ASU Ceramics Research Center - Bianca Ybarra, Week 4

 

               Last Week!!!

        I want to start by saying what a great experience this has been. I have met many wonderful people and learned so much about art! I will miss working alongside the ASU Art Museum community, but I hope to visit again soon! 

        This week's schedule consisted of me working remotely on Monday and Tuesday, and in person at the CRC Wednesday through Friday. 

            Monday-Thursday

The blank wall

    I spent the majority of the week researching the artist Doug Baldwin and brainstorming ideas for the large display. I wrote a page on Baldwin describing his artwork, inspiration, and purpose. The more difficult task was organizing information about ceramics that would be digestible and engaging to the average visitor. I didn't want to overcrowd the space with text, so I designed charts and visual components. I included information about the different glazes, clay types, stages of clay, types of texture, building techniques, and ceramic art history. One of the more creative visual aspects was a timeline of ceramics through the image of a tree. The roots represent ancient ceramic art, while the leaves represent modern/contemporary art. Additionally, the wall will have ceramic magnets that visitors can interact with. This will allow them to see and feel the differences between glazes and clay types. I originally wrote my ideas down in a notebook and later created the finished design in a Google Slides presentation. Creating the presentation reminded me of the projects we worked on in D.C. :)

Wall Designs

 

Catalogues

 On Friday, my supervisor gave me relatively short and easy tasks since it was my last day. My first assignment was to take inventory of the catalogues. There were 8 different catalogues and almost 500 in total! This actually didn't take very long, and my next task was to do more artist research. The CRC will have an upcoming exhibition on consumerism and capitalism. I researched 4 artists, and it was really interesting to see how they conveyed their ideas through art. One of the artists, Margaret Dodd, used cars as an analogy for the objectification of women. Although I didn't get to research for much time, I did enjoy learning about the artists.

    Besides the interesting research, today was even more enjoyable because we got to order food! We got food from Culinary Dropout, and I got a turkey pastrami sandwich. We all shared food and talked about our upcoming plans. It was really fun and I laughed a lot :)

Me on my last day!

        I am so grateful for the time that I have spent both at the CRC and the Art Museum. I will miss all the stories and jokes we shared, witnessing all the effort and care that goes into an exhibition, and my short role in making art more accessible to the community. I can't believe this is my last post. Thank you to everyone and I wish you the best!

            With love,

                        Bianca Y.