Fall 2018 Collage

FALL

2018

A MAGAZINE FOR COLORADO’S ART EDUCATORS

2018

SAVE TH

E DATE!

E C N E R E F N LL CO

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NOVEMBER

8-10

Beaver Run Resort Breckenridge,, Col orad

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4. President’s Message by Vanessa Hayes-Quintana 6. Editor’s Message by Alexandra Overby, PhD 68. CAEA Executive Board and Division Representatives Council Directory 68. CAEA Task Force Chairs and Publications Directory 69. Regional Representatives

In This Issue 11. Empowering Student Voice in Rural Areas by Wendi Oster and Jessi Ruby 18. My Journey to a Choice-Based Classroom ( Pa r t 2 )

by Kari Pepper

24. Colorado Kids Create 28. “Magnificent Small Works” Exhibition Visits Montrose

by Joyce Baker 32. Student Docents: Guides to the Gallery by Amy Marsh 36. National Scholastic Awards Ceremony by Breezy Sanchez

Table of Contents

In Every Issue

40. Janus Henderson Investors Student Art Buying Program by Shaina Belton 42. The Da Vinci Initiative Summer Workshop 2018

by Vanessa Hayes-Quitana 44. Thoughts on the AP Portfolio by Marty Loftus 48. Think 360 Arts for Learning Celebrates 55th Anniversary 50. 2018-2019 Youth Art Month Page 18: My Journey to a Choice-Based Classroom ( Pa r t 2 ) by Kari Pepper (Artwork by Alexandria Roubideaux)

52. Journey into the Unknown: Making, Adventure, Passion (MAP)—A Reflection and Extended Inquiry into ArtSource's 2018 Summer Institute Theme

by Michelle Zuccaro 59. From Conception to Cherry Creek: The Birth of a Collaborative Art Installation by Thad J. McCauley

Page 52: Journey into the Unknown: Making, Adventure, Passion (MAP)—A Reflection and Extended Inquiry into ArtSource's 2018 Summer Institute Theme by Michelle Zuccaro Page 36: National Scholastic Awards Ceremony by Breezy Sanchez

Cover Photo: Meow Wolf and Aurora Frontier Students' collaboration at Cherry Creak Arts Festival from Page 59 : From Conception to Cherry Creek: The Birth of a Collaborative Art Installation by Thad J. McCauley

COLLAGE is published by the Colorado Art Education Association Vanessa Hayes-Quintana – President Alexandra Overby – Editor Rosemary Reinhart & Elisabeth Reinhart – Copy Editors Janet McCauley – Layout Design & Production Please submit all materials to: COLLAGE Editor: Alexandra Overby, alexaoverby@gmail.com

COLLAGE is published tri-annually. Submission deadlines for COLLAGE are: Spring Issue - February 1; Winter Issue - October 1; Fall Issue - August 1. Email all submissions to alexaoverby@gmail.com. Contributions of articles, photos, and artwork are encouraged. Submissions of text should be emailed as Word documents. Accompanying photographs of student work or students at work is encouraged. Do not include images within a Word document. Images should be in .jpg format and sent as separate attachments. Refer to the attachment and the file name in the body of the e-mail. Whenever possible, include captions and, in the case of photos of original student or teacher artwork, include names of artists. Submitted items may be edited for clarity, length, and format. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and publication does not imply endorsement. Lesson plan submissions must include lesson objectives, appropriate assessments, procedures, standards applications, and materials.

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President’s Message

President’s Message

by Vanessa Hayes-Quintana

Gifted storyteller Tim Lowry’s keynote address candidly shared, in his “deliciously sweet poetic language,” how we develop stories as a means to make sense and meaning in our world.

I attended the NAEA National Leadership conference this July with our President Elect DJ Osmack and Vice President Mike Carroll. This yearly conference affords opportunities to our executive council team to develop the leadership and operational skills we employ in running our state organization. Gifted storyteller Tim Lowry’s keynote address candidly shared, in his “deliciously sweet poetic language,” how we develop stories as a means to make sense and meaning in our world. I was struck by how he communicated complicated and emotionally charged topics with an easy playful demeanor. Of course, this guided me to thinking about our conference theme “The Art of Play.”

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Play research is serious business, and good educators understand it’s integral and necessary as a component of learning and connecting. We use easy playful demeanors to guide students through difficult information. We know that patterns of playful interactions help students assimilate and retain information for immediate and future learning.

For example, Tim Lowry was solicited to assist a corporation that had pioneered the production of an electronic gadget. To help the corporation keep its edge as a company, he created the opportunity for stiff-collared corporate executives to PLAY by having them reconstruct their historical profile as a fairy tale. Tim guided them in turning their numbing statistical story into a beautiful, engaging account of the history and purpose of their company. Their newly dynamic story, as any good story, drew people to connect to universal truths through specific purposeful embellishment. Not fabricated embellishment, but the type of poetic embellishment that allows the story to become timeless in its telling. Thus, taking a topic as interesting as a box of power cables and making it human.

We use easy playful demeanors to guide students through difficult information. We know that patterns of playful interactions help students assimilate and retain information for immediate and future learning.

The gift of PLAY allowed these corporate executives to reconstruct their historical profile as a fairy tale and drew them away from the linear constructs of stifling day-to-day routines. It allowed them to envision and define their identity and purpose, and then to communicate their vision.

As artists and art teachers, we perpetually give and use this gift of PLAY. We intentionally create the time and space to give form to imagination, literally constructing professions and identities through the telling of visual stories. We incorporate the art of PLAY as a way to enter the mental space necessary to envision and create. We aren’t concerned with facts, but how they are discovered and contemplated.

If you’re looking for a vein of purpose this fall, consider delving into the Art of PLAY! Where can intentional discovery take you? Our fall conference this year offers a variety of PLAYful options for you to use as inspiration.

Here are some resources to get you started: - National Institute for Play: www.nifplay.org - Tim Lowry: www.storytellertimlowry.com - Nature and Play: www.playcore.com - The Play Project: www.playproject.org - Stuart Brown’s TED Talk: “Play Is More Than Just Fun”: https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_ says_play_is_more_than_fun_it_s_vital

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Editor's Message

Editor’s Message

by Alexandra Overby, PhD

Welcome back to another exciting year of art teaching! Hopefully, the summer provided lots of opportunities to rest, be with friends and family, and see and make art. It all seemed to go by so fast and then we were all collecting supplies, decorating our classrooms, and getting mentally ready for the crazy job we have as art educators!

Besides getting to hang out with my three girls and spending some quality time with them, I loved reexamining the role of creativity in the art curriculum. I re-read work from Sir Ken Robinson and Daniel Pink and examined ideas about the Genius Hour and student choice. I got to talk to other art teachers about how we can promote creative thinking within our classrooms and am excited to implement these ideas into my classroom!

This issue of Collage should help you get inspired and excited for this new semester. We have past events to celebrate, new ideas to try, and information for planning this school year. As a celebration of events that happened this last year, we have amazing artwork from Natalie Meyers and the Colorado Kids Create contest for you to admire. Joyce Baker gives a summary of the CAEA Traveling Show when it was exhibited in Montrose (stay tuned for information on the next show) and

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shares some images from the reception. Breezy Sanchez shares the artwork from our Colorado students who made the National Scholastic Art Awards in New York City. Shaina Belton shows us the fantastic experience that is the Janus Henderson Investors Student Art Buying Program at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. Finally, our community partner, Think360, shares their 55th anniversary celebration with us!

