Posts Tagged ‘MALI’

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MALI Teaching Artist Leader Story: Brian Evans Jones

March 13, 2018

Teaching Artist – Poet

This is one of several blog posts in 2018 that include stories of the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Phase 7 Teacher Leaders and Teaching Artist Leaders. This series includes a set of questions so you can learn a little bit about each leader. CLICK HERE  for more information on MALI. CLICK HERE  for more information on the 93 Teacher Leaders and 8 Teaching Artist Leaders.  CLICK HERE  for Arts education resources. CLICK HERE  for the MALI Resource Bank. Search in the “search archives” box on the bottom right side of this post for past teacher leader stories.  Thank you Brian for sharing your story! Learn more about Brian at his WEBSITE. You can find Brian’s teaching artist profile on the Maine Arts Commission roster. 

Brian Evans-Jones is mainly a poet these days but also does creative writing. Brian has been teaching since 2005 and doesn’t have a favorite grade or age to teach. “They all offer something different and wonderful. I like to teach by excitement and discovery. I want students to be excited about the idea of writing before they begin, and then to discover what they’re capable of while they actually do it. I want the whole experience to be fun—though also serious fun, the way that kids’ games can be serious.

What do you like best about being a teaching artist?

That’s a hard question! I guess first of all because I get to see a lot of different ages and types of students, and touch a lot of different lives. Lately I’ve also realized it’s because I get to partner with many wonderful great teachers and teaching artists. And on a personal level, I like the flexibility: I could never see myself being happy in a regular job! 

Brian at Hermon High School, November 2017

What do you believe are three keys to ANY successful arts education?

Thinking about creativity in general, I might say:

  • To be supported to take risks
  • To feel OK about failure
  • To learn the unique habits and (wholesome) props that scaffold your own personal creative process.

Have you found assessment to be helpful in your classes, workshops and residencies, and if so, how?

Not being a regular teacher, I don’t often think about “Assessment.” But I do constantly assess how the class is going, how students and I are bonding, how well I am generating enthusiasm, how well my instructions are being understood and used, how well balanced my activities are between support and openness, how much effort students are putting in, how much they seem to be learning, and how keen they are to keep working. I can’t imagine teaching a class without monitoring those things constantly, and many more, but I don’t formalize them. I do frequently use the SWOT framework to assess how I think a class went and plan for the next one, though.

Brian at Hermon High School facilitating a workshop to help guide students working on Poetry Out Loud

What have been the benefits in becoming involved in the Maine Arts Leadership initiative?

People! Meeting cool people who do similar things and make me feel encouraged. Also getting to work on specific projects in partnership with other MALI people, like Kris Bisson, Lindsay Pinchbeck, and Tim Christensen.

What are you most proud of as an artist and/or a teaching artist?

As an artist: winning the 2017 Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award from Poets & Writers.

As a teaching artist: the fact that I do this at all, having jumped into the financial and professional unknown in order to do it. Also some big residencies I have run or am running, like working with 80 second graders for 2 weeks in South Berwick, ME, and leading a team of 4 TAs on a poetry residency with the 8th grade at Wells Junior High School.

What gets in the way of doing a better job as a teaching artist?

Isolation, which makes me less likely to find more work, and makes it harder to plan great classes. Collaboration and MALI connections work against this.

What have you accomplished through hard work and determination that might otherwise appear at first glance to be due to “luck” or circumstances?

Leaving my role as a high school teacher, which didn’t suit me, to piece together a patchwork career, including being a teaching artist. It happened because I sought out any opportunities I could to get experience in the right areas.

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about becoming a teaching artist or is just starting out?

See the previous answer! Plus also:

  • Make connections
  • Take (some) chances—trust the creative process with your career just as you do when you’re making art. 

If you were given a $500,000.00 to do with whatever you please, what would it be?

Brian at the summer MALI institute leading a workshop on writing

That’ll be just enough to pay for college for my two kids by the time they’re ready to go, right? I wish I was even joking…

In a world where college didn’t cost so stupidly much, I would use the money to set up and fund a nonprofit to take poetry to places and people who need it but don’t get exposed to it: prisoners, the homeless, older adults, children in poorer areas, etc.

Imagine you are 94 years old. You’re looking back. Do you have any regrets?

I should have ditched other work and done more teaching artist work sooner! It makes the most difference and is the most rewarding of the several things that I do.

