tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56785490336704893082024-03-15T21:09:37.532-04:00cakecrush-on-the-townImagination, connection, and collaboration drive my teaching, art making, and life. This blog documents travel, food, art making, teaching, education, and the life of my Qatari cat and new Chinese pup. đ Go. Make. Fun.Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.comBlogger659125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-16697986720982747982020-05-30T21:28:00.000-04:002020-05-30T21:28:04.291-04:00History, Collaboration, and Creativity . . . An Interview With My Mom (Part 1 of 2).
Before I came to China, I was visiting my mom and decided to go through some pictures. My mom has shoeboxes and shoeboxes of old pictures, along with some albums. So we sat down together at her table and looked through everything. We laughed at hairstyles and marveled at clothing, and I studied the environments of each image. Sometimes the pictures were taken in old homes we lived in as a Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-32946267178680786742020-05-21T04:33:00.000-04:002020-05-23T18:09:05.211-04:00In Which We Are Preparing for Our Annual Art Show . . .
This past month, all of our students have been preparing for our annual ART SHOW! đ We arrived back on campus, as a full school, on April 7th. And I was told that we would not be having our regularly scheduled annual performance event. Instead, we would be organizing and planning a talent show that would be videoed for the school community to watch. In conjunction with the talent show, studentCakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-15380747367452309582020-05-10T23:16:00.005-04:002020-05-11T22:38:15.534-04:00Pandemic Isolation and Homestay, March Roars Like a Lion: Part 3 of 3 . . .
I have not felt comfortable being back at school with my students, living a somewhat normal existence, while the rest of the world is still hunkering down. We've gotten so comfortable in the province that I am living in that no one is really wearing masks anymore. It's like we all fell in a dark hole between January and April, and then climbed out into a new fresh existence . . . Where Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-91080853065518171942020-05-03T22:07:00.000-04:002020-05-03T22:12:31.283-04:00Pandemic Isolation and Homestay, Online Learning and Reflection: Part 2 of 3 . . .
Online Learning, Written March 1st
For the past 4 weeks, I have been teaching PYP art classes online to our students in nursery through Grade 5/6 classes. In order to keep the number of texts down for the parents, I have chosen to create PowerPoints for each of my classes. Each PowerPoint includes one slide of instructions and vocabulary, multiple slides of images and relatable videos, one Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-1860883354563279982020-04-26T07:18:00.000-04:002020-04-26T22:39:45.804-04:00Pandemic Isolation And Homestay, My Experience: Part 1 of 3 . . .
April 18th, 2020
I knew the Year of The Rat would be tricky . . . But who knew it would be THIS tricky?! I mean, so many things! Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, tornados, and Covid-19. To say it has been a tough several months would be an understatement.
While we were in the belly of the beast with Covid over here in China, I watched a lot of Netflix (specifically all of Gossip Girl, which Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-21679679018220693812020-01-21T21:09:00.000-05:002020-01-21T21:10:15.485-05:00Happy New Decade, Everybody!
For me, 2019 was a year full of new and old friends, teaching, and a lot of travel!
***
I traveled to England and Scotland for Chinese New Year (Year of The Pig!!!). I went on a food tour of London via bicycle and I saw Hamilton with Emily from Youâre Maker. I had the best time hanging out with her and Sean learning about the history of graffiti in London, eating amazing Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-29881094696603484302019-11-17T08:53:00.000-05:002019-11-17T08:53:33.082-05:00Graduate School, Round 3 . . .
In the above picture, I am video chatting on Zoom with 15 members of my newest graduate cohort. I am in my third graduate program . . . This time for education through Teach-Now, an online graduate program that specializes in teacher certification. I am about half way through my program, expected to graduate in May of 2020. My degree will be a Master's in Education combining Teacher Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-70311581286435265322019-09-07T22:06:00.001-04:002019-09-07T22:16:54.116-04:00TEACH-NOW . . . Module 5, Week 4, Activity 1: Pre-Assessment for Differentiation
Subject Area: ART
Grade Level: Bilingual Grade 5
Brief Context: Students will be looking at Joan MirĂł paintings and sculptures and creating artwork in his style. Joan MirĂł was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona. Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-50973586968428755602019-08-23T09:09:00.004-04:002019-08-23T23:49:40.899-04:00TEACH-NOW . . . Module 5, Week 2, Activity 1: Assessing Project Based Learning
Subject: ART
Objectives - Students will create a mask out of recyclables and air-dry clay. In the process, they will learn about the causes of air pollution, brainstorm solutions, and learn how to use art as a tool for activism.