As far as new ideas, have you ever thought of an art bus? Wendi Oster and Jessi Ruby share their launch of an art bus for students in their community. Kari Pepper continues her conversation about switching to a Choice-Based classroom and the steps she took to shift her teaching. Amy Marsh tells us about how she mentors student docents and the work they do with engaging visitors with art. And, for the high school educators, there is a wonderful reflection on the AP Studio exam by Marty Loftus.

When you start planning your school year, don’t forget to add the following events into your calendar! Pam Starck gives us the dates for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and Shaina Belton provides a heads-up for the Janus Henderson Investors Student Art Buying Program for next summer.

My girls exploring the river in Ridgway, CO

My girls at the Black Canyon in Montrose, CO

As always, we would love for you to share your ideas, lesson plans, events, and classrooms with us! Being published in Collage is a great way to advocate for your program and add to your teaching

portfolio! Please send your text and photos to me at alexaoverby@gmail.com. Our team of amazing editors and graphic designer will help you make your article a success!

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Being published in Collage is a great way to advocate for your program and add to your teaching portfolio!

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Photos on pg.8 & pg. 9 of Carpenteria, CA

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CAEA High School Art Leadership Day Save the Date!

Saturday, September 29th for all interested high school students and National Art Honor Society Chapters -college and career connections -art making -collaboration with students from across the state

Details about time, workshops and registration to follow in an email blast to CAEA members 10.

Empowering Student Voice in Rural Areas

by Wendi Oster and Jessi Ruby

Weld Re-1 and Weld Re-7 Visual Art Educators: (Left to Right) Jessica Baker, Wendi Oster, Teresa Lantz, Jessica Ruby, Jeff Stone, Jaisee Starr, and Ellen Hubenett.

Last fall, we embarked on a grand adventure.

We used an art bus to subvert the traditional art exhibition by transforming the setting from a building, room, or formal show to an informal and inviting experience of community. We saw the art bus as an opportunity to celebrate the voices and perspectives of our students while fostering community and advocating for the arts in a rural setting.

We have been exploring a shift in mindset to promote the flexibility of student voice through personal choice and meaning. In order to empower our students, we wanted to promote their creations by adding prestige and excitement in the community

by making the artwork accessible in a public space and not limited to the specific school facility. An added benefit was the chance to collaborate with fellow colleagues from neighboring school districts.

I, Jessi, have been teaching art in a rural area for over five years. I continually have found struggles in displaying student art to the public. The district art show was my students’ sole experience of an art show. I knew that I needed to broaden students’ art experiences and perspectives. I initially saw art on a bus on The Art Ed website. I archived the idea as a future goal for my students. I wanted to display my students’ art in a unique and unexpected setting, but make it accessible to all. So, I contacted my

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Outside view of completed art display

district’s transportation department to reserve a bus on the evening of a football game. I realized that our team was scheduled to play against the Platte Valley team from Kersey on the reservation date.

Without hesitation, I contacted Wendi Oster to invite her students and district to participate in the art bus. I knew that a fellow rural community might sympathize with my thoughts about a different opportunity to display art.

I, Wendi, was both excited and intimidated by the invitation to collaborate with Jessi and her school district. I immediately saw the potential of participating in the experience of an art bus, but I

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was also overwhelmed by the logistics. What goes into establishing an art bus?

After participating in the first art bus, I feel that my fears and concerns about limitations have been eased. Here are some simple pointers and suggestions to make an art bus possible: Before: • Bus: Start by communicating with your administration team and transportation department to figure out the logistics of how to reserve a bus, the cost of using the bus, the possible locations for a bus (be aware that you’ll need to avoid fire

lanes), and securing a date. We were lucky because our art bus coincided with other district events such as an FFA dinner and football game, which meant that the bus garage needed to be empty to house the dinner and a crowd would be present to attend the game.

Older buses work well because there is little fear of damage and the back door is able to be open, allowing for fluid movement through the bus. Be sure to have stairs ready at the back of the bus to make exiting safe. A banner could be used to gain the interests of people passing by. • Artwork: There were seven art teachers involved in our art bus experience and each of us contributed about 20 pieces of student artwork (and we still had space to spare). Sharing the experience with other art educators or school districts

helped make the goal obtainable. It is helpful to label the pieces so viewers can navigate and easily connect with the artists. • Advertising and Advocacy: Create flyers and invitations to encourage students, staff, parents, and the community to come support the arts. A couple of high school students designed ours as a part of their course work. Be sure to include an article for parent emails and newsletters. It is a nice touch to make personal invitations for the superintendents, administration teams, and other influential individuals. • Materials: For setup, we used small disk-shaped magnets found at a local hardware store. This made setup super quick and easy. We also made a makeshift clothesline on the inside of

View of the inside of the bus

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the bus, using a nylon rope wedged in the windows and clothespins to fasten the artwork to the rope. Simple LED strip lights could be used to create a festive mood and help with lighting needs. It is important not to use tapes or other temporary adhesives because they could leave residue. Consider contacting local businesses for donations of materials.

Goal: Keep it simple and remember that the goal is to celebrate students’ voices and make art accessible.

During: • Bus: It is wise to have the bus delivered to the agreed-upon location an hour before setup. Do a quick inventory of the bus to ensure that everything is safe and secure.

It is wise to have a quick orientation on how to run the interior lights in case it gets dark.

• Artwork: For two-dimensional displays, consider using all spaces on the bus, including the ceiling, the exterior, and the seats. For three-dimensional pieces, we placed plywood on top of the seat backs for temporary shelving and then arranged the three-dimensional art pieces on these temporary shelves. (An alternative to plywood is to use shelves from cabinets in the art room.) Fabric can be added onto the shelves, but it is not necessary. Setup for our event took about thirty minutes.

• Advertising and Advocacy: If it is a standalone event and it’s possible to offer refreshments, consider enticing the community to experience the art by offering simple refreshments. Consider too having students attend as docents who guide guests through the experience, answer questions, and share their artmaking stories. Be sure to document the experience and share it on social media to further the arts-advocacy impact.

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After: • Bus: Have a set time arranged for the bus to be secured and picked up.

Have the common courtesy to return the bus in the condition in which it was delivered because this shows appreciation and respect and fosters support for the art experience.

• Artwork: Our clean-up also took less than half an hour because we all pitched in to help each other. Have containers and totes ready for storing materials for the next time. Paper portfolios help make transporting artwork easier.

• Advertising and Advocacy: Write thank you cards to everyone who supported the cause. Include a brief statement about why it is so important to celebrate students’ voices and make art accessible. Share the experience through social media, school websites, parent emails, and other media platforms.

After I participated in the first art bus with Jessi, I gained more competence and confidence about the process. I took it back to my district, and we initiated our own gorilla art exhibit to give our elementary students an opportunity to be a part of our art celebration. (Previously, these celebrations had been confined to high school and middle school students due to space limitations.)

As we were setting up and admiring the collective art pieces, we had a revelation. We were witnessing an extraordinary juxtaposition of purpose and perspective in bringing together two vastly different worlds: athletics and art. The art bus experience was coinciding with a high school football game between two opposing school districts, Valley and Platte Valley.

In the realm of athletics, competition and rivalry are dominant as each team strives to push towards the victory and beat its opponent. In the visual arts realm, however, we were trying to foster the sense

By having the art bus in an open-air setting, we were beginning to shift the mindset of art “exhibition” to art “experience.”

