Meet Mia

Mia Bogyo, Education Programs Manager, CMCA

I was so happy to have a lengthy conversation with Mia Bogyo and to learn her story. Mia has a bubbly personality and is an enthusiastic creative person who approaches each task at hand positively. When Mia smiles it is with her whole being. She is totally committed to her work in art education and applies her energy so everyone benefits. Her story…

Mia Bogyo uses the pronouns, she/her and is the Education Programs Manager at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) in Rockland. Mia’s high school experience at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill heavily influenced her pathway to art making and teaching. She was able to take advantage of all the programming that Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle had to offer high school students.

Mia at work!

Mia went to the University of Southern Maine (USM), started in the Studio Arts program and then switched to the Art and Entrepreneurship program. During her freshman year she was involved with Oak Street Studios (downtown Portland) and Side X Side and really loved teaching with both programs. She was experimenting with teaching in the community arts programming and in-school/out of school and after school programs. With further consideration she had the choice of majoring in the community art education program or study for a BFA with a K-12 certification. She jumped into the art education program and continued doing some teaching at Oak Street Studios and Side X Side, gaining in-depth experiences. She taught during the school year as well as during the summer. She student taught at Oceanside Elementary School in Portland, Falmouth Middle School, and Casco Bay High School in Portland and graduated in 2018 which gave her comprehensive experiences to help her consider public school teaching or a community education pathway.

USM has agreements with Maine College of Art + Design (MECA+D) and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) which enables students learning opportunities at all three campuses. Mia traveled to Greece with a MECA+D study abroad summer program.

PUBLIC SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Mia took on a long-term substitute position at Canal Elementary School in Westbrook. She was contracted for three months and it turned into six. The experience provided something that she couldn’t possibly have planned for. She was impressed with the Westbrook art education program and received a great deal of support while there. She had the chance to attend department meetings with the K-12 art staff and she had ongoing communication with department chair Rachel Somerville who provided incredible support. She even had the chance to advise a student teacher from Maine College of Art + Design. This was a unique experience, chaotic at times, however, between the student population and the support she was provided, everyday was an adventure. She was inspired and walked away with a new confidence and clarity a direction.

She also taught at the Gorham Arts Alliance in their pre-school and after school programs. This experience provided Mia a better understanding of younger learners which was invaluable. This gave her the confidence to work with young children. Soon after she left there, the pre-school became more a part of the public school. Mia views this positively because it helps facilitate a sequential art education program starting at a younger age. Schools adjust their art programs since students have art education prior to kindergarten.

MOVE TO ROCKLAND

Two and half years ago Mia moved to Rockland and visited CMCA to learn about their programming. She was impressed with their educational offerings and that most of it was being facilitated by a volunteer, Sandy Weisman. They had a serious conversation about CMCA’s five year plan which included a comprehensive art education program. Mia’s philosophy and CMCA’s were so aligned that they offered her the position of Education Programs Manager. She is grateful for the mentoring that Sandy provided and for her collaborative ongoing work with Community Arts Instructor Alexis Iammarino, who oversees the ‘Arts @ Work’ program.

Look Inside program

CMCA EDUCATION PROGRAMS, for all ages

VISION – Dedicated to promoting dynamic engagement with contemporary art and artists, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art offers programs that fuel the imagination, stimulate forward thinking, and cultivate conversation.

The priority is to develop programming that:

• Expands access to the new ideas and modes of expression inherent in contemporary art
• Provides authentic and experiential art education that engages local artists as teachers and mentors
• Empowers individuals to explore their own capacities as creative thinkers and makers

CMCA learning programs:

• Art Lab – Offering hands-on education programs year round for all ages.
  • Look Inside specifically geared to K-12 school visits, created by professional museum educators and assisted trained volunteer education staff, invites students to look at and understand the world in new ways. The program strengthens the following:
    • Visual literacy
    • Interdisciplinary learning
    • Deep and thoughtful looking
    • Hands-on creating making
  • Expanded program supporting K-12 school visits and professional development for Maine art teachers online and in person
  • February and April school vacation workshops
  • Summer Art Camp facilitated by guest teaching artists
• Arts @ Work is a free mentorship program connecting high school students across the mid-coast region to arts leadership, career development, volunteer opportunities and studio practice development. This program is facilitated by Community Arts Instructor Alexis Iammarino.
• Community Partners are plentiful at CMCA which help to connect artists of all ages, races, genders, socio-economic status, and abilities to contemporary artwork and artists.

Mia leading Look Inside program

PANDEMIC

The pandemic offered Mia and CMCA some challenges along with opportunities. They quickly shifted to online offerings. They built over 1,300 art kits with each kit being attached to one lesson. Over time students participating collected tons of ideas and materials. Parents are grateful for the quality art supplies to help steer their child while at home and most likely will last for a very long time. They worked with the local teen shelter providing art kits while they were doing food distribution.

