Project Open Door | November 2022

risd | PROJECT OPEN DOOR

NOVEMBER 2022

POD's 2022/2023 Saturday Portfolio teens gather before starting their fall semester classes on the RISD campus!

This fall, POD has welcomed 50 new and returning teens from 16 public high schools and charter schools in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket to our Saturday Portfolio Program!

POD + Schools programs are also underway, with after-school classes running at Classical High School and Hope High School in Providence, and Charles E. Shea High School in Pawtucket, taught by RISD Teaching + Learning in Art + Design (TLAD) graduate students.

Look back at POD's summer programs and events, and stay tuned for info about our current fall session in the next newsletter!

SUMMER STUDIOS

POD + THE STEEL YARD

For the first time, Project Open Door partnered with The Steel Yard to run an introductory week-long ceramics course for POD teens this summer. This partnership was possible through a generous Community Collaborations Grant from RISD's Center for Community Partne rships. POD teens spent a week at the amazing Steel Yard facilities learning fundamental skills and techniques in hand-building and wheel-throwing. Steel Yard instructors Lindsay Weitzman and Fred Gorman (RISD IL '85) showed teens how to create pinch pots, roll coils, and wedge clay and demonstrated how to center, trim, and glaze their pieces. While none of the POD teens had worked with clay before, by the end of the week, they all came away with newfound skills, beautiful work, and a greater appreciation and understanding of clay as an art form and potential career path. Many thanks to everyone at the Steel Yard and RISD's Center for Community Partnerships for making this program possible!

Above: POD Teen Justin works on the wheel!

Above: Teens work in the Steel Yard facilities

HASBRO TOY + GAME DESIGN SUMMER STUDIO

This summer, POD held our 7th annual Toy and Game Design Summer Studio in collaboration with our incredible long-time partner, Hasbro. In this hybrid program, professional toy and game designers zoomed into the POD studio to share their educational, creative, and professional paths with POD teens. Over the week, they guided teens through the design process, from brainstorming to production, and conducted daily design challenges and feedback sessions. At the end of the week, Hasbro created standees (see above image) of the teens' original character designs for them to keep!

Thank you to the entire Hasbro team for their effort and enthusiasm that makes this program so fun and successful each year!

INTRO TO STAINED GLASS

In this pop-up workshop led by Teaching Artist Bridget Provan (RISD MA '22) teens designed and created a 2D stained glass piece in this one-day workshop! After learning to develop a compelling design, teens then experimented with applying copper foil, flux, and soldering.

Below Left: Bridget works with POD teen Nicole on soldering her piece. Below Right: A teen's finished stained glass piece!

ARCHITECTURAL ANATOMY

Intro to Architecture

This summer, Teaching Artist Alexis Violet (RISD MArch '23) led a 5-week workshop introducing POD teens to foundational elements and skills necessary for designing an environment. From initial concept to physical realization, through drawings, scale models, and design exercises, POD teens investigated both 2D and 3D techniques. They experimented with different styles and materials and came away with a better understanding of the language of architecture.

Above: POD teens look at examples of architectural models

Below: Scaled models created by POD teens

ON THE LOOM

Intro To Weaving As Storytelling

In this two-day workshop led by Teaching Artist and POD Alumni Lyza Baum (RISD TX '19), teens explored the many possibilities of creating woven fabric using a simple frame loom. They looked at contemporary and historic weavings as visual inspiration and discussed how textiles tell stories about the past and present. After just one day in the studios, teens had created a variety of experimental woven samples and a finished woven wall hanging.

Above: Details of finished woven pieces by POD teens

Below Left: Delci works weaves using a simple loom. Below Right: The workshop crew in front of their pieces!

POD teens enjoy some swimming and sunshine during our

end of the summer field trip to the RISD beach in Barrington, RI!

IN THE NEWS

Read more about POD's 2022 summer programs, our alumni exhibition,

and more in the recently published story on risd.edu!

RISD's Project Open Door and the Steel Yard Lead Summer Program | RISD

"Try using the black slip," ceramics instructor Fred Gorman 85 IL* tells students in his Project Open Door (POD) workshop at the Steel Yard. "It's nice and thick, which makes it easy to carve." "The project builds on RISD's existing relationship with the Steel Yard... providing creative teens with facilities, instruction and hands-on experience."

POD TEEN SPOTLIGHT

MEET SHYANNE!

Shyanne is currently in her senior year at William E. Tolman High School in Pawtucket, RI. Shyanne joined POD as a freshman in high school and is the only Saturday Portfolio Program teen this year who has been with POD for all four years of high school! This summer, Shyanne received a POD scholarship to attend RISD's intensive Pre-College program. She majored in photography and had an overall wonderful experience in the program. Shyanne is a talented, dedicated, and dynamic student. She is applying to multiple art schools this year. We are so happy to have her as part of the POD community and can't wait to see what the future holds for her!

See some of the work Shyanne created during Pre-College below!