On Hiatus

Theater Vacation Camp – Portland

Ovations Offstage/Portland Recreation’s Theater Vacation Camp

February Vacation Theater Camp – “The Wizard of Oz” – February 17 – 21, 2020 from 8:30 – 3:30pm

You can ensure your child’s February break is filled with creativity, growth, play, and the exploration of endless imaginative possibilities by registering them for Ovations Offstage/Portland Recreation’s Theater Vacation Camp! This camp is great for kids who have no theater experience to those who have participated in a few productions or taken a few theater classes. The teaching staff is well able to differentiate across experience and create a place for each student to be an integral member of the ensemble. All students will participate in the following workshops throughout the week: Stage Basics, Accelerating Imaginations: An Intro to Acting, Musical Theatre Singing, Puppetry along with theatre games and rehearsals for the final production. Click on the image below for more details.

Let’s Dance

Tribute to dance

The music: All These Things That I’ve Done by The Killers. Enjoy and share.

 

Inspire Your Students

Snow Art in Banff National Park by Simon Beck

LEAPS of Imagination Student Show

Zoots in Camden

See for Yourself How Art Makes You Smarter – LEAPS of Imagination Student Show

Zoot Coffee, 31 Elm Street, Camden

1 February – February 29

“Art makes you smarter,” one LEAPS’ second grader said, reflecting on its importance in kids’ lives. There are so many reasons why.

• Art creates opportunities for imaginations to soar.
• Art teaches children to see connections and make inferences.
• Art helps students become risk takers, work through failures, and try new approaches.
• Art deepens understanding, contextualizing ideas to make them meaningful.
• Art is good for thinking.

If children today are to become the leaders of tomorrow, art will set them on the path and inspire their first steps.

LEAPS of IMAGINATION brings mentor artists into public school classrooms to promote art exploration and connected thinking.

MLTI T-Shirt Design

All ages invited to submit ideas

The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) is hosting a T-shirt Design Competition again this year. The theme for the T-shirt design is “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial”.

A panel of judges will narrow the submissions down to three designs, and then we will ask Maine students and educators to vote for their top choice as they register for the MLTI Student Conference. The winning T-shirt will be printed for the 1000+ attendees of the 17th Annual MLTI Student Conference, which will be held on Thursday, May 21^st, 2020 at the University of Maine in Orono. The three students whose designs become the finalists will be given a free registration to the conference.

ELIGIBILITY

• Any student who attends an elementary, middle, or high school in Maine during the 2019-2020 school year is eligible to enter the competition may enter the competition.
• Any student or teacher/chaperone who is registering for the MLTI Student Conference may vote on the final design.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Submissions must only have ONE ink color and ONE background color. The inclusion of shading or gradients of colors will lead to disqualification.
• All submissions must be an original artwork. Any use of any photo, drawing, images or elements created by any other person (other than the MLTI logo) is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification.
  • Please adhere to the guidelines for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regarding copyright and plagiarism: Even if you have permission to use a work or if the work is in the public domain, the work that you submit to this competition must represent a new, original work. Additionally, changing the medium of an original work is not considered transformative. For example, a painting or drawing of a photograph taken from the Internet or a magazine is not considered original and should not be submitted.
• Each student may only submit one entry AND the entry must be created by ONE student only.
• The artwork should be sized to 8¹/₂” x 11”.
• Students may hand-draw or digitally design their artwork.
• Digitally designed artwork should be 300 dpi, RGB color, and the fonts must be embedded.
• Submitted artwork must incorporate the phrase “MLTI Student Conference” and the year “2020” or “’20”.
• Students must incorporate the MLTI logo into their design: downloadable files or by copying and pasting this link: http://bit.ly/MLTI_logos.
• The design should reflect this year’s conference theme and should include some reference to “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial”.
• Students are asked to submit an artist statement (less than 200 words) with their design to help bring clarity to their adherence to the theme.
• Acceptable file types: PDF or JPEG high resolution.
• Color: T-shirts are one solid color with one color ink, and the student can suggest the color for each.
• The t-shirt design must fit on the front of the t-shirt.
• Signed Release: Each student must sign this release and include it in their submission. If the link above doesn’t work, please copy and paste this link: https://www.maine.gov/doe/learning/ltt/conference/tshirt/release