NOTE: Brian traveled to Hermon High School and Van Buren District Secondary School in November 2017 to work with students with the Poetry Out Loud program that the Maine Arts Commission provides in collaboration with the Poetry Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Brian is on the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist roster and is available to travel to schools and communities to provide poetry and creative writing instruction. 

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Food for thought, Leadership, Opportunity, YAHOO | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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MAC Teaching Artist Roster

February 15, 2018

7 new artists

Seven Maine Artists Added to Arts Commission’s Teaching Roster

Maine Arts Commission’s roster provides additional resources for teachers and schools

AUGUSTA, ME, February 8, 2018—The Maine Arts Commission is pleased to announce the addition of seven new artists to its online Teaching Artist Roster.  Selected by the Arts Commission through an application process, teaching artists provide greater access for teachers, schools, and community groups to area artists who are trained and knowledgeable in classroom requirements throughout Maine. The following teaching artists have been recently listed on the roster:

  • Nicole Cardano

    Nicole Cardano, an actress who teaches elementary and middle school improvisational skills as well as theatre productions and show choir. She lives in Seal Cove.

  • Emilia Dahlin, a musician who teaches students to explore literary devices in songwriting to create powerful imagery and foster a strong sense of authorship. Emilia resides in Gorham.
  • Rob Duquette, a musician and songwriter whose lessons teach themes of resilience, compassion, kindness, gratitude, and a sense of purpose. Rob is from York.

  • Emilia Dahlin

    Kal Elmore, a printmaker who collaborates with teachers to develop lessons that help students experience a new media, a new technique, and/or a different way of thinking about visual art. She is from Old Town.

  • Russell Kaback, a musician and a storyteller who writes songs that tell the story of his grandfather’s life as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor.  Through lyrics and song, students make a lasting connection with the experience of a concentration camp survivor from the Nazi era to the present. Russell resides in South Portland.
  • Dana Legawiec, an actress whose recent teachings involve grade 3-5 students in mask, improvisational, physical theatre, and yoga. She is from Bowdoinham.

  • Rob Duquette

    Tom Luther, a musician who teaches piano and multimedia art. Tom applies traditional composition, improvisation, generative, and interactive techniques in his teaching, drawing freely from his experiences in numerous musical forms.  Tom is from Union.

“We are really proud of the learning opportunities that each artist on the roster provides to our schools and communities in Maine,” said Argy Nestor, Director of Arts Education at the Arts Commission.

In addition to overseeing the teaching artist roster along with many other arts education programs and services offered by the Arts

Kal Elmore

Commission, Argy organizes the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Mega-Regional Conferences. Maine educators from PK-higher education are invited to participate in this year’s professional development opportunity at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in South Paris, Friday, March 23 at 8:30 – 3:15 p.m.  The workshop facilitators are Maine arts educators who will have dynamic ideas to share.

Since 2011, MALI has provided opportunities for hundreds of educators with inspirational workshops, presentations, and webinars at the school, district, regional, state, and national level. More information and event registration for the 2018 MALI Mega Regional is available here.

Russell Kaback

The Maine Arts Commission currently administers the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative as part of one of its five priorities, fostering PK-12 lifelong arts education programs, in its five-year cultural plan, Fortifying Maine’s Creativity & Culture. To learn more about any of the Maine Arts Commission’s arts education funding opportunities or programs, please contact Argy Nestor, Director of Arts Education at argy.nestor@maine.gov or 207/287-2713.

Dana Legaweic

Tom Luther

The Maine Arts Commission supports artists, art organizations, educators, policy makers, and community developers in advancing the arts in Maine. For more than 50 years the Commission has encouraged and stimulated public interest and participation in the cultural heritage and cultural programs of our state; has worked to expand the state’s cultural resources; and encouraged and assisted freedom of artistic expression for the well-being of the arts, to meet the needs and aspirations of persons in all parts of the state. Additional information is available at mainearts.com.

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Posted in Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Dance, Leadership, Music, Theater, Visual Arts, VPA, YAHOO | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Deep Learning with Pottery and Poetry

January 23, 2018

YEEHA at Sweetland School

What happens when a collaboration takes place with an arts integrated school and two teaching artists? MAGIC! I had the amazing opportunity to be present while young learners were engaged in connecting their learning through pottery and poetry.

Lindsay Pinchbeck, founder and director of the SweetLand School in Hope invited poet Brian Evans-Jones and potter Tim Christensen to create connected curriculum and learning for the school’s students.

Both Brian and Tim are on the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) Teaching Artists roster and are Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Teaching Artist Leaders. Lindsay is a member of the MALI Design Team and started her school three years ago.

