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Creativity Spirituality

NAEA Town Hall – Leading with Creativity

leading

Town Hall

The National Art Education Association Town Hall is a monthly panel discussion where educators come together to discuss a topic. Our topic was Leading with Creativity. NAEA and Crayola teamed up for the 75th anniversary of NAEA. They developed Creativity Week in January, and invited 75 teachers from around the world to be Creativity Ambassadors, I was one of the 75. James Wells, Crayola’s Education Manager, was leading the discussion and invited me to participate in the conversation.

Leading

Creativity Panelists

Panelist bios are available here.

  • James Wells, Education Manager, Crayola
  • Lauren E. Burrow, Associate Professor of Education Studies, Stephen F. Austin State University
  • Raine Dawn Valentine, Art Educator, Ridgely Middle School; Adjunct Instructor, Notre Dame of Maryland University
  • Mari Atkinson, Instructor, Shack Art Center; Student Teacher Supervisor, Western Washington University

Here is the recording of the discussion! My part starts at 42:00 <3

Leading with Creativity

When I got the email about the town hall and the topic of discussion I was really excited! Even more so when I received our questions and saw what I was being asked to share. Talking about how creativity is spirituality, is one of the things I am most passionate about. I love leading my live with this mindset. I had so much to say during the town hall but only had a short amount of time! So I decided to write about everything I wanted to say.

Creativity is the use of our imagination, original ideas. Creativity is Spirituality, which is the quality of being concerned with the human spirit… which is the seat of our emotions and character. Our emotions are a natural instinctive state of mind deriving from one’s circumstances, mood or relationships with others.

Leading with Spirituality

Art making is inherently spiritual. Art is the expression or application of human creative skill or imagination. To express is to convey a thought or feeling and make them know. We express ourselves through relationships with others, nature and the divine… connecting through sharing, reflecting and celebrating.

Creating is the means by which I form my identity and self. Through self reflection, self awareness and self actualization, I create and live. My art practice is a way of seeing, understanding and conveying what I see, feel and hope for.

I do this through my choice of ritual. Through maintaining a life if intention. Choosing my daily ritual for the highest good, then celebrating the rewards the commitment and intention will bring. Actions Rewards Truth. A.R.T.

In the teachings of the Annishinabe creativity plays a huge part in the role of original man. Waynaboozhoo was lowered to the earth and give the responsibility to name all the things. He was building relationships with all things, and learning how to see himself through different perspectives. He learned to create a canoe from the beaver, and learned to swim from the fish. He also learned about the beauty in creation and destruction, and about life and death. Through his observations with the world, and his ability to creatively live, Waynaboozhoo survived and learned many things.

He lived life creatively, to recognize every moment as a moment to reflect and form our identities which are ever changing and forming. It is our job to live creatively, and find ways as humans to keep creating a life we desire. Creativity looks like exploring, experimenting, questioning, expressing and reflecting. Laughter, learning, and love. Where we remember we are all connected. That our places in this life are just a valuable and necessary as the next.

When we start to live creatively we stop from living out of fear. I start turning the fear energy into trust and knowing. We start to allow ourselves to be vulnerable with each other, and to open up and share. When we share with each other we remember how connected we are.

LIVE CREATIVELY. REMEMBER WE ARE ALL CONNECTED.

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Green Lifestyle Earth

MAEOE – Be Green, Learn Green, Live Green

The annual Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education Conference was held in Ocean City Maryland February 3rd-5th, 2023. The theme of the conference this year was Be Green, Learn Green, Live Green.

What does it mean to Be Green?

Green is a term used for being environmental friendly. It refers to keeping our earth healthy and clean. Being green means respecting our environment by keeping it clean and not leaving trash around, while using our resources in the right way, without wasting them.

MAEOE is a wonderful organization that helps schools in Maryland to be Green Schools. This is my school’s 4th year recertifying as a green school. In order to do the application for our recertification we have to collet data on how our school is green! The MAEOE conference is one way that I bring back information and ideas on ways our school can thrive in being green.

Landscape Design for Nature Educators

The first workshop I attended at the conference this year was a landscape design workshop! I was super excited about it because as an art educator, I haven’t had much learning about landscaping, planting or designing gardens. Though as the green school coordinator, who has won a few grants for our school for environmental projects, it would greatly help me plan for outdoor gardens at our school.

I learned so much from this workshop. The presenters gave us all a folder of information about native plants, which shared when to plant and where. We also learned a lot about how to work with the stakeholders at our school, because it is a team effort to keep these gardens going.