Covid influenced and impacted decisions and direction. They are building on the challenges. Returning from the pandemic to in-person has been a different kind of challenge. They continue to offer online opportunities and will not lose what they learned during the most difficult part of the pandemic. They have streamlined their communication. CMCA is the only organization in the area providing online. They are now very open for schools and love having groups visit.

The other big learning is that they are clear that “creativity can be a step away from technology now.” They used technology to engage people while simultaneously making and offering the art kits, serving all ages, PreK through adults. Since it was difficult to get kids online they pre-recorded the lessons and the local school district communicated the information to students.

The instruction reached quite a distance during the pandemic. Schools as far away as Machias and Kennebunk participated during the heart of the pandemic. CMCA provided virtual tours and workshops. Perhaps due to the pandemic programs with classroom teachers are growing.

Mia has connected with the teachers at Harbor School and George Stevens Academy and provides workshops for students there.

Artlab

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS, OPPORTUNITIES

CMCA has a free membership for Rockland residents. In many cases this starts with the teacher and the local schools.

CMCA is at a turning point, growing from what they’ve learned about young and adult learners. They are diversifying their teaching staff and including artists from the mid-coast. Many are interested in teaching and sharing what they do. Covid has shown that teachers, formally trained or not, can and wants to give back. Adult community members are interested in learning from an expert.

Mia teaches the elementary and middle school gifted and talented program in RSU 13 (Rockland) which she teaches at the school. The students also visit the CMCA shows throughout the school year.

The After School program involves partnering with the local schools through their 21st century program.

Rockland High School program is called ‘Arts at Work’, established in 2017, and CMCA partners with that program. Teaching artist, Alexis Iammarino facilitates this program. Internship for high school students at CMCA, focusing on the community. Alexis also oversees the mural program in the summer as lead artist for Arts in Action, which has been painting murals for several years in public spaces throughout Rockland. The town is being visually transformed thanks to the murals these young people have created with Alexis.

The ArtLab portion will expand to be more community based space for teaching artists.

CMCA is building on their relationship with the Mid-coast School of Technology. Together they are considering alternative learning spaces with an interest in the Graphic Design and Film programs offered at the school.

CMCA is part of the RSU 13 Youth Alliance. The organization is made up of more than 15 organizations who put out a newsletter and meet monthly. The organizations are located in the mid-coast, from Rockland to Camden, and are connected with youth, trying to build connections with youth and/or provide opportunities for youth. The group also supports each other by checking in with members to learn what is needed for youth, to help address struggles and to understand what is being heard from youth.

Mia leading Third Sunday

MAEA RELATIONSHIP

Mia works closely with Maine Art Education Association, hosting conferences and communicating about the resources that CMCA has for educators. She enjoys exploring this together with teachers and providing professional development in a collaborative manner, planning and implementing.

SUMMER

CMCA is 70 years old and the 5th year that they’ve been in their new facility in Rockland. On the 3rd Sunday of the month they have Sunday tours. In partnership with the Farnsworth Art Museum this summer they are offering joint field trips for children and summer camp programs for children in RSU13. Mia is honored that organizations wish to collaborate with CMCA but focusing on the numbers is a priority for them. And, getting everyone on the same timeline is a challenge.

LOOKING AHEAD

The education portion of CMCA will continue to grow while being mindful of their mission and goals. They will hire a part-time employee (10-15 hires a week) to help maintain the programs that they are currently housing. In Mia’s own words: “It is so exciting to have new work that turns over, exciting to have this space to use, exciting to make connections. I am wanting to do (provide programming for). “I am always reminding myself to slow down.”

Thank you Mia for providing so much information for the blog readers so they can learn (more) about you and the education programs at CMCA.

Maine Art Ed Summer Retreat

Registration opens TODAY

MAEA Summer Retreat/Conference at Pilgrim Lodge ​ Creating on Cobbossee August 2 – August 5 Cost: $220 (Includes room and board) * NOTE – Your membership must be updated for the 2021-2022 membership year in order for your registration to be considered  complete. Click HERE to register as an MAEA member for 2021-2022. Membership runs from June 1st to May 31st annually. ​ ​Registration opens TODAY: June 14th at 7 a.m. (Registration is limited to 100 people!​)

Registration link HERE will be active JUNE 14, TODAY, at 7 a.m.

Greetings fellow Art teachers! Do you feel like this year has dragged all the life out of you and you need to give yourself a break from the grind? Do we have an opportunity for you! Starting on Monday, August 2 – Thursday, August 5, you can join about 100 of your closest Art teaching friends on the shores of beautiful Lake Cobbosseecontee for glorious uninterrupted Art making!

 The site is Pilgrim Lodge, which has a boardwalk connecting 18 cabins, a dining hall, a main lodge, and several woodland trails. The cabins can house 6 people and also have screened porches. Each cabin has bunks, a bathroom and shower. 

The waterfront includes a large swimming area with kayaks, canoes, prams, and access to an island. You may also bring your own gear. 

