Below is my teaching portfolio for the years 2024-2026, containing work from Sculpture 1A, 1B, and Visual thinking. I also included work from the Independent study I undertook with them.
The images are presented in gallery format, please click the buttons to navigate through.
There are links to youtube videos as well, containing time-based work. I’ve included screenshots as well if video access is not possible.
The images are presented in gallery format, please click the buttons to navigate through.
There are links to youtube videos as well, containing time-based work. I’ve included screenshots as well if video access is not possible.
Graham Krenz
graham.krenz@gmail.com
graham.krenz@gmail.com
The life of a stick
Sculpture 1A: FA2024
You will be provided with two 2x4 pieces of lumber for this assignment, and will have access to any wood from the off-cuts bins in the woodshop.
Using these materials, I would like you to create a form that represents an animal. You will consider how to use lengths of wood and basic joinery techniques to create volume, taking into account negative space, structure, linkage, and the skeletal structure that underpins all vertebrate life. This does not exclude invertebrates- if you believe you can use these materials to present an animal without bones, I encourage you to do so.
Before beginning, please complete a series of plans and sketches showing what you plan to create. You are starting with finite resources for your stick-building project. You will mill your 2x4 lumber using the tablesaw into 1 ½ x 1 ½ lengths.
I ask you to use all the wood you are given. Your plans need to be accurate, to scale, and to reflect the real length of the “stick” available to you.
During the critique, you will present your animal in a habitat appropriate to it.
I expect the animal to be “finished”, using paint, stain, or finishes of your own devising. I will consider bonus points for any finish that is particularly creative or novel.
We are beginning with the humble 2x4 for two reasons: it is inexpensive and common. Inexpensive does not mean cheap, and common does not mean low. In this course, we will learn that the material you start with has no relation to the value of the artwork made from it. The value comes from how you, the artist, alter your media.
Objectives:
To familiarize yourself with our large tools: the tablesaw, chop-saw, bandsaw, and disc/belt sander
To gain an understanding of material budgets and planning
To, through research, understand the structural underpinnings of life itself
To appreciate the forms and geometry of the natural world
Techniques:
Tablesaw ripping and cross-cutting
Chop saw, bevelling and mitering
Bandsaw, curved forms
Sanding, stationary and hand sanding
Joinery, dowels, screws, nails, glue, using our dowel jigs, nail guns, and drills/drivers
Finishing, using stains, paints and dyes
Artists to consider:
- Deborah Butterfield
- Martin Puryear
- Patrick Dougherty
- Giuseppe Penone
- David Altmejd
Readings:
Sculpture 1A: FA2024
You will be provided with two 2x4 pieces of lumber for this assignment, and will have access to any wood from the off-cuts bins in the woodshop.
Using these materials, I would like you to create a form that represents an animal. You will consider how to use lengths of wood and basic joinery techniques to create volume, taking into account negative space, structure, linkage, and the skeletal structure that underpins all vertebrate life. This does not exclude invertebrates- if you believe you can use these materials to present an animal without bones, I encourage you to do so.
Before beginning, please complete a series of plans and sketches showing what you plan to create. You are starting with finite resources for your stick-building project. You will mill your 2x4 lumber using the tablesaw into 1 ½ x 1 ½ lengths.
I ask you to use all the wood you are given. Your plans need to be accurate, to scale, and to reflect the real length of the “stick” available to you.
During the critique, you will present your animal in a habitat appropriate to it.
I expect the animal to be “finished”, using paint, stain, or finishes of your own devising. I will consider bonus points for any finish that is particularly creative or novel.
We are beginning with the humble 2x4 for two reasons: it is inexpensive and common. Inexpensive does not mean cheap, and common does not mean low. In this course, we will learn that the material you start with has no relation to the value of the artwork made from it. The value comes from how you, the artist, alter your media.
Objectives:
To familiarize yourself with our large tools: the tablesaw, chop-saw, bandsaw, and disc/belt sander
To gain an understanding of material budgets and planning
To, through research, understand the structural underpinnings of life itself
To appreciate the forms and geometry of the natural world
Techniques:
Tablesaw ripping and cross-cutting
Chop saw, bevelling and mitering
Bandsaw, curved forms
Sanding, stationary and hand sanding
Joinery, dowels, screws, nails, glue, using our dowel jigs, nail guns, and drills/drivers
Finishing, using stains, paints and dyes
Artists to consider:
- Deborah Butterfield
- Martin Puryear
- Patrick Dougherty
- Giuseppe Penone
- David Altmejd
Readings:
Deborah Butterfield (Robert Gordon, John Yau, Vicki Hearne, intro by Jane Smiley; Harry N. Abrams, 2003) — again, a formal essay contribution, not an interview.