Eco-Anxiety/Grief

Another amazing workshop was about dealing with the anxiety and grief that can come from the state of our ecosystem. It is vital to grieve… to release the ideas we have of what we expect. We come at the world with a negativity bias, which helps us survive through lifetimes. But it is important to see into the present moment… using nature to help us regulate our emotions in the now. We can visit the past and the future, but we should not live there. Practicing gratitude intentionally. We created nature mandalas and did a thought experiment called Future Beings! Such a great session.

Green Conference

Environmental Team

I am excited that I get to be apart of such a wonderful team of people who love spending time with nature, and really see the value of connecting with the earth. Being the green school coordinator at my school allows me such amazing experiences and opportunities to learn more ways to remind people we are all connected. I love making connections at these events, because it allows us to create better experiences for our students while working with other passionate educators.

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Art Class

Crayola Creativity Week

Crayola Creativity Week

January 23rd – 29th, 2023 is Crayola Creativity Week! We are celebrating at Ridgely Middle School by doing creativity week activities in our STAG advisory groups. I am so excited about what the students will create today.

There is a list of resources available at the Crayola Creativity Week website.

I am especially excited about today’s lesson, which is based around Native American Dancing! I recently completed a painting that shows my personal journey with Native American dancing. This painting is called Reign Fancy, and it shows a female native fancy dancer.

Crayola Creativity Week

Author Ria Thundercloud and illustrator, Kalila Fuller, will share their book, Finding My Dance. As students hear Ria’s story, they’ll be moved to connect culture, identity, and self-expression. From pow wows to traditional regalia, Ria will captivate students with her remarkable journey. Then they can draw and illustrate nature-inspired patterns and dance poses, making their art dance on paper with Kalila J. Fuller!

Cultural Creations

After watching the video, students will create their own drawings of traditional regalia, or dancing from their own cultures. This is a great way to get to know your students and share the arts from other cultures.

Take pictures of what your students create and post them on social media with the hashtag #CrayolaCreativityWeek and you could win prize packs from Crayola!

Happy Creating!

Categories
Art Therapy Mindfulness

Mindfulness and Art

Mindfulness is the practice of bringing one’s attention to the present moment and being fully present in the experience. It is a form of meditation that can be practiced in many different ways, including through art.

You can bring this mindfulness to any task. I enjoy reminding myself of it when I have to do the dishes or fold laundry. Being present in the moment and really being aware of the now.

Art can be a powerful tool for mindfulness because it allows us to slow down and focus on the present moment. When we create art, we are fully present in the process of creating, whether we are drawing, painting, sculpting, or engaging in any other form of artistic expression. This focus on the present moment can help to calm the mind and bring a sense of peace and clarity.

Benefits of Mindfulness

In addition to the benefits of mindfulness, art can also be therapeutic. It allows us to express our emotions and experiences in a way that words may not be able to. It can be a way to process and make sense of difficult experiences, as well as a way to celebrate and appreciate the beauty in our lives.

Mindfulness


There are many different ways to incorporate mindfulness and art into your life. One simple way is to set aside a dedicated time each day for art-making. You can start with just a few minutes and gradually increase the amount of time as you become more comfortable with the practice. You can also try incorporating mindfulness into your art-making by focusing on your breath and the present moment as you create.

Another way to incorporate mindfulness and art is to find a local art class or workshop that focuses on mindfulness. These classes can be a great way to learn new techniques and connect with other people who are interested in mindfulness and art.

Mindful Moments in 2023

In 2023 I will be hosting more Healing Hands workshops, as well as Artist Open Studio nights. Excited about all that 2023 has to offer, and receiving all that is mine by divine right, in perfect ways under grace.

Healing Hands

Incorporating mindfulness and art into your life can have numerous benefits, including reduced stress and anxiety, improved focus and concentration, and increased self-awareness and self-expression. So why not give it a try? Find a form of art that resonates with you and start exploring the wonderful world of mindfulness and creativity.

Use the new year energy to begin including art into your daily rituals. Consider doing a neurographic drawing during your morning coffee, or prayers. Or finish out your day by drawing out all of the energy from the experiences you had, onto paper. No end result in mind, just simply allowing the energy to flow through you and the art materials into the paper. Releasing it.

Here are a few links of different activities you can try:

Categories
Art Therapy SEL

Social Emotional Learning – How to manage Life’s Lessons

Social emotional learning (SEL) is a relatively new area of study in education that focuses on teaching students the skills they need to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as to interact with others in a positive and effective way. Many believe that SEL is just as important as academic subjects like math, science, and reading, and that it is crucial for students to develop these skills in order to succeed in school and in life.