There are many indoor spaces for setting up your art practice and lots of trails to get away from it all.
There’s even a large woodland labyrinth to walk when you need to do some deep thinking.

Pilgrim Lodge is 20 minutes from Augusta and one hour north of  Portland. We will not be offering workshops but hope that everyone will be comfortable making art on their own. Our desire is to make this a yearly event in addition to the Fall conference at Haystack. The cost is $220 which includes meals, lodging, gorgeous sunsets over the lake, and just a few mosquitoes. Check out www.pilgrimlodge.org for more information about the site. Pilgrim Lodge has a no alcohol, recreational drugs, or smoking policy and we intend to honor this during our stay there. Please plan accordingly. We hope that you will consider joining us in this exciting endeavor to create some great new memories, friendships, and ART. 
​
Sincerely, 
your friends and colleagues at the MAEA

The Art of Education University

Learning opportunities for art teachers

PODCAST

The Art of SEL is a limited-run podcast about connecting social-emotional learning to what we already do every day in our teaching. Throughout eight episodes, Jonathan Juravich and his guests will explore how we can help ourselves and our students understand emotions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and why that understanding is crucial right now.

Each episode is based on one of the core competencies of SEL, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making, with practical applications at every turn for you and your students. The first episode was released on Monday, May 17th.

Find The Art of SEL podcast and get started listening to the informative content that the Art of Education University is providing.

SUMMER CONFERENCE

Art teachers world-wide are invited to attend the summer conference provided by The Art of Education University on July 29. Enjoy a day full of artmaking, creativity, and discovery with thousands of art teachers from around the world—all without leaving your home! You’ll walk away with loads of inspired ideas, resources, and downloads you can immediately implement into your art room.

Highlights include:

• Highly-engaging, fast-paced TED Talk-style presentations full of real-world, practical art room strategies.
• Connect with over 2,000 art teachers from around the world!
• Over 20 highly-practical and relevant art ed presentations, handpicked and expertly curated by AOEU.
• Useful downloads ensure you can actually put the tips and strategies you learn to use right away in your real-world art room.

REGISTRATION

YAHOOO for Arts Educators!

Congratulations art teacher Sarah Doremus

Sedgwick Elementary School art teacher Sarah Doremus has been named Hancock County’s Teacher of the Year.

Sarah Doremus

I’m sure you’ll join me in congratulating Sarah for representing her school and arts education in her role as Hancock County Teacher of the Year. Sarah will be considered for the Maine Teacher of the Year for 2022. Sarah has been teaching for 9 years, grades PreK-8 and was nominated by her principal Carla Magoon who said:

Sarah is one of the most energetic and enthusiastic teachers I have had the honor to work with. She is excited about learning and helps her students to become excited right along with her. She spends incredible amounts of her own time and money to plan activities where the students will be engaged and have fun while they are learning. She works with all the other teachers in the school to create integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) lessons that are aligned to their curriculum and the standards that the students are working on. She is always ready to help with any special ideas like Maine Day, or Screen-Free Week, and she finds community resources, such as local artists and places where students can get first-hand knowledge. Sarah also partners with community organizations such as Haystack and Blue Hill Heritage Trust to bring opportunities that otherwise our students would not have, such as using a laser cutter, or screen printing. She always goes above and beyond and her love for learning and for her students is always at the forefront of everything she does.

As part of the Maine Teacher of the Year Program, hundreds of teachers across Maine are nominated by a member of their school community. Through a rigorous application process, one teacher from each county is selected as the county Teacher of the Year by a panel of teachers, principals and business community members within the county.

Below is the YouTube video of the county teacher of the year announcement. During the ceremony, held earlier this week, Emily Paruk, Maine’s 2021 Poetry Out Loud champ recited an original poem appreciating teachers. You’ll find this at the 20 minute mark.

The Teacher of the Year program is organized by Educate Maine. Learn more about the program at THIS LINK.

Read the article in The Ellsworth American about Sarah.

Youth Art Month

Maine Art Education Association

For almost 30 years, the Portland Museum of Art (PMA) and the Maine Art Education Association (MAEA) have collaborated to bring National Youth Art Month to Maine. We are happy to announce that this tradition continues. This year marks the first time that Youth Art Month at the PMA will be digital.

This annual exhibition emphasizes the value of art education and encourages support for quality school art programs through a month-long exhibition of artwork by K-12 students throughout the state. The exhibition will begin digitally on March 1, 2021 on the PMA’s website.  
This year, registration will be open longer and without the hassle of framing or dropping off artwork. 
Registration will be open from 9 a.m. Wednesday, January 20, 2021 through 5 p.m. Wednesday, February 24, 2021.  

