Michigan Art Education Association: LANSING or BUST

On to Lansing and the Michigan Art Education Conference :)

Individual Art Review was the precursor to my trip alll the way to Lansing for the Michigan Art Education Association state conference! Of course! All things must happen all at once or at least within hours of each other - that's how I roll. Anyway, the drive down to Lansing was fairly uneventful - some deer running across the road which I narrowly avoided, but that's Michigan for you.

Michigan State capitol building - spooky at night!

My first night in Lansing was actually spent in Troy/Detroit with one of my best friends! Sometimes, after a long stressful month/week/day of freaking out, you just need to unwind with karaoke and beers. I am not too proud to say that - it was necessary and great to see my friend and have some fun after cracking down on myself and my work for so long. 

my "I am so ready for Lansing!" face

The next morning I was up, bright eyed and bushy tailed - mostly - and headed back to Lansing for the first sessions of the day. I crammed a LOT of sessions into that first day at the conference and I will share my notes here, because I just finally had the time to dictate them. I went to some good ones!

Can we talk about this gradient? It's perfect.

The first session I attended was Visual Art Literacy Linked to the Written Word. The session was presented by CRAYOLA and featured the updated national visual arts standards as benchmarks and guidelines for lesson plans and units.

English Language Arts:

·      Reading: Craft and Structure

·      Integration of knowledge and ideas

o   Describe relationship between illustrations and text

·      Writing: text types and purposes

·      Speaking and Listening: comprehension and collaboration

o   Presentation of knowledge and ideas

·      Language: vocabulary acquisition and use

o   Knowledge of language

Visual Thinking Strategies:

·      What do you see?

·      What do you think it means?

·      What evidence supports that? (why?)

·      What else do you see?

Illustrated poetry or pieces of literature

The Arts and the Common Core: College Board

Childrens' Books

·      Llama Llama Red Pajama

·      Lon PoPo

·      Madeline

·      Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears

The second session I attended was called Souper Women! Celebrating Women’s History through Art – The Dinner Party Institute. I was super excited about this session because it concerned feminism and empowered women in art! We received student work examples to take with us, including bowls, trading cards, and links to pages for resources. 

Gender Matters in Art Education – textbook

·      flop/drape slab molded bowls – works the fastest for mass production

·      pre-made bowl molds

·      slab roller

·      low fire terra cotta clay

·      exacto knives

·      low fire glazes

·      bins for storage of slabs and wet clay

**Massive organization and collaborative style of working**

o   older students teach younger students

Table Talk Encounter

·      Respect

·      Open mind

·      Creativity

·      Seriousness

·      Responsibility

·      Caring

[Tell the stories of the women featured in The Dinner Party]

*Pull from contemporary culture and research women of significance

Students create triangular tables to feature the woman of their choice

Souper Women Trading Cards: elementary

Farcebook: fake facebook profiles for each woman – allows the students to interact ‘in character’

**What was the most important thing you learned in the Souper Woman Unit?

**How do you know you learned it?

*One whole marking period/half year. ROTATE when you offer the project. It is a BIG commitment of time and process.

The third session I attended was a repeat from last year, but I really wanted to see what it was all about. It was called The Robert Rauschenberg Power of Art Grant and the teacher presenting it was AWESOME. I had attended a session of hers last year and was very impressed so I figured she would have a lot to offer. I was not disappointed.

Application:

·      Teaching philosophy

·      Addressing specific learning challenges

·      Describe your art program

·      Strong lesson plan with goals and objectives

·      Collaboration

·      Picture of you with resume and bio

·      Be thoughtful and introspective

·      10+ photos and examples of student work with short description

o   presentation, videos, performance reviews etc.,

·      resume

·      photo of you working with students

Creating a strong lesson

·      Current project that is successful with all your students

·      How can it be modified?

·      What can you do to enhance students’ experiences during production?

·      Who/what will help inspire your students?

