Reflections from an Art Education Blogger

See all those smiling faces in the photo?  Everyone in this picture is a blog author.  This is just a small chunk of all the amazing art educators who share their expertise on their own personal blogs.  This picture was taken during the Art of Education's Blogger Meet and Greet during the National Art Education Association's 2016 convention in Chicago.  Some of the faces you may recognize, but these are the many faces behind blogs that you may be familiar with!

I've heard many times throughout the convention from attendees that it was awesome to place "a face to the name."  Once they hear the blog name, their faces lit up as if they were meeting celebrities.

"Oh my Gosh!  That's Cassie Stephens!"

"There's a Dragon in the Art Room???  I LOVE that blog!!!"

"So you're Art is Basic!  I use your lessons all the time!!!"

"Mini Matisse?  I've learned so much from her!!!"

"No Corner Suns?  I LOVE that name! I love the lessons!!"

The Art of Education have been hosting the Blogger Meet and Greet for a few years now and this is the first one I've been able to be a part of.  It was so inspiring to be around so many art educators who love to share their passion as much as I do.   With being around so many inspiring faces, I wanted to share a little encouragement for those of you considering on starting your own blog, website, or entering into the blog and social media atmosphere.

We are all just like you: first year teachers, early professionals, veterans, and retired art educators.

Even though we may be leaders in our field, we still work everyday just like you.  We are all hardworking professionals, moms, dads, grandparents, artists, and ambassadors.  Yes, we do need our sleep as well! Not one blogger acts above their station.  We love meeting other educators and bouncing ideas from one another.

We share what we learn, and we learn from sharing.

Just because we bloggers are sharing our opinions and ideas, it does not mean we set our standards in stone.  When I find a method that works in my classes, I love sharing to see if my method works for others.  From sharing my ideas with this blog, I have in return learned so much from others who teach in similar situations and I continue to adapt my practice to refine my skills as an art educator.  As the great Michelangelo had said...

I am still learning.

Many times I've shared methods that have worked in the past in many situations, but have not in others.  As educators, we are constantly adapting to our surroundings and trying to find what works best in our situations.  I am grateful to know many other bloggers have so many inspiring ideas that I can try out for my students.

We encourage you to take the next step.

Starting your own blog may be scary, but if you take that first step in creating your own, you will never regret it.  Having a blog is not only a great resource for others, but it documents your own growth as well.  It also works as a great tool to provide evidence for teacher evaluations, especially in reflecting on your own practice as an educator.  You are also not required to post at specific times! Every blogger has their own life to live; kids to raise, personal activities to attend to, as more.  Posting at your own pace is perfectly fine!

If you are interested in starting your own blog or website, I encourage you to check out this post from Edutopia to help you get started!

How to Follow the 2016 NAEA Convention from Home

The NAEA 2016 convention will be taking place this year in Chicago, Illinois from March 17-19. For the past two years, I was unable to attend the annual convention and I sat on the sidelines reading Facebook and twitter posts on all the fun activities I could not attend. This year, the convention is in my home city and I am totally excited to finally attend again!  

For the past few years, I've shared ways for those who could not attend to follow the convention and still have takeaways from your own home.  Even though many are stuck at home, there are still ways to keep up with the national convention.  Thanks to the awesome superpowers of social media, live streaming, and online resources, we can keep up with our professional development the best way we can!  

#1 Twitter

If you follow #NAEA16 on twitter, you can see all the posts from the many art teachers attending the conference.  They will be adding photos, details, and online links to help followers catch a glimpse of what will be happening during the convention and what they have learned from their experiences.  There will even be  "Tweet-Ups," where you can see the fellow tweeters in this year's shirt design of popular landmarks of Chicago!  Can you name them all?

Look out for the following hashtags to view the convention on Twitter or Instagram:

#NAEA16
#ARTSED #PLN
#K12ARTCHAT
#NAEAELEM

#2 Watch for Articles from the Art of Education

The Art of Ed will be in Chicago!  They will be posting articles with the sights and sounds throughout the convention on their site and through social media.  Please visit The Art of Education to view their updates!

