Finally an update!

Friends and family (the few that read this),
I am sorry I have not updated recently but I assure you that everything is going great! My students are coming around and their projects are fantastic.

5th graders are just finishing up their first project, modeled from Kandinsky and they are looking GREAT! I can't wait for the last class to finish so I can take pictures! 6th graders are just finishing up their first project, modeled from O'Keeffe and they are also looking fantastic! Reminder that I see them once every 6 days so this is just about the amount of time for a full project to be completed, 7-8 days depending on the schedule.  :) Next comes figure drawing for 5th grade and perspective for 6th grade. Both something I am looking forward to.

The 7th and 8th grade will be introduced to a new unit in the school, Graphic Design. 7th graders will explore more of Publisher, Tagxedo.com, and Prezi.com.  8th graders will also dabble in Prezi.com but expand by using Photoshop and Illustrator.  It's nothing in depth but just a chance for them to get their hands on new technology, more in their generation.

7th graders have completed their value and form unit, their optical illusion unit, their trading card (printmaking) unit, and just finished their monochromatic painting unit.  8th graders have completed their silhouette unit, pottery unit, and stipple drawing unit.  They have done a fantastic job.

Soon to come: Kandinsky Projects, O'Keeffe Projects, and Pottery Projects. I'm so proud!

Stipple Project Display, 8th Grade

 

Stipple Project, 8th Grade

Trading Card Display, 7th Grade

Stipple Project, 8th Grade

Silhouette Project, 8th Grade

You learn, you always learn.

So here goes attempt 4. I learned and was given reassurance that if I fire my projects at a very low cone setting, the clay will still harden into ceramic but it will not vitrify (?) fully. This is important when glazing later or for pieces intended to eat or drink out of (is what I'm told anyway). That said, I've come to the conclusion I will be starting with decorations using paint instead of glaze, at least until I get this clay thing down.

So I fired up my kiln today. Cone 06, even though that isn't the recommended cone for stoneware but since it will suffice to harden the clay, I'll try it. I need to learn. And I am. Soooo much, thanks to the HS ceramics teacher. I ordered my new clay and the high school will still buy the stoneware. Everyone cross your fingers, please.

Addition:
Resources, resources. I have to say I would seriously be crying in the corner after everything if it weren't for my mentors, my friend that works for Continental Clay, and the high school art teacher. I have learned beyond what the ceramics class in college taught me and for that I am thankful; perhaps too late...but thankful none the less. I have been urged by many people to switch to Low Fire clay...and I have.

Regardless, I am still crossing my fingers for my return to school tomorrow.

...it could've been worse.

Well, I left you with the kiln chaos that was the circuit breaker.
But it only gets better from there.

I did a second load, crossed my fingers that the power would last and....came back the next morning to a kiln full of rubbish: aka, destroyed beyond destroyed pottery at a tint of brown that shouldn't be the color of the clay...right. As I stand there, in tears - my school mentor comes in to assess the damage. Now it's my turn to explain to the students that A) one pot exploded and B) that same pot aimed and fired at every single pot around it. That was fun. It started lightly and most kids were understanding until I hit one of my better students who was d-e-v-e-s-t-a-t-e-d. Completely shattered. And I know this feeling. In third grade, I had a pot and it exploded and I was crushed. I assured her everything would be okay and figured out who and when people would be able to come in and remake their pot. Ugh.

Okay so I reload the kiln. It ran fine, right? I cross my fingers, the kids cross their fingers, and I get noooo sleep. I come back to a school where the power is on, that's good. I open the kiln and there are no broken pieces, okay also good. I look at the display on the kiln and I see in big green scary mean letters "ERRORONE" blinking at me ferociously. As I slumped down, not crying because I was too exhausted I knew I had to go from there. I found the manual and read through the errors. My school mentor came in to see if today was any better and consulted the manual with me. We found the error - something about the temperature not reading right.

So I called the high school ceramics teacher, told him the timeline, that I was firing Buff Stoneware Cone 6, and that I didn't know how to proceed. And he just kind've paused and said, "Why are you firing Stoneware?" and I said, "Well, it's what was left from last year and what the last teacher told me to order because it's what she did and what she fired in this kiln and what do you mean why am I firing Stoneware?" He explained that Stoneware fires at Cone 6-10 (this I knew) and that my Automatic Electric kiln, while it can be programed to Cone 6 under a very large power source (which it is not hooked up to) it should never run that high because it is built for Cone 5 and below. It allllllll comes together. My predecessor ordered Stoneware because her husband who taught at the high school with a high fire kiln ordered Stoneware and fired it in the kiln we have because she just assumed it would work (can't blame her if it did). I found out from other teachers that she had mishaps with her clay, would get error messages, and would have funny colored clay but she just brushed it off because she assumed it just happened.

Soooo, with the advice of the high school teacher I called the company that made the kiln and he pretty much said the same thing - and that she was merely lucky that it didn't break. That it was fine, however I should not fire anymore stoneware. I had three options. Buy new clay. Upgrade my kiln for lots of money. Or not have a ceramics unit.

From there I consulted my principal, who said option 1 was the best idea. That we would sell the clay to the high school - whether they could afford it this year or next, it would even out in the end. And I would then order new clay -- earthenware that fires at a much lower cone.

Annnnd I have to bring the unfired stoneware projects to the high school to fire because I don't want the kids to have to redo them. The high school is going to buy the clay I have - the years worth supply of it, which is nice. And the high school ceramics teacher has been great. My principal, totally understanding.