This blog post combines the background information with the participants responses, observations, learnings, and feelings.

FROM THE COLLECTIVE VOICES OF THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED
LINDSAY
The Sweetland School recently had the good fortune of a residency with ceramist Tim and poet Brian. Both artists wove together a program sharing passion and skill in poetry and clay with the children. They created work that knocked all our socks off. Magic was the word tumbling off our tongues this week. For the teachers of Sweetland it was a wonderful opportunity to see the children with fresh eyes.

Brian shared a style of poetry called the Anaphora, with repeated lines. He pushed the children to apply real and imaginary content into their poems. He helped the children generate ideas and then edit and refine their poetry. His goal was to support each child to make a 5 line poem, they all generated much more work. I observed writing, reading, sharing, helping one another, public speaking, laughter and pure joy as the children created and shared their work. 

Tim worked in the studio over 4 days with the children to create 5 or so place settings – cups, plates, bowls, even forks and spoons were created.  The children took their lines of poetry and added the words from the poetry workshop along with images to each piece. Stories of travel and adventure, wove through their clay making experiences as Tim led the children forward in their pottery explorations.  

Children’s conversations:

  • “I know what you find in the magical misty woods!” “A smiling carrot.” 
  • “What do you do when you don’t know what to draw?” Tim “I make a mark and see where it takes me.” 
  • “You know what I have to say about this – It’s really hard but incredibly fun.”  

This week I observed a community of learners drive their learning forward. They advocated for what they needed, supported one another, weren’t afraid to ask questions and were giving and thoughtful hosts with our visiting artists. We saw the children at their best, staying focused for long 2 hours sessions in detailed work and generating work they were proud of. The power of visiting artists to inspire cannot be underestimated. In this safe environment where the children have learned to be themselves and own their ideas they were able to fly with the support of professionals who are passionate about sharing the magic of the process and their craft.  We as a staff learned alongside the children and were a community of learners together. 

To say thank you at the end of their visit the children encircled Brian on Tuesday and Tim on Thursday and sang to both visiting artists. This has officially been termed “Sweetlanded,” by Tim and it’s a pretty magical experience. When all the pieces have been fired we plan to have a special celebration of the work  at the Hope Library. Thank you Brian and Tim! and a note of thanks to Argy Nestor and the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative where this collaborative residency was hatched. It was a magical experience. 

BRIAN
At the close of my two days teaching at Sweetland Arts School, the 12 children with whom I’d been working asked me to sit in the center of a rug. Standing around me, they joined hands and began to sing. The song was new to them, so there were a few stops and starts, but they got there in the end. This is what they sang to me, twice:

In this circle deep peace

In this circle no fear

In this circle Great Happiness

In this circle safety.

This moment felt completely, beautifully appropriate for my experience on the residency. It wasn’t just that the song used anaphora (repeated phrases) to create its structure, which was the technique I had helped them learn for the poems they wrote with me. It was that, through their song and their spontaneous desire to give it to me, they were teaching me something, as they and their school had done all residency.

During the previous two days, I had sometimes felt the opposite of deep peace, great happiness, and safety: I had feared that my whole work at the school was going awry. I am not now sure why I felt this way, except that panic and a feeling of ineluctable disaster are often a part of a creative process. But by the students’ continued steady efforts, and I suppose mine too, things had turned out right in the end. Their poems collectively were funny, tender, deeply personal, wildly inventive, and above all wonderful to hear all read out one after another, as they had just done.

When I sat in the middle of their voices, I knew that they had given me this moment to teach me that I need not have feared: if you keep working, wisely and with good heart, your projects will succeed.

So what I will take away from this residency is a feeling of gratitude, not for what I taught, but for what I learned. I learned that a vision, to create a school where the arts are not peripheral but central, can be made to happen, by Lindsay and her husband Chris. I learned that children who are skillfully supported to trust their own decision-making and imaginations can invent the most marvelous things, such as the spontaneous class play involving sheep and blades of grass that was scripted and performed by the grade 1-3 group, to illustrate concepts of division and remainders, based on a poem they’d made about the number 17. I learned that there is more scope in my own teaching to allow students to make their own choices about how they grow their writing. And I learned a little, just a little, about what can be achieved if we step back, let go of control, and trust the kids, the process, and the art.

