She Did It! One Million Bones in Washington, D.C.

Though I have been home for a week, I am still absorbing the impact of One Million Bones spread out on the Washington, D. C. Mall last weekend. I am happy to see it has made the national news! Though she is incredibly modest about her role in One Million Bones, Naomi Natale developed the idea and spearheaded this effort to bring attention to genocide around the world.

Bones could be made from many kinds of materials - paper mache, clay, glass, yarn, newspaper and tape, paper pulp, and more. They were made by people of all ages from all 50 states and 30 countries.

Bones cast from paper were made to represent bones made overseas, since shipping costs would have been so high. Though it rained in the morning, the sun came out in the afternoon.

A roll of white paper was laid down the center of the mall and volunteers started by laying bones in the middle and working their way out, placing them close together. It took all day to lay the bones in place.

SchoolArts Advisory Board Member Craig Roland and I volunteered to lay down bones. It was incredible to be part of such a huge effort. Another friend with us said it reminded her of when the AIDS quilts were there - just as huge an impact. Such is the power of art!

One Million Bones is now searching for a permanent place to archive the bones.

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and Folk Art Extravaganza

Our Huichol friend Cilau Valadez, shown here with Stevie Mack and me is going to visit our SchoolArts/CRIZMAC Folk Art Extravaganza group in July in Santa Fe and we can't wait to see him again. He'll demonstrate his elaborated detailed yarn paintings and share his culture with us. He is just one of the artists we'll work with in our seminar and meet at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. It's a trip around the world in a weekend! It is not too late to register. You don't have to be an art teacher to join us (you just need an interest in folk art), but teachers can receive continuing education credits for their participation.

Here are some more images of folk artists at past Folk Art Markets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebration of Pueblo Art and Culture: Daily Schedule

Since we are finalizing details for our SchoolArts/CRIZMAC Celebration of Pueblo Art and Culture in Santa Fe in July, I thought I would share an overview of what we will be doing (we still have two spaces left, I believe). We seek to provide meaningful experiences and interactions that would be difficult to find or do just as a casual visitor. 

We begin on Wednesday, July 3, with a welcome meal and introduction to the seminar and Santa Fe. Participants will stay and work at the lovely Inn of the Governors, located just a few blocks from the Plaza. They have a fantastic full breakfast and tea with sherry and cookies every day; also a beautiful pool.

Thursday, our first full day will be spent with Taos artist Dawning Pollen Shorty, who will bring clay she has prepared from the Pueblo for us to work with all day. (She will have gathered the natural materials from her Pueblo to mix the clay she will bring.)

The next day, Friday, John Reyna, an anthropologist, guide, and teacher, also from Taos Pueblo, will join us to provide an introduction to Pueblo history and culture. We'll also visit the Museum of Contemporary Native Art and the Andrea Fisher Gallery before starting another hands-on project.

On Saturday, we will travel to Santo Domingo Pueblo to visit the artists Raymond and Gabby Tenerio, learn about Pueblo jewelry and share a meal in their home. (It is a great honor to be invited to a Pueblo home.)

On Sunday, we'll visit the Museum of American Indian Art and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, both on Museum Hill.

On Monday we go to Taos to fire our clay pieces with Dawning Pollen at her grandmother's home, and visit Taos Pueblo while the work is firing. On the way back to Santa Fe, we'll visit the Poeh Center and Roxanne Swentzell's Tower Gallery in Pojaque.

During the week we will also have walking tours, several meals, visit the galleries on Canyon Road, hear live music at the Plaza bandstand, and more (and you will have some free time, as well). Hands-on studio time will be interspersed throughout. Travel during the seminar will be provided so you do not need a car (You just have to get yourself to Santa Fe!).

I know I can't wait! Even though I have been to Santa Fe many times, there is always something new and I love to revisit old friends and favored places. Many of our participants have returned to our seminars so we do change them every year. It is not necessary to be a teacher or an art teacher - only an interest is needed! If you are a teacher, we can offer you continuing education credit.

To learn more about this and our other offering this summer, Folk Art Extravaganza, check out CRIZMAC's website.

The photo above shows tools used to shape and smooth Pueblo pottery.

The Art of Compassion: Memorials for the Boston Bombings

 

Boston Magazine Cover

 

 

Bob Staake

 

 

 

The New Yorker

 

 

Washington Post Editorial Cartoon

 

 

 

Painting for Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marathon Memorial

 

The Plain Dealer

It's All Connected

My colleague Rebecca Martin and I recently presented, “Learning through Art: Making Connections between Art and Social Studies” at a regional service center in Texas. This was a workshop specifically designed for both elementary and middle school art and social studies teachers. My co-presenter, also an art educator, shares my commitment to presenting meaningful, engaging connections between the disciplines that presented natural and logical connections. 

We decided which social studies concepts we would address, such as heritage (a mandated variety of celebrations and observances), culture (understanding how significant individuals, events, and issues shaped our state), and the land (understanding the location and characteristics of places and regions of our state), and what artworks we would use.