SEL is not just about teaching students how to be happy and well-adjusted – it is also about helping them to develop the skills they need to manage stress and difficult emotions, to communicate effectively with others, to make responsible decisions, and to solve problems. By teaching students these skills, we can help them to build strong, healthy relationships, and to align with and achieve their goals.

Relationships

One of the key components of SEL is the emphasis on building strong relationships. This means teaching students how to communicate effectively, how to listen to others, and how to work together in a positive and respectful way. This can be particularly important in today’s world, where students are increasingly isolated and disconnected from one another, and where they are often exposed to negative influences on social media and other online platforms. By teaching students how to build and maintain healthy relationships, we can help them to develop the resilience and support they need to overcome challenges and to thrive. Working with community to critically think and find solutions.

Emotions

Another important aspect of social emotional learning is the emphasis on helping students to understand and manage their own emotions. This means teaching them how to recognize their own feelings, how to understand the reasons behind those feelings, and how to manage them in a healthy and effective way. This can be particularly challenging for some students, who may struggle with anxiety, anger, or other difficult emotions. By teaching students how to recognize and manage their emotions, we can help them to develop the self-awareness and self-regulation they need to be successful in school and in life.

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important aspect of education that focuses on helping students develop the skills they need to understand and manage their own emotions, as well as interact with others in a positive and healthy way. SEL has been shown to have a number of benefits for students, including improved academic performance, better mental health, and greater overall well-being.

Imagine what social emotional learning for adults would do to the world. This is such a powerful opportunity to help our children become aware of their power.

Benefits

One of the key benefits of SEL is that it helps students develop the skills they need to manage their own emotions and behaviors. This is important because students who are able to regulate their emotions and impulses are better able to focus on learning and achieve their academic goals. SEL also helps students develop empathy and understanding of others, which can foster positive relationships and a sense of community within the classroom.

Another benefit of social emotional learning is that it can improve students’ mental health and overall well-being. SEL programs can help students learn coping skills that can reduce stress and anxiety, and can also provide a safe and supportive environment for students to talk about their feelings and experiences. This can be especially important for students who may be struggling with mental health issues or other challenges.

Holistic Learning

Social Emotional Learning

Social emotional learning is increasingly being recognized as an important part of education, and many schools are incorporating SEL programs into their curriculum. If you’re a teacher or parent, there are many resources available to help you incorporate SEL into your classroom or home. And if you’re a student, remember that developing your social and emotional skills can have a big impact on your overall success and happiness.

Learning about your social emotional intelligence only enhances your ability to learn intellectually. Tapping into both sides of the brain for a true holistic living experience.

Practices

From mindfulness to meditation, creating and reflecting… Art really lends itself well to addressing our self awareness, social awareness, responsible decision making, self management and relationship skills.

My classroom is full of opportunities to practice social emotional learning. Keeping an eye on not only the artmaking process but also their self awareness and social awareness. How students are interacting with each other, and how they are presenting themselves in their work.

Students are able to reflect on their emotions through mood journals, and neurographic exercises. Students also have moments to come back to the present and focus on their breathing, during our mindfulness moments. We also reflect on our work together as a group, learning how to share and receive respectfully.

To me SEL is all about creating brave spaces. Really spending time experiencing life and figuring ourselves out.

Categories
Art Class

Crayola Creativity Ambassador

What is a Crayola Creativity Ambassador?

To celebrate the 75th anniversary, 75 NAEA members were selected for the opportunity to be early adopters of the January 2023 Crayola Creativity Week while participating in special leadership team-building experiences in preparation of the nationwide Creativity Week celebration.

The National Art Education Association (NAEA) and Crayola Education partnered to offer the NAEA–Crayola Creativity Ambassadors Program, providing visual arts education professionals with professional learning, resources, and support to cultivate Creative Leadership Teams within their learning communities.

75 Educators from around the world were selected to participate in this program! We have been meeting virtually to learn new things about leading our communities in Creativity week in 2023!

Creativity Week

Creativity week is January 23rd- 29th 2023. There are so many perks for signing up which you can do HERE!

Free Creative Learning Resources!

Everyone who signs up will get FREE video activities and downloadable Thinking Sheets.* And the best part? It isn’t limited to just 7 days. Every educator will have free access to digital resources for cross-curricular creative learning fun all year long!

Giveaways!