Serial Relief casting
Sculpture 1B, SP2025
You will be creating a series of 3 tiles, cast in plaster, in relief casting tradition. Create a positive from clay that may use a variety of techniques, hand sculpting, impressions, or techniques you discover yourself.
These tiles should create a narrative, or function in a series. You will be working sequentially, as in, you will cast one tile at a time. Work in sequence, demonstrating that you can respond to your own work as you develop it.
The finished tiles should be displayed together. This can be a flat surface, a line, an array, or in more complex ways. Consider things like Zoetropes, animation frames, and more.
Relief sculpture is an ancient and important process. How has relief been used by artists in the past? How is it being used in the present?
With each iteration you are taking a “snapshot”. How does that influence your process? Consider terms like evolution, transformation, metamorphosis
How does working positively/negatively influence your work? The cast tile will be the opposite of your clay positive. Consider this in terms of shadows and space. Allow yourself to experiment, accepting that the transformation from positive to negative may change your own mark-making in new and unfamiliar ways
Will your iterations evolve in a straight line, or will the tiles interlock in new ways based on how you change the positive? Consider the final work and the individual pieces equally
How will you display this work?
Vocabulary:
- Low relief (bas-relief), where the sculpture protrudes only slightly from the surface
- High relief (alto-relief), where the sculpture protrudes half or more of its depth from the surface, and can be entirely proud of the base surface
Sunken relief (intaglio-relief) where the carving is entirely below the base surface
- Statiacciato Relief. Think Donatello. This process uses very subtle relief techniques
- Positive: The original, what you are casting from
- Negative: The casting OF the positive
Artists to consider
- Rachel Whiteread
- Kiki Smith
- Doris Salcedo
- Cornelia Parker (Early 2000’s especially)
- Motawi Tileworks
Sculpture 1B, SP2025
You will be creating a series of 3 tiles, cast in plaster, in relief casting tradition. Create a positive from clay that may use a variety of techniques, hand sculpting, impressions, or techniques you discover yourself.
These tiles should create a narrative, or function in a series. You will be working sequentially, as in, you will cast one tile at a time. Work in sequence, demonstrating that you can respond to your own work as you develop it.
The finished tiles should be displayed together. This can be a flat surface, a line, an array, or in more complex ways. Consider things like Zoetropes, animation frames, and more.
Relief sculpture is an ancient and important process. How has relief been used by artists in the past? How is it being used in the present?
With each iteration you are taking a “snapshot”. How does that influence your process? Consider terms like evolution, transformation, metamorphosis
How does working positively/negatively influence your work? The cast tile will be the opposite of your clay positive. Consider this in terms of shadows and space. Allow yourself to experiment, accepting that the transformation from positive to negative may change your own mark-making in new and unfamiliar ways
Will your iterations evolve in a straight line, or will the tiles interlock in new ways based on how you change the positive? Consider the final work and the individual pieces equally
How will you display this work?
Vocabulary:
- Low relief (bas-relief), where the sculpture protrudes only slightly from the surface
- High relief (alto-relief), where the sculpture protrudes half or more of its depth from the surface, and can be entirely proud of the base surface
Sunken relief (intaglio-relief) where the carving is entirely below the base surface
- Statiacciato Relief. Think Donatello. This process uses very subtle relief techniques
- Positive: The original, what you are casting from
- Negative: The casting OF the positive
Artists to consider
- Rachel Whiteread
- Kiki Smith
- Doris Salcedo
- Cornelia Parker (Early 2000’s especially)
- Motawi Tileworks
Readings:
Lawrence, James. "Solid Recollections: Rachel Whiteread." Gagosian Quarterly, 3 Nov. 2017, https://gagosian.com/quarterly/2017/11/03/solid-recollections-rachel-whiteread/. Accessed 24 July 2026.
Lawrence, James. "Solid Recollections: Rachel Whiteread." Gagosian Quarterly, 3 Nov. 2017, https://gagosian.com/quarterly/2017/11/03/solid-recollections-rachel-whiteread/. Accessed 24 July 2026.
