Get to Know Us
Meet the individuals that compose Reed Social Practice (2022)
Annabelle
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
Art! I think art is what makes life worth livin’
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Drawing, music making, dance
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What's a dream project of yours?
Interdisciplinary performance art
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
That experiences can be art!
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
How to collaboratively create projects and have them work out :)
Alec
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
Trying to embody larger selves I think are good
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Poetry, food, landscaping
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What's a dream project of yours?
Spread front yard/community gardens and food growing knowledge throughout a neighborhood effected by food appartheid
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
The central importance of communication in any project
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
More awareness of why a collective effort is failing
Emma
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
The infinite mystery of life itself
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Painting, prose & poetry
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What's a dream project of yours?
Ecstatic Bacchic rituals
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
The importance of collaboration. As a fairly introverted person I don't usually tend to work with other people unless I have to, but I've learned through collaborating with everyone in this class that a positive and encouraging group environment does make me more engaged and devoted to my work, and is far more efficient than working alone.
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
I will hopefully be less socially awkward in a group setting.
Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr.:
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
The sharing of knowledge and empowering folks to self actualize their desires, dreams, and to produce deliverables in community and collaboration with others.
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What are your favorite artistic media?
I strongly appreciate sculptural forms in all materials specializing in found objects. I value the stored histories in materials that in reality are never “raw” and without contextual origins. I also appreciate other visual forms like pen drawings and rich color things. Applied in collateral content like posters or other tangible media. A lover of food, making and gathering around it. Other things too.
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What's a dream project of yours?
In some ways I’m doing it. Through this class and other educational projects. A real dream would be to provide programming from K-12 into college in particular communities. Which I’m doing, however, to tie them together. Both in curriculum and institution. Meaning, that when I work with students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, into Harriet Tubman Middle School, through Jefferson Highschool, that I’m able to offer them full rides into places like Portland State University and Reed College. Providing options and avenues for their success into the future.
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
I learned as much as I can in this short time about each of the students in the class. Individual histories, life experiences, concerns, excitements, among other things. I learned a bit about education, supporting and co-navigating student autonomy, how to utilize Reed institutional systems, and a range of cultures at Reed Campus. I also learned a lot about grief, what it feels like, and how it applies to experiences outside loss of life. And, how to teach while navigating a puppy’s needs, which involves a lot of patience and willingness to be distracted.
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
​I’m personally excited to try and continue to get to know the students in the class where possible, to continue to build a relationship at Reed, and to develop a resilience and compassionate relationship with grief. However I’m more generally excited to continue to support student access to socially engaged forms of art (SEA). I think SEA is helpful for all (young) people as it helps to support the convening of people. Social engagement with others is an institute as old as the human and is currently for various reasons eroding in our way of life. I’m very excited to help people learn to navigate this in a sometimes serious but always intentional and considered way.
Er
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
Trying to use my abilities to help as many people as I can
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Painting, video editing, crochet
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What's a dream project of yours?
Creating a low-income housing shelter combined with a penguin conservation center— then the people and penguins could take care of each other
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
How to articulate what I’m trying to communicate in an event, classroom, and interpersonal setting
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
I’ve noticed myself being able to more confidently speak to people throughout the course of this class— I imagine this will help in future collaboratory situations
Hannah
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
I try to romanticize the little things to make life more enjoyable
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Fiber arts, food, music
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What's a dream project of yours?
Learning how to spin and dye my own yarn!
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
The joys of working together as a team and how to work together effectively! This class has been the most fun I’ve had doing group projects :)
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
I think I will have a deeper appreciation and intention when planning and participating in events in the future
Ivy
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
New experiences, new friends, new foods :-)
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Painting, graphic design (but in a cool way), animation, and comics
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What's a dream project of yours?
I think it’d be cool to try and combine digital media with tangible artwork. I have a fantasy of making a huge painting that you can scan with your phone and it’ll link you to a companion animation! Sorta like a scavenger hunt.
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
That art is not restricted by tangible objects, and that “creating art” can look different than someone holding a brush. With intentionality and motive I think that the boundary of what defines “art” is a lot larger than I thought it was before this class.
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
This class helped me practice my ability to work effectively in a team environment, and gave me a better understanding of how I like to communicate and be communicated with. It was a lot of fun! :-)
Lily
What motivates you (in one short sentence)?
idk - I think I just like living
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What are your favorite artistic media?
Drawing, stick and poke, sewing, acrylic jewelry-making/metal-smithing
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What's a dream project of yours?
Having a home where I’ve made or sourced (vintage) everything in it (from utensils to curtains to clocks)
Whats one thing you learned in this class (can be deep or lighthearted)?
Art is whatever you want it to be! Also how to more effectively collaborate
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How do you think what you’ve learned in this class will manifest itself in your life?
Documentation - taking pictures, saving scraps of paper, video - it all becomes useful!