Featuring the music of Maine composers/arrangers Terry White, Craig Skeffington, and others, as well as the premier of a piece that Terry and the Gifted and Talented students of RSU40 district helped compose.
Archive for March, 2014
Winter Break
March 7, 2014Bangor High School art teacher, Susan Bryand’s trip to MFA
While not sandy or tropical, I took a fun day trip with my Mom to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The MFA is one of my favorite places in the world ( I will confess that I am not terribly worldly, but it’s a favorite none the less). My first visit was as a young girl (along with the Ice Capades) and I credit this visit with igniting my love of art.
My mom and I took the Downeaster from Portland and took advantage of a relaxing ride to look over the map and plan our attack. My secret to enjoying a museum day trip is to enter with no intention of seeing everything. We stuck mostly to the Art of the Americas wing. We both really enjoy the decorative arts and I like to check in on the paintings that lit a fire in me when I was little.
- Copley’s A Boy with a Flying Squirrel (Henry Pelham) http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/a-boy-with-a-flying-squirrel-henry-pelham-34280. for one (all those textures!) and, of course,
- “Watson and the Shark” http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/watson-and-the-shark-30998 and Sargent’s
- The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-daughters-of-edward-darley-boit-31782
- I also loved the “Think Pink” exhibition featuring fashion in one if my favorite colors. https://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/think-pink
We had a bit of a laugh in the contemporary art section when my mother was admiring a metal screen. When I took a second look and declared that it was a giant cheese grater, we had to check the gallery tag to be sure. After reading a bit about the artist’s intent, we agreed that Mom “got it”, as she appreciated it as a beautiful object because of the change in scale. (Although, we didn’t find it “sinister” as the museum suggested we might.)
We spent some time ( and money) in the bookstore before grabbing a taxi back to the station. I found a few postcards (and temporary tattoos!) featuring work from the collection that was created by some of the artists my students just researched. I also posed for a few photos, standing next to masterpieces to give my students a sense of scale (and maybe a laugh, too).
When we slumped back into our seats on the train, my mother and I were exhausted, but cheerful. It’s nice to take a day sharing one of my favorite places with one of my favorite people.
Harlow Student Exhibits
March 6, 2014Harlow Gallery
Contact: Nancy Barron at the Harlow Gallery. 207-622-3813,
kvaa@harlowgallery.org, http://www.harlowgallery.org
Exhibition Dates: March 8-29, 2014
Opening reception: Saturday, March 8, 12-5pm
Hours: Wednesday – Saturday noon to 6pm. Also by chance or by appointment (call 622-3813).
Free and open to the public
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Young at Art: celebrating artists in grades K-8
“Ipcar Cat” mixed media by Kristin of Windsor Elementary School, submitted by her art teacher Genevieve Keller
The public is invited to Young at Art, our 11th annual exhibition of children’s artwork, when area students in grades K -8 have their work on display in the professional setting of the Harlow Gallery at 160 Water Street in Hallowell. Each year the gallery invites art teachers from elementary and middle schools from throughout the greater Augusta area to select their best student art to be featured in this community-wide celebration of talented young artists. Schools serving the following communities are participating: Augusta, Chelsea, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Hallowell, Manchester, Readfield, Richmond, Monmouth, Palermo and Windsor.
The exhibition, on view March 8-29, 2014, is free and open to the public. Hours at the Harlow Gallery are Wednesday to Saturday, noon to 6pm.
The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, March 8 between 12-5pm. Light refreshments available. Please join us in celebrating the youngest artists in our community — families with children especially encouraged to attend. Artists and their families and friends are requested to attend according to the following schedule to avoid overcrowding:
12 – 2pm – artists in kindergarten, 1st & 2nd grade
2-4 pm – artists in 3rd, 4th & 5th grade
3-5 pm – artists in 6th, 7th & 8th grade
New this year! The Harlow Gallery’s annual showcase of high school artists, Higher Forms of Art is being presented in partnership with the University of Maine at Augusta, in the spirit of connecting and celebrating art, artists and community. The show will take place at the Gannett Building gallery at 331 Water Street in downtown Augusta from March 14 to April 5, 2014 with an opening reception on Friday, March 14 from 5-7pm. FMI – http://harlowgallery.org/higher-forms-of-art-at-umas-gannett-gallery/
Also new this year and in partnership with University of Maine at Augusta, the Harlow Gallery, working with project organizer Russell Kahn of Camden Hills Regional High School, will present the first annual Maine Statewide High School Ceramic Arts Show in the Gannett building gallery at 331 Water Street in downtown Augusta April 9-26, 2014, with an reception the evening of Wednesday April 9, 5-7pm. FMI – http://harlowgallery.org/high-school-ceramic-arts-show/
Young at Art is being supported by Scrummy Afters Candy Shoppe and Augusta Schools PTAs. All three student art shows have been made possible generous support of our Season Sponsors: The Bank of Maine, Capitol Dental Care, Dead River Co., Great Gatherings, the City of Hallowell, Mr. Brooks Harlow, Jr., the Jennings Family, Kennebec Savings Bank and the Vallee Brothers. Please thank our sponsors for supporting the arts for all ages.
