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A ribbon of Friendship, A world of FriendsChris Hinshaw

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Editor’s Letter

There are many definitions for the word “consideration,” but the one I most prefer is “a thoughtful concern for others.” To consider implies developing thoughtful, empathetic judgments or opinions, open-minded) and respectfully comparing different perspectives. The visual language of art can contribute to this process of consideration without the need to know another written or spoken language. A focus on art ideas or artworks can foster understanding and consideration on social issues that resonate with all people. The continuing development of the Internet has provided a vehicle for reaching people around the world through art in ways that were not possible before. This past summer, at the SchooI Arts Folk Art Extravaganza in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we were delighted to meet Naomi Natale, a woman who has developed One Million Bones, an art-based program that brings attention to global genocide while raising funds to aid survivors. One Million Bones is asking people to become one of one million and each make a handmade “bone” to represent lives lost through genocide. A One Million Bones installation will be placed on the Mall in Washington, DC, lune 8-10, 2013. Last year, an installation of 50,000 bones was laid in the street in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a moving ceremony. Other installations, called “The Road to Washington,” are being displayed right now around the United States. Natale is presenting and leading a hands-on workshop on One Million Bones at the National Art Education Association Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, in March 2013. Naomi Natale came up with this idea as a response to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. While working as a photographer in Kenya, she was struck by an irresolvable contradiction: an artistic desire to tell stories through images and a nagging doubt about the effectiveness of her own photography. She wanted to make a social impact through education, hands-on art-making, and public art installations. What most impressed our group about Natale was that this was her idea and that she was determined to make it work. Every aspect of One Million Bones—the website, the curriculum materials, the videos, the installations, and a TED talk— as been carefully considered and professionally presented.

Art teachers so often work alone and don’t always feel powerful, but Natale’s example shows that one person can make a difference. She can be your inspiration; now consider what you can do. Choose a cause you believe in or enlist your students in choosing, and consider how art can share that concern. You can make a difference. Q

SchoolArts17

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High School

One million BonesMichelle Richardella and

Stephanie Delejewski 28

Middle SchoolThe Quilter’s Code

Heather Bauer 23

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All Levels-

Critique-E-Mn Kate Oakley 36

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Looking and Learning- Contemporary Fine Art

Karl Cole and Robb Sandagata

Early Childhood-

A ribbon of Friendship, A world of Friends

Chris Hinshaw

Flurescent Fora and FaunaJane Copp 27

Elementary

A Garden of ThanksJill Kessler 17

The Living MapLaurie Bellet 20

32Artful HealingLinda Vorderer

Summer Educational Directory

Departments:

03 Editor’s Letter

08 Design Thinking

09 ClipCards

11 New Products

12 Advocacy

14 Meeting Individual Needs

22 @R+

23 Looking & Learning

41 Advertiser Index

42 Resource Center

48 Welcome to My World

Garden by Jill Kessler

Many of my students come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and qualify for Title I assistance, including free and reduced price lunch. A couple of years ago our school received a wonderful gift in the form of the Blessing in a Backpack program, which provides needy student with backpack filled with nutritious food to take home.

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of Thanks

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“It all began with a phone call from Blessings in a Backpack, who told our principal that our school would receive a large check to provide weekend meals for our students.”

A Real Opportunity

It all began with a phone call from Blessings in a Backpack, who told our principal that our school would receive a large check to provide weekend meals for our students, and that 600 backpacks would also be arriving. Our job as a school was to spend the money for food and organize the program to send the food home. As a witness to this great success story and as the art teacher to all these students, I wanted to find a way to symbolize both the positive energy created by this program and its impact on the community. The opportunity came with another phone call from Blessings in a Backpack. We were informed that actress/singer Hilary Duff would be coming to our school to talk to students about the program and to celebrate our success.

A Garden of Thanks

To capture the impact of this opportunity, I decided to create a Garden of Thanks. The idea came to me one afternoon when I was going to back to my classroom and I passed the entrance to the backpack assembly room. I observed a steady stream of volunteers and staff members stuffing backpacks for students. I also noticed a huge amount of food packaging was an array of bright, beautiful, bold colors; perfect for an art project. My students and I decided to make flowers! We made the petals of the flowers from all different cardboard packaging that came with things like macaroni and cheese, applesauce, granola bars, rice, beans, etc. If it was colorful, we used it. With the help of my upper grade students, we mounted each lower on a dowel and made leaves from green paper. The flowers looked like springtime. Noodle flowers here and apple ones there with oatmeal and cracker packaging centers- it was a recycled art kaleidoscope.

An Exciting Visit On the day that Hilary Duff was to arrive, I set up the Garden of Thanks in our school courtyard. It was stunning! Students did an amazing job with all the recycled materials. As we created the garden, I also realized that the packaging made an excellent border for the bulletin board. All the bulletin boards were decorated by each grade level to thank the Blessings in the Backpack organization for everything they did. We also presented Hilary Duff with a thank-you present in the form of a portrait by one of our student’s brothers. Instead of having the portrait matted and framed in the traditional way, our gift was matted with the same packaging that provided the full stomachs to our families. It was a sincere way to express our gratitude for such a wonderful gift.

Success LivesThe Blessings in a Backpack program continues at our school today and has been a resounding success. Every Friday, I see students walk home with their two backpacks. One contains the nutrients that need to live healthy and happy lives. I hope that the Garden of Thanks will live on in the memories of our students. It was a day when our school’s art program and the community came together to express gratitude to an organization that brings well being and happiness to students every day.

