Jenny Kraft’s 5th grade classroom at Whittier International Elementary School - 2 hours
Jes Reyes and Spectrum ArtWorks, open studio hours - 3 hours
There was a meeting of the Art and Design Ambassadors today, and so I spent part of the morning helping Ms. Dominguez show the class how to take photos on some of the school's ipads. Neither of us have ever taught portrait photography, and neither of us have used this generation of ipads to do something like this, so there’s a bit of trial and error ahead before we can get the ambassadors portrait project going.
I’m glad that I know one student in the Art and Design Ambassadors. Even though I am a teacher and (debatably effective) authority figure, having a friendly, well behaved face among the students builds my confidence quite a bit. It was difficult to cram an organized experience into a half hour period. Young people have a hard time focusing after any sort of transition, and learning a new art form is transition after transition. Ms. Dominguez focused on having everyone play with the interface first and foremost, so they could get it out of their system and be more comfortable with the tool later on.
The rest of the morning in Ms. Kraft’s class was Valentine's day and pajama day, but otherwise a continuation of the powerpoint from days prior.
My first day at Spectrum was fantastic. Jes is incredibly skilled at leading interns, and was incredibly helpful in explaining about how I can best be helpful in the studio. Having a list of tasks to complete around the studio when I’m not directly engaged with anyone definitely helps ease the transition into a new space.
There weren’t a lot of people using the studio at the time, but everyone who was there was very welcoming. Hanna (who will also be at the ArtWorks on Thursdays) and I were able to hash out ideas for workshops with them based on our areas of knowledge and their interests. It was great to find common ground with a group of artists who primarily work in traditional mediums I don’t have experience in.