Ya and Me in front of the Tree

At the Gala. Ya was my date since Cliff had to be in Houston to teach. Don't we look festive?

Party girl

Scott would be so proud of me. I actually went out last night to a club where the entertainment didn't begin until 11pm. But ironically, the entertainment had finals this morning and closed it down at 12:30. So I guess Scott is only partially proud of me since he usually rocks until 4. But hey it's a start.

I'm trying to cram in an entire semester of Denton night life in this last relatively care free week. I went last night to Dan's Silver Leaf again to hear Paul Slavens who does improvisational musical comedy. You give him some sort of song title wrapped in some dollar bills ( he plays the highest dollar amounts first and the rest in descending order) and he makes up a song on the spot. It's all good fun. And he is really excellent at doing this. He has a band made up of guys who just want to jam on a Monday night, all about my age and so they've been playing a long time and are really good. One of them is part of Brave Combo. Sometimes he ( Brave Combo Guy) brings in instruments that he made himself, which he did last night. He strung a bunch of empty booze bottles together and he plays them like a flute, like some sort of wacky Pan. It was fun. But one can still smoke in the bars here in Denton, so this morning my throat is sore and my hair and clothing smell like an ashtray. Ahhhhhh college life!

Rockin' to Brave Combo

NTIEVA ( North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts) bought all the Priddy's tickets to the Greater Denton Arts Council annual Gala tonight. We drank, and ate and danced to Brave Combo, which is a local Denton Polka band which just happened to win 2 Grammys and is up for another one. Check them out here . It was really really fun. All the Priddy's danced together to many cool tunes, including a few polkas, and I even took a spin on the dance floor with Dr. Davis, our host ( as Director of NTIEVA). It's a nice way to wind up the semester. 2 more classes and one more presentation to go and then HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ME!

Nearing the end. . .

Whew!

For one of my projects I had to profile a leader in Arts Education. The project was in three parts, a paper, a PowerPoint presentation to the class and a Pachyderm presentation posted to the web. If you would like to view my Pachyderm presentation on awesome art educator Olivia Gude, click here.

I am down to my last project which I think we will also be able to post to the web. It is a little program that allows students to compose visually and musically simultaneously. I present that on Weds.

This means I am basically finished with the semester. Wow. It flew. We have a Gala on Sunday night to wrap it all up and we are playing secret Santa this week in the lab. I've gotten tissues that look like 100 dollar bills and chocolate so far. So far so good. There is a party at one of the Fellow's home on Weds night and then I will leave for home for a MONTH on Thursday. I will see many of you then.

I'm not quite sure what to do with myself when I have nothing immediately due and demanding attention, but I am finding things to do, like filing all the papers that are taking over my apartment and, oh yeah, what's that called?. . . relaxing.

And now for something completely different. . .

It's fun having Maria as my cubical mate. She's not only a fabuloso flutist she is also the student co-chair of the Fine Arts Series here at UNT. So last night after a day of annotated bibliography Maria took me along to hear the campus Mariachi band. Ei-Yi-Yi !! that's some fun! And then tonight, after a day of laundry and grocery shopping with homework in between I was Maria's guest at dinner theatre. We chowed down on some yummy turkey and pecan pie while enjoying The Trammels who do song parodies. Tonight they were parodying Christmas song and the good old American commercialism of the holidays in general. It was a sing-along. Very funny and fun.

Tomorrow it's back to work, but then it really is Christmas.

The Doctor and a Concert

I went to our University Health Center today to have my annual check up. It was quite the positive experience. The center is brand spankin' new and it is cozy sort of like a comfortably chic hotel. No white and shinny, all cherry wood and soft lighting. And they are efficient and cheery, and got me in and out quickly, did a really complete physicial and blood work and the best part is it cost me ZERO dollars with my Priddy provided health insurance. Yea! for the health center!

Then I worked the rest of the day on the Annotated Bibliography of the Literature concerning Assessment in the Arts that is due TUESDAY- oh my, but I am going to work all day today and the rest of the weekend, and the good news is that the last remaining project for the semester which is a multimedia program construction which facilitates learning crossovers in visual art and music, has been pushed back a week to NEXT weds, Whew! I may get it all done.

But then! last night, as I was typing away, my friend and cubical buddy, Maria, who is completing her Ph.d in flute performance ( and she ROCKS) was on her way out to a recital and my legs just made me jump up and go with her. It was fun, I heard Gaubert, Debussy, Shubert, Berio and Reinecke all played on a solid gold flute by a lovely young woman in a Vera Wang gown.

So today will be all about catching up.

Helllooooooo!

It's been a long time, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

I drove home to Houston with a guest, Ya, my friend from China. We had a lovely drive and I learned a lot about the Cultural Revolution, which her parents lived through as young adults. Ya was born shortly after it was over. It is fascinating to hear her recall first hand accounts from her parents. One thing I never thought about is that they now have no personal or family heirlooms, they were all destroyed as a result of the revolution. How sad. Being there with Ya, who is a young woman, also made me realize that China has only been recovering from that horrible episode for her short life-time. I can imagine that the older generation's head is spinning from all the change. And really, something that never quite hit home for me is that it's only been a little over 100 years, since China was a dynasty. I knew that in my mind, but to hear Ya speak of her great grandfather who was under the dynasty rule brings the reality home.

so we had a cultural exchange going on in both directions. She enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal and tried it all, she had never had turkey before. I told her about the President pardoning the turkey and she found that very amusing.

Now I am back in Denton and crossing things off my long to do list. But I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I actually feel like I may have a handle on it.

