Girls Incorporated of Alameda County

GIRLS INC.

"Girls Inc. of Alameda County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. We are a local affiliate of the national Girls Inc. organization, which provides vital educational programs to millions of American girls, particularly those in high-risk, underserved areas."

I am a part of Girls Inc., an afterschool program in Futures and Community United elementary schools located in East Oakland. My job title is a teaching artist in which I teach art and literacy in the GIRLStart Literacy Program. GIRLStart is a program for kindergarten through third grade girls that have a below reading grade level.

My goal is to help build and strengthen the girls' literacy skills through the creative process. I hope to engage my students by creating a lesson that involves craft and literacy tools. There is no doubt that I will learn as much from them then they will from me.

GIRLS INC. is respected program because it serves the needs of the youth by providing outside activities, parent and student counseling, homework help, and clubs (such as the dance, cooking, gardeing, and art history club). I am also running my own club called the "Craft Club" in which the students and I get together to do an activity twice a month on 'club fridays.'

Overall, I enjoy working in the GIRLStart Literacy Program and look forward to enhance my teaching practice and communication skills among students. I value the education of today's youth; I wish to inspire these girls to follow their dreams and build future careers.

-CSF Parina Daraphet

Shot down

Teaching has been difficult these days, with numerous gun related incidents, and one known fatality. It's hard to watch school administration completely ignore grieving children and communities. It's even harder to watch children go missing as they are expelled, hurt, scared to show up or pulled out because of extra curricular violence...

Other than recent fiascoes, the girls are doing fabulous. Simultaneously composing dynamic Super Hero paintings and designing/creating outfits for the upcoming ArtEsteem Exhibit.

You are all invited! SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, May 16th from 3-6 in the Oliver Art Gallery on the Oakland CCA Campus. All of the art is for show, most of it is for sale. There is a raffle, craft table, cultural arts performance, fashion show (my girls!!) and food! Come learn about ArtEsteem and the long standing AHC - CCA partnership. I think this partnership has truly added to my in-the-field learning experiences. Because these two communities are so well acquainted, I feel I have a lot of support for my formal work, and when I need a little therapy during the tough times. Also, I have realized that my partnership with my co-teacher is slowly dwindling. Sometimes, she just doesn't get it. She wears me out and makes me tired. She is hardly any kind of influential support for these girls, and very tough to work with.

hey

hey you guys sorry I havent posted in a while...things have just been really crazy. None the less working at mocha has been working really well for me. Working with the kids is great there really starting to warm up to me, hopefully things go well for the rest of the semester.

Working with constraint

The past few weeks at the museum have been focused on creating a visual language around the Legacy Oral History program. The program has been functioning under the umbrella of the museum without an identity of its own for the past 15 years. With this in mind the challenge was to create an identity that gave the program of voice of its own without separating it from the larger community of the Museum of Performance and Design. Legacy has used a variety of logos and designs over the years, none of which particularly exuded what Basya (my site supervisor) envisioned the program to stand for. I reviewed past posters and marketing materials for the program, tracing the visual presence, or lack there of, in order to get a sense of what had been done before and how it had been used. Through my research it became clear the main goals and characteristics of the program revolve around creating a community of conversation in order to preserve the histories of communities. From there I began a series of design explorations using text in order to reconstruct a visual sense of this conversation (pictured below).



Another challenge for this project has been keeping my site supervisor focused on the larger picture of what this design work will do in the long run. As a designer, it's uncommon for a client to be this close to the design process and it has been hard to proceed with the work while simultaneously explaining every step, especially the experimental steps, and how it relates to the finished product. When the client is this close to the process it is almost imperative that I work with the client to help them develop a sense of faith in the process. Otherwise, they have a hard time understanding what I'm doing at the micro level and how it relates to the bigger picture. This challenge is something I've seen other CSF's talk about. Trying to communicate the value of what you're doing to those who are not familiar with a process, whether its art or design, can be challenging and sometimes discouraging. However, I believe the more we are forced to defend the value of what we do the more power we will have to make valuable contributions to the community.

After completing a series of type studies I began to apply them to the materials being produced. This was the really fun part and helped the client see how the experimental work was related to the final product. So often, there is a misconception that designers sit a their desk and a good (or bad) design magically appears with a few clicks of a mouse. So in terms of how these challenges have turned into opportunities, I personally feel it was a chance to contradict some of these misconceptions by allowing the client to really see the dirty, and sometimes weird, work that goes on in the design process.

Below is the final poster that was created from these type experiments. The next posting will go into more detail about the process of creating both this visual language and identity system for the Legacy Oral History Program.