With giveaways, challenges from celebrity creators, and virtual classroom visits, it’s a celebration the whole school will want to be a part of!

Create Connections!

Share students’ ideas, projects, and work in a secure online gallery, and connect with creative classrooms around the country during the live Celebration Assembly event.

Creativity Schedule

There is a fantastic lineup of creatives that will be sharing their stories, inspiring us to get creative!

Crayola Creativity Ambassador
Categories
SEL Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Creating Brave Space

Brave Space
Makwa Grizzly Bear. Public collection Canadian Native Centre of Toronto

Brave

… from the root work for bold, courageous, untamed, savage. It’s interesting we use the term BRAVO when we are cheering someone on.

To the Anishinaabe, bravery is one of the seven teachings of our grandfathers.

Zoongidi’ewin – Courage or Aakwa’ode’ewin – Bravery is represented as the bear. The Bear carries courage. We seek the strength and courage to face our greatest enemy-oneself. The bear will give us the understanding to seek resolutions through spiritual intervention: hence, spiritual healing to deal with anger, pain and ourselves.

To be brave means you seek to apply your spiritual truths to your life, in order to assist you in growth and transformation.

To face life with courage is to know bravery. Find your inner strength to face the difficulties of life and the courage to be yourself. Defend what you believe in and what is right for your community, family, and self. Face your fears to allow yourself to live your life.

Brave Space

Social Emotional Learning

Bravery plays a big part in social emotional learning. The five competencies of SEL are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Considering that courage and bravery play a big role in our own self-awareness. Cultivating a brave space makes complete sense to supporting our social emotional learning skills.

Brave space is also recognizing the wholeness of our experiences. That we have wounds and traumas that do not always feel good, comfortable or safe.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A brave space is a space where participants feel comfortable learning, sharing, and growing. It is inclusive to all races, sexes, genders, abilities, immigration status, and lived experiences. This is something we should strive for in all our experiences where we interact with one another. Leading towards a more inclusive way to insure all voices are heard and everyone is seen.

Living a life where we are unafraid to be who we are and share our stories with one another, is the only way to true peace and harmony.

Consider using the term brave space over safe space, and comment to let me know what you think about the difference.

Categories
Art Therapy Mindfulness

Mindful Observing in a Busy World

Observe means to look at carefully and attentively.

Mindfulness is the ability to be focused yet relaxed at the same time. The ability to be present comes from attentive focus on your breath. Focusing on your breathing takes your mind off of your mind, and allows your mind to rest as your breathing takes over for a little while.

To mindfully observe means you are in the state of mindfulness while you are looking at something.

Noticing

It is beneficial to “notice” as an activity to develop focus in mindfulness. One activity you can try is noticing the room around you.

Take a moment to center in with a few deep breaths. Set your intention for the activity to notice your environment. Notice the objects in the room, their colors, shapes, textures. Notice the tiniest details that you may have never noticed before. Spend about 5 minutes just noticing. Then come back to center with a few deep breaths.

This activity helps to train your brain to slow down and notice the present moment.

observing

Observing

Another activity you can do to help strengthen your mind is to do mindful observing.

For this activity students were shown a video of multiple bubbles, different colors and sizes. Then students were prompted to only observe certain bubbles, all while all the bubbles were moving around the screen.

Spending time observing while other things are going on is a master skill that will have benefits way into the future. Being able to focus in even when there are distracts around is super important, especially in a world where digital realities consume our time, and attention.

Consider spending at least 5 mins a day doing some type of mindfulness activity, and share this with your children! We all benefit when we are mindful.

Categories
Education Diversity, Equity & Inclusion SEL

Maryland Cultural Proficiency Conference 2022

cultural

What is Cultural Proficiency?

Cultural proficiency is the result of finding out what makes us feel valued. It is responsiveness. The ability to find out what someone needs… to feel valued, seen, and heard.

The ultimate goal of each of us is to feel valued and be appreciated for who we are. Being seen by others is a huge reason why we do things, and is a result of the things we do.

When we come into a situation with breath first, we are more open to being genuine and authentic. This is a culture of care, one that supports accountability and humility. Working to align our inner voice to our goals in order to support the work. The vision must be at the center of what we do each day.

What is the GOAL of our existence?

What is it that we do what we do for… what do we want to build, create, share, express, learn, experience?

I believe when we begin questioning ourselves in such ways, it leads to deep self reflection and self awareness. It leads to building community and creating innovative experiences for the good of all. When we being to spend time aligning ourselves with our vision, then we are able to connect to one another on a deeper level.

