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arts & culture
KANSAN.COM | THURSDAY FEB. 11,2016
Aries ( March 21-April 19)
You're getting stronger today and tomorrow. Ask for what you want. The conversation is half the fun. Things fall together for you. Balance mental, emotional and spiritual health with regular practices. Take a walk outside.
Taurus ( April 20-May 20)
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Finish up tasks today and tomorrow. Your intention is especially strong. Think about what you really want, and imagine it happening. What did it take to get there? Map the steps and begin.
Alex Robinson/KANSAN An art piece similar to a satellite by Spencer Dickerson, a graduate student of metalsmithing. His pieces often reflect his want for exploring.
Gemini ( May 21-June 20)
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
Alex Robinson/KANSAN Spencer Dickerson works in a handle for his pinewood derby piece, a car that has gears but only moves back and forth.
Group and community activities go far over the next two days. Make sure what you build is solid. Pass along what you're learning. Friends show you a view you hadn't considered. It could be fun.
Cancer ( June 21-July 22)
Take on more responsibility today and tomorrow. Make decisions and strategize your professional plan. You can solve a puzzle. A rise in status is possible. Provide valuable information and your influence grows.
Strengthen a partnership with love and attention over the next few days. Negotiate shared plans. Listen, and speak your piece. Together, you can move mountains. Support each other. Give up something to go further.
Study ways to make and keep money. Handle financial matters today and tomorrow. To avoid problems, play by the book. Review your budget, and set logical steps to attain goals. Negotiate and discuss.
You'd rather play than work for the next few days. Get into an expansion phase. Write down long-range goals. Travel and adventure suit your ambitions: Study and plan your itinerary. Make reservations.
Leo ( July 23-Aug. 22)
Libra ( Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Virgo ( Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Pisces ( Feb. 19-March 20)
Tap another source of revenue.
The next two days are good for business. There's money coming in (and going out). Pay bills before splurging. Track the flow to minimize leakage. You could do quite well.
focus on your work for the next couple of days. The pace is picking up. Pour on the steam, and check tasks off your list. The excellent job you've been doing reflects well on you.
You're especially clever with words over the next few days. There's no such thing as a stupid question, but your timing could be off. Review your lists. Study. Assimilate. Express your view. Get philosophical.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 10)
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
Get fully into a household project. Family comes first today and tomorrow. Play with long-term plans, and take steps toward fulfilling a dream. Double-check materials, and compare prices. Make necessary upgrades.
Aquarius ( Jan. 20-Feb.
18)
Romance and passion recur as themes today and tomorrow. Someone nearby has your attention. Use your charms and wit. Savor delicious conversation. Practice your arts. The more you play, the more skillful you grow.
Scorpio ( Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
ART IN FOCUS Spencer Dickerson metalsmith
BRIANNA CHILDERS @Breeanuh3
When Spencer Dickerson started college, his major was drawing and painting. But when he took a class specializing in metalsmithing, it struck a chord with him. He liked the tools, especially the ieweler's saw.
"I would see friends taking metal classes, and I never understood them cutting with this jeweler's saw, and it would look like they were cutting with a wire," Dickerson said. "This was the main thing that really interested me and somewhere along the line, other things came about."
Dickerson, a first year graduate student from Belleville, Ill., in the metalsmithing program, received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in metalsmithing.
Dickerson came to the University for graduate school to teach more. By the time he finishes school, he will have 21/2 years of teaching experience.
"I wanted to teach more than anything, but it's a little bit tricky when you are getting an art degree because what do you do after that?" Dickerson said. "A good one is to be a professor and you still have a spot where you can make work but you don't have to be reliant on your work to have an income."
Dickerson currently teaches Intro to Metalsmithing on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"I hope I can inspire someone to find a similar path in life and that they might be able to find what they really love to do just because somebody told them that they can," he said.
Dickerson said metalsmithing is a difficult medium to work with. Growing up, people typically get an idea of how to work with certain mediums, such as pencils, charcoal, paint and clay. But metal is a foreign medium for kids or most anyone.
Besides teaching Intro to Metalsmithing, Dickerson has been making toys, but these aren't ordinary toys. One of these toys is a pinewood derby car with an arrow that sits on top and reads "turn."
Dickerson said the inspiration behind the derby car comes from his childhood when he wanted to be a Boy Scout.
"I remember one year my mom said she signed me up, and then summer came, and I wasn't in Boy Scouts," Dickerson said. "It was around the time there was a lot of molestation going on with troop leaders, and they didn't put me in because of that."
Dickerson compared
that pinewood derby car, which moves back and forth but doesn't go anywhere, to that experience. And something else is different about Dickerson's toys and his art: you can touch it.
The turn sign on top of the car indicates that it can be touched, which is needed, Dickerson says, because in most cases, art isn't meant to be touched.
He also said the arrow aspect came from watching his friend in undergraduate school make big arrows and bows that had lights on them. He thought it represented a mixture of popular culture and art.
"What's not to love?" Dickerson said. "I think, like most boys, I liked smashing stuff and setting stuff on fire as a little kid. I guess it kind of makes
But his favorite part of metalsmithing, his art, is getting to work with hammers and blowtorches.
sense I'm bringing toys back into everything."
As for his least favorite part, Dickerson said, metalsmithing is time-consuming and labor intensive. There are no shortcuts, and everything has to be very precise.
Though he hasn't been in many shows except for a couple around St. Louis and one before he graduated from SIUE,he hopes people get a sense of discovery out of his work and the toys he builds.
"I was longing for our country to return to this notion of discovery and exploration," Dickerson said. "I guess by inviting the viewer to interact with the pieces in their own way they have a discovery of what happens."
- Edited by Sarah Kruger
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
Spencer Dickerson works on parts for his pinewood derby piece. He has his own workshop to hand-craft most of his parts.
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
The pinewood derby piece that Spencer Dickerson is working on. No matter how the gear is worked, the car will only go back and forth.
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