The annual Youth Art Month exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art (PMA) is under way from now until March 31. The Maine Art Education Association partners with the PMA to present artwork created by artists in PK-grade 12. Like every other year this show represents a variety of learning by students from across the state and is a great opportunity to recognize the many art educators behind the work and voices of learner. You won’t want to miss this incredible show.
Fortunately, if you can not travel to Portland for the show, you can view the artwork virtually at THIS LINK. You will find three listings, K-grade 4, grades 5-8, and grades 9-12. Some are included below. Enjoy!
Eliot Gauvin, Untitled 3rd Grade Sharpie and Tempera Great Falls Elementary School Gorham, ME Cumberland County Teacher: Allie Rimkunas
Haddie Bickford, Neurographic Art 6th Grade Mixed Media Waterville Junior High School Waterville, ME Kennebec County Teacher: Jaice Drozd
Shayleigh Mercier, Patches In My Universe 8th Grade Watercolor and Sharpie Lewiston Middle School Lewiston, ME Androscoggin County Teacher: Tracy Ginn
Hannah Keller, The Target Beret 9th Grade Acrylic Morse High School Bath, ME Sagadahoc County Teacher: Constance Panetski
Kassidy Vyas, metánonia 10th Grade Earthenware, Black Underglaze, Clear Glaze Scarborough High School Scarborough, ME Cumberland County Teacher: Lisa Ruhman
March is a wonderful time of year to educate more broadly. Every day visual and performing arts teachers do what they were trained to do – teach! Whether you teach or support arts education in another way, March is an opportunity to advocate for the importance of quality arts education for all. Aren’t we fortunate to have a month designated to advocate for our profession?!
Full Chorus from Catching Fireflies, a book of images by Argy Nestor combined with the poems of Jean Feldeisen. The book, prints, and cards are available at https://sites.google.com/view/anestor/. Permission to use this print is required mearsted@gmail.com.
It is officially Music in Our Schools Month and Youth Art Month, both are designated by the professional arts education organizations in Maine and at the national level. Arts Education Advocacy Day is being held in Augusta at the State House in the Hall of Flags, March 20, 1:00-4:00. All are welcome to attend and join teachers, students, parents, and legislators in advocating for the value of quality arts education for all learners. If you’d like more information about the event please contact Vicky Cherry from Maine Alliance for Arts Education.
If you’re looking for resources to guide you in your advocacy work, how you can plan a local celebration or perhaps collecting information to help you communicate the value of arts education, there are plenty available. Below are a few.
NAEA
The National Art Education Association has been celebrating Youth Art Month since the 1960’s. Check out what NAEA has to offer on the topic. The purpose of YAM is to emphasize the value to children from participating in visual art education.
CFAE
The Council for Art Education provides tons of resources to help you plan. They have ideas on their site that teachers and students are engaged in across the country. The ideas range from school based to community, both large and small. You can sign up for their free newsletter and receive information on a regular basis.
NAfME
The National Association for Music Education has been recognizing Music in Our Schools Month since 1985. The idea started in 1973. You can learn what NAfME has to offer on MIOSM by CLICKING HERE. The purpose of MIOSM is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children – and to remind citizens that schools is where all children should have access to music.
Americans for the Arts envisions a country where everyone has access to—and takes part in—high quality and lifelong learning experiences in the arts, both in school and in the community. Their arts education council represents a cross section of the country so all voices are represented. The Americans for the Arts website has a plethora of resources on arts education. Check them out by CLICKING HERE.
ARTS ADVOCACY DAY
Founded in 1973 Maine Alliance for Arts Education has a strong mission: To promote and encourage education in all of the arts for all Maine students.
It’s here, for some of you teachers its the long awaited winter break – yahoooo! I’m certain for all of you starting a week off today, it is a well deserved winter break. Whatever you do, I hope it is filled with relaxation and fun! Let go of school and find the calm, as in a morning sunrise on the glistening snow.
I found the piece below a good reminder to take the time to breathe deeply and take care of yourself. Even if its only for moments during the next week of winter break, please take the time! And, remember, what ever you’re doing is enough!
This was part of a list of 10 Things We Wait Too Long to Do For Ourselves (Year After Year). This was #6 on the list and written by Marc Chernoff.
We often wait too long to be kind to ourselves, also.
More likely than not, the first person who caught your eye wasn’t “the one.” And the second, third or fourth probably wasn’t either. You know why? It’s because YOU are the one! Seriously, in your own life it’s important to know how spectacular you are. You really have to look in the mirror and be kind, because what we see in the mirror is often what we see in the world. Our disappointment in others often reflects our disappointment in ourselves. Our acceptance of others often reflects our acceptance of ourselves. Our ability to see potential in others often reflects our ability to see potential in ourselves. Our patience with others often reflects our patience with ourselves. You get the idea — you’ve got to show yourself some love and kindness, first and foremost.
