4/5/20

Things have been difficult. There has been such a change in how we have been thinking about what an educational experience looks like. Both of the sites I have been working with are closed or online currently. I am still putting together a lesson for the MCTC students about en plein air painting, so I’ve been practicing with perspective within my own projects to really get a feel for how to approach this. I have been thinking about how much has changed within my own practice and how the role of painting in my life has become something so useful to keep me working toward something. I miss a lot of the people I’ve met within the last several weeks. The teachers and students all made such an incredible difference in my practice and life that its been hard to cope with losing access to some of those connections. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, March 13th (3hrs)

AP: I checked in with a few students today. Many voiced worry about the pandemic happening. A lot of the conversations I had with students was them expressing their anxiety around school and their work in the midst of this. 

Drawing to painting: Today was a work day for the whole class. Again, there was a lot of conversation around COVID-19. It felt like a really important time to be an educator in helping them think about ways to work at home, but more importantly, it felt like an important time to be someone they could talk to about their thoughts on everything. It feels like a lot of the larger conversation happening isn’t thinking about the impact on students. Many are seeing panic in the places they look to for structure and many are unsure about their education. I talked for a while about making sure they are taking care of themselves and checking in with their teachers about their thoughts. I don’t know if I necessarily helped, but I am hoping that I was and am a valuable voice to the students at this time. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Thursday, March 12th (3hrs)

AP: Today I taught my lesson. The lesson was about creating a presentation similar to a Pecha Kucha that talked about the students’ concentration. I feel like the lesson was really successful! Kathryn mentioned that she thought it was really well done and the perfect thing for getting the students to start thinking about their AP statements. The rest of the class period was spent checking in with students while they worked on their presentations or projects. 

Drawing to Painting: Today part of the class talked about how to use reference photos to their advantage as they get ready for a self portrait painting. The other part of the class is starting a project about brush techniques. They talked about their ideas and materials and started working. I helped to set up people’s reference photos and spent a lot of time running around, gathering items or materials for the students to use in their photos. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, March 6th (3hrs)

AP: Today the AP class talked about how to properly document work. The students were given a presentation including examples of bad documentation and how to light and stage good documentation. The students will be spending most of the early part of next week taking photos of all of their work. This will actually transition really nicely into the lesson plan that I’ve prepared for the class. They worked on stuff for the last 40 minutes, but many were at a good stopping point for their work. 

Drawing to Painting: The collage section of the class was continuing to work on their pieces while the portrait section of the class critiqued their pieces. The portrait section only had 4 students, so each was given a good amount of time to talk about their work. This was a really great moment to implement some of the strategies that Kathryn and I had talked about. I really tried to focus on understanding how the rest of the group was responding to the artist’s piece. I was really excited listening to them work through their thoughts on the pieces. 

MCTC, Painting 1, Thursday, March 5th (3hrs)

Today was the last day before MCTC’s spring break starts. They worked to finish their “blow-up” assignment and also started talking about perspective. I talked to some students about what they’re working on, but a lot of them were really focused on working. I have been consistently impressed with how much work this class gets done every week. They are really invested in the projects they’re working on. Many talked about wanting to paint over break. For the last hour in the course both Laura and I sat down to work on the projects. Laura likes to have some examples for the students and it has become pretty normal to help work on it when I’m there. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Thursday, March 5th (3 hrs)

AP: Today was day 3 of critique for their projects. The students brought in everything they’ve been working on for the course of the quarter. Hearing the students talk about their work and the progression of their ideas is really engaging. After critique, Kathryn and I talked about how to approach critique from the perspective of a teacher. I was definitely engaging in critique as a student and really appreciated the redirection. We talked about some useful strategies going forward in critique.

Drawing to Painting: Part of the class has been working on creating paintings based off of collages the students made keeping color schemes in mind. The other part has been finishing their oil and acrylic portrait paintings. I checked in with students and talked to Kathryn about the sketchbook assignment the students had just turned in. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, February 28th (3hrs)

BOTH: Today was incredibly fun. The Perpich students took a field trip to the Walker and I was invited to join. Kathryn and I had one group of 8 students that we walked around the museum with. I, generally, am not the biggest fan of the Walker. However, watching and listening to how the Perpich students interacted and were thinking about the exhibits was so interesting. It genuinely made me excited to be there. I made it a point to ask students about what pieces impacted them and some of their responses were unexpected, but exciting. I feel like it helped me understand how they’re thinking about their own art and practices. 