Grade Level Focus: Bilingual Year 7 and 8 students.
Length: 4 - 6 weeks, 2 hours per week
Product to Be Delivered: A finished Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-28668355174177265672019-08-18T08:11:00.000-04:002019-08-18T08:30:44.207-04:00TEACH-NOW . . . Module 5, Week 1, Activity 3: Data-based Modifications of Formative Assessments
Formative assessments are significant tools in any classroom, but they look quite different in the ART STUDIO. For me, formative assessments look like conversations between students, gallery walks, sketchbook journaling, one-on-one conversations between student and teacher, self-assessments, and ball tossing. Itâs important for me that I find assessments that fit my teaching style, and itâs Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-28240034153560684042019-01-18T00:15:00.000-05:002019-01-18T00:15:56.056-05:00Student Artwork! Term 1 at Nantong Stalford! YAY!!
SEMESTER 1 ARTMAKING! YEEHAW!!
Oh my goodness! How did we get to 2019 so quickly? I mean, seriously? Wasn't it just a few years back that I was doing that (đ) in elementary school? Isn't it still the 80's? I mean, somewhere? But I digress.
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2019 turns out to be the best, most life-changing and exciting, year of your life . . . Full of growth and Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-65012903697771462192018-12-21T23:38:00.001-05:002018-12-22T18:58:44.507-05:00I'm in China and ABSOLUTELY *Liking* It!!
Have you seen Ellen Degeneres's new stand-up special? It's really wonderful and uplifting, as one might expect. I do not watch her daytime talk show currently, but did watch it way back when it started and I was still in college. I have read her books, and she most recently appeared on my favorite podcast, The Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard. Ellen's special is called Relatable and Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-52746318130213828572018-11-04T00:33:00.000-04:002018-11-04T00:33:20.261-04:00Summer Camps Five and Six at The Bascom!! (Images Only.)
Hello, everyone! I am steadily trying to get my blog up-to-date so that I can share with you guys all of my new China adventures! It's taking a bit of time due to website blocks and VPNs and whatnot, so thank you very much for your patience!
Please find this post filled with the beautiful fun we had during my last week in Highlands, North Carolina teaching summer art camps at The Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-10730604886726270662018-08-09T23:22:00.000-04:002018-08-09T23:22:37.314-04:00Summer Camps Three and Four at The Bascom!
Well! I mixed up camps this week, but boy did we have a great time!! I counted my weeks up wrong and thought we were having our space camp this week, when really it was supposed to be our camp focusing on recycling . . . The good news is that we used recyclables and âreuseablesâ to build ALL of our space things!
Our first day of Camp Number 3 was all about rockets. The students used giantCakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-7328944199540025642018-07-06T09:05:00.000-04:002018-07-06T22:06:23.484-04:00Summer Camps One and Two at The Bascom + Family Day!
CAMP ONE: Traditional Craft . . .
Our first week of camp was awesome! We focused on a variety of projects that incorporate traditional craft.
Students painted bark-lined slices of tree trunks from a felled tree in The Bascom parking lot.
Using yarn and nails, students learned about design incorporating negative and Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-50268864080090553242018-06-25T17:23:00.000-04:002018-06-26T09:21:40.200-04:00Art Educators with heART, featuring Alison Babusci.
Hello from Highlands, North Carolina! This summer I am a Teaching Artist Resident at The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts. This past week I taught my first camp (of eight) for the summer season. It was themed in Traditional Craft. You can read all about it here. I will be producing an eBook at the end of the summer that collects all of the projects into one place so that people can Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-85076299303865711912018-05-23T11:59:00.000-04:002018-05-23T11:59:20.525-04:00Brookwood Art: Last Few Makings, Next Year, And Summertime!
