“The Arts Connect” Conference Continues: Part XXVIIII – Artist and Craftsman Supply

Arts Connect Conference Supporter Artist and Craftsman Supply

Since it first opened its doors in 1985, Artist and Craftsman Supply has outfitted the creative culture in Portland, Maine with art material and spirit.  Though the company has grown to embrace 14 retail locations and web-site commerce, the basic principles of operation have remained true. The flagship store is still located on Deering Avenue under the guidance of the company’s founder and president Larry Adlerstein.

Tom Konieczko is the head of school sales at Artist and Craftsman Supply’s flagship store and has worked with Larry, general manager Steve Kenney, and the rest of the staff for the majority of six years to help foster the continuing growth of the creative spirit in Portland.

When the city’s artists unified in 2003 to paint fiberglass lighthouses to be displayed around the city and auctioned for charity, Artist and Craftsman Supply sourced the correct material and just the right varnish so these artists could protect their creations.  When the University of Southern Maine’s Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement partnered with local school children to paint murals about Martin Luther King Jr., Artist and Craftsman Supply helped provide material for the project and traveled to the painting site to lend support.

Having attended the Martin Luther King Day event Tom was tremendously impressed by the sense of community in Portland and enjoyed helping the city’s children articulate big ideas into form.

Artist and Craftsman Supply has hosted art shows with work from local schools.  In April of 2009, they featured ‘Zombies on Exchange Street’ by the students at Portland Arts and Technology High School.

These are a few examples of the ways Artist and Craftsman supply has helped support the growth of the arts in Portland.  More importantly, however, is the fact that they like to grow with their customers. This year, Artist and Craftsman Supply sponsored the Arts Connect Conference for Educators.  In Tom’s words:

“I had the opportunity to reconnect with our customers on their soil. Whenever I attend an event like this, I am truly impressed by the seriousness with which our state’s art teachers conduct their classrooms and the camaraderie displayed by this group of individuals. I have long marveled that a small city like Portland can support a retail store the size of Artist and Craftsman Supply on Deering Avenue. It is still the biggest store in our company. We hear from customers on regular occasion that they have moved to Portland to have better access to our wares. It is difficult to find a ‘real art store’ north of Boston. I believe that the presence of Artist and Craftsman Supply has helped the city of Portland  grow into an epicenter of art reminiscent of the size and scope of its bigger brothers further south.”

Artist and Craftsman Supply
540 Deering Avenue – Portland
207.772.7272
www.artistcraftsman.com

“The Arts Connect” Conference Continues: Part XXVIII – Lynn Brinckmeyer

Workshop: Help! I’m “Music K-12″ And I Thought I Was A Band Director  and User Friendly Essentials For Teach BOTH by  Beth Whitney

As one who always saw herself as a band director, I jumped at the chance to attend Lynn Brinckmeyer’s session  “Help! I am Music K-12 and I Thought I was a Band Director” as well as her session on “User Friendly Essentials for Teaching General Music” at the Arts Conference in Northport on October 9.   I’ve only been doing the “K-8 everything” routine since 1986.  There’s still lots to be learned!

Lynn is a wonderfully energetic presenter who didn’t let her lost luggage (including all her handouts and hands-on materials for the sessions) get her down.  She had us up and moving (and wagging our tails to Huckleberry Hound Dog bow-wow-wow) in no time, in the “User Friendly Essentials” session as well as passing the beat and hissing our little hearts out.  It was to bad that the pipe cleaners were in the missing luggage but I suspect we can still figure out how to make the pipe cleaner quarter notes she suggested.  In the “Help! I am Music K-12″ session, Lynn gave us some great suggestions to try with both our choruses and our general music classes.  She even spoke in band director language!

The best part was trying out the ideas at school the following week.  I tried them at a variety of levels, K-6.  My students loved the songs, chants (quite an upgrade from our usual 1971 Exploring Music books!) and the rhythm exercises.  All I have to do is pantomime holding that ball and start the t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t, ch-ch-ch-ch, ssss-ssss, shhhhhhhh, and they’re all with me.  Funwa Alafia has become a favorite of my students from grades 1-5!  I’m not sure the West African words were intended this way but we do have FUN and LAUGH with FUNwa a-LAUGH-ia!

