you're almost there!

keep up the great work! soon you can party like this little guy:

except blogger doesn't let you insert gifs.....so you should click here for the full experience ;) Speaking of GIF's, has anyone ever made one before? I hear there are apps and websites that make it really easy, but have yet to try it myself. I checked out http://makeagif.com/ and it seemed simple enough. It seems like it would be a fun project, especially with tech savvy teens!

Snaap Shot of Art Graduates

SNAAP Survey has useful statistics for arts graduates. I found it really encouraging evidence for the arts, and feel that the public perception is really discouraging. Be sure to check out the "Snaap Shot 2011" !

Pod-o-matic

pod-o-matic is the website we talked about last class with free podcast hosting! Not only can you turn your audio files into streamed audio, you can check out other podcasts through the site from other users. There is Visual Arts, Education, Video Games, and more. Check this out, especially if you are considering turning your project into a podcast for others to listen to!

Kimmy's iMovie Project

Hi all! Hope you all are getting excited for Thanksgiving! Just wanted to share my iMovie project from last year to see another direction you can take it. I focused on the community/art event of Version Fest, specifically the "Small Showroom" which showcased independent artists. I played with the vignette filter because I liked the idea of slower discovery through the lens. I recorded directly into iMovie, and also added a track of music as you can hear. If you have any questions about the project you can always email me! Good luck shooting and editing your movies, I can't wait to see them!

a glimpse of Version Fest 2012 from Kimmy Tolbert on Vimeo.

puppy video of the day

What is it about animal videos on youtube? Sometimes, they just get you. Now this is not posted as an inspiration for your iMovies (you can do much better than this!) but just as a nice lil break from your workday. However, I would be really interested in statistics involving cat memes and animal youtube and productivity :)

a little inspiration...

 Thought I'd share this bit of inspiration for your imovie projects, done by a former student. Enjoy and commiserate with the MAAE experience in film noir. :)

Using "outsider art" to inspire a lesson

INTUIT gallery in Chicago is a center for intuitive and outsider art, and is a great resource for art educators. "Outsider artists" are self-taught and have no classical or typical art training. My cooperating teacher at my elementary placement school used the artist Hawkins Bolden for a lesson about using found objects to make scare crows. She told me about an anti-bullying effort the teachers are making within the school, and I thought I would follow these two themes for my lesson. Last week I focused on fiber artist Judith Scott, who spins amazing sculptures using found objects. She had down's syndrome, was deaf, and mute, and was not given the opportunity to make art until the last 20 years of her life, when her sister took her to an art center for people with disabilities in Oakland California called Creative Growth. She is a fascinating artist and I think her work is awesome. Anyway, I just wanted to share some of Judith's pieces we used for inspiration as well as student work!

Here are Judith's:

Here are are some from my seventh grade:

And adapted for kindergarten! We spent a long time learning how to tie a knot, and talking about shapes :)

A few thoughts...

...from the state of the internet link Ray sent today. These two themes stood out to me as pretty crazy/shocking/interesting. What about you? Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

1. I never knew Google owned so much, every time I turn around it seems like they are pushing into a new tech market. Maybe it is because I rely so heavily on it day to day, or that it knows what kinds of ads I like!!!

2. smartphones & shopping: Maybe it is because I worked retail/display in a small boutique for three years, but I am pretty amazed at these statistics. We sold so much merchandise based on impulse, personal relationship, and basic selling skills, it is interesting how people are combining this store experience with phone use to share pictures, etc. Also this second to last slide is funny to me....we could do anything with our phones but continue to play games with them :)

Back in the day...

Ever wonder what your favorite site looked like a year ago? ten years ago? You don't have to wonder, because as we all know by now, with a bit of searching you can find just about anything you'd ever want on the internet!

http://archive.org/web/web.php

the wayback machine brings up archived pages of websites.
Plug a couple in. You'll be amazed at how far we've come.

Young Chicago Authors

Young Chicago Authors transforms the lives of young people by cultivating their voices through writing, publication, and performance education. They have performances and you can book a poet to perform at events, too. Louder Than A Bomb is the poetry slam event held in Chicago between young slam poetry teams throughout the midwest. I went last year and was completely blown away by the talent and stories that students performed. It takes place in the spring and I highly recommend going. Also, there is a documentary film about it they made last year, and the Flaxman Library has it! One of the Masters in Art History/Arts Admin students from last year did her thesis with YCA and helped design curriculum to accompany the viewing of Louder Than A Bomb in schools. Also it is pretty sweet that this is the largest slam poetry competition in the nation, right here in Chicago!

Chicago Artists Month Kick-Off

Over the weekend I went to the kick-off party for Chicago Artists Month. It was more like a collection of smaller neighborhood shows in Bridgeport. Before the show, I went to my two favorite Bridgeport spots: Pleasant House Bakery, with their amazing steak and ale pie, and Maria's Community Bar next door for some cider beer, my fall favorite. Then we hit up the SMALL pop-up shop at Bridgeport Art Center. SMALL stands for Small Manufacturing Alliance and this is their second show. In a huge loft space, local artists who are part of the Alliance showcased their amazing work. Here are some of my favorites, ridiculous speakers from B2 Concepts and a table from Rebuilding Exchange. The Rebuilding Exchange is an awesome organization / warehouse that has tons of....stuff!..for building projects. Old doors, light fixtures, mirrors, toilets, wood: all reclaimed from buildings in/around Chicago. They also have classes you can take to learn how to make things like mirrors, wood crates, and benches.

http://connectedlearning.tv/infographic Check this out. We'll be discussing it in class. Thanks to Rachel Harper (Alum of the program) for sharing!