·      How can you collaborate on your lesson?

·      What extra materials and resources will you bring into the classroom?

o   Tyree Guyton – Heidelberg Project, Brian Jungen, Robert Rauschenberg

o   What can you tell me about the artist by looking at his/her work?

Tracking Progress

·      Pictures

·      Notes

·      DOCUMENT PROCESS

Resume

·      Professional Development

·      Professional organizations and associations

·      Volunteering

·      School committees

·      Art shows

·      Student competitions

·      Do you exhibit your own work?

·    Grants/awards received

The fourth session I attended was about puppetry and was called, shockingly, Puppets! As a born and raised Muppet enthusiast.. I was pretty excited. I had only made marionettes before and this process was fairly straightforward and could be modified to fit different grade levels. One disclaimer - laugh at my puppet. A lot. It's ridiculous and sad and I was in a weird mood when I made it so ENJOY the scary upset puppet.

making puppet clothes - teacher sam

“Christian Church used puppets to perform morality plays during the Renaissance period – do research on puppetry for presentation/background

How to: Per Student Supply List

·      12” dowel rod

·      ¼ pkg model magic – SHRINKS – buy in bulk

·      carving tool or fingers

·      scissors

·      hot glue gun and sticks

·      felt remnants

·      fabric remnants

·      doll hair

·      2 google eyes

·      old buttons, gems, random materials for decoration

·      acrylic paints (for painting the model magic when its dry)

·      paint brushes

·      water cups

·      yarn

·      wire

 

Day 1:

·      sculpt model magic into head shape

·      insert dowel rod into bottom of head

·      thumb eye sockets – add details

o   if model magic is dry, you may want to wet your fingers slightly while sculpting

·      24 hours to dry fully

Day 2:

·      Water down acrylic paint to paint face/features

·      Add hair or yarn with glue gun

·      Felt and clothing decoration

·      SUPERVISE GLUING

·      Cover both back and front of puppet

·      Use sharpie to write name on dowel

Seriously. I do not want to talk about it! Just deal.

After this session I took off for Ann Arbor to spend the night with some other friends and had a much-needed girls night. I had some time to prepare and process for day 2, which is always way more busy, and of course to make some finishing touches on my 3D printing presentation..

Day 2: It's all coming together....

Ready to tackle the conference?! - I think so

Day 2 was marked by a LOT more enthusiasm for learning and real, genuine excitement about the sessions I signed up to attend :) I really am a huge teacher nerd.. even when I am cranky and tired from traveling all over everywhere, I am always ready to learn and gather resources. Go team!

The first session I attended concerned the National Core Visual Arts Standards - which have oh-so-recently been modified and I think improved for us art teachers! 

Artistic Processes

·      Creating

·      Presenting

·      Responding

·      Connecting

Formative Assessment examples

·      Portfolios

·      Observations

·      Think pair share

·      Discussions

NAEA Unit Design Template (on website)

Franken Toys – Grade 8

·      Watch commercials for toys

o   Compare and contrast advertising messages between ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ toys/products

·      Discuss marketing strategies used

·      Think pair share

·      Freya Jobbins, Edward Kienholz

Prepare and present – advertisements, slogans, and jingles for remade/constructed toys

The second session I attended, and arguably my favorite of all apart from my own, was called Tough Talks and was presented by Christopher Bruce: School Programs Senior Coordinator at the Grand Rapids Museum of Art. I had heard him speak before and I am always impressed with his lessons and findings and of course his work with students. Soooo I jumped at the chance to attend this session. We all sat around in a circle of chairs and had a more informal presentation of ideas - which was great. The session concerned the really difficult subjects we often encounter as educators in k-12 art rooms. Students often come to us or turn to art for healing and outlets or even escape from their home/personal lives. This session presented some new and old figures in art who dealt with some 'tough topics' in their work. I loved it SO Much.