NINA
Watching the children with these visiting artists has been both inspiring and illuminating. They brought their best selves to the work each day, and churned out pieces that are jaw-drop-worthy. One word comes to mind in particular when thinking about their manner throughout this residency: absorbed. Their attention never seemed to wander, their focus remained strong, and their process was steady. The visiting artists were strong guides that brought their wealth of experience effortlessly to the children, openly sharing and encouraging progress and process along the way. The response from the children was eager and positive; the energy of creativity filled the room and excitement and pride about their work bubbled up. It was tangible.
Watching the children thank the artists at the end, was perhaps, my favorite part. They circled around each artist, holding hands and sang them a song we sing here at Sweet Tree to celebrate birthdays. A song about creating safety, deep peace and great happiness. This was both instigated and carried out by the students as an offering of gratitude, creating moments that were as beautiful as the work they made this week.
TIM
For four days, I had the great pleasure to work at Sweetland School. The students wrote poems, working for two days with Brian, an award winning poet from South Berwick. They then created 5 functional pieces of pottery, on which they etched, using the sgraffito technique. Starting with individual lines of their poems, the young artists translated verbal language into visual language, creating a place setting which could be rearranged in different settings, making mix and match pottery poems. This exercise challenged the artists to formulate imagery that was as specific as their words: no mean feat! 
For the younger artists, some in the 7 year old range, making the leap from verbal to visual was a struggle, though they were able to write their poems on the pieces, and had a ton of fun creating useful, functional pieces. For the older artists, in the 10-12 year old range, the concept came easily, and their illustrations highlighted specific points in their poetry lines, illuminating their intent, adding focus and emphasis. All of the poems, read aloud during a sharing period at the end of Brian’s time at Sweetland, were insightful and important, the young poets finding their voice easily, conveying thought and emotion beautifully.
I was struck by the powerful way that the younger students looked up to the older cohort, striving to match them in the quality of their products. I was also struck by the kindness of the students, the emphasis on community, collaboration, sharing, and creative expression at Sweetland. Real learning and growing was evident at every step!
OLIVIA
I could see the children’s minds work as they sat molding the clay and thinking about how to visually describe the words of their poems. It was incredibly inspiring and exciting to watch how naturally art meshed with all learning.
LINDSAY LAST WORDS
Thanks for sharing your very open and wonderful impressions. They are feelings I feel often and hope that others can experience too. That piece about being in the creative process and not know the road ahead or how we’ll get there is something that is so much a part of creative thinking and so scary for adults. It can be explored safely with the help of the children and I believe at the very heart of deep learning.
When we don’t know where we are going I think we are on the right track because doesn’t that mean we are learning something new?
 
Thank you all for trusting the process, believing in the arts and being able to stand back and see the magic the children have to offer, I think standing out of the way is sometimes the hardest thing to do.
Not only did this residency exemplify why bringing outstanding teaching artists into the environment is so important but that every one processed the learning so the value of it became clear.  A great big THANK YOU to Lindsay, Brian, Nina, Tim, Olivia, and the YOUNG LEARNERS for contributing to this blog post and for the great work they do every day as educators!

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Food for thought, Integration, Leadership, Opportunity, VPA, YAHOO | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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MALI Mega Conference Oxford Hills

January 5, 2018

Registration is open

Registration is open for the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Mega Conference at Oxford Hills High School on Friday, March 23rd, 8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m! Participants will select 3 workshops from an offering of 15. Not only will the workshops offer great learning opportunities but we all know how much we learn when visual and performing arts educators come together to learn. The networking is always a critical part of the MALI Mega Conferences.

Schedule

  • 8:30 a.m. Registration begins
  • 9:00 a.m. Opening
  • 9:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Breakout Session I
  • 10:30 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. Break
  • 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Breakout Session II
  • 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. Lunch, participants on their own
  • 12:45 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Artist Showcase with Amanda Houteri, Celebration Barn
  • 1:50 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Breakout Session III
  • 3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Closing

Contact hours

5.5 contact hours will be provided to those participating in the full day of the MALI Mega-regional conference at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

 

WORKSHOPS

Bookmaking 101: summative assessment never looked so good!

