Africa: The well is in at Nakateete School in Uganda!

One of the unique aspects of education is many times teachers plant "seeds of learning" in our students, yet it may be years before those seeds sprout. In other words, sometimes we get to see the fruits of our labor with our students in real, tangible ways. Other times it may be years down the road or even when they are adults when they use that prized seed that was planted many years prior...and, of course, ....usually the teacher doesn't get to see that! This spring my students who have heard about my experience in Uganda for the last three years surprised me in several ways. One of them won an international art contest with her painting of people in Kenya getting a water well. I also went to Kenya and told the students about my experiences there and showed them hundreds of photos. My students have heard these stories for three years...stories of how many blessings they have....how students in the school I worked in had no water source, had no school supplies of any kind, had never seen a crayon...and so on. But this year I got to see those seeds sprout in the most unexpected way. I have literally been haunted the last three years by an experience I had in Uganda when several men elders of the village invited me to their house, along with two other women, and told us of their great need for a water source. Their youngest children walked miles a day to get water, a dangerous daily trip for these four, five, and six year olds with their big yellow jugs. I always knew that somehow, someway I'd get a plan together to help them get a well. But...the plan began without me! And this is very exciting to me!! My students who were in this year's Recycling Club under the direction of wonderful Aimee Williams decided they wanted to put a water well in Uganda and Aimee knew of an organization, the Holden Uganda Foundation, that could do it. Aimee told me about the project and I was so excited. It took me literally about one-millionth of a second to ask Aimee if we could designate it for Nakateete! That began an investigation to trying to find the Nakateete School, a bit more difficult than you would think. It took a couple of weeks, but the school was located and some pictures sent to me to confirm officially let us designate that as the school I worked in. I saw Pastor Paul in the pics and recognized a couple of the children. Fast forward about two months. I received some photos this past week of the well being installed. It was such a gut wrenching moment for me. I recognized, I thought, quite a few of the children...even though it was three years later...and there was Pastor Paul in all the pics smiling. Pastor Paul works seven days a week as the head of the school without even one day off a year. He is amazing! The children, most are orphans, come from families who have been devastated by HIV/AIDS. In most tiny little mud brick houses, about the size of my bathroom, there is an adult or two of a wide variety of ages (several generations) and maybe 7-15 or more children. In Uganda families take in the HIV/AIDS orphans. It is frowned upon to only have your own family living with you. Upon close investigation....I looked at my photos closely from three years ago and many of the children in the new photos are very obviously children that I taught while I was there! Breathe! Heart stopped a beat! This is the BEST PART OF EDUCATION!!! It's not what "I" do. It's what I "teach." It will go down in history as one of the most awesome things that has happened while I have been teaching to see my students take what they have learned and decide to do something about it. It was one of the biggest joys of my life to get to join the effort! Now...next year we may try to help the village of 7,500 people with no water source get a well, too. (I'm going to go ahead and post this and edit it a bit later! Have an appointment!) This is a slide show of the bore hole for the well being finished, Pastor Paul and the children with their new well: This is a picture of me at Nakateete School in 2010 with students. Quite a few of the children in this picture with me in 2010 are in the picture of the new well! So exciting! They are three years older, but you can still tell it's many of the same students:

Italy: Collaborative Florence Wall with the Duomo

This past spring, as part of the Art Inspired by Italy Unit, my students in grades K-4 participated in a collaborative art project where we made a wall mural (actually a giant collage) of the Duomo in Florence, Italy and surrounding area. Kinder students helped color the bricks on the roof of the Duomo, other students made oil pastel panels for the church buildings, other students helped paint the clouds, the acrylic mural of houses, and the Arno River. It was exciting for the students to see the mural in various stages of development and taking shape on the wall over a couple of weeks time. It was quite the topic of conversation at school as well with many teachers and parents bringing their students down to the art end of the building to take their photos in front of the mural. Students really enjoyed this project and it evolved into higher level questioning about the purpose of the bigger building, why it was so much bigger than the other buildings, why their houses look different than ours, did their houses really look like that, and so on.  It also gave me opportunity to share some history with the students linking it to an architecture lesson.  I told the story of Bruneschelli, a jewelry maker, winning the "contest" to put the dome on the building after it had sat there domeless for a couple of years and as an eyesore for Florence.  Since Florence was greatly concerned with being the leading city in Italy at this time in history when the Medici's were the self appointed and elected leaders of Italy, the huge, open building with no roof was quite a problem.  One even became the Pope. It was quite an interesting history lesson. Globally inspired art lessons have such a unique ability to bring several disciplines to the art room and encourage students to think critically about the world they live on.  You can read more about the Duomo here: Click Here for Duomo Info 

Pippo the Fool by Tracey E. Fern is also a good children's book to read about the dome. Children find it interesting that it was an "egg," or so the legend says, that gave Bruneschelli the idea for the dome.

The Duomo is one of the architectural wonders of the world. Even to this day architects and engineers cannot quite figure out how Bruneschelli did it! It's a great story!


Here is a time lapse slide show of the collaborative wall mural being made and a few pictures of the real Duomo in Florence as well.

