Baaah

Finally finished the baby merino! She took such a long time since this was my first try at a lamb. And those folds! Oh my, what a tedious venture! But I love that kind of work.

Not perfect. I need to work on the skin looking more flexible. It looks to stiff for my liking. She was good practice for the next piece though. I'll be doing a baby scaling a fence/pedestal to reach her mom. The sheep will be a head mounted on the wall. My faces seem to be improving, slowly, but it's getting there.

I've had to scale my work down a bit since the kiln access is questionable at this point. I need to have work finished for my show by the end of April, so I can't count on getting the kiln I need. I plan on returning to large scale ASAP though. The following piece will be full scale momma sheep and a lamb being pulling away from each other by invisible hands.

Opening night at Craft Boston

I had spent the entire day packing up and then unloading and setting up our space with a few other students. The perk to all the hard work was being able to attend the preview party. Officially as booth workers but we had so many people for our booth that several of us were able to wander around and check out our (future) peers work. The quality and target audience of the work varied greatly. Whether that's a flaw or purposeful in the show I have no idea. I definately found some fantastic jewelry and pottery I'd love to own!

Our booth! Grace's steel backpack, Allie's showbox, James' pottery and Coral's tapestry

Zac's felted wool piece, my piglet, Emma, and Jo Anna's piece on the wall

Overall, the event was pretty fun. I was working with all grad students from our various departments (wood, textiles, metals and ceramics) last night and it was really nice to chat with them. I've never really had the opportunity to and typically in the ceramics department the grads tend to ignore the undergrads. But the grads from the other departments treated me like their equal and seemed to respect the work I was doing.

Jo Anna's textile piece on the left and Allie's wall piece

Avery's copper plates, and jewelry (L to R) by Danielle, Jaclyn and Kelly

I had a wonderful chat with Grace, one of the metals grads, who approachs art in a similar fashion to me. She is very interested in social change and while it's not animal rights related, still very applicable to what I do. She just got an interview for a public policy job and has no college degree for that kind of work. So naturally I was very interested in how she did that. Basically, stay active in the other field, the direct action field, that is. She had some great advice on pursuing BOTH studio art and activism. She was also very encouraging and said she saw a lot of potential in my work. She also complimented me on the show in Gallery 244. It was really an immense morale booster for me.

The egde of Ge's wooden coat hanger and Allie's figure

Me and my calf, Laura

I have my doubts that I'll actually sell any thing but it's a great experience and my work is out there. My work was definitely getting a reaction yesterday. Mostly "awwwws" over cuteness and sad faces. They're provoking something! I regret not signing up to booth sit again until Sunday. I'd like to be there to talk about my work if anyone has questions. No one asked me anything last night and there weren't as many people as I expected there to be for the preview party. It was mostly other exhibitors walking around. Second chance on Sunday! My parents will be coming by and I get to work with my friend Lacy. Should be fun! More pictures to come, I'm sure!

And my website is live!

Jennifer Koch Art .com

Amy

Gertrude

Elizabeth

Nicole

1st Solo Show!

"Where is the consent?"

February 18- 23

@ Gallery 244

715 Purchase St., New Bedford, MA

Really short show. It's mostly just an experiment in installation, lighting and public reaction.

But still exciting! I'm the only undergrad who got the space this semester!

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Senioritis

I think I'm developing a serious case of Senioritis. You know, that mental condition where you are so close to graduating and can finally see the end that you start losing motivation to do anything at all.

Yeah. I'll be honest I'm totally not giving it my all right now. Since the second semester started, I've been taking a lot of "mental health" days. I have been totally squandering my weekends by watching tv all day and sleeping.

It's really not good. I should be working extra hard because I have my Senior Thesis show to work towards AND I still have to apply to two residencies. Plus, after this summer I don't have a definite studio to work in. I need to keep building my portfolio as much as I can.

Good things are starting to come forth out of my hard work and I don't want squash opportunities before they even surface by not being prepared for them. As in, not being ready for a show opportunity because I don't have enough work thanks to relaxing. Or being lazy. Let's just call it what it is.

1st Gallery Show Acceptance!

Anna was selected for a juried show!!! SO EXCITED! It'll be my first one. I'm meeting with the owner of the gallery soon.

The show will be at the Judith Klein Gallery in New Bedford, MA. I'll post more info once I know more.

Finished work!

Finally finished the Windgate Fellowship application!!! Here are the images I submitted for my portfolio.

End of the Semester

The Fall semester just flew by this year! Needless to say, I am wicked stressed and busy.

There's been lots of kiln sign-up drama which has put me behind schedule. I'm finishing up my 4th Unit for my professor. I'm making four piglets instead of another calf because of the time crunch. I'm not feeling the piglets as much and I feel like I'm rushing which is not exactly making great work.

For my own sanity I'll just list what's left to do in one week:

- Finish building 2 more piglets

-Underglaze two calfs

-Underglaze one piglet

-Fire the underglaze kiln

-Repair 3 broken calves

-Paint 3 calves

-Repair the chicks with broken legs

-Cover up repairs on chicks

-Repair the recent calf's broken leg

-Photograph everything in the photo room

The repair to the most recent calf might be more extensive. I fired her last night along with someone else's work who's piece blew up. It sounded like fireworks going off in the kiln. So, not excited to open the kiln tomorrow. I also have a presentation to put together for my seminar class and a draft of my letter of intent for grad school. All the other work I have to do will have to be done in January. Firing and underglazing the piglets and photographing them. Then putting together my application to grad school and the Windgate scholarship.

Calf #6

Just finished yesterday!

Apologies for the shaky video. Still learning how to use the camera.

Piglet #2

Just finished yesterday!

