Final reflection - UPDATE

I just wanted to share a quick update since last week's final reflection.

We received the materials for the Nevelson Art Cart which is my final project for the Interpretation part of my internship. However, because of the rainy weather, I have been slowly getting all the pieces spray painted. I totally get you Ellie!!!

So for the art cart part 1: here is a photo of the materials so you can get a sense of what the project is:

This last Saturday, I attended the "Sensory Saturday," a program for children on the autism spectrum and their parents/caregivers. I absolutely loved it. My responsibility was to observe and assist as needed. I talked to one of the parents and her daughter while they worked on an art project. The parent was also from Mexico and we began to talk about the many similarities of our experiences as immigrants. An interesting thing that came up was that both our children prefer to speak English. Many museums now are looking for bilingual educators which is a challenge to find qualified candidates. But it is definitely something that is on the collective minds of the museums in general. Hopefully we can all work together to close the language gap and find educators that speak different languages. Outside of this insightful conversation, i found that the parents that bring their children to these type of programs love coming to the museum to give their children amazing experiences outside of their home, but also they connect with other people and learn about art. Also, it is quite difficult to prevent children for touching art! Thankfully the museums have amazing conservators that save the day and protect the work. And finally, I can't stress enough how much heart museum educators put into their programs. I have a giant crush on the Amon Carter Museum!!

Karla

Grand Finale

Actually, the Finale for my internship will not happen until the end of August, so my reflections on it are based on the experience so far and the projected finish.

My expectations so far have been met in the part of the projected workshops. I collaborated with an array of several museum educators to meet in the middle between my artistic process and the needs and best practices of their program. I am pleased to know, from their unsolicited comments, that they were planning to incorporate some of these activities in the future, with regards to the cyanotypes, for example.

Some questions on which I ruminated during the internship and will remain unsolved were keeping a watch on the line between the museum as an art center and the museum as a place that collects, shows and interprets art. There were several workshops that I worked on in collaboration with the Teen program, for example, that either went out of the museum or, even when they were at the museum, they still were very loosely related to the collection. After reflection, now I think that this it not a problem and the museum needs to be allowed to branch out, both physically and as a connection to the objects displayed in it. It is fantastic that teens from the Teen Council, for example, see the DMA as their point of deep relationship with the city and art in general, more like a forum, as opposed to a traditional concept of a museum as a temple. However, at some point we may have to grapple with the issue of our presence at that specific building  not being even needed. This is something that I am still not ready to give up on.

Finally, I am especially glad for the opportunity to connect with a large array of professionals in a variety of positions at the Dallas Museum of Art and learn about the perspectives of their individual programs. I had the same proposal, the same concept yet for each department it had a different application. This allowed me to learn, in the most concentrated form, the philosophy behind each program. I am grateful for the relationships I developed during my work with them, as much as the visibility I was given for my own work as an artist during my time. I would like to recommend applying to this program to artists in the DFW area - the application is now live at https://www.dma.org/visit-center-creative-connections/c3-visiting-artists and the deadline is September 14, 2018.

Finally, I wanted to invite you at the final reception at the Dallas Museum of Art - it will take place on August 30, at the Center for Creative Connection, 6PM-9PM. If you are an artist who indeed is planning to apply to this program, please come - I would love to introduce you to the coordinator and the other educators!

Internship Finale Post

I learned a few things during my internship:

• how to prepare a museum poster
• how to prepare a conference workshop
• how funding in a nonprofit and donation museum works
• how to work with people that can be difficult
• how to advocate for a museum 
• the differences between volunteer and internship
• research into civil and social museums 
• how to write a conference proposal
• how to advertise for the museum 
• when to breath deeply before answering

I think the things I am most proud of is the poster and conference workshop. I had never presented a poster or workshop at conference so this would be a totally new experience for me and I was ready to gain the skills and knowledge. The first conference I attended was for a poster presentation and I had no idea on what to do because I was given very little information on how to prepare the poster. Basically I was given poster dimensions! I contacted anyone and everyone that may have know how to help me accomplish this poster presentation. My final product was a labor of love and I was very pleased with it. The second conference was me presenting a workshop. I have never setup a workshop so I discussed tactics with Danielle and did some research on how to setup a workshop. We decided on multiple styled workshop that would start with a presentation and lecture for 30 minutes then the second half of the workshop would be interactive discussion from prompts. We wanted the second half of the workshop to be setup and act as a think tank. Since both of us haven’t ever tried this approach we did research and practice runs to make sure the workshop flowed well together. These two experiences alone were well worth the effort and time put into this internship

