Art and Music.

When I am stressed, basic decision making ability goes completely out the window. Even something simple like picking out a flavor of ice cream or deciding what brand of toilet paper to buy becomes difficult. My response is a quiet, 'I don't know' because honestly....I don't want to decide, I don't want to be in charge. I just want someone else to tell me what to do.

There are certain, stressful situations in which I don't mind being in charge. There are times when my survival mechanism kicks in and I can easily remain calm and take care of the very serious things that need to be addressed. But later, when faced with the reality of the new normal, the stress possesses me and I am unable to function at my regular pace.

Earlier this week, I was out with friends and someone decided to put some money in the jukebox. "Come on, Nellie, help me pick out some songs," he said. We stood in front of the touch screen, as he scrolled through an alphabetized selection, waiting on me to choose something I liked. I felt completely frozen. I couldn't choose a single song I wanted to hear. Finally, after several minutes of choosing nothing, I dragged over a friend with a very sophisticated level of musical knowledge to help him. And I scurried away, tail between my legs.

Its times like this, when I am feeling underwhelmed, self-conscious and embarrassed that I am quite pleased to retreat inward and become an introvert. I want to grasp tightly to my thoughts without letting a single one escape as part of the conversation. I don't want to hide out at home, alone....I still want to to be among friends, but I do not want to be the center of attention. I just want to listen. To exist on the outskirts of the conversation, asking questions, soaking in the answers, but not revealing my own  opinions.

Later that night, I was sitting around with a group of friends who were discussing the White Stripes. The three of them went on an on about their favorite album, favorite songs, least favorite songs, and side projects of Jack White. It was as if they were speaking a different language. Sure, I have listened to the White Stripes, and I can generally identify a song of theirs when I hear it. However, I lack any an all ability to name any albums or song titles.

This is true of most music for me. I love to listen to music....usually, I adopt a favorite CD and play it on repeat for a long time, as if no other music even exists. It becomes a sound track for a particular season and when I hear it again, later, I recall that time of my life and the music conjures up special memories. I would never claim to have any real knowledge of any bands or musicians.

In fact, I don't have a favorite band....and I don't actively seek out concerts. If I am writing, or working at school, I rarely turn on music....It isn't a necessity for me to function. Sometimes I revel in the stillness and quiet of my classroom and my home.

Suddenly, the group realized that I hadn't contributed anything to this conversation. They apologized for leaving me out and someone quickly asked me who my favorite artist is....

I completely froze.

I went from fondly listening to a foreign language, and appreciating the experts discussing their opinions to being thrust in the spotlight of a question that I wasn't prepared to answer.

"Um...I dunno....I like a lot of different ones...I don't really want to talk about work." Yeah, I actually said that. It was the most awkward transition, and one I've later thought about what I would've said if asked again....I was outwardly uncomfortable and inwardly writhing....a total....'ahem, I carried a watermelon' moment.

A few friends of them threw out their favorites, some artists I had never heard of....putting me even more into a silent, frozen uncomfortable position. I should have said that music and art are seasonal for me....I go through periods of time when I am completely obsessed with one particular genre, usually because I am studying it for the benefit of my students.

I don't HAVE a FAVORITE artist....I can appreciate all art to some extent. If I walk into a gallery and see a Anselm Kiefer, I get really excited but I would never say that he is a favorite, that would just be....weird....I can appreciate his work, but I would never hang it in my home. Just as I might get excited about a Hopper, or an O'keeffe, I would never say that any single work is my favorite painting ever. Who is your favorite artist? That is such a loaded question...especially for an art teacher who happens to love every single thing.

Art is more of an experience for me. When I think about my time in Venice, for example, I will never forget the juxtaposition of the historical architecture with the modern, voluptuous sculptures of Fernando Botero. Now, whenever I see a Botero I am transported back to the shiny, smooth sculptures, poised as a Renaissance era classical Greek bronze in the streets and alleys of the Floating City. I actually have a Botero print hanging in my house...but his work isn't one of my favorites, really....I just appreciate it for that experience.

At that particular moment, none of these ideas about art bubbled up to the surface....I just sat there, dumbfounded by my own embarrassing display of knowledge about nothing....I knew nothing...I said nothing...and I was humiliated by my own behavior.

I guess with this post, I am trying to rectify the situation. I'm thinking of all those 'could've' 'should've' 'would've' things I wish I had said. I'm also trying to find blame in the fact that I have been under a lot of stress lately, and that is why I froze...not because I'm uninteresting with no knowledge of art or opinions about music whatsoever.

