PLEASE READ.....

http://blog.futureofed.org/index.php/2010/06/26/robert-redford-myths-and-the-future/
(if you can't get there from this link, click on "Please Read" and it will take you there.)

The Above link is a VERY INTERESTING read about where we are and are heading. Daniel Pink hit it right on the nose. Looks like the Creative mind will be what will keeps us a float as well as keeps us sane as we travel quickly through the 21st century.

Tell me what you think!!!!!

I got a job!

I just wanted to share the good news that I have been hired on in Davidson county! I have been working very hard as a substitute teacher this past school year. The job hunt was tough, but I am so fortunate to have been hired on at my top choice school!

I will be teaching K-4 at Hickman Elementary. I have my own art room with 2 sinks, shared storage and 2 kilns with the second art teacher at the school. I am very excited to start my career, its a great school! The principal is very nice and values the arts and I am so pleased there is already a second established art teacher that can deal with all my first year teacher questions :)

It was my very first interview with a principal and I beat out 4 other candidates! The principal was very impressed with my rich portfolio, that I couldn't have put together without the wonderful help and guidance of Mrs. Snead. Thank you so much for taking sooooo many pictures of me in action and helping me create such awesome lesson plans! Mrs. Snead is the most talented art teacher I know and I am so glad to have worked under her wing because I feel confident in tackling my first year! I start August 9th :)

Up and Coming Graphic Designers

This was a fun project where the students had to design a wrapper for a new candy bar. What they had to think about was how the wrapper would attract a potential buyer. How could they design it so that a customer would choose their candy bar over the rest of the selection. It was quite challenging! With the little bit of time left over, they designed a magazine advertisement about their product. We discussed how advertising had to capture your attention in a glance that lasts a second or two. They were able to share their candy bar and advertisement to the class using the document camera. What fun! It is definitly a project I hope to spend more time on next year.

HUGE Congratulations

A very HUGE congratulations goes to all students who had their artwork submitted to the Florida Art Education Association Digital Art Show. You can view all 10 entries in a post below. ALL 10 STUDENTS RECIEVED TOP RATINGS AND RECEIVED AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE for their works of art. I am very proud of all of them and hope this will inspire them to continue working hard in the arts. GREAT JOB!!!!

Another Great Summer Art Activity

Atlantic Potters is offering classes for kids and adults this summer, so check out their website and take a look. You might find something that would interest the whole family. Go to classes@atlanticpotterysupply.com and have some fun!

Summer Art Activities

Visit the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach website for some wonderful summer fun. They are offering art classes and workshops for ages 4 years old to adult.

Go to http://www.ccpvb.org OR click on the title of this post, and see what fun you can find!

Portside Mural - What Fun!

Three if us, Kristy Sappington, Karen willett, and myself, had a wonderful opportunity to work together on a mural for a very special project. ARC and Chets Creek have joined up to open an Academic Resource Center in one of our local neighborhoods called Portside. This center will allow the students to have a place to work on computers, view their displayed artwork in frames, check out books, and attend storytime sessions. And that is just the beginning. ARC donated two rooms for this center, one of which, the story time room, we painted a mural of the seashore. As you watch the slideshow above, you will see the transformation from gold walls to a day at the beach.

I was such fun working with Karen and Kristy not just because they are wonderful artists, but our styles seemed to meld together so well. Plus, it was just a lot of fun. The pictures don't do justice to this project, so you will have to make plans to see it in person.

I know there are other plans for this room to even take it to the next level. May 19th will be the grand opening, so come take a look.

Arts Extravaganza was a Hit!!!!!!

WOW! What a wonderful finish to a fabulous week. Arts Extravaganza was full of art experiences through guest artists, hands on activities, and a huge, school wide student artshow! There was a large turnout for this special event and fun was had by all! Thank you to all the faculty, staff, and parents that volunteered to make this a perfect evening!

Cultural Arts Week is Really Rocking!!!