Update on the crazies

click here to go to the Sprial Workshop homepage. Read all about the workshop and get awesome lesson ideas, for the art teacher, or for your own enjoyment. I just finished my profile on Olivia Gude, the workshop's founder. She's awesome.

I finished that major paper and other minor stuff and now I'm working one of the 2 other major papers I have due. I still have 3 presentations to get together and an advocacy plan so that's only 6 major things to complete in the next two weeks. But then I get a month off!!

I'm still loving it all, even if its totally nuts, I love nuts.

Sesame Street - Cereal Girl

We are looking at "edutainment" in class and here is an example, gotta love it.

Whew! I'm tired

The Texas Art Education Association conference in Galveston this past weekend was a wholelotta fun, but I'm beat! Daniela and I presented twice on Everybody Wins! Teaching Life Skills Students in the Inclusion Classroom. Both times went really well and I think we met a need, or at least got the ball rolling for the need to be met for the people who attended. I attended several very enlightening workshops on advocacy, visual literacy and visual culture, teaching special needs students, technology in education, and one especially interesting one about teaching students from working class homes. The time I wasn't presenting or attending workshops I was hangin' with the homies from Alvin laughing and eating. That was a joy.

I slipped away from the conference to attend Cliff's play on Saturday night. I'm very proud to report that he and his cast and crew raised nearly $3000 for scholarships! Bravo! And I must say that the production was very well done, funny as hell and poignant, but if I do say so myself, Cliff's performance stole the show. The students in the audience cheered when he came on stage. I'm real proud of him.

But the world still turns and I presented tonight in my History of Art Education class on Art Education from 1960-1980, the years I was in school. I think it went well. It was especially interesting to study that time from an outside perspective and to match it to my experience.

And now I am on to writing a profile on Oliva Gude, exemplary art educator. I have a phone interview with her set for tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to that.

When you just need a hug

click here

Plugging Cliff's Play

For those of you in the Greater Houston Area: Cliff is directing a Faculty Play which opens (and closes) this weekend. It is fundraiser for scholarship money. The play is The Boys Next Door, he cast it with all women ( except for his role, yes, acting AND directing) but he is keeping the title as is. If you've never seen the play, it's very very funny. 2 performances ( cheap entertainment for a good cause) this weekend, Saturday night at 8 and Sunday at 2:30 at Friendswood High School auditorium.

3 down

Ok, here's the update: I finished the paper on my concept of a meaningful art curriculum, Olivia Gude is the hero of that paper, and she is my choice for my profile of an arts educator I admire, I started that paper today. I finished my analysis of World of Warcraft titled, "Pattiemoo Joins Me in Another World", and I finished my chronology, time line and PowerPoint for the History of Art Education 1960-1980 presentation. My goal is to have the Profile in Leadership paper and PowerPoint research pretty well finished before I go to the Texas Art Educators conference this weekend. I'm trying to clear the plate for that. It couldn't possibly be at a worse time, but it is when it is.

It's crunch time

I have so much to do and little time to do it, that I thought I would take time out to tell you that I have no time. Due this month: Paper on my concept of a meaningful art curriculum citing the art educators and philosophies shaping my thoughts; Paper on World of Warcraft as a cultural interface citing the writers and theorists and theory shaping my thoughts; Paper on the History of art education from 1960-1980 along with a time line, a chronology and a PowerPoint presentation in class showing both the history of art ed during that time but also how it interrelates with the the cultural, political and global history as well as general education; an annotated bibliography of all the research I can find on art assessment; A paper, PowerPoint and Pacyderm presentation on an art educator whom I admire and consider to be a leader in the field; An Arts advocacy plan identifying a need for advocacy and developing a step by step strategy for addressing that need; A journal detailing my community service with Denton ISD;contributions to and evaluation of the UNT History of Art Education web site; Report on the tracking of Arts related legislation; Develop and program a new media object to address a need in the arts classroom which will address both music and art; and keep up with all the weekly reading and homework for the classes.

Ok, I don't think I left anything out. So this is why I'm a little crazy right now, but you can see it is also all very interesting, good stuff that makes me want to do more than really immediately necessary, and that is where I get into trouble.

I thought I would share this little funny with you. We had to "cut and paste" for one of our exercises in class. We took 3 quotes from 3 different articles on new media. We had to use all the words and couldn't add words. We had to cut them up and paste them together into a whole. Here's what I got. I think this is how some folks write their dissertations:

All the mystification through years of repetition, a strange fragmented authoritarianism, the cultural producer more total for being: A book can contribute to the perpetual fight against words. The lost have meaning and life.

Happy Day After Halloween

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Official Priddy Photo

I changed out my hangin' in Italy photo with my official Priddy Fellowship photo. I 'm just tryint to be all feng shui.

PattiMoo

PattiMoo is the name of my character in World of Warcraft. The whole Multimedia class is playing it this week on a 10 day trial. We are writing a paper on it, all about identity etc etc. Anyway, I have video game homework, I think my nephews will be really envious. PattiMoo is part of the Horde ( the scruffy bunch) as opposed to the Alliance ( the pretty bunch) She is a big cow-like warior. So far I've been wandering around fufilling quests for the Horde, mostly bashing things over the head. I've learned I don't really enjoy bashing things over the head, even in virtualy reality.