• To submit student work, you must be a current member of MAEA. Check your membership status, email membership chair Hope Lord before completing the online registration.
• You may submit one artwork per teacher per school.
• Artwork created by multiple students or work with multiple teachers is not permitted.
• Artwork must be photographed properly (see our Guidelines for Photographing Artwork ) and will only be accepted if proper protocol is followed.
• Because it is a virtual exhibition, we hope that teachers submit a wide array of media. 2D, 3D, animation, short film and video are all able to be submitted. We also will be accepting artist statements.

REGISTRATION LINK

All artists and their families are invited to the Youth Art Month digital celebration on Saturday, March 13th: K-4th grade at 3:30pm; 5th-8th grade at 4:30pm; 9th-12th grade 5:30pm. More information coming soon.  

If you need to make special arrangements, email Meghan Quigley Graham.
For all other questions, please contact the MAEA Youth Art Month chair, Elise Pelletier.

VIRTUAL YOUTH ART MONTH – NATIONAL ART EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

There is one more opportunity to showcase your student artwork during the month of March. As you may know, NAEA conference is virtual this year. That means the YAM Museum will also be virtual. We would love to have a variety of student artwork across all grade levels, representing Maine at this year’s conference. 
If you are interested in participating please submit one artwork/per grade that you teach. 
Please email Elise Pelletier at epelletier@scarboroughschools.org the following information by Wednesday February 24th:

• Your name and school
• Student’s names & grades
• Photos (please rename each photo studentname_grade.jpg)*
• Please review the guidelines (attached) for taking quality photos)

Depending on the number of submissions, Elise may not be able to include every student’s artwork. She will let you know what submissions will be included in the final exhibit.

Getting There, Part III

MECA MAT students

This is Part III of a blog post about the Masters in Arts and Teaching (MAT) students at Maine College of Art (MECA). Together with Part I and Part II you can get a snapshot of their program this fall. Students presented their work in an exhibit called “Getting There“, November 28 – December 7 at the college in Portland. The last two days of Maine Arts Ed blog posts include images from the show, their thoughts on visual art education, and their role as artists and future teachers. It also includes their successes and challenges, and their hopes for the future, post pandemic. I hope I am able to have a more personal conversation with this group of people in the near future. They have so much to offer, are is very articulate and thoughtful, and are bright lights during this dark time.

These MAT voices are strong and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that the future is in good hands. I’ve mentioned over the years how important our role is as educators to mentor, encourage and seek out the future teachers to insure that arts education continues moving forward to provide an excellent education for all students. Here is an opportunity for veteran teachers – read and listen carefully and if you’re inclined, reach out to these students.

In the Part I post there are examples of each students work. In Part II you can hear their voices and below are the responses to questions that I asked the students.

What do you see going on or what are you doing right now (in the midst of Covid) that is so dynamic and creative and alive that you hope doesn’t go away once Covid does?

• Even though so much of education and the world is in a precarious state, the pandemic is helping me realize how important grounding learning with an arts education is for kids. I’m happy that there’s new energy being channeled into making education more accessible for everyone, and it’s amazing to be in a cohort of teacher candidates as we are all so eager to bring fresh perspectives to classrooms. ~ Philippa Grace, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Sculpture, 2016
• Education and healthcare seem to be never quite completely accessible. During the pandemic, when everything moved online, we evolved in creating tools of still allowing these things to happen and even flourish virtually. Though an end to the pandemic seems to be in the foreseeable future, I hope to see a continued mix of virtual and in person experience. It allows for more voice and choice. School and doctors are more accessible to those without cars through virtual platforms and if we made decent internet connection a necessity, we could be a lot more productive and connected from within our homes where we are most comfortable. ~ Audrey Robidoux, Maine College of Art
• Oh gosh great question! I have caught myself noticing the present SO much more- the color of a meadow this fall after a recent rainfall, how this random lady sitting on a bench laughed exactly the same way that my roommate does, the soul settling experience of paddling in a canoe on a lake. I hope to maintain this awe of the moment, (and teach others to do the same!) once quarantining ends. ~Sophie Olmsted, Bates College, Lewison, Studio Art (ceramics), 2018
• I don’t think I’m doing anything in my personal life that I hope continues after Covid. I do see a silver lining when it comes to my teaching practice. I was blessed enough to get a teaching job that both supplements my student teaching requirements and my wallet during this time. This type of experience would not have happened if it was not for the circumstances that we are in. ~Cooper Binette, Maine College of Art, Portland ME, BFA in painting 2020
• Refining skills as an artist and a teacher is my life’s work. I am grateful for the time and opportunity to study at Maine College of Art even if we work remote. Allowing me to continue to create an enriching environment for Maine’s youth. It is during the epidemic that I am able to work harder than I ever have to make this a career. ~Seth Baron, Maine College of Art, BFA in Illustration 2020
• I unfortunately don’t feel that I have achieved anything so dynamic or exciting that it is going to stick around post Covid. I have found myself feeling trapped inside, and uninspired/overwhelmed due to the stressful climate of my surroundings. One positive thing that has come  out of the situation is that I have had a lot of time to sit and work inside of my sketchbook, something I usually do despite Covid times but it feels very accomplished to be able to sit and just draw for hours while being stuck inside. These sketchbooks will be reminders of this unexpected situation, and bring a sense of accomplishment to these hard times. I will then be able to share this experience with my future students, so I guess you could say there’s a small sliver of a silver lining there. ~Lauren Ashlee Anderson, Maine College of Art, BFA in Ceramics 2020
• I am feeling so inspired by food right now and have been pouring all of my creative energy into cooking and baking. Since the pandemic began, my partner and I have started growing our own vegetables and herbs and have had a lot more time to experiment with new recipes. I never would have guessed I would be so excited about street corn or heirloom tomatoes! ~Madison Mahoney, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, BA in Studio Art, 2019
• Unfortunately as of right now, I don’t have any creative and dynamic practices that will stay with me post Covid. My ceramics practice was cut short due to Covid and I do not have the means to continue it right now. In all honesty, I hope for things to go back to a seminormal if/when Covid is gone. The silver lining for me is that I’m thankful to be in the Master’s of Art in Teaching program to become an art educator. I will be able to share my passion for art to students and hope to inspire them to achieve their dreams. ~Shelby Pyrzyk, Maine College of Art, BFA in Ceramics 2020 
• When Covid first hit back in March, I didn’t make any art for 4 months. I was newly unemployed, broke, and depressed. However, about a month before I moved to Maine from Kentucky, I started doing all these paintings of retro video game covers for my friends, and it helped me rejuvenate my creative confidence. Throughout the MAT program I have been able to keep doing these video game commissions for friends, on top of many other creative endeavors, and so I have been able to sustain that motivation to create, but it wasn’t easy. I think that being an artist during a pandemic has reminded me that there are always ups and downs, but art will always be there for me when I’m ready. ~Trent Redmon, Transylvania University, Lexington, KY, BA in Studio Art 2016
• Storytelling is very important to my life and work as an artist. Traditionally, I tell my stories through comics and graphic novels. Since Covid, however, I’ve invested myself more in the creation of artifacts and life size set pieces from out of my fictional worlds. I’m hoping in the coming years I continue to expand on the idea of bringing the fictional into the real world. ~Sean Dillon, Eastern University 08-12, Exercise Science

