Art Works

North Birmingham Community Mural Paint Day

lakramer — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:08:20 +0000

Come join Main Street Birmingham & North Birmingham
as we celebrate Martin Luther King Day of Service!

Monday, January 16, 2012
10 am – 3pm

Bring a brown bag lunch and help us paint the community mural.
Meeting location: North Birmingham EcoScape
2619 30th Avenue North
(Next to Wells Fargo Bank)

Listen to Hill Elem. Hip Hop Track : “The Game” see student’s artwork at Brooklyn Children’s Museum

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:33:36 +0000

Click play button to hear track.

“The Game” by Noel Johnson, Laurie Ann Kramer and 4th Grader’s from Hill Elementary, Birmingham, AL

What is your artwork about?:
Through a unique art integration program community artist Laurie Ann Kramer and musician Noel Johnson collaborated with three very talented teachers at Hill Elem. To engage their students in learning similes and metaphors through the arts they painted this quilt square, designed their CD cover art and wrote then recorded their own RAP song!

Participants: Laurie Ann Kramer – visual artist, Noel Johnson – musician.

The 4th grade classes of Mrs. Givens, Mrs. Parker, and Mrs. Rainey collaborated on the Painting with Poetry Hip Hop Metaphor and Simile quilt square and CD.

The students participating: Walter, Maleek, Tionne, Aryanna, Donell, Lanicia, Travontae, Darius,Ronald,Jackie,Adrian,Rickia,Sanchez, Markeatta, Osas. Jaylen, Kenterra, Laila, Jeremaih, Arnold, Quiara, Ny’Keira, Laqueon,Jonia, Jamerra, Terriyka, Zakariya, Destiny, Antonio, Shaniah, Jy’yAH, Jannet, Zharia, Daniel, Derius, Diamond, Joshua, Kayla, Brandon, Jeremy, Brian, Micah, John, Ana, Amaiaya, Antonio, Jaquontiea, Trinity, Zion, Raphael, Jonathan ,Keavon, Jalen, Ja’Cory ,Makayla, Nelson, Lenhart, Arianna, Cortario, Chanelle

What other projects could the IFC do? The gymnasium at our school.

What is the Dream Rocket Project? Individuals & Groups around the world are contributing to a monumental public art project. They have been submitting artwork to be included in a massive cover in which will wrap a 365’ foot Saturn V Moon Rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Artworks & their stories are being placed on display in public venues around the United States prior to & after the wrapping the Saturn V. To date we have over 641 groups & schools from approximately 34 states & 17 countries submitting artwork for this wrap & tour.

The International Fiber Collaborative is a growing voice for collaborative public art projects around the world, we are dedicated to promoting understanding and appreciation of contemporary art & craft through educational experiences. We are committed to developing vital educational programs that elevate, expand, modernize and enhance the image of collaboration and education today. We are a new organization that was founded on the belief that connecting art & education through cross community collaborative projects can give individuals of all socio-economic, gender and age groups an opportunity to stimulate public dialogue about civic issues, give a national voice to our participant’s artwork and expand cross cultural understanding.

The founder of this organization saw the need and desire by individuals around the world to connect and engage with the broader world through art in a collaborative & educational spirit, this resulted in enriching the spirit & understanding of social issues and education in these regions around the world.

Painting Poetry Hip Hop Metaphor and Simile

Title: Painting with Poetry Hip Hop Metaphor and Simile
Dream Theme: Imagination
Organizer: Laurie Ann Kramer

Watercress Darter Art Competition

lakramer — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:43:53 +0000

As a teaching artist working in the schools I am partnering with The Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern to bring a unique art education opportunity to your students. Participation in this art contest is extended to schools in the Birmingham area.

Your School, and your students could earn cash awards. There is an Individual Category where students can create a T-shirt design and a Group/classroom Category creating sculpture with recycled materials. See Watercress Darter Festival page (link) for guidelines.

The Freshwater Land Trust has committed to giving cash prizes to winning students and their classrooms in the following way:
1st Prize – $750
2nd Prize – $500
3rd Prize – $250

Awards will be presented at The 1st Annual Watercress Darter Festival in April. I would be glad to come out and give a presentation or work with your lead teachers.

Please let me know in what way I can help your school participate.

Supporting Education Through the Arts,
Mrs. Kramer

Dream Rocket Exhibit Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library

lakramer — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:26:12 +0000

Currently participating in The Dream Rocket Exhibit at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library from January 1 – March 1 of 2011.

In Search Of Nature, We Find Family

By the Fresh Air Family after school Program at
St. Barnabus School in Birmingham, Alabama
Organized by Laurie Ann Kramer
Title – “In Search of Nature, We find Family.”-Verna Gates
Dream Theme – Nature & Family

What is Your Group’s Artwork About? The children enjoyed exploring their creative instincts as they squished blueberries to color bits of fabric. Others dipped leaves into pans of color. The students all took turns sharing pastels, pencils, paints and curious recycled materials from the red art trunk.

As they created their visions they shared the stories behind their art work-stories of family adventures camping under the stars, meeting a sugar-glider named Thomas, planting tomatoes, fishing trips with family, and memories of a long past vacation to Niagara Falls. It was a blast collaborating with Fresh Air Family teachers/mentors and local artists at the Montevallo Middle and St. Barnabus after school programs.

