The University of Oregon Saturday figure drawing group, free and open for 20 years to anyone wanting to sculpt, paint or draw nude figures, is no more. In response, Lane Community College is expanding their offerings to accommodate.

A week before fall term started, Carla Bengston, head of the UO Department of Art, emailed the group volunteer coordinator, Will Mitchell, concerning the open drawing sessions on campus. “Their concerns naturally suggested that we, as a group, have done something wrong but they said ‘No, that was not the case,’ but instead they had concerns about this group being a liability,” Mitchell said. “They said they were concerned about the general public coming onto the campus and there was a naked person involved.”

“The university said that they had been getting some strange phone calls, but I also heard that these calls weren’t really from creeps or weirdos,” local artist David Straton said. “It was just from people who were interested in modeling and they didn’t know about modeling till they saw the flyer about the open session on campus.”

Maya Benezer, recent UO graduate, does nude modeling for the UO art class and the LCC figure drawing sessions. She was present at the last UO Saturday figure drawing session. “I was modeling the weekend they got the announcement that the sessions would be cancelled,” Benezer said. “It was one of the best sessions that I ever modeled for; everyone was super friendly and nice. I got more jobs in other modeling places and it was probably the highest paying job.”

The weekly sessions at UO typically drew 30-35 people. “There was never any harassment issue,” Benezer said. “If somebody accidentally walked in the room, they would freak out seeing a nude model and then walk away.” Figure drawing classes, open only for UO credit students, still continue from Monday through Friday.

Local artist Don Houghton wrote a letter to the UO Department of Art, asking for reasons behind cancelling the session. The acting dean, Brook Muller, wrote back the next day saying that it was for financial reasons and for the safety of the models.

“They wrote they were worried about the models being exhibitionist and people looking at them in a weird way,” Houghton said. “It was ridiculous; we are all just artists, not rapists.”

LCC is welcoming all people from the UO group to their figure drawing session on Saturday. “People needed a venue to draw,” LCC studio arts faculty member, Satoko Motouji said. “After they terminated the class at UO, we moved all our sessions to Saturdays so that the people who used to go to UO can come over here.”

The LCC figure drawing sessions and the Buckner drawing group are both held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Building 10.

The Buckner drawing group, a nude figure sculpting and drawing session is coordinated by LCC Media Arts Faculty member Jan Halvorsen. “This is a long standing tradition in art to have an open figure session,” Halvorsen said. “That’s why I think people were so shocked when UO cancelled theirs.”

The sessions at LCC are open to the public and the cost is $3-$5 per person for each session.

(Link to the original article http://www.lcctorch.com/2014/11/college-welcomes-figure-drawing-refugees/)

Balinese dance, with its complex footwork and finger movements, expressive gestures and facial expressions, is offered at Lane Community College by lead dance instructor Bonnie Simoa.

“The Balinese dance is rare and almost extinct and you learn it by mimicry and repetition,” Simoa said.

Simoa visited Bali in 1996 and met the last surviving Balinese dance teacher, 87 year old Sang Ayu Ketut Muklen. Since that first meeting she has returned to Bali many times to learn more about the dance and Indonesian culture.

“In Balinese dance I am dancing a character and there is a certain kind of energy that flows through me and a certain way I connect with space and I lose my identity. My personality recedes and the character comes forward,” Simoa said. “It’s so complicated that my mind is focused on what I am doing.”

In 2010 Simoa took a sabbatical from LCC to study the Balinese dance for four months. “I feel with anything, the more you understand something, the more you appreciate it,” Simoa said.

Since 1999 she has been teaching choreography, modern dance, rehearsal and performance, ballet and dance improvisation at LCC. For the last four years she has also been teaching Balinese dance.

Last summer, students from Simoa’s Balinese dance class were invited by the Indonesian government to perform in the Bali Arts Festival. She and six students took intensive dance lessons during their four week visit from four Balinese dance teachers: Ibu Arini, Pak Djimat, Ibu Sekar and Sang Ayu Ketut Muklen.