What has it been like jumping from student to teacher while continue to nourish your own creative practices?

• I audited a porcelain class taught by Cathy Hammond at MECA this fall. When I was a few years younger, I was so afraid of failure, but now that I’m learning about mindfulness and bringing our whole selves to the classroom, I was so eager to show Cathy my failures and ask her “what do I do now?!” I learned so much about the materials just by being in a classroom (albeit masked and distanced!) with BFA students at all levels, and Cathy was always willing to share her decades of ceramics teaching experience with us. It was so powerful to be able to fail in front of her and have that be an empowering experience of growth. ~Philippa Grace (favorite color: orange)
• The journey from artist to teacher has expanded my perspective on the world. As a working artist, I often felt isolated, deeply buried in late studio nights and internal thought. I love to create but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t invest every piece of myself into it. I felt as though it wasn’t a sustainable practice for myself or my well being. As much as I loved it, I needed something different, a different purpose. After four years of focusing on the art world, I felt the pull to come to the teaching program. Despite the pandemic, and the upheaval of the world around me, I knew that it was the right decision. ~Audrey Robidoux (favorite color: red)
•  I see the role of teacher and student as interchangeable hats- in one moment, I may have the teacher hat on, but I’m wearing the student one in the next. Flipping back and forth informs both experiences. I feel so lucky to be a student in my 800 studio class because it reminds me of the student experience- what it is like to not know what’s next, how uncomfortable it can be to not know, how to navigate teacher expectations and social interactions. The MAT program (so far) has been the perfect bridge between feeling mostly student to feeling mostly teacher (I plan to identify as a partial student for the rest of my life). ~Sophie Olmsted (favorite color: lavender)
• Jumping straight from student to Teacher has been a crazy experience. I’ve had to strengthen my time management skills along with prioritizing my school and teaching over my personal practice without allowing it to fizzle out completely. ~Cooper Binette (favorite color: pastel purple)
• Starting my practice of teaching has been an incredible new experience. New experiences such as meeting a group of students for the first time will continue to inspire my digital paintings. ~Seth Baron (favorite color: cyan)
• Jumping from student to teacher while continuing to nourish my creative practices has been a big challenge for me. Coming out of quarantine to this program has to be the biggest challenge. My semester in undergrad was cut short due to Covid so all of my studio privileges unfortunately disappeared. I found myself in a creative slump with a lack of inspiring materials. I have worked my way out of the slump by creating awesome lesson plans for future students, and being able to create art while making lesson plans is exciting. I haven’t made much art for myself, but no matter what I still continue to doodle, work in my sketchbook, and pull from the world around me to inspire me. ~Lauren Ashlee Anderson (favorite color: terra cotta)
• It has been a transition for sure. Some parts of teaching have come easy to me, while others have been harder to grasp. Jumping into teaching after months of uncertainty and quarantine felt like a huge change of pace. But luckily this cohort has been able to offer me amazing support. I’ll admit, at the start of this program I found myself neglecting my creative practice. That quickly shifted when we were given the opportunity to join a BFA class to continue our making. It felt amazing to be back in the studio and since I have gained back more of my creative energy that had been lost in quarantine. ~Madison Mahoney (favorite color: slate blue)
• It has been interesting but I like the transition because I am able to apply my knowledge from when I was a student to what I am doing while teaching. It also has been helpful when creating lesson plans to have experience with some of the media. ~Shelby Pyrzyk (favorite color: teal or pink)
• It has been challenging to say the least. It requires so much discipline and drive to be able to change gears from academic work, to studio work, and back and forth. It’s taken lots of perseverance. ~Trent Redmon (favorite color: red)
• Teaching has gradually become a part of my practice as I’ve become closer with my audience.  I started doing art tutorials and live streams for my following a few years ago and educating others has become just another hat I wear. ~Sean Dillon (favorite color: green)