18School Arts Magazine

The Quilter’s CodeI wanted to create a lesson for my sixth graders that challenged their critical thinking skills, connected them to a period in history, and made them rely on each other by working in cooperative groups. Since quilters often work together in small groups, I thought a quilting lesson based on the Undergrounds Railroad would accomplish my goals.

The Quilt Code

We started off by discussing how and why the Underground Railroad came about. We talked about the quilt code “myth” that is associated with the Underground Railroad. The idea that slaved used the patterns in quilt blocks to alert other slaves about escape plans is disputed by some historians. I showed students examples of the most popular quilt patterns such as the monkey wrench, flying geese, and the wagon wheel, just to name a few. We discussed what each quilt pattern stood for and how these quilts might have been used to help direct slaves to freedom.

Quilting Bees

I divided students into small quilting bee groups. As a class, we discussed the responsibilities and benefits of being part of a quilting bee. The final step in creating the quilting bees was to assign the jobs of pinning bee, threading bee, sewing bee, and finishing bee to each member of the group. I explained the roles of each job and made sure each student was confident in his or her ability to teach another student how to do that particular task. For example, the threading bee needed to be consistent in his or her ability to thread a needle and tie off the thread. Setting up these quilting bees not only helped to reinforce the skills students were learning, but also helped create the cooperative group environment I was looking for when developing this lesson.

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by Heather Bauer

Sewing

During the next few class periods students learned how to create a quilt square pattern and learned the basics of sewing, such as pinning, threading, sewing and finishing. Students were then asked to choose their favorite quilt pattern. Using two 10 x 10” (25 x 25 cm) sheets of drawing paper, two identical paper patterns were created and numbered in the same order. One of the paper patterns was left intact while the other was cut out. These cut-out pieces were used as templates to cut out the appropriate fabrics shapes. Students were free to choose random or coordinating fabric when creating their quilt square. After all the fabric pieces were cut out, students sewed the pieces together by following the intact paper pattern. Students address concerns, problems and design questions with their quilt bees before coming directly to me for help. As students finished their quilt squares, I framed each one in a 14 x 14” (35 x 35 cm) mat board frame with mat board back to protect the exposed seams.

Reflections

Approximately 100 sixth graders completed this project in less than six weeks. The success of the project was clearly evident from the beautiful quilt squares they produced. This lesson could also be easily tied into a history lesson simulation where students follow the quilt squares around the school building in a quest for freedom.

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“We talked about the quilt code “myth” that is associated with the Underground Railroad. The idea that slaved used the patterns in quilt

blocks to alert other slaves about escape plans is disputed by some historians.”

er’s Code

ONEMILLI

NBONES

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“Each bone created was a replica of a part of the human anatomy, but once collected and displayed by One Million Bones, it became a visual symbol, tool, and catalyst for social change.”

The students of Community District 218, in the south suburbs of Chicago, entered heir art rooms to the sound of words playing from the One Million Bones Videos. The words shocked, frightened, and inspired students to participate in the social arts practice of working to raise awareness of genocides and atrocities that are happening around the world today. One Million Bones is asking people across the country to help create a visible movement aimed at increasing global awareness of genocide, while raising funds to aid displaced and vulnerable survivors. One Million Bones impacts the education of students by providing the means to move discussions about serious social issues to a deeper level of understanding. This project addresses issues of civic engagement, conflict resolution, and hands-on exploration.

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In the Classroom

At Delta Learning Center, located in Robbins, Illinois, and part of CHSD 218, we combined the efforts of our art and English students to participate in an interdisciplinary unit incorporating the One Million Project. This unit began with a photo walk in which students walked through a classroom and analyzed the photographs displayed on the walls. The photographs were all associated with the conflicts in Africa and other parts of the world where genocide continues to happen. The arresting photographs pulled students deeper into discussions about race and intolerance. We followed up by analyzing songs such as James Blunt’s “No Bravery” and John Lennon’s “Imagine”. Students categorized the song lyrics into deep-rooted themes such as ignorance, truth, memory, identity, fear, and power. These themes were posted around the room, along with the photographs, timelines, maps, and quoted documenting the history of genocides. Inspired by One Million Bones students created their on bones out of plaster, newspaper, or clay. They examined the human anatomy, improved skills with a new medium, analyzed literature and explored history and current events, all the while exploring how their own art cam affect, inform, and persuade. Each bone was a replica of a part of the human anatomy, but once collected and displayed by One Million, it became a visual symbol, tool and catalyst for social change.

Field Trip

The Delta classes met up again after their unit to take a field trip to the Crafting Hope Exhibit at Columbia College, which became Chicago’s One Million Bones installation site. Students’ bones were displayed site in the exhibit at the college, along with thousands of others from the Chicago area.

What happens now?

The One Million Bones project is both an art installation and fundraiser, with the hope of raising $5 million, on behalf of several organizations. It is not necessary for participating artists to donate money in order to create a bone, but One Million Bones hopes to have enough sponsors (at $5 per bones) to met their goal. Readers can participate through other bone-making events across the country, donating to the organization or bringing an event to their community or school. For more information on the One Million Bones project, including detailed bone-making directions, and extensive and sensitive curriculum materials for every level from pre-K though 12, visit onemillionbones.org

School Arts Magazine