January 2014 - The American School Foundation of Guadalajara, AC

The Poet As Teacher
by Dr. Michael Hogan, high school teacher
The Applause
Anything’s Possible...
if You Work Hard!
by Jamie Wood, middle school music teacher
Performing in front of a group of people is
never easy. Performing in front of your
friends and singing songs that are beyond
silly is extremely nerve wracking! Yet the
talented singers and instrumentalists that
made up Seussical the Musical, JR. were
some of the most confident and talented
students I have had the privilege to work
with. Rehearsing was not always easy.
There were days where we had to stop
rehearsals to evaluate how much music
there was to learn and how little time was
left! But after that first performance
Thursday night, all the hard work everyone
had put in finally showed.
I think teachers and performers get so
caught up in everything sounding and
looking perfect that we forget the most
important element of performing: to have
fun. If we can’t have fun, then our
audience doesn’t have fun, and then we
have a problem! After some very
high-stress rehearsals Wednesday and
Thursday, we finally let loose and delved
into the whimsical world that is Seussland
– and provided a show that many will talk
about for years to come. I am looking
forward to collaborating on future shows
with these talented kids!
Moral of the story: Anything’s possible…if
you work hard and have fun!
by María Contreras, high school student
The character I played in my Lady Gaga
“Applause” performance at the ArtFest was
inspired by myself—a girl who risks social
standing to work towards a meaningful
objective. The performance began with my
interpretation of “Cleopatra’s Aria” from
Giulio Cesare, by Handel. The aria is about
the pain that the queen feels when her
lover, Julius Caesar, abandons her. In my
case, I was not referring to torment
inflicted by a man, but rather to the
discomfort and sorrow I feel living in a
society that praises the mediocre and
rejects the remarkable.
As I sang this aria, I wore a huge white
blanket, to convey that the colors of
happiness had washed away from my
body. Lady Gaga’s “Applause” interrupted
the peaceful Italian aria. I rapidly took off
the blanket, to concede this radical mood
change. As the song suggests, performers
usually sing to forget about reality, create
our own fantasy, and enjoy the audience’s
warm and comforting applause.
Full House
by Sofia Benitez, high school student
For the 25th anniversary of Art Fest, a
number of high school students were
invited to collaborate on an event that
nurtured creativity. As a student
representative on the Art Fest committee,
it has been a true journey taking part in an
experience that promoted the craft of art.
With Alejandro Colunga as the guest artist,
our new drama teacher Stacy Billingslea,
and a fantastic array of talent and
commitment, we were entrusted the task
of developing a theatrical performance
depicting Colunga’s initiation in art. With
two compilations of the guest artist’s
work, we began the process of creation.
Countless hours were spent envisioning
Alejandro as a child, and envisioning his
Knowing he is caught in a version
of his life
he prunes back the imagination
prioritizing the unimportant:
lesson plans, curriculum, schedules
and who has a hat on in class.
He cuts the nervous connection
to the light of the fountain
the font of the light
puts on blue blazer and tie
creased tan slacks
armored against the day.
He knows beneath the textbooks
the patterns of endless editions
shines a jewel of such intensity
that he can sometimes reach
half-extinguished souls as a shrewd master
touches the strings of an unturned
instrument
and produces a perfect C.
And this too is art, he tells himself
trying not to deface what is real
carving the ivory of his life
more carefully in the rare moment
of solitude the work allows
summoning up the necessary connections
getting the poem wrong occasionally
or the lesson
caught in a version of his life:
practicing resurrection.
The American School Foundation of Guadalajara, A.C.
Fine Arts at ASFG
January 2014
El niño es
por Pilar Servín, maestra de preescolar
El niño es arte cuando
baila al ritmo del viento.
El niño es expresivo como
disfruta pintando con diferentes colores.
El niño es creativo donde
inventa nuevas formas de expresarse.
El niño es espontáneo porque
le gusta inventar y seguir nuevos caminos.
¿Cuándo es arte el niño?
¿Cómo es expresivo?
¿Dónde es creativo?
¿Por qué es espontáneo?
El niño es arte, es expresivo, es creativo,
es espontáneo,
cuándo, cómo, dónde, porque el niño es.
from Winter Solstice:
Selected Poems
1975-2012.
Copyright ©2013
by Michael Hogan
connection to the world of fantasy that is
now shared with all those who witness his
artistic expression.
The theatrical show
was performed six
times, involving the
participation of over
200 people. It was a
vehicle for art that
feeds the soul.
www.asfg.mx
Visual Thinking Strategies
by Jon Larkin, elementary school teacher
As a child, I used to groan when I had to go
to an art museum. I would whisk through
each room in about four minutes. Every
once in a while I would lean back, scratch
my chin and pretend to be sophisticated.
