Discovering the How and Why

I have two workshops coming up, one here in New York at Syracuse University and the other way on the other side of the U.S. at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, WA. I will teach process at both places, leading students through different exercises to get ideas flowing and to understand where they come from and why. I truly believe process is a tool just like the hammer or paintbrush. There are lots of ways to discover and define your process and the more you understand, the better equipped you will be to make your best work.

My class at Syracuse University is for the jewelry and metalsmithing department and happens on March 31. The workshop will happen during the day and later I will give a public lecture. The lecture is free and open to everyone and is also on March 31 at 6:30pm.

Then in May I fly to Seattle to teach a master class at Pratt Fine Arts Center. The class will focus on process, too, and is open to all artists, not just metalsmiths. In addition to process exercises and hands-on learning, I will also talk about how I use social media to share my process. Here's the description from the catalog:

"Every artist has his or her own way of generating ideas and making work; discovering these methods is a helpful tool for creating better work and for dealing with common daily challenges like starting a new piece, making aesthetic decisions, and overcoming creative blocks. In this workshop students will be introduced to a variety of ways to find ideas and understand how they make their work. Through hands-on and contemplative exploration with common materials, collecting visual inspiration, and simple writing exercises, students will consider their own individual artistic process. All exercises are based on Amy's unique experience defining her own process over the years. In addition, using Amy's experience sharing her process on social media through her blog and Facebook, students will begin to learn how to present their process in a public manner as they discover their own language for describing the why and how of what they create. Prerequisite: some Jewelry/Metals experience (or some experience in any media)"

The weekend class runs May 8, 9, and 10 from 9:30-5:30 each day.

I will also give a public lecture at Pratt and will post those details soon.

If you have any questions about the class at Pratt or the public lecture I will give at Syracuse University, please feel free to email me at atavern@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading.