Hearts for Haiti

underglazed hearts ready to be fired c)nancyleemitchell 2009

This is a detail shot of small ceramic hearts that are serving a really special purpose.  This year in art, all 6th graders will receive 6 hours of Student Service Learning credit in their art class learning about the art, culture and history of Haiti and creating one-of-a-kind, hand-molded ceramic hearts that will be sold in the internationally recognized American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore, Maryland!  Ted Frankel, the proprietor of the museum store (called “the Sideshow”) is on the board of directors for Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti.  When he returned from a visit there this summer, I met with him in his store.  He told me he had been at the Art Creation Foundation giving sculpture workshops to the 60 children there.  He showed me tons of gorgeous pictures of Jacmel, the cultural arts center of Haiti, and led me to a wall where the artwork the children had made was displayed.  Of course, I had to buy one for my home!  He explained that after the workshop, he offered to buy the children’s art.  What he paid for it was, in most cases, more than their own parents make in a month.  That is because, sadly, most people in Haiti live UNDER the Universal Poverty Line that has been established by the World Health Organization.  (Universal Poverty Line = $1.00 USD per day).

(Just imagine for a moment buying a $4.00 ice cream cone at Maggie Moos and having to pay FOUR DAYS WAGES for it.  Yeah.  It’s like that.)

I told Ted about the hearts and my desire to use the visual arts to help the world’s most vulnerable children.  Hearts for Haiti was born.  We both thought it a wonderful idea if my art students would make the hearts (and I know some of you already did at the end of last school year   and he would sell them in his shop. I requested a price of $1.00 each, to represent the Universal Poverty Line income level.

I am happy to report that the hearts have been selling OUT at his store!!

So this school year, all 6th graders will get the chance to join in on this worthy cause.  The art you create will directly benefit 60 children in Jacmel, all who are around your age, who, before being accepted into ACFFC were not even getting one meal on a daily basis and had never had the opportunity for an education! We are also very fortunate to have, in the art room, actual artwork made by the children in Jacmel.  Paper Mache is the traditional medium used in the very strong visual arts culture in Jacmel.  the children there are learning directly from master artists, and will one day grow up to have marketable skills, helping to break the chains of poverty.

For MUCH more information and pictures, I invite you to visit my blog on the project (soon to be YOUR blog too!) AND the  site for the foundation in Haiti:

www.arthelpingchildren.blogspot.com

www.artforhaitianchildren.org

Art is Where You Find it

( Pierrot Barra, Batou, 1997. Recycled plastic dolls and boat, October Gallery, London)

It has been a long time since I wrote an “art is where you find it” post, but I’m rather in the mood to just now….

This evening I was reading about the many different cultural influences on Haitian art work. One author described the sculptures of Haitian artist (Pierrot Barra) as interpretations of the mysterious, the unknown “lurking in plastic, plaster and paper imports (transforming) foreign detritus into objects of sacred art.”

Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries, has one of the richest cultures of visual art. And in Haiti, art can literally be made out of anything: discarded bits of fabric, string, sequins, plastic, beads, wood, bottles–whatever is immediately available. It is the insight of the artist that brings transformation unto what would otherwise be regarded as trash, as useless scraps. In our throw-away society, on this earth over-burdened with waste, reusing materials such as cardboard, plastic, string and cloth to create an art work seems like a kind of magic to me.

Many of my students this year will experience the excitement of transforming humble materials into works of art. I have been stockpiling everything I can get my hands on and have had lots of help from other teachers at Patapsco too! Who knows what you might transform!

Back to School!

(One of the first chalk pastel drawings by my dad, who is 65, and just starting to get into making art. SEE? It’s never too late to start learning!!)

Can you believe summer break is over already? While you enjoy your last week of vacation, I will be back at school with the rest of the Patapsco staff getting ready for your arrival.

Make sure you bring the following things to art class:

YOU: On Time

A Pencil

A Big Eraser (I have some, but they go FAST)

An Open Mind

Good Manners

Willingness to try new materials and processes

A healthy spirit of play and experimentation

That’s it? YES! That’s it. Middle school is a time when there is a HUGE range of art ability that the students bring to the table. It is not unusual to see a 6th grader that draws on a high school level and an 8th grader that draws on an elementary school level, and everything in between. Like learning an instrument, practice = improvement. It really is that simple. I will strive to meet you at YOUR level of need, I will encourage and challenge you, and hopefully, I will be able to expand your mind about the vitally important role the visual arts play in history and cultures from around the world from pre-historic times to the present. You will be graded on your effort to meet all clearly stated objectives at your level of ability, on an individual basis.

And you know what? You might not love every single finished piece of art you make. Just like an instrument, you’re not going to play every song perfectly, every time. It isn’t about that. It’s about pushing yourself to try new things and make creative discoveries. The only way you can “fail” art class is to do nothing or not try.

Bring a spirit of play and adventure with you, and let’s have a great year!