Develop a creative book making project to assess your students’ authentic learning. Perfect for the end of a grading term, this idea can be tailored to suit the needs of you and your students. Impress your administrators with your ability to keep every student fully engaged in the assessment of their own work. Grades 7-12

Cindi Kugell Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Visual Arts

Rhythm & Counting

Rhythm!! Is this one of the elements of music that you spend a lot of time on in rehearsal? How are your kids at sight-reading? Have you ever fallen into the trap of singing the part for your students? Are you clapping rhythms in class and finding that it sounds more like applause? Intended for ensemble directors, this workshop will provide a new approach to many based upon a tried and true method of counting and verbalizing rhythmic patterns. Grades 7-12

Kyle Jordan Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Music

The Arts and Emotional Intelligence

Looking at ideas on emotional intelligence and leadership collected by Daniel Goleman we will identify the core elements of emotional intelligence and compare them with habits and skills practiced in the creative process. Be ready to create, journal and discuss ideas together on creativity, the arts and emotional intelligence. All grade levels and all content

Lindsay Pinchbeck Director of Sweet Tree Arts and founder of Sweetland School

Flexible Grouping Strategies for the General Music Classroom

It is the age of customized education and differentiated instruction. Chances are, your building administrators are looking for observable evidence of this in your teaching practice. Time constraints and scheduling difficulties can make customized learning a challenge to implement in the general music setting. In this workshop, we will discuss the benefits of flexible grouping strategies, and how to use them to your advantage. Grades PK-12 General Music 

Dorie Tripp Manchester and Readfield Elementary Schools, Music K-5

Tableaus of Courage: How to Help Students Engage with Complex Content through Theater

Ovations Offstage Director Catherine Anderson will introduce workshop participants to Ovations Dynamic School-Time Performance Series for 2018-19, and model for teachers how to help students engage with any story, or content (fictional or not) through the use of “tableau”. Tableau is a wordless theater activity for small groups of students that can be adapted for any age group. Participants will leave with a leasson plan with clear learning targets, and assessment criteria. All grade levels

Catherine Anderson Portland Ovations Offstage Director

SESSION II 10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Choose One

Stars and Stairs

Stars and Stairs, Where am I now and Where am I going? How can the use of Stars and Stairs in your classroom help to inform you and your students of their learning progression and actively engage them in the learning process? This will be a round table discussion. Looking at your standards and your curriculum how can you use the Stars and Stairs model in your classroom.  All grade levels and all content

Samantha Armstrong Paris Elementary School and Agnes Gray School, Grade K-6, Visual Arts

Creativity

Everyone seems to agree that we need more creativity in education, but just what is creativity, and how can we possibly teach it? This workshop will answer both those questions (gasp…) With one foot planted in neuroscience, and the other dangling in the depths of the subconscious, we will conduct transformative activities (visual arts based) designed to enhance the “brainsets” that contribute to creative states of mind. Grades 7-12

Phil Hammett Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School Visual Arts

Improvisation Crusader: Improvisation as an Essential Musical Skill

Improvisation is commonly viewed as a specialty skill, and one that you either have or don’t. This presentation makes the case for improvisation as an essential skill, a naturally growth-minded learning tool, and an additional resource to address any number of Maine Learning Results, and to engage students and give them more ownership over their musical voice. This will be heavily participatory, exploring simple methods to more advanced, and using multiple musical languages/genres. All grade levels

Tom Luther Midcoast Music Academy, Piano, Digital Music, Music Composition Specialist, Teaching Artist, former Art Educator

Creativity and Taking Back the Classroom

Art can propel the next generation of leaders to make a personal connection to real world issues. In this workshop participants will explore strategies for helping young people forge a deep and personal connection between the environment and themselves. If our students are to have the courage to address the environmental challenges we face today, they must believe in the power of their ideas and know that they can create something tangible from them. Participants will make art that crosses subject matter boundaries and explore ways to design original curriculum that leads to action. Elementary and Middle Levels and Visual Arts

Nancy Harris Frohlich, Founder and Director, LEAPS of IMAGINATION

Integrating Curriculum: Making it Happen at the High School Level

Come join a conversation, share thoughts, and cultivate ideas regarding the challenge of integrated curriculum work at the highschool level. How can finding commonalities between subject areas motivate student learning, provide hands on experience with cross curricular connections, as well as benefit the educator as they become more proficient in the language of other disciplines? High School

Lori Spruce Brewer High School Visual Arts

SESSION III 1:50 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Choose One

Looking in the Mirror:  The Importance of Student Self-Reflection

Self-reflection is a crucial part in the cycle of learning for both student and teacher.  With regular self-reflection integrated in your classroom, students will become more aware, dig deeper, and take ownership of their learning.  This applies to us as teachers.  We will also discuss the importance of documentation and strategies of reflection upon our own teaching.  Information gathered about student growth, understanding, and feedback on units/lessons will not only be beneficial for the development of a curriculum, but also in providing evidence for teacher evaluations.  All grade levels and all content

