New Media + English

The first month at Oxbow is a busy time as students rotate through our studios working on several short term projects with overriding themes. The first, Observation, is team-taught by an art faculty and a humanities faculty: Painting meets Science, New Media pairs with English, and Sculpture and History come together for some meaty philosophical conversations. 

Students in New Media employed visuals and text to record the world around them as actively participating artists and storytellers. By asking questions about their relationship to the new world around them, they contemplated what it means to be a "seer" through the course of a day and how to communicate these significant moments through the language of film. 

Below are some examples by Katie from CT, Michael from MA, and Elijah from CA, of their visual and aural montages using rhythm, timing, association, and extensive editing.

What I Live For

This week we are pleased to share something very special with you. It's an assignment the students do in response to the Walden chapter "Where I Lived and What I Lived For." This is the chapter in which Thoreau presents what is essentially a manifesto on why he went to live in the woods; it's the chapter, one could argue, that acts as the thesis of the entire book. Students are asked to write their own "manifestos" in response to the question, "What do you live for?" We celebrate these pieces of writing by honoring Thoreau and getting out of town to take a slow walk in the woods. At the end of our walk, students read their work aloud, projecting their declaration into the welcome arms of nature and their peers. It's a moving experience, and a real gift, to witness this tender and generous moment. We are excited to be able to share a snippet of this moment with you today, as we've had some students offer to share their work here on the blog. 

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What I Live For by Brem

It is fleeting, and when I know what it is, it’s gone. I can only be reminded of such a thing, because when it’s present it pervades one’s being with such a thick, blinding glow, one can not know anything else, but can only drown in it.

Wonder for what that once was, leaving you with a warmth in your chest. Wanting to cry because it’s left you, but beaming because you once knew it. And you don’t know it – but you’re in it – drowning again, being thrown from a cliff.

Such invisible glows linger like ghosts of things you once loved, but they are so unclear that mere hints of its shape evoke shivers, and I live, blinded, suspended, submerged, trying to make them out.

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Freedom by Chiara

Life.

Never-ending circles drawn in the red dirt

with the end of a child's stick.

I live for the circles, the cycles

that inhabit my soul

and fill my chest up

with endless emotions.

The cool creekside air

creeping into my lungs like a

summer disease.

A clatter of laughs spills

out of small wooden windows.

The inevitable serenity that envelops my soul,

calming my brain into a deep blue haze.

I live for the warmth.

The smiles smeared on our faces

like children in a blurry memory.

Barefoot journeys

and soil between my toes.

These are the moments I hold

in the tunnels of my tattered heart.

Whole I am now- one with the earth

and she whispers stories of my past

into my ears as as I float through the distance.

Forgetting.

Everything fades to a

dull golden glow,

and night is called into the sky,

my thoughts become glistening stars.

Scattered across the matte black canvas

of my life.

I live for the moment

that purity fills my veins once again,

and my bones fall into a slumber.

Anxiety's curse,

hushed with pursed lips,

blowing out the steady flame of a candle.

I live for those rich smells.

Rain trampling dry soil

with tiny teardrop feet.

Warm tortillas- fresh from

that simple white stove,

in the cabin tucked behind

watchful pine and juniper branches.

I live for this comfort.

Open arms and warm embraces.

Goodnight kisses and midnight grins.

Hot water and woodsmoke.

So many souls

in one old house.

In the tranquil morning light,

the sparrows and doves cry out to me,

gently welcoming me to a new day

like a fragile newborn.

I live for the days I am born again.

Into the sun and the land.

It is here that I feel at home.

My body-

content with nature.

I live for the sound of my grandfather's flamenco guitar.

The elegant sway of my grandmothers singing.

The tip tap of nails against hard wood floors.

Tradition.

I live for this greatness-

the wide open.

The illumination of the world

that my emerald eyes hold

in those single precious moments.

The feeling in my heart

as it truly embraces the freedom

I have somehow forgotten. 

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So, dear blog readers, what do you live for?