#3 Download the NAEA Chicago 2016 App for Your Phone or Tablet

So you can't go to the convention, but did you know that many presenters will have their resources within the app?  In the past few years, I did notice that presentation handouts were available depending on the presentation through the app.  Maybe this year?  Just go ahead and download it from your app store or google play to view what resources are available!

#4 Follow the #NAEA16 Tagboard

NAEA's tagboard is the quickest way to gather all the #NAEA16 tags from different sites.  Just go to https://tagboard.com/naea16 to view all the posts and follow what's happening!

If you're staying home this year and you know other ways to stay involved from the comforts of your computer, let me know how you plan on following the convention!  

#5 Make a Flat "Art Teacher"

When I missed my first convention in San Diego, a dear friend took a "Flat Heidi" around the convention and took pictures with all my friends and colleagues in attendance!  If you have a friend who's attending, but you can't go, consider asking them to take around your "Flat Art Teacher!"  It's like you're there in spirit, and you have great photos for memories!

If you were not able to attend #NAEA16 in Chicago this go-around, we hope to see you in NYC in 2017!

Art Gems to Visit in Chicago

So you're at the NAEA convention in Chicago, and you have some down time.  What is there to do?

I've collected a list of artsy places you can visit around Chicago that are either free or inexpensive.  If you're an art history nerd like me, I'm hoping you get a chance to visit some of these places while you're in town!

The Driehaus Stained Glass Museum at Navy Pier

If you walk along Lake Michigan for a few miles, you'll come across Navy Pier, which stretches into the lake.  In the big complex, there's the Chicago Children's Museum, a ton of little shops, an IMAX movie theater, beautiful gardens, and the stained glass collection that stretches the length of the building.  It's free to walk in and view all the amazing glasswork!

Update:  I just came across this article dated from September 26, 2014.  It states that this stained glass gem was taken down, but you can still find random pieces throughout the museum.  (Insert sad face)  I was there a few years ago and I'm shocked that this has disappeared.

(And in case you're wondering about the ferris wheel missing, Navy Pier's designing a new one that will be an ode to the Chicago World's Fair, coming soon!)

Graceland Cemetery

Graceland is home to many famous names in Chicago, from Pullman, McCormick, Palmer, and one of our legendary artists and architects, Louis Sullivan.

Louis was known as the father of skyscrapers as well as modernism.  After the Chicago fire of 1871, architects were in high demand.  In 1879, Louis joined with Dankmar Adler is designing over 200 residential, commercial, religious, and multi-use buildings in the midwest area.  If you walk down State Street heading north, you'll come across the old Carson Pirie Scott building, which displays many of Sullivan's highly decorated designs around the building.

Another well-known monument in Graceland is this mysterious statue named "Eternal Silence" by the sculptor Lorado Taft.  The sculpture is a monument to Dexter Graves, who led a group of families moving to Chicago from Ohio in 1831.  Lorado's sculptures are also all around Chicago, so you may catch his stoneworks and bronze masterpieces walking down the street in the loop area!

Chicago Cultural Center

The Chicago Cultural Center hosts a number of exhibitions throughout the year.  If you'd like to see what 's happening during conference time, click here for the list of events!  The Cultural Center offers FREE events all year round, and it's a few blocks north of the Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Ave.

One of the exhibits at the Cultural Center is Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen.  I totally want to check this out myself!

Thank you to Theresa McGee for the photos of the event at the Cultural Center!

Millenium Park

Down the street on Michigan Ave. (north from the Hilton), there's Millennium Park, which is loaded with an array of art and architecture.  One of the most recognized sculptures in the park is Cloud Gate by the artist Anish Kapoor, which reflects the city skyline.  Please click here for a list of artwork and architecture located in the park!

Crown Fountain was designed by the artist Jaume Piensa, which is made of two 50 ft tall block towers on each end of a shallow pool of water.  The website state that the water is in operation in mid-Spring, so I do not believe the full effects of the artwork can be viewed during the convention, but if you visit in summertime, it's totally interactive!

Wabash Street Lights

Wabash Lights is a public art project that adds shots of color to the underside of the "L" tracks downtown.  Twelve rods of LED lights were installed beneath a small patch of the tracks on Wabash Ave.  

