Special thanks to Mandy and her dad Steve for sharing with us:

“My 6-year old daughter Mandy loves drawing and, she and I went through most of the Creativity Express lessons and plan to finish all of the lessons soon. She has learned a lot from them. Here’s some of her artwork.”

-Steve

The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to providing leadership in arts education by inspiring all young Americans through rich arts experiences. A high quality education in the arts opens a critical gateway to a lifetime of appreciation and engagement. For two reasons, learning in the arts is an indispensable part of American education: 1) children celebrate and participate in their cultural inheritance, and 2) academic and social maturity follow directly from arts education experiences.

The Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth category offers funding for projects that help children and youth acquire knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts. Projects must provide participatory learning and engage students with skilled artists, teachers, and excellent art. Funded projects apply national or state arts education standards. All projects submitted to the Learning in the Arts category must include:

• Experience: Students and their teachers will have the chance to experience exemplary works of art — in live form where possible.
• Study: Through the guidance of teachers, teaching artists, and cultural organizations, students will study works of art in order to understand the cultural and social context from which they come, and to appreciate the technical and/or aesthetic qualities of each work. Where appropriate, study will include the acquisition of skills relevant to practicing the art form.
• Performance: Informed by their experience and study, students will create artwork. In the case of literature, the primary creative activities will be writing and/or recitation.
• Assessment: Students will be assessed according to national or state arts education standards. Where appropriate, projects will employ multiple forms of assessment including pre- and post-testing.

NOTE: The required Learning in the Arts components may be provided in partnership with other organizations.

The Arts Endowment strongly endorses the arts as a core academic subject area. Organizations must provide curriculum frameworks and carefully designed evaluations to assess every child’s progress in achieving proficiency in the arts. In this category, the Arts Endowment hopes to call attention to projects that recognize and cultivate best practices in the field of arts education for children and youth.

Click here to view more information or to apply.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provides millions of dollars in potential supports for afterschool and summer programs. Don’t let this opportunity slip by.  Programs provide critical supports to struggling kids and families, create good jobs and make a solid investment in our future workforce. Putting these funds to work now not only helps us today, but also better positions afterschool efforts for future funding.

Click here to view more information on the Afterschool Alliance.

One of my most favorite things to read is the Edutopia magazine. They have excellent articles and insights from teachers all over the nation and across the curriculum. As a teacher at university, I am always inspired by my fellow teachers doing some excellent work for students before they hit my classrooms and thought I would share with you, two particularly amazing ideas and projects.

The first involves using art and music together for students — teachers using the 9 Muses of ancient Greek lore to introduce and examine various examples of their specialty through youtube! If you don’t remember the 9 sisters, there was Calliope who ruled epic poetry, Clio who worked with history, Erato loved lyric poetry while her sister Euterpe was fascinated with music. Melpomene was the muse of tragedy while her light hearted sister Thalia, loved comedy. Then there was Polyhymnia who specialized in choral poetry and Terpsichore, the dancer. Finally, Urania governed astronomy.

In her article, Shari Wargo demonstrates how each of the muses discusses examples from youtube to help students understand the history of all such performances, reconnecting them to the ancestry of rap, hiphop, movies etc. A completely new and at the same time, ancient way of learning about the performative arts! Interestingly, the word muse, has the same root, as music. The sisters, with their dedication to the performative arts, founded learning in a preliterate world. They remind us that before we were homo sapiens ( knowing humans) we were homo narrans (story telling humans).

Likewise, while November is a long way off, it is National Novel Writing Month, and as a teacher who battles with students to write 5 pages, I am amazed at what kids who participate in this program accomplish in one month. A novel in a month! How many authors could do that kind of work? Yet, the kids do and they do it with amazing tenacity in a collective act. As one student reports, “it is not even about having your work read, it is about having written it.” In November 2008, more than 1.6 million words were written in a month! In the same year, nearly 120,000 adults from at least 45 countries became authors. You can too! The program is free for schools and has an excellent website which walks teachers through the program and how to prepare. Perhaps the greatest thing emerging from this program is the fundamental change in the relationship young kids have with books and writing. I have seniors who are afraid to write. I wish they had had this opportunity to unleash their power as a scribe!

