Student teaching placements are in!

So it looks like I will be teaching at two different schools for my student teaching in the fall:

SCPA (School for Creative and Performing Arts)

(Photo from Cincinnati.com)

Taken from Cincinnati.com:
"It will be the home of the nation’s first public K-12 arts school when it opens to 1,350 students on Aug. 18, joining students from Schiel Primary School for Arts Enrichment in Corryville and the old SCPA on Sycamore Street. The unique project is a result of a nationally unprecedented partnership between the private sector and the public school system."

So basically, I'll be teaching in a brand spankin' new creative and performing arts mega school, which is one of the most heralded schools in Cincinnati!

I will be teaching first grade students, which I did at Schiel this past quarter before they combined with SCPA. I enjoyed it a lot. First graders are the bomb. You feel like a rockstar every time you walk in the room!

For the second part of my student teaching, I'll be at Princeton, teaching high school students. (though still pending at this time).

What a contrast! First grade to High school, SCPA to Princeton! I will be getting a well-rounded teaching experience, and I'm so excited. It will be a whole lot of work, but I am so ready.

Shepard Fairey comes to Cincinnati!

A bit of old news, but about a month ago was the opening for Shepard Fairey's retrospective show at the Contemporary Arts Center, where I used to work! All month I'd been getting teasers from the staff about the wonderful works that would shown, along with a clip list of all the work that was going up. I'd done projects with schools around Cincinnati, letting students know about Fairey and his artwork. He and his team had been putting up 12-foot murals all over Cincinnati. So by the time it rolled around, I was just a psyched-up ball of excited!

And let me tell you,
It did NOT disappoint.
This was THE best art opening I have ever attended.
Let me show you why:

 

  

  

 The first image is Fairey himself DJing for a whole crowd who came out for the art and the jams. Video here (beware of language in the songs he uses). This was not the ordinary opening crowd. Since Fairey is a street artist, he attracted a following of skateboarders, taggers, rabble-rousers and mosh pit-inducing punks. In fact, at the entrance to the museum, there was a sign that said, "All skateboards must be checked at the front desk." It was a unique and inspiring atmosphere, and the casual way in which Fairey was dressed and discussed his show was quite refreshing. The last photo is a mural up on the building right next to the CAC, which greeted the hundreds of attendees to the museum that night.

The art was inspiring, to say the least. Images ranged from album covers of Shepard's favorite bands ("I don't play an instrument, but I'm going to rock it as hard as I can.") to giant collaged murals. Huge artwork of US currency-inspired collages were a stunning feature to his show. His topics were blunt and confrontational. He challenged popular views on capitalism, propaganda, world leaders and war. His original OBEY posters played a part, as well as his famous HOPE poster. (Which was displayed despite a current legal battle over copyrighted image rights).

You can find information about Fairey's OBEY poster campaign at his website here.

This show is truly a sight to behold, and will be up through August 22nd at the Contemporary Arts Center.

Shepard will be back in town on May 22nd to put up more posters and have another DJ session in the alleyways behind the CAC. 

 

(Go here for details on this upcoming event!)

Check it out!

If I were a giraffe

I have always associated myself with this gentle animal. I am slightly aloof at times, and more than a little awkward. I am slow moving, methodical and quiet. Most of the time.

This is a 35m project investigating one object through film.