My attitude toward the arts has changed
quite a bit since I was a child. As a young
adult, I started developing an appreciation
for the arts. Now I share my love of the
The Power of the Arts
by Nicholas Boreen, middle school band teacher
There are many parents who would like
their child to learn an instrument or take
part in the arts, but I fear others have
forgotten why this is so important. It is not
that we see our children becoming the next
great pop sensation, but rather because
there
is
a
connection
between
musicians/artists having improved brain
function, advanced general learning skills,
higher academic achievement, enhanced
life skills, and personal enrichment. For
hundreds of years before the Internet and
arts by helping my students learn to ask
themselves the age old question, “Why?”
Using a program called Visual Thinking
Strategies, Room 4-31 examines two or
three pieces of artwork every week. We
usually do it at the end of the day on
Fridays, as a reward. We listen to one
another, discuss, imagine, and build
vocabulary. Most importantly, teacher and
students ponder each other’s personal
opinions.
After I project a piece of artwork, students
make silent observations. Then eager
hands go shooting up. I use only these
questions: “What’s going on in this
picture? What do you see that makes you
say that? What more can we find?” I
paraphrase their comments neutrally,
other widely used technological advances,
people studied music and considered it to
be an integral part of education. Many
considered it to be a core subject as
important as math and science because of
the many benefits listed above. In our
constantly changing world, the arts are key
in developing the creativity and
adaptability that children will need to
tackle the world they are entering. All
children deserve the opportunity to
express themselves through some form of
the arts, and to gain all of the benefits that
come with them.
point at the area being discussed, ask one
of the three questions, and link and frame
student comments. My students talk
about what they observe, back up their
ideas with evidence, listen and consider
the views of others, and discuss multiple
possible interpretations. Each picture
takes around 15 minutes to explore.
That’s right, 15 minutes of critical thinking
from ten year olds about one piece of art!
We are backing up our oral language with
evidence, talking about social and cultural
issues, and listening to and learning from
one another through our love of art. We
invite you to stop on by and participate in
our classroom discussion. My students
will be excited to ask you: “What’s going on
in this picture?”
Nuestra obligación es informarte, la tuya enterarte. Por favor lee tus correos y ayúdanos a salvar árboles.
ASFG GREEN
Anyone Can Draw
by Jodi Peterson, elementary school art teacher
The Literary Arts
by Adrian Marín, high school student
Sin Fronteras is the school’s high school
literary
magazine,
a
prestigious
publication which has received at least one
award per issue. The magazine is entirely
student-based. Submissions from both
high school students and teachers are
edited by the three student editors, Sofia
Benitez, Nicole McCann, and Adrian
Marin, who are advised and coordinated by
the eleventh grade English teacher/head
of the HS English department, Mr. Derek
Chase. The Sin Fronteras team tries its
best to accomplish two issues every school
year. Most of its student submissions
come from Honors Literary Magazine, an
English class dedicated to creative writing.
You don’t believe me? Just ask a fourth
grader. These eager artists have been
diligently practicing their observational
drawing skills through a series of exercises
from the book Drawing on the Right Side of
the Brain. (Our library has it!)
The basic idea of the book is that
observational drawing, just like any other
skill, can be learned, but it takes direct
instruction and lots of practice. Betty
Edwards, the author of the book, states “I
firmly believe that everyone can learn to
draw well, just as we believe that given
instruction, everyone can learn to read.”
Edwards helps us understand that the skill
of observational drawing is all about being
able to “see.”
Edwards explains that the left side of our
brain, the verbal analytic side, approaches
drawing with symbols and not realism.
This is why many people give up on
drawing around age 10. They are no longer
content with their symbol system as a
means to represent real life and they lack
the training to “make things look real.”
Edwards demystifies the ability to draw by
breaking it into five visual perception skills
that can be mastered: the perception of
edges, the perception of spaces, the
Expect the Best
by Chris Peterson, middle school art teacher
Dayeong Kang and her self-portrait
perception of relationships, the perception
of lights and shadows and the perception
of the gestalt.
Once you have honed your ability to “see,”
drawing is the easy part! Check out the
official
website:
www.drawright.com
(which
has
some
impressive
before-instruction and after-instruction
self-portraits for
those who remain
skeptical!)
Drawing on the Right
Side of the Brain
by Betty Edwards
iPhoneography: Reigniting
My Love for Photography
by Brian Zink, Technology Integration Specialist
Seeing an image after taking a photograph
once meant hours of work: from carefully
loading the film to working with the
processing chemicals in a darkroom. This
experience was exciting and new when I
began taking pictures with my mom’s
35mm Minolta single-lens reflex camera.
The camera forced me to constantly think
like a photographer before releasing the
shutter. I had to ask myself questions such
as: Am I using the rule of thirds? Are there
any leading lines? Is there a better angle?
A single black and white image used to be
an intentional process that was both time
consuming and extremely rewarding. I
truly earned every print that I produced.
Isabella Javelly is completing an upside down
drawing of Igor Stravinsky by Pablo Picasso. This
exercise helps her learn to perceive an image as
a combination of shapes, lines and spaces.
interesting, unexpected and technically
proficient works of art.
