My digital design course had some awesome timing. Below is a variety of work created in the course which filled with a lot of work and tears, illustrator deemed "it's own animal" by my instructor and photoshop with its many facets, proved to be challenges to overcome. I have enjoyed the results. ![]() A Norman Rockwell Inspired Moment. In the 2D Digital design course I learned the tricks of photoshop to include Rico, our beloved 7th member of our household. "Granny Get Yer Gun They're Selling the Farm" 2020 claimed our farm. The my family and childhood dairy farm was sold in August. the transition was already in the process but finalized this year. This composite also includes my career as a lunch lady, which also ended in 2020 as I returned to school at UW-Stout. I created a set of cards that combined my photography of the Farm and the Weavings I create. It was a great way to introduce myself to Adobe InDesign. We created a Graphic novel page, I chose Arachne as my content. For one of our assignments we created a seed packet, I chose Motherwort. I appreciate it's medicinal properties.
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In a year full adversity, I have been able to reflect on a great deal of blessings.
In January, with a great deal of leg work, forms, meetings, and quick thinking I enrolled at UW-Stout to finished the art education certification I began over a decade ago. Life happened in that decade. Four kids later, them all a bit grown up, I felt the need to share my love of the visual arts with more children than my own, officially. In March in person learning was halted. Not only did I as a student have to change my approach to my education, but as a practicing educator had to shift my approach to my art lessons. Remote learning happened in an instant. It continued throughout the school year. Children I taught were able to continue lessons. I change the approach to our annual art show by having a student artist featured throughout the last of the school year. Flexibility became my friend. This summer I enrolled in an art history course I did not need, however I was blessed to got through art history 101 again. I have a minor in art history. What I did learn by studying the ancient world again is that two decades later I have a different perspective and there are lessons to be gleaned from the study of the ancients. I was able to think about mosaics and how to introduce them, I was excited to apply facts about the pyramids, and in Assyrian sculpture mythical creatures could come alive in the minds of my students. In the Special Education course I learned a lot about adaptability and about how I approach my emotional/behavioral students. Late in August I compiled a reading in the content areas ESA. My learning was very consolidated and continued into this fall semester. In June my family farm sold. I am deeply connected to the farm, my father still lives next door, so I have been dealing with the "loss" of something dear. In the grieving process I have been aware of transitions, change, and shifts in thinking. In all the adversity this year has provided a willingness and openness to shifts in mindsets are vital. It was a time of quiet and meaningful reflection. The challenge is great this school year, fall 2020. We continue to deal with the complications of a pandemic. I continued to teach remote, in person, on a cart to K-8 students as well as take on 15 credits, and still managing a household of 6 and a dog. I currently also have a commission on my loom. In October, just days after my 44th birthday, My father fell and broke his shoulder. My mother passed away in 2013, I cared for her in her last days, he still lives alone. My brother was visiting at the time but lives in Arizona. The care of my father does rest upon me. So this year, after many years of "waiting" to return to school, a pandemic of biblical proportions, actually turned out to be a blessing. With the ability to care for my father in a crucial stage of care and recovery remotely enabled me to continue classes fairly uninterrupted. My father also was very thankful to have my help and I felt at ease making sure he had the best care possible from me and others. I was also able to make up the lessons I missed with my in person students with the flexibility with the school I teach at. Teachers I work with are very understanding. I teach once a week so I missed very few lessons in person. I worked hard at staying ahead in all of my courses and was able to keep my head above water. My husband cared for our kids, our eldest is sixteen and our youngest eight, another reason my return to school is possible, they are older an able to care for themselves. Looking back on this year life has been an adventure. It has been a challenge for many. I feel blessed to wear life like a loose garment. I look forward to completing this semester. The five courses I am completing have been valuable. I hope that even as a "non-traditional" student, my "age-ism" has been somewhat overcome, and my contributions unique. It is hard somedays to feel young and old at the same time, however I really value all the wisdom I have earned. I value my practice as a studio artist. My journey may be unconventional but rich with opportunity. Only time could have given me these experiences and purpose in life. I value the human experience and visual arts. Our class was fortunate enough to have a zoom meeting with a "in the trenches" high school art teacher, during this manipulated school year.
