Craftsmanship

How can a craftsperson maintain curiosity, motivation, and excitement while working with the same material for years? How do they develop sensitivities and skills using their hands as their primary tools? How can we "grow into knowledge" rather than having it handed down to us? What does it mean to craft something? How can we notice, find, and cultivate our own way of creating?

Mastery: Learning by Doing

Through repetition of the same practice, while remaining curious about the various ways each part of the process can be done, students noticed how it is possible to become their own teachers, critics, and motivators, like skilled masters.

Honoring Different Ways of Making

During the process of practicing different skills, students were encouraged to recognize and appreciate the uniqueness of each individual's approach to making. This understanding fosters a culture where ways of making can be shared, borrowed, transformed, and cultivated through reflective participation.

Project

Limiting materials to newsprint paper and tools to hands, students explored how their attentive presence, along with reflective participatory engagement with paper, can activate endless possibilities of working with this familiar material. Students were encouraged to slow down and develop skills such as ripping, folding, rolling, and crumpling paper, all while attentively using their hands and listening to the material they were working with. These learned skills were then applied to create their final artwork. Glue and tape were used only in the last session, where students assembled the parts they had mainly crafted in previous sessions to shape their sculptures.

Young Masters: sharing learned skills with intermediate students:

As part of a collaborative project with Yunuen, ( AIRS artist who worked with intermediate students in the same school), during the final session elementary students took on the role of teachers. They hosted intermediate students in the studio, sharing not only their sculptures but also the skills they had learned about working with paper. They handed over their sculptures to intermediates knowing their sculptures were going to be animated by the older students in the next few weeks. This exchange of knowledge and creativity between younger and older students added a special dimension to our learning environment, promoting collaboration and mutual growth.

This year's residency allowed students to deepen their understanding of stop-motion animation by using primary students' paper sculptures and adding elements with paper, wire, and tape to craft the animations. This collaborative effort showed the profound connection between art and storytelling, prompting reflections on the significance of receiving a gift and honouring the gift and its creator.

During our first session, we visited the primary students at the AIRS studio to receive their sculptures. Intermediate students were encouraged to engage with the primary students, asking questions about the sculptures and documenting the stories behind them. The primary students generously shared insights into their sculpting process, showcasing the skills they had acquired under Sholeh's guidance. This knowledge exchange between younger and older students added a distinctive layer to the residency, emphasizing the universal nature of learning and sharing, regardless of age.

Throughout the residency, intermediate students delved into story and character development inspired by the paper creations they were entrusted with. Their animations served as a heartfelt homage to the creativity, craftsmanship, and narratives embedded within each sculpture. These animations were later presented as a gift to the primary students to be unveiled and celebrated at our end-of-year exhibition.

These stop-motion animations are tangible testaments to the rich exchange of knowledge and creativity that defined the residency. They enhanced the experience for all participants and facilitated mutual growth and collaboration, leaving a lasting impact on the entire community.