Art In-Tents

I meant to do this post last week during National Arts in Education Week but life got in the way! :)

Last spring at one of our K-12 Art collaboration meetings, the Art teachers started talking about the possibility of doing a massive Art event for all the 6th grade students across the district and the 8th grade Art students.  We decided to go with the theme "Art In-Tents" to play on the "intense" nature of the day.  We got our public relations guy and the foundation that funds special projects in our district involved and took off!  We picked a day which just happened to fall during Arts in Education Week, a happy accident!  The plan was for each elementary school to take their 6th graders to the high school for a two hour field trip in which they would make two projects to be displayed in an Art show in the high school's new library.  The buses came and we took off (boy, I forgot what it's like to be on a bus full of 11 and 12 year olds!) for the high school where we found two giant tents with lots of helpers waiting for us!  We started off at the jewelry tent where two of the high school's Art teachers demonstrated step by step how to wrap a stone with wire.  The high school Art students for each hour were in the tents assisting students.  As the students finished their pendants, they were slipped on a cord and one of their labels printed with name, school, and homeroom teacher was stuck on a tag for display.  The next station was printmaking where students drew into a piece of styrofoam and learned how to ink a brayer and pull a print.  We decided that the "intense" part of the name was accurate!  It was crazy but the students had a blast!  They were dissappointed to find out they would not be going back again the next day.

Newspaper Article about Art In-Tents

Disclaimer: Not everything was perfect!  We didn't expect it to be the first year.  I probably would have enjoyed myself more if I wasn't still stressed out from dealing with all the t-shirts the day before.  -Each student got a shirt with the event logo on the front so I had to sort through the student list to see what size they ordered and pin a section of labels on the back.  Thankfully one of the 5th grade teachers who has a student teacher this semester stepped up and helped me or I would not have gotten it all done in one day!  Can you tell I can be a little high strung?  Anyway... all of the elementary schools in my district are set up K-6 except for my two which are K-3 and 4-6.  This means that my school has almost twice as many 6th graders as the others so not all of my students could fit in the tent at a time.  Some of the high school students took the extras off to the side to play games and picked Red Rover... I see why Red Rover is not allowed on the playground anymore.  One of my students ended up with a bloody nose that they thought might be broken, I haven't heard the final report yet!  BUT, we have already started brainstorming what could be done differently next year and hey, you have to start somewhere!

Summer Plans

School's been out for a few weeks now and my family is settling into a summer routine. The end of the school year was extra chaotic as I had to pack up all of my belongings and resources from both of my schools and haul it home until I can move into the art room at my new school. My garage is at capacity with all the "stuff" from two classrooms and everything that was in my art room at home while we wait for the necessary furniture to finish the remodel.

I don't know how typical this is for other people, but sometimes it's hard for me to relax as soon as something is over. I think it's just part of me being a Highly Sensitive Person. So for me, it's not like walking out of school singing along with Alice Cooper and leaving it all behind. This year was a little harder to transition into summer with leaving behind two schools I've loved and lots of work friends whom I will miss, but I'm glad Facebook will help me keep in touch with them and their families. I came home after the last day of school and started painting that night. It was my little art therapy session and after I worked maniacally to finish it, I felt a lot better! I only wish I'd been able to get to my watercolors in the garage. I really enjoy watercolors, acrylic, and oils, but I would have preferred watercolors for the translucent poppy petals.

So now, my summer plans...