                                      

If you're interested in meeting the artists of Wabash Lights during the convention, click here for the Facebook invitation!

The Art Museums of Chicago

The news was shared on the Facebook group!  There is a Van Gogh Bedroom exhibit taking place at the Art Institute of Chicago during convention time!  Not only can we get into the Art Institute for free, but we can also get into the Van Gogh exhibit for free!!!!  Make sure you bring your conference badge!

The current exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art is Pop Art Design.  The MCA is straight up Michigan Ave. and a bit of a hike, so put on your walking shoes and make the trip!

There are so many museums to visit in Chicago and it would take me too long to list them all, but Wikipedia gathered the list for me!  There's the Museum of Contemporary Photography, National Museum of Mexican Art, National Veterans Art Museum, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Smart Museum of Art, and so much more!  If you click this link, you will be given the total list of museums to visit in the city, along with their links for details.

The Galleries of South Halsted

See the red lines in the above picture?  The streets highlighted a filled with gallery after gallery of artwork and exhibition space.  On warm Friday nights, it's a blast to walk from one space to another to view the local artists in the area!  I feel this spot is a true art gem of Chicago...the diamond in the rough!  Make sure you click on the above link to view the list of galleries in the district!

Pothole Mosaics by Jim Bachor

Artist Jim Bachor creates mosaics of ice cream sandwiches, tulips, and logo designs from high-end brands like Gucci and Burberry. And he puts them in potholes.  Yes, our city is filled with them, which gives an open canvas for Jim to fill with mosaic tile art!

Here is a recent article shared about Bachor's art in the streets of Chicago.  There's also a map in his website that gives the spots where you can find the mosaic spots in the streets!

Please click here for the addresses and map of where Jim had created his mosaic pothole creations!

Interested in seeing more than just art?  Here's two links that list tons of restaurants, eateries, book stores, and shows that are must-sees when in the windy city!

More Hidden Art Gems in Chicago

23 Hidden Gems You Must Visit in Chicago

Preparing for NAEA's National Convention: March's Stepping Stones

Click here to view the entire article from Arts and Activities!

I’m so excited for this year’s NAEA convention because it’s taking place in my home city!  My first convention was back in 2006 (which was also in Chicago), and my eyes were opened to a world of endless ideas for my classroom and curriculum!  Since then I’ve attended the event almost every year in other cities and have learned some tricks to navigating this amazing national convention.  I’d like to offer some tips in preparing for the national convention and visiting the city of Chicago.

1.     Be prepared for strange weather!  Chicago has been known for its odd weather patterns, so keep a close eye on the forecast!  Prepare to dress warm in case of strange pop-up snows in March, but hope for warmer sweater weather.  The lake front (which is close to the hotel) is the best place for morning jogs, especially near the museum campus!

2.     Don’t forget your walking shoes!  Even if you’re not a morning runner, the Art Institute of Chicago is walking distance from the hotel, and two miles straight north is the Museum of Contemporary Art.  There are plenty of artistic experiences to be had within Chicago, and plenty of ways to get to where you need to go!  There will also be shuttles available from the hotel to the convention center!

3.    

      Utilize the NAEA Chicago convention app!  When NAEA started using their convention apps a few years back, it was a huge help with planning out all the sessions I wanted to see by divisions, workshops, connections with friends, and super session speakers.  The app is available for your phones and ipads, and I highly recommend downloading it!  You can also use the app to write and store notes while attending presentations, which can be stored within the app.

4.     Make room in your luggage for the vendors!  A few times when I flew to attend a national convention, I packed a suitcase within a suitcase to bring back all the free samples and giveaways received.  I even remember a year when I shipped boxes back!  In other words, don’t over pack before you head to the conference!  Save some room for those samples and goodies you want to take back to your classroom!  The vendors consist of companies that supply your art materials, magazine subscriptions, art fundraisers, books and posters, and much more!  You can even order supplies while at the convention to be shipped to your school!

5.     Print labels with your address for raffles and giveaways!  Every year that I forget to print labels with my school address, I regret it.  The vendor area is like an art teacher’s toy store: you have multiple vendors with giveaways, mailing list sign-ups, and prizes.  Labels make it much easier for you to place a sticker and go instead of spending time hand writing your entire address and phone number. 

