Final Week (May 3, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.00 Hour

This is my final week here at Urban Arts. Anna and I took the kids to the park, made some paper sculptures, and had tasty snacks. It’s going to feel pretty weird not going to Urban every Thursday to help out with the kids. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to work with Anna and the kids and am very fortunate to experience making lesson plans and working with kids.

Thanks for taking the time to read my journey through all my residencies. It’s been great.

Week 14 -- April 26, 2018

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.50 Hours

This week I’ve completed my last lesson plan. Fluxus theater went as well as it’ll ever be for a group of k-2 graders. A lot of them were extremely excited, and others didn’t care the slightest. But overall, the lesson yielded interesting results.

For one, I forget how important to show and lead the children by the way I move around in the classroom. It’s insanely impactful how adults teach kids, when the kids learn from adults at a visual standpoint. A child learns from their teachers and parents just by watching them move. So it was important in my lesson to provide the visuals from the motion of my body in order for them to start performing. I feel that that’s the most important thing for me to work on if I were to ever do this lesson again.

I have one more week left at Urban Arts, so it’ll be sad to say goodbye to the kids. But this has been an amazing experience from the residencies and shadowing that I’ve done this semester.

Week 13 (April 19. 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.50 Hours

This week at Urban was pretty loose. We did a little bit of abstract painting on a few canvases, which we’ll use a the base of a collage that Anna is going to put together with the children’s artworks. For the rest of the session, we made paper airplanes, and proceeded to have a flying contest in the gym.

The lesson plan is coming along. I will be posting it accordingly, soon after the lesson is done on next Thursday. What I have to mainly focus on it is creating theatrical prompts that have are attentive to childrens' interactions, play and imagination. It deals with the discussion of children seeing by example, and how any physical action we make can make an impact on a child. One way of approaching this is setting rules up for the theater performance, with boundaries set not only by the children, but by the teachers as well. I think that it’ll go smoothly if the class and myself set the boundaries up right.  

Week 13 (April 12, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.00 Hours

At Urban Arts, We learned about Jean Michel Basquiat, and made art that pertain to his style. All the while, Anna was preparing for Urban Arts Gala that was going to happen soon. So, I’ve helped the kids draw skulls with oil pastels, and cut them out for a collage that Anna was going to make that is full of the children's work.

The director of all the teachers at urban took all the interns, including me, to ask us about our experience so far at Urban. Just a basic check-in. It was nice because I got to voice some of my concerns and here from the other interns what they were thinking. Other than that, the day at urban was as usual.

At some point in the week, my lesson plan will be reviewed by Lynda, and this lesson has to do with Fluxus art again. I wanted yet another art activity that wasn’t focused around drawing or materials alike. Instead, using the imagination that the kids have, and making a performance out of it. Still has a lot of work to be done on it.

Week 12 (April 8, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 0.00 Hours

This week, Urban Arts had spring break. Instead, I began working on my Lesson plan. More to come for next week.

Week 11 (March 30, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.00 Hour

This week was rather a chill and not as rambunctious one. Anna Decided that she wanted to try out making natural dyes using cabbage, beets, berries, and tea bags. The kids got to put rubber bands on tea rags in a tie dye fashion and chose a natural dye. It somewhat immediately worked, but I found that mine didn’t retain the color after a couple of days soaking in the dye water. Then the kids got to watch Coco at the end of the session. The days don’t usually run like this, but because they have spring break next week, Anna and the others decided to give them an easier day to relax.

I’m starting to lay out my new lesson plan this week, and will be seriously considering in terms of doing an activity that is impactful in the short amount of time that I have. These kids attention spans are short, and some will probably throw a tantrum for having to do something they don’t want to do. I’m still thinking something performative-based, and I’d still have to think of a conceptual way of teaching kids code without any actual coding involved. But hopefully I’ll get to that soon.

Week 10 (March 22, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.00 Hours

This week, there happened to be a festival going on at Urban Arts. I helped out with some printmaking and overall keeping the kids preoccupied with the different events going on. It was fun to participate in some of the printmaking, as well as helping kids make some cool setups for their own. I’m not sure yet when I want to start planning my activity lesson, I think I’ll know for sure when April starts up.

Week 10 (March 22, 2018)

Shadowing - Minneapolis Institute of the Arts - Krista Pearson - 6.0 Hours

This week, I got to participate in a workshop with Lily Yeh. So far, Krista has given me some amazing shadowing opportunities. With this one in particular, it was about bringing us strangers together and become connected to one another in the span of 4 hours. This activity is actually meant for communities to come together after grief or loss. Especially so after a tragic experience or a large scale epidemic. It had everything from connecting everyone in a harmonic tone, our hand in a mural, and our voice in poems and performance. It was amazing how she brought us together in that way.