Curriculum- I decided not to take a graduate course this summer so that I can focus on preparing for my new gig. I've spent the last 6 years teaching about 800 K-6th grade students a year and will be moving to a much smaller school district where I will have PreK-12th grade, but less than half the students. Most of my day will be spent with high school- 5 high school classes a day, 1 middle school (7th grade one semester and 8th grade the other), and 1 elementary class a day. I took notes on what the previous art teacher covered so I'm kind of working on a transition with what she's covered, what I want to cover, and what the new Core Arts Standards include as my state is working on adopting those.
Be an artist- I also plan to keep working on my own art and doing some small photography and design jobs. My husband works nights so on the nights he works, after I get my kids to bed I spend a couple hours working on something. Sometimes I go paint, sometimes I put something on Netflix and work on my computer. I've also designed a mural which will be painted on the practice board at the tennis courts in my hometown in the next few weeks. That will be done in the mornings before it get too hot and humid!
READ!- I love to read. In the school year I don't usually allow myself to read a physical book because I get kind of obsessed and want to read instead of doing things I really need to be doing. I've listened to a few audio books while working and read a few hardbacks so far. I have a couple of academic books I want to try to read and take notes on to start working on research I may use for my final semester of graduate school including Classroom (Jaquith & Hathaway, 2012) and Engaging Learners through Artmaking (Douglas & Jaquith, 2009).
Garden- I'm excited to watch the progress of my butterfly garden and the vegetables in my raised beds. This is just the second year I've grown food and though the excessive rain fall has made this not a typical year, I still keep learning things I should do differently next year. The trick will be to remember it...
Family time- Most importantly, spend time with my awesome family. They are one of the biggest reasons I applied for my new job. I will end up with almost 2 extra hours at home during the school year. Though nobody ever said that taking care of 2 kids was easy, it's pretty great to have the opportunity to be a stay at home mom 2 months out of the year.

High School Idea Generation

After my high school art classes completed their painting, collage, and printmaking bootcamps, the next assignment was based on one of the "Connecting" National Arts Standards from the High School Proficient level. Here is the standard and my "I Can" statement:

VA:Cn10.1.HSI: I can document the process of developing ideas from early stages to fully ready ideas.

Basically, as I transition my new school to TAB, I wanted the students to practice generating ideas- which can be a challenge when you're used to being told what to do- and think about the whole process. This is the information I gave them in a handout to start the project.

Idea Generation

There are 3 parts to this project.

1. Generating ideas
2. Documenting your process from idea generation to finished project.
3. Creating a studio project.

You have spent time trying out different media, observing, and practicing composition. Now you have the chance to explore an idea that is relevant to YOU in the medium of your choice. Start by brainstorming a list of subjects that are interesting or important to you- themes, places, things, activities, issues, etc.

Choose one idea to develop and work out a plan for creating it. This could include sketching and notes. When you think you are ready to start, run your idea by Mrs.Morris.

At the end of each class you will need to make a record of what you accomplished that day- notes, photos, etc.- and think about what you need to do the next day. You can do this on the back of this paper, in your sketchbook, or choose another method. At the end of the project, you will turn in a document with a summary of your idea generation, planning, and working, including sketches or photos of your work in progress.

I also emailed links to two articles from Student Art Guide about selecting subject matter and how to develop ideas. Student Art Guide has a ton of interesting and relevant articles for high school students.

Students could use any media that we'd already introduced (anything 2D) and if they had an idea about something else, I said to check with me and I would approve reasonable requests. Overall, I think most students were pretty excited to have an open assignment, except for a few that didn't know what to make. This is when we started talking about fair use and how I didn't want them to just paint trademarked things like university logos and mascots. I had a few unhappy students for a while since they had to get used to thinking beyond just copying but I think they're pretty much used to it now.

Really the only "negatives" with the studio projects were when the student tried to put in too many ideas at once or not enough. That is something that comes with practice and maturity. It's all a learning process.


The documentation process did not get full participation. I kept stressing to students that documenting was a big chunk of the grade for this project but some were still at the point where they just didn't want to do what they didn't want to do. Next year, I think I will encourage them to document the process with photography since the majority have phones with cameras. Even though that was an option, most just did the first thing on the list and gave me a written summary, or didn't do the writing part at all. Now that the students are used to me, I think I would have better participation.

(Kansas) Jr. Duck Stamp Program

I am all about ducks.  I first learned about the Jr. Duck Stamp program when I was a freshman in high school.  I wish I had known about the contest when I was younger because I definitely would have participated!  I only had it as an assignment in 9th grade but I enjoyed it so much that I elected to make a drawing for the contest in each of my remaining high school years.  (Photos of my duck drawings at end of post!)