GLOBAL: Join the Crazy Colorful Color Wheel Project.

Peacocks and Rainbows is looking for art teachers and schools in differing countries that would like to partner in a Crazy Colorful Colorwheel Project Exchange.  The purpose of the project is to introduce out students to each other, whether they are from Omaha or Oman! If you are interested in partnering with another school please contact peacocksandrainbows@gmail.com. I will match you up with another school or you are welcome to use any contacts you have to find your own school to partner with. Any school level is fine, but I would suggest that you partner with a school of the same level, i.e. elementary with elementary.  Below is an introductory Power Point that you can show to your students to introduce the project. Please REGISTER and coordinate your efforts through Peacocks and Rainbows and the above email address because we are working on an awesome website and Facebook page that will function as an online gallery for the project as well begin mapping out how art is connecting the world through this project.  We'll also showcase some of the cultural aspects of the schools that participate! I also have a great instruction document I'll share with you when you contact me and let me know you want to participate with all kinds of tips to make the project go smoother, especially when partnering with a school in a different country.  If you have a Drop Box account you can access it easily there. If not, I'll email it to you.

Here is an introductory Power Point to show students to get them excited about the project. I also made this Power Point available to parents so they could watch it at home and assist with projects.  At the time this Blog was written the below link was tested and worked. If you have trouble with the link please email me!

Just click on the title below:

Crazy Colorful Colorwheel Intro Power Point

GLOBAL: Crazy Colorful Colorwheel Project

     Well, I'm not sure exactly where to begin with this post. And it has the potential to be a tad long! For quite some time I have been wanting to find a way to use art and technology together in a meaningful way, not just using some new app to yet again skew someone's face a certain way, but in a way that has long standing value. I thought about it for a couple of years and one day the idea just came. It's the Crazy Colorful Colorwheel Project. The project partners school students in one country with students in another country. It's in its infancy, but who knows where it might go! The point of the project is to communicate with another country, people group, or culture via technology and apps such as Skype and Drop Box, while using art as the exchange point. The color wheel is fundamental to art, and science for that matter. The idea is that students in one country either do a group project, team projects, or individual projects where they use the color wheel for inspiration and make a piece of ART, not a teaching poster about the colorwheel. The projects the students make will hopefully reveal something about their culture. Between Skyping, sharing of images and videos, and sharing art, hopefully students will be given a vehicle to learn more about each other. Young elementary school students can learn about life in another country. Extensions for this project are endless. That's another great aspect of the project. So that is a summary.
     My students' projects just flat out amazed me. They were all so different. Several did posters with different themes and designs. Some did projects that were very creative and didn't involve any financial expenditure, or hardly any. For example, one girl filled water bottles with water and food coloring and displayed them in a circle. One girl crocheted a huge, beautiful flower all by herself. Another girl took photos of herself in various positions of a cartwheel, cut them out, and then colored the black and white photos in color wheel order, and then placed them on a poster board in order with a fun border. Very cute! Quite a few did interesting paintings-one that stands out in my memory was a zebra with color wheel stripes. There were ball caps, and baseball bases, tutus, cupcakes, painted lightbulbs on a spinning wheel, a giant origami bird with color wheel feathers, umbrellas, birdhouses, and so, so, so much more. You'll have to see the slide show below. There is a photo of every student project. A couple aren't represented in the slide show. Two girls made wonderful Power Points and a boy did an amazing video. It's on the Crazy Colorful Color Wheel website. We gave several awards including Grand and Reserve Champion Overall, and then there were categories for awards including most colorful, neat and tidy, most unique, best use of technology, and a few others. Grand Champion went to an incredible bicycle wheel with paint chips attached to it in color wheel order. It could easily be a piece of art that someone hangs on their wall.  Second place was a gorgeous handmade tissue paper flower. The girl who made all the flowers, very tedious, taught several of my students how to make the flower petals using a golf ball as a base to wrap the pieces around. Very clever.
     Now, the first exchange happened between my third graders at Folsom Elementary School in Prosper, Texas and a The American School of Monterrey, Mexico (an English speaking school) this past April and May. I met a young art teacher, Barbara Martinez, at the NAEA National Convention when she came to a session I led on the C.A.R.E. Project which is the umbrella I have created over some of these projects which have the intent of teaching my students about the greater world and the people they share the world with. My students completed their projects, Barbara and I emailed a LOT, then we had a day at school when we Skyped together, with the help of our wonderful technology departments. Students shared significant things about their community, my students shared their art projects, and we will soon have images of the school in Mexico's projects. It really was an amazing moment. Of course, this kind of thing is becoming fairly normal in this day and age, but it certainly didn't happen in the two room country school house I went to in elementary school where everyone looked alike and had the same cultural interests. I'm very curious to see how this project blossoms and blooms and how the "color wheel spins," so to speak.

 For more information on the project you can go to:  www.tinyurl.com/crazycolorfulcolorwheelproject

Here is a slide show of my student's individual projects, remember they were third graders:



Here is a picture of us Skyping with Mexico: (This pic is coming soon! I have to find them!)

