Spring is here in NH!

OK, I have to brag! That's what you get then you follow a blog of a mom of four! :-)

My oldest son, took a wonderful photo this weekend! He was retrieving a ball that had got stuck in a beauty bush in our yard and was surprised to find two robin's eggs in a nest we thought had long been forgotten!

He took the photo with the iPad and immediately posted it to Instagram for his "peeps" to see (couldn't resist). We were looking at the photo together and I told him how much I truly liked the composition and he said the most wonderful thing..."I love photography."

SIGH, I ain't gonna lie--this artsy momma was happy! Not just because it is nice to have a child who is interested in art, but because I always like to see people talk about things that they love to do: read, dirt bike ride, scrap book, cook, etc. I love to see people light up when they talk about their passions.

And the photo was even accepted on our local TV station's website:
http://ulocal.wmur.com/galleries?groupId=400855&type=1
So now he's famous! :-)

So, enjoy this bit of spring from NH care of my 12-year-old!

The Heart Needs ART!

I just got home from a wonderful conference at Plymouth State University on Integrating the Arts. So awesome! I met a ton of great educators. You'll be hearing more about my findings from the conference soon since I'm taking a related course for Grad credit. Now I need to come up with a project that integrates the arts with other subjects in the curriculum...now, if you're like me, I can't teach a lesson without tripping over a dozen standards! So hopefully this integrated arts project will be fun to create!

One thing we did to wrap up the conference was that we each created a "quilt square" from a variety of media that represented something we learned at the conference. Here's mine:

It's a positive/negative space Notan that is meant to show how the arts are related and connected to one another (theater, visual arts, music & dance) and the top triangle represents one of my loves: New Hampshire! It's supposed to depict the mountains of NH--hey, I only had about 15 minutes or so! Maybe I could go as far as to say the top triangle represents the NH Common Core Standards!?! See how the Common Core standards are connected to the Arts? Man, I'm good!

But really, this image is based on something one presenter said: "New Hampshire has a long-standing tradition of a love for the arts!" And another presenter said "The Heart Needs ART!"

I'm happy to be a part such a great profession!

FYI: the quilt squares made by the conference-goers were complied into a larger paper quilt that was displayed at the performing arts center at PSU. What a great idea, huh? Having everyone create a bit of art to get them thinking about what they learned during the day. It was great to see how different all of the squares were.

So make your heart happy--and do some ART!

The 2014 AIC Reflection Quilt

Another Artsy Conference Coming Up...Even for the non-artsy!

If you are looking for a scenic drive up to Plymouth, NH this Friday as well as some professional time, try this Conference...

The Integrated Arts Conference is going to be held this Friday in Plymouth, NH at the Plymouth State University campus. The sessions look intriguing and I can't wait to check them out! 

Here's the schedule for the conference:

https://www.plymouth.edu/outreach/etc/integrated-arts-conference/2014-workshop-schedule/

And while you are there, check out Oliver! at the Silver Center (the conference is centered around this classic play).

And as for places to eat...Thai Smile on Main Street is a great choice! YUM!

See you there!

Mind Blown: Teaching For Artistic Behavior

During the course of my most recent class at Plymouth State University, "Elementary Methods and Materials in Art Education" with Alexis Eynon, I needed to observe an Elementary school art room. I had the pleasure of observing two. 

The first was Claire Provencher's art room at McDonough Elementary school in Manchester, NH. I had met Claire a couple years back through the NHAEA and really liked how she structured her lessons and included art history. So, I asked to observe her room. However, right before I was scheduled to go in to observe, I was doing my research on her and her school (like a good observer does) and noticed that this year she completely changed the was she does things in her classroom! This year she has made the transition to the Choice-based Art Room or Teaching For Artistic Behavior.

Um...What?!?!

I hadn't heard of this, but I am so glad I was able to check it out! If you haven't heard of this before, I HIGHLY encourage you to check out the following links and books. This method of art education has been around for about 30 years and is very intriguing to me (and a bit scary)--students are now in charge of their learning and projects. The art teacher is a facilitator and art director--not the one in charge of every project. Students choose materials, subjects, and more.