Duck stamps have been around since 1934 with the first duck stamps designed by J. N. "Ding" Darling. Waterfowl hunters aged 16 or older are required to purchase a duck stamp.  The stamps cost $15 and 98 cents out of every dollar is used to either purchase or lease wetlands which become protected by the National Wildlife Refuge System.  Since the beginning of the program, more than $750 million have been raised to conserve over 5.3 million acres of wetlands.  (Questions about Duck Stamps?)

The Jr. Duck Stamp Program started in 1989 as an educational program with the goal of teaching "Conservation through the Arts."  Artwork created for the program must be 9x12 inches and in a horizontal format.  There can be no writing on the front of the artwork and the artwork should realistically represent a bird species from the list of eligible ducks, geese, and swans.  Each state has a contest with four age groups, the Best in Show is sent on to the national competition.  Click here for info on how to participate in the Jr. Duck Stamp Program or here to find information specific to your state.

I am so excited to have the opportunity to do the program with my students.  My 1-3 students are all finishing their duck drawings and my 4-6 students have the choice or birds or bugs (for Kansas Critters: Bugs.)

Here is my Jr. Duck Stamp Program Motivation Kit List!

• Real duck stamps- My dad saves his old duck stamps for me.  I have one that was on his hunting license from a couple years ago and the students were really excited about it.
• Jr. Duck Stamp Poster- If you can get ahold of one!
• Feathers- I recently added some feathers to my bulletin board display, the curled feathers from a mallard's tail.  Students very excited, of course.
• Examples- I brought my high school JDS drawings and a duck drawing from a couple months ago.  I showed each drawing and talked about the different duck species I drew which got the students excited.
• Reference photos- the guidelines for what reference photos can be used are getting a bit stricter as an attempt to teach students about copyright and plagiarism.  About 90% of the photos I put out as reference are photos that I have taken of ducks and geese at zoos, parks, and the wetlands near the school where I student taught.  I have a couple of photos from a calendar and pictures of decoys as well.  I talked to the students about trying to get the shape and markings accurate but changing the background.  I told them as long as the background was an appropriate habitat for the bird, it would work in their drawing.  (I think that middle and high school students have to cite their source photos now.)

Freshman Year- Harlequin Ducks

Sophomore Year- Hen Mallard

Junior Year- Canada Geese

Senior Year- Fulvous Whistling Duck

Versatile Blogger/Announcement

Thank you to the Modern Art Smock for the Versatile Blogger Award!  I've recently discovered her blog and I like what I see! :)

Now I'm supposed to share 7 interesting facts about myself and pass the award on to 10 other bloggers.

I don't know that I'm super intersting but I'll try!

1. I married my high school sweetheart in 2007.  I'm 24 years old and my husband and I have been together since I was almost 16!  It's kind of a tradition in our families to marry high school sweethearts.  Both our parents dated in high school, both of my husbands siblings are married to their sweethearts, and my brother is now engaged to his!

2. 5 months ago (today!) I gave birth to my son.  I am loving being a mom and doing my best!  Everything has gone really well so far, pregnancy, labor, nursing, figuring out bed times, etc.  I feel very blessed!

3. I am a nature lover!  Not to the point that I want to live in a tree, but I would like to climb one!  I have always enjoyed spending time outside whether it was fishing or gardening.  I live in town but I've tried to create a wildlife habitat in my back yard.  I plant host plants for caterpillars and nectar plants for butterflies so I can attract them to my yard.  I had some help to put in a rain garden last fall full of native plants so I'm excited to see how everything turns out this summer.  I also try to attract birds and I have a "thing" for birds and their nests.  To me, nests symbolize home, family, and a safe place.

4. I am "hyper mobile" which means I am double jointed. I mainly used this skill to gross out my mom by bending my elbow the wrong way when it was my turn to serve as a volleyball player in middle and high school.

5. I have slightly crazy hair and have donated to Locks of Love three times.  I was going for a fourth but cut it off when I was pregnant.  I'm going to try again though!