#5 was we often wait to long to be kind to others, hence, the “also” in the title.
I spoke to a teacher yesterday who said that her plans for winter break each day included, 1) working out and, 2) sitting by the woodstove with a stack of books, a cozy blanket with her dog by her side. She was so looking forward to it and knows that by the end of the week she will be relaxed and revived, ready to jump into the next week of school with a renewed energy!
You want to be sure to attend this year’s annual Maine Music Educators Association conference on May 16 and 17, 2024 at the University of Maine. Who wouldn’t want to attend with these two silly and fun people?
The conference committee has been working on picking an exciting slate of session presenters. We will soon be announcing who will be presenting, but in the meantime, you can look forward to the following:
Choral reading sessions
Orchestra reading session
Conference-wide Keynote address by Matthew Arau: “Upbeat! The Power Within”
Sessions for every area of music education
Live performances
Networking with friends and colleagues
Getting a selfie with President Andy Forster in front of the MMEA banner
Up to 15 contact hours of high quality professional development
The winter 2024 issue of the Maine Arts Journal is all about PLAY! It celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Surrealism and the pieces included penned by Maine artists, writers, and educators elaborate on how vital play is to the human experience. Maine poet Betsy Sholl writes,
“(M)aging art and allowing art to make us is perhaps one of the most serious and necessary kinds of play.”
I am continuing impressed by the tent of the UMVA Maine Arts Journal. Some of you are familiar with writers who have contributed including of dear friend from days gone by at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Stuart Kestenbaum, Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, Susan Webster, Carl Little, and Maine Art Education President Cory Bucknam. You can read Cory’s piece and all the others by CLICKING HERE. You can subscribe at no cost at THIS LINK.
Student work of Cory Bucknam, fall 2023, white earthenware and tempera
The cover design is by Charlie Hewitt, neon sculptures inside NeoKraft sign shop in Lewiston.
UMVA is an amazing organization, please consider becoming a member. The journal alone is worth the price of membership. You can join at THIS LINK.
Perhaps you’d like to consider writing for the journal. If so, please email me at meartsed@gmail.com and I’d be glad to communicate with the details.
Traditionally I make a Greek New Year’s bread called Vasilopita which is baked with a coin inside. As the new year arrives the bread is cut, a slice for each family member, friends and neighbors. Whoever is the finder of the buried coin is blessed with fortune during the year. I wish you all the best of luck and good fortune during 2024!
Recently I learned about the Pridrangar Lighthouse that stands 110 feet from the ocean’s surface. The name Pridrangar means “three rock pillars” which reflects the giant sea stacks upon which the lighthouse rests. It is located in Iceland, six miles off the southern coast and was constructed in 1939. Experienced mountaineers were recruited to scale the sea stack to build it. When life is challenging perhaps giving thought to how difficult it was to build the lighthouse will provide some ease in your load.
Today I pause for a short time to review my 2023. I am feeling all the emotions of living each day to the fullest. I think about the challenges I’ve taken on including planning the Sestercentennial (250 years) for my small Maine town, the new things I’ve learned like carving wooden spoons, the medical situations I’ve faced including carpal tunnel surgery, the collaborations I’ve been part of including stitching a 25 foot by 7 feet piece of art that will hang in a law firm in Philadelphia. I’ve been thrilled to publish a book after working with a poet friend for almost 2 years, to visit with friends that I haven’t seen in 50 years, and to travel to a country I’ve never been to. I am grateful for the small things in life including watching amazing sunrises from my front yard, paddling along silently as an eagle flies overhead, walking through the woods to look closely at tracks in the snow. I never lose sight of how fortunate I am which reminds me to have an open heart when sewing hundreds of dresses and pants for children in other countries or taking time to make cards for friends or going to lunch with an older friend once a month. As with many of you, I am feeling the tragedy of the shootings in Lewiston. The many young children, relatives and friends who have lost loved ones during a few minutes of a day. My heart breaks for people around the world who endure the daily terrors of war. I think about the environment and work to minimize my negative impact.
I am mindful of the importance of light, reaching as many as possible. My biggest question as a teacher: Is what I’m doing in the best interest of every learner? The question I ask today is: Am I contributing to help make the world a better place? As I consider my hopes and dreams for 2024 please know that I appreciate the work educators do every day in the classroom. You may have heard me say this during the pandemic and it still rings true today: Whatever you decide to do, is the right thing and enough. Thank you for continuing to spread your light. As we look up at the sky on a clear Maine night and see the same stars we are all connected.
For decades Martin Fletcher was a foreign correspondent reporter who told stories. I learned that while he was in Maine not long ago he appeared in an interview (2-parts) on the TV show 207. His reporting took him to places in the world that were devastated by war, hunger and many other challenges. He saw people in the most horrible of situations.