  Additionally, as someone who has worked with children and young teens for several years, I was somewhat nervous about being with a group of teens in an art gallery. However, these students were incredibly respectful of the museum and the art and interacted with both in such a manner that I left feeling so thankful to have been with them. 

MCTC, Painting 1 Thursday, February 27th (3hrs)

Today the students worked on expanding on their last assignment. Since I’ve last worked with the students, they’ve either completed their color and brush technique studies or are really close to completing them. Now, they’re working on blowing up one of their studies into a larger painting. Due to some car issues, I showed up a little after the class had started. When I got there, they were already deeply focused on their projects. I made my rounds and checked in with some students about what they were working on. Laura did the same. We both eventually sat down to make our own. One thing that I really admire about Laura’s teaching approach for this class is that she does a lot of the work she is asking of her students. Several times, students would approach her with questions and she would happily respond by showing them either on the piece she’s working on, or through another example that she had done or collected previously. She and I spent the remainder of work time on our own pieces. I helped to clean up while she was answering questions and helping people toward the end of class.

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Thursday, February 20th (3hrs)

AP: Today was the first time I got to see the Perpich students in a while, as I was out sick last week. It was really great to see them and see how much work all of them had gotten done within the last week or so. A lot of them are in progress of making pieces, but they’ve really gotten a lot farther in their concepts. I spent the day checking in with students both individually and with Kathryn. It has been really exciting to hear them think out loud about their work and be able to recommend artists that could help to further their interests. I’ve started getting to know more of their work over the last few weeks and I find it incredibly engaging. 

Drawing and Painting 2: Part of the class has moved on from their charcoal portraits and is now starting to work with paint. They’re working on studies of objects they either brought in or borrowed from the studio. Part of this exercise is working with a monochromatic color scheme, but using complementary colors to create a wider range of color. The other part is currently working on recreating portraits of POC and LGBTQ artists in oil paint. They’re working more with the idea of accurately translating color and shape from a picture to painting. Its been really exciting to talk to both groups about how they’re approaching the assignments. Additionally, as with every Thursday, sketchbooks are due. Kathryn touched base with the students about the work they’d done for sketchbooks while I visited with students about the current work. 

MCTC, Painting 1 Thursday, February 20th (3hrs)

It had been a bit since I had gotten to work with this group and it was really great to be back! Since I had been there, the class had wrapped up the assignment I had started with them and have moved on to talking about color and brush techniques. Laura had come up with an exercise that had asked students to use a color scheme (Monochromatic, Trichromatic, ect.) and pair it with a brush technique to create 10-20 mini paintings. I started making some example pieces then the class watched a short presentation given by Laura about color. Laura’s engagement with the students during the presentation really helped to make it feel like the class was receptive and interested in the concepts being presented. After, Laura gave a brief demo on the exercise then both of us sat down to make more. I’m excited to start regularly meeting with this group more. The next class is supposed to be talking about linear perspective and I’m really excited to work with this group on it!

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, February 21st (3hrs)

AP: It's another work day in general, but Kathryn started the day with an introduction to the new sketchbook assignment. The assignment is to find some material (Podcast, TV show, album, article, ect.) that relates to their concentrations and write about how it furthers their ideas. Afterward, Kathryn and I checked in with those that have been working in the painting studio about their projects. Kathryn had a brief conference with another faculty member and we finished the period by checking in with those in the classroom.

Drawing and Painting 2: Part of the class are wrapping up their monochromatic paintings and spend the first third of the hour finishing them. They then watch a video summarizing color theory and then are tasked with creating a very in-depth color chart. Recently, one of the students in this part of the class got accepted to MCAD and was eager to tell me so we got to chat a bit about it. The other part of the class is still working on the portraits. They’re really just starting to work on skin tones, so its been cool to give them tips and tricks along the way. They’re really excited about painting and I’ve loved talking to them about it. It's been really great to feel like a resource to the students in their practices. 

