CCCC High School Teacher Retreat October 24, 2012

Every fall I host the annual High School Teacher Retreat at the art department at Cloud County Community College.  This is one of my favorite events of the year as art teachers, who are also fabulous artists, gather to share ideas, new teaching techniques or medias, as well as a day to socialize, play, experiment and learn new medias from professional artists.  It is my way of saying thank you to these hard working individuals who inspire and help young artists find their way and help to keep the arts alive and thriving in rural Kansas.

Breakfast layout

Muffins & Lemon Poppy Seed bread

Cookies & fruit

Work station setup

Room set up

Mixed media supplies

more supplies

Printing stations

This year Tamara Constable, a talented and energetic mixed media artist and good, good friend, helped me present the workshop.  Tamara demonstrated diffused paper and gelatin prints using both actual jello as well as the synthetic Gelli plates.  Tamara is one of the most amazing teachers I have ever met.  After teaching only 17 years at her last school, a very small rural north central Kansas town, she had such an fantastic art program, that she had 38 students go on to art careers after high school graduation!!!!  That is a record any art teacher would be proud to have, let alone in such a rural area.  Congratulations Tamara on your incredible career.  Keep up the good work.  And thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to spend the day with us and infusing us with your joy for creating art!

Tamara with examples from demo

Tamara with mixed media gelatin print example

Tamara with another example of her work

I gave a motivational talk on getting back to our five year old creative selves........you know, the one where, when we were presented with drawing materials and paper, we dove into the project with NO FEAR and pure joy!  And when we were finished, everyone exclaimed at how beautiful or great the work was.  Then we turn six, and we start learning (whether from an over eager teacher or other classmates) that there is a right and a wrong way to create.  By the time we are adults, every time we start something new there is a little fear lurking in the back of our minds, holding us back.

So we started the day off by all going back to our 5 year old selves, with only PURE JOY in playing with different medias, experimenting with new ideas, and NO FEAR of making a mistake!  Tamara presented her exceptional and varied demonstrations of the gelatin prints that got everyone so excited that there was a rush for materials and paper and play.  

Alicia Stott, HS art teacher from Solomon HS

The room was alive with activity, excitement, laughter, joy, and LOTS of "five year olds" playing and experimenting!  It became the theme for the day.  "I'm five years old and playing!"

April Spicer, Marysville HS

Beth DeMont, Herrington HS

Connie Levendofsky, Republic Co. HS

Deb Hammond, Wakefield HS

Jeanette Schuler, Blue Valley/Randolph HS

Jerry Major, Chapman Junior High School

Joni Steffes (seated), Centralia/Frankfurt HS

Jennifer Wolff (seated), Beloit HS

Kathy Schmitz, past Head of the Art Department, CCCC and online art teacher for Kansas Schools

Laura Stunkel, Clifton/Clyde HS

Peggy Wambold, guest

Wendy Sundahl, Chapman HS

Not pictured, Kathy Gregory, art teacher for Assaria Elementary School

The teachers can also take the workshop for one hour of recertification credit  Holly Andrews came over first thing in the morning to enroll nine of the fifteen guests.  Her "assistant" Nestle, kept everyone calm and in line!

Holly Andrews, seated, enrolling Kathy Gregory from Assaria

Nestle hard at work!

At 11:30 we all broke for lunch, which was served in AB107, the Relief Sculpture room, one of three rooms in the CCCC art department.  It was nice to have the space to leave all the work stations as they were in AB106 and go to another space for a nice relaxed lunch.  I provide the lunch for the teachers every year.  It is one of the ways I can express my gratitude for all their support during the year.  Most of these teachers I have known for years and they have become good friends.  This year I was lucky enough to meet two new teachers, Jeanette Schuler and Jerry Major.  It did not take us long to make a strong connection. 

Jerry Major dishing up my homemade Fisherman's Stew and garlic bread while Joni Steffes looks over the veggie tray, cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, homemade chocolate cake and a surprise dessert, homemade apple crisp, provided by guest, Connie Levendofsky.

Relaxing and socializing.

Enjoying lunch and the beautiful fall day.

Mara Smith, Seattle, Washington, is in Concordia working on a carved brick relief sculpture at the studio at Cloud Ceramics east of Concordia.  She is one of the artists who worked on the Whole Wall project on 6th and Hwy 81 in Concordia.  Mara presented the relief sculpture workshop for the teacher retreat in the fall of 2011 so she stopped by to share lunch with the teachers, renewing some of the acquaintances she made last year.

By 2:30, most everyone had completed a project.  It was so nice having art teachers as guests, as each one worked VERY hard cleaning up their own areas and putting all supplies away before leaving.  It was a nice surprise for me, and very much appreciated!!!!  Here are some of the finished works.

Alicia Stott's work

April Spicer with her work

April's first piece

April's second piece

Beth DeMont with her work

Jeanette Schuler with her work

Jeanette's first piece

Jeanette's second piece with real flowers from her garden.....she gave me the rest of the bouquet and they are still BEAUTIFUL....Thanks, Jeanette!

Jeanette's third piece

Jerry Major with his work

Jerry's diffused paper, another technique from Tamara

Jerry's mixed media with raised gelatin print medallion

Joni Steffes with her work

Kathy Gregory with her work

Kathy Schmitz with her work

Laura Stunkel with her work

Laura's piece using a real piece of screen for part of the road

Wendy Sundahl's diffused paper and gelatin print

After an incredible day of sharing and playing and learning and being FIVE, everyone was worn out and ready for rest time.  

Thank you all so much for your readiness to follow me into the wonderful world of childhood once again, at least for a day, to let go of your inhibitions, and to try something new with such abandon.  Your friendship, your kind words, your gifts, your love of the arts and willingness to share so much of yourselves with others made for a day I will cherish and remember for years to come.

Now...........are you ready to play again?!