Even the front of the bus can become an art display

of community through celebrating students and their projects. Furthermore, we were also trying to bridge the gap that separates rural art teachers by offering teachers from different schools a chance to collaborate with each other.

If that wasn’t enough, we were also subtly exploring the importance of time and place. By having the art bus in an open-air setting, we were beginning to shift the mindset of art “exhibition” to art “experience.” Often in our rural communities, we

find that students are limited in their perspectives of where and how art can be viewed: in a far-off city, in a pristine building, and in a quiet manner, stagnant and irrelevant.

Conversely, the art bus granted us the opportunity to make an art experience where the informal setting made it accessible to all who were attending.

It was truly rewarding to see and hear community members ask questions about the process, projects, and personal meanings in the students’ works. This

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Second view of the inside of the bus

I wanted to display my students’ art in a unique and unexpected setting, but make it accessible to all. So, I contacted my district’s transportation department to reserve a bus on the evening of a football game. proved the time-suspending quality of human exchange and phenomenal transformation in the moment, creating an art experience. It was as if a subliminal message of interconnectivity and oneness was an unintended theme of the evening.

With this being our first experience of an art bus, we had a few things to problem solve; however, it has rejuvenated our purpose of experiencing art and fueled future plans in hopes of establishing a new tradition.

I, Wendi, want to further explore the sense of community fostered on the grounds of competition by hosting a collaborative art bus

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at our homecoming game. It is important for students to see and experience the strength of the arts through collaboration and advocacy. By making it a public event, we are advocating for the students and allowing them to have their voices heard outside the walls of the classroom.

I, Jessi, found that student art should be celebrated all year long. Persistent art celebrations can bring intrinsic meaning and extrinsic motivation to students’ art making. I plan to explore more possibilities in making students’ art visible and heard. I can find unexpected ways to display student art in a rural community.

After I participated in the first art bus with Jessi, I gained more competence and confidence about the process. I took it back to my district, and we initiated our own gorilla art exhibit to give our elementary students an opportunity to be a part of our art celebration.

Wendi showing off the art

Photo Credit: Bonnie Burcham of Centennial BOCES

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My Journey to a Choice-Based Classroom ( Pa r t 2 )

by Kari Pepper Middle School Art Teacher Bayfield Middle School Bayfield, Colorado kpepper@bayfield.k12.co.us

If you are like me, which I think most art teachers are, you procrastinate until the last minute when a deadline is involved. I had intended to write this article (the sequel to my article in the Spring 2018 issue of Collage) at the end of the school year while I was in the mode of teaching and not wait until the middle of summer when my teacher brain shuts off. I write this article looking out to smoke-dense skies as the 416 Fire burns in my backyard. So, to shift gears, I will try to imagine cool, crisp air and the next school year in full swing when this Fall issue of Collage will actually arrive in your inbox.

In the previous article, I explained how I made the shift to a Choice-Based classroom, also known as Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), and I outlined the nuts and bolts of setting up my classroom. For me, that was the fun and easy part of making the shift to a TAB classroom. The next puzzle to solve was how to guide students through the new stations and manage the art supplies and the cleanup.

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I turned to one of my resources, Studio Thinking 2 (Hetland, Winner, Veenema, Sheridan), which is the culmination of the work of Harvard’s Project Zero team that investigated how the arts are taught and what students learn (http://www. pz.harvard.edu/projects/the-studio-thinkingproject). They identified eight studio habits that encompass the various aspects of being an artist.

I introduce these studio habits with each new group of students through hands-on stations.

This helps students to identify and relate to the vocabulary that identifies each behavior.

I also use the studio habits to assess my students by focusing on the whole child and the process, not just the product. (For a more in-depth explanation, I will be presenting at the Fall 2018 CAEA conference on this topic: “It’s hard being an artist!” Thursday 4-5 p.m. and Friday 3-4 p.m., Coppertop 2.)

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In addition to the Studio Habit of the Mind, I felt my students needed a theme of some sort to guide their art making and give them some structure in this new studio setting. I spent hours trying to figure out the best sequence of themes for sixth through eighth graders and how to teach various techniques.

Do you see what I was doing? I was still trying to figure out how to have control even though I was trying to give students choice. This is one of the biggest hurdles you will have to struggle with if you decide to create a Choice-Based classroom.

For many teachers, letting go of control in their art room is scary. I promise you, once you let go and let students explore, play, and create on their own, you will never go back. I will admit that I do whole-group art activities for a day or two as I open the drawing station and get a new semester started, but then I move fairly quickly to getting students envisioning their own work.

Middle school is a time when students need to explore and expand their interests. In the art studio, I want students to feel free to experiment without judgement. At this age level, students become very self-conscious and have more difficulty “playing� with art materials. I decided to emphasize play and exploration alongside display-ready artwork. As a result, I finally came to the conclusion that maybe it would be best to just have my students decide what they wanted for a theme.

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Over the past three years, I have developed a lesson to guide students in finding their voice for artistic expression. I have found this to be a valuable starting point for young artists to navigate all the choices in media before them. I walk students through the process of brainstorming, listing interests, and drawing thumbnails in their sketchbooks to help them decide on a theme that they have a personal connection with.

their sketchbooks as a springboard for ideas.

For example, one student chose an image of a delicious-looking cupcake and was inspired to make a series of artwork with the theme “seven deadly sins.� I doubt she would have ventured towards that theme without the cards.

This process helps me to get to know my students and learn about their interests right from the beginning.

Another approach I have tried with students is using Terraforma cards (http://www. terraformacards.com/) to help students find an interesting theme driven by photos they are drawn to. The cards have images on one side and various lists of subject matter, themes, processes, and media on the back.

The cards are intended to be a catalyst to ideation and inspiration to various processes in art making. I laminated my set of cards and had students choose a few images and then write down the list of themes and subject matter in

Artist: Alexandria Roubideaux, Grade 8

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I have students who used the theme to create W.O.W. projects (Wonderful Original Work of Art). Again, let me reiterate: DO NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL! Beg, borrow, and STEAL! Thanks to Pinterest and Barbara Berry, a TAB educator in Brunswick, Maine, I have recreated posters in my room and used the W.O.W. project idea to motivate students in envisioning, planning, and creating long-term art projects. These are display-ready finished pieces in comparison to other work that might be just play (e.g., learning how to throw on the wheel or use watercolor-wash techniques). In a nine-week course, three W.O.W. projects seem to be about the right amount of work to require from students for grading purposes. This still leaves plenty of time to do quick tutorials with each new station you open and time to explore and play with new materials and techniques.

The first year I switched to a Choice-Based classroom was akin to my first year of teaching.

I brought it all on myself and made life more stressful by taking multiple grad classes at the same time. One of the classes I took was on “flipping” your classroom by making videos (Art of Education (AOE) classes online). This was a lot of work in the beginning, but so worth it for creating sanity in the new ChoiceBased classroom. I made videos of tutorials and tours of each station and compiled each on our school’s learning platform, which is Schoology.

I have ignored my website for three years now since I do all of my organizing of material for my class on this platform.