Skitch by Evernote

I've never used Skitch but after looking at the website and the video it looks pretty cool! A really easy way to make Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop-like edits to photos and documents, and you can do it all from your smartphone / tablet / computer!

RANDOM

For all the times you will need randomness: choosing kickball teams deciding what to eat for dinner dividing up groups of kids picking a thesis topic ....kidding! RANDOM.ORG

Pollock!

Hopefully you all are out enjoying the wonderful weather today, but if you do in fact find yourself in front of a screen, needing a homework break.....remember the jacksonpollock.org site as a bit of stress relief :)

City of Culture

The city has released a draft of their first Cultural Plan in about 30 years, a comprehensive look at the arts and cultural scene and how the city can focus on culture as an economic driver. They held 40+ community engagements and took the community feedback into consideration when developing the draft. The final version is to be released during Chicago Ideas Week. Check it out here and share your thoughts: http://www.chicagoculturalplan2012.com/

drawing on the walls

I was poking around the Art Teacher's Guide to the Internet and found a post about an illustrator who makes huge drawings in outline, and asks kids to come color them in! It is called the Flying Color Wall by Studio Buro. I think this would be great to have in an elementary classroom as an activity for kids to do throughout the year when they finish projects early...would definitely be some colorful wallpaper!

Another favorite TED talk. Johnny Lee demonstrates how technology in the classroom doesn't have to come with a back breaking cost. Just some creativity and some open source software. :)

iPad App for the Met

On Thursday at the Art Institute, we heard about the upcoming iPad launch for one of their exhibits. I was poking around the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website and found an app they offer for Korean Buncheong Ceramics.

"This month, the Museum launched its first iPad app interactive e-publication for the exhibition Poetry in Clay: Korean Buncheong Ceramics from Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. The Met Buncheong app complements the exhibition catalogue and includes highlights from each chapter in the book, a video introduction from Soyoung Lee, co-curator of the exhibition and co-author of the catalogue, 360-degree object views, multiple image views, panoramas of the gallery, and links to publications and related sections of the Museum's website. The interactive e-publication serves as a wonderful introduction to the exhibition and an enticing preview of the exhibition catalogue." (source)

The app is free and has pretty good reviews on iTunes. What do you think about having an exhibition on your iPad? How would this connect you with art pieces differently that in a museum? Do you think the Art Institute could incorporate an app for at home use in an effective way? If so, how?

The strike makes my head hurt, and I honestly can't really think about it anymore. Instead I turn to something that inspires and reminds me of why education, education reform, and our teachers, are so important. If you haven't seen this, watch it now. And share your thoughts.

Ready, Set, Strike...

It is Monday aaanndd now the first official day of the Chicago Teachers Union strike. I have mixed feelings about this, as both sides seem to angrily polarize the other and dig in their heels. On the one hand, I want to be a teacher, and might one day legally support the union, but on the other hand, I realize that fair negotiations having anything to do with Chicago politics is a often tall order to ask for :). The press will likely slam the teachers and the teachers will slam the press. The kids, on the other hand? Will have no formal class today...Best of luck today, Ray, dealing with this craziness! Here is the showdown: Karen Lewis (CTU) vs. Mayor Rahm Emmanuel (CPS)

Noticing the Details

For my Fieldwork class this week, we spent some time in the new exhibit at the Art Institute called Rarely Seen Contemporary Works on Paper (it is past the grand staircase, through the doors, and to the left!) It is a wonderful collection, and we went for lesson ideas we will be teaching to high school students. I think it is important to use contemporary and lesser-known artists in the classroom. We found conceptually rich themes as well as standard principles and techniques. One artist I had never seen before was Julia Fish. Her delicately painted floor tiles might at first seem mundane but up close are full of color variation and detail. She also makes work about floor plans. Below are some of my favorites of her work! -Kimmy

Floor 1993 oil on canvas 29 x 27 inches

Entry [Fragment Three] Missing 1999 oil on canvas 20.5 x 10.25 inches

Entry [Fragment One] 1998 oil on canvas 11.5 x 20.5 inches

Virtual Choir

A really incredible project from TED talks (which if you haven't taken a look at them, please do. there are some amazing pieces!) that shows the power of the internet, technology, and community. Enjoy.

WELCOME TO CYBERPEDAGOGY

where art, technology, education, and cyberspace collide.

This is the class blog that will be maintained by Ray and I (Kimmy) to create dialogue with your personal blogs. We really love how user friendly blogger is to comments and conversation, and so we encourage you to take advantage of this feature and give each other thoughtful digi-talk this way. To recap expectations, I have copied the section of the syllabus that explains this requirement of the course below.

Students will be required to keep an online blog and post to the blog at least twice each week. The postings should focus on issues in art education, responses to the readings, thoughts regarding current projects, or general commentary on life, society, and culture. Students are encouraged to blog more than the two required entries each week. Students will also be required to comment on each other’s blogs with questions, thoughts, etc. in the spirit of support and conversation. At the beginning of class each week, there will be a 5-10 minute period of individual blog review/commenting time to allow students to view and participate in their classmates’ insights. 

......also, have fun! blog about what interests you, confuses you, amuses you. about collisions of this class with your other classes, or a news article, exhibition, or piece of art you are working on. Use this platform for photographs, video, link/urls, poetry, etc. Excited to read your blogs and see the themes that emerge between ours as a class!

 -Kimmy