My Last School Mural.... (For Awhile)

Hello Readers! I am now writing you from Portland, Oregon! It's my 3rd day living in the city and so far, I am happy and excited about what's going on up here. I moved only 2 hours away (I was living in Eugene), so everything still feels like home...ish. It's still rainy Oregon, and I have been taking trips up to Portland since I was little, so there's a lot that's very familiar. I also have many friends in town, so once I start seeing everyone, I think this will start to feel even more like home. It's by far, the easiest move I've ever made. But it's also different in another way: it's permanent for the foreseeable future. I've moved to Laguna Beach and Oakland, CA., Philadelphia, PA., and 2 different rural villages in Madagascar. All of which, I moved to without knowing anyone, or much about the place at all. Those moves were some big adjustments, but they always had an end-date... they were temporary. 

Anyway, here I am in the city now, starting this new part of my life. I'm working half-time as a Graphic Designer for Portland Jewish Academy. So far, it's been great. I like the Marketing team that I'm working with - everyone else has been really nice, too. I'm getting to design fliers and things already, it's fun! In the rest of the time, I'm going to be working on getting my mural business going. I'm looking forward to that part a lot. But I did leave a pretty cool job back home. I will really miss being an Artist in Residence in the schools. I do hope to get on a Teaching Artist's roster here though, so that I can continue teaching kids. It's so much fun. Here was my last project with an after school program in Springfield. The school is called Two Rivers Dos Rios, and their mascot is the otter. Hence, the two rivers and otter imagery. Only snapped a couple of pics of this in progress, but I'll be posting more once I get shots of the final installed piece. The kids did great on this! It was a nice wrap-up to my time teaching in Eugene. 

Oregon Mural with Walterville Elementary

My last few posts have been full of lessons and projects from my lastest residency at Walterville Elementary.  But we also had a main attraction at the Corie-art-room-takeover: an 8'x20' mural!!  Here's how it worked:

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This mural project was created with all 190 students, grades K-5 at Walterville Elementary School in Walterville, OR.  The process was typical of a mural residency with me and went as follows:

• Initial planning meeting with staff to discuss their ideas for the residency and mural theme.  They decided on an "Oregon" theme. 

• Teachers had every student make drawings depicting their ideas of Oregon, and sent them all to me!

• I took all student's drawings and took inventory of the images and incorporated their ideas into an overall mural design. 

• We completed the mural in a little over 2 weeks.  Each classroom got to have about 8 sessions with me, and most children painted on the mural multiple times.  I taught grade level appropriate lessons for each class to work on, focusing on the techniques of master artists throughout history.  While students were all working on these projects, I rotated small groups of children to paint the mural. 

Here it is, in a few pictures.  I can't wait until the panels are installed onto their wall so I can show you the whole thing, put together!  Keep an eye out for that in the next few weeks ;)

Showing the kiddos how to lay paint down

Putting apples in the apple orchard!

Stayin' busy making Jim Dine-style Valentines while a couple painters are going in the background.

Making a starry starry night (heh, art teacher pun for the win!)

Cutest ever.

So many trees!!

Adding architectural details to the city

Done! But not yet installed. This is only about 3.5 of the 5 panels we made.

From Left to Right:  Oregon Coast--> River--> Rural Oregon--> Forest-y Mountains--> Cityscape

Good news!

I haven't updated this since I was in Philly?! Oops.

First of all, the idea I talked about in my last post is beginning to come together.  I wanted to do a mural on fabric with my students here, ship it over to Madagascar, and have a Peace Corps Volunteer finish it up and install it in their village with their students and/or villagers.  Part International art project collaboration, Part a way to get word out about important topics. (The murals would have to do with Malaria prevention and be mostly visual communication for those who can't read). 