You can see some examples of the videos here: http://pepperartroom.weebly.com/

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A few valuable lessons I learned about flipping your classroom are to map out your plan for the video and don’t get hung up on perfection and the editing process because the kids don’t care. The videos help when students are starting multiple projects and you need a few copies of yourself around the room. It is so useful to be able to say, “Go watch the tutorial on how to do a blanket stitch to finish your pillow” when you have clay on your hands from helping a student throw on the wheel. I created folders with tutorials for each station and I include videos that other people have made on YouTube as well as some from my students.

Speaking of clay on my hands, how do we clean up all the mess in a Choice-Based classroom? I sat down with some students and brainstormed multiple systems for classroom cleanup. We mimicked one student’s routine for doing chores at home; our routine was based on students choosing jobs for points on a volunteer basis.

Points were tallied weekly and, eventually at the end of the quarter, students were able to shop with the points for items in a “store” I created with various goodies. This, as you can imagine, was too cumbersome and too much work for me!

After trying a new cleanup system each new quarter, I hit the jackpot. In one of the many Art of Education (AOE) online classes I took, Johanna Russell presented tips on her classroom management system, which I modified to work in my classroom. Again, put the students in charge, give them the choice, and you create a studio setting where art is happening while you take the backseat!

In my new cleanup routine, I explain the jobs to the students. They nominate themselves or anyone else for a job, and then they vote secretly for the best candidate. I train my “Jedi” in each of the jobs and give them thank-you treats throughout the quarter, and badges and lightsabers (aka bubble wands) at the end of the quarter. The students who take on leadership roles are responsible for taking attendance, getting supplies for other students out of the store room, making sure certain materials and

iPads are accounted for, ringing the bell to signal cleanup time and making sure that all stations are put back in order.

I was actually amazed at how well this system worked and an added perk was the positive reactions I got from my principal and anyone who covered my class. Fellow staff members and substitutes commented on how impressed they were that my classroom ran itself with students acting as peer coaches and taking charge through their jobs to manage the art studio.

As artists and teachers, we are all on a journey trying to navigate the various obstacles and pathways put before us. I hope that sharing this portion of my journey encourages you to embrace change and try a new approach to fostering creativity in your students.

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Clay

EVERYTHING

Potter’s Wheels

YOU NEED TO TEACH

CERAMICS

Lead Free Glazes

Lesson Plans

Kilns

Slab Rollers & Equipment

Tech Support

amaco.com

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http://coloradokidscreate.org

Colin Kagan, Steamboat Springs Middle School

Issac Aguillara, Ellerslie Prep Academy

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Nina Goodrich

Elizabeth Lee, Colorado Early Colleges, Fort Collins

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Jade Caparelli, Steamboat Springs Middle School

Emily Faltermier, Heritage Christian Academy, Fort Collins

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Bryson Pendleton, Windsor Middle School

Kara Phillips, Fremont Middle School, Florence

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“Magnificent Small Works” Exhibition Visits Montrose

by Joyce Baker “Magnificent Small Works,” the Colorado Art Education Association Members' Traveling Art Exhibition, made its home for the month of April in the rural town of Montrose in southwestern Colorado.

Being a member of the Montrose Center for the Arts (MCA), a local art organization, I suggested that we bring the art show to Montrose in order to expand the local art scene.

We collaborated with the Montrose Office of Business and Tourism to host the exhibit of forty small 12”x12” art pieces created by

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Colorado art educators. The opening reception at the Montrose Visitor Center on April 7, 2018 included quiet music by a local harpist along with small eats and wine.

Jodine Broscovak, president of MCA, and Jennifer Lowshaw, Guest Services Manager of the Office of Business and Tourism, were thrilled with this partnership. Jennifer and her staff received many positive responses from the visitors and Montrose residents who saw the show at the Visitor Center.

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Mason, 4th Grade

Student Docents: Guides to the Gallery

by Amy Marsh

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Navigating an art gallery or museum can be daunting, engaging, or otherwise. A great deal of the fun of viewing art comes from following artists, studying processes, and unravelling artistic devices. It’s similar to how a football game becomes more interesting if you understand, at least, the structure of the game and know the players and the statistics. When exploring art, docents can guide your exploration.

gallery, or zoo” (https://en.oxforddictionaries. com/definition/docent). The word “docent” originated in the late 19th century. It’s derived via German from the Latin “docere,” “to teach.”

The dictionary gives examples of the many approaches a docent might use in their role as a guide: animateur, performer, musician, storyteller, personal commentator, historical personage, and event assistant.

When I talk about a docent, I’m using this definition: “A person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, in a museum, art

I feel that students who work as art show docents participate in a fantastic learning experience. As art teachers, we are always looking for student-

driven opportunities. Using student docents in our art shows is another way to nurture young artists and art appreciators in our art classrooms.

It’s a continuation of the work we’re already doing because we are already creating guides, whether they are guiding themselves or others through art.

I’ve used student docents in my Spring Art Show.

It’s an effective way to make my Spring Art Shows more student driven. First, I train them (more about that later). Let me set the stage by telling you about the Spring Art Shows at our school.

Each year we create a theme for the Spring Art Show (for example, Cirque du Art, Coffeehouse, Parisian Salon, and, most recently, Mardi Gras).

The theme assists beautifully in collaboration.

The Dance and PE teachers have organized dance and gymnastics performances with their students for the art shows. The Music teachers have facilitated quartets and jazz music. GT teachers and students have created stations with history lessons, treasure hunts, and mimes. A Drama student took center stage as the “ringleader” engaging the audience at the opening event.

Our STEM teacher helped some students to create a digital DJ station. Wonderful teachers have also written poems to accompany some of the artworks. So, the Spring Art Show provides us with abundant opportunities for integrated arts teamwork. My docents embrace the theme as well.

To support the docents, I provide docent training.

(They also receive an official badge and a free snack at the snack table.) My students already have previous knowledge about talking about art from our lessons on art literacy. (See my interview with Terri Orlovsky about art literacy circles in the Winter 2016 issue of Collage: “Drawing on Your Imagination: Art Literacy Circles.”) During docent training, we practice by talking about examples of all varieties of art. We also model interaction.

On the night of the show, student docents are expected to chat with art viewers and engage them in the students’ works of art. The docents also

My expert docents consistently delight attendees of the Spring Art Shows. My administrators have been impressed by the students’ knowledge, interaction with the community, and the promotion of my program and the arts.

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encourage sales when the artists are able to sell their work. The student docents receive cards in case they are stuck the night of the art show.

On the cards are various prompts.

The cards include conversation starters such as the ones below: “What do you see?” Color, line, space, shape, form, texture, value.

“What did you notice first?” Focal area and expressive features.

“How does it make you feel?”

Connections and translation.

“How do you think this was made?”

Materials and processes.

My more experienced docents only occasionally use these conversation starters.

My students and the parents of my students love this program. Every year I get requests from previous docents and parents to repeat their docent jobs. Even as early as the beginning of the year, students start asking me about participation and proposing themes. My expert docents consistently delight attendees of the Spring Art Shows. My administrators have been impressed by the students’ knowledge, interaction with the community, and the promotion of my program and the arts.

The reward is heartwarming.

Docents move perceptions. And that has an eternal impact on their lives and beyond.

I myself am looking forward to my retirement journey. That journey includes being a docent.