Strategies for Composition
Visual Thinking 1A, FA2025
Materials:
Self-provided objects, glue, X-Acto knives, and other materials at your discretion
Objective:
To introduce students to basic woodshop equipment, and introduce sculptural organization methods, such as:
Hierarchy
Emphasis
Structure
Unity
Proportion
symmetry/asymmetry
Collect 30 objects with similar characteristics. Discuss why they were chosen.
Using these 30 items, make a composition that illustrates each organizational method listed above. Each must use the same collection of 30 items. Use at least 15 of the items from the collection in each piece.
Pick your favourite, and sketch it.
One Orthographic sketch
One perspective sketch showing the full composition
One bird's-eye sketch showing the plan
Finalize your 3D composition of items. Glue them together as needed, and look for ways to enhance the sculpture. Start looking for ways to use supports (think: cardboard, pedestals, pillars, armatures, stands, etc.) from the woodshop or found objects.
Paint or dip your final objects and their supports to match. Decide if you need to paint/dip in advance before gluing together, or if doing it after assembly makes more sense.
The final submission will be an 18”x18” Drawing, collage, painting, or any 2D composition of your choice. Present it alongside your 3D composition. Your final submission is a polished 2D representation of your Sculptural object and a sculptural object, both explaining your chosen strategy of composition.
Visual Thinking 1A, FA2025
Materials:
Self-provided objects, glue, X-Acto knives, and other materials at your discretion
Objective:
To introduce students to basic woodshop equipment, and introduce sculptural organization methods, such as:
Hierarchy
Emphasis
Structure
Unity
Proportion
symmetry/asymmetry
Collect 30 objects with similar characteristics. Discuss why they were chosen.
Using these 30 items, make a composition that illustrates each organizational method listed above. Each must use the same collection of 30 items. Use at least 15 of the items from the collection in each piece.
Pick your favourite, and sketch it.
One Orthographic sketch
One perspective sketch showing the full composition
One bird's-eye sketch showing the plan
Finalize your 3D composition of items. Glue them together as needed, and look for ways to enhance the sculpture. Start looking for ways to use supports (think: cardboard, pedestals, pillars, armatures, stands, etc.) from the woodshop or found objects.
Paint or dip your final objects and their supports to match. Decide if you need to paint/dip in advance before gluing together, or if doing it after assembly makes more sense.
The final submission will be an 18”x18” Drawing, collage, painting, or any 2D composition of your choice. Present it alongside your 3D composition. Your final submission is a polished 2D representation of your Sculptural object and a sculptural object, both explaining your chosen strategy of composition.
Artists to Consider:
- Jason Rhoades
- Armand Pierre Fernandez
- J ohn Chamberlain
Readings:
Judd, Donald. Specific Objects. 1964. Judd Foundation, https://juddfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Specific_Objects_1964.pdf. Accessed 24 July 2026
- Armand Pierre Fernandez
- J ohn Chamberlain
Readings:
Judd, Donald. Specific Objects. 1964. Judd Foundation, https://juddfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Specific_Objects_1964.pdf. Accessed 24 July 2026
Fanciful Tool
Sculpture 1B - SP2025
In the spirit of artist Pippa Garner, a conceptual artist who radically modified consumer goods to a point of satire, we will create a tool that responds to an absurd situation.
We will be using all of our metal and casting knowledge to fabricate a tool that you will then demonstrate. The demonstration can be a performance that is part of the piece itself, and the presentation can be as important as the work itself.
The scale I leave open to you, but keep in mind that you have to manage the disposal or transport of anything you make.
This cannot be a tool that already exists.
The activity must be an activity for which a tool does not already exist.
Sculptures can be made with ¼ round bar steel and sheet steel, found metal, and cast elements. Manage your time, as you will be juggling a lot. Present your plan to me in advance.
Objectives:
- To introduce ourselves to the concept of Object Hacking
- To synthesize all we have learned in this class into a single idea
- To expand our metal working skills to include welding, plasma cuttong, and hot working
Artists to Consider:
- Pippa Garner
- Aki Sasamoto
Sculpture 1B - SP2025
In the spirit of artist Pippa Garner, a conceptual artist who radically modified consumer goods to a point of satire, we will create a tool that responds to an absurd situation.
We will be using all of our metal and casting knowledge to fabricate a tool that you will then demonstrate. The demonstration can be a performance that is part of the piece itself, and the presentation can be as important as the work itself.
The scale I leave open to you, but keep in mind that you have to manage the disposal or transport of anything you make.
This cannot be a tool that already exists.
