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.