It’s Done!

After 2 years the Morris Union Developmental Learning Center mural is done.  It might be my most rewarding project ever. It is certainly physically big!  It is about 12 ft high and 30 feet wide.   I am so pleased that it is already being used to play and teach students in this amazing space they call Main Street.  I have found that special needs kids thrive on the tactile experience.  This mean the students that had the hands on making experience and the rest of the school community that can touch it.  Jasim, my designer /intern was beside himself thrilled to unveil it this month.  I can die happy just making a difference in his life.  You know how I feel about my kindergarten teacher.  The little seeds we sow we need to have faith in. My praying mantis mark on the title piece.

Jasim’s vision complete

Little sisters pointing at the tile their sister made by Jasim’s watering can figure.

Big sister checking it out

I am Done too!

This blog experiment isn’t working for me.  I thank all who have been following.    MK

Give a teacher some love

I found some old report cards that my mother kept.  One was from my kindergarten teacher.  In the report she praised my art ability and said she wanted my parents to keep in touch and let her know how I was doing.

I decided to try and reach out to her and let her know how I turned out.  She had an online presence and I sent an email.  I invited her to my opening at Grounds for Sculpture in 2011.

Mabel and I reunited at the opening.  She is shorter than I remember!

I have so many very clear memories of my time in kindergarten.  I was so curious about learning and loved school and Mrs Willing.  After that I mostly remember the stings and bruises of surviving school.  As a teaching type we put ourselves out there trying to spark that curiosity for learning in others.  We never know what tiny differences we make in the lives of others.  I’m old enough to have some students quote me though.  It’s kind of scary but they where good quotes.  My kindergarten teacher gave me the courage to stay curious throughout my life.  I am so happy to have shared my story with her and have her in my life again.  I am still learning from this remarkable educator

So if you can…… tell a teacher you love them!

 

 

Let a kid draw on the wall

 

This year we are adding to the mural we started last year at MUJC developmental learning center.  Having this 2 year grant makes a huge difference in a school like this.  Special needs kids often take a long time to get used to a new person and our routine.  Those that were involved last year know me and the materials.   They come in knowing what is expected of them.  This year we have some verbal students.  One in particular Jasim, had a lot of great ideas for our addition.  He talked about adding people to each side and I had him draw some on paper.  The next week I asked him if he could draw them on the wall with chalk and put one person on a bike.  He was thrilled to try this and without any hesitation started drawing.  He also nailed the scale.  This was not only great for him.   The rest of the school started asking questions and learned more about the design process.  Since the students aren’t allowed to use knives I will turn his drawing into a 3d form to mosaic.   I enjoy seeing how these things evolve from drawing to foam form and then again as it gets mosaic on the surface.  I’m thrilled to have a young designer this year too

The building has to go because the big idea is to create a garden space.  This school has a space they call Main Street.  It has a Shoprite that students work in,a paint store, a bank and other shops.  The mural is supposed to be the green space on Main Street.  Change is a big part of the creative process and Jasim is taking it in stride.  I’ll ask him how he feels about maybe a person watering flowers!

Suri’s toy and Jaquese

Jaquese was thrilled with his new toy.  He pulled it ,squeezed it, and hit me with it.  You made a kid very happy Suri.

Suri’s toy/ a kid’s act of kindness

Suri is going into 6th grade in September.  She had this green toy that you can pull and stretch.  I said I wanted to get one for my friend Jaquese who loves to tear and pull things apart.  He is a Bancroft student who I adore.  He is in a wheelchair and has a strong arm and a weak one.  He will go nuts for this toy I said and showed Suri his picture.  She asked to borrow the sharpie I had and quietly washed the toy and redrew the eyes and mouth.   She gave the toy to me at the end of our time together to give to Jaquese.  It still brings me close to tears thinking of this generous modest spirit in one so young.  She has a special needs sister that can be difficult.   She handles it with such love,empathy, and understanding.  She makes me so happy in this world that makes me sad,angry, and depressed.  This kid makes me feel hopeful that the world has more kindness than I could possibly imagine.

Can’t wait to bring it to Jaquese

Love you Suri

More on MUJC in Warren NJ

I am finished for this school year and it has been so interesting and only occasionally frustrating.  This is a great school with engaged staff and administration.  My glitches were the business office ordering materials and getting the building folks to play nice with art and women.  It all worked out and we had our grant extended into next year.  This is so important for this type of learners to have at least 2 years.  This is a developmental learning school and what I might take for granted takes more time.  On the last day students finally looked at me directly and related verbally.  Jayde learned my name instead of saying “excuse me” all the time.  On the last day we got students to draw things for the next part of the mural.  I think autistic kids and most of us need to see something concrete not abstract to understand.  I have been blessed with being able to see the big picture and help others do the steps to create something.  I’m kind of an art general contractor.  Most aren’t like me that way I’m finally realizing.  Hopefully this realization will make me a better teacher.