Weird

Today I'm strolling through the nearly deserted campus (Sunday) on my way home from the Priddy lab when I look up and see my former Alvin HS student walking toward me. I didn't know she was at UNT. It turns out we are both Art Education majors. It was an odd moment for both of us standing there in our UNT sweatshirts and jeans. Good to see her, and good to know she's going into art education

Hangin' in the Jupiter House

I had to get out of my apartment. I spent all day yesterday doing a time line of the history of art education from 1960 t0 1980. You wouldn't think there would have been a lot to put on such a timeline but everything affects education so before you know it you have Sputnik and the civil rights movement, the counter culture and the space program all crowding themselves in there along with everything else.
In the meantime, back in the real world, it is so so so so unbeLIEVEably beautiful here. It's perfect, in a nut shell. Sunny, bright, crisp, slight breeze the kind of weather that makes you want to find someone to walk hand in hand with. So this morning I grabbed my laptop and have found my way to the Jupiter House, the local cyber cafe with great coffee and pastries and big windows and a front door they keep open to the weather, and I am working here, because, let's face it, I have to work, there aren't any days off really.
Which brings me to the thing I've been thinking about this morning. I am really having to redefine what it takes to get things done. A whole new face to self-discipline. My old model of getting up early, staying to a schedule etc etc, just isn't working here. And I'm finding out how tied I am to that old model, it's taking some time for this old dog to learn new tricks. But I'm adjusting, I'm being a little more fluent every day.

LBJ and Bob

Me and Scott as LBJ and (psyco) Bob Ross respectively Halloween 2006

I'm really boring

Right now all I do is read and write. Snooze. . . unless of course you are really interested in what you are reading, which I am, but that doesn't exactly make great blog posts. However, back in real life. . . Denton loves Halloween. One of the fellows has decorated our lab and there has been candy everywhere. Dr. Davis brought treats to class on Monday and tonight as I was walking home I walked into a sea of the tiniest little munchkins you ever saw coming out of the student union dressed up as princesses and doggies and ancient war lords with plastic jack-o-lanterns filled with treats. Evidently trick or treat is off to an early start. Our prof even called off class for next Wednesday night, (not the case for the night before Thanksgiving.) Last Halloween I dressed up as LBJ, this year I think I'm celebrating Halloween as a geek grad student playing World of Warcraft. But that's another post

Nichole, Nichole Where Would You Go if Your Soul Really Was in Your Eyes

I was home this past weekend to attend the reading of Loueva's play (Title Above). The play is beautiful and the reading was a smash. Here's a quote from the play:

The Surgeon says: Love must be continuous in the memory of our cells, otherwise, how would we sleep as deeply as a map of the stars folded shut in a book about infinity?

The tree and the iris

All the rhizome is is a metaphor for how we communicate, access information, and function in the global village. We used to do it like a tree, hierarchical, two from one reproduction, now we do it like the iris ( a rhizome root structure) non hierarchical, reproducing in the multiple, like the video visual. It's a different way to visualize our world and how we access and navigate it. Lisa suggests that perhaps you may need a little extra curricular help visualizing it, well, that may be true, and it could be helpful, fun even. Hey, whatever it takes.

Huh? is right!

I loved Mon's comment to my abstract. Huh? is right Mom! It's all way out there theoretical stuff we are learning about new media. It's all about how it is changing not only our culture but ourselves. It's very interesting, but you really have to have your head all in it and know and somewhat understand the jargon to make heads or tails of it (a little pun for you mom). I posted the abstract just to give you some idea of what I'm trying to grasp in that class. If you don't know what variablility and transcoding are, you really can't get the point, it's not that you're a dolt, it's just that you are not a cyber geek! But basically, I was trying to address how this particular piece of art called World of Awe could be seen as presenting us with the question of what it is to be human and where it is we really exist.

Abstract of my first paper for Multimedia: An Analysis of World of Awe as a Metaphor in New Media

This paper examines how the new media piece World of Awe (1997 to present), by artist Yale Kanarek, plays upon the new media principles of variability and transcoding, as defined by Lev Manovich in Chapter One of The Language of New Media (2001) to build what Migueal Amado claims in Rhizome News will remain one of the “most significant metaphors for our present human condition created by contemporary artists.” The examination is restricted to the context of the borders breached and strengthened in the process of creating and accessing World of Awe and how these borders work to both reflect and create the metaphor and what it signifies. It asks the question of where the borders exist, break and fuse both in reality and hyper-reality and what the possible implications for both art and identity may be or become.

Rhizome Navigation: Blogosphere Visualization

In case you are dieing to know what a rhizome might look like in new media

Up to my A** in Alligators

other than that life is pretty boring: get up, read, write, go to class, sleep, get up, read, write, go to class, sleep, repeat. Life is all in my head at the moment. The stuff in my head is pretty interesting however. Right now I'm doing a paper on Philip H. Phenix. When he was 19 yrs old (1934) Albert Einstein called his professor and asked to meet him because his senior ( he was a college senior at 19, let's start there) thesis was that astounding. He went on to teach at Teachers College , Columbia University for about 30 years, his legacy is mostly what he wrote about the quest for meaning and the moral curriculum. It's facinating to me, but everything I'm reading about is. The trick is to know when to stop reading and start writing.
The other thing I've been reading this week is the rhizome. I'll let the video clip clue you in on that.

Le Grand Content

This is what I'm learning in a nutshell. Now you are all up to date!

Ahhh Autumn

I had to grab my sweatshirt to be able to sit comfortably on my little patio this morning! It was a perfect autumn ( Texas style, let's not think New England) today. I took my work, by that I mean my laptop, out on the patio and stayed there until I had to go to the Denton ISD Fine Arts Council meeting, ( as part of my Politics and Advocacy class) and then on to my Multimedia Class from there. In MM we discussed hypertext and its implications and then played with a program called Scratch, which is geared toward children. Of course it's still way out of my league but it was fun.
But back to the weather, ain't it grand? I found a local fruit and vegitable market and bought a little bitty pumkin and set it out on my patio table. Fall, Bring it on.