(Here is the link to apply to be a docent at the Denver Art Museum: https://denverartmuseum. org/volunteer-services )

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Tentative Schedule 2019 September 13 Scholastic Art & Wriitng Awards Registration Opens November 9 CAEA Conference

9:30 am & 11:30 am Workshops

January 8 all work must be registered with National Scholastics 12 Payment and signed Entries Judging dates to be announced

Feburary 8-9 Turn in work to Mile Hi Framing 11-13 Move-in, staging and install 14 Show opens 14—March 29 Public Display Dates Ma March 9 Awards Ceremony 13 Film night 31 Students and teachers remove their art

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National Scholastic Awards Ceremony

by Breezy Sanchez These photographs were taken at the National Scholastic show where over a dozen Colorado students received Gold Medals and Silver Medals.

The Awards Ceremony was held at Carnegie Hall on June 7, 2018. In the audience were

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the young, talented individuals whose wideopen hearts have the capacity to create a world with a hopeful future. Their displayed artworks address beautiful moments, intense truths, and stunning imagery. Teachers, parents, and friends applauded with pride and astonishment at these artists’ achievements.

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Photos by Frank Montanez

Janus Henderson Investors Student Art Buying Program

by Shaina Belton Art teachers are working in an environment where budget cuts are forcing school districts across the nation to either scale back or completely eliminate their arts education programs. In this environment, CherryArts and Janus Henderson Investors are helping keep the arts alive in Colorado schools through a unique arts education initiative known as the Janus Henderson Investors Student Art Buying Program.

This one-of-a-kind experiential art education program engages students in an in-school exercise to help them explore the many facets of art. The program then enables students to apply their knowledge through a hands-on art-buying opportunity at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival.

At the Festival, students are given a budget to

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purchase artwork for permanent installation at their school. Three schools also have the opportunity to purchase art for the CherryArts Mobile Art Gallery (MAG), a collection of museum-quality art that travels to schools, libraries, and community centers throughout Colorado.

In 2018, 24 schools were selected to participate and they purchased 70 works of art totaling over $17,800! To learn more about the Student Art Buying Program and apply for free art for your school, visit CherryArts.org or email Education@ cherryarts.org.

Application to participate in the 2019 Student Art Buying Program opens in late January.

Photos by Frank Montanez

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The Da Vinci Initiative Summer Workshop 2018

by Vanessa Hayes-Quintana

The Da Vinci Initiative Summer Workshop was held this June at RAFT Colorado. Teachers from around Colorado joined Amanda Hallenius, The Da Vinci Initiative co-founder and atelier instructor, in an intensive three-day workshop that guided them through traditional observational drawing, portraiture, historical drawing, and corresponding curriculum.

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Along with developing their personal drawing skills, Initiative participants are able to take their learning immediately into the classroom.

Future Da Vinci Initiative courses will be offered in Colorado and in abbreviated forms at fall conferences.

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Thoughts on the AP Portfolio

by Marty Loftus

Staple portrait

I continually attempt to engage students by approaching traditional mark making with non-traditional materials.

Participating in the AP reading as a reader and table leader has been invaluable professional development, and has changed my professional practice. (I would encourage anyone with interest to apply to be a reader!) Recently, I had the opportunity to serve as part of a small team tasked with curating the AP National Exhibition,

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choosing works that exemplify the very best of what our students are creating. This process has helped me to internalize shifting perspectives in the AP curriculum, and better understand what College Board is expecting from our students.

One of the most important takeaways from this experience is that while technical skill is still an

I will be giving a presentation on this topic at the CAEA conference this fall. There will be many more visuals and an opportunity to ask questions and to share ideas. important part of the AP portfolio, it is only one of the main scoring descriptors. As emphasis shifts from technical skill to creative problem solving, innovation, and creativity, this gives opportunities to a whole new group of young artists.

As an example, let’s take a look at the key scoring descriptors for AP Drawing Quality: A. Understanding of Composition, Concept, and Execution B. Decision Making and Intention C. Originality, Imagination, and Invention D. Experimentation and Risk-Taking E. Confident, Evocative Work that Engages the Viewer F. Technical Competence and Skill with Drawing Materials and Media G. Understanding and Use of Digital or Photographic Media H. Appropriation and Student Vision I. Overall Accomplishment Students do not need to excel in ALL of these categories in order to achieve extremely high scores. Students who lack strong technical skill can excel by addressing some of these other issues, many of which are increasingly emphasized.

Experimentation, Innovation, and Risk-Taking A particularly innovative portfolio submitted in 2017-2018, which was included in the

exhibition, was that of student Natalie Colao.

This work was submitted as part of her concentration and can be viewed on the AP website (https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/ courses/resources/2017-18-ap-studio-ar texhibit?course=ap-studio-art-drawing). Natalie used molten glass from a studio in Bedford, New York to drizzle onto panels of wood to create evocative abstract expressionist imagery. While technical skill was certainly evident in her work, the strength of her portfolio was in her original and innovative approach to mark making, and her willingness to embrace experimentation and risk-taking. While few students have access to glass-blowing facilities, this was an excellent demonstration of original process, and a strong example of innovative thinking.

This year, when choosing standard sets for the reading, we came across a portfolio for the Range of Approaches (Breadth) section that showed a wide range of technical accomplishment. The student included several pieces that showed exceptional risk-taking and innovation by making marks with tools such as a bicycle riding along large swaths of canvas. These works transcended the idea of traditional mark making and moved into the realm of performance.

Although the student demonstrated marginal technical competence throughout most of the Breadth-section pieces, the student still achieved a strong score based on experimentation, innovation, and risk-taking. (Examples for the Breadth section will be available this fall on the AP website.)

Evocative Work That Engages the Viewer Challenging our students to explore evocative subjects can be a scary proposition. Our students are dealing with issues that many of us may not have anticipated when we first entered education. Allowing students to explore their voices is one of the best ways to encourage personal, evocative work that is truly engaging.

Shortly after the 2015 AP reading, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across an article on pride.com. The headline read, “This

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Recently, I had the opportunity to serve as part of a small team tasked with curating the AP National Exhibition, choosing works that exemplify the very best of what our students are creating.

it was the evocative and engaging qualities of his work that set it apart from the hundreds of thousands of other pieces.

In many ways, this paradigm shift beyond technical skill is driven by post-secondary curriculum. In The Art of Critical Making: Rhode Island School of Design on Creative Practice, there’s a statement that says, At RISD we develop curricular models through which innovation and originality are coaxed, rendered, and challenged, leading to heightened expression and new ways of thinking….As educational systems propel us further and further

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away from physical, tangible experience, how better might learning support nimble, innovative, and imaginative thinking than through models that emphasize the iterative formation of ideas through making? Contemporary times call for contemporary thinkers and makers.

I believe it is of the utmost importance that we move beyond simply nurturing observational skills and technique, and move toward challenging students to think and create in brand new engaging ways.

Approaching professional practice from new perspectives can breathe new life into the classroom. I continually attempt to engage students by approaching traditional mark making with non-traditional materials. For example, when teaching cross-hatching with my ninth graders, we abandon pencil and paper. Each student is given a 30” x 40” sheet of foamcore, a stapler, and a box of 10,000 staples.

The level of engagement skyrockets as they make marks with these tools, and their thinking about process shifts. The results are consistently strong, and their future work demonstrates alternative approaches to media and materials.

This shift to non-traditional materials and approaches can be translated into virtually any medium. For more examples of how my students have approached their work, you can visit my student work website at http://martinh-loftus.format.com For anyone interested, I will be giving a presentation on this topic at the CAEA conference this fall. There will be many more visuals and an opportunity to ask questions and to share ideas. I very much look forward to seeing many of you there!