Saco Museum “Artist’s Talk”
March 5, 2014MAEA show
Brunswick art teacher Allison Price was the organizer of an intriguing “art talk” on a recent Saturday afternoon to accompany the Maine Art Education Association’s Exhibit titled “After Hours” at the Saco Museum.
Five other teaching artists gathered with Allison; Meryl Ruth, Robin Brooks, Manon Lewis, Debbie Bickford and Charlie Johnson. The discussion included a wide range of topics, including artist’s early memories, advocacy, process vs. product, teaching creativity, relationships with students, teachers as artists and assessment, among others. The audience had several questions toward the end of the conversation and audience members came to Allison afterwards to tell her they could have listened for another hour because the discussion was so compelling.
The discussion in it’s entirety (90 minutes, but a good flow and clear audio) can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxJsGy-IBRrhUUdkSVpjRkZ4aW8/edit?usp=sharing and there are a couple of short videos created from some of the artworks and clips of the discussion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO8sLKJ6Bv8 Saco Project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO8sLKJ6Bv8 Saco Project 2
“I was so very impressed with the quality and variety of work in the “After Hours” exhibit, and sitting amongst the work of all these talented people to talk with colleagues about what we do with learners in the ARTS and why we do it was a most rewarding and affirming experience!” Charlie Johnson
Thanks to Charlie Johnson, Mount Desert Island High School arts educator for contributing this blog post and creating the videos to document the opportunity.
Another Teacher’s Story: Sue Barre
March 4, 2014Featuring one teacher’s journey as an arts educator
This is the first for 2014 and the third phase of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative of this series of blog posts telling arts teachers’ stories. This series contains a set of questions to provide the opportunity for you to read the stories and to learn from others.
Sue Barre teaches students in Grades 5-12 at Waterville High School and Junior High School and the Albert S. Hall School. She has been the Band Director since 2007 and was the Chorus Director from 2007 – 2007. Sue also teaches Band and HS Music Theory. Sue has been a teacher leader with the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI) during the last year. She took a graduate course with the New England Teacher Institute for Teacher Education 2 years ago and she was “hooked”. The rest is history as Sue is committed to the MAAI and the quality of work she is doing.
Her student breakdown includes the following:
- Grade 5 band – 38 students
- Grade 6 band – 30 students
- Grade 7/8 band – 55 students
- HS Band – 58 students
- JH and SH Jazz Bands
- HS Pep Band
Sue was the Director of the Pit Orchestra for fall musical, has worked in public schools for 19 years, teaching instrumental and choral music. She is the owner of Music Together, a preschool music program, for 5 years.
What do you like best about being a music/art/drama/dance educator?
I most enjoy watching the light bulbs go on for students, those “aha” moments. The sense of accomplishment when an ensemble performs a piece effectively is priceless. In my current position I truly enjoy watching the students grow and mature from fifth graders until they are heading off to college.
What do you believe are three keys to ANY successful visual and performing arts education?
- Support of Administration in word and action.
- Passion for teaching by the educator.
- A “glass is half full” attitude by the educator.
How have you found assessment to be helpful to you in your classroom?
Assessments have allowed me to converse with my students in a meaningful manner using a common language. Assessments have also required me to assess my own teaching and learning. I am constantly learning what works for students and what does not.
What have been the benefits in becoming involved in the arts assessment initiative?
To be in a room with educators who share a passion for quality education and assessment is invigorating. The Arts Initiative has given me what seems to be bottomless supply of resources for teaching and learning, assessing and reporting and a place where others feel as passionately as I do about arts education!
What are you most proud of in your career?