Mandi Mitchell Hermon High School Visual Arts

Bridging Adolescence: A River Runs Through Us – Composing our Story

This workshop documents the progression of a year-long chorus project in which 7th and 8th grade students composed lyrics and music for an original performance piece. The project developed a model of integrated arts programming, including extensive literacy integration through working with a guest poet-in-residence for several weeks. The project also tied in hands-on classwork, a field experience, a connection with a wider community project, video diaries, peer critique, and of course music composition and performance skills. The workshop will give participants a hand-on experience of our project, as well as tools to create their own. All grade levels

Brian Evans-Jones Poet and Teaching Artist and Kris Bisson Marshwood Middle School Music and Chorus

All Aboard for Arts Travel, Full STEAM Ahead!

Interested in transforming your school into a STEAM based model? This workshop will include the benefits of STEAM for students, some sample STEAM lessons, and a suggested action plan for incorporating a STEAM approach into your school. Upper Elementary

Jenni Null Songo Locks Elementary Music K-6 and District Fine Arts Coodinator and Linda McVety Songo Locks Elementary Music K-5

 

Teaching Aesthetics and Criticism: Approaches to Standard D

How do we teach aesthetics and criticism in our Visual and Performing Arts classes? How do teachers design learning  experiences for Maine Learning Results standard D? In this interactive workshop teachers will experience methods for teaching aesthetics and criticism in the 7-12 arts classroom.  Sample lessons that teach forms of artistic interpretation to students will be shared as well as methods for critique.  The workshop is geared toward supporting the teaching and assessment of Maine Learning Results standard D. During the second part of the workshop participants will be encouraged to share their own approaches.  Participants will leave with tools that they can immediately use in their classes. Grades 7-12, adaptable for all grade levels

Bronwyn Sale Bates College, former 7-12 Visual Arts teacher

Inspiring Environmental Stewardship Through the Visual Arts

This will be a fun and informative program with practical involvement by all. All participants will have ideas to take back to the classroom and hopefully a reinvigorated perspective on their teaching with a theater focus. All grade levels

Andrew Harris Lecturer and Chair of Theatre, USM Department of Theatre

MORE INFORMATION is located on the Maine Arts Commission website.

REGISTRATION has been set up through Eventbrite.

If you have any questions please email Argy Nestor at argy.nestor@maine.gov.

Posted in assessment, Communication, Community, Creativity, Curriculum and Instruction, Dance, Food for thought, Integration, Leadership, Media Arts, Music, Opportunity, Professional Development, Research, Resources, Standards Based Education, Technology, Theater, Visual Arts, VPA, YAHOO | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Another Student’s Story: Gage Shackley

December 18, 2017

Gage Shackley, Hermon High School

Periodically individuals are featured on the Maine Arts Education blog as part of a series called “Another Student’s Story”. Their “Arts” stories are shared with you. Please share these stories with others. If you know of a student who should be sharing their story, please contact me at argy.nestor@maine.gov and they will be considered for a feature on the Maine Arts Education blog.

Thanks to Mandi Mitchell, visual art teacher, at Hermon High School and Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leader, for introducing me to Gage Shackley and his art. I was memorized as I looked at his drawing books – several of them, filled with amazing drawings!

My name is Gage Shackley and I am 18. I am a senior In Hermon High School and I live in Hermon, Maine.
What value do you see in taking visual arts courses?
Visual Arts has made me determined to become a better artist. And with the help of my teacher, I believe I have achieved just that.
Name three skills, ideas, or life-long tools that you have learned in your art courses?
I have definitely been pushed toward learning how to take constructive-criticism, although I’m still not a big fan of it. I have also learned that art is a very difficult profession to be great at, so I believe that I try my best to accomplish that. Last is definitely the internet, with it I can always stay in touch with people who I know will always help me with anything and that includes my art.

Han Solo, created using Wacom-like tablet on Photoshop

What is your favorite part of the art course you are presently taking? What are you most proud of?