Keith Haring – AIDs Epidemic art – “Safe Sex” poster

·      Aggressive imagery

·      No conversation needed – speaks for itself

Andy Warhol – Marilyn Monroe prints

·      Sexuality

·      Sexual imagery

·      Gender roles

·      Gender stereotypes

Stephen Hannock – Luminous Afternoon in West Michigan – For Bridget

·      Death

·      Loss

·      Imagery

·      Surface lettering

·      Photographs

·      Found objects

Salvador Jimenez Flores

·      Stereotypes

·      Racism

·      Identity

·      Multiple selves

·      Good vs. bad stereotyping

·      Conformity

·      Impressions

o   Plaster molds of the self – modified each time

§  Front side – outward appearance

§  Back side – internal identity

§  **mounted onto mirrors to show just a hint of the inner self**

“What is it that makes you YOU?”

“Who am I if no one sees ME?”

Grameducatorhome.org

The next session was super great, too! It was called Directional Sketchbooks and was so fun and informative - I took as many notes as I could, but we were working alongside the presenter to create the books and gaining so much inspiration along the way. The presenter works with k-5 students and his enthusiasm for learning and teaching shone through on this stellar lesson plan idea - he has been teaching forever and has seen a lot of success with these sketchbooks. The main idea behind them: choosing a unit plan or topic to learn about and having the kids explore the topic through research, scavenger hunts, observational drawings, cut outs - you name it, they are putting it in the sketchbooks!

PROVIDE DIRECTIONS FROM START TO FINISH

Supplies:

·      Cardboard boxes – single ply

·      Variety of different kinds of paper

·      Decorative tape

·      Stapler

·      Hammer – to reinforce staples

paper marbling

Notes:

·      Paper marbling – use for decoration of cover or inside pages

·      Drawing ANYWHERE with sketchbooks

·      Put pictures in sketchbook (for field/day trips) to DRAW and FIND – like a scavenger hunt

·      Sketchbooks STAY in the classroom after trips/use

·      Use for seat/bell work

o   What are we learning about?

o   How can we expand upon it?

·      Drawing from life

·      Leaf rubbings

·      Flip books (made from post-its)

·      Pockets

·      Divider pages

Theme ideas:

·      Frogs

·      “Apple Art” – artists who use apples in their art

·     Robots

·      History of the city/town

·      Favorite animal

·      day trip scavenger hunts

·      Dinosaurs

I left this session feeling inspired to create my own sketchbooks with all sorts of different themes! I will definitely be incorporating this lesson into my planning for future classes.

studying the life cycle - integrating interdisciplinary learning/topics!

plant life and poets

Andy Warhol's endangered animals series

I attended a short informational session for new teachers afterwards. There were some REALLY great interview tips - and a helpful acronym for answering interview questions: 

When writing a cover letter – tell a story about an a-ha moment w/a student

S – situation: give context, use examples

T  - task: what did you need to do?

A – action: what did you do?

R – result: what happened

There were also some tips on putting together a portfolio and how to be prepared for demo lessons - something I had not taken into account for my future interviews. I will be working to put together a folder of demo lessons/supplies to take with me, just in case. The panel of presenters said that it is highly uncommon to be thrown into a classroom to teach a lesson in front of hiring committees but I always want to be prepared for everything - so their tips were:

20-30min art lessons.demos

·      have a lesson – think on your feet  - in case of surprise demo lesson

·      NAME TAGS- for yourself and for students

·      BRING SUPPLIES FOR DEMO LESSONS – Just in case

That session was right before my own 3D printing presentation - finally - It was my time to share my discoveries and resources :) I arrived and had some technical difficulties with my very very fancy presentation (of course) so we all huddled in at the screen as I talked through my slides and findings. I had about 30 attendees and everyone, and I mean every one of them, had questions for me. About a fourth of the attendees had their own printers or had access to printers at their schools. A couple of them were using printers they had bought for their own children - all of them representing different sides of the financial spectrum for printers on the market. I demonstrated using TinkerCAD and Sculptris with my own experimental models and results. I also provided background for what 3D printing is - as I have done in previous blog posts.. (Attempt 1, Attempt 2). My main goal was to simplify the process and technology for new users and, in effect, accomplished the highest level of understanding - teaching to others. Many of the teachers have contacted me following the conference, requesting resources and sharing their own experiments and models. It's all cyclical - we are learning from each other and building support for this technology in schools.