Draw a large self-portrait. Maybe the
biggest artwork you’ve ever made. Make
the proportions realistic. Develop form,
contrast and detail on top of this drawing
by tearing hundreds, even thousands of
pieces of magazine by hand. All in time for
Art Fest please. Go!
I was curious to hear a student’s viewpoint
about the expectations they had going into
and working through the challenging
self-portrait unit. Dayeong Kang is a
soft-spoken, humble and very interested
art student. Her self-portrait this year in
the Art Fest caught the attention of many
people. Here are her thoughts.
These were my expectations for this year’s
8th grade generation on the very first day
of class back in August. The expectations
and rigor for this creative task were set
very high. My background as a high school
art teacher influenced this. Switching over
to middle school years ago presented an
opportunity to experiment. What will
happen when younger students engage
with units of work from the high school
level with slightly modified expectations?
Quickly I learned that preadolescent
students would consistently produce
1. How many hours did you spend making
this artwork, and what was the most
difficult part?
It took me about 8 hours. It was the most
difficult to create the background.
2. What made you want to work so hard on
it?
I wanted to make it look pretty.
3. How did you feel when the assignment,
and my expectations were presented?
Great! I was very excited about doing the
project.
CONNEXION MAGAZINE
Editors Amy Bokser & Diego Soberanes
Student Editor Rafael Sánchez
Copy Editors Mary Anne Kathleen O'Connor,
Guadalupe Encinas, Norma Guinto & Julie Villand
Photo Contributor Elizabeth Wu
Art Directors Kristen Fry & María José González
Then digital photography came along – or
more
specifically,
mobile
phone
photography. I began to refocus my
photographer’s eye and overall creativity.
On a regular basis, I now get lost in the
world of taking, editing, and sharing my
pictures, all via my iPhone. There’s no
more darkroom, and my “roll of film” is
endless (assuming my phone is charged). I
miss the magic and the solitude of the
darkroom experience, but now I enjoy the
ability to share and be social with my love
of photography. My pictures are now
instantly viewable by an audience. They are
acknowledged for their quality with “likes”
and if I am lucky, recognized by the local
iPhoneographer community.
A Voice Heard Through Art
by Maria Trave, nursery teacher
Once, I had a student who made me
understand how deep a child’s artistic
expression can be. His name was Andres.
Last December, we had an assignment in
which children had to draw their holiday
wish. Andres drew ten different human
figures next to each other. What was he
portraying?
In Early Childhood, we question everything
our students do in order to understand
what they are trying to express. So I asked
Andres what the meaning of his drawing
Nuestro deseo
se sigue cumpliendo
por Rosa María Colín de Julián, Directora de
Desarrollo y Relaciones con la Comunidad
Con gran alegría y satisfacción, The
American
School
Foundation
of
Guadalajara conmemoró el 25 aniversario
del Art Fest y celebró la trayectoria del
Festival de Arte Contemporáneo, como se
llamó en sus inicios, el cual alcanza su
esplendor como Art Fest, el festival de arte
más importante de Guadalajara.
¡FELICIDADES Art Fest por celebrar el
amor al arte, la creatividad fecunda, la
espontaneidad de los niños y la pasión de
los jóvenes que han encontrado en el arte
el placer de expresarse!
Felicidades a los maestros de arte quienes
was. He replied, “Mi deseo es que todos
los niños del mundo tengan paz.” (My wish
is that all the children in the world have
peace.)
Andres was a shy and quiet boy. Art was
his voice. This profound piece of art was a
way for him to communicate, and a way for
me to know him. When I shared his
artwork with my colleagues, it had such a
powerful effect on us that we used his
creation for this year’s EC t-shirt and now
Andres’ work is well known.
The graphic arts, broadly defined as any form
of visual artistic representation, are the
chosen media to share with others what
children are thinking, doing, feeling,
learning, and experiencing. -- Nancy B.
Hertzog
Educan en el Arte, desarrollando en sus
alumnos la sensibilidad de apreciar y
crear.
Felicidades a todas aquellas personas que
a través de los años de manera voluntaria
han dedicado su tiempo y creatividad a la
organización del Art Fest.
El Art Fest 2013 queda en los anales de la
historia como el festival más celebrado, el
más concurrido, el que más jóvenes ha
atraído, el que incluye mayor variedad de
expresiones artísticas (arte dramático,
arte pictórico, concierto de música rock,
talleres creativos, color tank, Zicocircus),
el que todo mundo gozó.
¡Gracias a participantes y colaboradores
del Art Fest 2013, por contribuir a que el
deseo de promover el arte en el ASFG se
siga cumpliendo! ¡Hasta el próximo!
"IG_Mexico Photo of the Day" 198 Likes ;)
Printed on Recycled Paper
Impreso en Papel Reciclado
ASFG GREEN