“Learning from these dance masters was (an) incredible blessing,” Erin Elder, a 2014 UO graduate said. “They have been practicing their entire lives, and the movements are completely integrated into their being.” They also performed live with a gamelan orchestra.

Elder first saw a Balinese dance performance during LCC’s open show in spring 2011 when Simoa’s dance class was performing a sacred offering dance called Rejang Dewa.

“I instantly fell in love with the music, movements and gestures of the dance and decided to enroll in the Balinese dance class for the following fall term,” Elder said. She added that she was completely mesmerized by it and continued to take the class every term for three years.

“Throughout my time in the dance studio, while learning from Bonnie I have become a stronger dancer and a stronger woman.” Elder said.

Since 2002, Simoa has been the director of the Lane Dance Company, which hires Lane students to perform at the Collaborations Dance concert. The concert is held every year at LCC in February.

Next March, Simoa and 15 students from her rehearsal and performance class will be going to the American college dance festival in Greeley, Colorado.

“Bonnie gave me a lot of opportunity to perform and create my own dance,” second year dance major Elana Sutton said. “She gives you a chance to express your dance through your own movements.”

Sutton met Simoa for the first time while auditioning for the Lane Dance Company during the fall of 2013. Sutton performed a dance piece called “Rain Dog” last February for the Collaboration dance concert, choreographed by Simoa. Since then, Sutton has been taking Simoa’s modern dance classes every term.

“Bonnie is extremely organized and patient. It is very rare to see someone be both artistic and creative and also very business oriented,” LCC music, art and theatre department technical coordinator James McConkey said.

(Link to the original article http://www.lcctorch.com/2014/11/enlightening-students-with-balinese-dance-lead-instructor-offers-a-broader-perspective-on-movement/)

Math can be a difficult subject for many students, and good teacher can make all the difference to those who might be struggling. Lane math teacher Stephen Selph has received high praise from students for helping them succeed and move through their fears.

“He is by far the best math teacher I have ever had and math does not come easy to me,” third year engineering and management major Naomi Boe said. “He is so patient and organized. He gives time to all of his students.”

Selph teaches integral calculus and college algebra. Since spring term, he has also been offering college algebra classes online. “I find calculus hard, but he makes the concepts as clear as it possibly could be,” Boe said. “He never made me feel like any question is stupid.”

Boe previously attended Selph’s math 111, college algebra class and in fall term was enrolled in his calculus 2, integral calculus class.

Inside the classroom students work in groups, and to provide them with additional help Selph makes instructional math videos which he uploads to Moodle. He frequently checks his students’ understanding of the materials, has office hours every day and tutors at the Lane Math Resource Center.

“The instructor has a huge impact on how well you understand math,” third year University of Oregon geology major Spencer Jones said.

Jones chose to learn math at Lane because he wasn’t confident in the UO teacher’s ability to provide enough information for him to pass the class. Jones is currently studying integral calculus, a second term course at Lane.

“Stephen really wants to make his students succeed in math and LCC, comparatively, has a very good Math Resource Center,” Jones said.

Selph has a 4.9 ranking from a possible 5 on ratemyprofessors.com where 41 students ranked his teaching ability. “Steve made calculus accessible and interesting. He is a very gifted and kind teacher and I would recommend him to anyone taking calculus. Thank you Steve!” commented one respondent.

Selph, born in San Francisco, CA, graduated with degrees in math and physics from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and received a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Before starting at Lane in 1998, he and his wife were Peace Corps volunteers and lived in Zimbabwe for two years, teaching math and english to high school students. “I really enjoy teaching mathematics,” Selph said. “I try to be very encouraging about students coming to me and working individually, especially those who fear math.”

“Stephen’s ability to transmit concepts to the students is very thoughtful and clear,” Math Resource Center tutor John Steele said. “It is very evident when I tutor his students, they know the concepts very well.”

In winter term, Selph will be teaching online college algebra and differential calculus, the first term calculus course.

(Link to the original article http://www.lcctorch.com/2015/01/math-instructor-helps-students-overcome-hurdles-students-give-insights-on-instructors-teaching-skills/)