Infrequently Asked Questions:
(Or as I like to think to myself sometimes: "iFAQ" and that's kinda like all those proprietary corporate products (i.e. think about apples and not the kind you give to teachers), but better because it's quirky, personal, one-of-a-kind, and all about me!)
Do you make pots?
-No, I do not because I do not make them well.
Do you use real animal fur?
-Yes, I do and it is often sourced from thrift-stores, rubbish bins and hunters.
Do you make specific animals?
-No, I do not. Please read my artist statement, which clarifies things a wee bit.
Will you make a portrait of my pet?
-Hmmm, we would need to talk about this, but most likely not as I do not create specific representational work.
Where can I purchase your work?
-Usually at any gallery where I currently have work on view and at a few select places or contact me directly.
Do you give studio tours?
-I love having visitors to my studio and can give a tour of sorts or put you to work.
Are you available to give an artist talk?
-Most definitely. I love meeting with people and sharing ideas and experiences.
What's more important to you, being an artist or a teacher?
-They are both equally as important. I do one so I can do the other and I'm not just talking about monetarily. I don't see my profession as an educator as my "day job". Also, I don't see me as a particularly special individual because I'm in the education field (although "teachers" really do deserve a whole heck of a lot more in return for going into this line of work). I think everyone is both always a teacher AND at student if they are present and paying attention. I truly believe and try to live by the notion that I have something to learn from everyone and vice versa.
Is your hair naturally curly?
-Yes, it is.
What does your name mean?
-Undine is a water spirit. You can learn more about it from the every useful Wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undine
Is it your given name?
-Yes, it is and I am so grateful my parents chose this name for me. Apparently, as the story goes, my parents had a friend named "Perfect Helen" make a list of ten names for the potential child that became me and "Undine" was on the list. My parents liked it because Andy Warhol had an actor in several of his films named Ondine. It also helps to understand the uniqueness of my name if I tell you that my mother changed her name from Mary Janet Brod to Wanda Westcoast before I was born.
How do you pronounce Undine?
-Even I get a bit confused as my parents both said it differently: ON-dean vs. UN-dean. Here is a link to a pronunciation dictionary of the word: "Undine".
Where do you make your work?
-I have a wonderful studio space in a barn in Rhinebeck, New York that my bonus-mom and father let me use. My father is also a visual artist, so he works in there too. He is a writer as well and you can see his work here: http://michaelbrod.com/. My bonus-mom, Joy Harris, is a literary agent who bought the house in Rhinebeck in 1993, because she went to a summer camp named Camp Boiberik, which is now the very interesting Omega Institute. You can see her work here: The Joy Harris Literary Agency.
What do you teach?
-Currently, I teach Preschool at the Beit Rabban Jewish Day School in New York City. I'm in my fourth year there as a teacher, but the fourth year is after a thirteen year hiatus from preschool teaching. I have taught in all different kinds of settings, from volunteering as an Assistant Art Teacher in a Juvenile Detention Center and volunteering as an ESL teacher to homeless, migrant, Latino workers at Casa Latina in Seattle to teaching and assisting various college art classes and leading workshops and summer camp programs for middle and high school students. I also had a very brief stint teaching elementary through high school art classes as a New York Teaching Fellow in the NYC BOE public schools. Feel free to invite me to teach wherever you are and/or need me!
Do you use art in the classroom with your students?
-Yes. Creating with various materials is a staple in all of the classes I teach, but especially in preschool. Playing and creating with various materials (e.g. crayons, markers, pencils, homemade pine-needle paintbrushes, paint, etc.) is crucial in early childhood education. Using art materials to create drawings and paintings is the beginning of literacy for little hands/people. And, with older folks it's just a universal way to tap into so much. We all "speak" the language of art, hence it's one way to communicate cross-culturally.
Do you like working with other people or alone?
-Both. At various times and in various locations I like to do both very much. And, I'm always open to collaborating.
What can you tell me about depression?
-Unfortunately, and fortunately, a whole hell of a lot. Let's talk.
-No, I do not because I do not make them well.
Do you use real animal fur?
-Yes, I do and it is often sourced from thrift-stores, rubbish bins and hunters.
Do you make specific animals?
-No, I do not. Please read my artist statement, which clarifies things a wee bit.
Will you make a portrait of my pet?
-Hmmm, we would need to talk about this, but most likely not as I do not create specific representational work.
Where can I purchase your work?
-Usually at any gallery where I currently have work on view and at a few select places or contact me directly.
Do you give studio tours?
-I love having visitors to my studio and can give a tour of sorts or put you to work.
Are you available to give an artist talk?
-Most definitely. I love meeting with people and sharing ideas and experiences.
What's more important to you, being an artist or a teacher?
-They are both equally as important. I do one so I can do the other and I'm not just talking about monetarily. I don't see my profession as an educator as my "day job". Also, I don't see me as a particularly special individual because I'm in the education field (although "teachers" really do deserve a whole heck of a lot more in return for going into this line of work). I think everyone is both always a teacher AND at student if they are present and paying attention. I truly believe and try to live by the notion that I have something to learn from everyone and vice versa.
Is your hair naturally curly?
-Yes, it is.
What does your name mean?
-Undine is a water spirit. You can learn more about it from the every useful Wikipedia site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undine
Is it your given name?
-Yes, it is and I am so grateful my parents chose this name for me. Apparently, as the story goes, my parents had a friend named "Perfect Helen" make a list of ten names for the potential child that became me and "Undine" was on the list. My parents liked it because Andy Warhol had an actor in several of his films named Ondine. It also helps to understand the uniqueness of my name if I tell you that my mother changed her name from Mary Janet Brod to Wanda Westcoast before I was born.
How do you pronounce Undine?
-Even I get a bit confused as my parents both said it differently: ON-dean vs. UN-dean. Here is a link to a pronunciation dictionary of the word: "Undine".
Where do you make your work?
-I have a wonderful studio space in a barn in Rhinebeck, New York that my bonus-mom and father let me use. My father is also a visual artist, so he works in there too. He is a writer as well and you can see his work here: http://michaelbrod.com/. My bonus-mom, Joy Harris, is a literary agent who bought the house in Rhinebeck in 1993, because she went to a summer camp named Camp Boiberik, which is now the very interesting Omega Institute. You can see her work here: The Joy Harris Literary Agency.
What do you teach?
-Currently, I teach Preschool at the Beit Rabban Jewish Day School in New York City. I'm in my fourth year there as a teacher, but the fourth year is after a thirteen year hiatus from preschool teaching. I have taught in all different kinds of settings, from volunteering as an Assistant Art Teacher in a Juvenile Detention Center and volunteering as an ESL teacher to homeless, migrant, Latino workers at Casa Latina in Seattle to teaching and assisting various college art classes and leading workshops and summer camp programs for middle and high school students. I also had a very brief stint teaching elementary through high school art classes as a New York Teaching Fellow in the NYC BOE public schools. Feel free to invite me to teach wherever you are and/or need me!
Do you use art in the classroom with your students?
-Yes. Creating with various materials is a staple in all of the classes I teach, but especially in preschool. Playing and creating with various materials (e.g. crayons, markers, pencils, homemade pine-needle paintbrushes, paint, etc.) is crucial in early childhood education. Using art materials to create drawings and paintings is the beginning of literacy for little hands/people. And, with older folks it's just a universal way to tap into so much. We all "speak" the language of art, hence it's one way to communicate cross-culturally.
Do you like working with other people or alone?
-Both. At various times and in various locations I like to do both very much. And, I'm always open to collaborating.
What can you tell me about depression?
-Unfortunately, and fortunately, a whole hell of a lot. Let's talk.