The day after, I went to see her speak at the MIA. That in itself was just as fulfilling as the workshop. Being able to see her work and her speak about it left me inspired to do some form of work in my own community.

Week 9 (March 15, 2018)

Shadowing - Minneapolis Institute of the Arts - Krista Pearson - 4.5 Hours

Today was my first shadowing experience with Krista. I got to observe a workshop that deals with empathy. It was held in the Wells Fargo wing, and there was a wide variety of people who attended the workshop. Two ladies presented a powerpoint about empathy. The whole workshop in itself felt off. I especially felt this way with some of the activities the presenters had us do, and more so when they played us this Planet Earth “Awe striking” montage of nature. I wouldn’t say I was suspicious of their actions, I was definitely feeling uncomfortable and not emotionally moved by the presentation.

What really shifted the mood of the workshop was when two individuals at an opposite table brought up the fact that they’ve felt uncomfortable with how whitewashed the whole presentation and overall research done for that workshop. She brought up that a lot of the information given to them is white male dominant, and that the MIA doesn’t want to go in that direction, and that they need to do something to fix this workshop. So, from that, I got to witness this beautiful and amazing discussion and conversation from the many smart and intellectual people that sat in that room today.

I look forwards to the rest of the shadowing that I get to go on with Krista. So far I’m having an amazing experience learning and seeing everything I can that goes on with the MIA and all its events and meetings.

Week 9 (March 15, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 5.00 Hours

This is my third week here at Urban Arts, and so far it is a bit of a challenge to think of a feasible activity to create for the kids. But I think I’m getting somewhere when I had a conversation with Lynda about how to teach them code without code. Something to think about.

Anna and I made slime for the kids to play with, and we went around the room and talked about our favorite animal. And After each session, we’d read a book to them while waiting for their parents to pick them up. Something different and semi uneventful this week.

Week 9 (March 15, 2018

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 2.00 Hours

Today was my last day a Barton and the day of my lesson. I have been working on this lesson for a month and half, and it was a ton of hard work to get it where it is today. None of this could’ve been possible without the support from my collaborator and my teachers. This lesson itself, along with the paperwork and essential tools to do this lesson, will be available soon for public use.

Being with Allison in her classroom was an amazing experience and I’ve learned so much about how to handle, teach, and lead the classroom. And I’m happy that I was able to combine performative art with a math-related medium (coding) due to Allison being a maths and dance teacher. All of my residencies and the practicum class in general has taught me so much on how to be a professional and as a responsible person. So, I feel very fortunate to have been paired with Allison and that I got the most that I could out of this residency.

Week 8 (March 8, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.00 Hour

This week I got to work with Saul, who was subbing for Anna. We did our usual routine of taking the kids to the park, and then beginning the lesson. We made color wheels out of paper plates that used warm, cool, or complimentary colors. We pierced the plates with dowels in the middle so that when you spin it, you can see the colors blend together. It was a fun and simple activity to do with the kids.

What I’ve noticed with this after school program is that it’s an after school program. I’ve overheard kids complain that they didn’t want this to feel like they’re still in their school lessons (I overheard this from kids in a different section that isn’t my own). So because of that, I want to structure my “lesson” in an activity-like structure. They’ll still learn something from it, but it won’t feel like an extension of their regular classes.

Week 8 (March 8, 2018)

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 4.00 Hours

This will be the last few visits that I’ll be at Barton. It’ll be a little sad to leave, but I’m excited to teach the lesson and move on to Urban Arts. Allison has been extremely great to work with, and I hope the kids will enjoy the lesson I have in store for them.

Week 7 (March 4, 2018

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 4.00 Hours

This is the last week before I teach my first lesson. It’s been a doozy of a project that I’ve put together, but it’s all coming together and setting in place. I’m still having problems getting the prompts to not repeat, but that’s nothing terribly concerning.

The resources have been written and are almost ready to be given to the kids to read. Other than that, it’s been pretty much the same as time, observing the kids doing algebra and geomtry.

Week 7 (March 4, 2018)

Residency - Urban Arts Academy - Tamar Ghidalia - 4.00 Hours

I’ve started my first week at Urban Arts Academy on March 1st. I’ll be working with a gal named Anna during the duration of my residency. That afternoon she planned on making marble paper with the kids. All it took was shaving cream, food coloring dye, and paper. It was a ton of fun to make the paper and to interact with the children. The kids had a lot of fun with the project too, mainly because it was a messy one.

