Playing catchup on the past month… a lot has happened! The State of the Schools Luncheon event is coming up in about a week. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what it’s all about, but I am looking forward to attending this year. Each year, art teachers (and/or students) from each school create a centerpiece for the event that relates to a specific theme. This year’s theme was “Believe, Rise, Lead”. Although many teachers get their students involved in the creating process, I have found that it can be tricky to manage (unless you have a small, well-behaved group that the work can be split between). I was able to chip away at the centerpiece over the course of a few weeks. In the past, the centerpieces were returned to schools, but now they are auctioned off at the luncheon. I got a few photos of the final piece and displayed it in the front office at school before sending it away.
In mid-February, one of my old classmates/current colleague curated an art show at our alma mater, The Maryland Institute College of Art. The show was entitled, “Students of Former MAT Students” aka SOFS Art Exhibit. The exhibit showcased artwork of students in PreK-12, whose teachers were formerly MAT Students at MICA. The reception was on Friday, February 19th. It was the first year of the exhibit, and there was a great turnout! I’m looking forward to participating again next year.
On February 20th, I attended an art teacher workshop at the Baltimore Museum of Art, “The Space Between Artist and Teacher”, facilitated by art instructor, Craig Llewellyn. We had the opportunity to meet Marian Glebes, an artist whose work is currently on display as part of the BMA Home Show. Marian presented insight toward her studio habits, and Craig shared his approach to the artist sketchbook, through several journals of collections and documentation from over the years. Craig created a Padlet from the workshop, which can be viewed here.
Getting started… Starting with the Visual Journal • ESTABLISH the visual journal as the primary component of a student’s art education. • Create opportunities to EXPERIMENT with materials and EXPLORE personal interest. • Utilize both visual and written RESEARCH methods. • Provide the venue to DOCUMENT everything. • Offer a variety of ASSESSMENT opportunities.
During the workshop, we were provided with our own brand-new sketchbook/journals, and we were given time to begin creating and exploring various materials. I have been using my journal to draw, paint, take notes, and collect various items of personal/educational interest.
The second painting session with Paul Moscatt took place at the end of February. We all made progress, yet didn’t get a chance to finish the painting! I have a greater understanding and appreciation for painters and their creative process. Painting is a skill I hope to improve upon.
This brings us to March, aka Youth Art Month! This year’s theme is, “The Power of Art”.
Youth Art Month Activities/Celebrations: • Daily Drawing Challenge (for the entire month) • Youth Art Month Spirit Week (March 14th-18th) • Art Materials Raffle (at the end of the month)
This year’s drawing prompts can be found here.
The wall is already very full, and we’re only halfway through the month!
It’s my student teacher’s last week at Padonia. What better way to end her internship than to have a Youth Art Month Spirit Week?! It’s always fun to have a reason to dress up for different occasions. We’ve had parents commenting all week, “You must love your job, you look like you have so much fun!”, “What’s the theme today?”, “I bet the kids love dressing up this week!” It’s true… and besides, we can totally get away with wearing unusual stuff to work, oftentimes without question. ‘Oh, that’s just the Art Teacher!’
Dress as an Artist/Art Style Day
Wacky Wednesday. Enough said. I think I had about 15-20 pencils in my hair yesterday. They kept falling out, but I stuck them right back in. Fun times!