I hope that someday I cross paths with Lynn again so I can tell her how much my students gained from her suggestions.

“The Arts Connect” Conference Continues: Part XXVIII – Debi Lynne Baker

Workshop: Creating Art With Technology = Understanding of Art Styles – Mary Pennington

Debi Lynn Baker

Have you wondered what to do with a room full of laptops? Debi Lynn Baker’s session of Creating Art with Technology = Understanding of Art Styles had lots of suggestions. Debi walked the participants through several examples of computer programs that allow students to explore different styles and periods in art.

The Artist’s Toolkit offers an interactive approach to the elements of art and principles of design.

Debi showed us how to make Pop Art greeting cards using Photo Booth and any word processing program.

Tuxpaint is an open-source drawing program that offers great effects for kids age 3 to 12 (or fun-loving grownups). Using Tuxpaint, Debi showed us how easy it is to get results that look like Impressionist paintings.

Acorn is an easy photo-editing program, already installed on MLTI laptops or a version is available for free download. Acorn is a great way to create Surrealist or dreamlike images. With a quick click in “Preferences” you can edit photos in iPhoto using Acorn’s features.

Debi is super-organized and keeps everything on a portaportal.com. Feel free to sign in as a guest (dbaker) or create your own site.

We all left the session with some great tips and tools for using technology to allow students to explore styles and periods in art.

Wilson Museum – Castine

A Maine Treasure!

Bali mask

In an earlier post (Oct. 19th) I mentioned visiting the Wilson Museum in Castine for a Down East Educational Partnership (DEEP) meeting. We were given a special tour by Patty Hutchins, Executive Director, who shared her love of the museum. I highly recommend a visit with your students OR go on your own, you won’t be disappointed. They have a special Lincoln exhibit during November.

The collection of museum items from many places in the world belonged to geologist, Dr. John Wilson. There are some incredible artifacts in the main museum building. Along with the main museum there are three other buildings on the property, The John Perkins House, The Blacksmith House and The Hearse House.

Peruvian whistling jar

Anyway, the Wilson Museum is searching for an Education Director who will develop, implement, supervise and promote the Museum’s educational goals and programs. It is anticipated that this position will begin in early 2010, pending funding. A complete job description is available upon request, email Patty: phutchins@wilsonmuseum.org

Job responsibilities will include:

• develop a close collaboration with area school systems’ educators and administrators;
• plan and implement a set of comprehensive educational programs/services for schools;
• develop all materials for school educational programs and services;
• explore feasibility of research and internship programs for regional High School students;
• develop and offer in-service opportunities for area teachers
• plan and implement after-school enrichment and vacation learning opportunities;
• develop family learning opportunities including those for homeschoolers;
• develop interpretive training for docent staff;
• expand and promote seasonal series of programs which may include lectures, demonstrations and/or hands on activities; and
• collaborate with other Museum and cultural institutions to develop complementary programming and networking of area expertise

Thumb piano

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS
The Museum Educator must demonstrate a passion and a lively intellectual curiosity for the diverse natural and cultural objects of the Museum’s collection, i.e. New England coastal life and history, world ethnography, celebrating cultural diversity.

• Graduate degree in appropriate field. Education, Anthropology, History, Museum Studies are most strongly desired
• Demonstrated professional experience in education programming in a museum or other cultural organization
• Demonstrated track record of working with teachers and/or school age children
• Evidence of creative production of original educational materials
• Strong written and oral communication skills for diverse audiences
• Capable of managing multiple assignments, projects, activities simultaneously
• Ability to be a collaborative team leader and player

Deadline: December 31, 2009

Contact: Patricia Hutchins, Executive Director P.O. Box 196, Castine, ME 04421, directoroffice@wilsonmuseum.org

Available Opps for Students to Record

Portland Ovations Press Release – October 28th

CONTACT:  Tom Ayres at 207.773.3150 or tayres@portlandovations.org

Maine Public Broadcasting Network, New England School of Communications, Portland Arts & Technology High School to host audition recording sessions for Portland Ovations’ presentation of  Public Radio’s “From the Top” program, celebrating the finest young musicians from Maine and beyond.