Now wait! I know you have objections! I did too! I know you are thinking, well that won't work for me (or my students). But, I ask you to just check it out. It really is cool and doable! I was also able to observe Holly Rousseau, an art teacher at Highland Goffs Fall Elementary School in Manchester, using Choice-Based learning in her art room. It can be done! And, I think, is a valid way of teaching creative thinking and higher order thinking skills that definitely should be considered. I even wrote a Research Paper on it called "Choice-Based Art Education for the 21^st Century." I can send you a pdf of it if you'd like.

So check out these resources. They are VERY thought-provoking....

• Article: "Smoke and Mirrors: The Art Teacher as Magician" by Nan Hathaway (pdf)
This is the article that inspired Claire Provencher to look into TAB/Choice-based learning.

• Website:  Teaching For Artistic Behavior, Inc.
This website is a treasure-trove of information on TAB teaching/learning!

• Book: "Engaging Learners Through Artmaking: Choice-based Art Education in the Classroom," by Katherine Douglas and Diane B. Jaquith
A great read and has many testimonials about how this method of teaching/learning can be achieved in the art classroom.

• Book: "The Learner-Directed Classroom: Developing Creative Thinking Skills Through Art" by Diane Jaquith and Nan Hathaway
A compilation of articles from a variety of teachers who are using this approach in their art rooms from Elementary school through High School art rooms. Also a quick read and very accessible.

But as LeVar Burton used to say on Reading Rainbow "But you don't have to take my word for it!" Go observe a TAB/Choice-based art room near you! And let me know what you find!

Amherst Art Students Display Work At A&E Roastery For The Month of July

Hello all! I am pleased to announce that A & E Roastery in Amherst, NH will be displaying the work of five of my art students for the month of July in their café on Route 101A. 

The work is the product of my most recent art class, held after school at Amherst Middle School entitled "Art As A Career: The Graphic Design and Illustration Challenge." The class introduced students in grades 6-8 to the exciting careers available to artists today in the design industry.
As part of the class, the students created a label for a bag of "Earth Day Blend" coffee based on the specifications provided by real-world client, A & E Roastery.  Along the way, students were able to brainstorm and create a comprehensive illustration, select fonts that were readable and complemented their illustrations, and create a design that included all of the elements the client required. Quite a challenge, and the results are fresh and creative.

The students who have work on display are Hailey Hull (Grade 7), Cassandra Jillson (Grade 8), Sarah Kayser (Grade 7), Eliza Mastergeorge (Grade 7), and Lucy Stover (Grade 7).

The completed designs will be on display at A & E Coffee Roastery through the month of July in their café. A & E Roastery is a retail and wholesale café providing each customer with personalized service and the finest coffee and tea possible in a business that promotes environmental stewardship and economic fairness to growers. This display is part of an ongoing monthly series encouraging local arts. They are located at 135 Route Route 101A and open Monday -Friday: 6:30am - 6pm , Saturdays: 8am - 6pm, and Sundays: 9am - 5pm.

Hailey used colored pencils for her illustration. 

Cassandra used colored pencils for her illustration. 

Sarah used watercolor and ink for her illustration.

Eliza used cut paper for her illustration.

----------

Art teacher-y Stuff: A & E had a label design contest in February 2013 and gave all of the specs for the project online on their website. I saw this and thought "what a great project for my students!" I didn't have access to computers, so I had to do some creative thinking about how we'd do the design work and have a real-life finished product.

So, the first class, we brainstormed and did thumbnail sketches. Then the students created comprehensive drawings and we discussed different ways they could create their illustrations: cut paper, watercolor & ink, watercolor and colored pencils, or colored pencils. I gave demos on all four techniques.

In week two, the students were able to complete their illustrations and then I gave them a sheet that had a list of all of the components that needed to me on the finished label:

Each label needed to meet the following criteria:

• A full color illustration
• Include the title of the coffee ("Earth Day Blend")
• Contain the A & E Logo
• Contain the USDA Organic Logo
• Display the coffee description
• Include the text "Date Roasted" with a space to handwrite the date
• Include the bag weight: 1 lb.
• Display the A & E Contact Info (URL, Town, State, and telephone number)
• Finished label size of 3" x 4"

I had all of the text and the logos printed on paper and the students literally cut and pasted them to create labels. I had 6 different fonts and three different colors of backgrounds with the fonts (dark green, black and white). The logos were in a variety of sizes, so they could choose what worked best with their design.

Their finished labels were mounted on black mat board just like we would do if we were showing them to a client. But for the show, I took a color photocopy of each label and mounted them on coffee bags (thank you A & E for those!). I then mounted the coffee bags to black foam core I bought at the dollar store. Seeing the labels on the coffee bags makes them look real!

