Iditarod – York

Watch for the sled dogs

Southern Maine:
The Maine Arts Commission is Coming
to YOU Next Week!

We’re pleased to be hosting the Maine Arts Iditarod meeting at
the Parsons Center at Museums of Old York
on February 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This will be the second to last stop on our Iditarod Tour. Don’t Miss Out!

We encourage artists, arts organizations, educators, policy makers
and community developers from around the area to attend this FREE
event to take part in discussions and information sessions to continue
to build our communities in and through the arts.

Sessions include Follow the Money, Connecting Creativity; Using Data to Tell Your Story; the Arts Education Census.

We’re here for you. Let’s Talk Arts.

For meeting times, locations, agendas &
pre-registration: http://bit.do/MaineArts_Iditarod

In Today’s News

MAEA exhibit – USM Gorham

Brittany’s Light, acrylic, Pam Ouellette, Lisbon High School visual art teacher

Almost 100 people attended the opening on Saturday afternoon at USM, Gorham campus. President Glenn Cummings greeted the attendees and USMs Director of Exhibitions and Programs Carolyn Eyler and Maine Art Education Association exhibit coordinator Allison Price thanked the artists for their contributions. The show is marvelous – if you have a chance to venture to the USM gallery you won’t be disappointed. “Portals: Work by Maine Art Education Association Members” will be open through March 2.

Read about it in the Keep Me Current publication by CLICKING HERE.

The opening at USM art gallery, Gorham

This exhibition brings together the creative work of art educators from around the state of Maine to celebrate the studio practice and exploration that takes place beyond the classroom.
Artists were invited to create their interpretation of the concept of portal- a gate or entrance that is especially grand or imposing; or, an entryway, door, or threshold.

The artists represented in this show teach, or have taught, in Maine’s public and private schools and universities and are members of the Maine Art Education Association – an arts advocacy organization that promotes the artistic learning of children, encourages innovation and research in art education, and the exchange of ideas and practices among teachers.

Congratulations to the following educators with art on display:

Simon Adams….. Dana Altman….. Kay McKeever Allison….. Mary Ledue-Bell….. Debra Bickford….. Vicki Bové….. Robin Brooks

Carolyn Brown….. Kate Cargile….. Jody Dube….. Erin Landry Fowler….. Suzanne Goulet….. C.K. Higgison….. Cheri Juniewisz

Russell Kahn….. Joe McLaughlin….. Jennifer Merry….. Mathew Meyer….. Nathaniel Meyer….. Colby Myer….. S.C. Myer

Sheri Clark Nadell….. Argy Nestor….. Pam Ouellette….. Mary Pennington….. Allison Price….. Meryl Ruth….. Angel Simoneau

Rachel Somerville….. Suzanne Southworth….. Jodi Thomas….. Alicia Uth…..Michael E. Vermette….. Deloris A. White

Janie K. Young

Visiting Gretchen

Physical Theater

Gretchen Berg has been a teaching artist for 35 years and she is excellent at what she does! I had the opportunity to visit her in Portland at the Riverton School a couple of weeks ago while she was doing a program under Side X Side.

I walked into a classroom of 4th graders who were sitting on the floor with Gretchen sharing ideas on ‘extreme weather’. She asked them: “share something with me that you’ve learned about the weather. Something that if a 3rd grader heard it, they would say: “WOW”! Students were anxious to share and by the time Gretchen was finished she had at least 3 pages of notes and ideas. This was STEAM in action!

Gretchen spent time with the students moving around the room, freezing, and unfreezing, listening and watching each other. The students became more and more careful about moving in the space and were attentive to their classmates. Gretchen spoke softly and I noticed the students were very attentive.

She had them working individually and transferred into working collaboratively. All the while preparing for the next steps. Gretchen will take their ideas and write a script for the students that is not only interesting but age appropriate in every way.

Gretchen meets with each of the three classes of grade 4 students six different times for 60 minutes. The final class meeting is for the quick rehearsal for the final performance. The culminating performance is during an afternoon with parents and family members invited to attend.

While in Portland visiting Gretchen I also had a chance to meet with the folks at Side X Side to learn more about their program. Side X Side is an educational nonprofit with a mission to promote engaged learning, critical thinking, problem solving and exploration while enhancing K-12 content curriculum through innovative, collaborative, creative, multi-disciplinary programming. On December 11, 2016 I included a blog post on the Side X Side program. Please check it out to learn more.