- Melissa

Creativity Explored

Hi everyone! This is Ryan.

I apologize that this blog is a little late.

What I've learned from other CSF's over the colloquias we've had is that there is true happiness to be found through community work, and that being exposed to what each other are doing inspires us to really jump into our work. My community partner, Creativity Explored, is an organization that provides an art studio for people with developmental disabilities. Needless to say, I have learned a lot of this experience. I've never been so appreciative, and I have really enjoyed the time working on projects with the artists there. Everyone has their own process, and allowing the artists to approach their processes without getting in the way has taken me out of the box, and allowed me to examine my own process with a more objective eye. My site supervisor, Francis, has taught me a lot of patience.

The challenges I have faced at first existed in getting familiar with the artists. I didn't have strong experience with people with developmental disabilities, and honestly, it took me a few weeks to get comfortable and be myself, because I was worrying so much about being respectful. I am far past being uptight now, and I am very comfortable with everyone there. I've developed relationships with the artists there and know everyone pretty well. Now my challenges lie in helping the artists come up with project ideas that they can get excited about, and in helping them to understand new processes. This is basically overcome with trial and error, but it is working. For example, I tried a lot of different drawing mediums with a guy named Norman that I work with quite frequently. He didn't seem to get too excited about the different mediums, but then one day, we made some block prints. He liked the block prints a lot, and now he works in that media a lot more. He has also opened up more to painting over his text (which a lot of his work focuses on) and then rewriting, or finding other ways to "go back in" to the piece.

-CSF Ryan Humphries

Temescal Mural Project

Hello Folks,

 This is Abdan. I hope all is well with everyone. I'm really having a great time in the Temescal Mural Project class. All the students have really gotten into it. At first, there were a few students who weren't really enjoying their projects. They were either not satisfied with what their groups had decided on or they didn't feel they contributed enough. But once the ball got rolling, many of those same students became excited and couldn't wait to see the end product. I'm starting to become very interested in murals because

 of

 this class. Ray Patlan is very passionate and knowledgeable about murals and his love for it has made look further into the subject.Just last week, I was in the Mission District and looked at the walls very differently. I've always noticed the murals, but never really took the time to LOOK at them. Each one tells a unique story from an equally unique perspective. I'm glad I could be given this lens to view from.

Thanks!

The Factory and some of the work

Hello, i apologize if this is a bit late.

Aside from administrative day to day stuff, I've been enjoying my time at The Factory. I'm continually intrigued by the kind of work the students make. The other day i worked sound for a young girl that is making a film about labels and how they create atrophy within the LGBT community. She was conducting an interview with a friend, and they discussed how they disagree with the use of labels like "stud" or "femme" used to categorize, or even 'pigeonhole', young lesbian women. This tendency to create labels is not only common outside of the community but in fact rampant within those very same social circles.

I have been keeping up on some college research for the kids, after doing a lot of research on private and not to mention expensive schools, I have been focusing my attention on schools with low tuition costs that still offer similar and affordable courses in film production.

Below you can see some samples of the student work, the first clip is a video portrait on Malcolm, a Factory student.





Also;

New Clear Vision is an experimental found footage film that explores nostalgic images from our collective urban and mental landscapes. directed by Henry Zaballos. two minutes, thirty seconds.

Spring @ Far West!

Things are going great at Far West. Right before spring break, we finished up the project I designed for the fashion students--teacher makeovers! It was definitely challenging to get the teachers involved--they all seemed pretty excited about the idea at first, but some had a hard time coming in for fittings and others got pretty nervous about their runway walks at the last minute--but overall everything turned out really nicely. The students produced some of their most impressive work so far, and I learned a lot about coordinating faculty and students.

I've also been picking up some art skills. There's one period of Art 1 during the day that Lizzy can't cover, so I've been helping out there as best I can. As a writing major, I feel pretty silly trying to assist in a painting class, but I've definitely learned a lot and gotten inspired to do some painting of my own.

One of the major challenges right now is budget. My site supervisor has no more budget to put towards fabric, so all of us have been brainstorming about that. We're coming up on our big spring art event, so not having fabric to work with is bad news. The students are advocating a bake sale; I'll keep you guys posted and if it happens you can stop by for some treats.

Reachin Out!

Hello All!

Been Keeping Busy: With May coming up The pressure is  building on getting the students to finish a piece to have in the Youth art Show starting in May. I have also been working on getting RPSC more organized about outreach and keeping track of who we know where. It has been a real challenge being called the outreach person when I barely have time to work in the store but I have devised a new system of operation! I was talking with Chelsea, our newest member(i help her with class programming and who has really been supportive with what and how I help RPS) and we figured that I should take one whole day and instead of spending half of the day at the store and half trying to tell all of the east bay about RPSC evnets that I would take one whole day and distribute calenders, class and event flyers and the word about rpsc.