If you are an upper elementary art teacher and want to include graphic design and illustration in your curriculum, this is a wonderful project! I highly recommend it!

Enjoy!

First Place! Yippee!

One of my private art students won First Place in the Keyes Art Show in Milford, NH recently for a piece she did with me. You may remember the tints and shades landscape with charcoal I posted about here.

I am so proud of her! She's only in 3rd grade and LOVES art! I've loved hanging out with her and doing all sorts of art projects (you'll be seeing more of her projects soon, since we did a whole series on animation as well).

Congratulations!

Amherst PTA Online Auction Has Begun!

YAY! The day is here! The Amherst PTA's Online Auction has begun. This is a wonderful fundraiser for our local schools and there are so many wonderful things to kick-start your Holiday Shopping. Click here to enter the auction site and browse. The auction ends promptly November 17th at 11:00pm ET.

There are categories such as:

• Fun At School (lunch with principals and teachers, etc.)
• We Love Sports (karate lessons, etc)
• Eat, Drink and Be Merry (Wine, GC at Restaurants)
• Pamper Yourself (Gift baskets, jewelry, etc.)
• Let's Go Shopping! (More GC's, etc.)
• More Great Stuff (Classes and items for yourself and for giving)

I donated two things to the auction: the first is the Kandinsky-inspired canvas with the learning quote "You Learn Something EVERY Day IF You Pay Attention." This is perfect for home or classroom! We can all use a reminder to pay attention, right? NOTE: If someone outside of driving distance to Amherst, NH (say, over 30 miles--but still in the continental U.S.) is the winning bidder of this piece, I'll pay to ship it to you.

The other thing I donated is full tuition for my "Gifts From The Art" Class held in Amherst at Wilkin's Elementary School in December 2012. This is a fun 2-day class where children can create art-inspired gifts for their family and friends for the holidays. It really is a blast and the children create all sorts of amazing pieces. This one you'll have to be in Amherst to attend. Right now, this class is open to 2nd-4th graders. Here's the post about last year's class.

Both of my items are in the "More Great Stuff" category.

OK, so there's my commercial--get bidding!

2012 PTA Auction Item: Colorful Learning Quote

Our local PTA is great! They provide so many wonderful enrichment programs at my childrens' schools. Since I have three children in school, I feel it is my duty to help the PTA with their fundraising efforts. The online auction allows me to help in a way that is easy for me. Last year, I went into my oldest son's classroom and helped them create a piece as a group to donate. They learned about mosaics and math and created a beautiful piece that raised $50 for the PTA.

This year, I asked some children to help me create a piece inspired by Kandinsky (one of my favorite artists) which I combined with a learning quote to create a unique and colorful piece that should appeal to a wide audience.

Ta da! Here's this year's piece I created
for the Amherst (NH) PTA's Annual Online Auction.
Now to get it to the auction coordinator so she can get it online...

Here's how we created the piece:

First off, I took inspiration from Kathy Barbro at Art Projects For Kids. It was in her blog that I first saw the technique of having children use Sharpies on dry wax paper and then adhering it to canvas. What an awesome idea and I'm so glad she posted it. Really, once you try this technique, you'll be hooked! I bought my dry wax paper at a food service supply store in our town. It came in sheets and it used to wrap sandwiches--it is less waxy than regular wax paper and is thicker than tracing paper.

Kandinsky Inspired PTA Piece

Supplies Needed:

• Dry wax paper
• Pencils
• Sharpies in various colors
• Scissors and ruler or paper cutter
• Pre-primed and pre-stretched canvas (or you can use a canvas board), mine is 20" x 24"
• Mod Podge and paint brush (I used matte Mod Podge while working & the Glossy for the final coat)
• Acrylic paints (I used black, blue and white)
• Quote printed out to size needed

Directions:

1. Figure out what size squares you want for your border and how many you need. I needed 18 four inch squares for my border. Cut squares of dry wax paper slightly larger than you need (I cut them to be 4 1/2" so little fingerprints on the edges could be trimmed away for a neater look. You can skip this step and make your squares actual size if you want to--it would save some time later).

2. Use the pencil to draw a circle in the center of the dry wax paper square. Then draw concentric circles radiating from that. The circles don't have to be perfect, it actually looks better if they are imperfect.

