Susannah Goodman
Artist-Potter, Art Educator, MCACA Council MemberA teacher and artist committed to community arts engagement through innovative and impactful programs, utilizing a breadth and depth of studio art experience along with a dedication to equity and inclusion in the classroom.
Professional Experience
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Lansing, MI
o Council Member – September 2013 – September 2016
Gubernatorial appointment, advising on the dispersal of grant monies to arts organizations statewide. Liaison to New Leaders sub-council, member of Art Education Committee. Participant in yearly grant review panels. Collaborated in development of new grant program for equipment and supplies for K-12 teachers. Site visits to grant awardees, along with outreach to future grant applicants. Participant in monthly National Association of State Arts Agencies professional development programs. Political advocate on behalf of MCACA at both the state and federal level.
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
o Gallery Teacher – June 2014 – ongoing
Developing new programs for museum’s K-12 in-gallery experiences, along with the production of framing curricula for classroom teachers’ use in preparation for and reflection on the museum visit. Giving common-core and information based tours of the museum’s encyclopedic collection, along with learner-centered and inquiry-based Visual Thinking Strategies experiences in the galleries. Peer coaching for best practices. Conceiving and implementing new evaluation and assessment systems for museum educators.
o School Group Loggia Facilitator – February 2013 – June 2014
Communicating with teachers in planning field trips, preparing students and chaperones for the museum experience. On-site organization of arrivals, tours, docents, lunch schedules, and departures. Expediant cross-departmental problem-solving. Working within the Group Reservations Department to schedule and book student and senior groups. Assisting in attendance tracking for Tri-County Art Authorities to ensure fulfillment of millage-related commitments.
Ladybug Studios, Detroit, MI
o Studio Manager, Vice President of Facilities – July 2012 – ongoing
Facilitating monthly outreach activities, including community drop-ins, Empty Bowls fundraisers, and special-group clay classes. Teaching wheel-throwing classes to members and drop-in participants. Cultivating community partnerships with neighborhood organizations involved in recreation, social enterprise, workforce development, and the arts. Coordinating communication among co-op members, with a focus on the technical workings of the studio including organizing studio work-nights, maintaining studio workspace and daily functions.
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
o Education Studio Teacher – June 2013 – ongoing
– Conceiving, proposing, and teaching a variety of classes and workshops for both adults and youth onsite in the Pewabic Pottery Education Studio. Focusing on building wheel-throwing skills, classes have focused on throwing large forms through a variety of techniques; ‘accessories,’ thoughtful handles, spouts, lids and additions; and altering forms on the wheel.
o Youth Outreach Teacher – September 2012 – ongoing
– Coordinated and implemented a curriculum of after-school clay classes – incorporating pottery, sculpture, art history, science, music and social studies into hands-on art-making experiences. Worked at multiple sites in the Detroit Public Schools, focusing on 3rd through 8th grade.
– Developed and taught a common-core derived Pre-K curriculum. Lessons include shapes, colors, alphabet, homes, families, emotions and nutrition. Observable outcomes include language development, fine motor skill acquisition, visual and auditory processing, cognitive and emotional development.
Heidelberg Project, Detroit, MI
o Arts, Community and Environmental Education Docent – December 2012 – June 2013
Partnered with third-grade classrooms to teach lessons inspired by Tyree Guyton’s installation. Led educational activities and class tours at the Heidelberg Project site, followed by art-making in the classroom using recycled materials. Lesson plans featured units on community engagement, music, watercolor portraiture, homelessness, storytelling, and civics.
Garage Cultural, Detroit, MI
o Ceramic Arts Teacher – July 2012 – September 2012
Developed curricula and taught a set of clay classes for youth and adults in both Spanish and English. With an emphasis on inter-generational and inter-cultural arts experiences, classes tied into other activities at this arts-focused Latino community center, including break-dancing, carpentry, and music.
