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other people’s work. After the body of work in grad school when I had
to dwell upon these dark ideas it was a welcomed change to focus on
something else that wasn’t me.”
After working with the foundry for a time, Reanna was offered a
job at the University of Oregon. She reminisces that packing up and
moving that far away in such a short time seemed absurd, but after
accepting the job and getting there; it didn’t feel absurd. Her job title
with the University of Oregon is Sculpture Studio Technician and
this kind of work is very familiar. While she was at UM, she found
herself leading most of the metal casting as well as teaching 3D Design.
Currently, at University of Oregon, her focus is to help students and
faculty in the studio, lead demos on shop equipment and power tools
in the wood shop and metal shop, maintain the studio, and order and
acquire all supplies for sculpture courses. “I love teaching students
how to do things. Knowledge is such an empowering thing; especially
in an intimidating field.” Her favorite thing about teaching is seeing
the students filled with excitement when they feel confident in doing
things. “It’s gratifying. I feel fortunate that I have this job. It’s fulfilling.”
As for personal projects, Reanna is ready for a new body of work
but isn’t quite sure what that will be yet. She has been life casting,
which is casting body parts, in metal and using them as components
to larger works. “It’s often times when you cast an object, that is the
art. That’s the sculpture.” Reanna likes to cast parts that become a
component to a larger piece, such as the installation of her cloud
work from grad school. The cloud work featured casted hands which
served as hardware but they also provided a function to the piece –
conceptually and physically. Currently she is casting feet, her own feet
to be exact. She’s currently toying with the idea of using the feet as a
part of a piece dealing with conductivity and weather – possibly quite
literally – but hasn’t fully developed the idea. “It’s a hubristic idea – to
attract a volatile part of weather.” This comes from something she has
noticed since living in three drastically different regions; the Midwest,
the west, and then the pacific northwest; the climate and weather have
an impact on the general mental state of mind. South Dakota, for
example, has volatile weather. “People think South Dakota is boring
but I think it’s fascinating and exciting and dangerous because of
its weather.” The west has some of those things, but there are some
differences. And even more drastically different is Oregon where
there is not as much of a clash of different fronts. “Oregon has no
thunderstorms…or it’s rare. That makes me sad.”
University of South Dakota brought Reanna back to South Dakota
to be a Visiting Artist at the end of March. She started the visit by
giving a guest lecture where she reviewed her history of work. She also
talked about the privileges she had and the experiences that helped
shape her while at USD, why she went to grad school, what she did in
grad school, and the kind of work she did and what she’s been doing
since then. After that, she helped coordinate the copper pour, a metal
that has never before been cast at USD. Reanna built a lot of her skills
as a sculptor in undergrad but she learned to pour copper in Montana
because they didn’t always have access to bronze. Reanna also met with
individual students to give critiques and discuss their work while she
was visiting.
Even though bronze is a major improvement on copper, there
is a recycling factor to copper. In Montana, Reanna could go to the
recycling center to buy copper and then melt it down to cast it whereas
bronze is a more expensive metal. The melting of copper is also a bit
different than melting bronze as you need a layer of glass to protect
it. When melting bronze, you just have bronze but copper needs to
be hotter than bronze, which can prove difficult to do with a furnace
indoors, so you need the glass layer to protect it from burning off and
oxidizing. As a friend of Reanna’s, I have seen my fair share of bronze
pours and I can assure you it is awe-inspiring. There is a warm heat
during the process from the furnace and then you watch the teamwork
of the people who lift the molten metal to quickly pour into the casts
that are buried in the sand. There needs to be a trust between the
people pouring because you have to move quickly but you have to be
safe.
The best thing Reanna loves about her time at USD is the
connection to the art community within USD. “USD has been the
best I’ve been a part of.” Not only is there the connection within the
Fine Arts building but it provides a connection outside of campus
among these people. Little Pour on the Prairie is an iron pour that
the sculpture professor, Chris Meyer, does every summer. “It’s like a
reunion labor camp. There’s not many events like an iron pour. It’s this
massive organization of labor, skills, and people. It’s a major endeavor
and it’s so rewarding. It’s a lot of trust and bonding. It’s irreplaceable
and I’m super grateful for it.” Working on anything without the
support of friends and peers is hard enough but working in sculpture
without that reinforcement is impossible. “Something you can’t really
do beyond academia, beyond a facility or community, is casting by
yourself.” n
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