I am not stopping my internship here I actually will be finishing it up hopefully in July 2019! I have two more conferences to prepare for and help expand the conversation of what a museum is. I have enjoyed reading all of your post of this past summer and I wish everyone the best in their future

Candice

I have enjoyed reading and learning from everyone's experiences this summer, thank you for everything you've shared, it has been very enriching.  It is like Asami said about "two brains working better than one."  During my internship at Good Samaritan I set out to learn the opportunities and constraints that might be present when trying to bring art to residents of a care facility.  I wanted to learn how the institution worked on a day to day basis and how residents might respond to looking at art and creating art based on artworks from local museums.  There was much that I did learn, too much for a blog entry, but a few  things my experiences this summer have shown me include: 

• Create a safe and supportive environment.  Adults are much more afraid of failure than children and youth and it takes more work to get them comfortable with taking risks and engaging in new things.  The extra effort and patience is worth it when you see this audience relax, open up and contribute.  
• Like with other audiences, be flexible.  Adjust your education agenda to suit the needs and desires of your adult audience.  Be flexible in your approach, adapting to, and allowing, different personality and learning types because these traits will be more pronounced and inflexible in adults.  Years of life and experience, the necessity of learning and repeating what works, have shaped how older people respond and their flexible thinking skills are not as readily available as children's.  Give time for that aspect of thinking to warm up.
• Especially with older audiences, be careful not to come off as patronizing.  Create an "us" approach rather than an approach that sets you apart from your group.  They will still turn to you for expert advice and reassurance.
• With elder audiences, allow more time not just to move from one area to another but for creating artworks.  Many folks at this age haven't used their creative skills in a long time, they were busy being parents, employees and grandparents and creativity was more likely put to use juggling all of that rather than creating non-essential objects.  Let them do the best they can, even if they complain and struggle, because you never know what that process and experience will awaken within each individual.  
• Older adults do enjoy new and novel experiences although from a more cautious and passive approach at first. They will embrace odd or curious things that make them wonder or create questions to discuss and explore. You just have to provide the stimulus then open the door for that process.
• Learn something new yourself from adult audiences, not just in how you can facilitate a better experience for them but, some new bit of knowledge, wisdom, information or insight you didn't know or have before.  Consider it a special gift. 
• As far as working with care facilities, be aware of their goals and try to find ways to blend into their world as seamlessly as possible so as not to disrupt their jobs.  Understand that while they care about their patients emotional states, they are there to ensure the fragile physical health of a lot of people and they need to keep to their schedules and tasks.  In fact, try to find ways to help them, lend a hand or otherwise show you are there for them too.  Even though they probably will not have time to act upon it, invite them to participate in art activities.  This lets them know they are appreciated and it improves resident/staff relationships by creating a new relationship of just two people enjoying creating art together.   

I look forward to continuing working with and learning from the Good Sam Group throughout the next semester by facilitating a once-weekly class.  They, and facility, still have more to teach me.

My other internship, working as a grant researcher and writer, will also continue, but at a more formal level, and I look forward to that as well.  This is a skill that is extremely useful for anyone interested in a museum career and I am very thankful for the opportunity and experience.  Writing grants takes understanding the institution's mission, the project's objectives, the grantor's preferences for funding and putting it all together with necessary input from many of the institution's departments and other partners while keeping organized and keeping on schedule.  It is very engrossing and you have the knowledge that you and everyone else are working towards a goal that will benefit the public or support the institution's mission to serve the public. 

From Apprehension to Enthusiasm

Our initial project had seven participants but generated enough interest and general "buzz" that our second project has had twelve.  Each project we've done has taken part in weekly steps beginning with a slide presentation showing artworks and methods and a short discussion about the history of the pieces being reflected upon. Conversation is always interesting and happens spontaneously without much effort on my part although I will bounce off of comments to introduce new information.  At this initial meeting I also include a sample of what we will be working to create as well as samples of the tools we will use.  If there is time, we get to work. 

