Mrs. Wiseman has been taking her art classes on field trips ever since she started teaching. For Advanced Ceramics students, they go to see a pottery exhibit, where they are encouraged to explore the nature of art through first-hand, interactive experiences. Now, let’s dive further into what this trip entailed, the purpose behind it, and what students could gain from this!
On Monday, March 17th, the Advanced Ceramics Class went to Tulane’s Newcomb College to look at pottery. Newcomb College Pottery is a distinctive arts project associated with the Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, which was the women’s branch of Tulane University. There, Advanced Ceramics students got to learn about how museum curators work, see 50+ pieces of pottery, and even hold specific pieces. When asked what she hoped students could gain from field trips like this, Mrs. Wiseman replied:
“One is to understand the relationship between art and craft, you know? And thinking about the objects that we experience, how we can make things that have value and importance— and we can be inspired to make our own work.”
“We don’t have a lot of sculptures on campus, so it’d be nice to think about how sculpture and art can influence the spaces that we kind of exist in.”
After seeing some of these pieces, students could get inspiration for projects and gain ideas for their own communities. The class also got to go into the contemporary exhibition Newcomb had, which featured artwork from South Africa. In this exhibit, they learned about how Apartheid and history influenced the different pieces. Art is inseparable from history as it will always reflect the ideas of the era it originated from. Mrs. Wiseman was clear in wanting students to interact with and acknowledge the real-world presence of art:
“I also think it’s important to understand that what you’re learning about in school is happening in real life … Like it was cool at the Newcomb one, to hear about history and then hold history and look at history– and just to think about how all these disciplines kind of come together. They’re not just singular.”
If you want to find out more about these trips, you can ask someone who went on the field trips or contact Mrs. Wiseman directly. Until then, keep kiln’ it and creating art!
