Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: Done Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: Done
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 2 hours
This was my last day with Melodee and the final hours of my Practicum.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: Done Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
This week was my final week at Juxta. After spending all this time there I can't believe I have to say goodbye especially with some of the new people I've just recently met there. I think back to my lesson and everything I've learned from Ben, Johnny, Saulaman, and the apprentices. I am definitely grateful for the experience and will always remember the time I spent there. I was really happy to have brought those little circle mirrors I originally wanted for the inro of my lesson. A teacher of mine would hand out those mirrors and tell us to look into them as a reminder to keep your game face on. This was something I wanted to give to my students as they venture out and explore their options. I hope they remember what I told them and can one day use the tools I gave them towards their future goals.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: Done
Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 2
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 2 hours
This has been the week I've been waiting for. I finally finalized and taught my lesson at Juxtaposition Arts. I was so nervous but excited to share my knowledge with them. Before that, I continued my shadowing with Melodee Strong. I'm at the point where I recognize that I have completely gone past my hours but I just love assisting Melodee with those kids at Simpson it has inspired me to want to do something for the people at Simpson. I run a natural hair club and for our final thing for the semester, I'd want to see if we can donate hair products since most of the people have naturally textured hair.
At Juxta, I was finally able to teach my lesson. It was a 3 step intro to thinking about your personal brand. There was a new person in the group and I had to learn about him while I was teaching. After the first few minutes I felt so comfortable speaking and I felt like I did really well. I got compliments and praises from everyone and I got some feedback from the apprentices afterward. I can confidently say that I think this lesson was a success. I'd definitely want to see how I can refine and expand on it in the future.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: Done
Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
As I wrap up my final weeks of teaching I've been doing a lot of thinking about this last lesson I have for Juxta. I'm really nervous about whether or not this idea I have will be beneficial for all the apprentices. After meeting with Lynda, I went over my lesson plan with the other Juxta leads. Except Ben wasn't there because of illness. I'd feel better if I went over some of it with him but I'll just need to wait for next week. There was also a photographer there from this local newspaper. He was interested in my lesson plan. I got great feedback from everyone and I can't wait to see how it goes next week.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: Done Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 2
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
There's not much to report for this week. I'm more than halfway done with my placements and there's no lab at Juxta because of spring break. I still am putting down 2 hours because I am taking advantage of this time off to just focus on my lesson plan. I also decided to take this time to get caught up in everything. I'm excited to meet with Lynda next week about what I'll be teaching. All I'll say for now is that it's much different than what I did before.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 2 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 3 hours
This week was officially my last week at Urban Arts Academy. I said my goodbyes and brought a ton of cookies. I assisted Sagirah in the classroom, then we headed outside for the kids' recess. I was so nervous to tell the kids about it being my last day. When it was time to tell everyone about me leaving they were sad to hear that I was going about happy that I bought cookies. Overall it was a good day, I made the most out that day. I got to say my goodbyes and see them all one last time. I want to thank Rosey for opening her class to me and Sagirah for being a trouper and bringing in necessary changes to the classroom.
Shadowing Melodee Strong gets more and more interesting. I am still helping out in the classroom as well as going to Simpson. Melodee does so much for these kids, it's so nice to see. In the class, they played a game that allowed them the chance to gain extra credit points. Not too many teachers would do something like that or let alone give out extra credit. She is always doing something that gives these students the opportunity to go above and beyond. When we got to Simpson housing, we were doing block printing with foam core and pens so the kids wouldn't hurt themselves. They had to make something that made them happy. It was nice to see how Melodee was able to give the kids a new way of making art but more kid-friendly.
At Juxta, the work continues. The apprentices are getting closer with their Afro-futurism work. Most of them are starting on proposals, or are editing their proposal. I went around to everyone to check in on how they were doing and I'm seeing some pretty amazing work from them. Ben made his way around too and I decided to sit in on what he had to say. I find it helpful whenever he does his sit-ins because I end up learning something about design that I didn't know. He was able to give one of the apprentices some really good advice on designing their proposal. Made so much sense and I couldn't believe that I didn't think about myself. The presentation is everything in advertising and if this is something the apprentice wants to put on their portfolio the proposal should be designed as well. I think I am getting close to what I should teach them. There won't be lab next week so I'll have time to really get everything down on paper.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 2 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
This week I finished up my hours at Urban Arts Academy. I'm so sad to have to leave but I can say that I learned a lot, and met some incredible people. I actually didn't notice that I already finished my hours at UAA, so I contacted Sagriah about coming in for one more lesson. I thought after everything I couldn't just leave without a proper goodbye to not only the kids but all the wonderful people I met at UAA. I can't wait to come back for a final goodbye.
