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.