3D Printing: Resources

Northern Michigan University Art Education Student: Breanne Kanak

brekanak@gmail.com Twitter: MsBreKart

Blog: Anti Glitter Pro Googly Eyes http://rocklandantiglitter.blogspot.com/

Modeling Resources

TinkerCAD: https://tinkercad.com/

Sculptris: http://pixologic.com/sculptris/

Outsourcing and Downloadable Models

Makerbot Thingiverse http://www.thingiverse.com/

Pinshape https://pinshape.com/index

iMaterialise http://i.materialise.com/

Shapeways https://www.shapeways.com/

3D Printers and Companies

Makerbot Academy https://www.makerbot.com/academy

Leapfrog 3D Printers http://www.lpfrg.com/

3D Systems http://www.3dsystems.com/education

Other Resources/Cool Links

Print the Legend: Netflix special about 3D printing and associated companies

http://printthefilm.com/

Make: 3D Printing: The Essential Guide to 3D Printers

Anna Kaziunas France 2014

10 Ways 3D Printing can be Used in Education:

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/10-ways-3d-printing-can-be-used-in-education

What is 3D Printing? An Overview

http://www.3dprinter.net/reference/what-is-3d-printing

3D Printing Industry: Education

http://3dprintingindustry.com/education/

Various 3D Printing resources - FAQs

http://www.3ders.org/3d-printing-basics.html#history

Saturday was a busy day, but I made sure to take some time for myself and went to have dinner with some friends around Lansing, finally ending up back in Ann Arbor. I did manage to take some pictures of the yarnbombing projects scattered throughout the conference, though! Teachers were taking turns covering objects with knit, crocheted, woven, and knotted lengths of yarn in decorative and exciting patterns. 

yarn chainsaw anyone?

Yarnbombing is a cool form of street art - completely non-damaging to the environment, can be placed essentially anywhere on any object, encourages the use of craft in the classroom, requires problem solving.... I'm definitely looking into using it in my own lessons! I have quite a bit of experience with weaving, but learning a quick crochet stitch, or better, having a student teach knitting or crochet to myself and their classmates would be so fun!

yarn-wrapped letters

The yarn bombed items were actually being offered up for auction to benefit local schools and organizations. Throughout the conference, more items surfaced, and some teachers even took to the streets with their yarn. 

fluffy chairs!

I really enjoyed the MAEA conference this year - possibly because I had the opportunity to get away from it if I needed to and spend time with friends..yeah, probably that. Conferences are draining and can be really stressful in a new place, especially if you are presenting! I would say I attended about 3/4ths of the sessions I intended to, but I gained SO much information and so many resources I can't feel too bad. I was also able to snag a bunch of free books that were being given away by practicing and retired teachers, so that was awesome. Found some really cool books about different cultures, techniques, and of course art prints laminated and labeled from calendars. We art teachers are special kinds of hoarders... hoarders of knowledge!? I definitely had to take a day to organize all of my handouts, lessons, teacher samples... all of it! I am putting together a pretty impressive amount of resources for my future lessons and eventually, in my spare time, I will sit down and put together lessons by unit and separate teacher samples into their correct place etc.

Considering how long it took me to catch up with this blog post.. that will probably have to wait until summer! Which is just fine.

Bye, Lansing!

Upcoming posts: 2015 Resolutions, Foldscope Experiments, 403... I'm excited.

Ms. Kanak