AFRICA: Putting in a Well

Above: This is the primary classroom I taught art and drama in. I have a really strange look on my face, but I was speaking and Nan was translating. I guess I was in deep thought about the next thing I was going to say! That photo was actually taken in the first few minutes I was teaching my first class.  I had a lot of FUN with these students, LOTS! But, when I look at that picture I know what is happening. I was trying to keep my composure as I scanned the crowded room and the conditions of the children.  Below: Just a picture of the children's feet in the classroom while they did their art project. 

Above: 248 children in one room with one teacher! It was pretty busy! And I had Nan, their daily teacher with me!  Below:  Leading some motion songs out under a shade tree. That's Pastor Paul, the head of the school, in the picture. He was ALWAYS busy, but he came over to see what we were doing under the shade tree. 

Below:  Some of the students and me as we walked out of the secondary school building. 

A few years ago when I taught school in Uganda short term at the Nakateete School I was invited to a nearby home (a tiny mud brick hut) by a group of men whom I guess I assumed were leaders in the village or at least concerned citizens. Their "grandmother" had died and for some reason that was tied to their concern for water. Perhaps they had struggled to have enough water for her or perhaps she passed away from poor water. I don't know. They asked me to help them get some water in their school or village through a translator. It has haunted me for a couple of years and I have known that somehow, someway I would eventually do something to figure out how to do that. I have thought about it numerous times a day. The last several years I have shared much about my trip to Africa with my students. One of my students even won an international art contest this past school year with her painting of people in Africa getting a water well. So, I was thrilled when our Recycling Club at my school decided to raise funds for a well in Uganda, partnering with Holden Uganda Foundation. It took a little effort and a little detective work, but Pastor Paul, the headmaster of the school who doesn't even get one day off a year must be rejoicing, as well as all the kids. We raised enough money to put a well at the school with a couple of exterior pipes. And, it looks like next year we will have an opportunity, if all is approved, to raise funds to put a water well in the village of Nakateete. I just cannot tell you how happy this makes me. I have these photos and visions of small children, tiny ones maybe ages 4, 5 and six, walking the dirt path roads with big yellow jugs going for water. It's just not safe as many of them have to walk all day long to the water source and back. It's a long journey for a little one.  And it seems to be the small children's jobs. This is what teaching is all about. Sometimes we just plant the seeds that will grow and mature many years on down the road and sometimes we are just lucky enough to see it happen right before our eyes! You can read more about Holden Uganda Foundation at: 

http://holdenuganda.org

Above: I took this picture of some of the children doing their daily LONG walk for water. We were told they walked seven miles to a lake. 

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA:

Here are a few pictures of my Art Inspired by Central and South America Unit.  These images represent art my students did as a result of my trip with the National Art Education Association to Cuba. They also represent art inspired by Columbia, Peru, and Mexico. Enjoy!

GLOBAL: Tiny Box Collection

     About ten years ago I started collecting tiny boxes. I'm not sure exactly why. I was drawn to their size when traveling; they were easy to get home. I was drawn to their color and design; bright colors and trinkets always catch my eyes. I was drawn to their craftmanship. And I was also drawn to their stories. They each had a story when I bought them or when they were given to me as a gift. (My family and friends now bring me tiny boxes when they go somewhere, too.)  They each also gained a new story when they became mine. In so many ways,  my tiny box collection is so representative of my life, of teaching,  of the future. The stories of our life, while they may seem tiny, when woven together become a large, beautiful tapestry. The fibers of our lives are woven together making the tapestry have even more meaning. 

     I have boxes from Alaska, Mexico, Ecuador, Jamacia, England, Italy, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Hawaii, Grand Cayman, Fanning Island, Denmark, Russia, Switzerland, Vatican City, The Netherlands, Germany, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Columbia, Nicaragua, and more exotic places like main street in Lawrence, Kansas (a beautiful hand made wood box by a local woodworker), San Antonio, TX,  Florida, and quite a few other places. And, they all sit in my living room on a very special Ralli Quilt made by my friends Surrendar and Naina from Pakistan. 

     The important thing about the boxes isn't that I have them, or what they look like, but the story behind them. The relationships that developed between myself and friends I made where I was when I purchased them, or where my family or friends were and the relationships they made while they were where they purchased the tiny box for me. They remind me of important friendships. These tiny boxes are near and dear to my heart. When I started collecting them ten years ago I never had any idea how much they would eventually mean to me. While they are each beautiful pieces of art, they are symbolic of that ever so important human connection we must have in this life. 