•

Teen’s Queer Art Was Deemed ‘Inappropriate’

by His School and His Clapback Was Perfect.”

The artwork registered immediately as a portfolio from which we had chosen a piece for the exhibition. AP readers know nothing about students while scoring, so to learn more about this young artist after the conclusion of the reading was unusual. It turns out his school would not allow him to show his work in local or regional exhibitions because of the evocative nature of the subject matter. Rather than abandon his idea, he chose to explore this topic and eventually was rewarded by having his work in the national exhibition, and achieving an extremely high score. While his concentration most certainly demonstrated technical skill,

School of

Art and Design LOW RESIDENCY MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE The Low Residency Art & Design Master’s degree is designed for current art educators who wish to build upon their credentials while pursuing development as artists, teachers, and leaders in the field of art education.

• Reconnect with your studio practices and develop new teaching strategies • Courses designed to fit your schedule with two summer residencies and courses conducted online • Learn through both expert faculty and practical field application • Discover new resources and contacts • Synthesize your personal talents with curricular interests

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR LOW RESIDENCY PROGRAM, VISIT ARTS.UNCO.EDU/ART-LOW-RES. Collage Fall 2018

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Clockwise from Top Left: Image 1: Popsicle (the SCFD mascot) with Board members and guests from the Studio School Image 2: 55 Balloons Image 3: Performance by Teaching Artist Jeanette Trujillo and Fiesta Colorado Dance Company Image 4: Pop-up activity with Teaching Artist Eurekus

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From left to right are Bob Hall, Christine Alford, Lares Feliciano, and Pamela Roberts. Bob Hall won the Teaching Artist Award. Christine Alford and Pamela Roberts are from the Heart and Hand Center, which won the Creative Partner award. Lares Feliciano is the Program Director of Think 360 Arts.

THINK 360 ARTS FOR LEARNING CELEBRATES 55TH ANNIVERSARY Attendees included educators, teaching artists, arts education supporters, and past and present Think 360 Arts' Board members and staff.

Honored at the event were the 2018 Teaching Artist award recipient Bob Hall; Creative Partner award recipient Heart and Hand Center; and Think 360 Arts’ outgoing Board Chair Michael Mowry.

•

CAEA’s community partner, Think 360 Arts for Learning, celebrated its 55th anniversary on May 30th at Cultivated Synergy. The celebration showcased Think 360 Arts’ work in Colorado with performances by Teaching Artist Jeanette Trujillo and Fiesta Colorado Dance Company and a pop-up art activity with Teaching Artist Eurekus.

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2018-19 Youth Art Month Fla g Desig n Com 2017-18 Youth Artp etition Month Art, Competition Your Story” Flag“Your Design

“Building Community Art” Sta rt Off Your Yea r Through with YAM! Start Your Year with YAM! Be p aOff rt of our g ro wing c ollec tion of stunning fla g s!

Be aofpart of our growing collection stunning flags! in your choice of What: Assign your students the task creating artwork to be used as a flagofdesign submission

media following the guidelines below. Guide students to create original and personally meaningful artwork by drawing

from theyour theme, “Your Art,the Your Story.”

What story will your students What: Assign students task of creating artwork to be tell? used as a flag design submission in your All of submissions will be displayed the Fall Conference in the Spring 2019 Statewide Exhibition (detailsFall TBD). choice media following the at guidelines below.and Allincluded submissions will be displayed at the CAEA Conference and included in the Spring 2018 Statewide Exhibition (details TBD).

Who: Each current CAEA member teacher may submit up to 2 student artworks.

Who: Each current CAEA member teacher may submit up to 2 student artworks

When/Where: Physical submissions of artwork due: 10 submissions a.m. -4 p.m. Friday,of November 9, 2018 in Breckenridge at When/Where: Physical artwork due: the CAEA Fall Conference.

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Friday, November 3, 2017 *Not coming conference this Conference year? in Breckenridge attoCAEA Fall

Submit your work ahead of time by mailing it or dropping it off to Justine Sawyer, South School, 1700 E. Louisiana, Denver, CO 80210

by October 27, *Not coming to the conference thisHigh year?

Submit your work ahead of time by mailing it or dropping it off to OR send yourHigh artwork with1700 a colleague who will be attending in Breckenridge.

Justine Sawyer, South School, E. Louisiana, Denver, CO 80210

by October 27, 2017 OR send your artwork with a colleague who will be attending in Breckenridge.

How:

How: 1. Notify the representative at conference registration that you will be participating 1. Register your student’s artwork online before you arrive in Breckenridge.

2. Submit work andartwork. fill out information sheet at the YAM table on 2. Follow the instructions for physical labeling your student’s 3. When you arrive at conferenceFriday, registration, find the YAM check-in 4:00 representative November 3, before p.m. to turn in your artwork. Submit

artwork before 4 p.m. on Friday November 9th. *Jurying by the CAEA Executive Council and their designees will occur Friday, November 3, at 4:00 p.m. (no submissions accepted after this time). Winning works will be announced at the Art Auction Friday night DETAILS at Fall Conference. All work will be held and transported by the YAM committee to be used in the Spring • Jurying by CAEA Executive Council designees will occur Friday, November 9th at 4 p.m. (no submissions 2018 Show (details to follow). Works may be collected at the closing celebration of the Spring 2018 Show. accepted after this time).

• Winning works will be announced at the Art Auction Friday night at the Fall Conference.

To be part of the competition and shows, all submissions must: • All work will be held and transported by the YAM committee to be used in the Spring 2019 Capitol Show (details • to Be created by students of current CAEA members; follow).

Represent visual at art the state ofofColorado; •• Works will be collected theand closing celebration the Spring 2019 Capitol Show.

Include the Youth Art Month logo (Cut-outs of the logo will be available to add when checking in your work at the Fall Conference if you do not want your student to permanently To be part of the competition and shows, all submissions must: logo asofpart of CAEA their members. work); • Behave createdthe by students current • It may represent the 2018 national theme “Building Community Through but thisatis not • Include the Youth Art Month logo (Cut-outs of the logo will be available to add when checkingArt” in your work therequired; Fall Conference if you do not want your students to permanently have the logo as part of their works).

Be matted/mounted using black orArt, white board ready to hang on display panels; •• It may represent the 2019 national theme “Your Yourmat Story” but is not required to.

•• BeIdentifying matted/mounted using black or white mat board ready to hang on display panels. information must be written on the back of the work: Student’s first and last name, • BeGrade, registered throughname, the CAEADistrict websitename, before submission. to www.caeaco.org to register studentphone artwork.number School Teacher Go name, Teacher email, Teacher (cell phone preferred).

•

The winning flag design:

The flag design: The winning design will be made into a 3’x5’ flag winning and flown at the annual 2018 NAEA Convention in Seattle, WA, so be The winning design be made into 3’x5’ flagtoand flowntoatyour the annual 2018 NAEA Convention inscaled-down Seattle, WA, so be include: mindful of mindful of this as you will assign the size ofaartwork create students.

Some proportionally sizes this as you assign the size of(Winning artwork to create students.

Some proportionally down sizesofinclude: 12”x20” 9”x15” work notto toyour scale will be digitally cropped atscaled the discretion the YAM chairperson.)

12”x20” 9”x15” 6”x10” 6”x10”. (WinningAdditional work not to scale be digitally cropped atisthe discretion of the YAM chairperson.)