MCPC

I was invited to the Maryland Cultural Proficiency Conference in October, at Morgan State University. It was my first time at the conference and visiting Morgan State. The conference theme was A Reckoning: Equity, Consciousness, & Healing.

The presentations that I attended and speakers I saw were fantastic. There was a diversity that reiterated what the conference is about equity, diversity, and inclusion, and social emotional learning.

Climate of Mutual Respect

When Dr. Amer F. Ahmed spoke he shared his journey and the experiences that lead him to arrive on our stage. He shared that we must create climates of mutual respect that consists of self-awareness, empathy, tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility in thoughts and behaviors, patience, curiosity, and active listening.

This reminded me of the Seven Teachings of our Anishinaabe grandfathers; Love, Trust, Humility, Honesty, Bravery, Courage, & Wisdom.

Culturally Responsive Curriculum

This presentation was on ways we can incorporate more culturally relevant articles, materials, and learning into our curriculum. Attending this presentation opened my eyes up to new ways to incorporate different cultures into my art classroom. Simple things like teaching my students something about my culture, such as how to say hello in Anishinaabe. We need to normalize multiple perspectives!

Positive Schools Center

The presentation by the Positive Schools Center was perfect. We participated in practices we are being asked to use with our students. We sat in a circle and started with a welcoming ritual. Then we shared something we needed. This presentation was so inspiring and helpful in getting a handle on how I can implement more meaningful interactions with my students.

Revolutionary-Ed

Lead with vision, integrity and passion says Dr. Gregory C. Hutchens Jr. He shared with us highlights from his book, Getting into Good Trouble at School. Six things we can do to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom:

  1. Know your history
  2. Commit to racial equity
  3. Eliminate de-facto segrigation
  4. Differentiation, discipline vs. policy.
  5. Engaging in strategic thinking and planning
  6. Display courageous bold leadership.

Adult SEL

During the conference, we were treated to mindful moments, chair massage, reflexology, great food, and time to socialize. This is vital during any professional development as it assists with practicing what we are preaching. How do we want and deserve to be treated, and how do our students?

I have gained so much from this conference. I am excited to bring the knowledge back to my classroom and to my professional learning communities!

Categories
Art Art Class Education

TAB Camp Mid-Atlantic 2022

WHAT IS TAB?

TAB stands for Teaching Artistic Behaviors, which is a teaching method for Art Education.

TAB

Choice-Based Art Education is student centered and based around teaching through the use of the Studio Habits of Mind.

The Studio Habits of Mind are ways in which we process our experiences, here is a great project example. They are very similar to the Scientific Method, or the Mathematical Practices.

TAB

TAB CAMP

Teachers in the Mid-Atlantic area came together the first weekend in August for a retreat, to reignite the flame before school begins. When Pam Ehrenreich asked if I knew of a place to host a retreat for teachers in our area I was THRILLED to offer my studio space.

TASK Party

When everyone arrived we started the weekend with appetizers and a TASK party! It was a nice way to get into the weekend… start to make art and open ourselves up new ideas.

Silk Screening TAB SHIRTS

Tracy Skeels shared her method of silk screening. We created stencils from paper and worked together to print our designs.

We shared different projects and resources with each other, creating examples for our students. Julie Dimino shared all of her amazing resources with us!

There were presentations on Cold Finishes on Clay, Gelli Printing, Weaving, and Cyanotypes. Each presentation was so insightful and inspiring.

Cold Finishes for Fired Clay

Jen Byrne shared a few awesome tips for cold finishing clay! Mixing metallic acrylic paint with water in buckets for a quick dip in the shimmer bath!

TAB

Gelli Printing

Tracy Skeels presented on gelli printing, and we were able to explore and create to our hearts content.

Cyanotype

Kate Heuston presented on cyanotype, and her experimentation with the process as an artist. We tried new techniques like drawing on acetate, and using transparencies to create different layers of prints.

Weaving

April Pink presented weaving, and we learned quick and easy ways for our students to be able to weave on cardboard looms.

We also shared the many resource for how we structure our classrooms. The reflection and discussion time were super valuable.

Aside from all the learning, it was great to meet like minded individuals and also have time to create art of our own.

Painting Flow and Glow Party

On Saturday evening we had an intuitive painting party. Each teacher created their own work of art, and then we discussed how we could use this in our classrooms.

The weekend was so amazing. 10 art educators coming together to share and create!

If you missed out on this years, keep an eye out for next! It will be the first weekend in August 2023.