Amy Kent
I come from a very strong background in marketing; graphic design to be exact. Before teaching, I spent many years focused on promoting businesses to the public through advertising and using art to influence buyers. Once I began teaching, advocating for the art program in my school felt natural. As a matter of fact, I welcomed the opportunity because it allowed me to use those skills that had been such a large part of my previous career. Of course, I realize that not everyone shares in my excitement of advocacy. In a perfect world, it would be understood that the art programs in our schools offer many opportunities for life skills, cognitive growth, 21st century skills, and the list goes on and on. Sadly, for some art teachers this is not the case, and can leave us uncomfortably trying to justify our programs. We are teaching professionals with an ever-growing list of “to dos.” However, advocating for your art program doesn’t need to be time consuming. Use this summer to make a month-by-month advocacy plan for the next school year. There are many online articles and ideas that can get you started. Your plans don’t need to be grandiose every month. Just make some noise! Here are some online advocacy resources to help get you moving! www.kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen/resources/ArtsEducationAdvocacyToolkit.pdf www.arteducators.org/advocacy/advocacy-made-simple www.theartofed.com/2013/07/01/free-download-arts-advocacy-images-for-your-classroom www.americansforthearts.org/advocate www.youtube.com/watch?v=utRtJbRkyjE www.arteducators.org/advocacy www.theartofed.com/2014/03/27/10-awesome-advocacy-resources-for-art-education www.performingartsconvention.org/advocacy/id=28 www.theteachingpalette.com/2010/09/12/arts-in-education-week-program-communication Just the other day, I debated with a “friend” on
Facebook who is a professor at a medical college. She was reading applications for students who were applying for the masters program. She mentioned that one applicant had taken a ceramics course during his undergrad studies, and among other things, she remarked, to get an “easy A.” Thus began my turn at educating her on all of the things her applicant learned in his “easy” ceramics class. We have all had similar conversations and it is difficult not to be sensitive toward these types of opinions. With the ongoing threat of shrinking budgets, art teachers are especially sensitive. All too often we hear of art programs getting cut permanently from schools. Add in the uncertainty of how the Common Core movement will change arts education, and it’s an intimidating time to be an art teacher. The undervaluing of art education seems to be growing at an alarming rate. We as teachers of the arts are sitting ducks, waiting to see if things will change and how. We are victims of circumstance… or are we? There must be something we can do. No, I’m not suggesting marches and picket signs. I’m talking about using the skills we already have as innovators and educators. Just think about the effect we could have if every art teacher in Wisconsin used his voice and creative ingenuity that we gained from our art educations. Here are a few examples of how we can start to educate the public on the benefits of arts: Monthly Newsletter: The old fashioned kind… on paper. Email is great, but it is easy to skim an email and hit the delete button never to think about it again. A paper newsletter can sit on the counter or even get clipped to the fridge if you’re lucky! You could discuss what each grade level is creating in art class, what skills they are learning, and how they are preparing children for the future. This is a great way to educate parents on the developmental benefits of art. You can offer tips to parents of elementary kids as to how they can assist their child in further developing their motor and communication skills. A newsletter would also be a great place to ask for supplies and especially volunteers when needed. Summer Mural Painting: Contact some local businesses to see if they would allow you to paint a mural on their building. In Augusta, high school art teacher, Karen Clark, holds a summer class where high school kids can sign up to help paint a mural. Ms. Clark tries to create one per summer and most are located in the downtown area. Many murals are based on the history of the town. At last count, there were seven murals in the small town of Augusta. Community Art Projects: Offer an opportunity for parents to come in on a Saturday or a few evenings after school to create a large group project with their child. It could be anything from a bottle cap mural, junk art sculpture, or anti-bullying art. You may even want to plan this project and display it during a busy time in the school, such as parent-teacher conferences or a Christmas concert. Giving Bowls Event: In Fall Creek, art teacher, Tasha Newton, holds a spring giving bowls event. Throughout the school year, each of her elementary kids creates and glazes a ceramic bowl. In the spring Ms. Newton holds an evening event where the community is invited to buy a bowl of soup and a ceramic bowl. Children give tours of the school including the art room where volunteers are throwing pots on the pottery wheel. The entire school is decked out in art from each grade level. Ms. Newton also invites the news station in to cover the event. All of the proceeds go to the local food pantry. All of these examples will require more work on your part. We all work hard and our time is limited, but we are creative people. Enlist some help and find your voice. It’s worth it for the sake of our kids and their future. My journey to educator began with a promise I made to myself in 1998, the year I graduated college double majoring in Graphic
