practicing artist-educator brings a unique experience set to the classroom.“ I’ m never finished; there will always be a search for a better technique and a new vision. So, I tend to stay current with technique and experimentation … So, [ as this keeps art alive for me ], I can keep it alive for my students.” Joan— whose celebrated,“ hand-built”( without potter’ s wheel or tools) functional and expressive“ vestments” seem almost to tremble with some impossible instilled life— says each of her
JOAN BONTEMPO
A frequent exhibitor, Joan Bontempo finds that constantly creating and showing her work helps connect students with the practical and motivational aspects of art. Much of her work can be seen at her B. L. Ink Arts Studio in Sharpsburg or at www. marin-price. com.
works is uniquely conceived and rendered and is“ meant to invite interpretation.”
The Notre Dame( BFA) and Wayne State University( MFA) graduate, who took a summer adjunct professor position at HCC seven years ago and now supervises 10 art instructors, also believes the presentation and exhibiting experience of the art practitioner helps students with the work’ s practical and motivational aspects.“ The day that I stop being invited to show my work is the day that my work is perhaps becoming irrelevant and not growing,” says Joan, who has exhibited in multiple shows across the country.“ So, the challenge of either entering an exhibit or being relevant enough to be on people’ s minds to [ be asked to ] exhibit is really what keeps me growing. That’ s really important.”
At the other end of the sculpture spectrum, size-wise, is the work of Shippensburg University associate professor and art and design department chair Steven Dolbin, who is finishing a $ 100,000( in materials alone), 37-foot x 12-foot x 6-foot stylized stainless steel river representation, called“ River Spirit,” that honors early Native American presence in the Susquehanna River basin. A silvery, sinuous, stunning sculpture that incorporates natural materials and representational petroglyphs( for the real ones found in the area), Steven’ s self-described“ Noah’ s Ark” is at the extremity of his tradition of using enduring forms, such as stones and carved elements, that recall“ ancient monuments and relics” to connect viewers with“ often dismissed … universal and intuitive feelings.”
As for Steven’ s take on the pedagogical benefits of artist-educators, his views are as expansive and insightful as are his creations— and ring with the“ street cred” of someone whose ongoing artistic struggles and successes shape his counsel. He believes the artist-teacher is a unique example of the creative process and developing technique, and his off-the-cuff musings on the artistic calling itself or the scholar-student relationship resonate with the authenticity of a hands-on practitioner.“ Art is incredibly important for the health of our culture and society,” he says he tells his students.“ If you look at countries that are in seriously [ bad ] shape— such as with fascist governments or ones that clamp down on their people— their art world also is in bad shape. If you look at countries where artists have a lot of freedom of expression to communicate, you’ re going to have a healthy country, a healthy society.”
A 1983 graduate of Shippensburg University and winner of the coveted Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award shortly after receiving his MFA from Brooklyn’ s Pratt Institute, Steven has more than 33
54 May / June 2013 Hagerstown: The Best of Life in Washington County & Beyond