So This past thursday I headed out into the sunny day and met a few great people! I set up my walking and ac transit route(not owning my own car cuts mega time into traveling throughout the day but-c'est la vie!) and many open call postcards and went to all the key schools and centers to get to know key contact people at these local organizations. 

On my travels I did gets unburned but Realized that a lot of people have had not so friendly interactions with RPSC and its ppl! So It was nice to let people know that RPS is active and has a new friendlier (and accesable) outreach(ish) person to collaborate with. LEARNED: to take on what I realistically think I can, to modify and communicate with the current members on any issues, to reach out to ppl outside of the -becoming less narrow- circle of resources of RPSC.

Longfellow Middle School Update

My job at Longfellow is going very well. My site supervisor, Rita, and I have been working together to do either a lesson on bookmaking/story writing or collaging. I have several ideas floating in my head about what ideas I want the students to convey through bookmaking or collaging, and what techniques I would like them to learn.

I have been learning new ideas and teaching methods from other CSF's. Hearing the negative and positive things about other CSF's experiences helps me view my experience in a new perspective, and it also helps me decide what I should and shouldn't do when teaching the students. Hearing other CSF's talk about their experience gives me new insight about my experiences.

The students at Longfellow always teach me a lot. There is a very diverse group of students this year, and we are teaching very different classes as well. I have been challenged with how to approach teaching new students and helping teach new subjects. Many of the students have been in our art class for two years now, but there are a lot of new students as well. I have been trying to get to know the new students.

My site supervisor has always helped me with new ideas I have for projects. She is very open-minded to any project I would like to do with the kids. She helps me decide what is the best way to approach the lesson, how I should present the project and what materials I should use. This has been very beneficial to my experience at Longfellow, and has taught me a lot about teaching.

This semester at Longfellow has been going very well, but the program is sadly losing a lot of its funding next year, and many of the arts classes are going to get cut. We have been having a hard time deciding what we will do next year, if the programs get cut. Since I have been working at the site for a year and a half now, I have become pretty attached to it, and it's very sad the program will be much more limited next year.

- Danielle O'Malley

Changing it Up

Spring break allowed me to "change it up" by going back home to Louisiana. I was able to get several interviews there that reinforced what I had been learning here in the Bay Area. Everyone I've encountered during this process, both at the Center, elsewhere on campus, or around town have taught me to listen. A lot of people assume they don't have much to say until I begin asking them questions, then, once they see that someone is listening to them, they realize they have plenty of important things to talk about. Some even realize that they've already been helping to make changes in their own personal way.
Above all, I've learned that any one can find their service niche, that whatever you're passionate about there's a way to use your passion to uplift others.
The challenge has been generating interest. Although I know some of the most successful blogs and organizations took years to get wide spread attention, I feel this is urgent. Not only because I may only be with the org for a short time, but also because I feel this is the perfect historical moment for engaging people in discussions and activities for change. This challenge is partly do to the limited amount of time, resources, and person-power that we have.
I, however, do not let such issues keep me from enjoying the project, meeting people, and engaging in creative output. Persistence is the only way I can think to meet these present challenges.

Change It Up With Obama

Washington High School

Hearing about everyone’s work with different community partners shows how important and necessary it is to make the connection between CCA students within the larger Bay Area community, and the breadth of positive affect that the Center for Art and Public Life has in providing the grounds for these meaningful experiences.

It has been such a great learning experience for me working with Todd Elkin at Washington High School in Fremont. Particularly, I have been witnessing the innovative use of the Studio Habits of Mind teaching framework that Todd demonstrates. The project assignments he gives his students are extremely thought provoking and I wish I had such a wonderful art teacher in high school! In viewing the students’ work, it is quite apparent that they have ownership of how to successfully communicate concepts visually. Todd provides specific criteria and visible goals for each project, as well as questions for the students to answer in their process journals in order to demonstrate that they understand the material. In the beginning of the school year, I wanted to learn more about how to teach visual literacy and I have definitely gained insight to ways of achieving this goal. To see how the high school students persist at their work to solve the questions that arise is extremely eye opening. My only qualm is that I wish I could be on site more frequently than once a week to further build a stronger connection.

