Nell COX Yates ’02, Visual Arts Educator and Owner of 禽舍陶瓷
It’s no exaggeration to say that Nell COX Yates ’02 sees art everywhere. A secondary art educator since 2009, Nell has spent the past 17 years working with students of all ages and sharing her love of ceramics and 3D design in a variety of studio settings. From serving as the Visual Arts Department Chair at 学校的观点 到拥有和管理 禽舍陶瓷, 小批量陶器工作室, 离开了她在加州的家, this lifer has made a colorful career out of a passion that was sparked in Ellis’ own art studios.
在Ellis工作的时间: | 幼儿园至12年级 |
教育: | B.A. English and Studio Art, University of New Hampshire; M.Ed. Art Education, Lewis and Clark College |
地点: | 文图拉, |
职业: | Visual Arts Educator and Owner of 禽舍陶瓷 |
你对艺术的热爱是从哪里开始的?
My love of art definitely began at Ellis in Ceil Leeper Sturdevant’s 较低的学校 art class. She gave us an amazing opportunity to explore our creative process at such a young age, and I fell deeply in love with creating and getting messy very early on. 晚些时候, in Sara Sturdevant’s Art in Society class, I was opened up to the idea of art history and conceptual art. 我记得我16岁的时候, wandering through the International exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and never having felt so alive as I looked at and analyzed the various 艺术家ic expressions in front of me. 我被迷住了!
What’s an experience or accomplishment that had a significant impact on you?
When I was in college I worked as an intern with a professional potter. I spent four years working in his studio, 安排他的艺术展, 焊接金属代表陶器, 建造窑炉. I went from being a student in the arts to suddenly being catapulted into the art world. It was incredibly empowering and gave me the confidence I needed to stay in the field.
What’s something you learned about the visual arts at Ellis that you find yourself sharing with your own students today?
At the beginning, it’s all about process and exposure. Of course the final product is rewarding, but investing yourself in the process each day and exposing yourself to new experiences, 类, and techniques will give you the skills that you need to really explore the materials in front of you. This foundation taught me to really push myself and helped me flourish in my love for experimentation.
What is your favorite memory of Ellis?
哦，哇，有这么多. I would definitely highlight the Raku firings that we did yearly and the wood firing that we did my senior year. Both of these experiences helped to motivate me in art beyond the walls of the classroom and really showed me the power of experiential education. Also, getting to see my Class of 2002 classmates every day! 我真的认为这是理所当然的.
What’s a lesson you learned or a skill you developed at Ellis that you find especially valuable?
倾听的力量. Throughout Ellis, I always had teachers that would take the time to sit down and listen to me. 我并不总是过得轻松, but I knew that I had the support of my teachers and friends, 这让一切都不一样了.
At Ellis, students are encouraged to be changemakers. In what ways do you think you’re a changemaker?
I’d like to think I am a changemaker in the lives of my students. I find so much joy in helping them find their creative paths in life or even just giving them a space where they can create something with their hands and get away from the craziness of life. Being a teenager in today’s world and managing the amount of societal and academic pressures they have can be overwhelming. I hope my 类 can provide a space where they can find something new about themselves and breathe a little deeper.
If you could travel back in time, what advice would you give yourself as a student?
I think I would tell her to believe in the process. 常常感觉很艰难, but through it all you learn so much about who you are and what you want out of life. This is something I still tell myself every day, but I know I needed to hear it when I was young.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
用心，忠诚，善解人意.
If you could invite any three people from throughout history, 活着还是死了, 去参加晚宴, 你会选择谁，为什么?
- 我的祖母，弗朗西丝. She was an 艺术家 and oil painter and died before I was born. I’d love to talk to her about art and motherhood and how she used her creative process to push herself forward.
- 凯伦圆锥形石垒, an absolutely groundbreaking female potter from the mid-twentieth century whose parents were Polish/Jewish immigrants.
- My daughter, Ada, 15 years from now. 一个积极分子, 艺术家, 现在他才八岁, I can’t wait to hear what she has done to change the world around her.