Summer’s End

6 glazed ceramic hearts

Can it be?  Summer is almost over.  Today I visited the American Visionary Arts Museum www.avam.org to check on the ceramic hearts I have been selling there to raise money for a non profit  Arts Foundation for children in Jacmel, Haiti.  They’re almost GONE!  I couldn’t believe it!  It looks like I will be getting the green light to start a club for students who want to help make the hearts that will sell at the museum while earning SSL hours!  Now, nothing is finalized, so knock on wood, cross your fingers and throw an ice cube out the window (wait…that one’s for snow days…)

Happily, I did sell them 6 more mixed media collages for the shop.  I used some of the money I earned to go grocery shoping.  Money is money, I suppose, but buying groceries with money I earned from making art felt good.   Now, I just have to clean up my studio….Yikes!!! (Hey, don’t judge, I was feverishly making lots of art!!)

my messy work table

New in Graffiti Art….

Art Review | Os Gêmeos

A World Springs to Life on an Urban Wall

Justin Maxon/The New York Times

OS GÊMEOS A mural by two Brazilian graffiti artists who call themselves Os Gêmeos has burst upon a corner of Houston Street and the Bowery.

By ROBERTA SMITH

Published: August 3, 2009

“With their first public artwork in Manhattan, which went up at the northwest corner of Houston Street and the Bowery on July 17, the Brazilian brothers Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, who call themselves Os Gêmeos, bring graffiti art to its Rococo phase. Which is to say that their fantastic, epic mural, on a concrete wall about 17 feet high and about 51 feet long, is light and frothy, a dream of happiness with an underlying chord of melancholy. And everything in it is exquisitely fine-tuned and detailed, a dazzlement of effortless technique that sustains long bouts of close looking. It will remain up until March.”

…read the rest of this glowing art review from the NY Times online at

www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/arts/design/04mural.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

What I’ve been up to this summer (and thoughts for fall!)

Hi! I have had a really creative summer, and I hope you have too. I love teaching at Patapsco, but it is fun (as I think you’d agree) to have some time off! Personally, it is the one season where I can REALLY get into making my own work.

I am super excited because The American Visionary Arts Musuem’s gift shop (the SIDESHOW) is selling my most recent mixed media collages! Just like the thrill of performing on a stage, getting to sell your art, and knowing that people are actually buying it is fantastic!

As an art student at Patapsco this year, you will have LOTS of opportunities to exhibit both in and outside of school. The overarching theme for the visual arts in Howard County this year is TRANSFORMATION. I want all students, at all grade levels, to start thinking about this concept.

Webster definition (Transformation) : an act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed

Transform: 1 a: to change in composition or structure b: to change the outward form or appearance of c: to change in character or condition

“The Importance of the Arts in the Lives of Young People” (Michelle Obama)

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART FEATURE STORY

(excerpted from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s art education email newsletter)

First Lady Michelle Obama Speaks to the Importance of the Arts in the Lives of Young People Here follows an excerpt from the First Lady’s remarks on the occasion of the inauguration of The New American Wing on May 18, 2009: “I am delighted to be here with you to celebrate American history through the arts. From the beginning of our nation, the inspired works of our artists and artisans have reflected the ingenuity, creativity, independence, and beauty of this nation. It is the painter, the potter, the weaver, the silversmith, the architect, the designer whose work continues to create an identity for America that is respected and recognized around the world as distinctive and new.

“The American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art captures the spirit in presenting a variety of American art forms and providing a link to history for us to learn from, appreciate, and be inspired by. Our future as an innovative country depends on ensuring that everyone has access to the arts and to cultural opportunity. Nearly six million people make their living in the nonprofit arts industry, and arts and cultural activities contribute more than $160 billion to our economy every year. And trust me, I try to do my part to add to that number.

“The President included an additional $50 million in funding to the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] in the stimulus package to preserve jobs in state art agencies and regional art organizations in order to keep them up and running during the economic downturn. But the intersection of creativity and commerce is about more than economic stimulus. It’s also about who we are as people. The President and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art at museums like the one here. We want them to have access to great poets and musicians and theaters around the country, to arts education in their schools and community workshops. We want all children who believe in their talent to see a way to create a future for themselves in the arts community, be it as a hobby or as a profession. The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there’s free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion design, and dialogue—they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation…

“I want to applaud The Metropolitan Museum of Art for all of the outreach that you do, for having kids like these here today to be involved in this and to experience this and to share this with us, because this is your place too. So we’re very proud of the Met for the work that they’ve done.”

Mall Show 2009

Wire Drawing/Sculpture by Alexander Calder

Line, which is an element of art is used here like a drawing, except that technically, this is a sculpture! Calder actually invented the mobile as we know it in the fine art world. Marcel Duchamp, the celebrated dada artist, gave Calder the word “mobile” to characterize his movable sculptures. Notice here where the wire looks thin or thick and how this can suggest the presence of light or shadow.

What can you do with some soft wire and a pair of needlenose pliers? Ask mom or dad if they have these materials, or take a trip to your local hardware store and get creative!

6th Grade Showcase Selections!

Ben B.

Jessica P.

Vlad S.

Kara D.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ben, Kara, Jessica and Vlad! Your 12″ x 12″ Oil Pastel Abstractions from Nature were chosen to be displayed in this year’s 6th Grade Showcase at the Faulkner Ridge Art Gallery in the Faulkner Ridge Center on Ridge Rd. in Columbia, MD! The show will have work from all 6th grade art classes in Howard County, MD.

The show runs from 10/30/08 – 2/12/09. The opening reception will be the evening of November 3rd. More information on that coming soon!