Visual Arts Classic 2013

As teachers and Visual Arts Classic coaches we strive to design projects that will not only build our students knowledge of a wide range of mediums and allow them to express themselves creatively, but also give them a greater understanding of art history.  I will be using my summer travels to Ireland, France, and England as a source for new curriculum.  I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of one of the 13 Fund For Teachers Fellowships that were awarded in the state of Wisconsin.  Through my fellowship experience I was able to study the art and architecture of the Middle Ages, in order to revamp my current Middle Ages Unit.  As I continue to create and revise lessons I will share them on the WAEA website.  It is important for us as teachers and coaches to continue to find inspiration from the art that surrounds us and to share our excitement for art and creative processes with our students.

This year the prompts will be designed around the theme Art and Stereotypes.  We will have a list of artists and cultures posted on the VAC portion of the WAEA website.  The following people were instrumental in making our June planning meeting a success:  Robert Smith, Jim Dietz, Judy Grochowski, Nancy Walker Zabler Beth Schlieger, Dani Graf, Kyle Clemins, Leah Wood, and John-Paul Butcher.  Nancy Walker Zabler and Judy Grochowski have stepped down from their roles in facilitating VAC at the State level and will be greatly missed for their wisdom and energy that they have provided to VAC for so many years.  

Thankfully three more teachers have stepped up to work at the State level, Beth Schlieger from Whitewater High School, Shannon Kamm from Baldwin High School, and John-Paul Butcher from Osseo-Fairchild High School.  Shannon is taking on the role of registration chair and will be more than happy to send each coach the Long-Term prompts once she has your registration check and has confirmed that your WAEA/NAEA membership is up to date.  You can help accelerate your VAC registration by emailing Shannon a copy of your current WAEA/NAEA membership atvacregistraion@wiarted.org.   John-Paul will be coordinating the judges for State VAC, so if you or someone that you know are interested in judging please contact him at vacjudges@wiarted.org.  Shannon will be working with me to make sure that the gallery and Critical Thinking Competition are run smoothly and she can be contacted at vac2@wiarted.org. Once again Diane Urban will serve as our Quiz Bowl Chair.  Students may send their Quiz Bowl questions, answers, and sources to Diane at vacquizbowl@wiarted.org, this is a great advantage for each team as their questions may be used in either the Regional or State level Quiz Bowls.  The State VAC planning committee expects to have the prompts ready at the beginning of the school year.

For those of you who are not familiar with VAC, it is a competition for High School students that encourages team building skills through the Critical Thinking and Quiz Bowl competitions, allows students compete individually in one of eleven studio categories, and allows them to have fun while learning more about art history and studio production.  We currently have eight regional competitions, located throughout the state, where students will participate for the opportunity to compete at the VAC State competition on Friday April 12, 2013.  Regional dates will be posted on the website as they become available.  If you are a division three, four, or five school you may have up to two eighth grade students on your team.   If you have any questions about VAC 2012 or if you are interested in starting a team at your high school please do not hesitate to contact me, Danielle Penney, at vac@wiarted.org.