Rising Tide

Hello all,
So the Rising Tide Conference is fast approaching (as are reviews!) and at this point, the most challenging part is being able to keep track of all the small but significant details in the planning of the event. It's amazing to me how much effort goes in to hosting an academic conference. This job mostly requires attention to the differing needs of the speakers, directors, and the public. I have had to be strategic in how I integrate the work with my school schedule so that no task is neglected. I am really excited to meet the panelists for this event and feel this position has opened opportunities for me to engage in a broader artist/activist community.
Good luck everyone with your work and school.
-Lauren Marsden

Obama

Hello CSF's,

I had a great spring break. Things are going good with our Obama project,
even though we are behind our projected goals. Still learning more in editing,
and getting to know more people. Unfortunately, we were not able so far to
garner more interest from people to add to the blog more of their stories and opinions.

The most challenging thing this semester is to be able to stay focused, and
have enough time to complete all my work- school + CSF.
My vision was to make this project an International endeavor, but we haven't made
progress with that either. Despite all, I am happy we were able to accomplish as much
as we did. I am looking forward to schedule a group interview at Far West.

I am learning a tremendous amount from Opal and Sarah. They are both extremely
dedicated individuals, which strive for better understanding of community, and how can one
bring closer people of different diversity. Opal is an inspiration of creative energy, and it is hard to understand how she manages to be involved in such a diverse array of projects.
What I really like is that she has created a link between her personal creative work and the community.

The group murals are coming along. The class has begun painting their original designs with acrylic paint. The designs were approved by the Temescal Community Association. Only a few minor suggestions were made. For example one panel design incorporated the Rockridge bart station and the board members suggested to change it to read MacArthur. The next step we will take on our projects until the end of the semester is fleshing out our panels. So far the class remains enthusiastic about the project. I am looking forward to seeing the outcome of the murals.

Vanessa Ayala

Creative Arts Charter School

In taking part of the CSF program I have learned about so many organizations and community projects taking place in the Bay Area in which each CSF is involved with. From the Obama interview project to the Rock Paper Scissors Collective, I am reassured that there are amazing, unique, and progressive creative jobs available.

As for my sight, I have been introduced to a new method/philosophy of teaching called Teaching for Artistic Behavior, in which the students are given the authority to select the medium in which they interested in working in. Each day Leslie, my supervisor, sets up centers in which each child can choose from. The students get to work, and we are their to assist them. It is facinating to observe what students gravitate to, and equally exciting is to see how skilled they are with that medium. It is very different from what I am traditionally used to (a system much more structured) and also very different from the Teaching for Understanding phillosophy used in my Arts Ed class. This has been extremely beneficial in constructing my own philosophy of teaching and education, because I am able to see how each method varies, and what type of results occur. It is quite possible that different aspect from each method apply to different age groups more successfully. This I don't know, but it is all in part of learning.

Lastly, I have learned so much from the children I work with. Each day, they are energetic, friendly, and oozing with new ideas. This is refreshing, fun, and always gratifying, no matter how exausting it can be.

NIAD (and the enabled)

Working at NIAD has continued to go well. To be honest, I think I learn something knew every time I go in. My pre-conceived notions about someone's particular abilities and disabilities are always changing as I become more familiar with each individual and their art. This has also allowed me to feel more connected to the artists and to feel more helpful. I've learned a lot from the staff that I work with, mainly by observing the ways they teach and interact with the clients. Because NIAD is an art center for artists rather than an art class, there is not one given lesson of the day that everyone does. The staff have to really get to know everyone so that they can offer them the appropriate materials and guidance to make their own art. I think that the better you know someone the easier it is to enable them to make something that they are really proud of. 

I only work one day a week so sometimes I find it challenging to really accomplish everything I had hoped to. Sometimes artists want to work on something that they had started the day before instead of starting something new, so each day is different. Because of this I've learned to be flexible which is helpful and probably important in most art teaching jobs.

All in all, I would say it's been a great experience and I wish I could get paid to work there when I'm out of school. 

*Also, there's a show going up next Monday in the NIAD gallery called "Re/Formations: Disability, Women, and Sculpture". It looks like it's going to be a really good show so if you're around the Richmond area you should check it out. 

keepin on at soex

Hello everyone. Everything is moving along nicely at Southern Exposure. They are really excited about their new place. They are moving to a new location in the Mission in SF in the fall and have been planning for the new space. I think it will really allow the organization to be rejuvenated and have more room to grow and facilitate their programs.
One of my responsibilities is to manage outreach, finding more students to be involved in the programs we offer. this has been challenging for me because i need expand my thinking and experience and communicate with schools around the bay and establish relationships with them that are beneficial to the students.
Its also challenging because i am only there one day a week and it seems the months are rolling by, and we want to get the outreach program going strong in the meantime. I am overcoming these challenges by talking more with my supervisor and really getting on the same page about the goals she has and how we can achieve them.