JUDGING CRITERIA

• Guidelines: Work clearly adheres to the submission guidelines (color, size, file type, etc.)
• Theme: “Celebrating 200 Years in Maine” or “Maine’s Bicentennial”.
• Principles of Design:Work incorporated the following elements of art: balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety, and unity.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Monday, November 4th, 2019 – Competition begins
• Monday, February 24th, 2020 – T-shirt designs due
• Monday, March 2nd, 2020 – T-shirt voting begins (with registration)
• Friday, April 10th, 2020 – T-shirt winner announced

Ready to enter? Submit your entry with this form or copy and paste this link: http://bit.ly/MLTI-2020-tshirt-entry

For more information or answers to questions, please contact MLTI.Project@maine.gov

Ticket to Ride

Funding available once again

Great news for Maine educators seeking funding for field trips. Ticket to Ride, the Maine Arts Commission grant program that provides funding for schools wishing to travel to arts based venues and events is back! Grant applications are administered on a first come first serve basis, so don’t delay.

Ticket to Ride provides funding to defray the cost of travel for Maine schools wishing to visit Maine arts based venues and events as part of a well-rounded curriculum. The goals of the travel should support student learning and be aligned with the visual and/or performing arts standards. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Funding will be made available approximately one month after an application is submitted. Schools may apply more than once a year as long as they are applying to attend a different event, bringing a different student population, or have not expended their eligible amount.

Any PK-12 school in Maine with a documented free and reduced lunch student population between 30 and 49 percent is eligible to receive support of up to $300 each school year. Any PK-12 school population of 50 percent or greater is eligible to receive up to $500 per school year. Schools are welcome to use Ticket to Ride funds in combination with transportation funds that may be available from individual Maine arts based venues and events.

Eligibility Requirements

All applicants must have an active Maine Arts Commission account and current Vendor Code to receive funding.  A school district is eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:

• Is a public school district in the state of Maine.

• Is in compliance with Final Reports required by the Maine Arts Commission for previous awards.

For more information and to apply go to the TICKET TO RIDE grants page on the Maine Arts Commission website.

MALI Update

Good news from the Maine Arts Commission

The Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) members and Martha Piscuskas the new director of arts education at the Maine Arts Commission have been working since last summer on the valuable work of MALI.

For those veteran readers of this blog, you are probably well aware of MALI and its importance to the field of Maine Arts Education. For any newcomers, and those needing a refresher, MALI is a program of the Maine Arts Commission. MALI is a network of Maine Arts Teacher Leaders and Teaching Artist Leaders dedicated to supporting each others’ leadership, growth as educators, and promotion of authentic arts experiences in all genres for all Maine students. It grew out of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative, a grassroots effort by some Maine Arts Teachers to educate themselves and create some guidelines and practices for arts assessment. Almost every year since 2011,  MALI has held a summer institute for visual and performing arts teachers to deepen their mastery of teaching the arts. A yearlong cohort continues to work together, working towards specific individual goals and culminating in public presentations.

TWO IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

• Winter Retreat – Saturday, Feb 29
• Summer Institute NOTE NEW MONTH: — Thursday and Friday, June 25 & 26

With a leadership transition, MALI is taking this year to re-evaluate its purpose, clarify its structure and strengthen its role. Two leadership teams are tackling these tasks, and will be seeking feedback from all MALI members.