I am in an Independent Study. I like that I am free to draw just about anything, JUST about. I have been recently trying to draw “models” from life and that’s putting it lightly. I am proud of all of my art including that. I just don’t like the fact of censorship. So, that’s what I’m proud of.
Does anyone encourage and/or support you with your art making?
Yes, just about everyone I know supports me and my art. There isn’t just one person, and I am definitely thankful for that.
Complete the sentence, I enjoy my art classes because…
… I enjoy drawing.
Do your studies in art impact other class work or your life outside of school? If so, in what way(s)?
Not really, in the first place I don’t ever have homework, art is my homework. Sometimes the people around me ask for commissions for me and I happily oblige, because you know, money.
What art teacher Mandi Mitchell says about Gage:
I have found that one of Gage’s greatest strengths is how incredibly observant he is.  His ability to capture personality, body language, and characteristics of someone within perhaps five minutes of meeting and interacting with them is quite a gift.

Thank you Father, created using Wacom-like tablet on Photoshop

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Practicing My Way Back

November 6, 2017

Tom Luther

Tom is a piano player working at the Midcoast Music Academy and a new Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Teaching Artist Leader. In September Tom had, not one stroke, but two. In line with Tom’s incredible positive attitude he is an amazing example of growth mindset.

Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for himself he decided to take advantage of his condition and document what he is doing as part of his rehab. Each week he creates a video that provides what and how he is doing for his students (and others).

His videos are located on his YouTube channel spheremusik. To date he has 7 videos in the series called Practicing My Way Back. If you are a music educator, I am sure they will be of special interest to you. All educators will find these fascinating and there is a good chance you will want to share these with your students for multiple reasons.

Tom can be reached at tomluther@midcoastmusicacademy.com

Tom did an interesting project that was included in a blog post in February called 1,000 Musicians Follow-up and a post in June about a course he was teaching called Live Coding Using Sonic Pi.

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Mindset Twitter Chat

October 24, 2017

Join MALIs first Twitter Chat

Join your colleagues from across the state (and the nation) and participate in a Twitter Chat on Mindset. The Maine Arts Leadership Initiative’s Teacher Leader Melanie Crowe helped to create our first Twitter chat opportunity.

The chat is based on the book of the same name, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. It is not necessary to read the book to participate but we highly recommend it.

The Twitter chat is scheduled for Monday, October 30, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. eastern time.

These questions will guide the online conversation:

  1. Consider mentors in your life who have supported you through a growth mindset approach. Reflect on your own growth and response with their guidance.
  2. In what areas can I continue to be a learner? What am I personally and professionally interested in? How can my professional learning opportunities be more relevant to my own needs as a learner?
  3. When reflecting on something that you have learned recently, what kind of impact has it had on you and by extension your students?
  4. What resources, materials and/or curriculum is available for use at your school that supports a growth mindset?
  5. In what ways can you share with students your own struggles and successes with your current and/or previous work?
  6. How can students connect the dots between what they are learning now and their own experiences? How are you helping them to see those connections?
  7. Do your students have an opportunity to help adults with genuine problem solving?

If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat and wondering how to participate, the directions are below.

  1. If you don’t have a Twitter account, please start one at Twitter.
  2. TweetChat is a great tool to use when you participate in a tweet chat. Log in with your Twitter handle, enter the hashtag of the event (#MEArtsEd), and TweetChat will pull up all the related messages so you can follow the conversation.
  3. If you are not using the tool TweetChat, once logged into your twitter account you can search the hashtag #MEArtsEd and see the live conversation stream taking place or after the event to view the conversation.
  4. Make sure you add the tweet chat hashtag (#MEArtsEd) to your tweets (if you’re not using TweetChat) so participants can find your messages in the conversation.
  5. When you begin the chat – take a moment to introduce yourself and where you are from – remember to use #MEArtsEd
  6. The tweet chat host (@crowe_artteach) will mark questions with Q (for question) and the number of the question. When you submit your answer, mark it with A (for answer) and the number of the original question so other participants can link your response with the correct question.
  7. Sit back, relax, join in on the conversation to learn, reflect, and respond to your colleagues from the state of Maine and beyond!

Posted in Communication, Community, Creativity, Opportunity, VPA | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Twitter Chat on Mindset

October 17, 2017

Join MALIs first Twitter Chat

Join your colleagues from across the state (and the nation) and participate in a Twitter Chat on Mindset. The Maine Arts Leadership Initiative’s Teacher Leader Melanie Crowe helped to create our first Twitter chat opportunity.

The chat is based on the book of the same name, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck. It is not necessary to read the book to participate but we highly recommend it. 

The Twitter chat is scheduled for Monday, October 30, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. eastern time.

The conversation provides the opportunity to consider your own learning and how you approach it. And, will include the chance to consider your classroom environment and how you approach your teaching. The overarching discussion question: How does your mindset influence the way that you approach students?