Was there evidence of the teacher as artist or artist as teacher in the show?

• Getting There is a time capsule of our cohort on the verge of student teaching with our mentors this winter, in the midst of this pandemic. We are all in different stages of discovering the balance of being a teacher and an artist (for me and some other peers, we have been out of school for a few years and are falling back in love with art and school–others are fresh out of their BFA programs). As we have grown together since August learning about art education, I am so grateful to be able to share this space as artists in our field as well. It is a potent reminder for me to never stop making–even as my creative practice shifts and changes, being an artist is what guides my teaching and grounds me. ~Philippa Grace (pronouns: she/they)
• For my exhibit I created a sketchbook and a curriculum map, tying in all of the sketchbook prompts. It’s designed for high school students, based off a curriculum map that I dreamt up. High school education is a difficult experience in the current society, and art can teach the lifelong lessons of creative and critical thinking. Giving a young adult a sketchbook can awake a childhood passion that seemed lost and change their perspective on life. The sense of individuality that is born within a sketchbook can inspire. Art and creativity is what every student needs in this current world, where we have no idea what the next few years looks like, let alone the rest of our lives. I want to equip my students with skills that will stay with them no matter what path they take. And it takes an artist to teach these concepts. There really is an art to teaching. And I’m getting there. ~Audrey Robidoux (pronouns: she/hers)
• Yes, absolutely. I made some jars using a technique on the wheel that I had never tried before (or even heard of!). I absolutely plan to make jars in this way again and to teach others to give it a try. The process served as a reminder that you can always learn new ways to do things and you can always teach students to keep looking for those ways of making that spark energy and intrigue. I plan to hold this experience of discovery with me as I step into my role as a teacher. ~Sophie Olmsted (pronouns: she/her)
• I think there is evidence about the importance of the teacher as an artist in every piece in the shell. The artwork helps bridge the gap between what we are learning in class and what we are practicing in our studios. This information will only benefit our teaching practice. It will make all of our learnings more accessible to both the audience and the artist. ~Cooper Binette (pronouns: he/him)
• The show contains an array of illustrations, paintings, ceramics and sculptures. All of which are created by some incredibly diverse perspectives inspired by pedagogy based readings and studies. I highly recommend everyone follow meca.mat on instagram to see all of the pieces from the show. ~Seth Baron (pronouns: he/him/his)
• Getting There is a show depicting each of our individual journeys as artists and future educators. There is both evidence of teacher as artist, and artist as teacher. In my work specifically I have honed in on the idea of “Embracing being a novice”. My work displayed is a variety of new techniques I learned in my BFA class this semester called “The Sculptural Imagination”. As I am learning to be a teacher, I am still continuing to add new tools into my personal tool box that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. These new techniques are now some that I can share with my future students! Embracing being a novice not only means learning new things, but also means that I am learning things I can teach my students in the future.  ~Lauren Ashlee Anderson (pronouns: she/hers)
• Absolutely. In my work there is evidence of teacher as artist in the way I approach a new material; in this case, porcelain. For this exhibition I focused on play and embracing possibility in a medium that was brand new to me. As a painter, I primarily work 2D, but I wanted to get a feel for how my students might experience a 3D material. I was the only handbuilder in a class of wheel throwers and I wanted my pieces to reflect that. All of my pieces in this show are my firsts and many experiment with balance as well as glazes. ~Madison Mahoney (pronouns: she/her)
• Our show Getting There is centered around us as both artists and future teachers. We were tasked with continuing or learning a form of art while being able to tie it back to what we are learning in our program. Many of us have highlighted that in the pieces of our work in the show. I feel this show is important to the program to show us that we can continue our art practices while still being teachers. ~Shelby Pyrzyk (pronouns: she/hers)
• There is definitely evidence of that in our show. Just going around reading everyone’s artist statements is evidence that everyone put a ton of thought into what they made. Everyone’s perspective is so different, but all the work is still unified by our dual perspectives as both artists and teachers. ~Trent Redmon (pronouns: he/him/his)
• It’s a subtle message, you really have to look into the details of my piece to decode the artist-teacher relationship.  For me the piece is more of a physical waypoint in a mostly spiritual journey to become a teacher. ~Sean Dillon (pronouns: he/him)

Art and Climate Change

Student response 

Thank you to Cynthia Pease, art teacher at Deer Isle Stonington High School, for providing the information for this blog post.