That I have made a difference in students lives. Facebook has afforded me the opportunity to hear from former students and I am often amazed what affected them the most in the classroom and beyond.
What gets in the way of being a better teacher or doing a better job as a teacher?
At this point in my life it is time, much time is dedicated to motherhood (that I would not trade for the world). If I could add eight hours a day for prep for school that would be ideal.
What have you accomplished through hard work and determination that might otherwise appear at first glance to be due to “luck” or circumstances?
The improvement of my jazz band programs over the last nine years has been hard work. As a french horn player this is not a genre of music that I studied a lot or performed often. I need to work for every point we earn.
Look into your crystal ball: what advice would you give to teachers?
Remember that no matter how big they appear, all of the students (even those seniors) are children. They need structure and guidance and to know you care. You need to be their teacher and not their friend. If you are honest and hardworking and show that you care success will find you.
If you were given a $500,000.00 to do with whatever you please, what would it be?
10% to charity to repay the help that we have received over the years and then I would take my family to Disney and let them do anything they want!
Imagine you are 94 years old. You’re looking back. Do you have any regrets?
No I do not. I have my faith, I have my beautiful family and I have a job that I find rewarding and truly love. I tell my students that I have never heard anyone say later in life that they wished they had spent more time at work and I try hard to model the importance of family each and every day.
Congressional Art Awards
March 3, 2014Call for Art
The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for Members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 700,000 high school students have competed for the honor of having their work shown in the U.S. Capitol.
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Congressman Michael Michaud and the Maine Arts Commission invite Maine high school students (9-12) to participate in this year’s Congressional Art Competition. The selected students will have the opportunity to have their artwork displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for one year, beginning in June 2014.
Each year, the U.S. House of Representatives sponsors a competition for art created by high school students from every Congressional district in the United States. This annual call for art has provided a grand scale opportunity for Maine art students to be recognized and highlights how essential quality arts education is for all students.
Finalists and Runners Up, their families and art teachers will be invited to a reception at the Blaine House in Augusta where the selected students will be recognized. The Blaine House event is the annual celebration that highlights the close partnership between the Maine Arts Commission and Maine’s Congressional offices. Both of Maine’s Congressional representatives are highly enthusiastic about this program and strongly encourage their constituents to apply.
Competition Guidelines
Entry Requirements:
- Must be a high school student: grades 9-12.
- Work must be two-dimensional.
- Work must be unframed, and no larger than 25 in. by 25 in.
- Work must be no more than 4 inches in depth.
- Each entry must be original in concept, design, and execution and not violate any U.S. copyright laws.
- Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo (not the student’s own), painting, graphic, advertisement, or any other work produced by another person is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.
- Work entered must be in the original medium (not a scanned reproduction of a painting or drawing).
- One entry per student.(Please note that while schools may submit multiple entries, individual students are limited to one entry.)
- Acceptable categories:
Paintings (oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc); Drawings (pastels, colored pencil, pencil, charcoal, ink, markers); Collage (must be two-dimensional); Prints (lithographs, silkscreen, block prints); Mixed media (use of more than two mediums); Computer generated art; Photography.
Submissions:
To be considered for review, the student information and release form AND artwork must be submitted in digital format. Actual artwork will not be accepted for review.
–Artwork format must be a digital or scanned image saved as JPEG (.jpg) with resolution of 300 dpi or higher at 5” x 7”. When you save your image, use the following naming conventions for the file:
- Artist name_title of image_year of work.jpg (Example: JaneDoe_Untitled_2014.jpg).
- Maximum of 72 characters in the file name.
- Name cannot contain any spaces or characters other than letters, numbers, underscore or hyphen.
–A completed and signed student information and release form must also be submitted. Please go to https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/Congressional-Art-Comp.
Forms can be saved at a Word document or as PDF. When you save your signed student information and release form, use the following naming conventions for the file:
- Artist name_title of image_year of work.doc (Example: JaneDoe_Untitled_2013.doc).
- Maximum of 72 characters in the file name.
- Name cannot contain any spaces or characters other than letters, numbers, underscore or hyphen.
Submission materials will be accepted as email attachments only (not embedded in the email) and should be sent to Julie Horn at julie.horn@maine.gov. Please put “CAC Submission” in the subject line of your email.
Your email should have the following two attachments:
- Image in .jpg form as specified above
- Student information and release form in .doc or .pdf form as specified above.