Longfellow Middle School

I've been working at Longfellow Middle school, in Berkeley, for a year and a half now. I work in the art department of an after school program. Many of the kids in my class have been with me since i started working there, so I feel like there is a good sense of community in our classroom. On Mondays, we have a 3D arts class, where the kids make sculptures out of a variety of materials. On Wednesdays, we have a community building class called Our World. In this class, the kids are currently trying to open up a student store to sell healthy snacks and arts and crafts they make. The money made would go back into school projects or field trips. On Friday, we have a cultural art class, where we learn about a new culture every few weeks, and make art inspired by the culture. We've been making zen gardens in the class. Each class is very different, with very different students. I am very happy with the variety of classes and projects we've been having. Setting up the store in the community building class has been a bit of a challenge, but it has been working out.

I've been able to do one lesson with the kids since the start of the semester. I had these chinese stamps with different words and symbols on them. We talked about Chinese calligraphy, and they picked a word, and illustrated the meaning of the word or symbol on a card with mixed media. Most of them collaged magazine photos and colored on the cards with markers. The stamps had words like, harmony, good omen, peace & prosperity. They were supposed to give the card to a friend or a family member, just as a nice present. i think the kids really enjoyed it; some of them even made four or five cards.

I just hope to teach more lessons this semester. i really like planning new projects to do with the students.

- danielle o'malley

Creativity Explored

Creativity Explored is a studio run by the same organization that also runs NIAD and Creative Growth. I work at Creativity Explored 2, the center that is located on 16th and Arkansas. It took a while to get used to working there, as I have extremely minimal experience with developmentally disabled people. Now that I am starting to get the hang of it, I feel more comfortable working hands-on with the artists and challenging them to try new things. The main function of Creativity Explored is to offer adults with developmental disabilities the oppurtunity to make art. The service is free to them. Sometimes their work is auctioned, in which case the artist receives 50% and the organization receives 50%. The organization is founded on the philosophy of an art school, and the artists are never treated in an unequal or overly sympathetic manner. My function there is to work with the artists, and to get them excited about their art making. Suggesting a new medium, or a project based on their interests, as well as engaging them with basic discussions about composition or color are ways that I use to get the artists more excited about their art. They are getting used to seeing me and talking to me, and this way, I have been incorporated into a part of the community, and a face of society, that I would never see if I wasn't working with Creativity Explored.

-Ryan

my first day at school

we all know what its like our first day at school .aahhhhhhhhhhh ! right ! yes and it happened for me all over again at West lake middle .. yes middle school that age where its just hard to be who you are or your still trying to find your self and all your peers looking also yet staying cool..yes that age .but unlike my first day of middle school 9yr ago ..wow I'm getting old . I'm now the T.A. for a comic book class where the student are going to tell a story about there self and the funny thing was i had those little goose bumps just before walking in the same ones i got 9yr ago . my student all have very different backgrounds yet all seem to face a lot of the same problems so i cant wait to see their stories.

My Internship at Southern Exposure

Southern Exposure is a non-profit neighborhood gallery/after school program in the Mission District of San Francisco. I am working as an administrative assistant to the Artists in Education program and for the space in general. Some of my jobs have included organizing attendance, web marketing and creating a flyer for an upcoming summer event.
Everything is going great at Southern Exposure. On Friday Feb 27th they had their main fund raiser for the year, the Monster Drawing Rally. At this event more than 150 artists create drawing within the hour assigend to them and then these drawing are put on display at the venue and made available for purchase. It was a great event and alot of peeple came out for it. The art was great too.
I am excited to see what is planned next for SOEX and i hope to find new areas i can help with to make things run smoothly.

Museum of Performance & Design

The Museum of Performance & Design is the first international arts institution devoted to the celebration of the performing arts and theatrical design. It is currently located in the Veterans Building in San Francisco’s Civic Center and has historical print documents on display relating to the performing arts, set design, costume and print materials. The museum hosts a yearly oral history workshop under the Legacy Oral History Program. Legacy’s collection holds more than seventy oral histories of the Bay Area dance, music, and theater performing arts communities in various media forms including leather bound print volumes and DVD and web-based presentation.



(Pictured above: Tony Bravo, museum administrative assistant; Basya Petnick and myself working on promotional materials for the Legacy Oral History Workshop)

As a graduate student of the CCA Graduate Design program my work with the museum consists of redesigning the Legacy Oral History Workshop reader guide, as well as, other promotional material for the program. Giving the workshop materials a solid visual identity will continue to increase the program's visibility to the public and help maintain its solid reputation. The redesign is also meant to allow the program leaders flexibility in changing content from year to year while maintaining a consistent visual identity.

