He/him/hisemmettramstad@gmail.comhttp://www.emmettramstad.com/ In-person, Online, Hybrid mentor BIO My sculptures and participatory works explore body maintenance and the intimate collectivity of public space. By re-purposing and re-orienting familiar and mundane materials—socks with holes, generic tissue boxes, bathroom stall components, towel dispensers, and drop-ceiling tiles—my sculptures draw attention to bodily rituals and needs that often go unmentioned in art contexts. Because the subject matter of my work is inspired by how people relate in personal and public space, it is important that the work literally touches or has touched people. Thus, the sculptures I make are often participatory or interactive. By inviting visitors to fold socks in the gallery, answer a public telephone in a bathroom stall, or sit inside an upright bathtub, I create opportunities for audiences to physically engage with the works. My sculptures foster communal domestic spaces and allow visitors to share their own histories with infrastructures of daily life. TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & MENTORSHIP I believe the role of a mentor is to listen to what the mentee is communicating through their work, their language, and to connect them to resources to nourish their practice. I take a holistic approach to teaching and mentoring, as I believe that our lives, bodies and well-being are intimately connected to our artwork and should be considered part of the work itself. I feel comfortable mentoring makers in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to the work that I make.