Ironically, our first blog post from a studio in operation for more than 20 years, is about the Fundamentals of Design.
The Fundamentals
My name is Mallory Serebrin. I started the ceramic studio over 20 years ago in Jerusalem's Greek Colony with a few students and some very uneven floors. Our small kiln was in the tiny kitchen space where the bathroom shower was above the toilet! That was a long time ago. We love our permanent art space in Talpiot, and have grown into a lively and quite well-equipped ceramics studio. But back to basics!
As an older student at Pratt Institute in the 80s I took my studies seriously. I fell in love with the Foundation Program and the classes taught in Light, Color and Design and 3-Dimensional Design. A bit of a teacher's pet in both of these classes, I gathered up all that knowledge and after many years opened up Studio ArtWorks (The Jerusalem Ceramic Art Center). My love for design and problem solving continues to this day in my interior design business.
I love the intimate and deep study of visual relationships. No matter if it's clay, paint, paper or furniture, I will employ this knowledge, and am passionate about sharing the magic.
Six weeks ago we started a 8-week course on the Fundamentals of 3-D Design.
So far we have studied, rectilinear forms, curvilinear forms, a mix of both of the former, fragments in space, planes and next week, lines in space. Each problem is directed with a methodology handed down by the famous Rowena Reed Kostellow. Along with her husband, Alexander Kostellow, and Donald Dohner, they established the first industrial design education course at Pratt Institute where Reed Kostellow served as head of the department.
I can say without reservation that this was the most important course of study I have ever done and it influences my work on a daily basis.
I cannot look at anything (literally) without employing the principles learned. As one of the current students said, "This is a game changer!" It is NOT easy and what you learn unfolds as you keep working.
Here are some of the pictures and a video from the current 3D Fundamentals class. I will probably be teaching it again Fall 2020. Next up is my Color class, another must for artists and designers.
To see all the studio is offering, tiny.cc/JCACregister