The End Marks the Beginning

       The fall semester is nearly over, and that means intercession is rapidly approaching. It's important, then, to have a plan of work, so that we can be productive during the winter break. That said, my plan is somewhat different from those of my Research Methods classmates, mainly due to the fact that I’m the only student who will not be completing their thesis in the spring. As I mentioned in my introductory post (which seems so long ago at this point), I’m a dual degree student, in both the Museum Studies program and the Fine Art Studio program. Accordingly, I’ll be spending most of next semester working to complete a cohesive body of art, which I’ll be exhibiting at Gallery R for the Senior Show. During the 2017 Fall semester, then, I’ll be finishing my thesis through independent study with Dr. Juilee Decker, who normally teaches the Spring thesis class, and who is also my primary advisor. I want to stay as focused as possible, of course, on my Museum Studies thesis, so I’m still going to be working on it over the winter break, but my schedule is going to be a little more relaxed than ones like Katie, Hannah, and Kelli’s.

       By January 10th: I’ll have overhauled my thesis proposal, based on the edits and alterations suggested by the Museum Studies faculty members. I can’t currently say exactly how I’ll allocate my time so I can reach this goal, as I don’t yet know the extent of their advised changes. I will have two full weeks after Christmas to work on this, however, so I expect that if I plan to work at least 2 hours a day 3 times a week, that will amount to 12 hours, which will (hopefully) be more than enough time.

       By January 17th: I will have expanded my literature review, by exploring at least one additional resource for each section (English Common Press, Object-based Education, Interactive-based Education, Interpreter-based Education), in addition to adding in data from the Uncommon Press tech paper, which I finished editing for the team yesterday afternoon. This deadline will give me an entire week after finishing the recommended edits to continue researching and adding to my literature review. I plan to put in a minimum of 3 hours a day, to ensure that I’m able to reach this goal. 
       At this point I’ll also have started looking further into picking a 2nd reader. I’m considering approaching Brian Nagel, who serves as Director of Interpretation & Director of Programs & Collections at GCVM. I plan to contact Mr. Nagel during this week (January 10th-17th), hopefully to set up a meeting with him to discuss my thesis.

       By January 20th: I plan to have received Dr. Decker's approval & signature for my updated thesis proposal, so that I can have that taken care of before the start of the spring semester. I expect that this goal shouldn’t take much work, since it will be facilitated by my aforementioned goals. On the 17th I'll email email Dr. Decker my updated proposal, which will include faculty-advised edits & new literature review sources, so that she’ll have some time to review it.

       That's pretty much how I currently see things going. Now I have (at least what I consider to be) a treat for all of you. On Friday afternoon, the Uncommon Press team unveiled our press at the Cary Graphic Arts Collection. I would say that the press was 99.9% complete - it just needed a few minor alterations and additions, which we'll be completing today. The unveiling went quite well, and we had many people in attendance, including family members of each team member, RIT faculty and students, partners from the Genesee Country Village and Museum (who helped with blacksmithing & wood turning), and of course Steven Galbraith, Amelia Hugill-Fontanel, and Greg Decker from the Cary. While I was talking to Dr. Galbraith, he expressed his interest in my thesis, and offered to provide his assistance if I needed it. I think his input and insight could be very helpful as a third reader, or perhaps a second, if the possibility of having Brian Nagel fill the role of secondary advisor doesn't work out.

The (virtually completed) Uncommon Press, outside the Cary Collection on the 2nd floor of the Wallace Center.

It's been a great experience working with this team, and with any luck, I'll be able to work alongside some of them again in the future, once we're out of RIT and have entered our professional careers.

Obligatory team photo. Left to right: Daniel Krull, Seth Gottlieb, Randall Paulhamus, Veronica Hebbard, Ron Maguire (GCVM), Ferris Nicolais, and Matthew Schofield (GCVM).