***Entries that do not have the specified documentation will be considered ineligible.***
The final decision regarding the suitability of all artwork for the 2014 Congressional Art Competition exhibition in the Capitol will be made by a panel of qualified persons chaired by the Architect of the Capitol. Artwork must adhere to the policy of the House Office Building Commission. In accordance with this policy, exhibits depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed. It is necessary that all artwork be reviewed by the panel chaired by the Architect of the Capitol and any portion not in consonance with the Commission’s policy will be omitted from the exhibit.
For information about the Congressional Art Competition please contact Julie Horn at the Maine Arts Commission, at 207/287-2790, or through e-mail at julie.horn@maine.gov.
Ruth’s Reusable Resources Celebrates its 20th Year
March 2, 2014Event in June will commemorate two decades of creative reuse
PORTLAND, Maine—January 20, 2014—Ruth’s Reusable Resources, a Portland non-profit organization that transfers supplies from businesses to classrooms, will celebrate 20 years in the community this June. An event will be held on June 20, 2014 to mark the anniversary, thank supporters, and raise both awareness and funds to support future growth.
In 1994, Scarborough housewife Ruth Libby began an odyssey that now is measured in millions of pounds of materials diverted from Maine landfills. Ruth’s Reusable Resources (3R’s) has transferred furniture, paper, books, office/school supplies, computers, and much more, to schools and nonprofit agencies.
The central concept is a teacher store: a warehouse stacked high with school supplies – used and new – donated by local businesses including corporate offices and retailers. When individual schools or districts buy annual memberships to 3R’s for as little as $3 per student, their teachers can shop at the store for free all year long. Libby estimates that on each shopping trip, most teachers bring at least $600 worth of supplies back to their classrooms.
When school budgets are tight, the store fills a meaningful gap. And as the gap has expanded over the past 20 years, so has 3R’s operation. In 2007, the teacher store moved from its former location at the Bessey School in Scarborough to its current 28,000-sf space on Blueberry Road in Portland. The building includes offices, loading docks, a 7,000-sf teacher store, and a smaller public store frequented by artists, crafters, and parents of creative kids. The location also provides easy access to EcoMaine, where unsalvageable materials are sent for recycling.
According to Libby, what began as an endeavor to affordably get supplies into the hands of teachers and students has become much more over the past two decades. Beyond its positive impact on Maine schools and the environment, the organization also provides meaningful volunteer opportunities for community members, including confidence-boosting, skill-building work for teens, young adults, and people with disabilities.
“This has just grown and grown in ways I never imagined in the beginning – and now I see so many ways that we can grow it even more,” said Libby. “The event in June will be a toast to what we’ve done so far, and will mark the start of our next chapter.”
About Ruth’s Reusable Resources — Ruth’s Reusable Resources (3R’s) is a nonprofit organization that transfers supplies from businesses ready to discard them to teachers and students in the community who need them. Since its inception in 1994, 3R’s has provided classrooms in Maine with an estimated $48 million worth of supplies at no cost to teachers. Schools or districts pay for a membership, and teachers shop for free. 3R’s is located at 39 Blueberry Road in Portland, Maine. For more information, visit www.ruths.org.
Opps for Students
March 1, 2014Three opportunities for students
- Yamaha: Young Performing Artists program
The Yamaha Young Performing Artists Program (YYPA) recognizes outstanding young musicians from the world of classical, jazz and contemporary music. Each year, the YYPA Finalists are invited to perform at the Music for All Summer Symposium held in late June. Maximum award: $5,000 in retail credit towards a professional model Yamaha instrument, as well as a series of clinics and master classes with renowned artists, designed to help winners launch their music career. Finalists will also receive a professional recording of their performances and national press coverage. Eligibility: musicians ages 16-21. Deadline: March 31, 2014 - Google: Doodle4Google
One talented young artist will see his or her artwork on the Google homepage and receive a college scholarship and a Google for Education technology grant for his or her school. Students should create their doodles based on the theme “If I Could Invent One Thing to Make the World a Better Place…” Maximum award: $30,000 college scholarship; $50,000 Google for Education technology grant for his or her school. Eligibility: students grades K-12. Deadline: March 20, 2014. - Writers in the Schools: Sarah Mook Memorial Poetry Contest
The Sarah Mook Memorial Poetry Contest acknowledges, encourages, and rewards the efforts of student poets. Maximum award: $100. Eligibility: students K-12. Deadline: March 31, 2014.
me arts ed 