This second project involved a simple printmaking technique which we stretched into two separate artworks.  Working with the residents can be a very individualized procedure since you are working with people from a broad variety of backgrounds and with a wide variety of abilities and limitations.  We've worked to keep it light and keep it fun (these residents and myself have been very fortunate to have an energetic, happy and positive activity director to work with) by improvising, staying flexible and providing plenty of encouragement.  What I've found with working with any age of adults in a museum education type setting is that they tend to be self-conscious with the belief that art is only for accomplished artists and the naturally talented.  Adults also feel that if they do something they need to do it well, whereas children, being novices at most things, just jump in and go for it enjoying the process as an adventure.  The feeling of doing for the sake of doing, "it's the journey and not the destination", is the atmosphere and attitude I have tried to instill and nurture.  Most of what we have done has had aspects of experimentation with an open and acknowledged attitude of "let's see what happens and let's see where it takes us."  This seems to release everyone from preconceived ideas or notions of  artistic perfection.  There is no right and there is no wrong, it is all an intentional experiment to learn and grow from, have fun with, and share with each other.

 The people who created these prints have a wide-range of varying abilities including near blindness, stages of dementia, very limited use of their hands, and conditions such as Parkinson's.  Each person was allowed and encouraged to do as much as they could.  However, it was often a challenge for "helpers" to do this, as they naturally wanted to over accommodate and "do for" residents.  Conversely, residents have been acclimated to an environment where they are submissive and daily activities have been taken over for them, often for the sake of getting things done efficiently and quickly rather than out of necessity.  Part of the benefit of art in a facility like this is to give back some of the control to residents and to let them rebuild a feeling of self-sufficiency and self-esteem through a sense of self-guided accomplishment.  What has been exciting and encouraging for me to see is the increase in enthusiasm.  When the summer first started out, I would have to search residents out and bring them to the activity room.  Now, they eagerly come and search out the next art project! 

Museum stories from the road. Visitor engagement and self-guided activities

Since I mentioned that my internship experience this summer is a "donut", lest it seems that I didn't actually do anything in the middle, here is a brief recap of what I saw and learned in the meantime that is related to museum education and can be useful as an idea to others.

After I left Dallas, I traveled to Helsinki, Finland, to participate in the InSEA regional congress for the European region, hosted by Aalto University. A partner in the conference was the EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art that has not only some amazing exhibitions and collections, but also a great education program.

What I was most impressed with in EMMA's programs was the self-guided activities - those activities that are designed to happen without the presence of a museum educator, or the need to sign up for them. As I have been recently reading the book The Multisensory Museum by Nina Levent and Alvaro Pascual-Leone (https://www.amazon.it/Multisensory-Museum-Cross-Disciplinary-Perspectives-Memory/dp/0759123543), I was especially interested in those that use senses other than vision, such as touch, because they aid greatly in the perception, enjoyment and learning experience of visitors, of which the EMMA had a rich variety. For example, as it was currently hosting a very large exhibition of the work of surrealist Meret Oppenheim and her circle of artist friends, I was thrilled to find, at the end of the hallway of the exhibition, an array of masks and other hand-held devices hung next to a few mirrors that invited visitors to take a selfie using the masks, following the aesthetics of surrealists just seen. I thought this very brief activity that doesn't feel like purposeful learning to be very engaging and fun while combining touch and photography and embodying some pieces from the museum.

Also, another interesting tactile experience of museum was the transition between sections of the exhibition. Visitors had to brave (use their hands to make a space for themselves) some beaded curtains of the kind that you see on doors to keep flies out. The curtains gently hit visitors on their bodies and so physically prepared them for a different section with a different feel.

In this example, the museum designed a wall around a row of display of surrealist sculptures that only allowed for a small openings. Visitors simply had to approach the openings and put their eye to it - they were intrigued by the mystery - and paid close attention to that small section of the sculpture that their attention was supposed to be drawn to.

Although  these elements are mostly in the area of the exhibition design team rather than the responsibilities of the education department, I can see a collaboration between the educators and curators of the EMMA that works together to engage visitors in the most productive way.

After these enlightening visits, I kept thinking how to embed self-guided activities or features that don't feel like learning but engage the senses. I happened to be in this cathedral in Italy in which I saw a meridian, a line embedded in the floor of the cathedral that indicated the path of the sun of a specific day and time that was for some reason important for the history or liturgical life of the church.