Exciting news!! I have signed a contract to teach art (K - 8) and be the Creative Arts Coordinator at a small, international/IB school in a suburb of Shanghai. I am very excited about this position and look forward to learning as much about Shanghai and the surrounding area as I possibly can! Perhaps I can even take some conversational Chinese lessons during my two year contract.
Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-25448669806862649352018-05-16T16:17:00.000-04:002018-05-16T16:17:34.798-04:00Community Things: Great And Small!
The above video is of Donald Glover performing on Saturday Night Live two weekends ago. He did a phenomenal job, not surprisingly. Since about 2011, I have been heavily following his career. So much so, that his music and videos were a major inspiration to my MFA thesis preparation and eventually my thesis exhibit. This multi-talented genius, who goes by the stage name of Childish Gambino, Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-23787983936917043622018-05-02T22:13:00.000-04:002018-05-02T22:13:37.337-04:00Art Educators with heART, featuring Jescia Hopper
I. Am. Late.
For the past month or two, I have been working on projects back-to-back in between interviews and teaching. There have been parades--two of them. There have been book store windows. There has been the preparing for and installation of a solo show in Nashville (please see video above). There have been workshops and two art clubs and my regular full-time teaching dutiesCakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-73121985689112777692018-03-26T09:45:00.001-04:002018-03-26T09:45:41.926-04:00Progress: The Parade is Coming!!
Do you see the above image and how wonderful it is? đ Shouldn't everyday begin with a ticker tape parade? It's like magic!!
I thought I would give everyone a sneak peek of what we've been doing in our parade workshops! You can learn more about how these workshops came about here. And just a quick reminder that these are FREE workshops sponsored by the City of Thomasville and hosted at Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-37228984178314767012018-03-19T16:07:00.000-04:002018-03-19T20:30:39.861-04:00Brookwood Art: Holidays, Parades, and Art Making . . . Oh my!!
Grab a cup of tea. This post is going to be a long one . . . I have put off a month of blogging due to job responsibilities--some of them written about below--so prepare to be inundated with lots and lots of information! Or feel free to scroll through and stop when something piques your interest. Enjoy!!
Let's talk about parades, shall we? I love them. I adore them. I get chills Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-77511640584804826182018-02-13T20:50:00.000-05:002018-02-13T20:50:07.738-05:00New Work!!
On Monday morning, the Obama's portraits were revealed to the public at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery. I remember a few months back when the Obamas announced the artists that they chose for these pieces, and I was so excited! Kehinde Wiley is one of my most favorite painters. His work just paralyzes you when seen in person. It's so striking and magical and full of hope and shifting Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-18594151724885901702018-01-29T21:46:00.003-05:002018-01-29T21:55:04.227-05:00My Experience With Art.
âIf I can wish for anything for my art, that is what I wantâto live in some child foreverâand if I can demand anything of other artists, it is that they attempt
as much.â - Dorothy Allison
Recently I saw two sculptures by Nathalie Miebach at the Frist Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee. They were amusement park scenes made from an Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-65869613422912406522018-01-22T23:23:00.000-05:002018-01-22T23:26:56.723-05:00Tutorials: #madewithcakecrush!
In November, I began making short tutorial videos featuring simple projects and techniques as an easy and fun way to encourage people all over to make more things with their hands. My current students could engage their creativity on rainy day weekends, my nephews and their friends could make things while my sister was studying, and my students overseas could stay in touch with me as an artCakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5678549033670489308.post-38648266593824530782018-01-15T21:35:00.001-05:002018-01-16T15:49:07.574-05:00Art Educators with heART, featuring Jason M. Stewart!
Follow the beard! When I enrolled in my MFA graduate program, I did not realize that I would meet some of the most amazing people in the world. Of course everyone talks about graduate school cohorts as being people that you can lean on and commiserate with. But no one ever talks about becoming lifelong friends with these people, laughing into the weeeeeeeeeee hours of the night with these Cakecrushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11270689848231389259noreply@blogger.com0