3. Use the Sharpies to color in the concentric circles. You can color in the circles entirely with one color, or split a circle and do the left side one color and the right side another color (check out Kandinsky's work and the photos of this project for inspiration). Fill in your entire square with rings of color. 

4. Once all of the squares are done, trim them to the size you need. I trimmed mine to be 4" square.

5. Use a ruler and pencil to measure and lightly draw guidelines to place your border squares. I did a 4" border all around the canvas with little tick marks every four inches so I could make sure I was lining everything up properly as I went.

6. Use Mod Podge to attach the squares to the canvas around the border. I suggest laying out all of your squares first to make sure you like the arrangement before you start gluing. Paint the Mod Podge onto the canvas, lay the dry wax paper square onto the glue and then paint a coat of Mod Podge on top of the square, gently easing the wrinkles and bubbles out. Let dry.

7. At this point, I painted the inner area of the piece. I used white acrylic paint and a touch of blue to create a painterly sky feel. I kept the color choice light since I knew I would be adding words over this area. Feel free to use the color(s) of your choice here.

8. I then painted black acrylic paint on the side edges of the canvas that had not been covered by the dry wax squares border. This makes the piece look more finished and makes it ready to hang--no frame needed! The buyer of this piece will appreciate that. I allowed the black to cover the sides of the canvas and come over the face of the painting a little bit. If you are using a canvas board, you could skip this step, if you wanted.

9. Once the center area is dry, you can add a little inner border of black paint, as I did. Use a thin brush (I used a soft, flat brush that was about 3/16" wide). Let dry.

10. Tape some dry wax paper over the printout of your quote. Trace the letters and fill them in using Sharpie. Cut out the words you traced on the dry wax paper close to the words (I kept all the words on a line together). Adhere the words to the canvas using Mod Podge. Let dry.

11. Once the entire canvas is dry, go over the entire piece with a thin coat of glossy Mod Podge, if desired. This will provide a nice sheen to the piece, sealing everything onto the canvas. Let dry and enjoy!

P.S. If anyone knows who Ray Lablond is, let me know, I tried to look him up online and couldn't find the man that matches the quote. ENJOY!

Using Centers at Art Camp

I had read about using centers in the classroom and the idea intrigued me! However, many of my lessons for my 2nd-5th grade students fit comfortably within my one hour class (including discussion and cleanup). So, I filed the idea of using centers away for later.

Using dollar store foil to create sculptures
(You can also supply pipe cleaners to use for arms and legs if you'd like).

Then, I was asked to teach art camp at Peabody Mill Environmental Center in Amherst, NH. I had two sessions: the first week with 5- & 6-year-olds and the second week with 7- & 8-year-olds. There was no set curriculum, so I needed to design an art & nature camp that would fill the time (9:00 am to noon, Monday through Friday) in a way that would allow the children to create art and take advantage of the beautiful, natural surroundings, and allow for free play and exploration. After all, this is CAMP and it is supposed to be fun!

So, the idea of centers came back out of the files!

As you can see in my previously published post on my art camp schedule, we had center time after we did our main art project. I chose to have three centers each day. One center was located inside and was with me. At this indoor art center, students worked on a smaller art project relating to the day's theme such as making clay birds in nests, making a bug bookmark, or doing a craft about tree rings. The art project at the center was one that would take about 10-15 minutes or so.

The two other centers were located outside on a covered patio. They were (sometimes loosely) related to the day's theme as well, but were self-directed play and exploration. I had a helper outside making sure things didn't get out of hand and that no one ran off into the woods, but other than that, the children were free to play at whatever station they were at.

Rules of the Centers:

1. Stay with your partner at your center
2. Play quietly and respect the toys
3. When you hear the bell ding once, it is time to clean up and stand quietly
4. When the bell dings the second time, move to the next station with your partner

Ideas for Centers:

• Blocks (mine were wood-look foam blocks)
• Build-a-bug toy
• Plastic Critters (One day I had a bin of insects and another day I had a bin of reptiles and amphibians) with a plastic bin of water for the critters to swim in
• Cloud dough or moon dough with various molds and scooping toys (too messy for my liking)
• Bubbles
• A fishing game with little fishing poles and plastic fish that float in water for the students to "catch"
• Dauber-type paint pens with large pieces of paper
• Clay (make your own so you can reuse it and keep in plastic bags between sessions). You can have the clay "as is" or give them the plastic bugs to press into the clay or use as reference when making their own bugs from clay

Building with a toy called "Exobugs" allowed the students
to reinforce what we learned about insects and create
some really unique bugs of their own!