Fun at school

I spent yesterday morning at a Denton ISD art teacher in-service at Billy Ryan HS. It was really great to be back among my peeps. I spent most of the time asking them about their education in art education and how it has paid off in the "real world." Most of them felt like the theory has been really valuable and that the "practical" classes like How to Write a Lesson Plan have turned out to be really impractical. This supports my theory that more theory needs to be made available to public school teachers and more practical experience needs to be made available to university professors who are training those students.

Do schools today kill creativity? (Ken Robinson, TEDTalks)

A Day of Music

My fellow fellow Maira has her doctoral recital (flute) on Monday and since I have class then and will have to miss it, I attended her rehersal today. It was wonderful. Her mom is in town from Iowa ( small world) and we sat together as the audience and air applauded ( since they were working and we didn't want to distract but just had to clap) Maria fluted her way throught time and style from the Baroque to 2007. She is quite the thang.

Then, as part of my work with Denton ISD I went to the Golden Triangle Invitational Marching Band Contest. It was fun to be back in High School land. I was surprized at how young the kids are! How soon we forget.

My new friend YA

I've been meeting with YA, an art educator here from China pursuing her doctorate in Art Education. We've been comparing notes on the state of art education in both our countries. There are many similarities, I would say more similarities than differences. And we share many of the same concerns, such as how to find a practical way to integrate the arts within the arts themselves and within the greater scope of the curriculum, how to maintain teacher autonomy while still addressing accountability and so forth. I find it fascinating that coming from 2 entirely different cultures and histories, so many of our issues are shared. The world is shrinking, it is flat perhaps. And that was another one of our shared concerns, how do we maintain our cultural "identities" our heritage ( much more a concern in China whose heritage is so much older and established) in our new global village.

Theory Weary

I've been living in theory land all week. I facilitated the discussion tonight ( along with my classmate Kristina) in my Multimedia class on the Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Halloway in contrast/comparison with Requim for the Media by Jean Baudrillard. We had really interesting conversation around Identity, Community and Intersubjectivity in the age of new media with a little Marxism thrown in. My brain is in pain, I have brain pain, from stretching it out to cram in all the remediation on basic socialist and feminist theory neccessary to get through any given paragraph either of these writers ever wrote. But now I am definatetly knowlegable enough on these subjects to completely misrepresent them. If I were a cyborg I would open my head right now and repalce the chip.

Nichole, Nichole, where would you go if your soul really was in your eyes?

If you are in Houston on the 21st of October, my friend Loueva Smith is having her play, (or verse-drama by the above title) read at the Heights Woman's Club, 1846 Harvard, at 3pm. Please join us. I'll be there and Cliff is reading a small part ( the only male role) of the anaesthesiologist.

Everybody would have fun participating with Steve

There is a very egalitarian research project being conducted right now that everyone, including your 4 year old, can participate in call the Steve project. (Click here) Add your own tags, have your students tag- it's fun. And it's interesting to see what others do.

Cool New Media Object (s)

go here

And here's another place to go

Hero of the week- John Goodlad

" the function of schools today appears to be more to sort the young for their place in society than to educate them for productive, responsible, satisfying participation in it" John Goodlad. John is my new best friend. He has a web site click here.

Here's another quote: "And we, the people, appear to understand that the linchpin of this aprrenticeship (in democracy) is a qualified, caring, competent teacher in every classroom"

Of course, you know that my hero will be someone new next week ( as I learn more about this education thang) sorry John. I hope we can still be friends.

I met myself

I forgot to mention that I met myself this weekend at the symposium. Stacey was in the first group of Priddy Fellows. A long time art teacher in Humble ISD, in her 50s, she took the year off on a leave of absence, left her hubby in Houston and got herself a little efficiency apartment here in Denton. She is now the Elementary Fine Arts Facilitator for Humble ISD. It was great to meet her and I'm sure we'll be in touch.

Check this out when you have time to burn

http://www.blinkink.co.uk/
because it will totally suck you in.

and this too.
http://www.dreamwv.com/probes/index.html

Marshall McLuhan Probes TV Medium

This is what we're talking about in Multimedia this week, the meduim is the message. Any brilliant insights out there?

The Art Outings

As part of our symposium this weekend ( see previous post or two) we went to two art outings. The first was a viola and piano recital and the second was a special gallery tour of the current exhibition, Ceremonies in African art at the Greater Denton Arts Council. The pieces we saw there are all a part of the private collection of Alfred Green Jr. and this is the last time they will be made available to the public. It is a staggering exhibit. If you are going to be up this way in the next month or so, it is worth the trip.
www.dentonarts.com/

All Things Art Leadership

The first annual Priddy Symposium in Arts Leadership blew our minds, or at least mine. Dr. Davis ( Director of the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts and director of the Priddy fellowship program) arranged this amazing weekend for us. He called together past Priddy fellows and past Marcus ( the fellowship before the Priddy which was exclusively for visual arts, the Priddy is for visual and music) fellows as well as faculty and community leaders from the "metroplex" and made time and space available which allowed this rich generative dialogue to occure while he was overfeeding us and giving us free cocktails. I don't know what was richer, the food, the deserts, ( of which I ate many) or the conversations the presentations generated. We talked about what it takes to make the arts a viable, vibrant player and contributor in our culture from just about every angle one could conceive, from the down and dirty nitty gritty of money to the lofty ideals of what art does for us and in us as human beings and everything in between.
I am very full on many, many levels.
I will pass on the details and insights as the occasion is ripe, as I will try to do with everything I learn here.