Prizewill Structure information still in the works.

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Visit the CAEA website www.caeaco.org and go to the Youth Art Month tab for details. Check these sites for past ideas: http://www.caeayamflags.weebly.com http://www.pinterest.com/justinesawyer/youth-art-month-ideas/

Visit the CAEA website www.caeaco.org and go to the Youth Art Month tab for details. Check these sites for past ideas: http://www.caeayamflags.weebly.com http://www.pinterest.com/justinesawyer/youth-art-month-ideas/ http://www.pinterest.com/justinesawyer/youth-art-month-flags/ https://www.pinterest.com/youthartmonth/youth-art-monthideas/

Ways to get involved in Colorado’s Youth Art Month (REMEMBER: It’s Youth Art Month All Year Long—Not just March!)

Everything you do throughout the year advocates for the arts and your program—Share your ideas and achievements!

1. Create flag designs: Have your students create flag designs for submission and submit the physical work Friday, November 9, 2018 at the CAEA Fall Conference.

2. Consider planning an event or art show: Listed below are SUGGESTIONS, not requirements • Consider doing an activity correlating to the current YAM theme. The goal of participating in this activity is to advocate for the arts, so if your project can involve people outside the art education field, that is great! See the resource pages at www.caeaco.org for ideas.

• Include “CAEA presents YOUTH ART MONTH 2018” (or something similar) on all advertising such as flyers, posters, & invitations to have a far-reaching appeal.

• YAM is nationally celebrated in March. Strive to have your exhibit in March. However, if that is not possible, it can be held at some other time.

• Remember to invite local dignitaries to your celebration & reception.

3. Request a YAM Mayoral/Dignitary Proclamation/School Board Resolution: Contact your local congressman, mayor, school board or school district officials/ principals, superintendents, artists, businesses etc.

Suggest they make a proclamation declaring March as Youth Art Month (sample form available Is at www.caeaco.org under the YAM tab).

1. Write a brief letter. Include the suggested proclamation and/or endorsement—IT IS ALREADY PREPARED FOR YOUR USE! Simple, yet powerful to do!

2. Your mayor/dignitary will read the information, approve the proclamation, and have it prepared for his/her signature. After you pick it up, duplicate it for distribution.

3. Include an appearance request.

4. The Board of Education will usually add the request to the agenda. Public officials are usually eager to participate in YAM, if you will just ask them!

4. Contact your local news media for event coverage and recognition: One goal of YAM is to make art education visible in our schools and community. (Press release form is available at www.caeaco.org)

5. Be a part of the State YAM Report: Please document all YAM activities and events and submit to caeayam@gmail by May 1st, 2019. Your submission will be included in a statewide report, which is sent to the National YAM chairperson.

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Journey into the Unknown:

Making, Adventure, Passion (MAP)— A Reflection and Extended Inquiry into ArtSource’s 2018 Summer Institute Theme

by Michelle Zuccaro What are the feelings that we first experience when facing unknowns in our lives? What do you do with these feelings? How do we move through times of unknowing to forge a path?

When do we choose to take on the unknown and when does it accost us uninvited? We all navigate the unknown daily, consciously

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and unconsciously. We all have big and small successes and challenges related to the unknown.

As artists, we face “what’s next?” or the classic “blank canvas” and, as teachers, we face the anticipation of meeting anxious and eager faces as we start a new school year (sometimes with as many as 800 students).

Have you experienced any of these vignettes as you approach the unknown?

As you open the door to uncertainty, to the “what’s next?”, to the blank canvas, you may feel timid, confident, or even exuberant.

John Wesley Powell was no stranger to journeying into the unknown as he put together an expedition to discover the Colorado River.

He reflected: We are ready now to start our way down the Great Unknown...We are 3⁄4 mile in the depths of the earth...We have an unknown distance to travel, an unknown river to yet explore. What falls there are, we know not, what rocks beset the channel, we know not, what walls rise over the river, we know not. Ah well! We may conjecture many things. The men talk as cheerfully as ever, jests are bandied about freely this morning but to me the cheer is somber and the jests are ghastly” (as cited in Dolnick, 1952).

with Lance McClure’s guidance. Participants were also inspired by the examples of guest artists: Tony Ortega, Mark McCoin, Katie Hoffman, Valerie Savarie, Theresa Haberkorn, and Armando Silva (aka Art Man Do).

We explored journeying into the unknown through lenses as artists, researchers, and teachers. Through the structure of the Institute, the unknown became less daunting. We dove in head first making art together; exploring ideas; sharing stories of our lives; trying new techniques and mediums; admiring each other’s talents and skills; empathizing with personal struggles, common challenges, and experiences; and encouraging each other in our growth as people, as artists, and as teachers.

In this reflection, Powell conveys the many contrasts that arise when facing the unknown.

At the ArtSource Summer Institute, participants explored the ideas of the unknown through Mapping (Making, Adventure, and Passion)

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Our artist guests fed us along the way with their stories about their lives, experiences, and art making. All of the artists who visited had ways of managing their practice as artists such that the unknowns have become less daunting, at least in relation to making art. They have found ways to create a sustaining source for ideas, artistic development, and production.

Each artist has developed a sort of patterned structure or habits in making art.

Tony Ortega pulls content and ideas from his sense of community, culture, and place by

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depicting gathering places. To speak about cultural diversity, Tony Ortega does cultural spin-offs of American icons, superimposing Chicano/Latino icons. These themes are rich and personal and, therefore, compelling to him.

They also communicate poignantly.

Mark McCoin’s exploration of sound transports those who experience his work into a sense of space. McCoin’s world is illuminated by paying attention to sound. He develops a sense of space through working with ideas of Certainty and Uncertainty: Certainty as a

loop of sound, something that repeats, and Uncertainty as layered on top, creating tension.

He describes sound as malleable and sculptable.

He is passionate about exploring sound not as music but as moving images that play with time. He structures his artistic expression and experience of the world through sound: hearing it, making it, recording it, and producing new combinations and experiences.

We viewed a video called “Jerry’s Map.” Jerry Gretzinger has a detailed way of managing his ongoing artistic map-making. With a deck of cards, he has created instructions. He does whatever the instructions tell him to do. He experiences these cards as a type of “god” in relation to his art making. Within the experience of following the directions, there are spaces for new ideas. This approach has sustained his mapmaking for decades.

These artists have made choices about ways to structure their practice through themes, creating habits of working and making choices about what they pay attention to, study, and play with.

Creating these structures and habits in order to focus also helps them with the unknown. The unknown is ethereal, unnamed, unrecognized, or anonymous. It can be difficult to harness something that can’t be grabbed out of thin air.

How do we grasp it and make use of it?

Here is my visualization of how we as artists, researchers, and teachers grapple with the unknown:

Katie Hoffman is an oil painter. She manages her blank canvas by first marbling, gouging, and/or splattering her canvas. After this ground has been created, she studies the textures and gestures and finds the image. Like reading tea leaves, she sees an image presented to her and she paints it. She describes this process as having something to “react against” or “something to respond to.” This creates an ongoing dialogue and limitless source of images for her. She always has canvases marbled and splattered so that she has something to prompt her next artwork.

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We might visualize structures such as a web, a colander, a filter, or maybe a bunch of lenses that we look through. As we encounter the unexpected or unnamed, we distill it into experience as art, learning, or into creative new connections. What might your structure look like? How will it help you handle the unknown?