6. I know how to do the Foxey Lady dance from Wayne's World!  I also have the first half hour of the movie memorized.  My friend and I used to drive around in his car singing Bohemian Rhapsody and headbanging. 

7. I love to read.  I just wish I had more time for it!  I adore reang series of books because I get so attached to the characters.  I hope my son will enjoy reading when he gets older so we can do it together.  He likes to be read to now, I just hope it sticks!

Now I will be passing the award onto the following bloggers (I tried to make sure they hadn't received the award before, hope I didn't miss anyone!):

Art Muse67

Artful Artsy Amy

For the Love of Art

Modern Art 4 Kids

Mrs.Knight's Smartest Artists

Mrs.Jahnig's Art Space

One Crayola Short

Scrumdilly-Do!

Tishalou

Vivid Layers

(Now, post 7 interesting facts about yourself, pass the award on to 10 other bloggers, and thank the blogger who gave it to you and link back to their page!)

Wow, even with so many people already chosen, it was quite a task to narrow it down to 10!

And now, the announcement.  Not a huge deal, just going to be having a giveaway to celebrate passing 200 followers.  I'm thinking about making a "If you make a mistake, make it great" poster, do you think that would interest people?

Youth Art Month

Every year March is celebrated as Youth Art Month, but you can really kick it off in November with the Youth Art Month Flag Contest. There is a theme and each state selects a Student design to be made into a flag that is displayed at the NAEA convention. This year one of my students received an honorable mention in the contest with the theme of “your art your story”. The other two designs did not place but I thought the students did a nice job. 

When it gets closer to YAM I start thinking about selecting artwork for the Kansas exhibit and because I’m a KAEA member, the Sargent Art Contest. I am able to select three, one for each age group since I teach K-12. 

My middle school entry was created by a super creative and hardworking 8th grader who I’m looking forward to having in high school art classes. She went above and beyond in the everyday objects sculpture project making an entire room complete with a hidden safe containing a bundle of tiny money behind the picture frame and a book with real pages in the tiny drawer. 

My high school entry is a colorful watercolor painting made by one of my seniors. She was a freshman my first year at the school so she’s one that’s been with me clear through high school. 

The elementary entry was made by a sweet kindergartener after we discussed American Gothic and I gave the prompt of drawing your family in front of your home. It received recognition in the Sargent Art Contest but we won’t know what place until the reception tomorrow afternoon. 

The other cool thing that will happen at the YAM awards ceremony is that another one of my seniors will receive a Harry Hart Memorial Scholarship! Two students who plan to continue their art education receive a scholarship each year and I’m so proud of and excited for my Student! Above you can see the works I submitted for the portfolio application. 

Forced Perspective Photography

I've been done with this school year for a little while now so I wanted to share some of my middle and high school students' work from Continuous Learning. 

I used choice boards for the majority of the 7 weeks and had most of the same choices for middle and high school students. I felt that the majority of the students would want some type of starting point as opposed to full choice and I made sure to include options that could be done on their computers, without internet, with art supplies, without art supplies, and that would take varying amounts of time so that the students could all choose something that would work best for them.

Several options incorporated photography since the majority of students have cell phones available for use. Forced perspective photography was one of the options. The middle school students especially seemed to enjoy this option and the opportunity to pull out childhood toys for models and props.

Siblings and pets also helped out!

Dear Photograph

One of the options for high school students, though not what you would think of as forced perspective, was "Dear Photograph". Students took a picture of a photo from the past in the present and then wrote a short letter to the photograph reflecting on how things have changed and stayed the same. I usually use this option as my senior students' final but due to moving online, I only had a few seniors. The students did a nice job and I enjoyed seeing what they wrote about the photos!

Reflection Year 2

In my first year as PreK-12 art teacher (I previously taught K-6 for 6 years) I tried to do a halfway choice program with my high school classes, which make up the bulk of my program. I kept some parts that I liked and tried some new things. Last year I got a lot closer to what I really want my program to be. I wanted to tell you how I organized my intro classes and about the feedback my students gave in their end of the year survey. 