Rock Paper Scissors-Youth Fashion class

So I don't remember what this post is supposed to be about but i am going to reflect upon my last few months here...
So RPS is a member based & volunteer run collective-we have a gallery, store, host classes and participate in collaborations within the community. We also participate in Oakland's ArtMurmur-if you have never been it is a must see-its every first friday of the month.

About two weeks ago I started teaching a fashion class geared for high school aged-youth, but we have gotten interest from all ages-whci is really cool so we are started to extend our programming. So class was good but only two students showed up for the first class-but the week after there were 13! kids in our space with only 4 working sewing machines!!!
Everyone was really enthusiastic to learn how to use a sewing machine and actually make something-And being in that atmosphere reminded me how much I LOVE TEACHING! esp. teenagers:) seems funny but I have a cool bunch.

I think the most difficult part of this class was that I had to do the outreach which I have done before but having no contacts and free day-time hours to go to schools was tough. But I'm starting a nifty spreadsheet with all these people I have met and trying to orgainize who RPS knows and who to contact for what help.

Thats all for now-I plan on taking pix next week with my new digi point&shoot! so virtual tour y'all!

Washington High School

This is my second semester assisting art teacher Todd Elkin at Washington High School in Fremont. The above image is of a poster in progress that a group of students were developing to enter into a contest against drug abuse. I worked with this group of students to brainstorm ideas, enlarge the sketch, and complete it. Unfortunately, the poster fell on the floor from the wall, and the janitor mistook it for trash! Before that happened, however, they did win the contest and received a cotton candy party.

My role in the classroom has been primarily to work more one-on-one with students to develop their ideas when or if they get stuck, and to problem solve with them if they have questions about the assignment, art techniques, or use of specific materials. I also help keep students on task by asking them to tell me about their artwork in general, and then specific questions in regards to their piece. Continually, I am impressed by Washington High School student’s ability to communicate their ideas and thoughts in their work, which is exemplary of Todd’s excellent pedagogy.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!
Take Care,
–Manon

Rising Tide Conference

The Rising Tide Conference will be dealing with topics related to "art and ecological ethics."
It will be taking place at CCA and Stanford over three days in April (17-19). There will be panels of speakers on such themes as Green Capitalism, Eco-Aesthetics, Environmental Futures and Material Sustainability to name a few. The speakers have been invited from a broad range of disciplines. Artists, designers, developers, theorists, architects, and community organisers will come together for a public discussion. In concert with the panels, there will be ecologically inspired art exhibitions and film screenings on both campuses.
My role with the conference is to act as Community Liaison. In this position I have been in direct contact with all of the scheduled panelists to arrange their biographical information and images which are posted on the conference website. I have also been responsible for general administration such as public registration for the conference and the arrangement of facilities at CCA. I will also be a moderator for one of the panels which will be a great challenge in public speaking. Additionally, I have taken on the project of coordinating two very interesting catering productions on the first day of the conference. This will include a lunch provided by Susanne Cockrell's "Food" class and a dinner performance by OPENrestaurant (a collective from Chez Panisse), both inciting questions and discussion around locavore ethics and offering information on local food systems and small-scale urban agriculture.
I am really excited to meet this massive group of participants and to extend my work experience in the area of interdisciplinary event production. Check out our site at risingtideconference.org
Good luck everyone,
Lauren Marsden

The Factory at BAVC

The Factory has some amazingly talented young filmmakers that come from East Bay middle and high schools. It has been surprising to me to see such great emerging talent from socially consciuous young individuals.
Here I have been assisting some students with basic software needs, and some production assistant work for shoots that the students that have done.

On a typical office day I perform resarch on film schools around the nation and create info packets on each school. This has been very helpful to me as well because I can see the wide variety of Masters programs that are available. I'm happy that I attend an art school such as CCA, but as Media Arts major I can't help but wonder what kind of trajectory my career would have if I would have chosen to attend a film school situated more within the industry. Questions such as this help me in organizing the information for the students that allows them to make the decision for themselves what kind of film education they would like to receive.

Aside from that, I have been doing some basic administrative work on a day to day basis. At times I step in during critiques of some of the films being made by the youth and give constructive input. Once again I can not stress enough on the understandng these kids have of the power of the moving image.


Oscar

Hey, what's up everybody. This is Abdan. I'm returning from a semester off and it feels great to be back in school. I'm assisting Ray Patlan's Temescal Mural class and I'm enjoying it much. I haven't been involved in a project of this magnitude since high school. It's a great learning experience to be apart of this group project. Everyone has a unique perspective and opinion to add to the aesthetic of the project. It's also stimulating many ideas I have on future projects and is influencing me to paint more. The class is a great start for me to get back in my school mode. Ray and all the students in the class are great. Ah yea, and the other TA Vanessa is too. I almost forgot. Just kidding. Have a joyous week folks!!!!!

