that the students completed over break--the Final Project Brainstorm Scavenger Hunt! This activity is designed to get the brain juices flowing, and to get students into the mode of identifying and exploring topics that interest them. 

If you were designing a Final Project, what would you investigate? 

Meet Raven

How did you find out about Oxbow? And why did you want to come here?

I found out about Oxbow through one of my classmates at school who came here last semester. I wanted to come here for the simple fact that Oxbow seemed like an awesome place to come and explore within myself abilities that I didn’t think were there.

How has it been adjusting to life away from home, and a totally new school environment?

This is a totally new environment but I feel comforted and safe between the faculty, staff and students. I think that the hardest part is waking up on my own in the morning… that’s something that was new for me because my mom always did it! Ultimately being here has tested my independence. 

What aspect of the Oxbow experience (curriculum element, art project, community life, etc.) has been the most impactful for you?

The curriculum is something so different and impactful for me because I never really was in tune with myself. I think one thing, since being here, that has helped me is channeling my feelings and writing personal essays. I was always so used to analyzing that I never really thought about me. 

What is your favorite color and why?

I love the color red because its so rich, and I personally think that I look the best in the color red.

What kind of music do you listen to when you’re making art?

I tend to listen to Beyonce mostly. I think that’s because she has different genres of music. Some is pop, some is techno pop, some is rhythm and blues…I listen to it all, on FULL BLAST.

What kinds of things inspire and inform your artwork? (Where do you look for inspiration?)

I think that my past experiences inspire me. I tend to personalize my artwork so that it applies to me directly, or to something that has affected me negatively or positively. I hadn’t really realized until recently that I tend to use more of a dark pallet of paint colors. I don’t know why that is.

Are they are any artists whose work you are particularly excited about right now?

I don’t have anyone in specific but Larry Thomas’ art is one that really opened eyes for me. I think that his intentional lines embroidered within text is something that I would love to try doing. His passion for helping others work with ink and other mediums was just really inspiring and special to me.

Do you have any special or secret talents?

I can sing and dance real well!

Meet Jose

We've decided to launch a series of student interviews as a way to showcase the dynamism of OS28. Jose from Emeryville, California (via Mexico) has offered to be our first interviewee. Thanks Jose!
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How did you find out about Oxbow? And why did you want to come here?

In my freshman year, Jordan Felling came to promote Oxbow to my school. When I saw videos, I really got inspired to apply. I decided to come because I wanted to expand my artistic abilities as well as become more independent and meet new people.

You are more than half way through the semester already. How has it been adjusting to life away from home, and a totally new school environment?

It’s surprising to realize that I’m almost done with this amazing journey. It has been that, an amazing and beautiful journey. Since day one, I’ve loved my new home, but in the first days it was really difficult to be away from home. However, as I got comfortable with my roommates and all the students, I began to feel a sense of family with everyone and my experience became a lot better. 

                                    What aspect of the Oxbow experience has been the most impactful for you?

The most impactful project for me was writing my personal memoir book for English class. I remember writing at around 1:00am while everyone else was asleep. When I began to write about my mom I got a little emotional and it reminded me of all the reasons why I was here, which gave me an extra push to stay up even longer and finish the entire book. 

Do you have a favorite Oxbow meal?

Oxbow for me has been a place of discovery. An example is the variety of new foods that I've tasted. At Oxbow I discovered that I do not hate all salads, and I finally found a salad that I like--Caesar salad. However, even though I find the Caesar salad delicious, there is no better meal at Oxbow than when there is Mexican food. 

What kind of music do you listen to when you're making art?

When I make art I love being the only one in the studio because I can play my own music loud on the speakers. My favorite music to listen to when I make art is rock in Spanish, salsa, cumbia (which almost nobody in this school even knows about) and sometimes hip-hop.

Tell us a little bit about this painting on the left.

My Narrative project painting made me discover many things about myself. Before this painting I felt really uncomfortable using paint. I personally did not like painting before this project. However, when I decided to paint the Mexican flag and a reflection of myself, I got really into it and I began to have a personal relationship with the paint. I got so attached to it that I did not even want to leave the painting studio. I was in there every single minute of open studios and I was even late to lunch because I wouldn’t notice the time. This painting made me realize that I can enjoy painting and that it is really interesting for me to make art related to Mexico. Even though I was not born in Mexico, I feel 100% Mexican. I feel good learning about the culture and even better making art about it.