The Deer Isle Stonington High School 8th grade Art students have produced a number of paintings reflecting their thoughts and feelings about climate change and their global concerns.  In this show, you will see hope, anger, humor, and a plea for everyone to wake-up and take action.  Above all else, the art show reflects the concerns our students have for their future.  This show is about raising awareness!

In order to achieve this level of work, students researched the topic they connected most with.  There were weekly critiques and class discussions on each topic chosen.  Sketches were created and refined with a focus on the Elements and Principles of Art and included Type Face as an element of their designs.  Color compositions and final drawings were created prior to the final work being painted.  These students “earned” a higher level of recognition because of the hard work, grit, awareness, and level of honesty they have portrayed in their final work. 

To bring this show into the public light, we give great thanks to the climate change organization, Climate Action Net (CAN), and to the DIAA Gallery for hosting this show.  Other elements of this initiative included a conversation with these young artists about their work and the climate situation they are inheriting. The interviews were conducted by Rob Shetterly of Americans Who Tell the Truth.  The paintings will be displayed on the CAN website in order to select a painting which  powerfully communicates a young person’s view of Climate Change. The most popular painting will be reproduced on ‘T’ shirts and offered for sale in order to raise money for school ecological initiatives, such as solar panels.

Special thanks to Tony Ferrara for his support, commitment and passion to inspire and motivate young people to take action.  From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you!  Our deep gratitude goes to DIAA for hosting this event.

Cynthia expresses many thanks to Dennis Duquette for positive energy and support and Little Eagle for making all the frames.

This We Believe

Association for Middle Level Education

Call for Student Voice and Visuals

The Association for Middle Level Education is updating our foundational position paper (previously titled This We Believe), that identifies the characteristics of successful middle schools. This critical document serves as the centerpiece of exceptional middle schools around the world that are focused on shaping the best possible educational experiences for their students ages 10 to 15. We’re interested in bringing student voice and visuals to the new edition of the book, and we need your help. We’re seeking student submissions as follows:

1. A testimonial Students can write a statement of 1000 characters or less in response to one or two prompts:
   • How has a teacher, principal, or other adult in your school had a positive influence on or encouraged you?
   • What’s your favorite thing about middle school?
2. Two-dimensional art
   This can be any type of artwork including, but not limited to, watercolor, pencil, oil painting, photography, and digital images. The art should express the energy and culture of your middle school and should be submitted as a high-resolution photo or .jpg image. The art should be accompanied by a statement from the student about the inspiration for the art (1-4 sentences).
3. A reflective poem.
   We’re seeking a poem either about the student, about an adult they appreciate at the school, or about their experiences in middle school.

Each student whose quote, art, and/or poetry is featured in the new book will receive a $25 Amazon gift card and their work will be displayed on AMLE.org and at the #AMLE20 Annual Conference, November 12-14, in National Harbor, MD.

Teachers need to be prepared to submit the art as a high resolution photo in .jpg or .eps format. Poems can be submitted as .doc or .pdf files.

Submissions are due by May 15, 2020. In August 2020, we’ll notify you if your students’ entries are selected for inclusion in the new book.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT A STUDENT ENTRY

Congrats Krisanne Baker

International award for innovative integration of ocean ed and creative arts

(Waldoboro, Maine) – Krisanne Baker, an art teacher at Medomak Valley High School, has won an Educator Innovation Award for effectively and creatively teaching students about ocean conservation issues and empowering them to be stewards of our blue planet. Baker received a $750 cash prize.

An eighteen foot Humpback Whale designed and directed by Catherine Johnson. Students are creating a 70′ ocean awareness mural that wraps around a student courtyard at Medomak Valley High School under Krisanne Baker’s Gulf of Maine: Dare to Care curriculum. Photo: Krisanne Baker

The Educator Innovation Award was presented by Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs (Bow Seat), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit whose mission is to activate students through the arts, science, and advocacy to become the next wave of ocean leaders. Bow Seat’s flagship educational program—the global Ocean Awareness Contest—invites youth to learn about and explore the connections between human activities and the health of our ocean through visual art, writing, music, and film. Since 2012, more than 12,000 students from 106 countries and all 50 U.S. states have participated in the Ocean Awareness Contest. Bow Seat has awarded almost $300,000 in scholarships to help advance teens’ creative talents and passion for the ocean, as well as to educators who use the program as a tool to teach students about ocean conservation issues, apply classroom learning to real-world problems, and build students’ research and communication skills.