We are having a BLAST this week with all our guest performers. Monday we had SUGAR AND SPICE who entertained us with puppetry - very funny! On Tuesday we had a small group from the Synphony come and play for us as well as teach us about the instruments - beautiful! On Wednesday we had Glenis Redmond, "Miss Poetic" share her wonderful poetry in a very dramatic style - captivating! On Thursday we had ORISIRISI entertain us with the stories and drums of Africa - exciting! On Friday we have the Banjo Man from the Listening Project allowing us to experience the county - knee slapping! On Friday Night we have ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The big finale! This is TONS of fun. Guest artists, hands on art activities, school wide student art show, food, and the PTA basket auction. Make sure to be there to experience this awesome event.

Click on this blog post title and see all the wonderful photographs of our week's activities. Thank you, Melanie, for documenting for us, through photographs!

Kids Art Fair had an Awesome turnout.

On Monday and Tuesday evening we hosted our Kids Art Fairs so our parents could come purchase their child's artwork matted and framed. It was beautiful!!!!! I almost wish we could keep the work up all year long, right there in the lobby, because it makes such an incredible impact when you walk in the school. We had a wonderful turn out on Monday and Tuesday nights, with all attending amazed at the talent our children possess.

We are still selling the artwork through Friday Night at our big Arts Extravaganza. If you have not purchased your child's work, it is not too late.

Thanks to all who helped volunteer during the event!

Two Opportunities to Show Off Our Young Artists

Coming up VERY QUICKLY is the ELEMENTARY LIBRARY SHOW for the 2009-2010 School Year. It is a part of our celebration of the Arts during Youth Art Month (YAM), even though, this year it will be up April 1st (not an April Fools joke :-). On that planning day, art teachers from around the county will be installing this show at several libraries around the county, with beautiful works of art from their schools. Chets Creek's work will be displayed at the Pablo Creek Library for about two weeks after instillation. Make sure to go visit the Library and see the exquisit work by our students.

The second opportunity we have is the FAEA (Florida Art Education Association) Digital Student Art Show. For this show, student artwork is photographed and sent in to be JURIED. Our Chets Creek Cultural Arts Committee will pay the $5.00 per work entry fee required for these entries. Once Selections are made for the show, a digital powerpoint is produced that is shown during the FAEA Conference in the Fall AND to tour Florida for a year. From these piece, jurors also choose certain works for special awards. We have had the opportunity to send in several pieces for this show. Good luck to all students whose work was entered.

What Color is our Future?

An interesting question with the current conversations in our State Senate and House of Representatives. What color will our future be?????? It might be bleak in shades of gray as our students will be without much that they need in their immediate future. With more and more money, time and talent being pulled away from education, and that I mean a WELL ROUNDED, COMPLETE, education, our children have very little to look forward to in terms of jobs, income, and ability to survive, much less succeed, in the years to come. NOW IS THE TIME TO BEGIN CONTACTING YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!!!! After all, they ARE supposed to represent you.

It is also vitally important, that to survive in the 21st century, that students be well able to create, to make connections, to discover needs and to invent. This comes from using the creative side of the brain that helps us to see the big picture. These abilities are taught and experienced in the Arts. They are not a frill or fluff. They are essential to the education of our students. MAKE SURE OUR DECISION MAKERS, who, in many cases are NOT educators, know that the arts must remain a vital part of our students education.

What is YAM???????????

What is YAM, you ask??? Why it is Youth Art Month and it happens every March. This is the month where we celebrate the arts and the impact it has on our children, our students, our schools, and our community. According to the Council for Art Education, the purpose is....

1. To direct attention to the value of art education which develops divergent and critical thinking; multicultural awareness, and technical communication, and expressive skills.

2. To increase community, business and governmental support for art education.

3. To recognize art is a necessity for the full development of better quality life for all people.

4. To expand art programs in schools and stimulate new ones.

5. To increase community understanding and interest in art and art education through involvement in art exhibits, workshops, and other creative ventures.