Acadia National Park

Educator opportunity

Acadia National Park is offering a great professional development experience this summer. The national park is recruiting six classroom teachers to spend time this summer as Acadia Teacher Fellows, learning about the national park’s diverse natural and cultural resources, and ways to protect them. Three teachers will be selected to work on Mount Desert Island, and two teachers will be stationed at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Winter Harbor while one teacher will work at Saint Croix Island International Historic Site in Calais.

Acadia National Park invites full-time, K-12 public school teachers to apply online by March 1 at
http://www.nps.gov/acad/learn/education/development/teacher-fellowship.htm. For specific questions regarding the Acadia Teacher Fellowship program, please call 207-288-8812 (Mount Desert Island), 207-288-1312 (Schoodic Peninsula), or 207-454-3871 (Saint Croix Island International Historic Site).

This is the 10th year of the  Acadia Teacher Fellowship program (formerly Teacher Ranger) which strives to connect teachers and students to our national parks. Priority is given to schools with students who are underrepresented, economically disadvantaged, or have limited access to parks. Preference is also given to Maine schools and to teachers not requiring housing. “Many classroom teachers dream about living in and learning about our national parks,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider. “Acadia Teacher Fellowships are helping make those dreams come true.”

For six weeks during the summer, teacher fellows will interact with park visitors on public programs, along carriage roads and on hiking trails. They will attend ranger-led interpretive programs, be given place-based training, participate in citizen science activities, interact with park professionals and researchers, and much more. Teacher fellows will be asked to create a lesson plan related to Acadia’s resources to take back to their classroom and share with other educators.

Newly acquired, first-hand knowledge of our national parks will enrich the teacher’s classroom curriculum throughout the school year and, in particular, during National Park Week in April at which time teacher fellows introduce students beyond their own classroom to the important mission of the National Park Service.

Acadia Teacher Fellows receive a weekly stipend, teaching materials, and shared park housing as available. Additional benefits include a free class field trip to Acadia or a national park site near their school, plus assistance with designing an outdoor classroom at their home school. This unique opportunity is funded by Friends of Acadia with support from Eastern National.

For more information about Acadia National Park, please visit www.nps.gov/acad or call (207)288-3338. Join Acadia’s online conversations at www.facebook.com/AcadiaNPS and https://twitter.com/AcadiaNPS.

Block Printing Class

Harlow Gallery

So cool to see that Scott Minzy (a former student of mine) who teaches visual art at Erskine Academy is teaching a printmaking class at the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell. The news release is below with all the details!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: “Fast, Cheap and Easy: an Unorthodox Block Printing Primer” Lead by Scott Minzy at Harlow Gallery

When:  First session: Tuesday, February 7, 14, 21, 28 at 7pm.  Second Session: Tuesday, March 7, 14, 21, 28 at 7pm.

Where: Harlow Gallery, 160 Water Street, Hallowell, ME 04347

Contact: Allison McKeen, Marketing Manager, 207-622-2813, kvaa@harlowgallery.org,

Cost: $50 members / $60 non-members + $25 materials fee

Suggested Caption on Attachments 1-4:  “Harlow Gallery presents a two part printmaking workshop lead by Scott Minzy (pictured), beginning in February.”
________________________________________________________________________

HALLOWELL, MAINE — Harlow Gallery presents a two part workshop “Fast, Cheap and Easy: an Unorthodox Block Printing Primer”, lead by Scott Minzy.  The printmaking workshop is 7-9pm on Tuesdays and is split into two 4-week sessions and is hosted by Harlow Gallery, located at 160 Water Street in Hallowell.

The first 4-week session is scheduled for February 7, 14, 21, and 28 and the second 4-week session is scheduled for March 7, 14, 21, and 28. Tuition per session is $50 for KVAA/Harlow Gallery members or $60 for non-members (paid to Harlow Gallery) plus a $25 supplies fee (paid directly to instructor on the day of the event.) Participants are welcome to sign up for one or both sessions.

Learn the technique behind creating bold and striking prints in a class suitable for all levels of experience. We will explore design principles of relief images, carving techniques, inking, and printing. Participants will have the experience of working with foam, rubber, wood and linoleum blocks learning the different qualities of each material. Most importantly this class will teach participants how to print at home without a press. These easily printed blocks make great postcards, propaganda posters, subversive illustrations and of course, fine art prints. Scottminzy.com

For more information visit harlowgallery.org or call 207-622-3813.

The Harlow Gallery, home of the Kennebec Valley Art Association, is a membership based 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to connecting and celebrating art, artists and community in downtown historic Hallowell since 1963.

Maine Teacher of the Year

Nominate someone you know

I am proud to know that year after year visual and performing arts teachers have been nominated for the Maine Teacher of the Year. Applications are being accepted for the 2018 Teacher of the Year and I am sure that arts educators names will be among the nominations. Music  teacher Andrew Forster from Messalonskee High School is the 2016 Kennebec County Teacher of the Year. The Teacher of the Year information is below – please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the program.