I will never be an expert on music, or art....I will have my interval, in which I study everything about Ancient Chinese art and culture...or in which I listen to that Shakira CD on repeat a thousand times....but a few weeks later, both of those things will fade into the file of that season, melded with that time in my life, like the familiar smell of my mom's perfume, conjured much later as part of the vernal spirit of my youth.

Knob Noster.

Each fall I look forward to the Missouri Art Education Association conference. It is held at the Camp BobWhite State Park in Knob Noster, Missouri near Warrensburg. It is a good three hour drive to the campground and the accommodations are notably primitive. We sleep in bunk beds in a cabin without air conditioning or heat. The presentations and demonstrations are held in open air tents. The local Boy Scout troop prepares our meals (and I must say, the food is fantastic--bread bowls with soup, BBQ and biscuits and gravy--all of my favorite foods). Perhaps the best thing about Knob Noster is the camaraderie among the people. Every single person there is an art teacher, and every person at the conference does the same job on a day-to-day basis so there is always someone to talk to who 'gets it'. It is one of my favorite things of the year....it is a place where I can be myself.

You can read more details from Knob Noster conferences in previous posts.
Knob Noster 2010, Knob Noster 2009

And from last year, 2011....I guess I never posted these photos.

I needle felted this iPhone case last year.....to match my ugly sweater. Isn't it awesome!

Promoting Divergent Thinking

QUOTED: Sir Ken Robinson, chair of the UK Government's report on creativity, education and the economy, described research that showed that young people lost their ability to think in "divergent or non-linear ways", a key component of creativity.

Of 1,600 children aged three to five who were tested, 98% showed they could think in divergent ways.

By the time they were aged eight to 10, 32% could think divergently.

When the same test was applied to 13 to 15-year-olds, only 10% could think in this way.

And when the test was used with 200,000 25-year-olds, only 2% could think divergently. . . .

Education is driven by the idea of one answer and this idea of divergent thinking becomes stifled.'

He described creativity as the 'genetic code' of education and said it was essential for the new economic circumstances of the 21st century." signed: (TESS, 25 March 2005) You can see a wonderful TED animation of the entire speech about creativity HERE.  Our superintendant showed the animation at our annual back to school meetings in August.

Last week, I told you about how I am starting the year off with the 'Time Travel Theme'. When students arrived to the art room, the lighting was dim so that they could walk in and feel the magic of my own time machine sculpture. It has flashing lights, an electric lightening ball and moving parts. I asked my students, what do you think this is? What do you think it does? What do you think it is made from? I explain that it is a sculpture that I created out of things that I found. Once this sinks in, I explain that it is a time machine sculpture that symbolizes the theme for our year in art. We are going to travel back in time to study ancient art and artifacts, things that were made before paint and paper even existed!!

It has sparked some amazing discussions like: 'can people really time travel?' 'does your machine really work?' 'how did you build it?' 'If you could go anywhere in time, when/where would you go?' 'What will life be like in the future?'

I showed the video below as part of my introduction to the unit, just so students could start thinking about moving through time. I also showed a slide show of various ways that time travel has been represented in movies, cartoon, and in books.


The Scientist, the Cat and the Time Machine from matthew snyman on Vimeo.
DISCLAIMER: If you decide to show this video in your classroom, please note that I downloaded the video and made one small EDIT....if you watch the video, you can guess what I cut from it....It is a funny part, but not school appropriate and not relevant to my lesson. ;-)

As part of the slide show of images of time machines, I briefly explain that I read the book The Time Machine by H. G. Wells over the summer after I saw an artist re-create a cover for the classic novel. The design of the time machine on the cover is SO powerful....that tiny ladder, I just love it!

For the lesson, I challenged my students to create  their own time travel device. Their design doesn't have to be limited to a 'machine.' They drew a 'blueprint' on grid paper and then decide if they would rather travel to the future or the past. Students then re-drew their time travel device on a larger sheet of paper and created a scene showing their perspective of the future or the past.

The magnificent thing about this lesson is that it promotes divergent thinking....something that is so important in education. For students to be able to solve a problem creatively and from their own imagination. I've only had about half of my classes so far....I cannot wait to challenge the other half of my students!!

DIY Faux 'Air Plant' (Sculpey Moss Pouch)

These little pouches started out as a combination of some handmade clay necklaces I saw at a flea market and the idea of a terrarium+air plaint. Initially, these were to be necklaces....but the more that I worked with the sculpey-oven-bake-clay, and the moss, I decided they would make great little wall hangings.