From the Muses to the power of the scribe, if you are homeschooling your kids, you might be interested in the annual contests run by the Home School Legal Defense Association, for art, essays, poetry and photography. The poetry competition runs from May 1 through June 1, while the photography competition is coming up this summer and has a submission period beginning July 1 and ending August 1. Check out the website for a host of tips and resources for preparing your work for the competition. It’s a great event and every year, hundreds of home school students from around the country and even around the world raise thousands of dollars for the Home School Foundation’s Special Needs Children Fund.

“[The Muses] are all of one mind, their hearts are set upon song and their spirit is free from care. He is happy whom the Muses love. For though a man has sorrow and grief in his soul, yet when the servant of the Muses sings, at once he forgets his dark thoughts and remembers not his troubles. Such is the holy gift of the Muses to men.”
~Hesiod~

So, welcome the Muses into your life this Springtime and revel in their gifts as you celebrate the performative arts — arts for all and all for arts!

Kirsten Broadfoot

Tracing the word back to its original Greek, “poetry” came from a word meaning to make or create. Poetry usually refers to words in verse, but rhyming is not required to write a poem and, yes, anyone can write poetry!

Did you know that we have a Poetry Month? Do you know why? Poetry is an art that goes back centuries and both men and women wrote poetry. Having a month for poetry brings attention to an art that is versatile and engaging, although perhaps not as studied and practiced as other arts.

Guess what? This month of April is Poetry Month, so let us write a poem! Some of our most memorable writers in history were poets. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is quite memorable indeed. What about reading a short poem by
Ogden Nash?

Kids usually like these. Once they get the hang of hearing poems, perhaps read a Shakespeare sonnet and see how it is received.

You can also have kids choose a topic on one of their favorite subjects, such as a pet dog or cat, hiking, fishing, or perhaps at the beach, and have them write a poem about it.

Perhaps a favorite game they play or a favorite food they eat? For example, my cat’s name is Nicholas and I call him “Nicky” for short. This one is for the kids:

I have a cat named Nicky

whose paws are sometimes sticky.

He plays in the days,

and naps where he lays.

So goes my cat named Nicky!

Remind the kids that poets may write and rewrite many times before they find the words they want. Start simple. Perhaps the funnier the poems, the easier they will be to write.

After their experiential play with poetry, why not create a team poem or a class poem? Perhaps a poem a day throughout a month, where each kid has a chance to share a poem he or she likes or wrote? Perhaps the subject is “A Summer’s Day.” All kids can relate to that. Have the kids provide words that remind them of a summer’s day. As the kids suggest them, write them on the black or white-board. After you have brainstormed
ideas with them, begin to place them in phrases. They may want some lines to rhyme and not others.

Once kids feel comfortable playing with poetry, they can learn about poetic rhythm. When I was studying poetry, the teacher had us listen to poetry being read. It gave me an entirely different relationship with poetry, as it reminded me of singing. Later in life, I heard an Ovid poem read aloud in Greek, and could hardly believe the beauty of the sounds. Listening to poetry, then, enlivens another sense and brings us closer to the essence of the art of poetry.

Ultimately, poetry is not a “thing;” it is a feeling or a tone; perhaps a tiny story, a lesson, a loss, a joy. Through poetry, we can experience another aspect of our humanness. So don your best poet garb and begin to compose!

Thanks to hoyasmeg, ahisgett, and sub_lime79!

Arts enrich us!

Candice

April is Poetry Month, it is also Earth Month and next week, just in case you were wondering, there is also National Library Week (April 12-18). Throw a couple of spring time festivals in there like Easter and the like, and indeed, there is much to get us moving around this month!

In case you missed Earth Hour (which was March 28), this month brings a host of things to do. If you have teenagers, encourage them to visit www.teensturninggreen.org for their latest ideas on Project Green Prom. They have a video contest for ideas for how to green a prom and also a Toolkit! Just visit their website to find more about how teens are increasingly getting involved with safe and healthy life choices.

Then, of course, there is Earth Day itself, April 22,when you can celebrate all you are doing for the earth in terms of recycling, going organic, growing trees and gardens and saving water!

On the creative front, my young son is in week 3 of a living art class. So far he has grown grass hair for a little sock man and a small garden on radishes growing in the bottom of an old milk carton (just cut off the top, add seeding mix, and some radish seeds. Have kids make a little fence with painted sticks and hey presto!). We also have a small jar full of wet, colored tissue paper in the middle forming a blanket for 3 little beans which have just sprouted and are sending their curly heads towards the top of the jar. Just this afternoon, we made pinecone bird feeders with some peanut butter and bird seed (cover the pinecones with the peanut butter and then roll in the bird seed. You’ll need to attach some string once they are done to hang them outside). It’s been a bit hit and miss with the weather so we’re pretty sure our bird friends will love us tomorrow! If you would like some other ideas for kids for Earth Day/Month, check out Kaboose where they have a host of great projects for all ages!

