me arts ed

Maine Department of Education and iTunes

There are many resources including video clips, articles, and downloads to inspire and teach on a variety of topics at iTunes. There is an icon for the Maine Department of Education that includes an icon for Visual and Performing Arts.

Periodically, I add files and recently added one on “Creativity” that was created by my counter part in Wisconsin. He also sent me a file on “Arts Education and the 21st Century Skills”. Now that summer is here I hope you will take rainy days to catch up on reading and professional development opportunities. I hope you enjoy accessing these without leaving the comfort of your home.

Please click here to get to the iTunes page. This might lead you to a drop down window that says “External Protocol Request”. If so, click on “Launch Application” and you will get to a page that says Maine Department of Education. Scroll down and you will see an icon on the right for VPA.

By all means look at the other offerings on the MDOE iTunes page. I suggest one called “How-Tos… Not Why-Tos” and click on the icon called “What’s on Your MacBook?” Click there and you will find many podcasts on all kinds of topics. And of course, all of these resources are FREE.

HAPPY READING and please let us know (in a comment) of other podcasts, websites and other links to information that you find worthwhile to improve teaching and learning in arts education!

Beautiful horses

While attending and presenting at the Adult Education conference last week  a participant told me about a sculptor that she finds interesting. A couple days later I received an email with the link to the website.  Please click here to check out Heather Jansch’s  work.

“Concepts of Creativity” unveiled in MSAD 44

Artist Randy Fein glueing mural

Randy Fein is a familiar name in many Maine schools. Randy is a ceramic sculptor, potter and art instructor who works in schools across Maine creating clay murals. This Spring MSAD 44 fourth and fifth graders had the opportunity to work with Fein as part of the Mahoosuc Arts Council’s annual artist-in-residence program.

Student work on three separate murals has been permanently installed in Andover, Woodstock and Crescent Park Elementary Schools in the Bethel area. Art teacher Tera Ingraham worked for over a year putting the program together for the 70 elementary students.

“Concepts of Creativity” is the theme Fein chose to inspire the students. Two of the works are created out of self-hardening clay and the third from a clay that needed the firing/kiln process. Each piece has been hand-painted by the students using acrylics.

Andover Elementary School mural

Along with residencies in schools, Fein teaches ceramic art at Unity College and owns Mountain Studios in Lincolnville and is part of Art Space Gallery in Rockland. She has been awarded more than 18 public art commissions to create mixed media and ceramic tile murals for libraries, colleges and other public gathering places.

The Mahoosuc Arts Council is a nonprofit organization that works to support and advance the arts and humanities in the adult communities and school systems of the Greater Bethel Area with the support of SAD 44, Gould Academy and local businesses and individuals. FMI please click here.