Welcoming back the new school year!

We are two weeks into the school year and this post feels  tardy! Reconnecting with teachers and students in their beloved studio classrooms is what I am looking forward to the most. We gathered for our fall in-service in late August to kick off the new year. 

It is incredibly inspiring to be in the company of 300+ art educators! It was an opportunity to share exemplary lessons, materials management strategies and most of all laugh and share space. It is such a privilege to teach in a county where many talented art teachers that are willing to share their practice with each other.  

NAEA Member Exhibition 2022

 NAEA received 425 entries during the call for submissions and 80 artworks were jury selected for inclusion. I am so tickled to be included in the exhibition this year!  It is so cool to be a member of an organization that celebrates artmaking and provides an opportunity to showcase its members skills. 

Velvet Grip

View the complete exhibition, here in the NAEA Virtual Gallery.

Founded in 1947, NAEA is the leading professional membership organization exclusively for visual arts, design, and media arts educators. Members include elementary, middle, and high school visual arts educators; college and university professors; university students preparing to be art educators; researchers and scholars; teaching artists; administrators and supervisors; and art museum educators—as well as more than 40,000 students who are members of the National Art Honor Society.

The Feather Project

 Artist Maggie Lina Kerrigan is working on a community art project to be featured at the 2022 Aware Exhibition in Virginia Beach. It is the Feather Project.

 The Feather Project is a community art project designed to bring awareness about the tragedy of Indian Boarding Schools and to promote healing by both indigenous and non-indigenous people as they come together to acknowledge our past and shape a path to the future. We have a goal of collecting at least 50,000 feathers from people nationwide to hang from the gallery ceiling. International participants are welcome as well!

For all the pertinent details and how you can participate use this link. 

Art 3-D Summer Camp!

 This past week I had the pleasure of teaching a 3-D summer camp! It was a one week, all day camp focused on sculpture. There were 13 students, ranging in age from 13 to 16, and man were they amazing. 

Every morning the students would arrive and immediately get to work on their pieces. They created imaginary/fantastical creatures out of cardboard, explored different possibilities with fierce game of exquisite corpse. 

As the week moved along, they created tunnel books as an ode to their creatures. Each one distinctly the voice of the artist.

The campers also used sculpey clay and found objects to create an assemblage narrative. These were created inside cigar boxes. The students could ebb and flow between the projects as the week progressed. 

These young artists were a joy to spend time with, there was never a dull moment and there was always something new to  discover, either in their ideas or exploring the media. 

Roe V. Wade Struck Down

 Saturday many people gathered at the Supreme Court to protest the Roe vs. Wade SCOTUS decision. On this day I did not see too many in favor of the ruling...I am imagine as the days go by the crowds will be a constant.

President Joe Biden addressed the nation shortly after the decision was released. "Voters need to make their voices heard," Biden said, calling on them to elect candidates that will restore the right to an abortion at the congressional and local level. "This fall Roe is on the ballot. Personal freedoms are on the ballot. The right to privacy, liberty, equality, they're all on the ballot."

Elections have consequences. 

VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.VOTE.

Summer tidings...

 The cacti is the embodiment of endurance and strength. A natural wonder, tough and resilient like the many teachers I know that have pushed through this challenging school year. 

 Bask in the sun, bloom and savor the summer. 

Learning share ...