DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND TARGET AUDIENCE
The programs described below represent a few different ideas I have that will both inform the public about art and engage the public in the artistic process via the experience of the White Mountains. I am happy to implement all the programs or a selection of them based on the interests of the program reviewers.
Public Program #1, an all ages presentation:
Introductory Talk: Plein Air Painting – Connecting and Protecting Art and Nature In this introductory talk, I will introduce myself, my art, and my connection to the wilderness through a visual and verbal presentation that shows a selection of my paintings and drawings as well as the some of the beautiful locations where I’ve made art and explored nature. I will highlight the multiple functions of art, particularly the ways in which art can be used to advocate for social change and how the work of art functions as a gift that must be shared to realize its full potential. I will also explain what it means to be a plein air, or open-air, painter, a way of painting made possible, in large part, through the development of the paint tube and first popularized by the French Impressionists of the 1860s.
As a Duluth, Minnesota-based artist, educator, and conservation advocate living in “The Land of 10,000 Lakes,” I will highlight the importance of water as a natural resource and illustrate its perpetual presence in my art. Currently, I am artistically involved in an anti-sulfide mining campaign that protests the presence of this industry along the north shore of Lake Superior and up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I will briefly explain how this destructive industry threatens our precious, clean water supply and the aquatic plant and animal life that currently thrive there, thus illustrating the urgent need to protect our delicate environmental balance. Like water as a natural resource, I will conclude with a reflection on the importance of art as a cultural resource that must be protected and nurtured, especially for our youth who are often the victims of educational budget cuts that limit their exposure to creative pursuits essential to human development.
Public Program #2, a family-friendly activity:
Trees and Abstract Art: Taking Measurements, Expressing Relationships Circumference: the distance around an object. Diameter: A straight line passing from side to side through the center of a body or figure, especially a circle or sphere (US English Dictionary). These mathematical terms need not relate to math alone; they can also be used to make art and learn about the Forest. This program for children ages 8 – 14 and their parents / guardians (if appropriate) will begin with an introduction to the different types of trees found in the White Mountains, perhaps with the aid of a tree guidebook. Together, participants and I will walk through the Forest and identify some of the various trees we just learned about. Once we are comfortable with the identification process, we will measure the circumference of different tree types and record this information in a notebook, which will serve as the means to generate construction paper cutouts of circles of varying dimensions. For each type of tree, we will use a specific color of construction paper, thus resulting in a coding system, for example, gray for aspen and red for pine (liberal color choices encouraged!). Once the circumference is understood, we can then easily calculate the tree’s diameter, which will serve as a means to generate lines of varying thickness that will symbolize the trees’ trunks, their vertical element, and that will run from top to bottom across the image they produce. Perhaps a variation of the same color can be used to show the trunks: dark gray for aspen trunks, light gray for their circumference. After each group has assembled a good number of paper cutouts of varying dimensions, that is an array of circles and lines, they may play with the arrangement, or composition, of their cutouts before gluing them down on large pieces of foam core, for example, 30”x40”. The result of this process will be a colorful abstract image that derives from the different types of trees found in the WMNF. As a final learning element, families can then generate a legend, or key, for their “tree maps,” in their notebooks, on a separate piece of foam-core, or directly on the abstract image. This activity will teach them about a very important component of map reading and making. I can only imagine how incredible these simple yet powerful abstract images would look juxtaposed in a group exhibit. My guess, however, is that each family will want to take their image home and hang it proudly in their house as a relic of the Forest and an investigation into math, art, and maps.