I learned how to use my resources, not panic, use this as a teachable moment and you know what - my kids are fine with it, the one girl calmed down and I pulled her in during passing period and showed her that I could bring her back up to speed with the clay if she was short on time. Not one of my practices, that I help to that extent, but this was a situation where she put her heart into that project, did nothing wrong, and I wanted to do what I could. She looked at me, and with a huge smile, said "Miss Jorgensen, I appreciate your help but I really have enjoyed this year because you do make us do our projects and I was so upset because I had put work into it and it broke. But I'm glad that I did the work, and it's my creation and I didn't need your help. So thanks, but it's okay - I'll remake it." And you know what - through all this resource using, thinking on my feet...that was the reward. Knowing that the kids are continually loving and embracing their artwork and their own creativity.

And while I have to return and reorder clay which costs money, and make trips to fire clay which takes time....I still have rewards coming in. I still love what I do. Oh and like it says up above - I'm still learning! :)

Character Counts

2 of my most talkative and rebellious kids are missing school tomorrow to attend a visitation and funeral for another classmate's grandfather who passed away this week. Tragic...and heartwarming to know that the eldest students of the school are grouping together in support of a classmate. These two talked to me today about their fears and concerns about the funeral and while I could only give them my best advice from experience and remind them that what they are doing is a tremendous act of support for their classmate, my main thought while talking to them that I was so proud - almost so proud to tears - of them, their courage, and their compassion. Beyond that, I was glad I could be the teacher they came to to talk about some of their everyday/out of school problems.

On a classroom side of things...
I fired the kiln a couple times this summer. Ran great. I turned it on last night before I left for the day, step by step - it turned on, started running and was doing everything normal. I had a dream that something would go on. This is just the first year teacher in me, of course, and I knew that anything that could go wrong would only be by accident. So I'm thinking A) either a pot will blow up or B) I set the kiln wrong. Anyways, I get to school crossing my fingers and what do I walk into? A smoldering hot room (which would be normal) and a kiln that is not flashing any "complete" lights at me, in fact! It's completely shut off, cooling down from the high heat it was in the middle of the night. I press buttons, I flip the breakers (my kiln is nearly brand new and powered by its' own separate breaker) and run over to my mentors room and express my panic. I could not open the kiln because it was around 1000 degrees still (that was a guess) to see if something had happened but my first solution was to call my predecessor and see if she had any thoughts. She directed me to the maintenance head who agreed with me that it was the fuse and it needed to be replaced.

Surely enough, they came and tested the fuses and replaced them because they were bad. And walah! Kiln turned back on and started assessing the temperature which read about 895 degrees. It cooled down by my prep period and I unloaded the kiln to see the pottery had fired well and reloaded the kiln. Now, that was not my fault or the kilns fault - just the fuse but still, as a first year art teacher you can imagine my panic! So now, having turned the kiln *back* on and having it run another set of pots through - I just cross my fingers hoping that I return in the morning to a kiln that is ON and running from a power source that isn't faulty! Woo! That was my adventure today. And I kept in mind alllll day that it would get figured out and didn't break a sweat - shows I'm growing up (yes, I slightly sweated because of the heat - just not the stress).

OH! And I'm very excited because I am going to incorporate Graphic Design into the curriculum for both 7th and 8th grade. The kids are very excited about this! They are excited to go further with the technology they already know - and I gathered my resources together so I could apply what was talked about at the conference to my classroom. The tech teachers are supportive and also seem excited about this. :) Wish me luck!

AEI Conference

Exhibit at the Sioux City Art Center featuring the work of Nan Wilson

Food for thought: The path to success is most often found by taking wrong turns and learning through failure. You must be willing to take a chance knowing it could be a long walk until you get there.
-- I met so many people this weekend who prove that anything is possible so long as you are willing to put passion and commitment into whatever you are aiming for regardless of the obstacles in your way.

I love what I do. And this conference has only strengthened that idea. Between learning about different artists, lesson plans, and concepts - and learning of ways to get even more involved, participating in the advocacy for Iowa arts, and what we should be pushing towards for our youth's curriculum including technology and the like - I am living and breathing art education. This isn't about me or my pay check, its about my kids.

Highlights-
- David Warlick...preparing our students for an unpredictable future. If I had unlimited income, I would book him at every district Pro Devel in Iowa.
- Discussing the importance of technology. Pushing to teach kids with the technology and beyond it...kids know how to use it so lets stop teaching how and teach more on what can be done with it.
- Gallery visits and the Sioux City Art Center, fantastic.
- Art On Fire and VSA...using art in the special education areas and how.
- Professional Learning Communities...Getting it to work and how to make it more effective in the arts...like using blogs and ICN settings.
- Playing with new Crayola products and lessons.
- Donorschoose.org (thank my mentor) which is a org that funds classrooms through various donors.

Goodness I love what I do. I am extremely thankful this weekend was funded by AEI and my district but I would have paid if it hadn't. Please, if you are reading - commit with me to advocate the importance of art education. In corny closure: you cannot be 'smart' without 'art'.

Ps. A lot of discussion was held about the fact that art already addressing language arts, social studies, math, and science - and without art these subject areas in turn have less to talk about, some have hardly anything to talk about at all (art including both visual and performance). Instead of just focusing on how we can put the other areas into our subject to cover the core - they too should concentrate on finding ways to put the arts in their classes to help and further develop their teaching. I liked this.


Driving home, Sunday afternoon - ready to see Roxxy (my puppy).