The Liebster Blog Award!

Many thanks to Theresa Gillespie of http://splatsscrapsandglueblobs.blogspot.com/ for my nomination for the Liebster Blog Award! I accept gratefully, and will share the love. The origins of the Liebster Blog award are somewhat unclear but the general consensus is that it originated in Germany, "Liebster" meaning favorite or dearest, to showcase bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Upon accepting the award the recipient must then pass it on to five more blogs of note.

Here are the rules:
1- Choose FIVE up and coming blogs to which you award the Liebster. Blogs must have less than 200 followers.
2- Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3-Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you gave the award to with links to their sites

Here are my nominees:

1. Atelierista Blog at http://atelierista-anna.blogspot.com/ for her Reggio approach to teaching
2. New City Arts at http://newcityarts.blogspot.com/ for Shannah's wonderful ideas and her creative approach integrating the multiple intelligences
3. Artful Artsy Amy at http://artfulartsyamy.blogspot.com/ for sharing her middle school art class "life" and the realities of teaching
4. Modern Art 4 Kids http://modernart4kids.blogspot.com/ shares exploration in art in a homeschool setting
5. Art Class Works with Lori in NJ http://artclassworks.blogspot.com/ Lori shares advocacy, and interdisciplinary projects.

I can't wait to read more from you all. Which blogs will you nominate?

Coming Face to Face with Contemporary Art

As I prepare for the NAEA convention in New York City, the experiences from my last visit come flooding back: I was a 2011 participant in the Art:21 Educator Institute. The week-long journey in contemporary art, contemporary themes and contemporary artists was eye-opening. Previous examples of good art "teaching" were firmly entrenched in DBAE approaches--a focus on an artist, a style, a technique and more importantly, the elements of art and the principles of design. We talked the "talk" of art educators across the country saying how important it was to focus on line, color and the use of space. Meanwhile, in contemporary art education circles, a contrasting dialogue about the rules of art making was developing: a product of constructivist theory. As we build on our experiences, we develop new ways of communicating them to others. What ideas will our students generate and how will they express them?

In preparation for the institute, we were asked to read Olivia Gude's article, Postmodern Principles, featured in Art Education, January 2004, and here published on her Digication portfolio. We then just recently had the opportunity to visit with Gude as part of our online sessions, and this is where I heard about her work entitled Principles of Possibility. I was excited to read her article, as it dealt in part with raising the bar for individual student's connection to their own works of art. While I maintain that a broad understanding of art history, that includes artists from a variety of periods and styles, where students can also develop beginning technical skill in a variety of media is important (especially at the formative elementary level) I see her point. She refers to Terry Barrett's "Principles of Interpretation" as an excellent framework by which teachers:

can organize instruction and students can search for meaning within artworks. Principles such as "Artworks are always about something" and "Artworks attract multiple interpretations and it is not the goal of interpretation to arrive at a single, grand, unified, composite interpretation" focus students on making thoughtful evidence-based investigations of the meanings generated by visual images, including theartworks they themselves make. (Barrett,2003, p. 198)

Engaging students in the conversation about themes and the big ideas behind art encourages them to be involved with their artwork. The understanding of how the work evolved would be purely superficial if the whole discussion dealt only with the elements of art, like line and color, that were used to create the work. Why did the artist create? What story is the artist trying to tell? What point is the artist trying to make about what is happening in society? What is the reason for the work? What does it mean?

This year, with my integration of Art:21 materials as well as other resources, I am focusing on the big idea of "Art is relationships." In coming face to face with contemporary art, we reason with ourselves to understand the meaning behind the artist's work. What does it connect to and why? A lot of our work in the studio evolves through a collaborative engagement in the medium. We are all part of the work: we learn from each other, we share our ideas, we grow and develop as artists. Oliver Herring's art work: TASK, is decidedly the best example of "Art is relationships." that I can find. I am excited to participate in the NAEA Task Party, as it will take TASK to a whole new level. Gude writes: "Artists create social spaces -temporary and permanent opportunities for people to connect and interact." TASK is an artistic experience in creating an evolving, creative, interactive social space.

Have you ever been a part of TASK? What was your experience?