Do you know a great teacher? Someone who inspires students? A teacher who is a leader in the profession and deserves recognition for their great work with students? Here is your chance to nominate him/her for County Teacher of the Year!

Who can nominate a teacher?
Teachers may be nominated by students, parents, teaching colleagues, principals, superintendents or anyone from the community who has an interest in honoring an outstanding educator. To recognize a teacher’s role in engaging his/her students positively to improve student achievement click below to nominate.

Please submit your nomination by 5:00 pm on February 6, 2017 – CLICK HERE for the nomination information.

About the Teacher of the Year Program
The Maine Teacher of the Year Program starts with your nomination! From the nominees, one exemplary teacher from each of the 16 Maine counties will be selected as the 2017 Maine County Teacher of the Year. From the 16 County Teachers of the Year, 8 semi-finalists are selected. The field is narrowed to 3 state finalists, one of whom will be announced as the 2018 Maine State Teacher of the Year at a surprise school assembly in the fall of 2017. The Maine State Teacher of the Year represents Maine at the national level and becomes eligible for the National Teacher of the Year award.

Pecha Kucha

February 3

PechaKucha Night Waterville Volume 23: Migration Nation
 
Presentations will focus on the theme of refugees and global migration
PK Volume 23 will be held at Thomas College on Friday, February 3rd

Waterville, Maine — PechaKucha Night Waterville (PK WTVL) Volume 23 promises to be the most moving PechaKucha Night yet! Held in collaboration with the Camden Conference and Mid-Maine Global Forum, PK WTVL V23 will feature several presentations broadly associated with a refugees and global migration theme – including a presentation focused on helping others in times of helplessness, a very timely presentation indeed. This will be a night to remember, not a night to miss! PechaKucha Night Waterville is scheduled for Friday, February 3, 2017 in the Spann Student Commons at Thomas College with presentations starting at 7:20 PM. This event is free and open to the public.

The PK WTVL Volume 23 presenters are Helene Farrar, Khristopher Flack, Dwight Gagnon, Kevin James, Dean Lachance, Argy Nestor & Lindsay Pinchbeck, Rachel Prestigiacomo, and Lyn Rowden. The event will feature a wide variety of stories including our attachment to our material possessions, healing hunger, and a different sort of colony – Puffins colonies to be precise. Joan Sanzenbacher will be the emcee. PechaKucha Night Waterville volume 23 will be a fantastic night of laughter, community, storytelling, creativity, and celebration!

PK WTVL is Waterville’s connection to a global storytelling network of creative people sharing their creative muse in 20×20 (20 images showing for 20 seconds each). For more than seven years, PK WTVL has brought thousands of area residents together in celebration of passions and creativity. The PK WTVL V23 event will take place on Friday, February 3, 2017 and a reception will take place from 6:20p-7:15p in the Spann Student Commons at Thomas College, 100 West River Road in Waterville. Complimentary refreshments will be provided along with a cash bar. All are invited to this free event! A snow date is set for 2/4/17; keep up to date by visiting the PK WTVL FB page.

About PechaKucha Night Waterville
PK WTVL is presented by a volunteer Team PK, Waterville Creates!, and the Waterville Public Library. Four events are held per year. The Colby Center for the Arts and Humanities is the PK WTVL 2016-2017 season sponsor. PK WTVL V23 event is a collaboration with the Camden Conference, Mid-Maine Global Forum, and Thomas College. PechaKucha Night was created in 2003 by Klein Dytham Architecture in Tokyo and has become an international phenomenon with events happening in more than 900 cities around the world. The 20×20 format makes presentations concise, keeps the evening moving at a rapid pace, and allows for plenty of discussion among participants and attendees.

In Today’s News

Ashley Bryan Newbery honoree

Islesford author and illustrator Ashley Bryan on Monday was awarded a 2017 Newbery Honor for his children’s book “Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life.” CLICK HERE to read the article.

Looking for Presenters

MAEA Spring Conference

The Maine Art Education Association is looking for presenters for their spring conference being held on Saturday, April 8 at Westbrook Middle School in Westbrook. They are interested in art educators who are willing to share a best practice, current issue, and/or a studio based ideas.

If you are interested please CLICK HERE and complete the google doc by February 10th. You must be an MAEA member to present. If you are not please CLICK HERE for the link to becoming a member of MAEA.

MALI Mega-UMaine Orono

Please note

The Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Mega-regional conference at UMaine Orono scheduled for Thursday, February 2 has been canceled.