Very cool

I've been at the first Priddy Symposium in Arts Leadership all weekend. There is a whole lot to say about that, but I want to tell you about this cool project that I think would be fab for a HS art club.

Take a look at http://accessarthere.blogspot.com

The girl doing this is in a sister program to the Priddy Fellowship called the Center for Outreach in the Development of the Arts (CODA) fellowship which is for undergraduates at Rhodes college in Memphis, http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/1117.asp also funded by the Priddys. She was a panel presentor at the Symposium and presented this to us since she is the first Senior to go through the program and so the first to do a CAP project. A very cool CAP project.

All things Fine Arts

I met with the Fine Arts Director for Denton ISD today. He was incrediably generous with his time and spent about 2 and a half hours with me going over his position and responsibilites, giving me the overview of what a Fine Arts director does for a school district. They have an amazing program here. I'll be volunteering for him this semester so I'm sure I'll learn more.

Back to Kansas

Well, I have certainly been in the good old 3rd dimension all day today. Working away on my paper on the reconceptualists ( I never heard of them before either) and going to class. 2 classes on Wednesday. We got the down and dirty on both PowerPoint animation and Photoshop all in an hour tonight. I need a nap.

Doughnuts in the 14th dimension

Heather, my fellow fellow, posted this on the Priddy Blog in response to what we're batting around in Multimedia which has to do with time and space. I thought you would enjoy it. It expains, at least in part, doughnuts in the 14th dimension.

Gimmie that old time religion

I saw something today most usually reserved for college campuses. A man about my age set up a stool in the middle of the sidewalk outside the student union and was, in the most immense preacher voice I've heard in a long time, think tent revival, preaching the gospel. A crowd of students stood around him and one stood out from the crowd, a Jewish kid, trying to argue with him. The preacher man evidently knew more scripture than the Jewish kid, but the Jewish kid made a hell of a lot more sense. And then, working the fringes of the crowd were the Mormon missionary kids in white shirts and black ties. The preacher was in jeans and a button down, short sleved, plaid, cotton shirt. Could have been Mormon but I don't think this is their M. O. I stood under a tree, (it is a spectacular sunny day) and listened for about 2 mins, my tolerance level, and then walked on home. As much as I don't enjoy the message I love the medium. I love that aspect of college life. It made me smile all the way home.

APA hell

Any APA style experts out there? I am freaking out about having to learn the entire style by 5 pm yesterday. I bought the manual and all it does is make me glaze over and have heart palpatations. So if you know this style and you would like to volunteer to be my personal tutor I will bake cookies for you or something, let me know.

Where I've been

Here it is Wednesday and my last post was on Monday. That's because on Tuesday I was vomiting. I know, TMI, but true nonetheless. I had a 24 hour bug, literally, 24 hrs start to finish. I managed to write my first draft of my first paper Advocating the Value and Utility of Arts Education inbetween trips to the bathroom. I presented the draft to the class ( Politics and Advocacy) today and we had a big, long, delicious debate over it. I feel great today. Afterward 4 of us crashed (we thought we were invited but it turns out we weren't but they let us stay anyway) Greater Denton Arts Council Executive Board meeting. That was interesting on many levels. They couldn't have been more gracious to us, even taking time out to explain the purpose and process of the board and to illuminate projects and topics they were discussing. There's a whole lotta shakin' goin' on in the greater Denton arts scene.

I'm going home this weekend, so you won't hear from me again until Monday. I'm going to hole up in my little house in Dickinson and write 2 papers, read a boatload of articles and chapters and stuff in general and try to find my heinie. It's been missing in action since I got here.

Party girl

All I did was play, pretty much, Saturday and Sunday. I did manage to do laundry, run errands, buy groceries and cook for the week after Cliff left and before the departmental party for Art History and Art Ed. The party was great, lots of folks and food. I met some former Priddy Fellows and picked their brains. All were very positive about their experience. I will meet them all in a couple weeks at a symposium planned especially for us.
Then I came home and studied until after midnight. Got up early, did some on-line research this morning and now am headed out, first to the library and then the "office".
It's raining hard, a little storm. This will be my first experience navigating the walk to campus in inclement weather. Glad I have my little polka dot umbrella, a parting gift from Donna!

Rah, Rah, Sis Boom Bah!

050, originally uploaded by mabrylady.

After the Spider trek we stoped into the SMU stadium to watch the first half of the UNT vs.SMU game. We really just wanted to watch the band, which we did and then came on home. We stayed long enough to watch the Mean Green ( UNT) forfiet the lead to SMU on a penalty after the clock had run out. We're still listening to the game on the radio and we're going to lose. But it was a good game and they played well. But mostly it was a fun bit of Americana to participate in. And now I won't go my entire tenure at UNT with out seeing a game, thanks to my band nerd hubby. We had a good day.

Giant Spider Web trek

004, originally uploaded by mabrylady.

Cliff and I went to see the giant spider web, the web is giant not the spider. In fact, there are many, many beaucoups spiders involved in this project at Lake Tawakoni State Park near Wills Point TX east of Dallas. And the spiders are of many types. They all just got together and went nuts. More photos on my flickr page, the link to that is to your left.

Core issues

I took a break from the books today to go to a "core strengthing" class at the rec center. I have core issues. I think I may need to attend a few more of these to get them resolved.

The rest of the day was spent reading about core issues in curriculum writing for arts education.

Cliff arrives tonight to spend the weekend. We may go see the giant spider web in Wills Point.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lake_tawakoni/

Check out Lasse

Ok, if I understand this right, he doesn't play drums or piano at all, not even a little, nada, none whatsoever. He recorded every note on the piano and every beat of the drum as an individual shot and then edited the shots together in this order to make this song ( which he "wrote") Correct me if I'm wrong.
So, if he wanted to he could take the same bunch of shots and rearrange them into another song without ever "playing" another note.

