Phyllis Schwartz

Discipline: Visual Arts
Homebase: Victoria
Languages: English
Grant Eligibility: Eligible to apply for AIC

My art career includes photography, ceramics and publishing. At Emily Carr University, I consolidated these interests with a concentration in photography. Since 2005, I worked as an artist-in-residence in Lower Mainland schools. I maintained a long-term residency at Tupper Secondary School, where I continued my experimentation in glaze development and surface design. I explore glaze materials and effects in sculptural and functional forms in my ceramic practice. Now located on Vancouver Island, I continue this work in my studio. This work allows me to share the social history and ecology of BC ceramics and the connection between earth materials, art, and technology. Recent lumen print residencies allowed students to experiment with a hybrid photo-printmaking process to document their natural and consumer environments. view a residency as an opportunity to work collaboratively with teachers and students to negotiate learning opportunities for all partners on a shared learning journey. I am currently an artist-member of the Metchosin ArtPod, where my 2-D and 3-D work are regularly exhibited.

Classroom Residency(ies)

Document the Natural World using Alternative Photography

School Year: 24-25

Using a hybrid photography process, students will document their environment and experiment with cyanotype and lumen print techniques to learn to control this unique hybrid print making process. They will also have an opportunity to make handmade negatives that can be digitized. It is also possible to extend this project into a book arts project using these prints. This photo printmaking process can be linked to various curricular areas: science, social studies and language arts. .

Say It in Clay

School Year: 24-25

Curricular based ceramic residencies include instruction in clay modeling and hand-building techniques: pinch, coil and slab. Final products can be finished with glaze or alternative materials. Activities are suitable for individual skill development as well as class and group projects in which students work in design teams. Activities provide students tactile experiences that are opportunities to develop spatial reasoning skills, experiment with structural forms and challenge the imagination. Through a variety of activities, students observe and inquire about the nature and sources of ceramic materials as well as local history of ceramics. Previous residencies include altered bowls, clay critters in the garden, masks and myths, shoes in stone, porcelain carving and raku firings.

Testimonials & Reviews

Phyllis Schwartz, a master teacher, has been been an Artists in Residence in Vancouver Schools through our programs since 2004. Her approach has received excellent feedback from all the diverse cultural settings that occur within our organization. Her approach engages students by drawing on their own background and orientation through the process of making art, and then sharing this within the framework of the classroom. Peggy Bochun, Vancouver District Fine and Performing Arts Coordinator, Vancouver, BC

Phyllis worked with students in Grades 1, 5, 6, and 7 in a curriculum-based, photo-lumen impressions class. The experience was amazing. Not only did Phyllis work with the children regarding the fundamentals of art and photography, but she challenged them to see their environment in a whole new way. The results were beyond exceptional. The children learned a new art form but also developed an increase in self-esteem and pride in their completed works. Ria Terins, Coordinator, École Braemar

Working with Phyllis as an artist in resident at Kitsilano Secondary School has been a rewarding and educational experience for both my students and myself. Approaching the themes/content/skills with an experimental and open ended approach, the students are lead through a process of discovery which keeps them engaged and curious to learn more. Sandra Sugimoto, Kitsilano Secondary

Browse Artists Directory