One of my fellow student asked, " How do you keep your students motivated?" She responded with that students generally are motivated, that art is an elective for them, they have made the choice to be there. However it is her job she feels to create a safe space that students love to come a space in which they feel safe to express their creative thoughts with a creative critique and helpful motivation by providing students with choice. She also explained that you (as an educator) become part art teacher/part counselor, just because it seems to be the nature of the subject. I asked about assessments and critiques and her use of them in lesson planning and in the classroom. She explained that she avoids the "sandwich", more often then not the student will focus on the negative in the middle of the sandwich and never hear the positive. Through her critiques she encourages the use of art words, and broadening the vocabulary in which her student use to define art. She liberally uses stickie notes for her students to critique others and avoids verbal/oral critiques until they are older, juniors or seniors. Lastly, to have a richer connection to a critique she may have the student artist as a question about their work and have others offer solutions, "what can i do to make my sky more stormy". This creates an opportunity for students to give suggestions and problem solve others work. Some of her strategies to engage students involve daily draw, beginning surveys. In the daily draw students take ten minutes of the class and draw, often with a prompt, for ten minutes. It loosens the art making muscle and is a practice that can only encourage growth. In her survey at the beginning of the year she may ask, "Do you consider yourself a good artist? and What is your favorite art supply?" She will then ask the same question at the end of the year and compare answersnto see the growth in these students. By partnering with an English teacher and creating a class called "Why wait?" they are creating an environment for these students to practice being an advocate for social justice causes. In the class students take on a cause in which they feel they want to support and with the combination of writing and art, they create solutions and a better awareness. Some of the topics in which the students named, were the removal of invasive species (buckthorn), or bigger world causes that may impact them. She encourages students to look at the bigger picture and she often reminds herself to do the same. Keeping in mind that she is teach future taxpayers, she wants these students to embrace the art experience and to take that with them in the future. To be an advocate for your art program is vital to the success and sustainability of it. These students will carry this experience with them into the future and remember and respect the art process. ![]() Tactile experiences for exceptional learner at ABK Weaving Center Recently our class was asked to take a survey for c.i.t.e, a learning style instrument. We discovered that we were either visual or auditory learners or a combination of both. I am a visual learner, I have a hard time with remembering numbers and even switch the numbers around. I consider myself slightly dyslexic if I need to rely on what I have heard. This exercise also used in in class took us through what an ADHA learner might experience. In a video with a lot of visual noise the viewer was asked to answer questions at the end. Very few of my fellow classmates could complete the answers. At Fritche Middle School in Milwaukee Public School system I was paired with an artist Jane Moore that worked with special needs children. In 2003 I assisted Jane with teaching of severe non-verbal students. It was such a gift to spend time with these children that needed the interaction through a creative activity. Jane took the time to create lessons that children could experience the materials. A few years later I began teaching weaving through the recreation department at Gaeslen School of the Milwaukee Public School system. Our weaving center, located in the basement of a school that had the facilities to service exceptional needs students, hosted time that exceptional needs students would visit. Some of our volunteers from the weaving center helped teach the students weaving and offer tactile experiences. More recently I have been teaching art to students in a private choice school. We have only 1 IEP for the 60 students enrolled. In this students situation the IEP was for significant delays in math and reading. It did not affect his ability to create, be imaginative, use tools like scissors, or understand sequences given for directions of an art project. He did require a bit more individual instruction but was able to work independently. There were other students undiagnosed with any sort of need or assistance. Generally these student have emotional or behavioral issues that require a better handle on classroom management. Adaptability is vital for all learners to experience the greatness of art. I am a firm advocate for inclusiveness. All students need to have experiential learning and art is one of many ways for students to learn through doing. I am grateful for the experiences I have had to share with these amazing students. Weaving looms for exceptional learners, ABK Weaving Center
There is a great deal of organization and details in the lesson Ms. Youngman shared with us. Organization is very important when it comes to the art teacher's career. Within the classroom organization is necessary to have art materials in order to execute the lesson in an orderly way with correct sequence for project set-up, making, and clean-up and to avoid utter chaos. Organization is vital to take assessment of the the work created by students. Details in planning work in tandem with organization to make the classroom sing. Unable to view the video of the class, I was able to understand the value of organization through the project Ms. Youngman provided.
I began my school year with my students with an introductory project base on Mr. Miro's work. In K-8 we talked about mindfulness, the subconscious mind, and abstract art. We practiced mindfulness and then went through an automatic drawing exercise. It was a great way to introduce mindfulness and to warm up students to art making. We used a variety of media, colored pencils, crayons, markers, and watercolors. Which was also an exercise in procedures, use of materials and clean-up of materials. The children embraced the "guided freedom" of an automatic drawing. |
AuthorI have a passion for the visual arts and love sharing it with others. I have enjoyed teaching all ages and love to incorporate art history and traditional disciplines as well as innovative ideas. Art is vital to who I am as a creator and educator. Archives
April 2021
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