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone . . . and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weaving of individual threads that form one to another that create something."-Sandra Day O'Connor

AFRICA: Art Inspired by Africa Unit

After I went to Uganda and Kenya on a mission trip I came home INSPIRED to do an art unit based on art inspired by Africa. Here are a few photos of the finished pieces of art:

GLOBAL: One Million Bones installation on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

      This past April I had the GREAT PRIVILEGE of being the host at NAEA's (National Art Education Association) National Convention for keynote speaker Naomi Natalie of One Million Bones and Sabrina Beckwith of the Bezos Foundation.  I have to thank my friend and colleague, Nancy Walkup, for that opportunity because it was truly an honor to meet these ladies and spend quality time with them at the convention which included helping them with a two hour hands on workshop, taking them to the airport, out to dinner, and so on. I'd been hearing about the One Million Bones project from Nancy for a few months, but learned so much more about it. I'm so in awe of Naomi Natalie and the One Million Bones Project. This young woman and artist decided that she needed to make a difference in the atrocities being committed in parts of the world after she visited one of these regions in Africa. The One Million Bones installation included laying over one million bones on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on June 8th. School students, community groups, and people all over the world made the clay and paper mache bones, a giant feat of gathering them occurred, and then an even larger feat of laying them on the National Mall happened on June 8th. Naomi is a shining example of a young person who saw something terrible happening in our world and not walking away from it....she did something about it. The seed that was planted will last for a long time and extends to the far corners of the earth. Places like the Sudan, Congo, Syria, Somalia, and Burma are places where the women, children, and men that live there just don't get the peace that many of us get to have in our day...and our nights. The One Million Bones installation specifically called attention to the genocide happening in our world. If it weren't for my knee surgery needing to be the day school got out for me, I would have been there. But, it warmed my heart to watch a young woman that I respect and admire so much do something BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG to try to make a difference. God bless Naomi Natale! 

LOCAL: My front porch!

     We ALL know the world is changing so very much due to technology and the advent of globalization. Artists and art teachers the world over see the benefits of using technology in what we do and many are on the front lines of creating some of that technology, but likewise, we as artists and art teachers love that tactile, gooey, messy, manipulative, molding, shaping, and spreading of media to achieve artistic greatness! (Well, ok, at least greatness to us! Everyone may not think it is greatness!) The real challenge that awaits artists and art teachers is how technology is going to change what we do and I just really don't think we have even touched the tip of the iceberg on that! But, again, Michelangelo created The David with his bare hands, a piece of stone, a chisel and some water. Artists are amazing people who can do amazing things because it comes out of their hearts!
     One of my favorite quotes addresses this quandary that exists between art and technology. "The hand of the artist. That's one of the things that may keep us alive spiritually, before the computer and the machine do us in entirely." -Allan Stone  There is a photo of this quote on the slide show on this post. I did the quote as part of a college calligraphy class about 30 years ago and keep it near me, actually in my classroom. Another thing that continually amazes me is how easily artists can use technology and software applications; it just came pretty naturally for me. I think partly that is because it had to have been designed by some creative people somewhere along the line, but also because as artists we get systems and sequence and logical order and we are experts at putting things together. I really truly enjoy using desktop publishing programs, Photoshop, the many fun apps that let you change and alter images, and so on. Yes, I'm an artist that is intrigued with technology and how I can use it in my art classes and am very excited about some iPad apps and so on. But, I'm also an artist that will never quit using that gooey paint and moving it around the paper or canvas or will never quit molding and shaping something with my hands. That's the heart of art and I hope it never changes.
     This morning I was sitting out on my front porch having a cup of coffee and recovering from knee replacement surgery. My front porch is always a "canvas" for me, waiting to be reborn in the spring after a long winter and in the fall once the summer flowers have faded. We have a large backyard and big patio out back, but my front porch is my little Garden of Eden. It's where I go to relax, just breath, think, and let my eyes be comforted by the color and beauty that surrounds me on the porch. Thinking is a big part of being an artist as well....and an art teacher.
     Another one of my favorite quotes is, "The artist's world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep." -Paul Strand  THIS IS SO TRUE!

GLOBAL: Santa Fe International Folk Art Market

     There is some kind of magic that happens when art teachers travel together. You could write a book on the interpersonal relationships that develop...or you could just sum it up by saying that art teachers are some of the nicest people you will ever meet! They are creative and caring people! Two summers ago I went on School Arts Magazine and Crizmac's Folk Art Extravaganza Trip to Santa Fe (One of my favorite places on the planet earth and I go there quite often!) and spent a week immersed in ART, ARTISANRY, HANDICRAFTS, and meeting friends from literally all over the world . . . from Afghanistan to China to Pakistan to Kenya to Nepal to Oman! I met some wonderful people, some of whom I still stay in touch with.The conference was led by Nancy Walkup of School Arts Magazine and Stevie Mack of Crizmac.  Both are gifted teachers and both have won numerous teacher of the year awards.  They are so personable and really pour their knowledge into attendees, but you feel like you have known them your whole life. I truly believe that if art teachers were given the opportunity, they could change the world for the BETTER! I think one of the things I like the BEST about traveling with art teachers is that we are all from the same school profession and there is such an incredible respect that is evident for each other. Sometimes on the school campus fine arts classes can find themselves at the "bottom of the food chain," as I like to say, but we all know that the fine arts courses (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) so greatly enhance the school and local community! And when art teachers from all over the world gather for a week in Santa Fe and immerse themselves in the artisanry and handicrafts of some of the world's most talented crafters, there is an art explosion that happens and camaraderie is taken back to every corner of the earth! It's amazing!  I'm looking forward to going again this year!  (I'm just a little bit to the left of the green sign in the above photo.)