PORTLAND – Portland Ovations, the 78-year-old non-profit performing arts organization, is collaborating with three highly regarded community partners to host recording sessions for young musicians interested in auditioning for a nationally broadcast showcase on National Public Radio’s acclaimed From the Top program.  The Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MPBN), the New England School of Communications (NESCOM), and Portland Arts and Technology High School (PATHS) will be staging recording sessions for From the Top auditions in Bangor and Portland in mid-November and early December respectively.

From the Top – NPR’s acclaimed program spotlighting the country’s most talented young musicians, hosted by master pianist Christopher O’Riley – comes to Portland Ovations and Merrill Auditorium for a live recording of the public radio hit on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 7 pm. Classical musicians ages 8 to 18 who have not yet graduated from high school are eligible to audition for the recorded broadcast, which will also feature renowned flutist Sir James Galway. Interested musicians must submit a From the Top application and audition recording by mail. The application and more information on the audition process can be downloaded at www.fromthetop.org. All application materials must be received by From the Top no later than December 18, 2009 to be considered for the live recording of the NPR program presented by Portland Ovations on March 24 of next year.

To assist Maine musicians in the audition process, MPBN, along with NESCOM and PATHS, are holding free recording sessions with a limited number of openings for talented young artists from throughout the state.  The Bangor sessions are set for Saturday, November 21 from 12 noon until 4 pm in Gracie Theatre at Husson College. A piano will be available at the Gracie Theatre session for musicians whose auditions require it. To schedule a recording session in Bangor on November 21 and for more information, contact Suzanne Nance at MPBN at 207.941.1010 or snance@mpbn.net.

The Portland recording sessions will be held in PATHS’ recording studio, located on the first floor of the Arts Academy, on Thursday, December 3 from 3 to 7 pm. PATHS is located at 196 Allen Avenue in Portland. Musicians should note that a piano will not be available for these PATHS recording sessions. To schedule a recording or learn more, contact PATHS Music Director Vicky Stubbs at 207.874.8165 or stubbv@portlandschools.org.

Interested musicians are urged to contact MPBN and PATHS as soon as possible. A limited number of musicians can be accommodated during the four-hour recording sessions in Bangor and Portland, and registration will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. Auditioning musicians are limited to a performance of no more than five minutes in length and a single “take” of the recording. Musicians will be provided with an audition recording on a compact disc and all youths will be responsible for completing their own application process with From the Top, including submission of the audition CD. To reiterate, all application materials must be received by From the Top no later than December 18, 2009 to be eligible for consideration.

For more information about the From the Top performance next spring or about the wealth of education and community outreach activities related to it, contact Tom Ayres, director of marketing and audience development at Portland Ovations, or Barri Lynn Moreau, director of education and community outreach for the non-profit arts organization, at 207.773.3150, tayres@portlandovations.org, or blmoreau@portlandovations.org.

Fun with Music on the Stairs

Piano stairs – TheFunTheory

This needs no lead in….

“The Arts Connect” Conference Continues: Part XXVII – ImprovAcadia

Artists Showcase: Friday – Jennifer Shepard & Larrance Fingerhut

The goal of Improvisational theater in an educational setting is creativity, using “Yes, and…” and the power of putting the group over the individual. The by-product of improv is laughter which comes out of what the group creates together.

Improvisation has very clear applications for theater programs but it also is very useful in story writing, social interactions, idea creation and team building.

Jennifer Shepard & Larrance Fingerhut founded ImprovAcadia in 2004 after performing and teaching improv in Chicago for six years. Since that time they’ve performed over 1,000 shows, taught at the College of the Atlantic, the Beth Wright Cancer Center and for the Sea Coast Mission as well as workshops at University of Maine, Orono, Mount Desert Middle School, Conners-Emerson Elementary, and Summer Festival of the Arts.

Jennifer and Larrance WOWED us and of course, participants did their part as well. We all left wanting more and imaging our students participating in a workshop with them. You can learn more at their website by clicking here.

