September Flying Past

Although I have no picture to post I will write anyways since it has been awhile. The political conventions came and went as has the summer. Being a teacher is enjoyable, but at times difficult since I miss most of September while submerged in the piles of work that surround the beginnings of a new school year. Everyone is trying so hard with their renewed attitudes and new class rosters of shiny faces and possibilities. Each year we’re asked to set professional goals. Mine are always the same and why shouldn’t they be? I am always working on the same things….to raise awareness in the community for art and to help my students become accomplished artists able to communicate their thoughts and feelings.  This is challenging for any educator, but has become especially difficult in the times we live in.  The money in my budget hasn’t grown much in recent years, but the prices for supplies to support the program have increased substantially.  It is troublesome to try to deliver a quality program on a shoestring budget.  It is also difficult to teach, identify grants, fund raise etc.  Sometimes there is so much that gets in the way of just doing the thing I set out to do…make art, teach art, love art.

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Time To Make Art: Video Class

I’m excited and nervous about next week.  I am attending the Creative Educator Institute (CEI) workshops at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) http://www.miad.edu/.  Why I’m nervous I don’t know.  It is the old demons in my head:  “will I measure up to those in the class?” “am I good enough?” etc.  I am hoping it cures the artist block that I’ve been suffering from this summer.  Work in a new medium can sometimes do this.  That’s what I’m hoping for.  The course will feature a lot of new technology that I am hoping will help build my skills and give me the confidence to move in this direction with my artwork.  I love film and photography, so video seems a natural.  The professor teaching the course is James Barany, http://www.youtube.com/user/jamusbaranus whose work I greatly admire.  I hope to learn how to create the multi-layered effects that he uses in his video work.  The Artist Statement Project and My Most Important Self Portrait project http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C21A7AACC3F0CCAB
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I took a weekend workshop class with him and loved it.  I will also be learning animation techniques I believe, which will be pretty cool.  I hope to begin doing some of this with my own students.  The Mac computers and IMovie make it so easy to do this.  I am looking to increase my knowledge in this area.  I think video will be the art medium of the 21st century.  If you know of any amazing sites that I should see to increase my knowledge I’d love to hear about them.  I know about You Tube, but I’m looking for artistic video, not just the homemade quality.  I would like see more artists such as Ann Hamilton, whose work with both video, film and photography is incredible.  http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hamilton/index.html .  Check it out here:http://www.annhamiltonstudio.com/  Her piece called “Ghost” is especially intriguing to me.  The process of what she did using fabric and stitching and then having the environment she set up are all fascinating.  I also greatly admire her pinhole photographs done with the her mouth camera.  Very poignant and revealing of the relationship between artist and subject.  I always think I am hiding behind my camera, but this project puts her right in the subjects face. BRAVE WORK!

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