So the update is, I've gotten the "go ahead" from both my old supervisor from Peace Corps Madagascar AND the arts council I work for here.  People have responded really well to the whole thing, so that's exciting!  I've got a few 4th grade classrooms that are interested in being the pilot project!!! AND, a current Peace Corps Volunteer who wants a mural in their village! A perfect match!! Only thing is, the time that the 4th grade staff has available is in early December. That's like, a month away.  And I still have some questions and specifics to work out with the volunteer getting the mural....but they have  sketchy phone service and no internet.  They are relaying messages to and from me, bush-style, by relaying messages to people who know other volunteers who DO have those modern conveniences.  I definitely know what that feels like, and am sympathetic to that.  It's just that I don't have a ton of time to plan this thing.  I want my first project to be PERFECT and GORGEOUS and WORK SMOOTHLY so that it will bring many more murals for Madagascar....or Africa....or even more of the world!!!! ...Someday.

What I think is the strange part is this:

#1: This idea first hit me like a lightning bolt in the middle of the night and energized me like no other.

#2: The perfect match of having a classroom AND a volunteer be ready for it came at about the same time.

#3: The idea for the project logo came to me and got sketched in about 5 minutes. Unusually easy.

#4: I ordered the fabric that we will paint the mural on, experimented with it, and liked it.  But I needed some more.  Without my account being charged, I found another box of the fabric on my doorstep today. Shipped for free, by mistake. 

I think that something out there wants this project to happen and is using me to channel all the creativity and good luck that it can provide.  The universe seems to be on my side.  All good signs that I should pursue it. Cool.

Here is the logo I designed for the project (someday, organization?).  I painted this on some of the fabric we'll paint the murals on. I want to make sure it can adhere to a wall using glue made out of just rice.  Rice is something that Madagascar has PLENTY of, so it would be great to have a glue recipe that's super easy and affordable for people to help them install their murals. We shall see... I'll be making a trip to Eugene's graffiti wall this week with this puppy.  :)

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In other news, I'm getting my calendar filled out pretty good for teaching this year.  I was hired to teach art lessons for 3rd, 2nd and 1st grades this year at Holt Elementary.  And I have a few school mural residencies booked throughout the Winter and Spring.  While teaching my last lessons with my 3rd graders, something hit me: I get the same "high", happy, fulfilled, joyful feeling from teaching kids art, as I get from painting murals by myself.  Discovering...or rather acknowledging this to myself was really special.  This means, if I can just figure out how to combine BOTH a freelance mural painting business AND being a teaching artist into a full-time gig, I could probably be happy career-wise for my whole life.  That's pretty cool to figure out.  I've struggled so much with trying to find a direction.  It's been stressful and hard.  To just "do art as a career" seems like a direction, but it was too broad and I was scattered and not getting anywhere.  I toyed with trying to become a tattoo artist, an illustrator, a graphic designer, etc etc.  Now, I feel like I know where to put my energy and my motivation and feel that it's right in my heart.  I have a SPECIFIC goal, and it's cleared up my mind a lot and leaving space and energy that I'll need to make it all happen. 

Ok, rambling.... just wanted to share the good news for those of you who were so encouraging about my last post!  Thanks you all for your support.  It means so much, you don't even know!!

Corie

McKenzie School Mural Project

This project began in April and lasted only 4 Fridays for 4 hours per day. We finished this mural in 16 hours! These kids did an amazing job. 

STATS:

SCHOOL:  Mckenzie School, up the Mckenzie River Highway near Springfield, OR.

STUDENTS:  This school serves the rural community that live along this particular section of the McKenzie river.  It has about 200 students, Kindergarten through 12th grade. 

I WORKED WITH:  Students attend school here only Monday through Thursday.  Fridays are optional. I worked as a part of the school's Friday program, which tried to add back in, the arts that the kids don't get during the week due to funding.  Unfortunately, attendance to the Friday Program, remains low. Teachers believe the reason for this, is that students are so used to 3-day-weekends every single weekend, that they don't want to wake up early and go to school on Fridays if they don't have to. They have about 10 "regulars" though, who are the kids I mostly worked with. 

THEME: SCHOOL PRIDE! Our first session, the kids and I had a a huge brainstorming session. McKenzie's mascot is the eagle, so of course we included that. The McKenzie River is also a really important part of the wild landscape around their school, so we included that, too.  We decided to have the eagle carrying a banner with the school's academic motto on it, too. 