Finally, there’s the library. Why buy books and movies when you can go and rent them for free from your library? Libraries are brilliant spaces for kids, putting on story times, information sessions, art activities etc, not to mention the great earth conscious learning that comes from borrowing, lending and sharing books with others. My kids love to go to the library to choose their books and a movie a week. They are extraordinary gifts and public spaces for the community and have provided me with a home away from home when I have been traveling. Whatever you need to know, you can find it at the local library! Let’s make sure to support all those who give time and energy in these special places!

So, this month, get out there and do some earth loving art! Visit your library, engage your green thumb and create…let’s get started with art!

With thanks to sifter for the beautiful image of a British library!

Kirsten Broadfoot

Sometimes, art can provide a link to history that captivates the imagination, is active, and aids one in learning history at the same time. In the case of the artful labyrinth, understanding its history enhances the fun of walking one, creating one, or finding the prize by tracing channels on paper.

Labyrinth designs were found on pottery, tablets and tiles date as far back as 4000 years. Many patterns are based on spirals from nature. In Greek mythology, for example, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary character Daedalus for King Minos at Knossos on the Grecian island of Crete. The purpose of the labyrinth was to hold a minotaur—a creature half man and half bull. Eventually, according to the myth, an Athenian hero Theseus eventually killed the minotaur.

Unfortunately, the myth continues, Theseus had made the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it. However, Ariadne aided him by providing him with a thread, literally the “clew”, or “clue”, to follow and thus find his way back out again.

At this time of year, when sun changes quickly to rain or snow, why not provide kids with activities that they can create indoors and outdoors? And teach kids a bit of history while they are having fun with art? Creating a walkable

labyrinth in the dirt outdoors, with chalk on the asphalt, or with tape on the grass, kids can design labyrinths then transport their designs outdoors where they walk the labyrinth!

A more popularized form of play is the maze and hundreds of versions exist for kids so they will not easily tire of the activity. Perhaps try using maze fun with birds, bugs, and basketball—printable sheets for kids’ use!

What about making a Lego maze? Think about the following: Do you have a name for your maze? What will be the prize or reward at the center? Will you have a garden maze or a line maze? Will you give players a time limit to reach the center? Is it a contest? When you are finished, share your experiences for more fun!

So study the labyrinth history a bit this week, hand out maze sheets and have them discover the center.  Each student could have a different maze.  Perhaps have a team of kids draw their own maze and then transport their design to the playground by laying down colored tape.

Thanks for the great photos Shlabotnik, meaduva and anvilon

Enriching the artist,

Candice

Wendy Rominger is currently teaching art in grades 6-8 in Jackson Hole Middle School in Jackson, Wyoming.  She first found out about Creativity Express through a postcard she received from an art education convention.  The program seemed to meet many of the needs she was struggling with in her own curriculum and mixed computer use with studio activities, assessment quizzes, written reflections, and creating computer images that could be stored in a portfolio.

We asked Wendy about how she uses the software in her classes and the kinds of art her kids have produced as a result. Here is what she had to say: “I have the kids create a handmade cardboard journal that houses all their Do Art activities.  I have expanded the chapter Messages in Art as a spring board for a T-shirt design using lettering for their own message. I see my 6th graders 2 times a week which limits how much time we spend in Creativity Express but I strive to have them all complete up to 8 chapters if I see them for a semester. It has proved incredibly helpful when I have a substitute in my room. They have commented how wonderful it was and how engaged the kids were during the class.”

Wendy has noticed that some kids take more readily to the software than others however, and that if she doesn’t keep an eye on them they will skip over sections that are more or less optional so they can get to the challenge (at least they are ambitious!). Some of the kids are also moving quickly to wait to find out more about the artists or concepts covered, but they really love working with Corel Painter and expressing themselves on the computer. Interestingly, some kids prefer the idea gizmo than their own ideas for completing their art activities while others prefer to challenge themselves to come up with their own solutions. The software is flexible enough to cover both audiences and their needs! One favorite activity for all seems to be pulling the handle on the machine!