You get to construct it. I might need to flip mine and add heat with the “distilling” idea.

What motivates us to take steps into the unknown? Is it survival? Desire? Needs? The search for beauty, meaning, or understanding?

The desire for belonging and community?

With each unknown that comes our way, there are a variety of paths gently sketched in; they are choices. The path deepens when we make choices, thus creating a map of our life.

These choices lead to new opportunities, new unknowns; there is no edge because this map is endless.

Beau Lotto, a neuroscientist, describes the step into uncertainty as exciting. His best advice is to “engage the world.” By engaging the world, you gain the opportunity for deeper meaning.

“We have to act in the world to understand it” (Lotto, 2017, p. 16). This is the link to passion and adventure and creativity.

As we engage the world, reacting through the structures we have in place, the unknown naturally unfolds. We react to these unknowns with passion and step out into adventures sometimes timidly, sometimes with confidence, and sometimes with exuberance. I certainly experienced each of these feelings at moments during the Institute’s adventures into the unknown.

The great thing is that the unknown is temporary.

Once the unknown is siphoned through your structures, it becomes known and can support you as you approach other unknowns. Lotto does warn that, with rigid rules and habits, we lose the stimulating aspect of uncertainty, we lose freedom and “nothing interesting ever happens without active doubt” (Lotto, 2017, p.

11). So just be sure to allow the structures you

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create to be flexible. Like Gretzinger, be sure to have a card that is a “shuffle the deck” card, or “redraw a tile,” or “create a new card” to keep things interesting.

I am inspired, propelled, motivated, and touched by the community of art educators here in Colorado. The depth of commitment, passion, and willingness to engage in adventure as colleagues and comrades is awesome! Wishing you all the best at the start of this school year.

May your roads and the life map that you are creating be stimulating. May you create flexible structures that guide your art making and choices in life such that you engage the world actively.

May you have exciting things to respond to that propel you into deep meaningful connectedness to the world and satisfying creative activity.

Now my children are asking me about the next unknown that I need to decide on: “What’s for Dinner?!”

References: Dolnick, E. (1952). Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey to Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon. Harper Perennial.

Gretzinger, J. [Jerry Gretzinger]. (2009, September 24). Jerry’s Map [Video file unknown].

Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/6745866

Lotto, B. (2017). Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently. New York, NY: Hachette Books.

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It’s like we ship a Tech with every KM Kiln

Current + Sensing Current Sensors ship with every KilnMaster Kiln. KilnLink is an optional upgrade.

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From Conception to Cherry Creek:

The Birth of a Collaborative Art Installation

by Thad J. McCauley Art and Visual Thinking Specialist Aurora Frontier P-8

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One of the coolest parts of being an artist is seeing an idea evolve from the mind’s eye through all the stages of planning and concept drawings, revisions, editing, and construction all the way to installation, capped off with display and public interaction and enjoyment! This is what captures artists’ hearts and causes us to continue to return to and explore the creation cycle of concept to completion. It is also exactly what I want my student artists to experience and get hooked on.

Thus, I was super excited when I was invited

by CherryArts (http://cherryarts.org/), in partnership with Meow Wolf Denver (https:// denver.meowwolf.com/), to have my middle school students help design a large-scale truss for the Cherry Creek Arts Festival’s ARTivity Avenue! This entryway, walk-through arch sculpture was 15 feet tall and 30 feet long (http:// cherrycreekartsfestival.org/artivity-avenue/).

The Festival's Education Director Shaina Belton came out to the school to talk to my seventh and eighth graders about the idea of creating an art piece that could be walked through as a showcase piece to welcome children and families to ARTivity Avenue. She showed examples from fashion and design events and festivals such as Coachella and Burning Man. My students were instantly hooked and worked for two days creating sketches that could help guide and inspire the local artists that the festival would hire to create the piece! Students were engaged. Several worked in pairs and others took their work home to have more time. Some students added color; some painted; and some

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added notes, measurements, and human figures to provide scale. We had fun!

These sketches were then presented to a few local artists who used them as a jumping-off point for their proposals.

Shania Belton, the Festival’s Education Director, said, “Working with Aurora Frontier P-8 was an absolute pleasure. In order to really create a family-friendly environment full of imagination and uninhibited creativity, we needed student input! After receiving bids from several artists, we decided to go with Dayna Safferstein (https:// daynasafferstein.com/) and Sarah Jones (http:// iamsarahjones.com/) because both of their graphic styles lent well to the student work we received.

They were more than eager to incorporate the students’ style and imagery into their own work, which gave the final truss so much life!”

Artist Dayna Safferstein said that she “enjoyed working with the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and loved having the students' artwork as inspiration.

The colorful and imaginative drawings they did inspired the whimsy and color on our truss!”

Ryan, an Aurora Frontier eighth grader, said, “It was cool to see how a professional artist could take a bunch of ideas from myself and my classmates and remix them into something that was both ours and theirs and is fun for everyone to walk through.”

There also was a Free Creation Station at The Stanley Arts Festival produced by CherryArts, September 8th and 9th (http://stanleyartsfestival. org/kids-creation-station/).

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CAEA TASK FORCE CHAIRS & PUBLICATIONS Title

Name

Email

Micheal Cellan Natalie Myers Pam Starck Open Elizabeth Stanbro Kim Williams Robin Wolfe Kim Chlumsky Kelley DeCleene Alexandra Overby Rosemary Reinhart & Elisabeth Reinhart Janet McCauley

medcellean@mac.com coloradokidscreate@gmail.com tplbstark@aol.com

Task Force Chairs Task Force Chair - CAEAE Commercial Scholastics Youth Art Month Arts Advocacy Awards Web Master Social Media Special Needs Collage Editor Collage Copy Editor Collage Layout

caeaawards@gmail.com caearobin@gmail.com kmchlumsky@gmail.com alexaoverby@gmail.com rsrhart@gmail.com janetmareamc@gmail.com

CAEA EXECUTIVE BOARD & DIVISION REPRESENTATIVES Title

Name

Email

Executive Board 2016-2019 President President-Elect Vice President Interim Treasurer Secretary

Vanessa Hayes-Quintana DJ Osmack Michael Carroll Alexis Quintana Rachael Delaney

caeapresident@gmail.com dosmack@jeffco.k12.co.us

Title

Name

Email

lexi.quintana@me.com taranpappas@yahoo.com

Division Representatives Elementary Multi-Level Middle School High School Private/Independent/Charter Private/Independent/Charter Museum/Gallery Supervision Higher Education Retired Student

68.

Jessica Walker Carrie Mann Christine DeVivo Justine Sawyer Andrea Crane Sam Mizwicki Sarah Kate Baie Open Theresa Clowes Deb Rosenbaum Open

carrieartmann@gmail.com justine_sawyer@yahoo.com sam.mizwicki@gmail.com sarahb@mcadenver.org tclowes@rmcad.edu

CAEA REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Title

Name

Email

Regional Representatives North West North Central North East Metro Metro East Central South Central South East South West West Central

Open Sharon Jacobson-Speedy Open Kim Chlumsky Michael Carroll Lisa Cross Open Open Kari Pepper Open

speedywheat@aol.com kmchlumsky@gmail.com mcarroll@jeffco.k12.co.us lcross@d49.org

kpepper@bayfield.k12.co.us

Collage Fall 2018

69.

For CAEA details and event information: go to www.caeaco.org