Sara Semcheski- January 18, 2010
The installation process was great despite having to reconstruct the structure in the quad. It was so satisfying to see all our ideas and plans come into form and it was fun to climb up on them while we were working and see the view from the top of the structures. It was discouraging to see the vandalism that was done to the quad structure since our group worked so hard to create it. I was definitely surprised by the reactions that the structures received, mainly the quad structure. I didn't expect people to be so offended by it, although it was kind of exciting to have caused such strong feelings even though they were negative. Although I hope reactions to our second project are more on the positive side, I hope it creates as much interest.

Rachel Eck - January 11, 2010
The experience of working within the confines of the Creative Collaborative group has been both enlightening and disconcerting. The intention of the CCG in constructing the first hay bale sculptures was to share a conceptual idea with the wider community. Therefore, all reactions, positive or otherwise, are not to be viewed as an affront to the project, but rather as an inherent component in an inevitable visual conversation. I was pleased to discover the vigor of the opinions voiced by many students and faculty, but was disappointed in the juvenility of their tone and lack of support in some of their arguments. I was hoping for a more civil conversation about the constitution of art. The whole notion of this project is its experimental nature; this lends the project a sense of instability and unpredictability that perhaps leaves viewers irritated in the face of the unknown. It is ironic that the CCG did indeed plan this project so that it could relate to the materials and motifs known throughout the wider community: the hay bales are part of the visual vernacular of the Lebanon area in general. On the whole, the goal of the sculpture was not to garner support or to instigate controversy, but rather to be evaluated by whoever was willing to look. Some individuals did look, did not appreciate what they saw, and they responded. In doing so, they participated in what the CCG was hoping would be a dialogue. Although this conversation eventually devolved into a sense of hostility for some viewers, it was only a part of the ephemeral processes which ultimately comprised the whole of this artistic product. The ongoing debate, acceptance, rejection, destruction and revision of the hay bale sculptures are a larger illustration of the give-and-take which any artist must undergo to manifest an idea.

Sara Semcheski- October 19, 2009
I was pretty excited to be a part of this project when we first started talking about it even though it was still unclear about what exactly we would be doing. I was a little starved for ideas over the summer when we were making sketches, but after seeing the ideas of other members of the group I was able to expand on what we were picturing. I think I'm more excited about starting production, there is a great satisfaction when you see an idea take form. I'm also glad that I get to have this experience doing a public art production so that I have this knowledge to offer to my students. Its great to get to work with the other members of the group. I think that everyone has a different style and that will just make the productions that much more interesting.

Stephen Campbell - October 15, 2009
I find interesting the journey of taking a conceptual idea to reality.  This road is long for the public art project; in art I am so accustomed to drawing on paper, where the paper readily accepts the idea I have in my mind, that I had not given the process much thought.  I found that my best thoughts for the public art sculpture, even if I drew them on paper, were stymied with the demands of reality.  For example, hay bales, the element with which we will construct a sculpture, are massive enough that one must consider in what ways it is possible to stack and position them, even with the help of a crane.  More possibilities opened up if I could have a steel frame to support internally a structure of hay bales.  But this option had its drawbacks, one of which was cost, a major player in the creation of public art.  Another issue I was confronted with was safety--in one of my ideas, I wanted people to walk inside of an enclosed cylinder of hay bales, yet this would be dangerous in reality.  In sum, public art has many large constraints, but instead of feeling limited by them, the artist can be pushed to better work by these constraints.  Sometimes the most creative, ingenious work is made not when the artist is actually able to execute his or her first idea, but when the artist by outside constraints is forced to refine and reinvent.  Thus, the very limitations of public art can become an energizing part of the process, and thus become part of the art itself.

Rachel Eck - October 13, 2009
I am fascinated by this project in the fact that it involves the interplay of organic materials, a public space, and the concerted effort of a team of individuals. Instead of the singular vision of a particular artist, this project requires that a diverse group of people pool their expertise, resources, and visual vocabularies to produce one harmonious result. I am excited by some of the initial ideas and research that my fellow team members have come up with, and I look forward to what the finished installation will entail. Public art is a new experience for me, and it seems that it is more about a sustained dialogue with a particular community than a concrete statement by an individual artist: this certainly opens up a wide array of possibilities for the meaning and reception of the piece that the group is going to create.  

Jonathan Gingrich - October 9th, 2009
I have always thought of art as an individual pursuit and have never worked on an art project as a group.  While I’ve seen artists look to others for inspiration at times, the collaborative nature of this project allows everyone involved to feed off of each others’ ideas and receive immediate feedback.  This allows every member to have their input, but also to take from this project others’ thoughts and gain an understanding of the varying methods of completing works.

Grant Taylor - September 2nd, 2009
In the concept stage, I was surprised at how creative the student researchers were in comparison to me. Their drawings and computer models were far more innovative than mine. I began to reflect on my experience in public art and multi-media installation. I realized that in the conception stage, I had begun to filter my ideas through my knowledge of public safety and budget restraints. I realized that this knowledge was limiting my imagination, and that I needed to delimit my initial ideas.