On Sunday, it was a day for goodbyes. I said goodbye and thank you to Imani. I learned so much and gained a few friends from doing the Sunday sessions. She's incredible on the inside and out and I'm grateful to have had learned from her. She showed me how to be both student and teacher with the guest artists. We also played a great game of life-size Candyland in the room. I got competitive as usual. It was so much fun and I'm totally stealing that team-building game. Thank you, Imani.
At Juxta, the work continues. I decided that it would be a good idea to get some kind of idea of where each apprentice is at in their life when it comes to self-branding. Some have a website but no business card, some have a business card but no website and others are still unsure of what they want to do. I had no idea that some were only 15, I originally thought that they were all either seniors and juniors in high school. I have a lot of planning to do with this group and some self educating on my part but I think I can do something that works for everyone's needs.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 2 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 0
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
This week, I had the pleasure of finishing up my first teaching lesson at Urban Arts Academy. The kids painted their products they made last week and gave their pitches. I can't tell you how happy it made me when those kids asked me if we were going to finish the products. I was so happy that they were waiting and remembered everything we talked about last week! The pitches went well too, they all had great things to share with the class. At first, they weren't too happy about sharing what they made, but little by little they stood up in front of the room proudly to share what they made.
The rest of the week was pretty slow. There wasn't a session this Sunday at UAA, and for Juxta I suffered such a splitting migraine all day with no relief from my medication I couldn't get myself to go. These upcoming weeks I plan on working on my lesson for Juxta.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 5 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
This week I completed my first teaching lesson at Urban Arts Academy. I was extremely nervous about teaching, and I feel like that showed a little bit. I was so excited to share my idea with the class I put a lot of thought and consideration of what the students would be interested in, but at the same time, I wanted it to align with what I am excited as well. To combine these interests I thought of The Art Pop Shop! The lesson was to create an original product for The Art Pop Shop's store. The class got to use air-dry clay that they would later paint and give pitches on their products. I explained to them all about pitching and what brands are. Surprisingly a good number of them already understood the concept of brands. Overall, I had fun; I think the kids had fun and it was a good time.
On Thursday at Juxta, the apprentices continued to work on their Afrofuturism projects and assisted Johnny and Ben move equipment from the old textile Lab to the new one. Now that three different labs share space there's been some issues with people being loud. Johnny and Ben left me in charge to help the apprentices, and everything was fine until the noise became a problem. It became hard for me to talk with them without having to be louder than necessary so I went over to the lab lead of the environment lab to ask them to calm things down. I felt uncomfortable doing that since I am a guest in their building and I never want to disrespect anyone in their space but I realized that I had to make sure the apprentices were getting their work done.
Back at Urban Arts, we had a new artist. Her name is Vatina she is a fine artist who also teaches preschool at UAA. She had the teens paint still lifes with a palette knife and was challenging. I decided to participate because I had never painted with a knife and I didn't know how difficult it was. I now have an appreciation for those who can.
As always it's been a good week, filled with interesting things about myself that I'm noticing. Out of everything, I feel like I'm noticing how I handle situations and learning how I can improve.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Sagirah Shahid, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 2 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 7 hours
As the weeks go by, I notice myself slipping on just about everything. Everything seemed to be due around the same time and it really set me back. However, I am finally getting back on my feet after the rollercoaster of stress I've been experiencing. I am also happy to announce that next week I will teach my first lesson on my own. I won't spoil any of the details until afterward. I am just happy that I was able to find something that combines what I am into and something fun for the kids. Speaking of the kids, this week at Urban Arts Academy, I noticed that a few of the kids have been acting up more than usual. They have a new teacher and have been testing their limits with Sagirah. It's a good thing that she's tough so there's no doubt that she could handle it. There's been a lot of changes happening since Rosey left and the kids aren't used to that. I hope that they'll soon have an appreciation for her the way they did with Rosey.
This week, I also started shadowing Melodee again. I always have so much fun with Melodee at Simpson Housing. The kids learned how to paint birch trees with watercolor paint, and they just had a blast.