When we asked Wendy what she would tell a new teacher who had never used the program before, she recommended working through how to log students in, then unlock the chapters, explore the features of the gallery, artist cards, and how to track student scores before exposing the kids to the program. The digital painter program is really essential if students are going to create images on the computer. If you are wondering about the images in this blog, they come courtesy of Wendy’s students, wonderful examples of the kinds of artistic expression they found through the software.

Thanks so much for your time Wendy, and give our thanks to the students for their beautiful work! If you would like to try a demo of creativity express, just click this link!

With thanks to Circumerrostock for the sign!

Encouraging the artist within!

Kirsten Broadfoot

“Spring refreshes the soul, then refreshes the creative self.” – Anonymous

New perspectives of young learners can provide essential energy for learning. For example, look up: an ever-unfolding canopy of trees spreads across the landscape. Sometimes, in an indoor learning setting kids get used to looking across rather than up or down.

Outside, when we look up, there are the spreading spring leaves, and when we look down, there are bountiful floral surprises.

Sometimes, quite unbelievably, when one finds a tree or plant that does not seem to fit in a particular geographical place, it is especially interesting—like a magnolia tree on a campus in the Colorado Front Range! But I found one, and passers-by can hardly believe that—in late spring—it is really a blooming magnolia tree.

To learn more about trees, why not take the kids on a tree tour? This site is in Boulder, but tree tours can be found elsewhere as well.

Or, perhaps take a Denver Botanic Gardens tour so that students can learn more about plant growth, research, and perhaps conservation alongside the arts by visiting the exhibits and perhaps attending an event at the Gardens?

What about seeing spring from the perspective of a plant or tree? OK, so I am a tree. What kind of a tree am I? What kind of leaves do I have? Am I a tree that grows locally or a tree that you saw on last year’s vacation with your parents or relatives? What if I am a magnolia flower? Where do I usually grow? When I grow in an unusual place, how might I survive? What kinds of supports (perhaps protection from the winds?) would I need?

Then again, what if I were a 200-year-old cottonwood tree and one of my friends—call him Jerry or Mary, Joshua or Laura—wanted to build a tree-house in me?

Would I be strong enough to hold a little tree-house? What if the kids in your class thought so and wanted to design a tree-house that would suit a 200-year-old tree? How big is it? How do you build a tree-house without harming the tree? Will it have enough shade to keep you cool in my tree-house in the hottest months?

Developmental skills kids could be working on with these activities could include observation, team-building, note-taking, guided question identification, “research,” and presentation skills. If you want to add another layer in class, play Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring;” spring does indeed bring gifts! So, let’s spring into spring and let nature guide our art and our perspectives!

Thank you to wsilver for the child jumping photo, to kevmann16 for the tree canopy, to shellys1 for the magnolia, and to guy schmidt for the tree house photo.

Arts are us!

Candice

Recently, I watched a short video from Stuart Brown on the importance of play, not just for children, but also for adults. It made me start thinking about how we get so hung up on the tensions of work and play, and how they might benefit from becoming more integrated in our lives. As Stuart Brown attests, playing is good for us — good for our minds, our bodies, our spirits and our relationships and communities. So how can we become more play-full in our work in these difficult times?

It’s easy to get depressed as the economy continues its slide, times get tough around our families and communities, as well as our schools. Everyone is asked to more with less, and while we could all say that we have some ‘clutter’ in our lives that we need to rid ourselves of, there are also those who live close to the line where necessity is indeed, the mother of invention, as we all devise new ways of coming to grips with new realities.

As Edutopia reports, our schools, notoriously underfunded for the most part, face especially tough times as funds for materials continue to dwindle and more and more teachers are forced to buy supplies for our children out of their own meagre pockets. Teachers have always been more than willing to spend their own cash to help out families who can’t afford supplies but recently K-12 teachers have reported spending more than $1000 a year just for classroom supplies! In the face of this crisis, teachers are getting creative, playing with the nature of their work as in selling advertising space at the bottom of quizzes and exams, using organizations such as Freecycle where people give away lots of things they no longer need (but you might - you need to be quick though!), still others set up a listserv in their community posting requests for donations of supplies they need. Then there are those who organize school supply fundraisers and still others (like the Construction Management program at my own university) have organizations adopt classrooms! Not only is creativity alive in these endeavors but the playful perspective taken by these teachers is leading to some serious sustainability practice!

