Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The process of ideation for 3D art forms can be a particularly intimidating task for students new to studio art — their first impulse is often to mitigate a fear of failure by closely adapting ideas from another source outside themselves. In Williams’ small liberal arts college context, she primarily teaches non-major students in her beginning ceramics courses where she often hears the phrase, “I found this idea on Pinterest…” Within the field of ceramics, failure is a common part of the creative process (even for lifelong professional ceramicists) as things like unintentional cracks, uneven walls, and slumping forms often occur. Williams’ paper explores a pedagogical framework that approaches students’ struggle with ideation through addressing fears of failure. Utilizing a variety of voices familiar with the creative process (i.e. Ira Glass, Anne Lamott, Linda Lopez), celebration of failed attempts, and personal narratives of disaster in the studio, Williams seeks to reframe failure as an integral and rich component of ideation. When experiences of collapsed forms and cracked pieces may seem like wasted time and energy to students, naming these experiences as fruitful and necessary parts of the process allows them to pursue ideation with greater freedom and therefore greater success.