Robert Strasser Email & Phone Number

Frederick, Maryland

Designing, making and exhibiting a wide range of hand made ceramic arts, both funcitonal and decorative. Specialist in making and playing hand drums - Darbukas and doumbeks. Also specialize in and teach about wet slip inlay, a contemporary name for traditional decorative technique for hand built flat and tableware. Maker of biodiversity mosaics. Originator for the local initiative in alternative currency, ceramic gift tokens called Frederick Trade Stones: http://www.downtownfrederick.org/frederick-trade-stones

Common Ground On The Hill, Westminster, Md And Common Market, Frederick, Md

Common Ground on the Hill is an annual festival founded in 1984 focusing on traditional peforming and visual arts. I have been an instructor there in the visual arts, planning and leading 5 day hands on workshops in general ceramics with emphasis on wet slip inlay technique for participants ages 16 and over. Common Market is a community owned democratically governed business with a focus on whole foods and related products and services. I led a hands on 2 part, two day long workshop for 8 participants in earthen oven construction and use. Guided pre-workshop site preparations, performed materials testing, and facilitated property owner decision making for important considerations such as site selection, oven design, and location. Teaching emphasis on properties of materials and their preparation for construction, oven use and care.

Frederick Maryland

Maintain studio for personal and teaching purposes at local private arts center; Activities include personal work, tutoring and group art therapy sessions in ceramics.

Sandy Spring, Maryland

Plan, prepare and lead general and specialized activities in ceramic arts for high school students and summer foreign exchange students; Supervise and lead lessons prepared by teachers in various subjects including biology, physics, Quakerism, Spanish and French, photography, music, and weaving as a substitute teacher.

programs in Maryland and Virginia with a success rate above 90% in pollination and planting efforts, fulfilling in a very short time the goal of incorporating 50 surviving native trees of regionally adapted native species into a national level breeding population.Managed 15 research orchards totaling over 6, 000 trees in cooperation with various public and private partners in three states.Documented pollination activities, generated planting randomizations and evaluated orchard data using Excel spreadsheet formats, resulting in very high success rates that enabled the exponential expansion from 350 - approximately 6,000 trees in research orchard in four years of in position.Researched and developed new orchard partnerships and educational plantings in 25 sites.Reported to Science Cabinet of the American Chestnut Foundation and to the boards of directors of state chapters two to four times per year. Supervised and mentored interns, volunteers, and high school students in field operations and scientific research.Educated over 20 public and private groups in 4 years regarding the science and history of chestnut trees using Power Point presentations and hands on training sessions.Published articles, photos and reports in professional journal and state chapter newsletters of The American Chestnut Foundation.Consulted with land owners to develop cooperative agreements for growing research and educational tree plantings and performed initial and periodic site evaluations. Provided ongoing scientific and technical support for orchards with regard to soil quality, pest control, and nutrient management.

Summer camp counselor and staff at three summer camps managed under the auspices of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Responsibilities included counseling and leading youth on wilderness adventure trips, trip planning and logistics, instruction in camping and survival skills, sports activities and creative leadership in arts and crafts.

Managed 400 acre rustic retreat and summer camp facility as year round resident caretaker. Supervised dozens of interns and volunteers in facility maintenance and improvement.Contracted for major and minor facility repairs and upgrades.Managed and acted as en proviso contractor various projects while frequently operating power tools and heavy excavation equipment, doing carpentry and masonry and landscaping, including rebuilding a pond and restoring native vegetation. Facilitated development of a Timber Stand Improvement Plan and a perpetual conservation easement to improve and protect forest and wetland habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered plant species. Mapped facilities and recorded maintenance upgrades for property committee

Taught mathematics and general science to 4th - 8th grade children in a small independent school.

Ba, Biology

Activities and Societies: Phi Beta KappaNational Honors Society

Ms, Environmental Biology

Aa, Liberal Arts And Sciences