Altogether, this was such a fun project. Even though I didn't work with many kids, the ones who were there, were there by choice and were really engaged. I could tell that getting to paint something that was going to be displayed in their school's front entryway, was something that these kids were going to take pride in and remember for a long time. As I always say, making collaborative murals build self- esteem and team-working skills, along with the obvious creative and art-making skills they are building. 

Keep your brushes wet, 

Corie

Artist in Residence Perks: #2

Making kids happier through giving them an opportunity to paint.

Today I worked at Willagillespie Elementary. All 4th and 5th graders and I are still working on our math/science/space/time - themed mural in their hallway.  

One kid told me when it was her turn to paint, "This is probably the best day of my whole life."

Another kid told me when it was his turn to paint, "I've been waiting all tuesday and all yesterday for it to be my turn!"

There is nothing better than that. Better than money or fame I think, THIS is what feels good. These kids are getting less and less art in their schools, as there are more and more days of testing and test-preparation. Budget cuts have eliminated many art, music and drama teachers (physical education teachers too).  It's so sad to meet kids who have as difficult a time holding a paintbrush as some of my students in Madagascar did.  Aren't we supposed to be one of, if not THE most advanced country in the world? And our kids are getting cheated. It makes me feel good to know that organizations like mine, Lane Arts Council exists. I'm on a roster of a number of artists who are available to come to schools for 2-6 weeks at a time and work with kids. There are salsa dancers, glass artists, guitar players and me, and more! Until the system changes, at least this is a start. 

Artist in Residence Perks: #1

Getting to listen into kids' conversations with each other. 

I usually pull about 4 kids into the hallway to paint on the mural at a time, then we rotate groups about every 15 minutes so everyone gets a turn. Once I get paint and paintbrushes in their little hands and get them going on a spot to paint, I shut up and just listen.  I'm often amazed, grossed out and/or totally amused by what I can hear sometimes. For example, the following conversation by a few of my 4th graders today:"Have you seen that show, 'My Strange Addiction'?"

"Yeah. Did you see the one about the lady who has to sleep with a hairdryer in her bed, turned on?" 

"There's lots of crazy people in the world."

"Yeah. Most of them live in San Francisco."

New School Mural Project!

Last month, I completed two murals with the kids at Willagillespie Elementary school in Eugene.  Those were in the K/1 grades hallway, and the 2/3 grades hallway.  They asked me to come back and do a residency for their 4/5 hallway this month! Each hallway in the school has a famous scientist as it's theme:

• K/1 Hallway: "Audobon's Aerie" 

• 2/3 Hallway: "Coustau's Cove"

• 4/5 Hallway: "Banneker's Bend"

Here is the sketch for "Banneker's Bend":

                                        

Benjamin Banneker was an African American scientist living in the 1700's. He got famous for his contributions to some almanacs, for his skills as a mathematician and astronomer and also for carving an entire working clock out of wood. Interesting sounding guy. So there was a lot to work with here, in terms of imagery. I decided to do just a big mash-up of images for this one: books, rocket ship, clock parts, cosmos, etc. 

Excited for this one! I'll keep you guys updated on the project's progress. 

Stars and Rocket Ships,

Corie

Mural Artist in Residence..... Chapter One.

Let's take it back.  Waaayyyy back.  Ok, only about a year back.  This is the story of how I became an Artist in Residence.

To be perfectly honest, doing school murals and being an artist in residence sort of fell into my lap.  Last spring, I was working in a local bakery, spending my days packaging cookies and helping customers navigate the "gluten-free" section.  My nights were spent at my parent's house,  longing to return to Madagascar, where I had recently spent 2 years living and working as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  Re-adjusting to being home in the United States was difficult, and having arrived only 4 months earlier, I still felt stuck between two worlds, not quite sure where I fit into either one.  I was more than a little lost.  But that's another story.  In March, 2011, I found a new place to belong. 