What we have so far.  This is 16 ft by 8 ft high and the lighting makes it so hard to photograph.  It is a curved wall so that is why I went with an appliqué approach.  The high relief bits are attached with construction adhesive and temporary screws.  It was decided that I could install.  This gave me the opportunity to have students set tiles directly on the wall and one of the most rewarding parts of the process.  We now have 16 additional feet to work with.  I’m delighted students now get it and are excited about designing more.  I can’t wait to see how things develop next year.

Our high relief dog.  A student made a drawing of a teacher’s dog that we used.  We have an F-16(I think that’s the right plane) that another student drew.

A kids Sponge Bob

Some handmade clay bits with our background of blue glass tiles.  I had them set handmade tile and glass tile on small pieces of mesh.  This was a great way to have kids apply tile to the wall.  I always want to know what clay and glazes were used so for us it was some kind of low fire white that I found in the art room and rehydrated.  We used Amaco velvet underglazes my go to glaze for inside and outside and a low fire gloss glaze.  I had most of the kids use cookie cutters to make tiles but some made more unique tiles.  John made his name and large!  We spread the letters out throughout the mural.

 

Going out of Bancroft with a Bang

We made a music contraption as my last project at Bancroft.  I made a bamboo structure to hang objects that make noise on this last day.  There was no thought of permanence.  Just in the moment fun using whatever materials I had to work with.   I used bamboo which I grow and know many spots in the area to get some.  Then I tied it together with rebar wire or cable ties.  There were tomato cages in the garden I put together in a more sculptural way to hang bamboo chimes from.  On the way to school someone had thrown 2 bikes in the trash so I took the front wheels.  I had a box of kitchen utensils from way back in the day when I was making armor from kitchen doodads.

We started inside playing with different sounds to find what we liked best.

Kalop loving the sounds and the sunshine.  We had a wonderful day for this project.

So my final day was joyous, sad, and very noisy.

Meet Ja’quese and our fishing toy

Ja’quese has been so much fun to play with for the last 6 years.  I met him in the hallway with a volunteer before he started school.  He grabbed my hand and we both started laughing and have been playing ever since.  I look forward to hearing his squeals of delight when he sees or hears me.  I’ve been playing with him in his wheel chair before class ends for a few years now.  I love to hear him laugh.  I wear an apron with art tools since I work on a lunch tray.   One pocket has a light up rolling eyeball ,a snake finger puppet, and a zombie grandma popping eye toy.  He likes to grab the apron and take the toys out.  As an artist he excels at tearing paper to shreds!  As a curious playful person he can’t be beat.  My lesson for the past few weeks has been to make adaptive versions of some classic toys.  I started with an old fashion fishing toy using magnets.  This version has big fish that kids can hold and larger magnets so that the fish can be placed on the floor and fished from wheelchairs.

The fish are paper mache over a cardboard form.  The fish have a large washer glued to the top and then painted with acrylics.    I had a big magnet doodad from when I was a telephone installer and used that to fish with.  It is tied to a piece of bamboo.  It worked very well and Ja’quese really got the fishing idea.

Ja’quese laughing at me with an Ipad taking his picture

Ja’quese concentrating on catching a fish.

This coming Tuesday is my last day at Bancroft Voorhees.  Budget cuts!  Always the arts!   I made a bamboo structure in the garden to turn into a musical contraption piece.  I want to go out with cacophony and as much joy as I can muster without tears.

STEAM at RT Cream School

I just finished a 5 day residency at RT Cream school in Camden with a second and fourth grade class.  We made contraptions with a basic electric circuit.

I looked like Santa with my trash bags and a cart of materials going from class to class.  We took 4th grade to the cafeteria to work since the classroom was so small.  It wasn’t ideal given that being organized is hard for me in ideal situations!   I would do it again in a heartbeat.

This is what a circuit with a battery ,switch, and motor looks like to a second grader.  I am pleased that almost 100% of the kids mastered this and can wire a circuit themselves.

In fourth grade we started with doodlebots and vibration motors.  They were such a great group I added pulleys and we made car like things.  They earned the right to use hot glue so we could do more.  Five days was way too short with this group.  They were so engaged and became independent creative thinkers very fast.

Second grade started with doodlebots and then made vibration motor animals using a piece of foam noodle as a casing for the electric parts and adding decorations.  The photos just can’t show how much fun I had with these kids.

Wowza MUJC

Today we laid it all out on the floor and it looks amazing so far.  I’m finding that mosaic and making small clay parts with cookie cutters and handmade parts when possible is ideal for this community of learners.  Paper mache also.  I think these kids benefit greatly from hands on tactile repetitive experiences.  These are techniques that work with all levels of ability to create a fabulous whole.  Today Dasante came running into the art room with a big smile on his face.  We all need more art then we get normally.  It touches us in places that can’t be measured.  It touches these children in ways we should be paying more attention too.Dasante’s butterfly

I’m happy that I got the proportions right!