Teachers aren’t the only ones getting creative around education resources. In a recent report from the UK, more than 500 11-19 year olds completed and presented their Manifesto for a Creative Britain to the Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham. These young people reflected on what they feel they need in order to learn, think and act creatively. They imagined how schools might be different, what people in the creative industries could do to help and how they could develop the best environment possible for creative decisions and forming ideas. Students worked and talked together using online discussions, face to face conversations, group debates and video interviews to canvas their peers. Can you imagine what would happen if you engaged in such a project in your community?

With thanks to laurel fan, dalydose and kelseyohhgee for their images!

Developing the creative spirit in all of us!

What child is not delighted with writing down her or his words, ideas, phrases, or stories, or of a hand-drawn image of the surrounding world? What happens when the writing and the drawing partner with a stapled group of pages? Voila! A spring (perhaps botanical?) journal of thoughts and drawings to express one’s own experiences of spring.

To help children begin, perhaps give them daily themes (tall and thin plants), project questions (What flowers represent rainbow colors?), or ask them to describe their favorite plant (using at least three adjectives).

Sketches of flowering plants, maybe accompanied by a taped-in sample leaf now and then, and some description or statements become a kid’s own world expressed. Some children may want it to become their first book! Why not provide children with multicolored construction papers, have them create their front and back journal covers (with title and art), between which are stapled in sheets of notebook paper. With this journaling process, perhaps a pink flower will become a crayon drawing or a black-and-white sketch. Interpretive art!

Another idea might be to create a botanic mosaic, drawing a tree picture next to a flower petal next to a grass blade. Playing with composition, color, balance, and points of interest, a child will begin to see how forms and shapes can create a montage picture out of many pictures. If you want to try your hand with some of these ideas, click here.

Enthusiastic questions may burst forth from the young artists, reflecting the exuberance of spring itself. What is artistic? What famous artists did this first? Do I know an artist in my neighborhood? What kind of tools does an artist use?

This journaling activity might also contribute to a group project. After they have worked on their journaling individually for a few days or weeks, have a piece of posterboard on a table or taped to a wall. The board would represent a culmination of the journaling project: a class garden wherein each child would draw (or paint) in her or his favorite plant into that garden. My guess is that, at the completion of this project, the garden may be worth framing! Gradually, children will gain confidence in their writing skills, take pride in their emerging journal, and learn botanical lessons in the process. Not everyone will be a Botticelli and produce a “Primavera,” but the emerging children’s art will certainly be more contemporary art!

Thank you to to interplast for the child’s photo, to rkempjr for the photo of a lovely pink flower; and to nextvangogh for the spring flower mosaic.

Growing the artist within!

Candice

“No amount of skillful invention can replace the essential element of imagination.” – Edward Hopper

Being on the edge of the transition between winter and spring can be a recipe for cabin fever. With opportunities for play and learning, a child’s imagination can convert cabin fever into a search for a rare piece of art, engineering mysterious inventions, a ride on a high wave in a pirate’s ship, or an expedition into a jungle. In a learning context, children’s imaginative antics can moderate cabin fever for both children and adults.

How does cabin fever give way to spring excitement? As green blades of grass or bobbing plants begin to show through the white melting snow, a child wants to know what is happening. Why does this flower bloom first? What is its name? What color will it be? If I pick it now, will it grow in a vase? What if I had a garden of my own? Yes, what if?

Why not have a small indoor or outdoor box garden in a sunny spot so that the children can identify the growth phases and be delighted by the emerging color of flowers in “their” garden? Observing, learning about, and cultivating (planting, watering, fertilizing, weeding) a garden can give children ownership of a process (gardening), and in so doing they can become stewards of it. Stewardship can bring them knowledge, pride, and experience. Two plants that are easily seen and easily grown are the delightful multicolored spring poppy flowers and crocuses.

Another early-growing flower, but one seen less frequently in the Rocky Mountain region is the poppy. In March, these begin to grow in the Colorado front range and, as I write this, our five poppy plants on the south side of our home are now eight inches tall. Children can plant these perennials one year and watch these hardy plants grow tall the next year. Orange red, shell pink, coral, and white are just a few of the poppy colors that can bring satisfaction to young gardeners. Why not spend a few dollars and buy a poppy seed kit and the children can plant them in their garden?

Or, how about planting a plot with only xeric plants? For example, the Colorado Front Range is high desert, with much less snowfall than the mountains just west of it. One way to determine which xeric plants are available so that you can select your favorites for your or your child’s garden would be to check with the experts.