I saw three visitors who read the information and then walked the meridian, debating and demonstrating among themselves how it worked. They were very lively in their discussion and moved around to figure out the meridian. Admiring their enthusiasm, I thought what would take to translate this kind of engagement in an image-based art display that will physically challenge visitors to include them in a process of learning and enjoyment. What if we recognized and put into practice that visual art is not necessarily or only visual? If visitors are required to look only, now wonder they will spend a few seconds in front of each artwork before they moved on.

 

This last example, from the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan, showed me how this could be easily and effortlessly achieved. The museum's collection has Renaissance paintings, but also material culture objects ranging from lace to watches. The lace is placed in frames, organized in a structure similar to a vertical filing cabinet, vertical drawers or a like a bookcase. If visitors wanted to see the displays they had to pull each frame and then slide it back to check out the next one. I had no intention to spend time at the lace department at all, but the curious structure and the mystery of the hidden objects practically forced me to keep pulling drawers after drawers to see what the next one was hiding. I could decide by myself how much time I was going to look at each of them. This made me realize that if the lace was simply displayed on the wall, I would not even glance at it, but instead, the hand-held engagement made me slow down, get excited and look closely at it.  

What hand-driven or tactile engagement processes have you seen at your museum in the summer? Please let me know, either here or when I see you in person, of some interesting models to follow that have been especially effective!

The Final Post

Well, it is time for the final post. I am still continuing my internship until the 20th of this month, so, I am grateful to still have a little more time in this awesome setting.

This week I have really been focusing again on community outreach. This week the students will be painting and finishing their community picnic table. I am so excited. I think they are turning out beautifully. Here are the (almost) finished product of two of the community centers:

Preteen table (10-13 years old)

Tiny Human's table (5-8 years old)

The painting process was a tad chaotic. But, I really appreciated the thought of these centers have a reminder of our time with them. 

I guess we are supposed to talk about what we learned from out internship this summer. 

I had these major lessons:

- Treat the children like adults: Obviously, I don't mean talk to them about adult subject matters, but, talk to them like I want to be talked to. Kids will surprise us. They know much more than we think; they have interesting thoughts and perspectives that will change yours. But, only if them create that environment for the children to feel safe to participate. 

- Don't be afraid to correct behavior: I posted earlier about my confusion in my role as an educator when it comes to behavior issues. I learned it is completely okay to tell them to be kind, or listen to directions. Fun story, one time, a preteen group of boys was not listening to me and were talking over me while covering some art history prior to an art making activity. I looked them dead in the eye and asked them, "How much do you think I love art?" They nervously said, "A lot?". I looked at my watch and said, we have 40 minutes left together. You are right, I love art A LOT. So, I could talk about this one work of art for 40 long minutes, or you guys can take a different role in this discussion. I will let you pick. The discussion went 10 times more smoothly afterwards. The point of that story is, I learned to correct behavior by, in a way, bargaining with the students, as well as being 100% real with them. 

- Community work is hard, but amazing: At first when I heard we were doing community outreach, I thought that would include bringing the museum here rather than us going to the community. Then I was confused because, we cannot bring artwork out, are we really doing the community justice by showing them the artwork on a tablet? Is the logistical headache worth it? I learned that the answer is YES to both of those questions. So much happens with those kids in that 1-2 hour(s) that we are there with them. Maybe they will never have a further interest in art or maybe they still will never come to the museum, but, maybe they will remember the time they found our roses are edible or maybe they'll remember what a still-life is, or maybe they will just remember that three ladies in bright green shirts came to their community center, but hey, at least they will remember something. The logistics is hard, but that part is always hard. I felt like those students each made an impact in my life, I hope we made an impact in theirs. 

- Be flexible: There were so many times that I felt I was loosing control because I was not sticking word-for-word to the lesson plan. Then I realized, the only one obsessed with that was me. Sometimes, it is okay to think on your feet, sometimes it is even better. 

