5-8 Camps: Angels and Demons

So much has happened over the past three weeks. We've been busy working with artists Kristen Cochran and Christopher Blay to create programming for the two upcoming camps for ages 5-6 and 7-8. Both artist opted to rely mostly on the current photography show, Framing Desire, for inspiration.

Kristen is a kooky, fun, sculpture/fabrics/installation artist originally from the west coast (Washington state). We talked about everything from our love lives to organic farming during the three weeks we spent working together. Kristen is very open and approachable. The best kind of laid back - which allowed for a flexible, evolving camp structure when things got confusing or harried. Her activities were the same for both age groups, which was easy on us as far as planning, and easy for the volunteers to follow/remember. I've included a photo of Kristen's work below from her show "Soak, Stain, Bleed, Bloom" - if anyone is interested, she also has a website (kristenchochran.com).

Christopher is a funky, slap-stick, sculpture/community-centered/installation artist from the Fort Worth area. He works a lot with photography in his own work, so the current show of the Modern's permanent collection photography was perfect for Chris' camps. I loved working with Chris - the five and six year olds were all about giving him high-fives because he would pretend to fall over and be mega-hurt from the force of their high-five. His work is very interesting to me because of the community involvement aspect. For example you could look up his piece called Noah's Ark - on Noah Street in Fort Worth - where the community came together to donate pieces that were used to build an ark. The community is historically African American, and they decided to take down the ark as a celebration on the anniversary of the emancipation proclamation going into effect. The pieces were put into storage and it will be rebuilt next year. I've included a photo below. Chris had two different pieces for the kids to work on each week - so the 5-6 kids had different projects than the 7-8 kids did - both were hugely successful.

The basic structure of the camps for the last three weeks was one week of prep work, then the 5-6 camp met for a week. During that time the kids were with Christopher Blay for an hour and a half roughly, would go have snack for 20-30 minutes outside somewhere, and then would work with Kristen for an hour and half before going home. So they had different projects, teachers, works to be thinking about all week. Then the next week (no prep week in between, yikes!) we went straight into the 7-8 ages. I have to say, I was not a fan. Yes, the kids being older allowed for things like them being able to go to the bathroom on their own, etc. but the kids were so much more hyper-active and rebellious. They had hit the age where they were testing out the boundaries of authority figures. I preferred working with the kiddos who just want to hug you and will listen if you tell them to hold onto the stair railing or to step back from an artwork!

So Chris had the kids in the 5-6 class look at Laurie Simmons' work "Walking House" from the show, and then decorate their own cardboard box houses to wear, with their legs poking out like Simmons'. I've attached photos of both the kids and the Simmons' piece.

 

The next week he had the kids looking at the photo show in general and they built camera obscuras, which they later turned into light boxes to display drawings they did with their camera obscuras. We even turned the lecture room into a giant camera obscura for them to experience. 

Kristen's projects focused on cut outs inspired by Gordon Matta-Clark, mini-landscape boxes that we photographed, and dioramas inspired by photos one artist (name is failing me) who photographed displays at the natural history museum in DC, and finally they dressed up and took photos like Cindy Sherman. I've attached some photos below. All of them were very successful both weeks and the kids loved them! I've attached a few photos of the kids works below! 

  

This next week will be prep for ages 9-11 camps! Hopefully they'll be a little less hyper/crazy. If not,  I will endure.

The Right (or Possibly Left) Foot

Hello, all!

This is Alli, posting somewhat belatedly from the Greater Denton Arts Council! I've already completed my first couple of weeks there, but they were doozies, so it was difficult to find an opportunity to post. I'm here now, though, and so excited to be reading through everyone's posts so far! I'll start off with a little background about me and then dive right into my first post.

I am almost finished with my MA from UNT in Art Ed/Art Museum Education Certificate. Assuming all goes to plan, I should be graduating in August! I have a B.F.A. in Studio Art with emphasis in Painting from Texas State University, where I also took a significant amount of coursework in Art Ed. I come from a long line of teachers, counselors, and do-gooders in general, and have always assumed that I would go into the field of teaching in some form or fashion. I plan to work in museum and other non-profit spaces, mostly because I am attracted to more informal environments and the ability to experiment with different types of programming and education that can be worked out in the museum space with more relative ease than the public school system. In the past semester, I have also had the opportunity to take on some freelance work in museum evaluation and research, which has been eye-opening and an excellent opportunity to practice being a reflexive educator and keen observer/analyst of museum structures and programming.

While I love working with and teaching people of all ages, I'm sure it will surprise very few of you to hear that my preferred group to work with is young learners, otherwise known by me as "littles." Infants, preschoolers, and elementary-aged children are my favorite populations to work with. For the past few years, I have worked as a nanny with a wonderful family in Dallas and have based many of my studies at UNT on my experiences working with those youngsters. I recently left that job so that I could pursue more consistent museum field work (and my internship!), but am currently suffering major Lego withdrawals.

Now, on to my internship! I spent the Spring semester as an Exhibitions and Education Intern with the Greater Denton Arts Council, and have been hired on to continue as a Super Intern (hopefully with a cape included) during the summer. I was brought on in January by the GDAC's new Executive Director, Tracy Bays-Boothe. We co-taught a Game Design camp at Oil and Cotton last summer and knew each other from that wonderful experience. I was (and still am) thrilled to have the opportunity to work with her and her staff more.