How did we plan the agenda for this professional development workshop? We started by looking at state-determined educational objectives for both subject areas to find concepts that presented natural and logical connections. Then we decided which social studies concepts we would address, such as heritage (a mandated variety of celebrations and observances), culture (understanding how significant individuals, events, and issues shaped our state), and the land (understanding the location and characteristics of places and regions in our state), and what artworks we would use.

These social studies objectives connected well with art objectives (demonstrating an understanding of art history and culture; developing respect for the traditions and contributions of diverse cultures; comparing and contrasting relationships that exist between a society’s art and its music, literature, and architecture). 

Though these are specific to Texas, every state has the same kind of objectives that are required and available so it is easy to check your own.

Some art teachers may not always realize that they are already making natural connections between subjects, and they may not understand the value of capitalizing on that with both students and classroom teachers. Classroom teachers may not realize these strong connections exist and that the use of artworks with their classes can promote engagement and discovery, especially for students who are visual learners. 

If art and classroom teachers work together, it will be beneficial for all of their students. 

Interdisciplinary connections make sense. At this time, content standard six in the current national visual arts standards is “Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.” The new national arts standards, in development by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), have not been completed, but I am eager to see and use them. You can check on their progress at nccas.wikispaces.com. 

Photo: I'm at Roxanne Swentzell's Tower Gallery just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, during one of our SchoolArts/CRIZMAC seminars. In Native American culture, all concepts are connected; art is not separate.

Etiquette for Pueblos in New Mexico

During our SchoolArt/CRIZMAC Celebrating Pueblo Art and Culture in Santa Fe this coming July, we will be visiting 1-2 Pueblos. Why is there a need to spell out etiquette for visiting New Mexico Indian Pueblos?  Non-Indian visitors have at times offended Native Americans by their behavior from either not knowing or caring about the rules of courtesy. Each Pueblo operates under its own government and establishes its own rules for visitors. Please obey all rules and regulations of the individual pueblos. 

The Pueblo people of New Mexico are some of few Native American Peoples who never left or were not forced off their original lands. Each Pueblo is a universe onto itself.

In Pueblo culture, the right to knowledge must be earned and asking questions is not considered to be polite. In the Pueblos, people live in the homes; they are not open to the public. It is a great honor to be invited into a Pueblo home.


Pueblo Etiquette

Please control your children and see that they are respectful.

Although most Pueblos are open to the public during daylight hours, the homes are private. Do not enter without an invitation.

Please stay in the immediate village area. Do not wander.

Do not climb walls or other structures. Some are several hundred years old and damage easily.

Do not pick up or remove any artifacts or objects, such as pieces of broken pottery.

Kivas and graveyards are NOT to be entered by non-pueblo people.

Alcohol, weapons and drugs will not be tolerated.

No pets, please.

Please obey all traffic, parking and speed limit signs. Our children are at play, and many of our people are elderly.

All Pueblo dances are religious ceremonies, not staged performances. Please observe them with respect and quiet attention.

Do not interrupt non-dance participants' concentration by asking questions, talking or waving to friends.

Refrain from talking to the dancers. Do not approach them as they are entering, leaving or resting near the kiva.

Applause after dances is not appropriate.

On feast days, enter a Pueblo home as you would any other - BY INVITATION ONLY.

It is courteous to accept an invitation to eat, but do not linger at the table, as your host will probably want to serve many guests throughout the day. Thank your host, but a payment or tip is not appropriate.

Photography

Some Pueblos require a photography fee, but you still will not be able to shoot anything you like. If you do not follow the rules for photography, you could lose your camera. (I personally am not comfortable taking photographs in the Pueblos; I would rather focus on paying close attention to being there.)

Permits, fees and restrictions vary among Pueblos. It is important to contact each Pueblo regarding its policies. Do not attempt to take photos or make recordings or sketches if not allowed.

Photographs are for private use only and may not be reproduced or resold without written permission. 

Please ask permission before taking someone's photograph.

A photo permit does not give you license to disrupt dances by getting in front of dancers or spectators.

The above information is from the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos 1999 Visitor's Guide. 

Preserving Huichol Traditions

Cilau Valadez is part of a new generation of young Huichol Indians who have migrated to cities outside of their indigenous villages. Educated as doctors, lawyers and teachers, they use their professional positions to advocate for the rights of their struggling Huichol communities, while continuing to apprentice to learn the practices, traditions, and arts of their elders.

The son of world-renowned Huichol yarn painter Mariano Valadez and anthropologist Susana Valadez Eger, Cilau has been mentored by his communities’ master craftsmen and shamans to be able to carry on the practices of the Huichol mystic arts to coming generations. One of the few in his community fluent in English, Cilau uses his voice as an advocate for Huichol indigenous rights and his vision as an artist to spread the meaning and beauty of his people’s culture to the world.

Read more about Cilau in Stevie Mack's article in the April SchoolArts Magazine. He is planning to speak to our SchoolArts/CRIZMAC Folk Art Extravaganza in Santa Fe in July. Learn more about this seminar and its benefits to you as a teacher at CRIZMAC's website.