First off, I have to brag on my amazing artists who volunteered at the beach with me on Earth Day! :)
Last month the JWJ art club had an exciting opportunity to show off their skills and promote our fabulous art program at the 2019 Beaches Earth Day Festival's Young Maker's Market hosted by Flow Studio Art Center in Neptune Beach. It was a very windy day but we made the most of our time by painting murals and allowing for festival attendees to jump in and participate with us!
Special thanks to Brandon and Sabine for donating their talent, skills, and time on two extra special earth themed mural panels. I still haven't decided where to display them on campus ... Do any of y'all have suggestions? The two large 'community' murals will likely get painted over since most of our interactive participants were under the age of 7 ... ha! Although we had a blast and absolutely LOVED having their enthusiasm and input, I think the JWJ artists will appreciate having the large scale panels over the summer or next year as another canvas opportunity to display their talents!
Thank you to all of our passers by who jumped right in and got colorful with us in celebration of the earth. Sometimes art is all about the journey, not the end result ... And it's that creative process that feels oh so gooooood!
Brandon's Earth "LOVE" painting belongs on someone's wall in a fancy frame and I am dead set on getting it there for him at some point. He is such a patient, driven, naturally talented artist who is always paying close attention to every detail and making sure that all he creates is done out of love and mindful intention. Brandon just so happens to have the most supportive and encouraging family too!!! They always have his back and will forever impress me with how much time they devote to one another. When we think of the earth, we think of feeling grounded, supported, and taken care of because this is our home. I can't describe a more grounded, supportive, and more loving family than Brandon's. Our art club has been blessed this year to have him and his family within our circle.
Did I mention that my students were also real legitimate art vendors at this event as well??!?! YEP!
Several JWJ artists brought their work to sell and all the profits went right into their own pockets! As most of you know, I am a pretty vocal advocate for supporting local artists in our community. I see no reason at all that my very own students shouldn't also be appreciated as working PAID artists. Cara's family was a great help in pushing her sales and it paid off! She and Helen spent all of their proceeds on fun treats from other booths and tents and I could not be more proud of my budding PROFESSIONAL young artist squad. What an awesome way to close out the school year!!!
Robin Shields is the goddess master mind behind the Flow Studio Art Center where our booths were set up for this festival. She is a local artist who works mostly in ink and alcohol and textured works. Robin opened up Flow Studio Art Center so that beach residents and their children could have a home base to get creative and colorful together and she is all about creative community building.
Robin led workshops inside her studio all day long during the festival while we were busy holding down the pop up tent from flying away outside so that little kids walking by could have a chance to paint on our temporary murals. Several of my art club crew took fun breaks to get inventive inside with Robin and I think Andrea and Julia take the win! How many alcohol cards did they go home with??!?! Countless! We are talkin' in the 'benjamins'!
More play, more fun, more mess, more bonding, more color, more art, more sun, more smiles!!!
I've gushed about Mrs. Canoura on previous posts but I gotta do it once more, guys, because she is that awesome!!! The other half of our JWJ art department came through full force on this event with me and she even brought her whole family!
Mrs. Canoura's two boys, Eric and Liam, take home the trophy for most ambitious painting participants because of how courageously they worked on these earth day murals. I am pretty sure her youngest son Liam got just as much paint on his hair and clothes as he did on the panels, but I mean ... hey ... it's all about the process and the journey, right??!?!! :)
I mentioned in my last post that I've been writing these monthly columns for the EU Jacksonville newspaper. You can read the last two months' articles online (or if you find a printed copy that hasn't been snatched up yet) and you can check out the upcoming June publication to see a feature on this outstanding artist right here, miss Sabine Wiley-Bossy!
http://eujacksonville.com/print-issues/
Sabine deserves all the praise and admiration for her artistic talents and accomplishments. There is also a little write up about summer camp options all around Jacksonville for all the artists who need to keep their drive alive while school is out. Please read the entire list of creative summer camps in June's EUJax edition, but just in case ya can't find a copy, here is an abridged version for my JWJ parents in particular (I teach art at the PEARLS Enrichment camp with Mrs. Cameron Lloyd!)
Gogh Create at the beaches: https://www.facebook.com/goghcreate/
Children's Art Classes in Baymeadows: http://childrensartclasses.com/baymeadows-classes
PEARLS Enrichment Summer Camp: https://www.facebook.com/TAAPearls/
Flow Studio Art Center: https://www.flowstudioartcenter.com/instructors
Cathedral Arts Project's Camp Encore: https://www.campencore.org/
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA): https://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/learn/
Friday Musicale: https://fridaymusicale.com/summer-arts-camp/
Y'all know I just love braggin' on my students, and showing all the support I can to our local artists.
So, if you have access to a street corner stand or a neighborhood coffee shop that carries these free newspapers, grab a copy and read about all the amazing things Jacksonville has to offer to our youth and our over arching EXPANDING arts scene in general. I am SO all about this community bonding.
Okay, and now to close out this final post of the school year ....
Guess who is the DCPS "teacher feature" for the close out of the 2018-2019 school year??!?!
That's right! Two representatives from the district came into Ms. Holloway's art room last week to film an interview and capture my happy talented young creatives in action ... on camera! Get ready to see some 5th period JWJ internet celebrities soon!!! I will definitely post the entire vimeo on the next blog post ... and on the classroom Instagram page ... and on my personal Facebook page ... and absolutely everywhere else I possibly can! Art is so incredibly important. It feels really good to be validated and supported and recognized by my district. The year is closing out juuuuuust right. :)
OH! And did I mention that I got nominated as the North East Florida "Middle School Art Educator of the Year" for the Florida Art Education Association's (FAEA) 2019 Annual State Awards? Our region encompasses 7 Counties: Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. John's, and Volusia. I guess there is something to be said about the hustle. . . Hustlin' pays off!
For serious though, I love you guys. I love my students. I love my job. I love the power of ART.
Y'all keep an eye and an ear out for updates our JWJ summer celebration and art club awards reception art-y party at the Ritz Theater and Museum on Saturday, July 27th. They show us a super great time and I will of course have tons of fun take away art goodies for all who attend. :) :) :)
Happy last week of school to all artists, students, teachers, faculty, staff, and (uh-oh) parents too!!!
Please tell me all of your thoughts and leave a comment about your colorful creative summer plans!