6.     Plan some time to visit the city of Chicago!  There’s plenty to do off site from the convention.  You will be close to plenty of museums, such as the Field Museum of Natural History (a great place to sit back and sketch), the Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium (all three museums known as the “museum campus”), to the Art Institute of Chicago, and even further down to the Museum of Contemporary Art.  There are also plenty of sculptures up and down the walking path of Lake Michigan, as well as cultural centers in Chinatown, Little Italy, and more.  Monuments by famous artists are located in Graceland Cemetery on the north side, and gallery districts lay all over the west and south side of the loop.  There are also plenty of architectural tours within the city and outskirts in Oak Park.  In other words, you will have plenty to do and see.

      Did you know there's a Van Gogh exhibit going on at the Art Institute of Chicago during the convention???!!!!

7.     Make a stop at the information booth!  The volunteer committee will be available to help direct you to where you need to go!  From local restaurants, workshop locations, cultural attractions, and more, members are around to help you with any assistance you need! 

8.     Attend the social media “meet-ups.” If you’re on Twitter (#artsed), Facebook (Art Teachers Group), or any other social media outlet, there will be plenty of meet-ups, brunches, and events around the convention.  Keep an eye out on your preferred social media network for extra gatherings to meet people face to face! 

If this is your first convention, I hope you have a wonderfully artistic experience!  There’s so much to do and see on and off site, you will leave will a head full of ideas and inspiration for your classroom, curriculum, and art department.  The convention is one of the best professional development opportunities available for art teachers!  Have fun and be inspired!

Children’s Book Series that Inspired Great Art Projects: February's Stepping Stones

Click here to view the entire article in Stepping Stones in the Arts and Activities magazine.

With the ELA common core standards, more art educators are attempting to incorporate literature within their curriculum.  From artist series to popular fictional characters, art teachers have tons of creative ways to promote visual literacy and help design lessons to include supplemental materials or project inspirations.  You can create a lesson from any book you pick up in your classroom, but since we’re visual artists, many of us like to focus on “art” specific topics.  You may find a story about “Uncle Andy’s Cats (inspired by Andy Warhol),” or read about artistic inspiration from “Bridget’s Beret.”  You could also use books to explain elements of art, such as “Mouse Paint” or “Lines That Wiggle.”  Among all the books I use, I like to refer to a few series I’ve collected for my art library in my classroom.

Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists:  This artist series (written and illustrated by Mike Venezia) is a wonderful one to use with the elementary level.  The pictures are bright and colorful, and the stories are very informative and to the point.  Students are able to learn about the artists’ place of origin, how they became artists, what famous works they made, and how the artist impacted the art world.  I like to use this book series when introducing an artist and his/her style of art.  There are currently over 30+ artists featured in the series.  If you go to the website www.gettingtoknow.com,  there is a list of artist books available, as well as teacher resources for specific artists!

Peter Reynold’s “Creatology” Series: Many schools celebrate “International Dot Day,” which is inspired by the book titled “The Dot,” which promotes students to “make their mark.”.  The 2^nd and 3^rd books, which are “Ish” and Sky Color,” explore more about keeping your eyes open to possibilities and having the freedom to express yourself.  When our school celebrated International Dot Day, I had each grade level (from K-6) create a “dot” to be displayed around the school.  There are numerous project ideas that you can find with a Google or Pinterest search, thanks to many art teachers who blogged their student creations.  Lesson ideas and resources can also be found at www.thedotclub.org, which is the site dedicated to International Dot Day.

Eric Carle’s Children’s Book Collection: Most children are familiar with the designed picture books written and illustrated by artist Eric Carle.  His most known work, “The Hungry Caterpillar,” has been translated into 62 languages and sold over 40+ million copies.  Eric Carle’s style of art is very recognizable. His style has inspired many Early Childhood and Kindergarten projects.  Eric’s themes of his stories revolve around his love for nature, which is an interest of most children at the primary grade level.  I’ve enjoyed working with “The Grouchy Ladybug” with my kindergarten students!  We’ve created paintings filled with ladybugs and different characters from the book, and it’s quite funny when a student attempts to draw the whale in the sky!