At Juxta, I finally got to see the new space they moved into. Now they had a space big enough for three different labs. The apprentices started on a new project for Juxta's shop they have in the main gallery. They were going off of the theme of afro-futurism and some examples they made included African tribal makeup. I brought up concerns I had as an African woman because I always see people use this imagery to "be African" and not do any research on what the symbols mean. We ended up having a really great discussion about appropriation and afro-futurism so I was glad that I brought up my concerns. In the end, the group got some really great inspiration from actual research they did.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 5 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 0
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
So this week has been very slow and not as eventful as the other weeks. I had the stomach flu so I wasn't able to go to Juxta on Thursday. This week, At Urban Arts the kids were getting ready for the family night. A night for the kids and parents to do some fun activities and see what projects the kids have done at Urban Arts.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 5 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
So for this week at Urban Arts Academy, I was introduced to Rosey's new teacher Sagira (I'm not sure if I spelled her name correctly). She will be taking over for Rosey's class because Rosey got a part in a play. I was excited about Rosey's new part but sad to hear that she'll be leaving. I was hoping she'd be there for when I taught her class. It was a day for introductions for us at Urban Arts because the kids were getting to know Sagira at the same time as me. My first impression of Sagira was that she was soft-spoken and reserved. I didn't know how she would handle Rosey's group of energetic crazy kids. I cannot describe how different she was when she took command of the classroom. She took the kid's attention in a respectful and skillful way that made me just sit there and take mental notes. She was incredible, to say the least. I can't wait to see her in action again next Tuesday.
During the high school program, we had a new guest artist. He's a hip-hop dancer and he took us to the gym to show us some really cool moves. I wish I came better prepared. I wasn't wearing the right kind of pants so I couldn't really give it my all. Next week for the session I will bring it! After dancing, the students got free time to just be creative and Imani showed me these cool things she's been making out of hot glue. She would take a bowl of water and hot glue on top of that to create a surface. I also got to thinking about what and when will I be teaching. I have a date in mind for Urban Arts and Juxta now I'm in the planning stages of figuring out what and how I'm going to teach them.
At Juxta, it was another day of packing. They are getting ready to move to a different location and are almost ready to move out. I haven't seen the new space yet but I'm sure it'll be great. Besides packing up boxes, there was a pizza party on Thursday because everyone at Juxta was going to see the movie, Black Panther. Some even dressed up for the special event. It was great to see everyone getting excited about the movie. It was free for everyone because they had donors help pay. I wish I could've gone but I told my friend I'd see it with them.
As always, it's been great getting the opportunity to do this and I can't wait to start the next week. ;)
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 2 Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 0 hours
So this week at Urban Arts have been pretty chill. The kids have such an imagination. Being with them has helped me spark that old imagination that seemed to have diminished over the years. I have also been thinking about what I would want to teach them. I noticed that they like being to make 3-dimensional objects and Lynda gave me the idea to consider having them work with clay. I want to ask Rosey if that's something they might be interested in.
At Juxta, got to learn more about the screen printing process, and also the reasoning behind why the designs are placed in a certain area. I had a good talk with Johnny and Ben about what I was thinking about I wanted to do and they gave me some really great feedback. I plan on making a list of questions I could ask the apprentices.
In a few weeks, I'll be back at Simpson housing with Melodee Strong. I can't wait to get back to observing and helping out.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 14. Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 9.
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 7.5 hours
First, let me start by saying that I am having so much fun at these residencies that I almost forget to take pictures! At Urban Arts, I came back, eager to get back to the kids and helping out. I asked Rosey what the activity was for the day and she said they were going to make bookmarks and maybe something else. I suggested that we should make landscapes. I got the idea from when I was working with Melodee at Simpson. My spin on it was that they would make beach landscapes. I was so happy when Rosey loved my idea, we looked in the closet for all kinds of materials the kids could use to make their beach landscapes. One of the teachers had these little umbrellas that we could use and it was all just perfect and the kids loved it! They made really great landscapes. I also made one for myself because I wanted to join in on the fun.
At Juxta, I began to learn more about the screen printing process. I helped Ben put the vellum on the screens and put the unused screens on the shelves. It wasn't a lot that I physically did but I felt like I learned a lot while he was explaining it to me. I also helped critique the apprentices' alphabets. It was a really great discussion and I feel like we were able to give everyone some great feedback. I get so inspired by what these students make. I think I'm going to have a harder time coming up with something to teach them but maybe when Johnny gets back we can talk about that.
I didn't have Simpson or the high school program at Urban Arts this week but for next time I hope to ask more questions. Sometimes I feel like I'm not asking enough questions and I've decided to make that a goal for me because I really want to get the best out of this experience and give these kids a good experience too.
My landscape
Urban Arts kid
Juxta
Residency: Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 12. Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 6.