Do you remember the picture frame around the peep-hole on the show Friends? These colorful plastic frames have sat empty in my art room as a tribute to that much loved little piece of decor from my favorite show. An now I finally have something cool enough to hang inside.

You can buy sculpey for about $1 at hobby lobby or michaels...its often on sale...The dried moss can also be purchased at a craft store. This is a very easy+cheap little craft!

These are a non-traditional classroom decor item.  But since my room has no windows, I think they are a fabulous addition. A little bit of natural green that needs no sunlight and no watering.

They are tucked in a little corner behind my desk, just above my aprons.

And just for fun, here is my teacher-chair. I recovered it with this vintage fabric using a staple gun. Pretty easy makeover!

Teacher Desk Makeover

The only thing I remember about Clarissa Explains it All (you know, that Nickelodeon show from the 90s) was how cool her bedroom was. She had the most amazing furniture and decor. Realistically, it wouldn't be very cool to decorate my entire home like a teenager's bedroom (even though my clothing is usually piled up in every room)but I have always wanted to paint a dresser or something to look like her room.

 This is a project that I have wanted to do for several years, I just haven't ever made the time for it. The design for my classroom desk was based on this basic mural painting.TIP: If you ever decide to paint wood, always use primer first. I was so anxious to get started, that I didn't want to make a special trip to buy anything, I just wanted to start. I did finish it off with a double coat of polyurethane so hopefully that will be good enough. I painted this desk with regular 'ole acrylic paint. I even painted my trashcan to match!

Here is all the owl stuff on my desk!

Favorite detail!

The work crew installed new cabinets in one corner...You can kind of see them in the 1st picture. While painting my desk, I started organizing. Then I decided to move my desk to a new spot...and move some shelves....and reorganizing. I've been to school several times this summer to finish up this project....and get things ready for next year. I will post a few more photos of my classroom once I have finished hanging up my new visuals for the year. To see shots inside my room from 2010 click here and here. Also, more photos are here and here.

Using technology in the art room: Percolator App

After seeing the 'Santa Up Close and Abstracted' post waaaaaaay back in December, I downloaded the Percolator App. Ms. Fuglestad is an incredibly talented art teacher, who actually received the Illinois art teacher of the year award in the same ceremony at the National Conference, so we haven't officially met, but I have seen her in real life...so I sort of know her. ;-) If you are looking for some inspiration in your classroom, check out her amazing blog and especially watch the video on this post where she showcase her incredible use of technology in the art classroom with very young students. Makes me feel WAAAAAY ancient and behind the times.

Anyway, the percolator app is pretty cool and she used it in her classroom in a very real way....I'm hoping to find a way to incorporate iPads in the classroom in the future. This would be a great way to do it. I love how you can take either a photo or a drawing and apply a filter in the Percolator app. It yields beautiful results.

All of the photos below were taken on my iPhone. If you are looking for something creative for your own kids to do at home this summer, or a way to incorporate technology in the classroom, you might consider giving this app a whirl. 

This was a painting by one of my students. I love how it morphed into this abstracted design.

A photo of shells

The next few photos are from a recent post,  Out and About in Galveston, Tx

a drawing from my sketchbook!

a mural from my classroom

A gorgeous student painting of a tiger from the end of the year

I tested out a variety of photos and I think I used basically the same filter for all of my images, because it was the one that I personally liked the most. It would be so fun to give my students total control so that they could experiment with all of the options available on the app. 

If you decide to try it out, please share a link below, I would love to see your (or your kids') work!!

Coach Mitchell for a Day

Even though I am not at all athletically inclined and would never endeavor to be a physical education teacher,  I happily got to assist the P.E. teacher by watching his classes while he set up for the end-of-the-year play day.

I say happily because some of the students called me Coach Mitchell for the day. Coach Mitchell? HAHAHAHA!!

That is hilarious because I have never coached anything in my entire life. I am much too prissy and my nails far too manicured to rough around in the sporting arena. So, for some to call me Coach Mitchell, it was my own little private joke, like I was parading around in a policeman's uniform, all the power to arrest, without any of the training.

The kids were playing dodge frisby dodge ball.

When I was in grade school, I remember playing real dodgeball (boys vs. girls) in the school gymnasium with fat red rubber balls. I HATED dodgeball.

Mostly because I was slow and completely inept at throwing, I couldn't a giant fixed target, let alone a moving one....but also because I hated the way that the boys looked when they viciously slammed the ball into my back or legs with a triumphant SLAP. I really hated how excited that they boys got when shouted, "You're OUT!!" It was so embarrassing.

