Sometimes one day is not enough to celebrate a milestone birthday. So for its centennial, Otis College of Art and Design is throwing the 100% Festival, a two-day bash this weekend packed with panels, workshops and a maker’s mart that invites the whole community to come onto campus.
“It’s a celebration plus a kind of introduction, introductory lessons in art and design for anybody,” says Otis College President Bruce Ferguson. “Here, you get a chance to make a pot and do stuff that our students do every day. It shows that our education is not just for people who get a degree.”
On Saturday and Sunday, members of the public can learn how to paint ceramics by hand, code a digital fire extinguisher or learn how to take professional-style photos on their smartphones, in addition to perusing artisan wares in a maker’s marketplace or hearing from the likes of creatives such as KCRW’s Garth Trinidad or DeviantArt’s Chief Creative Office Justin Maller.
Joan Takayama-Ogawa, a 32-year member of Otis’ faculty, will lead ceramics workshops and moderate a discussion with bodysuit designer and Otis alumna Bao Tranchi.
“I’m going to teach very traditional ways of painting clay,” says Takayama-Ogawa. “And then my students will also be working simultaneously. So people can visit the clay studio and see every stage of the process, from working with moist clay to glazing.”
Opening up the creative process to the community is one mission of Otis’ 100% Festival and Find Your 100 campaign, which includes an open call to artists and creatives to submit their artwork for display in a digital gallery called “100 Projects” (next deadline is Dec. 1), and a monthly #FindYour100 social media challenge that anyone with a smartphone can participate in.