How it worked:

Before we started, I walked them briefly through each center, explaining how to clean-up each center. Then we practiced with the bell (the highlight of the day!). Once in a while, I needed to remind a child to stay in his/her center or to finish picking up, but all-in-all it went great! I was able to spend some focused time with the children doing the smaller art project (this was a great time to have the children do a project that might be hard to do as a group due to multiple steps or different paces within the group). Using centers also broke up the "work time" so that the children weren't standing there listening to me walk them through two art projects the whole time--that would have been boring for them and frustrating for me!). By scheduling in some play time this way, the children were able to take a break and play on their own and with their new friends (we also had hikes, played games, and exploration time outside as well).

It was a great experience and something I will definitely do again!

Building blocks was popular with the children and my helper!

Where Have You Been?

"Where Have You Been?!"

Well, I'm glad you asked! I've been enjoying the summer with my four monkeys! We've gone on two camping vacations and they both were great and we had lots of fun.

This week, I've been teaching art camp at the Peabody Mill Environmental Center in Amherst, NH. I have a great group of 5- and  6-year-olds and I'm loving being around that energy! My art classes usually have me teaching children in grades 2-5, so this has been a treat for me (and I've been able to try some new stuff out).

My students modeling their Painted Turtle Costumes
(And that's my helper, John. Thanks, John!)

The folks at PMEC allowed me to design my own curriculum for the week, so I chose to have a different theme for each day: one day we learned about trees, another day we learned about insects, etc. PMEC is a wonderful place that has ponds, streams, trails and a great indoor space. My room, called the "Mushroom," has an adjoining patio for shaded outdoor play, so it is perfect for this age group.

Daily Schedule

I wanted to be able to get a couple of art projects done with the children each day, but also give them lots of time to explore the grounds, run a bit, and play. So, I decided this would be the perfect time to use Centers with the children. I've been wanting to try centers for a while now, but the way my usual classes are structured, I haven't had the opportunity until now. Here's our daily schedule (this isn't set in stone, I allow for wiggle room, obviously!):

9:00: Children arrive and opening announcements as a group

9:10: Let's get going! We go on a hike that allows us to focus on the day's theme. We do an activity in the field such as looking at a book, observing and collecting specimens, sketching, etc.

9:50ish: Head inside for a potty break and snack, while they are eating I read a book (if I didn't outside), we talk about what we saw and I give them a little instruction

10:20ish: Main Art Project as a group (step-by-step instruction)

10:45ish: Potty break, wash hands

11:00ish: Sit and look at an item related to our theme in an "Up Close" way: looking at a model of a bird, a real bumblebee (not alive) with a magnifying glass, a cross section of a tree. Then explain the centers for the day, break into partners and start Center work. 10-15 minutes per center. Minor art project done during this time.

11:40: Head outside for a snack and play (explore the pond, play a game),

12:00 Be at pick up area for children to be dismissed

12:20 Children gone, head back to room for clean up and prep for next day

12:45ish...WHEW! Job well done!

It's really important to not rush through any part of this process. While I don't want it to be a free-for-all, I want the children to have fun. If they are exploring and it's going well, we keep exploring and I adjust accordingly. If they are antsy and having trouble keeping still, we head outside and play leap frop with the carpet squares as lily pads or a game of duck, duck, goose. It's all good!

This schedule allowed us to get lots of stuff done, but also allowed the children to relax and enjoy everything Peabody Mill Environmental Center has to offer!

Giant Dreamcatcher!

Take a look at this super-giant dreamcatcher the librarians at the Amherst Town Library in Amherst, NH, made to celebrate their Summer Reading Program. The theme of the Reading Program is "Dream Big" and this extra-large dreamcatcher is spot-on!

The diameter of this dreamcatcher is about 5 feet! WOW!

The hoop looks like an over-size hoola hoop (plastic tubing from the hardware store) and the "web" is made from twine. The "beads" are sections of pool noodles and the feathers are about 8" long. So creative and striking! There are two of them hanging outside the library and they are so unexpected and beautiful--it is nice to see them gently swinging in the breeze.

Awesome!