Then again, perhaps it is time for an afternoon fieldtrip? From such a trip, children could learn to identify Colorado’s high desert native prickly pear cactus, several varieties of barrel cactus, and yucca plants.

What were, and are, some of the uses of these plants that we have learned from Native Americans? Prickly-pear cactus can be pickled and eaten. Yucca thread can be used to sew things together and the roots can be eaten. The name “yucca” is derived from “yuca,” a Carib Indian name for the cassava or tapioca plant and is cross-fertilized by a moth.

Perhaps create a project by having the children take a photo of or sketch the yucca without its flowers as a “Spring-to-Summer Project.” Then, once the yucca begins flowering, have them photo/sketch it at this stage. When a yucca flowers, it’s very delicate flower is exciting to watch unfold. Once dried in late summer, these tall flowers can be picked and put in the classroom or home classroom in a vase. These can last, quite literally, for years.

Spring gardens can bring curiosity to the surface and joy to a child’s face as he or she learns something new about nearby surroundings. They allow us to experience both creation and creativity at the same time and provide a ton of inspiration in terms of projects. You might even be tempted to make a small fairy garden, for example, with a little grass seed, potting soil, random things the kids find in the garden and then some hand-fashioned housing, and so forth! So, time to have some spring fun; feel free to send any projects you have completed our way!

Thank you to Chris Runoff for your photo of children, to JustABigGeek for your crocus photo, to kretyen for your cactus photo, to Fool On The Hill for your yucca fruits photo!

Arts for all!

Candice

We all know that the Internet is not an adequate replacement for the real experience of visiting the art museum. However, sometimes it’s just not possible to make the trip. Thankfully there are many resources on museum websites that provide ways of seeing into a museum, as well as offer many art-based activities and games for children. It’s also a great way to prepare your children for a visit to the art museum.

First, check out web resources for your local art museums. Then, check the website of any art museums you know of and see what they have to offer. When searching art museum websites, keep in mind that they sometimes hide these fun things under a tab called “Education” or “Programs.” It may take some searching but it will be worth it once you find the activity. Here are a few of my favorite sites but a word of warning for the adults – you may find yourself crowding the computer to do these yourself!

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has a variety of online activities for adults, teens, and young children. If modern art puzzles or delights you, this is the place to go.

TATE Online is a delightful website of fun activities with a Brit sense of humor. In the games section I enjoyed the street art activity. Find your favorite!

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. has The Art Zone: Interactive Art You Can Make Online. The Photo Op activity introduces the basics of digital photography and how to manipulate images in a variety of ways. If you don’t already have it, the site will ask you to download the Adobe Shockwave Player. It takes a few minutes but it’s worth it.

Another activity is to make your own exhibition. To give you some ideas, the James A Michener Art Museum has a “Create an Exhibition” activity, along with many other activities.

Or go all out and make the whole museum and name it after your family or school.  Take a look at some interesting museum buildings and decide what you would like yours to look like.

Think about what materials you might use to make a model of your museum.  For example, when I think about making a model like a Frank Gehry building, I think of using curled paper or ribbon to get those curves. What would you use to make a model of a building like that?

Take your artist out for a ride on the Net! You will be amazed what you’ll find out there (and in yourself!)

Thanks for the great pictures from Xavier Fargas and nick.garrod

Marianna Adams

In Aotearoa-New Zealand, where I come from, we have a small fern we call the Hen and Chicken fern; known in Maori as Mouku. Hen and chicken ferns or asplenium bulbiferum as they are scientifically known, grow small bulbs on the top of their fronds, which, when they are about 2 inches, fall off and grow where they land, sending out their own roots and becoming new little ferns. These plants are native to Aotearoa-New Zealand and I grew up with them as a child. As March appears with all its new beginnings and as we celebrate women and youth as artists, I can’t think of a better symbol than this little fern of the relationship between the two.

Youth Art Month is dedicated to acknowledging the skills youth learn through the visual arts that they do not learn elsewhere, including divergent and critical thinking, multicultural awareness and technical, communicative and expressive skills. The basic goal of this month, is to recognize just how fundamental art is to developing a better quality of life for all people and increase community understanding and interest in art by involving others in art exhibits, workshops and other creative venues.