Trying out the video camera my little brother got me.

I was nominated as a representative of my school for the Windgate Grant!

In other words, I passed the first step and I get to apply for the national competition. They award $15,000 to 8 or 9 (?) emerging artists in their senior year of completeing a BFA.

So excited!

Crits Mess with Your Brain

I had a group critique of my work in my Senior class on Monday. (We mainly focused on my newest piece that I haven't photographed yet.) Generally, they go well for me and I get good feedback that is both positive and helpful in ways I can improve.

Mondays critique, however, has left me very frustrated and stalled in jumping into my next piece. I didn't get any positive feedback. Well, that's not true, the attempted negative feedback was actually good because the piece was disturbing people. One person said it made them feel very sad and another said it made her think of rape (she said this in a disgusted way) so, good in that respect.

They really focused on the anatomy of the piece and that was very frustrating for me because my goal is not to have a perfect replica of a cow (or chick or piglet, etc). The head IS too big and I do struggle with the head/body proportions. My advisor initially told me a few months ago that it actually worked for the pieces but she flip flopped on this during crit. She also flipped her opinion of their thinness. She said that it was piling too much on. I personally like it, I think it connotes suffering and makes the piece awkward and uncomfortable. I want to look at the piece, it's interesting to me in a macabre, staring at a car accident sort of way.

So the question is: is it too much that people will ignore the piece entirely or is it "too much" in a way that keeps peoples attention?

I wish I could get more feedback than just her and this very small group of 4 people.

Now I don't know what to make next or how to portray it. I was going to do a lighter gentler piece as a break from the more heavy pieces. Which I think is a good idea so people don't get fatigued by always looking at sad, painful pieces. But how light do I go? I was going to do two calfs nuzzling, with tags in their ears to connote their exploitation/oppression. But is it too light? Are people just going to go "awwww, cute." Should I make them skinny, bones showing, or not?

My other idea is one laying with her back to the ground, writhing with her legs apart (picture a dog begging for a belly rub). So do I make her really skinny or not?

My advisor told someone else during his crit that he didn't need to do anything we suggested but to go with what he felt was appropriate. The crit was just feedback and nothing more. We are to choose whether or not we want to implement the advice.

I suppose it's good that it got me thinking. My work depends on public response, not whether they like it. I just want people to be curious and talk about it. So if it weren't a crit would people still look at the work? That I don't know. So the crits really aren't that helpful. I NEED to set up a small show and actively watch to see how people respond.

Calf #4

So, the studio space issue has been straightened out. One of the other wonderful Seniors graciously traded spots with me. So now it's back to work! This past week I finally finished up my 4th calf. A little behind schedule but hopefully there will be no more interruptions.

I had a lot of trouble getting her back together with the the cracking and repairs. So here's to hoping she doesn't fall apart in the kiln!

Why I Make What I Make

The simple fact is that I love animals. I was born into a home that liked animals and grew up with them throughout my entire life. Once I was old enough, I started volunteering my time to care for birds at a rehab center. Eventually all of the jobs I had as a teen and young adult revolved around animal care. I was also enormously influenced by my 2^nd grade teacher who took us on hikes, built a birdfeeder outside our classroom window and made a community garden with us. She taught us to respect nature and animals. I also love learning, whether on my own or in school. This combination eventually lead me to become vegan for ethical reasons. That’s basically the short and quick version.

My love for animals isn’t the kind of love that I melt over every baby animal that crosses my path. I respect them as beings that value their lives and have their own desires and free will. I don’t see any difference between eating a dog and eating a cow for instance but most people in this country would because it’s a social norm.

My two skills have been the ability to work with animals and make things decently as an artist. I decided to pursue art instead of becoming a veterinary doctor because I didn’t want to participate in a severely flawed system that views animals as objects. I wanted to do something to advocate for animals and to help make change. It’s a very lofty goal to want change a cultural view and I know I’ll never achieve it en masse. But I am contributing and that’s better than not doing any thing at all. If enough people have that attitude, change will slowly but surely happen.

So, I make animals to bring awareness to their suffering and plight. Most people have never seen the animals that they consume or use for their by-products (of milk and eggs and skin, etc). I want to bring the presence of those animals into people’s awareness. Granted they are only representations of those animals but these substitutions still promote thought about the animal. I try to create the animal with a certain emotional expression via the face and through it’s gesture that will evoke questioning and empathy.

My work is fairly literal. I make a calf and I am referring to a calf. If it looks like it is in pain then that is how it is responding to its circumstance. I want to convey what that calf is feeling and what might be the cause of its suffering. I’m trying to work out what my method of working is, whether I’m a formalist, metaphorical, conceptual or narrative artist. I’m thinking I work conceptually or narratively. I’m leaning towards narrative because the animal’s life is the most important thing about my work. I want their stories told and their emotions shared and empathically experienced. But I need their presence to do that, I can’t convey their suffering as concept by itself because then it looses its advocacy.

ETA: After doing some research on other artists that fit into each of those categories, I’m discovering that I am probably more of a conceptual artist. We’ll see what my professor says tomorrow I suppose.

Update

I had initially intended on this blog being a stand in for a website to show my work. I think it would be beneficial to show you what I'm working on during the process and to flush out some ideas for myself.

I posted my recent work below. I will be focusing primarily on sculpture for at least the following year. I will, however, be posting some pottery that I recently finished. I'm hoping to get that up to sell on Etsy soon. I'll let you know when!

Calf # 3

This is the 3rd sculpture of my Senior Thesis project that I finished in July. She is supposed to have a companion that I should be starting next. She is about 2 and half feet tall and long. Terra cotta and synthetic Barnard/Blackbird blend, unfired in these images. For larger images, follow the link.