1. Confidence Builder- I started the year with the drawing boot camp and a more directed project that would be portable (my classes take school pictures and for a week we had to be able to work either in the art room or in another classroom across from the photo studio. We started with animal silhouettes filled with patterns. The students all really enjoyed this and it was a low-risk way to ease into things. There were some pretty cool results, too!

2. Boot Camps- I've used boot camps to introduce students to different media and practice some techniques since I started teaching high school. I made some changes from the first year and will tweak a little bit more for the new school year. One change was that after the rest of the painting boot camp, I asked each student to paint a landscape. I feel like this also helped to build confidence to give them a little more guidance before they were on their own. This year I'm going to have students practice watercolor a little more. I think that many were still intimidated by watercolor or I just didn't "sell" it enough. I also didn't end up doing printmaking or collage bootcamps last year (instead I just did printmaking demos as kids were interested) but I'm going to add those back in. I still haven't written about the rest of my boot camps from last year but hopefully I'll get to that eventually!

• Transition to Choice 1st Semester Year 1
• Drawing Boot Camp Year 2
• Painting Boot Camp Year 1
• Painting Boot Camp Year 2
• Ceramics Boot Camp Year 1
• Collage and Monoprinting Year 1

3. Themes- After the students had some boot camps under their belts, I would give a theme as a starting point for an independent project. The students could use any medium we had covered by that point or sometimes I would do little demos if there was a need. Here are the themes we used:

• Unsung Heroes
• Community
• Art v. Craft
• Nature/Science
• Story
• Opposites
• Art History or Career
• Facing Fears

At the end of the year I asked students to complete a survey as part of their final. Here are the questions and results:

1. Do you feel that you benefited more from projects that were open-ended or more teacher-directed to teach skills?

81.5% said they benefited more from open-ended projects. 18.5% said teacher-directed.

2. I asked for the students' ideas on themes for next year. Some listed more media based themes, or themes similar to what we did this year (animals, space, etc.) and some had some pretty cool new ideas like "in the dark", "bent reality", "spirals", "shifting nature", or cultural.

3. What was the best part of how the class was structured this year?

The students liked the themes and getting to do their own projects, most liked not feeling stressed about deadlines, they liked that they could access the materials they needed, said the boot camps were helpful, said the themes' introductions were quick but thorough, etc.

4. What would you change for next year?

Most said nothing. A few said they would like more boot camps to cover more media, some asked for more set options for projects (a few choices for students intimidated by coming up with their own ideas), some asked for more time and some asked for more help managing time. 

5. Do the rubrics help you reflect on your work? 

56.3% Maybe a little

34.4% Yes, it helps me see what grade I earned

9.4% Not really

6. How would you like to be graded?

71% said they would like to fill out a rubric and 22.6% said they would rather just be given a grade by the teacher. 

I realized that my rubrics weren't quite what I wanted. I tried to come up with something that could function for each project and focused on the Studio Habits of Mind but a student could still pass with a half finished project and I just wasn't happy with the system. I got some advice in the High School TAB Facebook group over the summer and completely revamped my rubric and grading system. I will let you know how it works out!

7. Do you feel like the boot camps this year were sufficient?

62.5% said Yes, it was enough to see what the medium could do and how to use them. 15.6% said the boot camps were long enough but they wanted more media. A small percentage said they needed more time to feel comfortable with the media, and most of the rest were not in class for them. I realized I did all my boot camps 1st semester and the students who switched in for 2nd semester students didn't get that experience.

8. Is there anything you hoped we would cover this year but didn't?

Most said no, a few others listed things like oil painting, more wheel throwing, or architecture.

9. Anything else you'd like to tell me?

This is a question that I didn't even ask my 1st year because there were some students who were still basically mad that I was different than the previous teacher and I didn't want to read it. I was really happy I asked last year because I got some sweet comments, some funny ones, and some interesting suggestions about wanting class critiques. If you feel up to it, ASK YOUR STUDENTS! It might make your day. :)