I was attracted to this story because of the title of his book however, it’s not what I initially thought that it was going to be. The book called Teachers – The Ones I Can’t Forget. Martin, now retired from NBC, includes stories that are about some of the people he met along his journey.
His stories and interviews are captivating and provide, to his audiences in their busy lives, to reflect on what is important in the moment. His wife stated that the people he met along his journey “left scratches on his soul“. Ten of his correspondent friends died in the line of duty and several others injured. He believes he was lucky to be out of harms way. And, felt that perhaps his luck was running out which was one of the reasons he retired. The Japanese people say: “you fall down 7 times and get up 8”.
One of the stories in the book is as follows:
As Fletcher walked through the feeding station, jotting notes to himself for the story he would write, a boy who was about six years old began to follow him. Although clearly suffering from starvation, with a distended belly and only patches of hair on his head, the boy kept “a respectful distance” and refused Fletcher’s offers of water, a granola bar, and a sandwich.
Eventually, Fletcher asked a guide what the boy wanted.
“He wants your pencil,” the interpreter said.
“My pencil? That’s all? But I’ve only got one,” Fletcher replied.
The guide spoke harshly to the boy, who ran away “throwing one last beaten glance over his shoulder as he disappeared among the starving and the sick,” Fletcher wrote.
“That experience has haunted me ever since. Why didn’t I give him my pencil? What, I couldn’t find another one? But in the moment, trying to record the drama around me, and with only one pencil, I didn’t see any farther than my notebook.”
The heart warming part of this story for me is that all the profits from his book go to Artolution. Looks like an amazing organization. aWhat they do…
“We provide collaborative art-making experiences to our participants in vulnerable communities, strengthening mental health, social inclusion and livelihoods. Artolution programming is led by inspiring local Teaching Artists.”
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) is pleased to announce that it will begin accepting applications for the 2024-2025 School Ambassador Fellowship on December 1, 2023. Launched in 2007, the School Ambassador Fellowship is a unique professional engagement experience designed to improve the outcomes for students nationwide by leveraging the voices of outstanding school-based practitioners to inform the Department on a range national education policy issues.
Founded on the principles of partnership, collaboration and cooperation with school-based educators, the Fellowship seeks to:
Establish an active community of teachers, principals, counselors, psychologists, social workers and other school-based staff members who share expertise and collaborate with Department of Education leaders on national education issues.
Engage school-based educators in development of policies that impact learning environments nationwide.
Showcase the power of practitioners’ voices and expand the critical leadership role of educators at the national, state, and local levels.
Ideal candidates for the School Ambassador Fellowship can demonstrate that they have made significant contributions to student learning and culture throughout their professional careers. They promote excellence in education through their collaboration and leadership. Further, School Ambassador Fellows demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate with a variety of education stakeholders both internal and external to the Department.
How do local school districts benefit from having a School Ambassador Fellow represented at the Department of Education?
Through their interaction with leaders at the U.S. Department of Education, Fellows provide a direct line of contact and engagement between the Department and their local school districts and are positioned to elevate pressing educational challenges faced by the students they serve.
Fellows build, foster and facilitate relationships between their school districts and the Department’s nationwide network of educational organizations.
In collaboration with Department staff and resources, Fellows take on important projects intended to solve complex challenges that will directly impact the students, families and educators within their local communities.
The deadline to apply for the 2024 – 2025 School Ambassador Fellowship is Monday, February 5, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST. On December 12, 2023 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm EST, the School Ambassador Fellowship Program Office will conduct a virtual informational and question and answer webinar about the program. Prospective applicants and others seeking to learn more about the School Ambassador Fellowship and the 2024-2025 cohort application and selection process should follow the link below to register for the webinar: https://shorturl.at/doFJX.For additional information about the Fellowship, please visit the School Ambassador Fellowship program webpage as well as the 2024-2025 School Ambassador Fellowship Program Flyer and School Ambassador Fellowship Program Brochure for more information about the types of Fellowship opportunities, eligibility requirements, and to access the online application. We look forward to engaging great educators from your district and/or network at the Department as we partner together to improve educational outcomes for all of our nation’s children.
Prospective applicants can contact SAF@ED.gov with any questions about the School Ambassador Fellowship program or about the application process.
Argy Nestor
Arts Educator, Blogger, Artist, Connector meartsed@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/anestor/
Argy’s Blog
The purpose of this blog is to share stories about people and places; and to celebrate the amazing work (and play) that students, educators, and organizations are doing in and for arts education. In addition, the blog has a plethora of resources and innovative ideas. This forum gives blog readers the opportunity to learn from each other. It is essential that we listen, learn, and collaborate in order to build on teaching practices for the benefit of every learner in Maine and beyond.
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