Here's a link to join the group! I think there are still spaces for this year!
http://www.crizmac.com/professional_development/events.cfm?step=display&eventid=349

ITALY: Art Inspired by Italy Slide Show

Some pictures of my Kinder-4th Grade students' art work from our Art Inspired by Italy Unit! Students really enjoyed digging into the Italian culture and learning about the country while they completed 2-3 art projects per grade for the unit! Towards the end of the slide show you can see some of my paintings I did while in Italy. I brought them up to school for one day so the students could see them! They were really excited about that. And, there are some pics of the staff open house I held at the end of the unit! Enjoy! Ciao!

ITALY: 3rd Grade Giotto di Bondone Inspired Time Lines

Giotto di Bondone is said to be the father of Renaissance painting. He was discovered as a young boy drawing from a bridge near Borgo San Lorenzo where I went to school in Italy this past summer. A revered Master artist named Cimabue discovered him on the bridge and realized his talent. Giotto became one of the most important artists of the early Renaissance and his work is in churches all over the Florence area of Italy. He painted scenes from the Bible, telling the stories of the life of Christ, and other stories from the Bible, on the walls of the churches. They give the appearance of pages in a picture book.

My students first used a worksheet to sketch 8 significant "things" from their life. They were asked to choose a theme such as "Flowers of My Life" or "My Sports Teams", etc., etc., etc. Their projects just blew me away. The themes were so varied and they were given free choice to choose their theme. I had to help a few students who were stumped. Students were encouraged to think of something that was MEANINGFUL to them, and think of their earliest memory, the next memory, the next, and so on. Some of the amazing choices my students made were a chronological series of their video game technology, houses they had lived in, favorite toys, blankets, hairstyles, favorite restaurants, theme parks visited and roller coasters they had ridden, best friends, lots of sports themes, and so on. One special needs student even did his enemies and I let him because being in the art room is very therapeutic for him and I thought it was a good way for him to express some of the things going on inside of him. Interestingly enough, his enemies weren't all people, some were things or tragic events in his life.  Another student did the most beautiful rendition of four of her favorite Christmas'. A couple of my favorites were two very artistic students depicted four of their favorite artworks since I had been their art teacher. They were just flat out cool! It was incredible to see the "stories they told." After sketching their 8 ideas they chose four to do on their timeline. They were given 6"x6" pieces of quality white paper and they drew each scene and then painted them with tempera paint and did the larger areas and background with oil pastels. We then glued them on long sheets of butcher paper, which folded into a four-page booklet.  They wrote sentences at the bottom of each picture, which I, of course, had them write first on notebook paper and I edited their writing. They wrote their sentences with pencil and traced with a thin marker at the bottom of each picture. They also made a cover. It was a lengthy project! It took them about seven class periods to finish and that was really pushing them and rushing them. My classes are only 30 minutes long so that should give you an idea of how long your students would need. A couple classes even had to come in at recess once or twice to get finished up before the end of the year. You know, some groupings of students just don't move as fast as others! Students were really PROUD of their projects!

Above: Student completes the two page worksheet with eight sketches. 

Above: This is one of my favorites. This student did the baseball teams he had been on. 

Below: The cover. 

Above: The walls of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy are lined with Giotto's frescos which tell stories from the Bible. 

ITALY: 2nd Grade Byzantine Inspired Self Portraits

While in Italy, of course, we toured many incredibly beautiful churches. All so ornate and beautiful, but all so different in so many ways. It was a feast for the eyes...the beautiful stones of many colors, sculptures, frescos, candles, ironwork, and woodwork. The churches just took my breath away. In the older Byzantine era churches or pre-Renaissance churches were frescos of people from the Bible with  what we would call a halo around their head to designate them as holy. We put a new spin on this Byzantine style of painting and did Byzantine inspired self portraits. This project was a bit tough for the 2nd graders who participated, but we made it through it! They drew their self portrait first. Then they drew their halo and added some embellishment on one side of the halo that depicted something they were interested in.  Examples are palm trees from a vacation, the tail of a cat or dog, really just anything that personalized it. They painted the self portrait with water color. We used bronze or gold tempera paint to paint the halo and embellishment. They had a little free choice on the backgrounds, but we wanted the faces stand out so they were encouraged to keep the backgrounds simple. Then, for balance, most painted a rectangular shape with the metallic paint on the opposite side of where the halo embellishments were.  This project really held their interest and they enjoyed seeing my photo slide show of Byzantine art before they started.

Above: Byzantine art, about 1050  A.D. 

Above: Contemporary example of Byzantine inspired self portrait. 

ITALY: Alice Gori Inspired 1st Grade Clay Slab Tea Light Holders

This project is PERFECT for teaching YOUNG students the fundamentals of rolling out a slab and adding some embellishment. I did this project with my first graders and it was a great way to introduce them to clay. Next year they will do a more advanced project involving slipping and scoring and pinch pot technique, but they were so proud of their tea light holders! Alice Gori was a ceramist who gave us a tour of her studio and also taught us a couple days of ceramics lessons while I was in Italy last summer. She is revered in the Italian architectural world and is the go to person to restore ages old ceramics in churches, historical buildings, museums, etc.