The main focus of this internship will be in helping to craft and carry out internal and external market research analysis to help get a better understanding of the GDAC's engagement with their audiences, member and nonmember. I will be conducting various surveys and focus groups with members and nonmembers and by the end of August I hope to at least have laid a firm foundation for future research by the organization.

I will also be creating and facilitating the Visual Arts component of the GDAC's annual Summer Arts Camp for the end of July! I am thrilled to be given the opportunity and responsibility to handle this project. Summer Arts Camp will have three simultaneous camps running, including my Visual Arts camp, a Dance camp, and a Guitar camp. We have decided to theme the whole thing like a scout camp, and I will be our "Arts Scouts" troop leader. We will make our own badges, work with creating sets for our dancers and musicians to perform in, and practice good citizenship concepts. I am nervous but incredibly excited! Be on the lookout for little artsy scouts when you're in Denton!

While working on research and Summer Arts Camp, I will also be expected to step in to help out in any emergent tasks. For example, this past week my job was to help the Programs and Exhibitions Manager install their current show, which opened Friday. From painting podiums to using museum wax to stabilize wobbly sculptures, my duties were to help in any way I could. I had a blast!

I get the sense that, no matter what the "job description" states when you apply for internships, our main job description is to help in any way asked at any given moment. We are hired as flexible workers. Especially when working in an environment with an incredibly small staff, such as the GDAC, we must all be generous of our time and skills and be willing to help one another as needed, no matter our job title. I plan on continuing to learn and grow immensely through this experience, no matter what tasks cross my desk!

I suppose that this summer has particular meaning and intensity for me, because it is the last part of my MA, after which I will be jettisoned into the world and expected to make something out of this incredible grad school experience I have had. What remains ahead for me? What kind of career in what kind of place? What will I be doing? How creative will they let me be? The more I think I have found my answers, the more questions effervesce to the top of my glass.

Along with the learning process provided to me by the GDAC this summer (and some continued contract evaluation at the Perot coming up!), I am going to focus on finding the questions. This summer is a time for me to analyse myself and what I want, what I am best at. I know the answers will happen in time.

I'll just always remember to have a change of clothes in the car!

Almost 5 Camp 2015 - The Good, the Not-So-Good, and the Sticky

Hi all! Miranda K. here blogging from the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth. 

My first few weeks at the Modern were busy with creating spreadsheets to get organized for camp and make sure that all of the kids who are registered were accounted for in our lists and charts. I helped create volunteer packets and we held our orientation for said volunteers - just going over logistics and expectations. My boss, Tiffany Wolf, is an angel and I've already had so much fun working with her. The staff here in the Modern's education department is all very close and welcoming. I've felt right at home. My desk is in the same office as the head curator of education, intimidating but cool! One of our walls is entirely glass and looks out at Richard Serra's "Vortex" - a nice view until a swarm of children discovers how loud they can be inside of it (groan). Overall, I had a wonderful beginning to my internship pre-camp weeks!

Now this week has been full of wrangling children like they're cats, paint covered tiny hands, and challenging four year olds to quiet competitions as we walk through the galleries in not-so-straight lines. It is almost the end of Almost 5 Camp here at the Modern and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sad. 

The camp is being taught by a local artist, Micah Yarborough, a UNT CVAD alumna who is currently working at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. He's a wacky, passionate teacher and the kids love him. The week began by looking at Ellsworth Kelly's shapes from the permanent collection - red panel, blue panel, and green panel. After exploring the topic of shapes and colors, we discussed how the panels all together resembled the form of a fish. When we went upstairs into the studio, the kids were given three to four shapes (all had to be different colors) and were told to make an animal out of them. Some actually resembled animals, and others looked like very "imaginative"renderings of their favorite animals haha. 

Once they had finished working on these simple tasks, we went back into the gallery to look at a piece in the current show, Framing Desire, which is a look at the museum's photography collection. Specifically, the kids were taken to look at a film by an Icelandic artist: Ragnar Kjartansson. The film features the band The National playing their song "Sorrow" over and over for six hours. So from this, the kids have been creating their own cardboard guitars and amps. Micah even brought in his electric guitar and let them play a few strums each. My favorite comment during their playing was "My mom doesn't like a lot of noise, but I LIKE A LOT OF NOISE!!!" I also enjoy when Micah asks the kids a question like "Has anyone ever played a guitar before?" and they all jump around excitedly and yell and raise their hands "I HAVEN'T!!" instead of saying that they have haha.

So, the last few days have consisted of constructing, painting, and decorating their guitars and amps. Tomorrow is their show opening (popcorn and punch is obviously involved) and their parents (or people) will come look at the work they created during camp. 

I'm excited to see the finished products (we still have a bit of work to do tomorrow). There are a few kids who have singled me out as their favorite. The awkward "I want to live with you" is always funny and I brush it off. After this week we have prep week for the 5-6 camp. I'm excited to have slightly older kids to compare their levels of energy and their creativity. 

I've attached a photo of our prototype Ellsworth Kelly shapes and our guitar and amps, along with a snapshot of snack time today.