One day I got an email from a local elementary school principal, asking if I would be interested in doing a school mural project to begin in a couple of weeks.  The artist who was going to do it had to back out because of a family emergency.  The principal had been given my name by someone in the building who knew I was a mural artist.  So, somewhat apprehensively, but also enthusiastically and maybe naively, I accepted the job. 

JOB STATS:

Duration:  3 weeks, 4 teaching hours each school day.  I was lucky my former boss at the bakery was willing to arrange my work schedule around this!  

Students Included:  ALL students in the school, grades kindergarten through 5th!

Theme of Project:  "Sustainability" - Their school is a certified "Green School" in our school district, meaning they use solar power for many operations, compost, run a school garden program, among other "green" awareness programs for the students.  Quite amazing and wonderful.  I was very glad to work within this theme as it is close to my heart as well. 

Materials Used:  Outdoor quality acrylic paints.  

Size:  We worked on boards which when completed, were mounted on the school's outdoor wall. Each panel was 4' x 8' and there were 5 of them, totaling in an 8' x 20' mural!

Location:  Adams Elementary School, Eugene, OR. 

Adams Elementary School Mural: "Sustainability"

SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES:

The Hardest Part Was:  This was my first time doing a mural with kids.  It was basically, my first time teaching kids art, really (at least, to American kids.  I had taught a couple random art lessons to kids in Madagascar).  The residency was set up so that each classroom would come to my room where the mural project was set up, for 45 minutes.  Now, 45 minutes is not much time to get kids quiet and focused, explain the lesson, get them going on an art project, and then clean up.  Luckily, the teachers were there, armed with parent volunteers much of the time.  There was no possible way to get 25-35 kids working on the same mural project at the same time, I at least had the sense to not try that.  I kept the class busy with drawing projects while I pulled 4-5 kids out at a time to come help me paint the mural, then we kept rotating the small groups of painters to make sure everyone got turns.  This is still how I structure my school murals residencies.  I teach simple art projects, usually trying to make them relative to the theme of the mural, for all students to work on.  Once I explain the art project, teachers can keep kids going on them so that I can focus on getting kids through their turns painting the mural. It works...which brings me to successes. 

Biggest Success Was: Finding my own "residency structure" that works well. That was a success that I've based all other school murals on since.  I would say my biggest success for this one, was just making it through to the end.  My mom has been a teacher for somewhere around 30 years so I would go to her at the end of every day that first week, desperate for any kernels of teaching wisdom she could offer.  By the end of 3 weeks, I had found my "groove" with the students.  I also discovered my school residency teaching method, which I will expand upon at some point.  For now though, I basically learned that if I mixed the colors and just gave each kid a little bowl of it and a brush, things would go smoother.

I Learned: 

• How to talk to kids better (Justin Bieber, anyone? Yes? No?). 

• How to structure my school residencies in a way that worked for me, the students and the teachers.

• How to paint a mural on panels (this was brand new to me, too). 

• That kids SHOULD NOT under any circumstances, be present while you are priming walls or panels. This stuff is nasty, probably toxic and stains clothes. Which makes parents very unhappy. Oops.

• Everything.  This was the steepest learning curve ever.  I had no idea what I was doing. 

EPILOGUE/MORAL IS....

I got through this.  Beginnings are usually hard, right?  In the first week, I just wanted it to be over.  I was unsure of myself in almost every step I took towards completing this project.  I wanted to be at the end, looking back, already.  Here I am, over a year later, looking back.  I made it through to the other side of this challenge.  I still have plenty of challenges now when I do residencies, of course, and I know I won't ever stop learning new ways to improve them.  But now, I love love love my job.  

I had to get through that difficult first one to make it to now, where I feel lucky to do what I do.  

After this project, I got officially hired by my local arts organization, Lane Arts Council.  This organization is the one that organizes art walks and also school residencies in our county schools.  They are the ones that paid me, and still pay me.  Now, I am on their roster of teaching artists and local schools may request me to come be an artist in residence and do murals with kids.  I have worked with many more schools since then (*blogs soon to come!).

This story reminds me not to get discouraged.  Push through the difficult "beginnings" and in the middle, you can look back and see just how far you've come. 

Happy new beginnings!