The place has ceased to amaze me with the activities done for the kids, the staff on hand, and the location of the academy. It’ll be a nice change of pace from being at Barton (7-8th graders). I’m excited to work with the young kids and and interact with them while working Anna, who takes care of those set of kids.

The after school program is broken up into two sections. One group is from 2-4pm, and the second group from 4-6pm. Each group does the same exact activity that Anna has planned. I’ll probably have to do that exact way of teaching because of the two groups of kids, which is fine with me.

I’m very excited for what awaits me here at Urban Arts. It’s nice to come from Barton, which is fast-paced and lacks time to interact with the kids, to an after school program where I can interact with K-3rd graders for hours. I look forward to all the possibilities of creating a fun lesson plan for the kids at this residency.

Week 6 (February 25, 2018)

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 4.00 Hours

This week is essentially like the last one, working on the website and making sure it functions as it should. For now, I’m in the works of buying a domain name and getting the website to go “live” for the students to use. The lesson date has been shifted to March 15th to ensure I get the website running in time and without any hiccups.

So far I’m making a general guideline to basic coding and key terms. This is to help the students get a basis of this type of art form and language. I’m including a brief overview of the digital fluxus movement so that they can understand what it is that they’ll be doing in my lesson. It will be sent to the students a week prior to the lesson for them to read and go through.

Overall, everything seems to be going very well. I will have to tweak with some of the content in my said lesson plan, but that should generally be easy enough.

Week 5 (February 19, 2018)

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 6.00 Hours

The foundational code has been written and is working so far. I am learning a ton on how these functions work on the back end and how to properly write them. Other than that, it’s set for me to write out the prompts in their own individual index.html pages. Next I will be making it pretty with CSS, and I’ve saved that for last because I wanted the functionality of the website to work before I jumped ahead to that. I’ve made the decision to not include the upload images due to fear of it slowing down the server from the image sizes.

I think the kids will get a kick out of what I have in store for them. I’ll have to first talk to them briefly what the Fluxus movement is before we dive right into the lesson. This lesson may cause havoc in the classroom, but I think it’ll be the good kind.

Week 4 (February 8, 2018

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 6.00 Hours

This week I have been working on my lesson plan for Allison’s Geometry class. I’ve gotten the green light from her to continue evolving my idea and concepts. I have set aside one month for me to work on the plan, which I think will be enough time for me to make a lesson that will get kids excited.

The direction for my lesson plan has to do with coding, the Fluxus movement, and collaboration. I am still working out the specifics and details of the project, but I think that’s the direction I want to go. The website will give randomized prompt to do specific and eccentric performances or actions for a brief period of time. I’d hope to try to have the kids interact with the website, as if it’s a canvas digitized. We’ll see what my limitations are and where to change/ shift things. But for now, I’ve started to prep my computer with the necessary scripts and code to accomplish what I want my website to do.

Shadowing - MIA - Krista Pearson - 1.00 hour

Last week I met with Krista Pearson at the MIA. She and I discussed availability and the potential meetings that I could sit in and observe. I am excited for this opportunity and look forward to learning what I can during my shadowing with Krista.

Week 3 (February 1, 2018)

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 4.00 Hours

On this week's visit, I focused more on her morning dance and geometry class. In Allison’s math classes, she had them play math-related games on the laptops. One particular game involved two teams. Imagine one team is on one side of the classroom and the second team is on the adjacent side (or something similar).  It worked similarly to 20 questions, but it was with math equations.

Looking specifically in the geometry class, they played an interactive game that involved the translation, rotation, and reflection of a shape. They had to get the shape to fit in a different position, whether it’s a straight shot to the destination or having to move around obstacles in the virtual space. It’s given me a lot of inspiration as to what direction I want my lesson plan to go.

Her dance class was a lot of fun too. I got to try out some of the dances that they’re working on (i.e charleston). It’s very cool that these kids have a dance class, for it gets them moving and not sitting in a chair all day. I have an idea in the back of my mind about fluxus movements and the simple yet effect way that it could make a performance.

Overall, it was very interesting to see how focused the kids got in this lesson. It looked like a lot of fun to do, and I plan on trying to do something similar to get that same effect out of them. If anything, I’d hope to get out the same level of collaborative engagement in my lesson as it did with Allison’s, yet with a arts-related twist to it.

Residency - Barton Open School - Allison Rubin Forester - 0.00 hours

This week Barton had no school, so I’ve spent the day brainstorming ideas for potential lessons that I’d teach to the kids. Visits to Barton will resume February 1st.