The following questions will guide the online conversation:

  1. Consider mentors in your life who have supported you through a growth mindset approach. Reflect on your own growth and response with their guidance.
  2. In what areas can I continue to be a learner? What am I personally and professionally interested in? How can my professional learning opportunities be more relevant to my own needs as a learner?
  3. When reflecting on something that you have learned recently, what kind of impact has it had on you and by extension your students?
  4. What resources, materials and/or curriculum is available for use at your school that supports a growth mindset?
  5. In what ways can you share with students your own struggles and successes with your current and/or previous work?
  6. How can students connect the dots between what they are learning now and their own experiences? How are you helping them to see those connections?
  7. Do your students have an opportunity to help adults with genuine problem solving?

If you’ve never participated in a Twitter chat and wondering how to participate, the directions are below.

  1. If you don’t have a Twitter account, please start one at Twitter.
  2. TweetChat is a great tool to use when you participate in a tweet chat. Log in with your Twitter handle, enter the hashtag of the event (#MEArtsEd), and TweetChat will pull up all the related messages so you can follow the conversation.
  3. If you are not using the tool TweetChat, once logged into your twitter account you can search the hashtag #MEArtsEd and see the live conversation stream taking place or after the event to view the conversation.
  4. Make sure you add the tweet chat hashtag (#MEArtsEd) to your tweets (if you’re not using TweetChat) so participants can find your messages in the conversation.
  5. When you begin the chat – take a moment to introduce yourself and where you are from – remember to use #MEArtsEd
  6. The tweet chat host (@crowe_artteach) will mark questions with Q (for question) and the number of the question. When you submit your answer, mark it with A (for answer) and the number of the original question so other participants can link your response with the correct question.
  7. Sit back, relax, join in on the conversation to learn, reflect, and respond to your colleagues from the state of Maine and beyond!

Posted in Communication, Community, Opportunity, Professional Development, VPA | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Another MALI Teacher Recognized

October 6, 2017

Congratulations to Marshwood Middle School’s Cathy Locke and Kris Bisson

The Charles S. Hatch Post ’79 awarded Cathy Locke and Kris Bisson the “Americanism Award” in memory of past Post Commander Mark Pilgrim from Berwick, Maine. The award was given in recognition and appreciation for patriotism, citizenship and dedication in honoring our local Military Veterans and First Responders for the past 16 years at the “In Honor of Our Veterans” ceremony at Marshwood Middle School.

Kris is the Marshwood Middle School music educator and a Maine Arts Leadership Initiative (MALI) Teacher Leader! YAHOOOO!

Kris and the work of MALI Teaching Artist Leader Brian Evans-Jones was highlighted on September 25 on this blog with a description of a collaborative project they have underway..

Posted in Community, Music, YAHOO | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Teaching Artist Leader

October 2, 2017

Tim Christensen

Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teaching Artist Leader Tim Christensen took an amazing journey this summer. The Center for Maine Craft presents 30 Days at Sea, an exhibition of prints, books and clay work by Tim Christensen, October 5-November 19, 2017. The exhibition will feature new works created during, and in response to, the artist’s 2017 journey to Sydney, Australia via container ship.

In Tim’s own words

“In my work, I document the natural systems, as I understand them, that I see in my surroundings here in coastal Maine. This trip is an extension of that, is part of my life as an artist, was possible because of my life as an artist. And as so often happens, there were many rewards from this which I would never have had available: Off the Galápagos Islands, I watched hundreds of dolphins leaping out of the water, joyfully racing toward my ship to play in the bow wake…1000 miles from Pitcairn Island, I saw the ocean and sky, devoid of all life, saw the earth naked, and watched the conversation between sky and water play out over and around me…A day out of Panama, I saw long and thick wind rows of our discarded plastic, sheltering and entangling leatherback sea turtles, Mahi Mahi, sharks, and manta rays…Above a nameless series of seamounts, I saw clouds of flying fish erupting from the water for days on end, hundreds per minute. In the middle of nowhere, I saw a place on earth where I was 1500 miles from the nearest other human. To witness these things was a privilege, to represent them in art an even greater one.”

The exhibit will be at the Center for Maine Craft, off the turnpike toll plaza at West Gardiner. The opening is October 13 to kick off Maine Craft Weekend!

To learn more visit the Maine Crafts Association website.

Posted in Creativity, Food for thought, Opportunity, Visual Arts, YAHOO | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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