The activity must be an activity for which a tool does not already exist.
Sculptures can be made with ¼ round bar steel and sheet steel, found metal, and cast elements. Manage your time, as you will be juggling a lot. Present your plan to me in advance.
Objectives:
- To introduce ourselves to the concept of Object Hacking
- To synthesize all we have learned in this class into a single idea
- To expand our metal working skills to include welding, plasma cuttong, and hot working
Artists to Consider:
- Pippa Garner
- Aki Sasamoto
Readings:
Dorris, Jesse. "Pippa Garner Talks Gender Hacking, Selling Yourself, and American Ingenuity." Surface, 13 Nov. 2023, https://primaryinformation.org/pi/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231113_PI_Surface_Garner.pdf.
Dorris, Jesse. "Pippa Garner Talks Gender Hacking, Selling Yourself, and American Ingenuity." Surface, 13 Nov. 2023, https://primaryinformation.org/pi/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231113_PI_Surface_Garner.pdf.
Deconstructed/Reconstructed Project
Visual Thinking 1A - SP 2025
Objective:
We will use various methods to create a work that transforms a found object and alters its structure to gain an understanding of the meanings inherent in everyday objects and how these meanings can be altered through artistic intervention.
Materials:
A found object larger than a watermelon but smaller than a golden retriever, fasteners, glue, and other materials at your discretion.
Assignment:
Break/deconstruct a found object, and reassemble it in a new way. You may include additional materials as fasteners. Is the method of attachment visible or not? What does that do for the piece? Explain to us how the object’s meaning has been transformed. What does the new object signify?
Artists to Consider:
- Taylor Baldwin
- Brian Jungen
- Félix González-Torres,
- Noah Purifoy
Visual Thinking 1A - SP 2025
Objective:
We will use various methods to create a work that transforms a found object and alters its structure to gain an understanding of the meanings inherent in everyday objects and how these meanings can be altered through artistic intervention.
Materials:
A found object larger than a watermelon but smaller than a golden retriever, fasteners, glue, and other materials at your discretion.
Assignment:
Break/deconstruct a found object, and reassemble it in a new way. You may include additional materials as fasteners. Is the method of attachment visible or not? What does that do for the piece? Explain to us how the object’s meaning has been transformed. What does the new object signify?
Artists to Consider:
- Taylor Baldwin
- Brian Jungen
- Félix González-Torres,
- Noah Purifoy
Readings:
Jones, Kellie. "Claim: Assemblage and Self-Possession." South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, Duke University Press, 2017, pp. 67–138.
Jones, Kellie. "Claim: Assemblage and Self-Possession." South of Pico: African American Artists in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, Duke University Press, 2017, pp. 67–138.
3D Multiples Casting
Sculpture 1B: SP2025
Description:
As an evolution of our first assignment, we’ll be creating more complicated molds of more complex objects. We’ll be starting by selecting found or crafted objects, evaluating their suitability for casting, and building molds of those objects. Once we have our molds, we’ll be casting multiples of them. Using those copies, we will then create a collection or assemblage, taking full advantage of the ability to create multiples.
You may select an original object to cast, or a found item. These objects should ideally be no larger than 6”x6”x6”, but can be as small as you’d like. Keep in mind, a smaller object may make the mold more difficult to build.
Objectives:
Our goal with this project is to become more comfortable with complicated mold building processes, and casting in new materials. At the end of assignment 1 and 2, you should have an understanding of working in multiples and 3D assemblage.
Artists to consider:
- Azza Al Siddique
- Rachel Whiteread
- David Altmejd (those of you from my 1A class will remember my fondness for David’s work)
- Allan McCollum
- Rona Pondick
- John Ahearn
Reading:
Gonzalez-Torres, Felix. Interview by Ross Bleckner. "Felix Gonzalez-Torres." BOMB Magazine, no. 51, Spring 1995, bombmagazine.org/articles/1995/04/01/felix-gonzalez-torres/.
Sculpture 1B: SP2025
Description:
As an evolution of our first assignment, we’ll be creating more complicated molds of more complex objects. We’ll be starting by selecting found or crafted objects, evaluating their suitability for casting, and building molds of those objects. Once we have our molds, we’ll be casting multiples of them. Using those copies, we will then create a collection or assemblage, taking full advantage of the ability to create multiples.
You may select an original object to cast, or a found item. These objects should ideally be no larger than 6”x6”x6”, but can be as small as you’d like. Keep in mind, a smaller object may make the mold more difficult to build.