- Being over-prepared is sometimes worse: This was a hard lesson for me. Before giving my first tour, I became obsessed with learning everything I possibly could about this one work of art. It was not until I was standing in front of the group that I realized I had too much information, so much that I did not know how to even start the tour. I know that half of that was nerves. But, the following time I did a tour, I did an experiment. I looked up very basic information about the artist and that was all. The rest of the information was going to be related to observation and discussion. (I was also lucky that the AC is more focused on the experience and discussion of the artwork rather than solely the historical information). I found that being less prepared was a technique that worked for me. I found myself leading the conversation less and truly waiting to hear what the group was going to bring up. 

- It is okay to voice your opinion: I found myself having this internal battle a lot when I was shadowing in at a meeting: do I say my opinion? Or is this a meeting for employees only? I found myself reminding myself that I am only an intern, no one wanted to hear my thoughts. That was until one meeting I was sitting next to the curator. I was talking notes about the meeting and then writing my thoughts or questions on the margin for later. The curator read my notes and then had me share them with the rest of the meeting group. I was horrified, but, it was awesome. 

Another way I found voicing my opinion successful was when I was writing lesson plans with someone else. Two brains work better than one right? It is also good to voice your boundaries when teaching. If that is too many students per teacher, better say that in the planning stages rather than with 40 eyes starring at you on a tour.

- Think outside the box, then reel it in: I am not sure if this happens to you guys but whenever I write a lesson plan, I think without limitations. I pretend we have all the money in the world. I found this to be how I get the best ideas. Then, the creative part is making everything work with the resources that are available. It was like a moving puzzle and I found that I enjoyed writing lessons more!

- Don't forget to actually enjoy the artwork: This internship gave me every opportunity possible. But, one of my favorite memories was getting to walk the gallery space on a Monday afternoon. The museum was closed, and only the emergency lights were on. But, I walked through all the gallery spaces by myself, with just a note pad to write down any ideas or thoughts. I spend three hours walking around. That was a magical experience. 

I think the most important thing I learned is that I truly love the museum education field. 

It is sad to say goodbye, but most of all, I am just grateful I got to find a home away from home here and receive that reassurance that I am not in the wrong field!

Final Reflection

Throughout the summer, my internship was divided into two areas: Public programs and Interpretation. The goals were primarily to learn different areas of the museum education department to experience working with various audiences and learn by observation as well as assisting in the development of the Amon Carter Museum summer programming.

Both public programs and interpretation helped me in an insurmountable way. I am incredibly grateful for the experience this summer. I loved learning about the Amon Carter collection, and the resources available to create two projects where I was able to create a connection between the visitors and the artwork. The whole process was amazingly rewarding for me. I learned how to spark curiosity in the visitors so they want to learn more and open up to sharing their experiences. 

The art cart was key in learning about various audiences through direct contact with museum visitors of all ages and backgrounds. Throughout the summer I learned about the different exhibitions, presented related knowledge such as artist biography, process, and artwork. This allowed the visitors to participate and learn about the exhibition from personal experience. My supervisor, Peggy, designed an activity that allowed me fully explore and engage with visitors in a meaningful way. With her activity, I researched and prepared materials to help any art cart facilitator in implementing the activity. We rolled out the first -hands-on- art cart where visitors can immerse themselves in the artist's creative process. The result has been amazing. Some visitors stay for an hour working on the activity and talking to me about the artist, art, and about their own lives. In my stats and observations log that I submit after each art cart on Fridays, I provide the museum with the number of visitors and a detailed comment about the kind of interaction I had with the visitors. The positive impact of my art cart experience has turned into an extension of my internship for the Fall semester. I am so happy i can continue to do this for a few more months! 

For my final project in interpretation, we finally ordered materials and I am submitting the accompanying information packet that would help anyone in the museum to talk about the activity and the artwork. I don't have photos of the activity because the materials have yet to arrive. Our "Make your own Nevelson" art cart will be implemented in two parts. First we will do something similar to Carrie's project on the Louise Nevelson Lunar Landscape. The difference is that we are not making an artwork that visitors take home, or that they can make at home. Instead, we are looking for  the visitors to spend time looking,inspecting, and connecting the information of the artist's process with the activity. We ordered wood pieces that will be spray-painted black, and will be using small clay pieces to test the Nevelson's terra-cotta sculpture activity. Visitors will be making compositions inspired by the artwork that they are in front of. We will talk about the artist, the work, and finding ways for them to create a personal connection with it. So make sure you look up the hashtag #CarterArtCart on social media in a few weeks, to see what people make!