Amateur - Lasse Gjertsen

Scripture and Normal

There is, in Denton, an actual intersection of Scripture and Normal ( streets). There's a poem in that.

I found this because I got lost this morning on my way to The Cupboard, the 1970s style whole foods grocery I like so much. I feel so pressured for time right now that getting lost was the best thing that could have happened to me. It's a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze, it's hot, but I was driving and I got to wander around the sweet little town of Denton a bit. It made me reevaluate my day and I bought flowers at the Cupboard along with my groceries. I'm writing to you and then I'm going to step aerobics. Home work will wait until after lunch.

Whew!

The presentation went really well. Lots of heady discussion and no one can tell us what Multimedia is. So there ya go, that's art fer ya.

The Honeymoon is Over

I've been watching the Soroity Sistas coming and going this week. It's all jeans and Tees now. Hardly any makeup even, and flip flops! How early in the relationship we let ourselves go!

What the heck IS Multimedia anyway?

I spent the day working with my presentation partner, Maria, to prepare for our presentation to our Seminar in Art Education, which we all fondly call "Multimedia" on the topic of- no less than- "What is Multimedia?" Our job is to facilitate a "lively" discussion on the topic. We read chapters from Inventing the Medium by J. Murray and Principles of New Media by L. Manovich and we looked at two interesting web sites www.artmuseum.net/w2vr/index.html and www.sfmoma.org/msoma/index.html .

We decided to facilitate by inventing a game around 10 questions. Here they are for your consideration. Weigh in if you have any brilliant insights.

1. What is the defining principle(s) of new media? What is a new media object and what distinguishes it from an old media object?

2. Discuss the influences of the Industrial Revolution and Postmodernism on the development of new media?

3. What were the parallel tendencies in modern art and computing technology after WW II.

4. What are the moral implications of new media?

5. Is it true that without discrete units that there is no languange and therefore no communication? Why or why not?

6. Why do we struggle to make computers coherent and expressibe despite all that can be said of their inhuman rigidity? How does our interst in engaging with computers reflect our culture and humanity?

7. Is it possible for human intentionality to be completely removed from the creative process? What are the implications of such a possibility?

8. How do modularity, automation, variablity, and transcoding depend upon new media being mathematical and programmable? How is that different from old media?

9. If the computer is a universal machine capable of representing anything, then can it represent all of human knowledge?

10. What is the "Yin and Yang" of the new media collaboration between engineer and artist?

I coulda had a V8 (or a Ph.d)

As I mentioned before, of the 10 Priddy Fellows there are only 2 of us who are in the Masters program, the rest are doctoral students. Tonight one of them mentioned that completing the Priddy requirements gets one very close to completing the coursework required for the Ph.d in art ed. I felt like someone should bop me on the forehead.
But honestly, if I had completed my MA before this I would never had pursued the Priddy Fellowship and so its a moot point. I'm just glad to be here. Besides I won't have to write a dissertation, or a dissertation proposal even, thank goodness. But still, there sure is a lot of reatin' and writin' to do! Yesireeebob! That said, it's all really interesting.

I had my two "Priddy classes" tonight, the ones all of us are in together, music and art alike. They are Politics and Advocacy and Mulitmedia. Both are extremely hands on, project-based classes. The Politics and Advocacy class has us out in the community volunteering, attending city council and school board meetings, writing proposals for advocacy initiatives and visiting with professionals from all constituencies. The multimedia class has us learning all kinds of fun software (Pacyderm, Photoshop and others) making all sorts of interesting interactive stuff and discussing a bunch of theory relating to new media and arts education. I can't help but look forward to it all even though it seems daunting looking over the whole landscape. One step at a time.

I'M GOING HOME TO VISIT CLIFF AND THE KITTIES! Tomorrow. I won't be back on the blog until Tuesday. Speaking of one step at a time, my first presentation is dues Wednesday. So the time at home won't be all fun and games. I'll be hitting the books too.

Check back Tuesday for the update.

Have a great Labor Day.

Fitzhugh's Problematic Dialectic

Oh Contraire Daniela, Fitzhugh's Problematic Dialectic is required reading! Thanks for the tip but unfortuately all the profs have put 2 hour time limits on the books on reserve in the library so no squirreling allowed.

I have a whole bunch of reading and writing to do but today I took time out to take a step areobics class ( Jennifer, I know you're proud of me) and was delighted to see that there were 2 or 3 other "mature" ladies in there sweating along side the all the youngsters. Sweating WITH the oldies I guess. It was great. I made it all the way through the class without falling over. Step one, check. Next week I'm going to try out a core strengthening class.

Tonight's class was Curriculum and Assessment with Dr. Newton. I think it's going to be really interesting. She seems dedicated to tayloring the class to our individual needs and interests as well as career paths. She's even considering breaking the class into groups and instructing us differently with different reading assignments etc. Dr. Newton used to be a Fine Arts co-ordinator for a large ISD. She's a wealth of knowledge and experience. In the class dept. I'm 2 for 2 so far.

I spent the rest of the day at my "office" reading and taking notes, getting distracted by getting to know the other Fellows, but that's all good. I borrowed a first edition of Lowenfeld's Creative and Mental Growth from Dr. Davis. I'm embarassed to say I've never read it, only excerpts. So since it's supposed to be one of, if not the, most infulential book(s) on art education ever written I figure it's a good place to start reading this year.