There is nothing I love more than having my children’s art around me or watching them create. Recently I saw a seasonal calendar a mom friend of mine had made to celebrate the art of  her children. As the month unfolds, consider how you might have an ‘exposition’ of your children’s art, maybe take them to an art museum for children, or ask them to choose their best ‘work’ and make a simple book, photo montage. If you have a group, this is even more wonderful and if the weather is nice, you could conduct a workshop outside, with sketchings, impressionistic paintings, or for the older ones, even a photo documentary with a simple disposable camera. Youth have such a radically unfiltered view of the world, anything you can do to celebrate their perspective is richly rewarding. If you are stumped for ideas, we may be able to help; just click here.

March is also a fantastic time to recognize the important women artists who continue to enthrall youth beyond the ‘Grand Masters’ as we celebrate International Women’s Day this weekend. International Women’s Day is celebrated around the globe to recognize the economic, social, cultural and political contributions of women to our social wellbeing. How many women artists can you name? Can you remember how you came to know them? Two women who come to my mind almost immediately are Georgia O’Keefe and Frida Kahlo, both painters, though of different sorts.

O’Keefe was inspired by her environment and Kahlo inspired also by her experiences, particularly as a woman painter in a time when very few women painters were known, particularly in Mexico. Both women challenged our perceptions of art and artists and as a result, changed the world with their vibrant images and extraordinary talent and life. Interestingly enough, we haven’t always been aware of the women artists in our own culture, never mind others, and this month might be a good time to take a walk on the ‘path less travelled’ and explore some women artists and their roles in society, both in contemporary times as well as the past when the Masters ruled.

So in true March fashion (no, not the mad March hare yet) let’s engage with some new paths and discoveries as we celebrate both women and youth and unleash the artists in all of us!

With many thanks to both the Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe Museums for the beautiful images!

Kirsten Broadfoot

“The arts humanize the curriculum while affirming the interconnectedness of all forms of knowing. They are a powerful means to improve general education.” – Charles Fowler

Often we are fascinated by and drawn to animals. Observing animal behavior or representations of animals, such as examining animal art, we often feel our interconnectedness with animal nature. Sometimes we feel a strong bond with a particular animal, such as a pet. To many, animals are daily companions and provide emotional support for us as a “member of the family.” Other times, we may spend resources to travel afar and see rare species in their native setting, such as taking an African safari.

The word “animal” derives from the old French or Latin word animalis—“having vital breath.” Cavorting playfully or running after prey, animals exhibit behaviors that underscore the verb “animate,” as it refers to breathe life into, quicken, vivify, or enliven.

In a context of social change, when discussions of the preservation of a species or the protection of polar bears comes center stage, the vitality of animal behavior comes into closer focus. Why do we want to save them? Because we identify with them? Because of their beauty? Because they contribute to the intricacy and mysterious complexities of nature?

We see the interactions of a polar bear mother and offspring playing and can feel compassion. We see baby bears orphaned, like Klondike and Snow and feel protective. Raised in the Denver Zoo by loving animal caretakers who often slept near them in their early months, the daily activities of Klondike and Snow became a story of growing bears closely watched by thousands. My nieces had photos of these bears on their bedroom doors for two years and spoke of Klondike and Snow as if they were relatives.

Learning about giraffes, bears, or newly discovered birds deepens our understanding not only of our interconnectedness with nature, but helps us understand animals as having life stories. Many thousands were sad when Klondike and Snow moved to a Florida Zoo; we felt as if our friends had moved away. Their stories would be continued elsewhere, but how often did we hear, “Well, at least they will be together!”

We share stories with one another around pets long passed or around playful antics of current pets. I recently saw a man sitting in meditation in a pasture with his two Arabian horses. He brought them to a new pasture and wanted to make sure that they felt at home. He even introduced them to a small pilates ball (just larger than a soccer ball) to play with when he was not there!

We are drawn to and often feel at one with animals, come to know them as ourselves, their stories often interwoven with ours. What stories do children tell about animals? How can they animate us as artists? Next time you’re at the zoo or even a farm with kids, ask to tell you what the animals are doing, or if they are old enough, ask them to write a story about them or a letter to them. Even better if they can send it to the farm or the zoo — they love to get such letters! You might ask kids what animal they would like to be and why, or even as spring appears, watch the animals around your neighborhood on the move. Who’s singing? Who’s flying? Who’s out looking for food?

Thank you to steve-stevens for your giraffe photo , to greefus groinks for your polar bear drawing, and to renatomitra for the Arabian horse photo.

Don’t forget to follow our polar bear, Furnace on Twitter to see all the places he has visited!!

Art for all,

Candice