me arts ed

Contemporary Outlook: Seeing Songs

This looks like a fascinating exhibit that opened July 1, 2009 and will be on display until February 21, 2010 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. A karaoke party kicked off the event at the exhibition’s opening.

“The exhibit explores the inspiration visual artists have derived from music, from George Gershwin’s melodic rhapsodies and Billie Hoday’s soulful blues, to Bob Dylan’s folk anthems and Madonna’s pop songs. Seeing Songs is an eclectic visual mix drawing on music as critical inspiration.

You can learn more and read the entire article by clicking here. The article is from artdaily.org. By clicking here you can read a little more about the exhibit.

IMPORTANT ALERT from the MAC blog!

The Maine Arts Commission (MAC) has received an alert from a Maine artist who came exceptionally close to falling prey to an elaborate online scam involving the purchase of her artwork. In the last 24 hours 7 other artists have contacted the MAC with similar stories.

The incident is now under police investigation and you can and should read the details at the MAC blog by clicking here. It is an incredible scam that you should be aware of, especially if you sell your artwork online. The artist who story is shared on the blog wanted others to know in an effort to avert any potential losses.

If you have received similar communications please email Darrell Bulmer darrell.bulmer@maine.gov at the MAC who can pass this information onto the investigating officers. Please pass this information on to others.

Steel drums- Flash in the Pan

Hilary Nangle writes about Flash in the Pan. Perhaps you’ll get to see  and hear them this summer or another outdoor performance. Please click here to read Hilary’s article in blog “Travel with HIlary”.

USA TODAY article by Marco R. della Cava

Article in USA TODAY that you might find interesting. Are we preparing young people for future jobs? Do we need to re-train their brains? How do we teach brains to use the right brain as well as the left brain? How do we mix the two?

Please take a few minutes read the article and check out the links from the page. Please click here to access the article.

Blog About Anything Art

Here is an interesting blog that I just learned about this morning. It is called Curator’s Corner and has interesting posts. It could be a great resource for you as a teacher or you might want to suggest students use it or read a post at the site. Please take a few minutes and check it out. Please share your comment on how you might use this in your classroom.

Please click here for the site.

This week at Thomas College, Waterville

I am attending the 25th MLEI with about 60 middle level educators from all over the state of Maine. Most participants are here with a team and have a work plan for the week. The plans are challenging them to create something that will have a lasting impact on their schools and kids learning.

Jill Spencer and Chris Toy are the institutes planners and are also doing a marvelous job at facilitating the week. The participants are enthusiastic and are having fun learning.

Last night we had a session led by Mark Springer. Mark is a “master at developing classroom cultures that encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and achieve at high levels.” The group worked collaboratively to solve group challenges.

Bright Futures, the middle level report from the Maine Commission on Middle Level Education was rolled out today by Jill and an exercise was done focusing on the Core Practices.

All week there are sessions by top notch consultants from around the country and Maine who are presenting on important middle level ideas.

Not only am I learning but I get to see old friends and meet new middle level educators. I am leading three sessions: digital photography, blogging and bookmaking.

Last week in Northport at Point Lookout

It was great to have the National State Teacher of the Year Conference last week in Maine for the first time. Teachers came from all over the US and enjoyed three days of touring the state.

At the end of the week they had their conference in the school at Point Lookout. I joined them to do a session on Digital Photography using the Elements of Art and Principles of Design. In this post are a couple of the photos participants took. It was a great opportunity to share information about the MLTI work.

I was so impressed with how interested they were in education in Maine.

Great arts ed podcasts at Arts Edge site

I can not begin to tell you what a terrific site this is for podcasts. The Kennedy Center Arts Edge site has an enormous collection of audio and video podcasts. You can access them by clicking here. I suggest you take a few minutes and see if there are any you can use in your classroom or just for your own pleasure.

The topics vary and some even have teacher resources that you can download as well. Check them out and let us know your favorites. They are actually located on the ArtsEdge iTunes home page.

Found this on Twitter

I found this interesting list on Twitter today and thought you might be interested in seeing it as well. The 100 Best Scholarly Art Blogs has an enormous variety of art blogs listed under several different topics. To name a few: Best Museum Blogs, Best Children’s Art Blogs, Best Art Resources.

Hopefully you will have a chance this summer to take a look and check them out. You might find some very useful and inspirational for starting your own blog or a student blog. Please click here for this informative webpage. If you can’t reach the site by clicking, here is the link: http://www.universityreviewsonline.com/2005/10/100-best-scholarly-art-blogs.html

York artist educator collects messages of hope from around the world

A couple of years ago I met visual artist, educator and enthusiastic warm human being Sarah Haskell at an early arts educator conference. This past fall we reconnected and I learned about her blog and the creative work she is doing. I follow her “travels” through her blog “Woven Voices” and have posted some of her information on the meartsed blog professional development page. I want you to know more about Sarah…

People from around the world send Sarah messages and she reads them in public spaces for others to hear. Sarah invites people to send “The positive messages of hope and renewal, dreams, wishes or prayers.” They send messages on any size paper, on many colors, different weights, some arrive on cloth strips or ribbons. Sarah takes each message, reads them and weaves them into prayer flags and sends them back to the people.

“Woven Voices” was launched in December of 2007 but Sarah didn’t start reading them in public until June 2008. Sarah decided that in order to honor each peson that their messages had to have a voice. At her first reading she read 450 messages and continues once a month reading about 250 in Market Square in Portsmouth, NH.

Tibetan prayer flags are a Buddhist tradition that is thousands of years old called “Lung Ta” meaning “wind horse”. The cloth flutters in the wind to release messages of hope for the benefit of all. Prayer flags are often found hanging in high places atop mountains, shrines, rooftops or trees. Not to long ago I saw a striking poster in Freeport at the Northface store that showed a hiking trail with a little old building. Along the trail strung from the corner of the building were beautiful prayer flags with pictures and words.

I just learned that Sarah has been awarded the 2009 Sarah Farmer Peace Award and will receive it on August 22, 2009. The award is presented to recognize the contributions of individuals and groups who take effective local action to promote world peace and understanding among nations and members of the human family. CONGRATULATIONS SARAH!

You can contact Sarah @ Sarah Haskell, P.O. Box 452, York, ME 03909 or you can go to her blog by clicking here to learn more and see more pictures. Information for this post was taken from seascoastonline.com and from the Sarah’s blog “Woven Voices”.