I hated that feeling of helplessness.
I was too uncoordinated to ever grab hold of a ball and return the brutal blow, so mostly I just tried to hide behind the bigger girls or hunch against the wall.

No matter what I did, I was an easy target....I was pathetic prey and I always resented the other students and everything about physical education because of how it made me feel like such a loser. AND who am I kidding, those red rubber balls really hurt when they hit.

 Equipment for p.e. has come a long way. Now days, those red rubber balls do not exist, at least not for dodge ball. Students use NERF-Like baby blue foam balls that gently bounce off of you like an air-filled throw pillow.

It is nearly impossible to cause injury, even when connecting with a kid's face.

Additionally, foam frisbys were added to the basic game (a great idea for giving kids practice at correctly throwing a frisby).  The frisbys create even less of an impact when they connect.

 The best part about supervising 4th graders playing frisby dodge ball, was actually joining them for a little game of GIRLS+TEACHER VS. BOYS. They boys were delighted that I was helping the girls gang up on them because it made them more competitive than ever.

You see, the boys have played against the girls all year with a horrible chant, "Moo like a cow, go moo, MOO!" Over and over the boys screamed their little chant at the girls as they attacked them with dodge balls screaming "You're OUT" and scooping up new bullets and launching over and over.

I was delighted to help the girls because I got a little bit of payback.
I cannot tell you how extremely rewarding it was to pelt the strongest, most athletic boys in the class. I didn't want to hurt them. I just wanted to get them OUT!

And that is just what I did.

Screaming, 'You're OUT!'....it felt just as good as I thought it would, even though I'm not 10 anymore, I got that real satisfied feeling that one only gets by conquering an old foe.

 I even made up our own little chant, the girls and I screaming "Ruff like a dog go ruff, RUFF!"

I had all the girls saying it with me, I rallied an attack, hoarding all of the balls and frisbys on our side, we savagely assaulted the boys with baby blue bombs. (Okay, maybe not savagely, I was surrounded by a bunch of tiny-10-year old wimpy little mini-mes who were just as pathetically slow, and inept at throwing, we missed more targets than we hit. But I was their leader and it was exhilarating).

I didn't enter the game with sadistic intent, in fact, I had forgotten how much I hated dodge ball until I actually got out on the court and started tossing frisbys and feeling that winning feeling. Students love it when teachers join in and have a little fun.  The boys, I assure you, won't be traumatized by little victory, they probably won't even remember it once the summer is in full swing, but it is one of my favorite memories and I will treasure it.....the day that I got to be Coach Mitchell.

Classroom Murals: Collaborative Art Project

After seeing this post, from Organized Chaos, I could not get the idea of a group mural out of my head. Even though I have had my end-of-the-year projects planned for weeks, and we wrapped up painting projects last month...I decided to tackle a couple of group murals with my 1st graders.

 I decided that these would be fantastic bulletin boards for the summer/beginning of the year and open house next year. The original idea for this project comes from Experiments in Art Education. I would like to share my experience with this project with you, along with a few tips so that if you decide to do it with young classes, it will be easy, breezy and beautiful.

First of all, I would just like to say that I am not a control freak.  If you have control issues, beware of doing this with kindergarten and first grade....I set some ground rules, but some kids either did not 'get' the rules, or they ignored them. Its okay, the murals still look great!!

 I covered each of my 6 tables with a big sheet of bulletin board paper, and I painted a couple of them with words: ART, MUSIC, HEALTH, LIBRARY (I could've made Counselor, Office, P.E. too, but I only have 6 tables and I wanted a few plain murals without words.) Mrs. Novak suggest this in her post.

When the students walked in, I told them, do not sit down, put on a paint shirt and STAND behind your normal seat. I explained that we would be doing some group painting, but they needed to follow a couple of rules.

 Rule #1, do not paint over anyone's work
 Rule #2, paint shapes that do not touch all over the paper

I did a quick demonstration of the type of shapes that work well (with everyone gathered around one table) and said to make lots of sizes and spread them around the big paper. 

 Then I had students line up to get a jar of black paint. Since I store my paint in baby food jars, I reminded them to be careful not to drop them.

My first grade classes are freakishly small this year....I have one class of 14! Students worked pretty quietly, and even though I demonstrated what kind of shapes to paint, some still insisted on practicing stars....making big solid black blobs on the murals. GAH!

 Once there were lots of shapes, I told them to connect each shape with lines. I wish I would have told them to draw lines to the edges of the paper. But its okay, they murals still turned out great!

Some of the murals with large words like ART or MUSIC had lines drawn straight through the letters. But that's okay.

