In January the students did a study of Frida Kahlo focused on her self-portraits and subject matter. We also incorporated color theory, learning about the color wheel and terms like hue and analogous.  Many of the students were thrown out of their comfort zone when they could only use green and yellow, orange and red, or purple and blue. Many cried for black, but after a moment they started to make the connection that red is darker than orange and yellow is lighter than green. The older students were given a mirror to use. All of the students were given instructions of placements of the eyes, size of the head, ear, nose, lips. over all the project was a great exercise, in color, drawing, and observation. Students enjoyed seeing the collaborative end result. 

I lost track of the days, since we started this whole #saferathome deal on spring break. I am guessing we are on the cusp of week three. So todayI had three goals in mind. It's Sunday. Church, sewing lessons, and at least one complete game with all four kids involved, They chose Twister, works for me, it been raining and snowing all weekend. It's March! We also bought soil to start seeds, a tad bit late but hey, last year I just put them in the ground. I have to admit I am a been unhinged like much of the entire world. This was a practice in patience and the kids endured. Tomorrow we may try to do the project I was looking forward to doing at the end of the school year. We will see, stay tuned.

I have a confession. It's been two weeks since we were in school, no big deal right? Summer is three months long, sometimes Christmas break is two weeks... This whole social distancing isolation thing is a psychological head mess. World wide folks, we are in this together. But, you already know that.. About two days ago, I rebooted our dining room table. I pulled all the art supplies I had for my kids out of the corner and plopped it in the center. I have make the paper more accessible. I dug some canvases out. I confess, I am addicted to teaching. I am addicted to teaching art, I am addicted to teaching weaving. In the past two days my kids have painted and wove. Even though it is met with grumbling and prying them off of a glowing screen in multiple forms. Shaking them out of the dazed stare, of watching vampire diaries, zombie apocalypses, or video gamers gaming.. It's so vital to our well being. Believe me, it's been a whirlwind of reaction and emotion. I have my coursework, my commitments, I have woven work on looms, I have drawings to be completed. As I finally caught a breath with the drastic and sudden change to my life and schedule, able to get a grasp of what the next coming weeks *might* look like for me, the kids routines, or lack thereof needed a serious overhaul. Here begins the journey of art with mom, again, just like old times. 

One of the things I appreciate about returning to college, the required learning, reflection and further training. We are asked to exercise our comfort zones of research, theory, philosophy, and practice.
I don't normally draw, however I draw close to 20 or more hours on an assignment so far there have been about 9 assignments, that's a lot of drawing. The Thursday before our extended spring break, the last time we would have class in the classroom for the year, we were to free write. I'm guessing that collectively, much like 9/11 we were in a state of shock. "What does this mean?" "What will we do?" "How do we go on from here?" I will have to say that it has jolted me. Needless to say we didn't free write in class, the title of this post was the starter. The current situation and cancellations has caused me to rethink how fast, how hard, how much I have been making myself achieve. I admit the amount of work, my family of 6, cooking for a school of 60, teaching art K-8, weaving and selling as a business, administrating the parent organization at our school, running recovery meetings, going back to school for a second degree, three internships, being a friend (I'm sure there is more).. SO when asked, What skills have I attained that make me an art educator? Many. Leadership. Psychology (although not formally trained). Writing. Communication. Passion and desire, I argue are not skills but are vital to being an educator and inherent. 
Leadership. I have been in many organizations and the president and Vice President on the boards. My vision in these groups has always been community minded, encouraging involvement, celebrating unique gifts of the members, valuing traditions, but embracing innovation. Flexibility and fluidity is vital to success and growth. Valuing other and encouraging them to contribute in their unique ways is sustainable. I see this relatable to the classroom. Each child is an individual. It is human nature for us to categorize into good and bad. Students often (even my children at home) criticize instead of celebrating the positive. There is time for criticism, however a great leader offers encouragement and inclusiveness. Correcting comes in passion and desire. The passion is what pushes me to instruct my vision. However, I often lead with a watchful eye, instead of a heavily correcting tongue.
Psychology, or might I say mindfulness. These days with the amount of mental health awareness and need to support those who suffer is pertinent. It is imperative to pay attention to the needs of children who suffer so we can break cycle, and create a healthier society. In recovery meetings the focus is on the solution, and often that solution is not focusing on the problem. Changing perspectives and looking at things from a a different spin. As an art educator, encouraging students to focus on the present on where the child is in the classroom, thinking about creating. That might be the only hour in the day they really enjoy, making the best of that and being the positivity if not just support. That does not mean it will be easy. Moments often look like a power struggle. Children who are often disturbed by home life or social situations bring it to class by being obstinate, refuse to comply, disruptive and loud, and can dominate the learning that may not be happening because of their behavior. Once educators can understand the at the behavior is fear based, that the child is in pain, compassion can be key in how to address the behavior. It's also is important the child doesn't dominate the learning environment so it takes a great amount of care in navigating situations this delicate.
Writing. I need to document. In the positions I have held I have had to make my thoughts clear. I hav years of experience, in marketing and advertising, creating agendas, and writing reports. I have applied for grants and written resumes. I have learned a whole host of verbiage in order to get the point across.     
Communication. Much like writing it is a skill I have been practicing for years. I have been teaching to adults over a decade and presenting to audiences through my positions. Public speaking is something I have had to practice and refine. In speaking to groups it is important to get the information across but also engage the audience into active listening which is a gift. Often I revert to tasteful humor, it usually pulls the audience back into the discussion. In art education, it is key to have a sense of your audience. Basically, are they listening? Am I being heard? Often inviting the students into a conversation or discussion get them thinking and listening to each other. That redirect can often be a gateway in which I can reenter instruction. 
Being informed of my audience and flexible in my leadership and instruction are key components in my role as an art educator, as a contributing member of society, mother, daughter, sister, friend.

I was blessed enough to finish the last group of paintings in the Starry Night series our staff and students created for our art show. In this group the 4th- 8th grades painted the skies using texture, movement, and emotion. They also were very creative with the skylines in which they chose to paint in their composition. I have collected all the work and plan to display the work when the restrictions of gatherings are limited to 10 nationwide is lifted. In this historic event, it's the little things of positivity that matter most. Looking forward to displaying all this excellent work put out by the students this year. They have worked so hard this school year and I am so proud of the effort the students (and Staff) put into their Starry Skylines.

The weeks following spring break we will be doing a weaving unit, all things fiber! One of the projects the children will doing are landscape looms where they will weave a tree. Cassie Stevens and her awesome blog brought these creative ideas such as Chinet plates for looms in a variety of ways. We will be making trees this spring. I love the landscapes, but I am a sucker for green pastures and all things land, sky, and clouds.

This year the entire St Paul's student body and faculty created a starry skyline for our up coming art show, April 3rd. This past Friday the final group of student worked on the starry skylines. Great fun was had. The students learned about texture and movement. It was excruciating for some to "dab" instead of actually paint with brush strokes. The discomfort, if they stuck with it, yeilded some excellent results.