Start of April Reflections

The start of April has been surprisingly busy at the Kimbell. I would say that the events at the end of March blended straight into April so it had been a week or so of nonstop activity.

There had been a teacher's workshop that I had been preparing materials for and was able to assist in its facilitation on March 30th. It was a fun experience working with teachers - some of which were not art teachers - and helping demonstrate how to create blocks for printmaking. There was one government teacher that was enthusiastic about including art in her curriculum but wanted to know what more she could do. I was able to chat with her and spitball some ideas with her and that was really the most rewarding part of the day. I love being able to work with educators and explore options for their lesson plans and it makes me sad that I haven't had more opportunities for that.

Another event that occurred was the pottery painting party the following day, March 31st, that I was not directly involved. However, I did work on the preparation of the various sponge shapes to make painting go quicker for younger children or those not artistically inclined. The following Monday I did have the pleasure of cleaning up the aftermath of the event, washing brushes and returning glazes to the appropriate containers. It seemed like the event was fairly successful among attendees and I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't there but with as many volunteers there as there were (9 volunteers, not including all the part-time staff and interns), I'm not heartbroken to have had time away from the museum.

One thing that I find myself wishing during this internship is that I am dying for more opportunities to develop lesson plans, workshop programs, and experiment with art activities. I understand the importance of the behind-the-scenes preparations for these events as it was a large component of my student teaching and that most of these duties fall onto the paid part-time staff members. I feel disappointed that while I am expected to prototype the art activities and workshop out any issues that I am not more actively involved in creating the lesson plans.

I am looking forward to these coming weeks seeing what else is left for me, as most of the workshops and studio stuff has already been prepared.