Above: Students tea light holder on display in the school library. 

 Above: Alice Gori tea light holder that I ferociously guarded in my carry on bag while returning from Italy.  Below: A piece of Alice's work before firing that I also brought home with me. 

Above: The very talented Alice Gori in her studio outside of Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy. 

MY CAMPUS: Peacocks and Rainbows Art Room

Just thought I'd share are few pictures of my elementary art room. I think it has a "bit" more "stuff" in it than when these pictures were taken, but at least you can see the color and creativity that surrounds the students when they come in the room. I really believe artists are inspired by their surroundings and I also truly believe that an inspiring art room helps students become inspired. My art classes are extremely short, they are only 30 minutes, and so, believe me, my students need to get inspired fast! A well organized, creative, colorful art room helps provide that inspiration! I painted the two big canvas peacocks in about 30 minutes each. They are pretty big and my students marvel that I did the paintings in only 30 minutes each. Trust me, I often use those two acrylic paintings for inspiration to help my students get set up, their artwork done, and cleaned up in 30 minutes!

ECUADOR: A fun visit from my "daughter" from Ecuador!

     Each December we are fortunate enough to have a visit from Katty Aguirre, my "adopted daughter" from Quito, Ecuador. She is a very special young woman with an amazing and harrowing story. She dedicates her life to helping those less fortunate in Ecuador.  While she lost her own mamma when she was very young, she now has several mammas all over the United States. I've enjoyed going to Ecuador on two mission trips and spending time with her and the Quechua Indians up high in the Andes Mountains. Really high! I also enjoyed teaching school short term at an orphanage in Quito. Katty is a real inspiration to me and so many! Can't wait to see her again. A Fine Arts Camp is in the work for my spring break next year in Ecuador.  I'm trying to plan a camp, take a few art teachers with me, stay with her in the house I was able to help her move into a couple of years ago, and share art, music, and drama with the children in the area she works in. The love and acceptance that so freely flows from the children you work with, whether here in the U.S., or in other countries is so motivating to an art teacher!

ITALY: Kindergarten Capitignano Geraniums

     As a part of my Art Inspired by Italy Unit my Kindergarten students made these adorable and beautiful geranium collages.  They colored the background with crayons, then painted sheets of paper in brown, greens, and reds. Then they cut out a rectangle for the flower pot, round circles for the flowers, and long strips for the stems and curvy shapes for the leaves. There were geraniums all over Capitignano where I stayed this past summer in Italy and they just made me happy. It was a fun project to do with my Kinders and a bit challenging, too.

A Word about Globally-Inspired Art and Globalization

During the last year and a half I've been obtaining my Master's in Art Education Degree at Boston University.  My natural interests and my artistic interests easily merge into the area of globally inspired art and I have a bent toward exploring globalization in the art room, even the elementary art room.  The following are some of my thoughts on this subject which is very important to me, but should be important to all of us in a shrinking, changing world.  I recently wrote this short expose on globalization and globally inspired art.  It is my basic philosophy on the importance of teaching students about the world at large:


Photo: The photo below is of Nakateete School in Uganda where I had the privilege of teaching short-term a couple of years ago. It is still near and dear to my heart. I'll post soon about the exciting details of my school raising money to put a water well at the school this year!

GLOBALLY INSPIRED ART AND GLOBALIZATION

              Education will always be surrounded with timely events and issues. Curriculum choices, state and national standards and testing, the 21st century purpose of testing, budgeting and facilities, and student needs are relevant issues in education. For many years multiculturalism has also been an important focus of education. No longer on the distant horizon, however, globalization, a relatively new term, is here to stay and must be investigated.

            Communities used to exist in the United States and in other countries where most of the people in that community looked alike and had similar cultural backgrounds and characteristics. One can almost definitively say those days are over for the planet Earth. Through technology, mankind has learned to travel and communicate with a speed that former generations would have never imagined. Quechua children who live high in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador stand outside their thatched grass hut with no electricity or plumbing, but talk on their parent’s cell phone and inquisitively view images of a world they have never seen.  Simultaneously, some American children are busy playing games on their own cell phones, texting friends, and watching videos. I have witnessed both. I believe it is vital for INQUISITIVE American educators to begin teaching their students about more realistic aspects of the greater world, not just the geography and history of that world.   I also believe it is vital for this education to start at the elementary level.  If we care about our students’ futures I believe we, as educators, must prepare them for globalization.  I feel there is a sense of urgency in this area as the world is changing rapidly.

            Globalization refers to the interconnectedness of markets, communication, and human migrations.  Technology has forever shrunk the world; at least as long as current and future technologies continue to exist.  Borders and boundaries are no longer as fixed as they once were.  Our students and their families are living in a complex, technologically advancing, ever changing, diverse, and interconnected world.  Our students go to school in this world and they will one day work in the marketplace; quite possibly a global marketplace.  A globally informed pedagogy is needed not only because the world is changing and for assimilation, but to keep our students competitive, to keep America competitive, and to keep education relevant in a changing world.