6. To provide additional opportunities for individuals of all ages to participate in creative art learning.

7. To encourage commitment to the arts by students, community organizations, and individuals everywhere.

8. To recognize art education as a viable component in the total education curricula that develops citizens of a global society.

9. To reflect and demonstrate the goals of the National Art Education Association that work toward the improvement of art education at all levels.

If you have not stopped by Chets Creek and walked our upstairs gallery, then you are in for a treat, as we have displayed spectacular works by our students for all viewers to enjoy.

DID YOU SEE THE SUPER BOWL????

As I sat with the majority of the country, watching the Saints and the Colts battle it out, I found myself anticipating the commercials. I actually heard it said that many people were really excited to see the commercials during the game, with some watching the game mainly for that purpose.. My thought was "THANKS TO THE ARTS" and the creative minds of the graphic artists that put all those together. Not to mention the field design, uniforms, banners, equipment, advertisements, logos, cameras, Jumbotrans, architecture, just to name a few.
Amazing how much art is integrated into the SuperBowl, as well as everyday life.

Sleeping under the Stars

FIRST GRADE SLEEPOVER.......what a fun day, filled with all kinds of activities dealing with SPACE..............THE FINAL FRONTIER! It started with a flashlight studded parade complete with aliens and a storm trooper. Then they broke off into stations, all dealing with space. In the art room, we did

12th Birthday Candle up

Once again, Chets Creek celebrated its birthday with the addition of a new candle. This years theme is "Orchustrating A Symphony of Student Success" so the candle was all about different musical genres. I have to admit, I think it is one of my favorites. My question is......after this wall is filled.......where will we go next??????? The world may never know.

Mrs. Snead goes to School

This past November I had the opportunity to attend a Portrait Workshop with Ann Kenyon, an internationally known artist, at the UNF Campus. WOW! Did I ever learn what I didn't know about painting portraits in oils!!!!!!! This was an all day workshop and I must say, I was exhausted at the end. On interesting point was I experienced some of the frustrations the kids feel when they are tackling a challenging project with me. Many times, I will tell them to look at their work and figure out what it needs. They tend to look at me with blank stares and say "I don't KNOW what it needs." Well, I was feeling their pain during the production time. I would look and know that my portrait definitly needed something but I could not figure out what. I was having trouble getting the right color mixed with the paints and ......well, I could go on and on. Ultimately, I did paint a portrait that looked like a human being, however, it did not do justice to the beautiful model I was painting. BUT, the great thing was the EXPERIENCE! I know I have a lot of work to do to be successful at Portraiture, but I know that I was motivated to do the work and get better. What a wonderful experience!!!!

LIME GREEN... the color for 2009-2010

Have you noticed that new artwork has FINALLY begun to fill our frames and cases on the 2nd floor? Well, if you are not sure, look for the lime green tags and you will see fresh work. We are framing 2-D work and are replacing old 3-D pieces with new ones. Make sure to look around when you are up there. We have some fabulous artists here at the Creek!

PTA REFLECTIONS "VISUAL" PARTICIPANTS

This year's entries for the PTA Reflections Visual Arts Exhibit are ready to compete! We had some very nice art pieces as well as photographs. These student's work will compete locally. Those selected at the County level will then compete at the state level. If they are selected at the state level they will then go on to compete at the national level. Congratulations to all these students and good luck!!!!

Another Great POW WOW!

Every year our Kindergarten classes study about various Native American tribes for two to three weeks, in their classrooms. I try to have the students work on a small clay piece when they are with me to teach the importance of that medium to these people, as it was used to create vessels, bowls, everyday items necessary to life, ceremonial items, as well as items with which to barter.

To culminate the entire unit of study, the whole kindergarten class participates in a huge POW WOW, including Native American music and dances. The resource team is responsible for running the various centers that the students visit throughout the day. My job is to talk about natural dyes and paints made by the early Native Americans and then let the students experiment by painting with beets, paprika and tumeric. Always fun! The students really have fun playing with food, but they also learn a lot about having to be resourceful with what you have available.