In the Public Programs department, I've assisted in the "Sharing the Past"program for people with Alzheimer's, "Connect to Art" program for people with cognitive disabilities, "Trivia Night" program for adults, and this weekend, I will be observing and assisting in the "Sensory Saturday" program for children on the autism spectrum and their parents/caregivers. 

My major project in Public Programs was to observe the educators, create content for my own story time. I read two stories, on in front of Alexander Calder's Mobile piece, and the second in front of Louise Nevelson's Lunar Landscape.  Some of my responsibilities included to help with prepwork, set-up and tear-down, and assist in making sure the visitors and the art were safe from each other. Between the staff of educators, gallery assistants, and art handlers we made sure that the Story Time program ran safe and smooth. The visitors left happy and the museum provided a service to the community. Children and parents alike learned a little bit about the artwork in a relaxed, sometimes loud, but always a fun way. Although being a little nervous is normal and it takes practice to become better, I feel like i am already a much better educator than I was before. Reading the stories was such a great gateway to imagining the art come to life, and seeing so many regulars meant that the museum became part of their lives. 

To wrap up my final reflection, I just wanted to add that the many responsibilities throughout the museum helped me stay on track by having to prioritize my time throughout the day. It seems like a no-brainer, but programming in museums is about many small tasks and team-effort that gets the job done. I've been able to sit in the Educator's meetings on Wednesdays and learn about what other programs are happening. My conversation with Amanda, the Director of the Education program, helped me look objectively at how my experience can be presented to continue my work as an educator. I am working on my website that will have my artwork, CV, and will have a portfolio of examples of my museum projects that I can present as I search for jobs within the museums in the DFW area. 

Stories and happenings, and new ways of learning.

Hello all!

It has been a pleasure to read about your experiences during the internships all of you are having this summer! If I can describe mine in terms of timeline, I would say it is a donut. There was a lot of work to be done in advance and at the beginning, and then a period of pause and reflection, and I am now looking forward to continuing and finishing in the second half of August.

I have been thinking what shape to give to my second post. First, I need to follow up with the last things reported in my previous post. and the glitches that had to be resolved. For example, I had proposed a participatory composite drawing at the museum on paper. Since the idea of this composite came from architectural drawings, that historically were created as blueprints (cyanotypes), paper was a crucial part of the proposal. However, working with large pieces of paper proved to be a challenge, technically. I didn't have the space and logistics to work with it, and it was expensive to experiment with. So I switched to fabric. I am so glad that the museum C3 went with my decision. But it also added a different dimension to the collaborative project. While paper (and architectural prints) tend to be associated with a masculine view of the world and a professional status, fabric reminds more of feminine domestic arts that have been traditionally disregarded as art. And the community collecting of materials ties with quilting, which traditionally put together disparate or discarded pieces to make a new whole.  This twist of bad luck turned out to be productive! Check out the first install of the Neighborhood of the Heart:

Another challenge I had was related to the cyanotype process itself. One of the reasons my proposal was accepted for the summer was to accommodate the cyanotype making, which needs sunshine, and summer in Texas offers plenty of it!. However, luck had it that one of the planned activities - with the Teen Council - happened on a stormy day. The Teen Council, made up of some socially and artistically conscious teens that hold all the promise of transforming their communities - was to visit Sunset Art Studios which I was temporarily using as my studio and making the large scale cyanotypes. We planned to make a large scale body shadow cyanotype mural on that day that would take inspiration from several artworks at the Museum (and with a discussion of the idea of home). Of course, we couldn't do that. But fortunately, the Museum of Home Touch (participatory installation in which different individuals had loaned domestic objects they were no longer using but still kept). was still on. We had a reflective discussion of the installation.

Something similar actually happened with the first meeting of the Teen Council, in which we discussed urban planning for neighborhoods across different cultures and eras. Based on the discussion, the teens drew neighborhood designs that I would later implement in my composites. We later were going to make cyanotypes with objects frequently seen in still lifes, but unfortunately at that time the tall buildings prevented the sun to work its wonders. Here is what we did:

Nevertheless, even though the artwork created wasn't optimal, we had a discussion of still lifes and how they reflect the worldview of the era in which they are created - and how our ideas can be different.