Aubrianna Nash and Kylee Miller work on their section of the 70′ mural.
Photo: Krisanne Baker

Knowing that our lives depend on the health of the ocean, Baker began a conversation about climate change in her art classrooms and found that no other teachers were addressing the subject. Baker developed the “Gulf of Maine: Dare to Care” curriculum to teach students how to use art to make a difference, specifically in ocean advocacy. When she offered her Studio Arts class the choice to work on Bow Seat’s Contest for an entire quarter and then submit their work to the competition, the students voted unanimously to do so. Krisanne’s Foundations of Arts and Creative Design classes learned  how to make accurate scientific illustrations of endangered Gulf of Maine marine animals, then created slumped recycled glass renditions of their creatures, which collectively will be a part of a display traveling from the town hall to local libraries to elementary schools beginning in 2020. The Foundations of Arts class now has a year-long focus on the Gulf of Maine.

“Bow Seat is committed to empowering ocean-conscious creators and changemakers who are using the power of creativity and imagination to bring people together to care for our shared planet,” said Linda Cabot, founder and president of Bow Seat. “We are thrilled to have educators like Krisanne as a member of our global community, and we respect the incredible work she does to ignite her students’ curiosity, encourage their creativity, and open their eyes to their own power to affect change.”

Some examples of slumped and fused glass endangered ocean creatures from Baker’s Foundations of Arts and Creative Design classes at MVHS. Photo: Krisanne Baker

“Using art to educate people, especially young people, gives me hope for this planet,” said Baker. “As an ecoartist, my personal practice uses art as a means to make change. However, five years ago, I decided to do the same as an art educator.  I teach about climate change through art because when I asked my students who was talking with them about it, no one was. It’s a tough subject and in my mind, the largest looming local and global problem our young people face. In my 25 years of teaching, never before have I had students so impassioned, empowered, and empathetic.”

Art advocacy for North Atlantic Right Whale silkscreened t-shirt; Gulf of Maine: Endangered Ocean Species silkscreen unit.

Visit bowseat.org for more information about Bow Seat’s programs, educational resources, and global collection of student artwork. The 2020 Ocean Awareness Contest, “Transforming Crisis: Climate Hope,” is open now through June 15, 2020, to students ages 11-18 worldwide.

ArtWorks!

University of Maine campus

ArtWorks!, an art program for students in grades K through 8, provides children an opportunity to explore the world of art through hands-on experiences with a variety of visual media, the history of art, and the viewing of art works. The spring ArtWorks! session will run for five consecutive weeks with classes held on Friday afternoonsfrom February 8-March 8, 3:30-5:00 in Lord Hall on the University of Maine campus. The fifth week will be the Children’s exhibition held on March 8th.

Parents or guardians are responsible for their children’s transportation to and from the program.  Classes will begin promptly at 3:30 and conclude at 5:00 sharp. For safety, students will not be allowed to leave the classroom until the pre-designated adult has come to the room to pick him or her up.

Class sections are organized by age and/or grade level, and spaces are very limited. Acceptance into the program will be on a first-come-first-serve basis. A list of alternates will be kept in case of vacancies.

A $25 course feewill be charged for the spring session to cover the costs of materials used during the classes. The course fee must be paid on or before the first day of classes. Checks should be made out to the University of Maine. A limited number of scholarships are available.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 31

♥All ArtWorks! classes are taught by Art Education undergraduate students, under the close supervision of Dr. Constant Albertson. ArtWorks! is a lab school designed to provide future art teachers the opportunity to develop the skills necessary for success in their future classrooms.To facilitate this, we ask parents and Ed. Techs to stay outside the classroom during the ArtWorks!Sessions.  As this will be one of the students’ first formal teaching experience it is important that it be as realistic as possible. Your cooperation is appreciated.

♥  Art classes will take place on the second and third floors of Lord Hall. There is an elevator to all floors and the bathrooms are accessible. Art Education students will contact you prior to the first class to give you your child(ren)’s room number(s). If your child has particular learning needs or allergies, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to contact Dr. Albertson directly prior to the first class, and inform the art education student who calls you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Dr. Constant Albertson at 581-3251 or the Dept. of Art, Lord Hall, at 581-3245 or by e-mail: constant@maine.edu.

THE AFTER-SCHOOL ARTWORKS!PROGRAM APPLICATION

Please printclearly (this is very important!)

Student’s name:_________________________________________________________________________

 

Age:_______ Grade Level:_______   School: ________________________________________________

 

Parent or Guardian’s name:________________________________ Day Phone:____________________

 

Email Address:________________________________________Evening Phone:____________________

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 31

Please make checks out to University of Maine.  Send applications to University of Maine, Dept. of Art, Lord Hall, Orono, ME. 04469-5743. Attention:  ArtWorks!