Objectives:
Our goal with this project is to become more comfortable with complicated mold building processes, and casting in new materials. At the end of assignment 1 and 2, you should have an understanding of working in multiples and 3D assemblage.
Artists to consider:
- Azza Al Siddique
- Rachel Whiteread
- David Altmejd (those of you from my 1A class will remember my fondness for David’s work)
- Allan McCollum
- Rona Pondick
- John Ahearn
Reading:
Gonzalez-Torres, Felix. Interview by Ross Bleckner. "Felix Gonzalez-Torres." BOMB Magazine, no. 51, Spring 1995, bombmagazine.org/articles/1995/04/01/felix-gonzalez-torres/.
Time: Material & Performance
Visual Thinking SP2025
Objective:
To demonstrate the ability to visually communicate the concept of “time” within various methods. To illustrate the nuances of “time” related to implied time, actual time, chronology, and narrative.
Using the definition of time:
the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues: duration, a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events that succeed one another from past through present to future) show through three different processes/methods/means the same narrative.
You will create a time-based project that explains these concepts using an action, concept, or object that is meaningful to you.
Use actual time (i.e. performance/video documentation of performance, a “happening”, kinetic sculpture, etc.);
Use the idea of a sequence/chronology and show implied time.
Consider how the viewer’s perception of time changes with different presentation methods. Use the same initial concept/event for both pieces.
Vocabulary:
Time, chronology, action, narrative, duration, actual time, implied time, sequence, tempo, matrix, happening, performance, ephemeral, impermanence, shapeshifting, static
Artists to Consider-
- Hélio Oiticica:
- Bruce Nauman
- Rineke Dijkstra
- Alex Bag
- Cai Guo-Qiang
- Kate Gilmore
- David Hammons
- Bruce Nauman
- Stephanie Syjuco
Readings:
Kaprow, Allan. How to Make a Happening. 1966. Primary Information, 2008.
Sasamoto, Aki. "Aki Sasamoto: 'I Enjoy How Much I Can Push Meaning with the Wrong Answers.'" Interview by Rosalyn D'Mello, Studio International, 2017, www.studiointernational.com/index.php/aki-sasamoto-interview.
Visual Thinking SP2025
Objective:
To demonstrate the ability to visually communicate the concept of “time” within various methods. To illustrate the nuances of “time” related to implied time, actual time, chronology, and narrative.
Using the definition of time:
the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues: duration, a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events that succeed one another from past through present to future) show through three different processes/methods/means the same narrative.
You will create a time-based project that explains these concepts using an action, concept, or object that is meaningful to you.
Use actual time (i.e. performance/video documentation of performance, a “happening”, kinetic sculpture, etc.);
Use the idea of a sequence/chronology and show implied time.
Consider how the viewer’s perception of time changes with different presentation methods. Use the same initial concept/event for both pieces.
Vocabulary:
Time, chronology, action, narrative, duration, actual time, implied time, sequence, tempo, matrix, happening, performance, ephemeral, impermanence, shapeshifting, static
Artists to Consider-
- Hélio Oiticica:
- Bruce Nauman
- Rineke Dijkstra
- Alex Bag
- Cai Guo-Qiang
- Kate Gilmore
- David Hammons
- Bruce Nauman
- Stephanie Syjuco
Readings:
Kaprow, Allan. How to Make a Happening. 1966. Primary Information, 2008.
Sasamoto, Aki. "Aki Sasamoto: 'I Enjoy How Much I Can Push Meaning with the Wrong Answers.'" Interview by Rosalyn D'Mello, Studio International, 2017, www.studiointernational.com/index.php/aki-sasamoto-interview.
Independent Study and Mentorship
I worked with a senior BFA student majoring in Sculpture on their thesis, helping them develop the skills needed to complete their final project. They had a particular interest in wood-carving and sculpture, and through a series of meetings and critiques over the course of the year, they helped them create these pieces. I treated this as an independent study course, showing them artists relevant to their practice, and consulting with them on the best way to lay out their show to express their ideas.
I worked with a senior BFA student majoring in Sculpture on their thesis, helping them develop the skills needed to complete their final project. They had a particular interest in wood-carving and sculpture, and through a series of meetings and critiques over the course of the year, they helped them create these pieces. I treated this as an independent study course, showing them artists relevant to their practice, and consulting with them on the best way to lay out their show to express their ideas.