Abdan Johnson 

Temescal Mural Project

My name is Yesenia Vanessa Ayala, friends know me as Vanessa.  I am a senior Animation major and have been a CSF at California College of the Arts for three years now. This semester I am working with Ray Patlan, a professional mural artist and Abdan Johnson, a fellow classmate, artist and friend. Together Abdan and I are TA's for Ray's Temescal Mural Class. The class meets every Tuesday. We have just completed our designs and are projecting the final drafts onto individual boards to begin painting. When completed our Murals will be installed on the PG&E building on Shattuck and 51st. 

Creative Arts Charter School

My work at the Creative Arts Charter School, in San Francisco, has been gratifying thus far.  I am working as a teaching assistant for two art teachers in separate classrooms, with students grades k-8.  

Both teachers have their own distinct teaching philosophies and styles, so the atmosphere varies depending on which classroom I'm in.  This has been beneficial to my own practice, because it demonstrates various teaching techniques and allows me to define my educational and teaching philosophy based on my observations.  

I have also been reintroduced to the world of public schools.  It is a bit nostalgic packing myself a lunch and wondering the halls of a grade school, but it is also a great learning experience.  Already I have been exposed to some of the difficulties they face, especially being a charter school, which really puts into perspective just how hard it is for students and teachers in those environments. (funding, discipline, support, etc.)  

Although I have only been there for a short time, I feel as though my presence has been a relief to both teachers, because as we all know it is always helpful to have support when working with children.  I also feel as though my help is benefiting the children, because I offer alternative ideas and assistance with their work, as well as a mentorship role.  I have already made some great connections with the kids.   As the weeks progress I'm looking forward to strengthening these connections, and creating a reliable support structure for each teacher and the students.  

Hope everyone is enjoying their jobs!

Madeleine

news at niad

I'm back at NIAD and still very much enjoying being there. For anyone who doesn't know, NIAD stands for the National Institute of Art and Disabilities and is located in Richmond. It's an art center, open 5 days a week and serving adult artists with disabilities. It actually has a pretty amazing set up, it's a big spacious building broken up into 5 main studios: painting, drawing/mixed media, printmaking, ceramics, and textiles/jewelry. There is also a gift shop, a gallery, and an outside garden and work area. Everything that the artists make is then priced and they earn a precentage of the profit if it's sold. Not a bad set up...sometimes I wish CCA was set up like this.
One of the most interesting things about working here is observing the range of skills and styles amongst the artists. While some people stick with the same medium and themes, others move around and change it up. For the most part I feel like I have gotten to the point where I can match a piece of art to it's creator because everyone has a pretty significant style. I've noticed that some people tend to stick with one medium because working with something else is more challenging or requires more assistance. For about half of the day I work with a man who is now making a series of ceramic figures. I help with the more technical aspects of working with clay, like attachments, while also trying to keep him enthused about working.
The other half of the day, I work with a small group on a project. Recently, we've been making collages in bottle caps and then I'm pouring resin in them. People are choosing to use them as pendents and making necklaces, or as metal broches, etc. They're also making sets of coasters with collage and resin.

It's definitely been rewarding working here and being around so much creativity. I also think I'm constantly learning what teaching techniques are most effective which is always good. That's all for now!

Our oakland and Chinese Whispers

My CSF takes place with designer and artist Rene Yung. I like the work because of the diversity of tasks and the insight that I am gaining into all the facets of public and community based art. It is an enormous amount of work to get these sorts of projects going. I'm helping out Rene 

Withe two projects. Our Oakland: Eastside Stories is a project that holds community storytelling events with other local non-profits and uses videos of those stories as content for a social website. This is the temporary website:

http://oaklandspeaks.weebly.com/

I do varied work for this including event organization, book keeping, image editing. We are preparing for an event on the 28th of March where all our planning and outreach will come to fruition. The other project is Chinese Whispers, also centered on community storytelling, but focused on the Chinese communities of the Sierra foothills and their memories and oral histories relating to the railroad and California development. For this I am researching imagery to be used in a future theater performance of the stories. There's quite a bit of multi-tasking working with Rene, but the projects are interesting and it keeps me on my toes! 

Far West!