Tye River Elementary, Arrington, VA
o Artist in Residence – September 2010 – May 2012
Developed and implemented curriculum for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade Gifted Visual Art program; units included scenic design, book binding, ceramics, fibers, printmaking, and macramé, all utilizing recycled or innovative materials. Collaborated with classroom teachers to build curriculum-integrated lesson plans. Engaged students in conversations and critiques discussing a broad range of aesthetic concepts. Designed, coordinated, and facilitated the creation and installation of a community tile mural installation.
Holden Village, Retreat Center, Chelan, WA
o Crafts Coordinator – June 2009 – August 2010
Created and taught daily crafts classes in wide-ranging media for children and adults. Maintained weaving, basketry, fibers, and pottery studios. Ordered supplies and managed finances for above studios. Managed and trained a staff of eight volunteers. Developed a curriculum and taught two semesters of High-school ceramics classes for the Chelan County Public School onsite. Maintained schedule of private pottery lessons for professional development program within retreat center staff. Conceptualized and coordinated
community art projects, including liturgical worship space decorations, a nine-panel stained-glass door installation, and a community-wide art collection for gallery exhibition.
Workshops and Presentations
Teen Wheel, Wheel-thrown pottery class for high school students
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI, July-August 2013
Passport to Pottery, Youth arts summer camp
Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI, July-August 2013
Demonstrating Artist, Family Sunday, Wheel demonstration and youth workshop
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI, July 2012
Introduction to Wood-fired Pottery, Lecture and hands-on workshop
Grosse Pointe South High School, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, June 2012, 2013
Glaze Formulation and Materials, Lecture
Holden Village Craft Cave, Chelan, WA, June 2010
Throwing Large: Bowls and Platters, Alumni Art Exchange, demonstration and workshop
Guilford College, Greensboro, NC, January 2010
Education
Detroit Future Schools Workshops, Allied Media Projects
Detroit, MI January & April 2014
The RIDA Institute: education theory lectures with Grace Lee Boggs of the Boggs Center, Nate Walker of the American Federation of Teachers, and Patrick Camangian, Ph.D. of the University of San Francisco’s Department of Education. Emphasis on Paolo Freire’s critical pedagogy and classroom practices which nurture participatory learning. Network Gatherings: workshops on arts-infused lesson plans and medialiterate classrooms, student focus-groups and collective visioning on strengthening school communities.
Visual Thinking Strategies Workshop, Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit, MI, August 2013
Intensive exploration of teaching strategies developed by the Visual Understanding in Education Initiative. Training in the facilitation of Thinking Through Art encounters in both museum and classroom settings. This learner-centered and inquiry-based approach to aesthetics inspires critical thinking, develops public speaking and social skills, and deepens interpretive thinking cross-disciplinarily.
Apprentice to Kevin Crowe, Tye River Pottery
Amherst, VA, September 2010 – June 2012
A work/learning partnership, working side-by-side with the master potter 40-50 hours per week. Produced own work, utilizing studio methods, materials, and kiln firings; maintained studio.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Ceramics Focus), Guilford College,
Greensboro, NC, 2009
Honors Scholar and recipient of Nereus C. English Trust Fund Award
Ceramics I Teaching Assistant
Work-Study Studio Technician
A student of Charlie Tefft, workshops with Michael Hunt, Hajimu Kato, and Kevin Crowe. Assisted with hands-on beginner wheel-throwing instruction, facilitation of critiques, and grading of student work. Coordinated and implemented kiln loading and firing schedules, implemented studio maintenance workdays among students. Coordinated within the Art Department to install the Annual Juried Student Show.
Study Abroad, Cortona, Italy, University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art
Spring 2008
Art history immersion program with a focus on Medieval and Renaissance Italian art. Studied functional pottery with local materials while researching the history of Tuscan and Umbrian pottery.
Ongoing Memberships, Community Involvement & Service
Repair the World, Detroit Community Faculty Member
Michigan Ceramic Art Association
Detroit Artists Market
Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Board Member
Detroit Central City Community Mental Health, Volunteer art therapy teacher
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, Detroit, MI, Education and Social Action Committee Member
Detroit Interfaith Outreach Network & Riverfront East Congregational Initiative
susannah goodman 