Thursday, Feb 13th and Friday Feb 14th

Unfortunately, I found myself rather ill starting Thursday and was not able make it into Perpich or MCTC this week. I was incredibly disappointed that I couldn’t be at either place but, it really made me realize how much I’ve been looking forward to being there every week.

In my own studio practice this week, I’ve been working to start a painting about the iconography of people within the highly produced world of board games. I collected photos of people on board game covers from different times and games and have created a digital collage using that imagery. This will later be translated into an oil painting (38”x44”).

Heres a picture of the collage!

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, February 7th (3hrs)

AP: Today was spent finishing up the in-progress critique for a student that was absent the day before. Again, the class felt genuinely engaged and eager to hear their classmate’s thoughts. I talked to a few of them afterward about the local band scene. Though not strictly about art making, it was really nice to engage with students that I hadn’t gotten a chance to. It really made me think about one of the NYAC guest speakers that had come in to one of my classes to speak. They are a filmmaker engaged in community work and had talked to us about engaging with the community beyond the project. I can see that there are personal connections being made that have helped to strengthen my working relationship with the students.

Drawing and Painting 2: Today was the last in-class day to work on portraits. A few students were done and were ready to spray their drawings with fixative. Kathryn and I helped them with the process and safety instructions. Additionally, I was given my key-card badge today. I helped to hang the portraits and checked in with those who were still working to finish. I helped those who finished throughout the rest of the time hang and/or spray their pieces. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Thursday, February 6th (3hrs)

AP: Today, the students were doing day 2 of an in-process critique for their first concentration piece. The students were asked to talk about their overall concept and how the in-progress piece fit into that. The rest of the group was asked to give their thoughts, ideas, or recommendations to the presenter. I really liked how open the students were to each other’s ideas. I think a lot of that has to do with the way that Kathryn urges the students to engage in each others’ practices. After the critique, I started compiling some resources to send to Kathryn to pass on to her students. I got to chat with a few of them and directly show them some artists I feel they might really be interested in. I’ve been doing that a lot recently, and its been a really great way to form some connections between myself and the students.

Drawing and Painting 2: The students were working to finish their charcoal partner portraits throughout most of the day. I spent most of this block going around and checking in with students about their pieces. Many of them were close to done, and really just wanted a quick opinion on the composition. Students are asked to turn in their weekly sketchbook on Thursdays, so time not spent on checking in with the students’ projects was spent reviewing and helping to grade the sketchbooks. I have found so much value in listening to how Kathryn talks to her students about their work. Its clear and direct while still feeling really productive to how the students are being asked to engage in their practices. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, January 31st (3hrs)

AP: Today the group reviewed their current concepts with everyone and were provided some time to exchange resources. Then, they were encouraged to go to work on their pieces. Kathryn and I worked on cleaning up the studio a bit and checked in with the students working to start their oil paint pieces. After cleaning, we went back to the main room and talked with a student about their project. They’re interested in color theory in film so I tried to compile some resources (amongst the many others) to send to Kathryn to pass along. 

Drawing and Painting 2: The group today was really just trying to work on their projects. They were making some pretty great progress on their pieces. One student is making a piece that references Mary and its coming along really beautifully. I talked to some students in that class about painting eyes and got to show them some references for color mixing.

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Thursday, January 30th (3hrs)

AP: Today was an exciting day in the AP Class. The students are starting to work on narrowing down their ideas for their concentration. This period was meant to serve as work time on their pieces. Kathryn has 2 students that are going to be working with oil paints for the first time, and she gave them a really in-depth explanation of what working with oils are like. I never worked with oils in high school and I think it was really great to see that opportunity being so readily offered in that capacity. I was able to talk about what my experience has been with oil paints a bit and it really felt like an exciting experience to share. 