VISION TEAM

Vision Team members Dana Legawiec, Jen Driscoll, Lynda Leonas, Jake Sturtevant, and Sue Barre. Skyping in: Shawna Barnes, Jen Acosta

The Vision Team is a think-tank tasked with establishing a system and structure for MALI to grow and thrive into the future. It is comprised of 7 MALI Teacher Leaders and Teaching Artist Leaders, including Jake Sturtevant (Phase 1), Jen Acosta (Phase 1), Shawna Barnes (Phase 8), Sue Barre (Phase 3), Jennie Driscoll (Phase 1), Dana Legawiec (Phase 7), Lynda Leonas (Phase 5) and Martha Piscuskas (MAC). The team members have had a variety of powerful MALI experiences, and agree that the organization has had a lasting impact on Maine Arts Education.

The Vision Team has reviewed the MALI vision and mission statements, as well as the current structure of MALI. It is their goal to ensure that MALI will continue to foster a community of passionate Arts Educators and Teaching Artists. The community will allow for professional growth that will directly impact students. It is their intent to help maintain, and sustain, the positive aspects of MALI, while strengthening the organizational mission that MALI represents.

In order to focus discussion they have been investigating answers to these questions:

1. What does it mean to be a MALI Teacher Leader/Teaching Artist Leader?
2. How can MALI gain fiscal stability?
3. How can the MALI community bring in more passionate Arts Educators and Teaching Artists?
4. How can MALI develop an institutional governance structure that allows for flexibility and growth, and maintains a grassroots approach for developing a community of Arts Educators?

They will continue discussions, and would welcome thoughts and ideas from anyone who has been touched by the MALI community. They will develop a future MALI Vision at the Winter Retreat on Saturday, February 29, 2020.

PROGRAM TEAM

Program Team members Kate Smith, Dorie Tripp, and Kaitlin Young deep in thought. Other side of table include Melanie Crowe, Bronwyn Sale, Iva Damon, and Brigid Rankowski

The Program Team was tasked with maintaining MALI’s current offerings such as the Winter Retreat, a call for new members, the Summer Institute and Critical Friends’ Day. The Program Team members are Kate Smith (phase 4), Bronwyn Sale (higher ed rep), Iva Damon (phase 5), Melanie Crowe (Phase 3), Kaitlin Young (phase 7), Dorie Tripp (Phase 7), Emma Campbell (phase 4), Brigid Rankowski (Phase 6)  and Martha Piscuskas (MAC). The team has met several times via zoom conference and in person on January 26th. They have chosen the themes “teacher leadership” and “self-care” for the MALI Winter Retreat on February 29th and look forward to seeing all MALI members past and present.

MALI Teams thank all Maine arts educators for all you do and continue to do, and look forward to hearing from you. To share feedback or for more information, or to MALI folks for sign-up information, please connect with a Team member, or Martha Piscuskas, Director of Arts Education at the Maine Arts Commission: martha.piscuskas@maine.gov 207-287-2750.

Monhegan Artists’ and Educator Residency

Applications being accepted

The Monhegan Artist’s Residency is offering two residencies during the summer of 2020. One is a 2-week summer residency from June 27th through July 10th designated for Maine art teachers (K-12) and a 5-week fall residency from September 5th through October 10th.  The fall residency extends over Monhegan’s annual Trap Day event on the 1st of October that kicks off the lobstering season and provides an opportunity to experience this unique island-wide event.

The Monhegan Artists’ Residency provides comfortable living quarters, studio space, a stipend of $150 per week, and time for visual artists to reflect on, experiment, or develop their art and ideas while living in an artistically historic and beautiful location. Both residencies will be located at Elva’s Old PO, in the center of the village with a panoramic view of the meadow. The building offers both studio and living space. There is a stipend of $150 per week to support living expenses while you are on the island.

Deadline for applications is March 15. Applicants will be notified by April 13, 2020.

To learn more and to access the application go to the Monhegan Artists’ Residency website.

4-tissimo Guitar Quartet

8 hands, 2 guitars, 4 musicians