            Students should be taught within the emerging globalized context. When students are engaged in concepts and cognitive processes involving critical inquiry and reflection, it will generate within the student the desire and ability to ask questions about relationships observed in society.  Micro-level thinking must give way to macro-level thinking.  American students must learn about the world before graduation and before it is their time to go out into it.  When education is presented with a globalization framework, there are several positive results including more deeply engaged students in the process of critical inquiry, incorporating the use of information technology as a tool for learning, emphasizing higher order thinking skills, offering a more cross-disciplinary and holistic view of practices, developing ethical leadership, and being inclusive of the growing diversity in society.  

            Additionally, if teachers reexamine developmental theory and merge it with globalization concepts, students will be the benefactors. Jean Piaget, one of the most prominent child development psychologists of all times, conducted all of his research before the Internet existed during the first half of the 20th century.  Piaget’s research concluded that children between the ages of 7-11 are in the concrete operational phase of development. He proposed that their thought processing was concrete and focused on the actual and factual aspects of subjects and topics. He believed abstract thinking, which allows students to think about the why and how and what for, came at an older age. Therein lies the current quandary. The Internet isn’t just reshaping the speed of communication and information; in some ways, it might be reshaping our future by redefining what we know about ourselves. It might be requiring students to think abstractly sooner as they travel the Internet community.

            Today’s young students have access to a wide variety of images and information via the Internet before they have the cognitive development to understand what they see. One could say that children are being forced into abstract thinking before they have developed the proper and normal sequence for that broader type of thinking. This must be a serious concern for educators and parents and viable options for teaching students about the greater world must be creatively explored.  Schools must be pro-active in not just monitoring Internet use, but in deciphering it.

            Globally inspired curriculum units have the ability to stir new knowledge in the minds of young students while promoting student growth that will transfer into all areas of their academic and personal life.  This kind of teaching constructs bridges to their future in the global marketplace.  Innovative units, such as The Crazy, Colorful Colorwheel Project that I have developed, partner school students in differing countries through art and technology. The Cuban Heart Project that my students did before my trip to Cuba with the National Art Education Association was a simple project that taught my elementary students about developing nations and different types of governments.  Globally inspired curriculum broadens our students sense of who they are and our world.

            The local community will always be important, but educators must act locally while thinking globally.  Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, believed “what distinguishes human groups one from another is not inborn; it is the way in which each has organized and perpetuated experience and the access each has had to other living traditions.” By teaching our students about the global community, we strengthen the local one.

ITALY: 4th Grade Introduction to Plein Air Painting

4th Graders Learn About Plein Air Painting

     As part of the Art Inspired by Italy Unit, my 4th graders completed a very exciting and lengthy project. They did a "deconstructed landscape painting" which is detailed in one of Kevin McPherson's books about Plein Air Painting. Plein Air painting, a French term,  is simply painting in the out of doors. Although my students painted "inside," they used a landscape photograph for the project. I provided each student with an 8x10 color image of the painting studio at Capitignano where I went to school this past summer in Italy. Using Sharpies, they outlined the main sections-essentially dividing the photo into smooth puzzle-type pieces. They then cut out the shapes and numbered them. Then they traced each piece onto a nice quality white paper and painted it with acrylic paint while looking at the cut-out photo image of the same portion of the painting at the same time. We then glued the pieces on a painted piece of canvas, added a quote about Italy, and Modge Podged the entire collage. This was one of my favorite projects in the unit. It was quite challenging for 4th graders and it was the first time my 4th graders had used acrylic paint in class, other than on clay projects. The whole purpose of the project was to teach them to "see" the individual parts, the lights and darks, of the subject, and not be overwhelmed by attempting to view the entire image to be painted. By deconstructing a subject it becomes much easier to construct it. We also talked about how this same concept is cross-curricular and helps in writing, learning information, test taking, and other subjects. 

Above: I took the above photo one day from the open doors of the room I stayed in while in Italy. This is the view I saw each and every morning. It's the painting studio at Capitignano, formerly a hay barn. This view and the photo take my breath away and this is the photo I copied for the students to use for this project. 

"Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." 

 -Anna Akhmatova

ITALY: Overview of unit and staff open house!

Art Inspired by Italy Unit Livens Up My Art Room and School!