Drawing and Painting 2: Over the course of the week, the students in this group have been working on charcoal partner portraits. The duos are encouraged to create a narrative through lighting, posing, and props. Kathryn used some time at the top of the class to review the expectations of the assignment which felt like a really good way to focus people into working on the project. I helped to set up lighting and checked in with some people about their pieces. It’s really exciting to see how this group is setting up their compositions and thinking about facial planes. The group was also asked to turn in their sketchbooks for their weekly assignments. This last week’s was to use mark-making or linework to convey a range of shades within an engaging composition. It’s very open-ended, which really seems to urge the students to engage in concepts or ideas that feel exciting to them. I found it really enjoyable to see their ideas and talk with them about their ideas.

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, January 24th (3 hrs)

Perpich Center for Arts Education, AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2, Friday, January 24th (3 hrs)

AP: Today, the students spent time talking about the AP ethics expectations in terms of copyright and plagiarism. Kathryn walked them through the guidelines then had them work through specific scenarios in which they were asked to judge what was legal and okay for AP. Then, the students reviewed with a presentation and class discussion. I got to talk more individually with students and have started compiling resources for Kathryn to send out based off of what the students had expressed interest in the day before. I showed some students some examples of my peers’ work that I felt they could connect with and had some really great conversations about them. I can tell I am going to really enjoy working with this group.

Drawing and Painting 2: Today, the students worked on classroom and studio expectations before diving into some drawing exercises. Kathryn had prepared a lesson about planes of space and facial planes. I was asked to draw along with the students after helping to pass out materials. She first had them (us) draw a soccer ball, followed by a skull and styrofoam model of a head. Then, she asked me to model for the students to talk about the realities of working with a live model. She had me make a variety of faces to encourage students to think about how the planes of the face move with changes of expression. At the end, I a student handed me an origami dragon made out of a gum wrapper they had made for me. I really enjoyed working alongside the students and getting the chance to be a little more personable with them.

MCTC, Painting 1 Thursday, January 23rd, (4 hours)

MCTC, Painting 1 Thursday, January 23rd, (4 hours)

 I arrived early to talk to Laura about the program and expectations on her behalf. We chatted and helped to set up a still life that the students would be working from later in the class. I was caught up as to what the students have talked about and what the class will entail. We talked about potential lesson plans and how to best navigate the course schedule together. The class had just finished making color wheels and were going to start off the night by painting value scales. Laura asked me to create an example for the scales, so I spent the better part of the first hour completing it. I found myself really appreciating the exercise and had a few students reference my paper for their own work. I got less one-on-one time with the students than I would have liked just due to the specific project, however I did get to talk to a few people about what they were working on. After completing the scales, I was asked to create examples of thumbnails of the still-life for the next step of the class. After, I started composing a drawing in preparation for the painting. The class took a break and reconvened around my easel, where I was asked to explain the process of drawing thumbnails and beginning sketching. After, the class was tasked with starting their drawings while I moved on to painting. Laura and I talked about how useful it can be for some students to just see someone working while we cleaned up after class was dismissed. Next week, I will get to see the progress that was made and attempt to finish my own painting. 

Perpich Center for Arts Education

AP Studio and Drawing and Painting 2 Thursday, January 23rd (3 hrs)

AP: My first experience at Perpich was working with the AP Studio students. I stepped in on their second day of class, so a lot of the class’ block was spent talking about expectations for turning in an AP portfolio. Kathryn introduced me to several staff that I would be working with or encountering throughout the building. I got to introduce myself to the class and give a small synopsis of why I was there and what the Teaching Artist minor at MCAD is like. The class talked about topics of interest amongst the group and formed researchable questions around them. I found myself reflecting on the AP experience that I had while in high school and really admiring how Kathryn talked about how to form a strong concentration via strong research. Additionally, I found myself really intrigued and excited about what the students are interested in. The Perpich students are currently in the process of getting ready for the third gallery show of the year. Part of this block was spent sanding and painting wall spaces. I was happily put to work touch-painting pedestals.

Drawing and Painting 2: The next block of the day was with the Drawing and Painting 2 students. Unfortunately, several students were not present. Due to this, Kathryn decided to forgo discussion of classroom expectations and instead talk about the students’ weekly sketchbook assignment. The assignment is to practice and utilize line-work to create an image that communicates value. I spent a lot of the block checking in with students about their plans for the assignment and talked to them about how they use line-work within their own practices. This class seems to be more focused on talking about the building blocks of drawing and painting practices.