Scholastic’s stories written and illustrated by students: I love when we have Scholastic book fairs because I like to see what the next young author series may be.  It all started when I found the book “Van Gogh’s Cat” written by 2^nd grade students from Muncie, Indiana.  Each page was an artwork created by each student in the class, while the story itself was written by the students!  The following year I picked up “September 12^th,” which was written by 1^st grade students after 9/11.  After reading these books over and over again to my students, I thought how interesting it would be to create artwork inspired by books written and illustrated by students at the same age!  In my second grade classes, I have students create their own masterpieces with a cat jumping, walking, or pouncing out of their paper, just like the 2^nd grade students who wrote the book!  My students are always shocked to see that books made by other kids their age can make it in print.  And funny enough, there is another art-inspired Scholastic book in our fair this week called “Masterpiece” to add to my collection!

Artist Series by Laurence Anholt: While browsing through your school library, you may come across an artist story by the author Laurence Anholt.  There are currently 8 titles in the series with new stories being created.  Anholt’s stories are about real children who actually met great artists.  The material is based on actual research.  To learn more about this artist series, please visit www.anholt.co.uk.

Books can be a very essential part to your art curriculum, and this list is only a small handful of what you can use within your lessons.  I encourage you to explore what art-inspired books you can use within your classes!

Mouse Paint with Kindergarten

It's time to start color mixing with the Kinders!  Painting with Kindergarten is scary, but with teaching responsible behaviors, it can be one the the best classes ever.  Kindergarten students always ask in the beginning, "When are we gonna paint?????"  After careful planning and explanation of care, it's finally time!

I like to introduce the project and activity by reading the book "Mouse Paint" by Ellen Stoll Walsh.  In the book 3 white mice find the primary colors in paint jars and dance around, discovering different colors mixed on their feet.

After reading the book, I go over how yellow, red, and blue can make the secondary colors.  Before I get ahead of myself, here's the list to set up:

Materials
-Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
-This amazing activity sheet that I found within Pinterest, and a huge thanks to whoever designed it!

-Yellow, Red and Blue Tempura Paint

-Styrofoam plates

-Black marker

-Pencils

-Medium brushes

-Water containers and water

-Pre-cut paper towels

-Tablecloths

-white paper

-pink paper

-scissors

-glue

Here's how I set up the plates in advance.  I do not have much room to store in advance, so I started setting this up in the previous class.  I also drew circles and added the first letter of the color word on the plates to help the Kinders with their color identification.

Objectives

Students will not only learn how to be responsible with painting materials, but also explore how to mix colors to create other colors.

Directions

This project took approximately 2 40-minute class periods to complete.

Day 1: Start off by reading Mouse Paint to the students.  Once finished, go over the colors that were mixed by the mice in the story.  Show the students the activity sheet to help in mixing colors.  Demonstrate how to properly take a small amount of paint to mix the secondary colors between the primaries (if you don't, students will mix the entire plate).  Have students complete the activity sheet.  Once activity sheet is complete, collect sheet and place a white paper in front of the students.  Inform students to create their own painting with the colors they mixed.

Day 2:  Since the paintings are now dry, today they'll start making their mice!  I created a template of 3 ovals (ran through the copy machine for the amount of students) and had students cut out the ovals.  Using pink construction paper scraps, students drew and cut out the ears, and cut a thin strip for the tails.  Using a black marker, they drew in the eyes.  As easy as this step seemed, you will having students finishing in 10 minutes and others finishing last minute.  Have students glue their mice wherever they want on their painting, as if the mice are making the painting!

The one step I would still like to add on is a paintbrush.  Since this was my first time with the lesson, I wanted to see the length of time it took to create the mice alone.  If I were to add on paintbrushes for each mouse, I plan on having the brown strips pre-cut to save on time with construction.

 Here's some finished example by the Kindergarten students!  

(This is one of my special needs students.  He doesn't normally like cutting, drawing, or gluing, but he LOVED painting!!)

(This student remembered that at the end of the book, the mice left a spot white because of the cat!)