Kim, Rebecca, Carmel

Footnote: One of my favorite photographs taken at the conference (this one by Shalimar Poulin) is the one in this blog post. The reason is because the three teachers represent the four arts disciplines: Kim Murphy (music and theater, Camden Hills Regional High School), Rebecca Dow (visual arts, Skowhegan), and Carmel Collins (dance, Lake Region High School). And they are from four different regions of the state: Midcoast, Kennebec and Western.

Young Musicians with Disabilities Sought for Competition

VSA arts of Maine 2010 Young Soloists Award – Call for Entries: November 16

VSA arts of Maine — an affiliate of VSA arts, a program of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts — seeks talented individual musicians with a disability or musical ensembles with at least one member with a disability, to enter the 2010 Young Soloists Award competition.

The top entry in Maine will receive a $200 stipend, and will move on to compete in the VSA arts national competition with an opportunity to win $5,000 and a performance in Washington D.C.

All types of music and all ranges of disabilities are accepted in this program.

Application and guidelines for entry can be found on the VSA arts website.  Submissions are due to VSA arts of Maine, 11 Pleasant Street, Brunswick, ME 04011, by November 16, 2009.  For additional information or questions concerning eligibility, please contact VSA arts of Maine’s Education Director, Rachel Spatz at rspatz@vsartsmaine.org or (207) 930-0190.

“The Arts Connect” Conference Continues: Part XXVI – Cathy Melio

Workshop: Altered Books: Fear No Art – Robin Brooks

Cathy Melio

Books can inspire us on many levels. I took this workshop to learn about using discarded books as a starting point for art-making. When I entered the workshop room, I passed a table loaded with art supplies and found a selection of discarded books spread out along the floor. I made my selection and found a seat near the rear of the room–it was already full of people–and settled in. While waiting, I unpacked a few of my favorite portable supplies including some watercolors, brushes, and scissors. I was ready.

Cathy Melio, an educator from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, began her presentation by addressing the thorny issue of creating art with published material. She explained that, in her local librarian’s view, “Books are already decomposing from the moment they leave the printers.” We shouldn’t, therefore, be concerned about altering books that were likely to wind up some day in a landfill.  This put some of my concerns to rest. In further research, I learned that copyright-protected material can be an issue. By choosing books published before 1923 or between 1923 and 1967 with no copyright renewal you will avoid any issues with infringement. (Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking by Holly Harrison, 2003.)

Cathy presented a slide show of altered books from a community project in the Rockport region. The results, from child-created projects to finely developed pieces by adult artists, were impressive for the wide range of expressive possibilities they revealed. We saw examples where the idea for the altered book was suggested by the title and others where the discarded book served simply as a blank canvas.  Some works folded out or incorporated materials from nature.  We saw altered books that used folding, cutting, and collage as methods of transformation. After filling us up with images and possibilities, Cathy set us loose to gather our materials and begin. The workshop ended before most of us had completed our altered book constructions. Cathy offered to make each of us a cd of the results if we would email her images of our final products. I am hoping that workshop participants will send their images to Cathy—there were some really amazing projects underway.

For me, this workshop was valuable on two levels, both for expanding my own studio practice and for helping me to think about ways I might introduce altered books to my elementary art students. I found it refreshing to attend this hands-on workshop after spending most of the morning in an auditory-visual processing mode. After returning home I spent much of the weekend finishing up my altered book. To support this new creative habit, I have formed an altered books group with artists in my area. We will be meeting on a monthly basis to share our work.

If reading about altered books has piqued your interest, there are a variety of published works on the subject, many of which are on Minerva, Maine’s library database, and are available through the inter-library loan system.

MAMLE conference

Maine Association for Middle Level Educators Annual Conference at Sugarloaf

Leonard Middle School staff right before presentation at MAMLE

One of my responsibilities at the Department of Education is “contact person for middle level education”. During the last 6 weeks I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know the staff of the Leonard Middle School (LMS) in Orono.