THE THIRTIETH CLASS

OS30 has landed! With 46 bright and eager students, we have one of the biggest and strongest classes in recent Oxbow history. And we are thrilled to have them here. Despite the terrifying implications of the California drought, the weather has been a dream, welcoming this new class with clear skies and wide-open studio doors. We're off to a great start with OS30--this weekend, on an afternoon walk down the pad, the sound of the Walden audio book wafted out from behind easels in the Painting Studio while students vigorously multi-tasked, grappling with atmospheric perspective and Transcendentalism in the same stroke. Yesterday students finished their first Oxbow project, the culmination of the inter-disciplinary Observation unit, and the work looks great--vibrant, lively, and passionate. If you're new to this blog, welcome! And stay tuned for weekly updates as OS30 navigates their Oxbow journey. 

Holidaze

The Ox-Blog is on vacation! We'll see you back here in January to welcome OS30.

OS29 /// OUT

BON VOYAGE

we'll miss you

you'll always be part of the Oxbow family

FINAL SHOW

...thanks you for your support throughout the semester. We are very much looking forward to seeing you all at the 

Final Show and Open House:

Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15, 1-3pm at The Oxbow School, 530 Third Street

People Who Change the World

Yesterday marked the passing of Nelson Mandela, one of the great leaders of our time. When the world loses such a leader, the effect is palpable. While the sixteen year-olds of OS29 may not fully understand the context and impact of this loss, they intuit that someone important is gone. I find that when I reflect on the passing of a person I admire, someone who has inspired me to be a better, kinder, and more compassionate person, I start to look to the people around me to fill the void. Fortunately, I am surrounded by inspiration. 

One of the reasons I choose to work with teenagers is that they are unabashed in expressing their passions, desires, and fears. There is a raw honesty to the way teens tackle the obstacles in their lives. The population we work with at Oxbow is particularly inspiring, given that these teens have made the deliberate choice to express their ideas and experiences through art. OS29 has a lot of spirit, and many of our students are budding activists. Recall one of our first blog posts this semester--in the first week, a student said, "I make art because I have things to say." I was struck by the simultaneous simplicity and profundity of this statement.

When I walk around the studios and look at OS29's Final Projects in progress, I am hit with intense awe and gratitude--awe at the unbridled potential these teenagers are learning to harness, and gratitude for the positive work I know they will do throughout their lives. Mr. Mandela's death reminds me that I am surrounded by activists here at Oxbow; these students give me the assurance that we're headed in the right direction. On behalf of the whole Oxbow community, I am thrilled to invite you to share in a celebration of the accomplishments of this class--looking forward to seeing you at the Final Show next weekend! (Check out the Oxbow website for info on the Final Show Open House.)                                                                                     
- Lenora

BODIES

There's something about being a teenager that makes body casting especially appealing. If you've ever been to a Final Show here you know how amazing it can be -- we've seen students use the medium to turn themselves into mermaids, skeletons, glowing ghostly shells, multi-armed mythical creatures, and so much more. Once, a student made a zip-up latex replica of herself, and called it her "Impostor Suit." This semester there are several Final Projects that involve elements of body casting.

Dani's artwork is about the feeling of being trapped. She cast a full-body plaster mold of her peer Katie as a way to explore the feeling of confinement. For Dani, the artwork is as much about the process of making the cast as it is about the final sculpture. Dani hopes that using a literal human form will better portray the human emotions she wants to evoke in her viewers. Part of her art-making process was to interview Katie about the experience of having her body cast. 

Katie described the casting process as enjoyable but also quite strange. While at first it felt a bit suffocating, Katie eventually found herself entering a tranquil and meditative state where she pictured herself as a beetle, the plaster her exoskeleton. The sensation of having the cast removed was particularly interesting, not unlike what she imagines a crustacean might feel like as it molts, shedding an outgrown shell. 

For both Katie and Dani, body casting is a new and exciting medium full of possibility, providing an opportunity to manipulate the human form in any way imaginable while also maintaining relatable realism. 

Controlled Chaos

Slade's workspace

We're back from Thanksgiving break rested and ready for the final push. Final Projects are due in 6 days, and the studios have reached an expected state of disarray. One of the most exciting aspects of Final Projects is watching each student create a workspace for themselves; some are intentional about it, and for others it happens in a haphazard way. Each workspace is a microcosm, offering a sneak peek into the artist's mind and providing hints at what the final artwork will look like. There is an ebb and flow of chaos and organization. Some people need a spotless workspace, each brush and pen arranged in an exact order. Others get lost in what looks to an outsider like a pile of junk, and somehow, art is born out of the chaos. For others, the chaos is the artwork. Stay tuned for more posts this week as we continue to document the mess artwork in progress. 

Justin's dungeon