Tomorrow I have the other 2 classes back to back. Long day ahead. Time to stick my nose back in Lowenfeld, so to speak.

Relax and Breathe

That's what I was telling myself as we were going over class expectations for History of Art Education tonight. Mainly because I realized the whole time that I have 3 other classes which will require just as much and possibly more. It's been a long time since I've been in school and simple things like how to write a bibliography require research on my part. But I'm excited and this is all I have to do, thank goodness. There are folks in the program with children! Yikes!

My first assignment is to do research on the history of art ed from 1960-1980 which is right when I was in high school and college recieving art education. I will write a formal research paper, make a powerpoint and conduct a seminar for the rest of the class . Each of us ( there are 12) were assigned 2 decades and this is how we will cover the material with Dr. Davis as a facilitator. We will also do papers, powerpoints and presentations on individuals in the field. In addition we are going to learn some snazzy new software being used by Museums recently called Pacyderm and we're going to do a presentation on that as well. And finally we will be contributing to a website on the history of art ed which is an ongoing project of students of this class. Check it out www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/HistoryofArtEd/index.html

That was tonight.

The rest of the day I spent settling into my work space in the Priddy Lab. I have my own little cubicle and a full time tech guy who works right down the hall. He helped me get my computer all set up the way I want it and even found an extention cord for my coffee pot. How cool is that? And of course there's our "den mother" Dan, who is the administrative assistant for NTIVEA
who is also a computer genius who helped me set up my email and trouble shoot some server problems. Then I went shopping. I got some snacks for my desk drawer, some cheap silverware so I can eat my lunch up there, got a few desk organizing items and I'm nested. ( is that a word?)

I also took a tour of the fabulous new recreational center where I plan to take a "core strengthing" class. Wowzer. It's a beauty and all free to me.

What a day. Tomorrow I will begin research. I have no time to waste, I can see that already.

The last hazy, lazy day of Summer

I spent it reading about the history of Art Education and policy making which I find facinating which is probably a good thing since I'll be doing LOTS of reading about that. I did take a trip over to the pool around 4pm and to my delight and surprize, had it all to myself. It was lovely. I did make the big pot of veggie soup and I think I'm set for food for a while. And the fun begins!

Cooking (yes, you heard me) and Cleaning

I spent today being domestic. I did laundry, dusted and vaccumed the apt, that took 5 minutes, cleaned the bath and kitchen (10 minutes each- tops ) cooked up a big pot of lentils and rice, a big pot of beans and broiled a couple chicken breasts. (I'm going to make a big pot of veggie soup tomorrow and I think I'm good for the week. ) and then I paid bills. While I was waiting for my laundry to dry I went into the Apartment office to read ( air conditioning ) but instead of reading my new textbook I struck up a conversation with the charming young man who manages the office on weekends. He wants to be a history teacher. He bemoaned the fact that since he's a man and wants to teach history everyone asks him what he's going to coach. He has no intention of coaching anything. I told him to keep the faith.

The Dean of COVAD (College of Visual Art and Design) asked for volunteers to help clean up after the construction that was just completed (yesterday) in the studios. There was a lot of dusting to do. So I did a little housekeeping over there too. I got to meet a few more professors, I'm starting to put the puzzel pieces together.

Tomorrow is dedicated to reading, a little preparation before all the fun begins on Monday!

Pics from Denton

I just posted pictures of my apartment on my Flickr site which you can access at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourviewingpleasure

I will also add this as a link on the list to the left here- so you don't have to tattoo it on your arm.

We Priddy Fellows

We met yesterday morning in our work space. We were oriented as to our responsibilites and what is expected of us and to what we gain in return. Definitely heavy on the returns side. Then we got our picture taken , chose our work space, chatted and ate cookies.

Basicly, Priddy Fellows are required to take 4 classes this year, 2 fall, 2 spring. We take The Seminar in Art Education ( even the music folk take this and we take a music class in the spring) and Politics and Advocacy ( this spans 2 semesters so it will be the other class in the spring).

The Seminar is about qualitative research in art ed and it is also going to deal with technology in art ed. The book is all about the computer. So We'll see, I'll let you know as we go along. This one is being taught by Matt Sutherlin who was a Priddy last year and got his Ph.d- He acutually applied to our District last spring but evidently got this gig instead.

The Politics and Advocacy class is taught by Dr. Davis, who is the director of the North Texas Institute for Educators in the Visual Arts (NTIEVA- which they pronounce N-TIVA) which manages the Priddy. He's been at UNT for 30 some years and is really dedicated to the whole field of arts advocacy. I'm looking forward. I'm told by former students that it's a real bear of a class and I'm actually glad to hear that.

In addition to the course required for the Priddy, I am taking courses required for my MA. They are Curriculum and Assessment taught by Dr. Connie Newton who is a full professor here in Art Ed, and The History of Art Ed taugh by Dr. Davis.

We have a really hefty stipend for travel and we were encouraged to spend it all. So I will definitely see you at TAEA and NAEA and will be looking into other cool things I can do with my travel money.

We were STRONGLY encouraged to begin searching for our summer internship. So if you have any brilliant ideas about that, let me know, I need to continue to make contacts.

Then we learned how to get paid, how to get our tuition and fees paid, how to use our health insurance, how to use our computers and get tech support, what equipment is available to us ( a lot of cool stuff, cameras, scanners, video, projectors, copiers, software) and how to get help for anything else.

Afterward most of us hung out and got to know each other a bit. There are mostly doctorial students in the program. I think there is only one other MA student and she's fresh out of undergrad, very cool gal named Heather who I met this summer when I was up getting my apt. She said she was "feeling behind "being only a masters student. I told her she was absolutely not allowed to feel "behind" around me. She laughed. But then I told her that there's no right time to do anything, which is how I really feel.