 My students have an hour of art, and this project only took up about 20-25 minutes...even after I gave some basic instructions and a brief demonstration, AND we put on paint shirts.

We created 6 murals.

 I would suggest that you have something for those that are 'done' painting to do....since my tables were covered with paper, I didn't want them sitting at their spots if they had already washed their hands and taken off their paint shirts.

Also, I instructed my students to put their jars of paint down near the hand washing bucket and then scrub if they needed to. Well, this enticed two girls in my class of 14 to paint their entire hand black and then rub them together and show off their messiness to the entire class. I was busy moving all of the murals off the tables so they could dry since we still had 40 minutes to fill!!

 Obviously, it is the end of the year, and kids to silly things, but as you might imagine, this was incredibly frustrating. I'm not one to shy away from messy projects just because they are messy, and I love fingerpainting, but for two of my best artists to be so reckless, in such a small class, who should totally know better...GRRRR. It's okay though, I made them wash their hands very last, and stand off to the side while I explained the next project to the rest of the class.

I told them they wouldn't get to participate in the 'artist trading cards' that we would be creating.

 I did let them make cards.

I'm weak. Its the end of the year, it was just a little paint.

Anyway, back to the murals!!

I let those dry until the next 1st grade class two days later. Let me clarify, I have two small 1st grade classes, but I still see 20 classes a week, 11 of those are kindergarten....so I chose to do this with my two smallest classes since I hadn't taught this type of lesson previously. It would work with any grade.
 
 Before the next class, I prepared 20+ colors of paint, using white to create tints.

I also painted over the lettering with white so it would really stand out.

I had the students do the exact same procedure as I had done with the previous class, go in, put on a paint shirt, stand behind your chair. I had them gather around one mural once everyone was dressed in their shirts, and I demonstrated how they would use their color to pain in one of the shapes, scoot over and paint in another shape.

 I explained that once they had used the color on one mural, they would move on to other tables and put their color on every mural.

 I also told them not to paint on top of the white words and gave them the same rules as I had given the previous class about not painting on top of someone's work.

 During this class period, the school maintenance team came into my room to talk to me about my new cabinets for next year.  Of course they did. I took them around and explained what I wanted and where I wanted it. I was distracted for a few minutes, but the students continued to work quietly on the murals. Whew! I was fully prepared for madness to break out at any second with paint flying, but thankfully, everyone was cool and no one dropped their paint jar or got out of control.

Pretty soon, students started to get 'done' painting. I had joined them, painting with white. I was filling in a few spots on the murals without lettering as well as touching up the white lettering, covering drips etc. Frustratingly, I wanted to keep painting...but after a few minutes....one boy was done and then, suddenly, everyone was done.

Most of the murals were finished, but a few needed more colors. I realized that I needed to move the huge-really-wet-painted papers to other spots around the room and give the 'finished' students an activity otherwise it would get out of control really fast.

It was a little wild, because the kids couldn't sit at the tables, and some of the tables and chairs needed to be wiped off after we painted, and I was the only one who could maneuver the big papers. As soon as that little moment of craziness had passed (no one painted their hands this time), I directed the students to their seats and demonstrated how to create artist trading cards.

You've probably heard of this activity before, students create a series of drawings to trade. I let mine choose their own subject, and they could use markers, colored pencils or crayons to color them.

It is a fun end of the year activity. WOW! As soon as the class had their little blank cards, pencils and fine point sharpie markers, they got right to work, creating little masterpieces. It was as if the group activity had warmed them up.

A little bit 'Keith Haring'

The room was dead silent, the opposite of what it had been minutes before when I was dragging massive paintings around the room, trying to get them off of the tables and kids were running around with wet paper towels, and messy fingers.

Without even telling them to, they were completely enthralled in the activity.

They knew they had limited time because we were going to trade cards at the very end.

 If they finished early, they could make an extra card to look at a book while they waited to trade...The students whispered....they whispered to each other....and to me if they had a question. (I was in touch-up mode on the murals, covering drips and finished the two that weren't quite done).

I had to stop and look around.....the class was completely engaged in the process.

It was magic.

Towards the end, the last 7-8 minutes, students were allowed to trade cards. Some were finished, some weren't. But the ones that weren't could take their cards and finish them later.

This was a very successful end of the year project, and I can't wait to put the large paintings up on my bulletin boards.

 If you are low on patience this late in the year, beware.....I've tried to be as honest as possible about what worked for me so that you don't make the same mistakes I made.

I would definitely do this again.

It was a really great collaborative project.

Lens Baby Addict {Around the Art Room}