I was asked in July if I would give the keynote at the fall middle school conference sponsored by Maine Association for Middle Level Educators MAMLE). After communicating with the LMS principal, John Keane, we made a plan for collaborating on the task. I appreciate the time and dedication the staff put into our 40 minute presentation on Bright Futures! What a talented, creative staff and FUN!

Bright Futures! is the middle level report that was completed this year and was created by the Commission on Middle Level Education. The report includes 12 core practices that outline recommendations for planning and implementing educational programs for the middle grades. Much of the information is exemplary practices that we see in many of our middle schools.

With the help of one to one technology, the importance of creativity and imagination, and curriculum that is challenging, integrative and based on research, the arts play a key role in a middle school environment. I suggest educators read the report and ask yourself: “how are the middle grades in my school doing to meet the educational needs of young adolescents?” This is a great opportunity to design professional development opportunities around the report.

You can view the entire report by going to the middle level webpages at the Department of Education. An accompanying poster is available by contacting me via email argy.nestor@maine.gov and I will gladly snail mail you a poster and/or enough foryour middle school team/staff members.

Beautiful Sunday

Outside Fall Fun!

What a beautiful Sunday… and a great day to do something outside. I started my day by picking apples and ended it (before dark) on a long walk. I love going to the farm stand to see the piles of gourds, pumpkins, and the corn stalks leaning against the wooden fence. It was a visual delight.

The drive took us along a blueberry field where I noticed the plants are even richer red than last week in Washington county. The backdrop of the pond and blue sky are intense. The golden leaves on the sugar maples are luscious.

I enjoy eating apples but I prefer it made into applesauce. In my opinion, Macouns make the weetist sauce (no reason to add any sugar or spices). I cooked about half of the 40lbs. of apples we picked and made 7 quarts and 6 pints for the winter. We won’t starve anyway!

I hope your last week of October 2009 is wonderful and that you have a chance to eat fresh apples, carve a pumpkin or go outside and appreciate the last of the leaves as they take on their brown and bronze hues. Before we know it there could be several inches of snow outside. I hear our friends in the county got some this past week.

“The Arts Connect” Conference Continues: Part XXV – Cori Modisette and Beth Dunfee-Pierce

Workshop: Art Museum World Tour – by Phil Hammett

Virtual Art Museum Tour workshop blog:

Bethany Dunfee Pierce

Those who attended the Virtual Art Museum Tour were exposed to a dazzling panoply of possibilities for using the internet in Art class.   Bethany and Cori provided us with a packet of resources, which served as a guideline.  We started the workshop  with the observation of an actual exhibit of art posters, which we analyzed as to their potential for integrating with other disciplines, writing these on 3×5 cards.  It was
great to read others comments to get different perspectives on the pieces.

This mimics an activity that would be done with students in an actual museum (minus the integration piece), which could easily be adapted to an online museum tour.  A lesson plan for this activity was provided in the packet.  This would be fun to try with an online blog, where students could react to works of art and to their fellow students comments, making it interactive.

In the packet were some amazing sites- some museums, and some reviews of museums with links, like this little gem http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/museums/ that I wasn’t able to check out until later:   [ / This is a great springboard to touring many different museums around the world.  Merely scratching the
surface of the myriad opportunities, we didn't actually try a museum tour, but went way beyond this by exploring some of the amazing visual activities on the web.

Cori Modisette

Stuff like the “Switcheroo Zoo”, where you can create virtual animals by combining any number of characteristics from various animals (I always wondered what a spiderman would really look like).  Also ‘breezed through’ were ways to distort photo portraits, create comics or digital portfolios, and many sites that make integration with math, science and history look like fun!  Some tasty “integratable” appetizers include the following:  http://www.artnatomia.net/ with the anatomy of facial expressions, and how to make kaliedocycles (math integration) at http://www.kaleidocycles.de/.  If you haven’t checked out “women in art” you’ve got to experience this wonderful time warp through art history at http://www.vimeo.com/1456037.

To wrap up the workshop, we all wrote down one of our favorite lessons that involved technology, so that these could be shared.  All in all, it was a great experience in collaboration, and an eye-opening window into just how many resources are out there in cyberspace!  The only limits are having enough time to explore….