I just started my third semester at Far West High School (right across the street from CCA) and am loving it, as usual! I work mainly in the after school program, but I do help out in some of the daytime classes when the other CSF, Lizzie, can't make it. Far West's after school program is an awesome resource for students; it offers tutoring as well as a number of art classes and sports. I teach in the fashion class, and am also helping kick off a creative writing workshop. Right now the fashion class is working on a makeover project for the teachers. Several of the teachers are getting all new looks that will be presented in a mini fashion show on March 11th. There will also be a larger fashion show at the end of April; some of the students who I taught how to use a sewing machine when I started at Far West are going to be presenting their first collections! It's amazing to see how far they've come so quickly.

Here's a video promoting the after school program. You can check out a little CSF action right around 2:41.

ProArts Gallery

Hi!

This is my third week at Pro Arts Gallery and so far I've worked with installation and sequencing of the Annual Juried Exhibition curated by Ali Subotnick of the Hammer Museum.  Right now I am working on the Directory of East Bay Arts.  This is a publication released in conjunction with my site's signature event, East Bay Open Studios, which takes place in June.  The directory lists arts events happening in the East Bay by the month.  I encourage you guys to stop by and see the show!!! hope you all are having a good experience at your sites.

Change it Up With Obama: Continuing the Movement

As you will see on all of our sites and flyers, Change it Up With Obama is a Video/Oral history project founded by Opal Palmer-Adisa. My colleague Blaz Pirnat and I, Sarah L. Webb, are conducting videotaped interviews of CCA students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the Bay are community. You can watch all of our videos at  

http://www.youtube.com/user/changeitupwithobama.

This project is significant for me because it's not just documentation. It's great to have a video history of this time that we're living in, but my hope is that it becomes a way for concerned and inspired people to connect, share knowledge and resources, and spawn new initiatives for change on a local, national, and global level. Furthermore, what this project conveys is the fact that none of us are alone in our desire for change or in our efforts to bring about change.

On a more personal level, this experience has been SPLENDID for the opportunity to meet and talk with such unique individuals. I've enjoyed meeting folks where they work, in studios or offices, or any place that's their "natural element." I'm more inspired by people's everyday brilliance with each encounter. I've also developed my communication and technical skills as a result of the past month of work and I look forward to the rest of the semester (and beyond?). 

We want to conduct as many interviews as possible from a wide array of individuals. So contact us if you're interested in participating: changeitupwithobama@gmail.com.  

Our blog, changeitupwithobama.org, is still developing but check it out any time. 

What's happening at Peralta?

My CSF site is at Peralta Elementary School, I am most closely working with two 3rd grade classes. With these classes, my supervisor and I are in the process of making a stop motion animated video about recycling, that should be finished in several weeks. Also, for the past months the 3rd grade students have been working on in class project that includes text and photos, and now we are introducing bookmaking to compliment their photos. I designed a simple book making project where the students make a step- by-step instructional guide on how to fold paper correctly to achieve accordion style pages. The final product will be put into hard bound bindings that have been in the storage room for some time, and now will be put to use.

This year every grade level at Peralta Elementary are going on a field trip to the De Young Museum. I had the pleasure of going with the 4th and 5th grade classes, to take 8 4th graders on a self-guided tour of the museums California collection. This was especially exciting for me because it gave me the opportunity to research the these relics of California history, and teach the students about each piece. I was happy to find that all the students on my tour were engaged for the entire 2 hours that we spent in the gallery. The next step in the tour I did, is to take the information the student learned, and follow through to the classroom to do an art project incorporating California history.

That's all for now. I will inform all when the recycling video is completed. It may be put into a gallery show at some point in the near future.

ChangeItUpWIthObama

Hello Everyone,

Just say zoom and this semester will be over soon.I can't believe how quickly everything is going.
Anyway, I am having fun collaborating with Opal and Sarah. Shooting videos is very rewarding as I get to know new faces on both campuses, and I catch up with my old friends. While I was a little shy at the beginning, I feel enthusiastic for the most part to listen what people have to say. I am glad, that there are differences of opinion. People are generally looking forward to Obama's presidency, at the same time they realize that the current situation our nation is faced with is very challenging - to put it mildly.
While I don't consider myself a pro by any means, I am learning a lot about the filming/editing process. Because I have been doing video now for two semesters through CSF program, it is easier to try different approaches and to experiment. Opal has been a great support, and she is great to work with.
A video/oral history of this time is an important document of our fast paced culture. Opal's vision to broaden the spectrum of people who would want to contribute their opinion to our project is an ambitious goal. The question is how can we interest more people in participating?
We are looking into many ways to make it more visible on the Internet. For now we are continuing with the video production, and all of you can visit our site at http://www.changeitupwithobama.org. If you have any creative ideas, please let us now or post a comment on our site.

Thank you Blaz