These experiences were a great reminder for me to be flexible in accommodating the changes and challenges in a museum setting. They also were a great learning experience for me as a partner in these activities. Differently from other types of internships, where one comes from a position to learn everything and allow oneself to be a beginner in this practical knowledge, I didn't have that luxury. I had to come as an equal partner in the triad of museum educators, museum visitors and myself, while still being conscious that I needed and wanted to learn so much from the other two sides.  I couldn't ask lots of questions to educate myself, but had to come with ready proposals that will inspire and solve an issue. However, the flexibility gave me opportunities to learn, if I were a careful and attuned observer. For example, in the adult workshop at the Plaza (the patio in front of the Klyde Warren Park side of the museum), a museum educator was assisting me. As I was explaining the project to drop by visitors, I noticed how she was "translating" my instructions to other visitors in a more simple language that would be quickly and easily understood by a committed museum goer who nevertheless is a very casual art maker. For someone like me, who is used to explaining artmaking processes to other committed artists with a significant photography background, or to studio art majors, it was a very important to learn how to be simple in my explanations.

I am grateful to the museum staff who helped me learn in this process so effortlessly!  And the enthusiastic visitors, of course!

Projects in progress and completed.

Good evening everyone,

I am so excited for everyone's projects coming together, getting job offers, and doing amazing work!!

On my end, I finally got my Art Cart project approved by my supervisor. It is an interpretation project for one of Louise Nevelson's sculptures that will be on display later this year. I'm not going to lie, it has been pretty challenging to get the activity on the right track. I've turned in a few proposal ideas, went through various possible activities with different materials. However, due to the museum's guidelines for education materials I had to rethink the project and I came up with a new one that got my supervisor's thumbs up!

I am still working on it, we have a meeting in the morning to refine the idea and get everything written, printed, order materials, to start testing and get feedback. So with that said, I AM SUPER EXCITED! - Caps for dramatic effect - but yes, I love Louise Nevelson's work, this project has really helped me understand Interpretation projects for museums at a much deeper level! I don't want to say any more until I get it ready for testing and just in time for our final reflection!

Another amazing project that just ended was my second story time in front of Louise Nevelson's "Lunar Landscape" sculpture. The research helped me figure out what are the major takeaways that I wanted the parents and children learn about the piece. So i created a document with bullet points and set of questions that would lead to the story time participants to associate things that they know to the sculpture. The actual story I read was not a very long one, and did not really have a narrative. The theme that day was "Loud and Quiet" and the story I read was Noisy Night by Brian Biggs. It is a really sweet and funny book about an apartment building where everyone is loud and they can hear each other through the walls. However, as I asked the kids to participate and be loud, we got in a bit of trouble with the other Educators as everyone could hear us. It was really fun to have the kids participate.

I took the opportunity of the story being so short so that I could talk about the artwork. I had them do a little bit of Slow Looking, and created a set of questions for them to make associations of the details of the art work with things they were familiar with. For instance, besides the shapes they could see, I told them the title of the piece and asked how they associated the title "Lunar Landscape" with the color of the artwork, which is black. This lead to understanding the word Landscape with the materials of the sculpture, wood that she picked up living in New York. For little kids, these are complex ideas that they were able to connect at such a young age, so my next step to get them to connect with the art was to imagine that the sculpture was the apartment building in the story. Every page of the book had a different room, so we would stop and look at the artwork and I asked them where they think that room would be in the sculpture. The parents really seemed to enjoy the story and learning about it with their children. One thing I still need to work on, is getting my nerves under control! I know that that just comes with becoming comfortable talking in front of people, and I want to say that the last two stories I read were a lot easier and flowed a lot smoother. As they said, practice makes perfect... or in this case: practice makes for fun and relaxed learning environment.

I forgot to add this amazing experience I had at The Dallas Contemporary! I volunteered to assist the amazing Shoshana Macintosh during her session for the DISD art teacher professional development. Shoshana is magical and everyone learned new ways to approach art education in the classroom. Her session Social and Emotional Empowerment SEE ART was a huge success, !!!!  (Photo to be added.) I did not get to see the other sessions, but i know all the teachers had a great experience. 

Teaching about Louise Nevelson and her work.
Photo credit: Emily Sullivan, Public Programs Coordinator.