Requirements: several sheets of multi-colored construction paper, large sheet(s) of foam-core, glue, scissors, flexible tape measure, notebook, pencils, drawing board or other hard surface on which to work
Public Program #3, all ages and abilities:
Paper Cut-outs: Playing with Color, Patterns, & Perspective
French artist Henri Matisse made paper cutouts in his older, bed-ridden years as a means to further explore shape and color and to express the “joy of life” despite the limited physical capabilities he had during that time. A program for people of all ages and abilities, participants will explore the use of paper cutouts to depict a landscape, preferably one very near to a parking lot and thus easily (wheelchair?) accessible. I can imagine a lake or a river lined with beautiful pines or aspens, some mountains in the distance, and perhaps a road winding through the scene, not unlike the view from Artist Point in the beautiful Franconia Notch area. Before beginning our exercise, we will look at some of Matisse’s famous paper cutouts for inspiration, discussing how the artist made exciting images with very basic elements, using only construction paper, scissors and glue. Participants will learn about simplification: how to reduce complex pictorial elements into basic shapes, like the circle, cylinder and triangle, and how the relative size of these objects can create a sense of depth, or perspective. They will also learn about the celebratory power of color and how color can be used to suggest a mood or feeling. Additionally, participants will investigate the notion of pattern: how the juxtaposition of like elements (shapes) across the picture plane can create compelling visual rhythms. In order to explore these formal elements of artistic expression, we will begin cutting out shapes and playing with their placement on a relatively small surface, anywhere from 8”x10” – 16”x20”, so that it may comfortably sit in one’s lap. The use of the small surface will encourage exploration and allow for multiple images to be produced in just a couple hours. I may ask that one image be monochromatic while another uses all primary colors so that we can gauge the emotional effects created through various color schemes. Once each participant creates 3 or more pictures, we will share our accomplishments with the group and discuss the feelings or sensations they evoke. As a final gesture (if materials are still available), the group can collectively generate one big image on a 30”x40” surface. Participants will all make cutouts, and they will either place them themselves on the large surface or direct my placement of them so that a group image will result.
Requirements: several sheets of multi-colored construction paper, small sheets of foam core (16”x20”), 1 large sheet of foam-core (30”x40”), glue, scissors, drawing board or other hard surface on which to work
Public Program #4, an all ages presentation:
Closing Presentation: Celebrating Art & Nature – “The Gift”
As my time as an Artist-in-Residence in the Curious George Cottage draws to a close, I will inevitably reflect deeply on the wonderful opportunity presented to me, an opportunity I receive as a “gift.” Some of these reflections will concern the paintings and drawings I’ve produced, tangible artifacts to be shared with the local community as well as with visitors to the Forest. Other reflections will embody a more ephemeral character: musings on the experiences and encounters I enjoyed throughout the residency. During this closing presentation I will share the highlights of my experience as both stories and art. For the gift bestowed upon me to continue, it must be given away, which is exactly what will have occurred through the public programs as I pass on my passion for and knowledge about art and wilderness to others. Thus, a major highlight of this closing talk will be a visual presentation of photographs taken of public program participants purposely engaged in their task or joyfully displaying their artistic achievements. The smiles on kids’ faces, the satisfied expression of young adults – these are the gifts that will fulfill me, gifts that must be shared with the wider community. This notion of the gift provides the conceptual link between art and nature, and I will close with a discussion of the Forest and Art as gifts that we must willfully and thoughtfully conserve and promote so that they may endure and thrive.
Brief Summary of Experience Interacting with the Public:
My experience interacting with the public is vast, both in terms of education and art.
My teaching career began in 1998 as a Master’s student in Kent State University’s “Teaching English as a Second Language” program. Upon graduation I taught English to college-level German native speakers in Dresden, Germany for one semester before beginning my Ph.D. studies, again at Kent State. I taught throughout my six years of doctoral study before obtaining my current job as an Assistant Professor of Writing Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth where I’ve been teaching since 2006. During my years as a professor, I not only taught writing classes to students of all levels (freshman through seniors), but I also presented several papers at professional conferences to scholars of writing and rhetorical studies.
Artistically, I have acted less as a teacher and more as a performer, painting and drawing publicly, most often outdoors (en plein air) and sometimes inside. As a plein air artist, I readily encounter the inquisitive public, some of whom simply observe what I’m making, while others of whom, especially children, favorably comment upon and question my creative process and artwork. I relish in these interactions, for art is a gift to be shared, especially with young, formative minds that deserve inspiration and encouragement. Additionally, I have participated in several plein air painting competitions, typically in the northern Minnesota town of Grand Marais, during both summer and winter seasons (Yes, I paint in the snow!).
In addition to the circumstantial encounters with the public during my plein air efforts, I have also been sought out by various organizations to both lead and paint during specific events. In July 2013, I was asked by the Duluth Art Institute to function as a co-host for the “Tall Ships en Plein Air” event where fellow artist Lee Englund and I organized and led a group of painters to depict the Tall Ships as they were docked in the bay. In September 2014 the owner of Beaner’s Central Concert Coffeehouse asked that I “live paint” the musical acts during the annual “One Week Live” celebration so that both music and painting were featured as performance. In October of the same year, my artistic efforts were once again called upon to depict live musicians and poets as they participated in “This Land is Our Land,” an event rallying against the sulfide mining taking place along the north shore of Lake Superior. I enthusiastically accepted all these requests, quite happy to have been singled out among Duluth artists as one capable of rising to the occasion and producing quality art while under public scrutiny.