Paul Soldner on the "critique"

"I'm sure there are other ways to avoid playing Artistic God, but real problems arise if grades are affected by a critique. Giving grades on artisitc effort seems contradictory. On one hand we expect the students to be original, self-motivated and inventive, but then we judge their success or failure by personal feelings."

Paul Soldner

A leader is best When people barely know he exists Not so good when people obey and acclaim him, Worse when they despise him. "Fail to honor people, They fail to honor you." But of a good leader, who talks little, When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, They will say, "We did this ourselves."                    -Lao Tzu Tomorrow in my art classes I am going to do a begin a special project with my students.  We are in a "last few days of the year" mode and I want to make each day count.  Last year I had my students, during the study of texture, create a textured clay pendant that they finished in watercolor stain and glossy medium.  Even though we have already studied texture and we spent 6 weeks creating textured paintings in tempera, I decided I would allow two days of the class time to do this fun project also.  Since we will be working in clay and since the idea is texture, I used a comment by Paul Soldner, who is known for his beautiful textured sculptural works to emphasize the feelings I have come to when it comes to grading my students' work.  In his article he used the Zen master, Lao Tzu's quote to illustrate his feelings about teaching as well.  Here are a couple of Paul's works that illustrate his mastery of the clay medium.  I will be posting some video of my students working in clay and their final products when they finish next week. Pedestal Piece, 91-12, 1991, slab built, with white terra sigillata, low-temperature salt, 23 3/4 inches in height; at Louis Newman Galleries in Beverly Hills, California. Pedestal Piece, 90-26, 1990, low-fire clay with slip, salt vapor fired, 28 1/2 inches high, by Paul Soldner, Aspen, Colorado.