I'll tell you more about the others as I interact more with them. They are a mix of interests, talents, training, age, experience and all very cool. And we are off! We start classed on Monday.

I be orientated or Who Knew?

I went to the big new grad student orientation yesterday sponsored by the graduate student council. It was informative and I learned some interesting facts about life around campus. Perhaps the most interesting was the list of student organizations, which is lengthy. Here are a few I find intriguing, in alpha order:

1. American Humanics where you can learn about and gain experience in being a non profit pro

2. Book Readers' Association where you can go chat about great books.

3. Campus Cat Coalition ( I may actually join this one) where you take care of the ferel cats on campus ( in the spirit of Ann Brotherton at AHS)

4. Esoteric Mysteries Society where you explore common threads between belief systems

5. Meditation Club where you learn how to breathe.

6. Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals (ORCA) where you enhance the lives of animals and their human pals

7. The Society for the Restoration of the Equestrian Portrait of Diego Velaquez where you try to save and restore this statue in honor of UNT's individualism.

Some other useful facts

I can go to the Doctor for free!
I can take fitness classes for free!
I can get inexpensive theraputic massage!
I have free full time tech support!
I can ride any bus in the city, even the one that goes to Dallas for free!
I have access to 250 data bases for free!

All that free stuff shows up on my bill as fees, but in this case it really is free since the Priddy is paying my fees. So I plan to take advantage of it all.

I learned that UNT has 33,000 students. 7000 of those are graduate students.

And I learned that free pizza will get college students to stay to the end of your presentation.

I've been de-throned

but fortunately it's by a man so I get to keep my new blog title.

I found out tonight that the oldest grad student at UNT is 70! Rock on man! He's studying gerontology.

The youngest is 20! ( how does that happen?) She's studying anthropolgy.

Ain't life grand?

No ugs need apply

I am reminded that sterio types are grounded in truths. Sometimes more than others as appears to be the case with my neighbors the Sorority Sistas. They are rushing and are out in force. First of all there's not one who isn't a beauty and (apparently) has access to some bucks. The haircuts and colors are $125 a pop, I know these things, and then there are the nails- and the outfits, well, I remember when I had a body to show off but I don't think I pulled it off quite so well. Now let's talk shoes. . .well, 'nuff said. Did I mention the tans?

I was walking back from campus when I ran head on to a school ( as in fish) of them going from house to house listening to the pledge pitch and song and learning the secret handshake. I had to swim upstream of them, most of them talking into cell phones so I had to be extra vigilent not to wind up boob to collar bone ( mine are lower) with them.

It's a whole other way to look at life. I think being their neighbor will be anthropologically informative.

The Dean's Crib

Wowzer. The Dean has a really nice place. And the Dean himself is really nice and so is Mrs. Dean. The COVAD (College of Visual Art and Design) Mixer was fun. I got lost on the way ( I know you're surprized) so I was late and the party was in full swing when I arrived. I met a really nice sampling of grad students, staff and faculty from all the departments within the college ( I think there's studio, design and art history/ed- I should know this, I'll get back to you). so I ate, I drank, I schmoozed and now I'm tired. It's hard work being a coed.

I give

on the ma'amogram since ya'll are already calling it that. So the Ma'amogram it is. Thanks Leigh.

The Ma'amogram

My sister Leigh suggests this as the title of my blog, which, I have to admit is brilliant and really funny. However, it calls to mind 2 of the things I hate most in the world, so. . .non. . .non, non! ( a inside joke, Lisa you laughing?) but seriously, Bloggy Blogness it still is. It's starting to grow on me. Growing on any of you?

My advisor

I met with my advisor today, she kicks ass! I love her. Meeting with her really made me get excited about what I'll be learning. More on that when I learn something.

My Diggs

My pint sized apartment is so cute and cozy. I'll be posting pics soon. I met my neighbor who is a lovely young woman- a senior in college who told me that the college scene gets old. I'm sure it does, but there's really no trace of it here at my complex. Aside from the occasional chorus of " I'm proud to be a ZED" wafting across the street from sorority row, it's very quiet. And it's well maintained with trees and little winding pathways. Even though I can brush my teeth, check email and make a cupa joe without ever leaving my chair, it's plenty big for lil ol' me. I have art from my friends all over the walls which makes it super homey, and little touches from my homestead back in Dickinson which makes it less loney when I'm missing Cliff and the Kitties. I hope you all will visit, I can fit, one, two maybe three people at a time.

You Tarzan Me Ma'am OR I R OLD

Nothing makes me feel older 'n dirt than being called Ma'am. But that's my new handle. When I was moving in I went to Target to get a bookcase. As I was wrangling it into the back of my pickup a sweet young thing said, " Can I help you with that Ma'am?" After the urge to hit her over the head with it passed, I had to say, " Why yes, yes you can." And she did, with a big southern smile. I'm just gonna have to get over it. BUT at the orientation for Grad students in the Dept of Art History and Art Ed I asked some fellow students if I was in the right room and they all said in unison "Yes Ma'am"- I had to put my foot down. I asked them (somewhat politely) to NEVER call me ma'am again, ever. They all sputtered and started saying how they call everyone ma'am. yeh, right. Poor things I think I scared the beegeesoutathem. But hey, I'm sure we'll all be friends someday. Actually, it turned out to be a really great orientation. Got to meet them and all the profs. All good.
Today at the bookstore I topped out the ma'am 'o meter. So there ya go.

I couldn't come up with a title

so it's bloggy blogness. What can I say?