Photo taken at Oliver Herring's studio with "Gloria" by Oliver Herring. Summer 2011

Peephole Dioramas

My students took their enthusiasm from reading The Sixty-Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone, and created their own peephole dioramas. We referred to the Otherworldly exhibit held at the Museum of Art and Design in New York City, which I saw with my Art21 colleagues. We had created our own dioramas using a variety of materials, and showcased our finished work at the museum.  Each had a unique perspective and engaged the viewer in a narrative informed by the design. My students each determined the look they wanted by adapting cardboard, paper, paint, designer fabric remnants, and Model Magic for furniture and accessories. Each had to determine which aspects and details of an interior space would define the person who lived there. Which details would be omitted and why? 

“First we shape our buildings, then they shape us”  --Winston Churchill, 1943

Or do they? As my students explored interior spaces and the view from their space, they also had to consider what interests and needs this individual had. What was happening at that moment for this character when time stood still? 

Each student created the diorama and wrote a story about the character. They recorded these last week, perhaps a podcast of these stories will come next. What I thought fascinating was that these characters were not defined by the space in which they lived... That was just a part of the story. The rest was "out of the box."

The peephole dioramas are on display on our Artsonia Gallery.

More connections:

If your students have read The Sixty-Eight Rooms, I encourage you to give Escape from Thorne Mansion Interactive by the Art Institute of Chicago a try. You'll find a review by the Teaching Palette here: Escape from Thorne Mansion Interactive. I found it was good to allow students to partner with each other. Also, be sure your school filters don't block the pop-ups! You need those for the clues! 

Creative Good

Here is a photo of the collection of crutches that my students decorated and donated to an international medical outreach program to be shipped overseas to those in need. We had worked on them over the course of last year, collecting, cleaning, and decorating with colleagues and parents at open houses, the Texas Art Education Association conference, as well as locally. It was a great conversation starter, as students only understand the inconvenience of a sprained ankle or a hurt knee and not the long-term inability to move for those who are permanently physically-challenged. The reality that individuals deal with lost limbs or paralysis due to illness or natural disaster, like hundreds in Haiti for example, was a real eye-opener, and charged my students with a mission to create a gift of hope and at least, partial mobility.

This says it all...

Time for a TASK Party!

School starts tomorrow, and we are throwing a party--a TASK Party inspired by Oliver Herring. It was my introduction to the Art:21 Educators Institute in NYC. My cohort colleagues and I met on the sidewalk as we waited outside the Art:21 offices, and little did we know the adventure upon which we were set to embark! A TASK Party engages participants by prompting them to act on a "task" written on a piece of paper. Each then adds a "task" to the pool, so that the experience is shared and ongoing. I see this as a perfect way to launch the creative flow for the studio--engaging these young artists, actors, and musicians in using the materials they find in the studio and performing their tasks individually or together.
The room, I hope, will be transformed. Right now, the tables are set, the walls are clear of exhibits, chairs are stacked and posters/prints are on display near our discussion space. How will it look after the students experience TASK? How will they display their artifacts? What will they use to express their ideas? I can't wait for their reactions, and reflections. The beauty in all of this is that really, "Anything is Possible!" I hope they see the wonder in discovery, collaboration, sharing ideas, play, art, and exploration.
I wonder and wait.

Knitting together diverse strands of thought

I stumbled upon this video of Rachel John's Extreme Knitting project, (via Leslie Gates' blog) and realized it was a perfect springboard for a post on preparing for a new school year. August is the month when all those ideas culminate into a plan. The different yet connected threads form a unified and textured fabric--an analogy for our process of preparing for and launching our respective art classrooms and studios for the year ahead.
In these long, hot, dog-days of summer, it is pleasant to have time to participate in and reflect on a variety of experiences outside of the art classroom. I just came back from an intensive and immersive (I could add, incredible) week with Art:21, for the Art:21 Educator Institute launching my participation in the Contemporary Art for Contemporary Classrooms program. This year-long experience with a cohort of brilliant educators will be challenging and process-changing. I see how the depth of learning in the Fine Arts Studio will be further explored, how I and my students will be challenged to think in new ways about our individual approaches to art making and thinking about art. Our method thus far has touched on themes, exploring big ideas, essential questions and the like, but I realize we didn't travel far enough down these roads of "meaning-making" to fully grasp these ideas. We dabbled. We explored the elements and principles of design. We created, we reflected, and then we moved on. We have so much more to explore within each art experience, and with each one, contemporary artists via Art:21 and from the community will provide real-life context. I am looking forward to exploring how these experiences will impact our way of looking at and thinking about art. I will share the journey. In the meantime, check out these amazing resources via Art:21.
What are some ways you weave a richer art curriculum for your students?