Shadowing: Simpson Housing - Melodee Strong - Total hours: 7.5 hours
This week at Urban Arts has been very laid back for me. Tuesday for Rosey's class, I got an email about there being a snow day so I didn't come. I'm excited to get back to working with the kids and gaining more insight on what the kids like and what I want to teach them. With Imani's high schoolers, we had a new visiting artist come in. He was a spoken word artist, who also dabbled in film. We did a few exercises then went into the main activity which was to take a newspaper and block out most of the words to highlight certain words that will then create a poem. The kids made some ones that found interesting. I find that every time we have the teens participate in an activity they do well and seem to like it. However, they still have a hard time seeing themselves as artists. I think they have this fixed idea of what an artist is supposed to be. Or they don't really see the possibility for them as artists. I wonder if there's something I can do to change this thinking?
This week I also continued my residency at Juxtaposition Arts. There, the apprentices were cleaning and removing shelves on the wall to get ready to move to their new location. After cleaning we went to get some food and then it was back to work. Last time I was there they were continuing to work on their alphabets. This time a couple of them had finished designing and decided to sketch. The others continued to work.
This week, I had the pleasure of starting to shadow Melodee Strong. I told her I was available to help her at the middle school she teaches at because she suffered an injury. I haven't been to middle school in years. She had me help her put up the student's artwork in the halls. I was nervous at first because I know how crazy kids can be when they skip class and wander the halls. I was warned to keep the artwork up high because the kids liked to take the magnets. I was afraid that if I stepped away for too long Melodee's magnets would disappear. Not on my watch! I was the magnet guard until I'd finished putting up work. After that, We went down to Simpson Housing. I got to see Melodee in action with all the little kids and their mentors. She had an activity where the kids made texture rubbings that they would cut out into a landscape. Overall, it was a really good week and I've been learning a lot. I can't wait to see what next week has in store for me.
Residency: Urban Arts Academy- Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 9. Juxtaposition- Ben Petersen, Johnathan Herrera - Total Hours: 3
This week has been a good week for me. I've learned a lot so far and each week I feel like I'm getting a better understanding of what I want to teach in the future. At Urban Arts Academy we had a substitute, Brad, he usually taught the preschoolers. We were both new so we went based on our other experiences and the directions Rosey left us. The kids had recess, snack then went to the classroom to work on their projects. There was this one point at recess when a kid was crying and wanted to go home. I wasn't sure exactly what to do so I got some help from the other teachers. They calmed her down and she went back to class. The assignment was for the class was to make friendship bracelets or continue on the play they've been working on. The kids seemed to like this project more than the previous one. I took this time to get to know the students better and find out what they liked. I'm curious now if I should create two separate activities for the class when I teach?
At Juxtaposition, I had my first day working in the Textile Lab. The place was incredible, better than what I thought it would be. There was a mix of mostly high school apprentices and a few college ones. The apprentices continued to work on the alphabets they were designing that would later be screen printed. I had done a similar project like that one last semester for Type 1 so I was able to help the students get ideas down. I think I really hit it off with the apprentices and Ben. We had some good discussions and I learned a lot on my first day.
Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidali, Rosey Lowe, Imani Vaughn-Jones - Total hours: 7.
I am very excited to begin my placements. I need to do two placements for about 35-40 hours and a shadowing of an artist for 6-10 hours. So far, I've already met with Tamar and the other teaching artists and started early. I started with Rosy, she teaches a mix of 3rd through 5th graders. I was really nervous when the kids came because they were so tiny, energetic, and a bit sassy. I didn't feel prepared. I decided to mainly observe and let Rosy do her thing because I was new and didn't know how she ran her class. I did have fun, after spending time outside and snack, Rosy had the class continue the activity they started the week before. The class had the option of making a bird or some other animal to draw. Most kids enjoyed drawing and some were interested in drawing animal butts. Overall, it was a good day for the kids. I also participated in making my own bird.
In Imani's class, she taught high schoolers. I was able to relate to them a bit more and felt more comfortable around them. There were two other guests that came by. One was an actor and had the kids participate in different acting games, read through a short scene, and write their own. I was so excited because I did theater for many years before college and it was a great way for me to loosen up in with her students. After writing, the other guest who is also an actor talked about the entrepreneurial side of his acting career. How he is able to make a living acting and the different opportunities for actors and how the students can make opportunities for themselves. We also talked about how having an acting background can benefit you in other careers. That helped me add to the discussion since I am in advertising and there is a lot of presenting involved. At the end of the session we all were able to take something away from the discussio. Even the guest artists felt like they learned something from us. It was a good day and I can't wait to go back.
