Myrna Kaiser Art Classroom Grant

The beginning of the year I spent quite a bit of time writing grants, and all that hard work is paying off. I was notified at the beginning on November that my proposal for the Myrna Kaiser Art Classroom grant had been approved, and it being fully funded!!

Weaving with a Tech Twist

This project will have two main goals; the first is to connect students to other cultures through learning about their art. Students will study and learn about the Navajo and explore their art of weaving.  My classroom does not have looms or basic weaving materials, so receiving supplies from Blick Art Materials will be crucial to completing this unit of study.

The second goal is to turn the students' weavings into an interactive art experience. This second goal is part Science and part Technology. While weaving students will add in pieces of aluminum foil (have in stock) to several sections of their project, this will turn each art work into part of a circuit. Using a device called a Makey-Makey (already have), students will be able to connect their fiber art to a computer through a series of wires. The circuits will then be built, but not functional.  The last step will be to close the circuit. Students or other members of the community will hold one wire, while touching each weaving. This will close each circuit, on contact and the computer will play a musical or spoken word audio recording. This is completely safe; there is no shock to completing the circuit. All you have to do is lightly touch the wire and the foil and music will play. Each work of art will play a different melody, or word. Allowing each performance to be completely customized, which creates a constantly changing experience each time someone closes the loop.

Here is the inspiration for this project.

OAEA Fall Conference

This year my school is sending me to the Oklahoma Art Education Association (OAEA) Fall conference on Sept. 11th-12th. I am very excited to attend since I have not had an opportunity to go since I started teaching. I have been to other state conferences since I headed down the path of becoming an art teacher, but not OAEA.

This year's conference will be hosted by Cameron University in Lawton, OK. The theme this year is DIY: Designing your life, studio, classroom, curriculum....the possibilities are endless. It looks like it will be a great event, I am already looking forward to several of the classes, and talking to other art educators. 

After teaching my STEAM workshop this past summer I was encouraged to submit my class as a proposal for this year's gathering. I am please to announce that my submission was accepted and I will be leading a workshop called STEAM: ArtBots.

Here is a little preview of what I will be teaching to everyone. 

Thank You Mr. Joslin for letting me attend, and thank you Mayo Foundation for covering the cost of the conference.