So after spending the summer in Italy I came back to the art room in Texas ready to do a unit on art inspired by Italy. I actually wrote the unit during the evening hours at Capitignano, an estate outside of Borgo San Lorenzo, Italy (near Florence) where I went to school. I saved it for the last nine weeks of the school year so I could plan it well. Each grade level, K-4 completed 2-3 projects which will eventually all end up on this Blog! Bringing more of the Italian culture to the art room was part of the unit as well. Students watched videos I made for them while I was in Italy and I made quite a few where I was speaking directly to my students. Ok, they just thought that was completely COOL! We listened to Italian music, learned some Italian words, tasted gelato and spaghetti and learned some basic information about the beautiful country of Italy. It tickled me to hear students saying "ciao" all over the building. I'm pretty sure that word will continue to be heard at my school.  To culminate the unit I hosted an after school open house for the staff at my school. I hid some small images of cappuccino on the bulletin boards and tucked them into the artwork spread out all over the building-anywhere that art was displayed-and that, if found, could be redeemed for small prizes I actually brought back from Italy. Italian refreshments were served including the traditional tomato bruschetta, my own version of blueberry and goat cheese bruschetta, an artichoke Asiago spread from Italy on toasts, and a delicious Italian soda which I am now quite fond of, Sanpellegrino, which comes in a variety of flavors and can be purchased in the Dallas area where I live and teach.  I also made some homemade Italian Creme Sodas (Ok! They are DELICIOUS! Google it and you'll find lots of wonderful recipes.) and served some bite size Italian cookies. The staff got to take a minute to look at the artwork, enjoy some refreshments and camaraderie, and get a glimpse into the artroom and our school art program. It was also my way of thanking the teachers for the many times they help me communicate information to their classroom families or hand out artwork to take home. Advocacy is always important! A good time was had by all!

ITALY: 3rd and 4th Grade Italian Hoopoe Birds

Italian Hoopoe Bird

As a part of a recent Art Inspired by Italy Unit, my 3rd and 4th grade students made air dried clay Crazy Hoopoe Birds. The Hoopoe Bird is Italy's most flamboyant bird and students enjoyed making their own version of the bird. After using a wonderful air dry clay product from Texas, where I teach, students painted the birds with acrylic paint and added feathers, glitter, tissue paper, fabric, and ribbons to put their own spin on their CRAZY birds! The project was a big hit with the students and provided a pretty in-depth way for 3rd and 4th graders to learn to score and slip. 

ITALY: Ceramics lesson from Alice Gori.

This past summer while attending school in Italy as part of Boston University's Master's in Art Education Degree Program, we had a guest teacher, Alice Gori. She is a brilliant ceramist who is often asked by the Italian government and churches, etc. to restore the ages old ceramics inside of important buildings. We had some fun going to her studio, having her come to our studio, and we all enjoyed making a few ceramics pieces under her supervision. This really got me interested in learning more about ceramics and I'm thinking that maybe I'll find a local college course to attend. Never too old to learn!

Here is some of Alice (pronounced Aleeshay) Gori's work:

Above: Close up of headboard. Below: headboard for bed. 

Above: Sign for her studio. Below: Studio.

Above and Below: Two very unusual wall plagues. BEAUTIFUL!

ITALY: Paint pigments at infamous Zecchi Art Store.

One of my favorite pictures! These are dried paint pigments from Zecchi Art Store in Florence, Italy. I can still remember standing at the counter this past summer marveling at the many hues and asking what each one was made from. From herbs, to minerals, to berries, and much more...adding these powdered pigments to oil creates oil paint and is the way great Master's used to make their paint! Legend says that Michelangelo bought some of his art supplies from the Zecchi family.

PROSPER ISD: Folsom Elementary Teacher of the Year and PISD Elementary Teacher of the Year

     I started teaching in 1992 and have enjoyed the journey so much. Teaching, to me, is helping my students use their capabilities to find their abilities.  Recently I received the Teacher of the Year Award for my campus, and then the Elementary Teacher of the Year for my school district. I share this because it meant to very much to me; not to be recognized by my peers and the selection committee, but because I have dedicated myself to my profession and students since the day I stepped foot in the classroom.  I see this award as verification that I'm on the right track and it gives me inspiration for the future. I'm at a point in my career where I'm not only teaching children and young people, but also teachers. My desire is to have my art teaching transcend the four walls of the art room and leave a legacy for the future.

MY SCHOOL: My fashion designer friend!

Every morning I stand outside, rain...sleet....shine....freezing temperatures....., and do 30 minutes of car line.  Every morning my little 2nd grade friend walks across the street from her home looking like a fashion model. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up and I tell her stories of when I was a fashion designer.  She brought me this with a big smile right after the Christmas break! It's six pages, stapled together into a card, but these are the two most special pages...aside, of course, from the wonderful peacock she drew on the centerfold. But anyway....I have a treasure box full of these precious notes. I save them all. I now have three huge tubs of notes and artwork students have made for me. I make a point to bend down, eye to eye, and hug them and tell them how much I love it. And, I tell them that someday when I'm an old lady I'm going to get each one out and look at them because they are priceless treasures!

GLOBAL: Friday Flower Pots!

Fridays in my art room are over the top creative and colorful! Last Friday my students made these collabortive flower pots. They are modeled after Van Gogh's famous sunflower painting, but my students added their own personality to the flowers! I took the snowmen down (thank goodness) and put up the bright, cheery flower pots! They are making our hallway at school smile. It's a simple project and one we were able to do during a quick 30 minute art class. Student use oil pastels to color their own flower. I made the pots. Then, they are assembled on the bulletin board as one complete pot of flowers. My older students drew and cut out their own flowers. I drew and cut out the flowers for Kinder and my first graders cut out the flowers that I had drawn. This allowed us to complete the project in 30 minutes. I keep a box of hand wipes by the door and every student got a hand wipe to clean up their hands while lining up. 30 minute masterpiece!

FRIENDS ARE FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN OF LIFE!