Design and Sculpture. I had always wanted to be a graphic designer; teaching was never in the cards for me. I was more interested in having a career where I could create art, not teach art. It’s funny how we think we are in control of our destiny, isn’t it? While in college, my summers were spent working for the city parks and recreation department where I was the Art Director for the neighborhood park program. I supervised 36 playground leaders, most of whom were education majors. The playground leaders were stationed around the city where they played games and made arts and crafts with the neighborhood kids. I created the arts and craft projects and would teach the playground leaders how to make them each week. As soon as one summer ended, I looked forward to returning the following summer. How could I not? I spent my summer creating arts and crafts, playing with kids, and supervising some very fun loving people. This would be the first time I considered teaching as a career. I brushed it aside, however, because I wanted to create art, not teach art. My last year of college was a transitional time for me. I had just gotten back from a month long backpacking trip through Europe where I visited as many museums as humanly possible. The friend I had gone to Europe with was a co-worker from parks and recreation and loved art. She was an education major and eagerly listened to me go on and on about Brunelleschi and the dome for the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the architecture of Gaudi, and many other facts that I had learned in my grueling art history classes. She was a patient student and I want an enthusiastic teacher. Again, I brushed aside the idea of teaching. After returning from Europe and starting my final year of college, I was hired by a non-profit art school who worked mostly with economically disadvantaged kids. I thought this sounded “fun.” I taught after-school art classes to groups of 10-15 kids at a time. At one point, the local Catholicschool brought me in to teach a semester of morning elementary art classes. I loved how I felt after I left work. I had made a difference that day. It was time to admit that the idea ofs teaching wasn’t going to pass. I looked into changing my major with one semester left before graduation and quickly dismissed the idea once I realized just how much extra school I would need. I decided at this point that I would enter the workforce as a Graphic Designer and one day retire as an Art Teacher. Every few years I looked at going back to school but it was never the right time. I got married and had a family but never lost sight of the promise I had made myself in 1998. I enjoyed 14 years as a Graphic Designer and worked in many roles including owning my own publishing business. Finally, when my youngest child was 3, I decided it was now or never. I had been staying at home with her while publishing my own magazine and felt ready. It was time to make this life altering change…it was scary. I had been comfortable in my career and was about to start completely over. I won’t say that going back to school was easy. Trying to find the time to read, write papers, and do homework was difficult with two kids tugging on me. Not to mention the PPST was a killer! It had been a long time since I had used some of those math skills. One of my most special memories was of my son giving me advice after I found out that I didn’t pass the math part of the PPST and cheering for me when I did pass. Today, I am enjoying the challenge my first year as an Art Teacher. I am teaching middle school and high school art and have days that I am so busy I can’t see the end of my “to do” list. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I had to do the last 15 years over, I don’t think I would change a thing. Well, except for passing that math PPST on the first try. I feel very fortunate to have had the experiences I’ve had with my first career, I believe it makes me a stronger teacher. Although, I do look forward to the day when I feel like I have it all together… will that day ever come? I am always on the lookout for new ways to inspire my students, especially with local examples of art. One amazing new addition, now in its third year, in my community is Sculpture Tour Eau Claire. The non-profit organization has created a free outdoor sculpture exhibit that is on display year-round in the city. This year the exhibit features 31 sculptures, all of which are owned by the artists and on a year-long loan to Sculpture Tour Eau Claire. Each May, a new set of sculptures will arrive to be displayed. The artists reside as far away as Florence, Italy, but the tour has also included local Eau Claire artists as well. There are three Eau Claire locations where you can see these sculptures, all of them located near the downtown vicinity. This year’s tour includes the Water Street area, which is near the UW-Eau Claire campus and frequented by many college students. One of the Water Street sculptures reaches 13 feet into the air. For more information on the sculptures featured in Sculpture Tour Eau Claire you can visit the website: www.sculpturetour.org/index.html. In addition to the fact that Sculpture Tour Eau Claire offers the residents a chance to see amazing sculptures within the city, the community also gets to vote on their favorite sculpture. After the voting closes, the sculpture with the most votes is purchased and put on permanent display somewhere in the city. Art collectors and community members have also helped to purchase more than 12 sculptures over the past two years. Some of the sculptures have even been donated to local nonprofit groups such as the YMCA and L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. During my time as a student teacher, I was fortunate enough to be placed in an elementary school that was within walking distance to one of the three sculpture tour locations. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take my students to see art that was practically in their backyard. I developed a lesson on digital photography and the sculptures were our subject matter. On a beautiful fall day, with my cooperating teacher and aids, I walked 45 fourth grade students downtown to take pictures of the sculptures. Divided into smaller groups, we had the opportunity to see, touch, and vote on the art. We spent time discussing the materials used in each sculpture, how they were created, and photographing the sculptures. The majority of my students had never been to an art museum; they were very curious and interactive with the art. More than anything, I simply enjoyed watching them run their fingers over the smooth cold marbled torso, sit next to the bronze girl on a bench, and high five the larger-than-life sized dog. Oh, and their photographs turned out amazing, too. The WAEA is inviting you to purchase Logo Links/Vendor advertisements that will be located on the WAEA website: www.wiarted.org. We publish four quarterly issues of the e-ArtTimes along with members and non-members visiting our website throughout the year.
Option One: The advertisements will be placed within the e-ArtTimes pages navigated to the page via the link located on the WAEA homepage. Cost: 150.00 per year Requirements: All advertisements will be posted on June 1, 2012 to align with our budgetary cycle and will be renewed or removed on May 31, 2013. For example if you are interested in posting an advertisement in August, WAEA will post your advertisement at that time but you will be billed for the full year. Format of Logo Link/Advertisement: A quality JPG of your logo with the website address that you wish to link to, such as, a particular sales special, event or your website. Option Two: The Logo Link/Advertisement will be place on the right sidebar of the homepage. Cost: 250.00 per year Requirements: All advertisements will be posted on June 1, 2013 to align with our budgetary cycle and will be renewed or removed on May 31, 2014. For example if you are interested in posting an advertisement in August, WAEA will post your advertisement at that time but you will be billed for the full year and your advertisement will post through May 31, 2014. Format of Logo Link/Advertisement: A quality JPG of your logo with the website address that you wish to link to, such as, a particular sales special, event or your website. Option Three: The Logo Link/Advertisement will be place on the right sidebar of the homepage and on our WAEA Facebook page. Cost: 350.00 per year Requirements: All advertisements will be posted on June 1, 2013 to align with our budgetary cycle and will be renewed or removed on May 31, 2013. For example if you are interested in posting an advertisement in August, WAEA will post your advertisement at that time but you will be billed for the full year and your advertisement will post through May 31, 2013. Format of Logo Link/Advertisement: A quality JPG of your logo with the website address that you wish to link to, such as, a particular sales special, event or your website. Option Four: A Vendor printed advertisement will be published for our two paper communications in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013. The WAEA paper communications will be sent to 500+ members. Only a full-page advertisement will be available. Cost: 250.00 per year without an option for ½ year purchase Requirements: Vendors may submit two different advertisements to promote specific products/events. Format of Advertisement: Full-page PDF version of advertisement required in black and white. Deadline for WAEA Printed Advertisement: May 31, 2013 |
Advertising Manager![]() Amy KentAs a young graphic art student at Minnesota State University-Mankato, Amy had an opportunity to teach art classes for economically disadvantaged students. This began her passion for teaching. After finishing her BFA in Graphic Design and Sculpture, she spent a month backpacking through Europe where she was able to see, first-hand, many of the art pieces she studied in college.
Amy enjoyed 15 years as a graphic artist, website designer, and entrepreneur. Finally, the opportunity presented itself for Amy to go back to school and pursue a career in art education. Last summer, Amy graduated and became licensed to teach art. She spent the past school year as a long-term art substitute teacher in two different school districts and is looking forward to having her own classroom. Because of her diverse background, Amy feels that she can guide her students in their current artistic achievements and also help them envision themselves as artists in the future. Advertising Resources
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