Teaching Philosophy

 

David W. Bolton

 

 

My teaching philosophy is one of balance. I expect students to learn many aspects of ceramics. I endeavor to create an environment in which students think holistically about art and clay.  Ceramic students should be exposed to conceptual, technical, art historical, and contemporary issues in the medium.  They should also be exposed to art issues outside of clay and how they relate to the ceramic arts.  Learning is achieved through lectures, library research, critiques, daily interaction between students, and by having the students be a part of the communal ceramic process from making clay to firing their own work.  As I do in my own artistic process, I encourage students to make both sculpture and functional vessels and to investigate other possibilities in clay.  Each will complement the studentsÕ development in the other discipline.  In addition to these initiatives, they will need practical knowledge on how to survive as artists, if they choose to be artists.  Upon graduation they should have the knowledge to continue their artwork independently or at the very least be enriched from the art-making experience.