Everyone was there to provide education and encouragement to the talented young people participating. Being part of The Dream Rocket Project is a great experience. It provides a unique opportunity for today’s children to, not only express themselves, but also connect through the Dream Rocket to other children around the globe who share the common desire to be heard as they express their ideas for a brighter tomorrow. ~Laurie Ann Kramer

For more information, visit The Dream Rocket website.

The Dream Rocket

lakramer — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:51:33 +0000

Visit The Dream Rocket website to learn how you can participate in this global art & education project! Director Jennifer Marsh has created an opportunity that captures the imagination of children (ages 1 to 101) Daring us to dream!

In Search Of Nature We Find Family Montevallo Middle School

Fresh Air Family’s After School Program
Montevallo Middle School

The students created art with our theme in mind, some painted, some with colored pencils, some used leaves and made prints & patterns, recycled materials were also combined in their art (check out the piece of pipe cleaner on the tree). The quilt square was a unique collaboration of many pieces of artwork becoming one. Photographer Laura Brookhart used all of the art the students made to create this unique photo montage. As the students worked they shared the stories behind their art work, it was inspiring to collaborate with artist/musician Daniel Long, photographer Laura Brookhart, the teachers/mentors from Fresh Air Family and all the talented young artists.

Innovation and Autism -Joel Brandon Smith

lakramer — Sat, 08 May 2010 03:53:40 +0000

Innovation and Autism

To have Autism is to have a keen visual sense. These children take in the world primarily through there eyes and their hands. They each have a stunning visual memory. They are motivated by their own desires and goals and are unwavering in their pursuit of knowledge and experience towards those goals. Because they communicate more through visual images and movement than words, painting becomes a perfect medium for them to expand upon their natural strengths: visual, hands on exploration and learning.

Visual arts set the context for learning self expression, self control and discipline, persistence towards goals, social collaboration, and decision making. Design is a complex critical thinking skill. Students who participate in the creative arts develop skills which will make them our future innovators. Can we even imagine the contributions these children will make if we allow them the autonomy to design their own goals and pursue them? As educators, parents and community members, we should be doing everything we can to remove obstacles to this innovation. We must see each child for their set of strengths and help them to develop their talents, rather than focusing on their weakness and potentially breaking their spirit.

-Joel Brandon Smith- Teacher, W.H. Councill Elementary, Birmingham City Schools

Councill Elementary School’s Art Club Annual Show

lakramer — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:17:26 +0000

Thursday April 29, 2010 5:00-6:00 p.m. Shawna McGriff & Emily Horton present the Art Club Exhibit

There will be some amazing art work on display at Councill tomorrow night, including art created by students during the Artists as Educator’s program. I received a really touching email from Mr. Joel Smith about his students art experience, see below.

Thank you to the Cultural Alliance, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham,Birmingham City Schools, & other supporters of the Artists as Educators initiative.

Laurie Ann Kramer

Art and Autism

My class has had the fortunate opportunity to participate in an a visual arts project brought to us by Laurie Kramer from the Cultural Alliance. Laurie Deliberately reached out to make sure our class participated because she was aware that children with behavioral or communication differences are often left out of such enrichment due to potential difficulties. The interesting thing is that Laurie and I agreed that this is the group that stands to gain the most from such projects.

My students have classical autism. Most of them have extremely limited communication abilities either verbal or expressive. They take in the world almost exclusively through their eyes and their hands. With this in mind, it only made sense that they would stand to learn more from a painting project than just about any other experience I could present to them.

The table was prepared with brushes, sponges, paints, the medium, and even a Tonka truck at one time. Then we gave the students something they rarely experience: complete freedom: freedom from pressure to perform, from teacher anxiety, from the need for control and freedom from limits. We put no extra rules in place for the new activity. We didn’t limit their access to the paint or materials. It was up to them to decide what they would do with the materials.

The result was astounding. The same behavior issues we deal with all day virtually disappeared. No hitting, screaming, meltdowns, jumping out of the seat or even distraction. My least academically attentive student was focused on his work. In fact, I think I got my first glimpse of what Jeffrey Freed, author of Right-Brained Children in a Left Brained World, calls “hyperfocus”. These children who seem to live almost every moment in a state of distraction went into a zone more intense than I had even seen even when they obsess over things, which autistic children have a tendency to do. This focus wasn’t on an obsession. It was a brand new experience to them. If you have known an autistic child you know that brand new experiences are often difficult because they don’t always adapt to change easily. However, this change seemed welcome to them.

I observed as each student had a truly individual experience, each manipulating the materials in a different way. Some literally dumping gobs of a paint then working the paints together into specific colors and distributing it carefully and deliberately across the medium. As they gained momentum and began to realize that they were not going to be limited, the work only got more detailed, as the paint was poured. Layer went over layer as textures and colors were manipulated. Their eyes never left their work in the full 45 minutes they worked (an incredible duration for their normally brief attention spans). However I did hear some verbalizations that I had never heard from some of them before. “Mr. Smith check this out,” and “O.K. Here we go,” were used in context with no coercion to speak. I couldn’t help but wonder how many more spontaneous and contextual verbalizations I would get if we did similar activities on a daily basis. And was it the complete freedom and lack of pressure that prompted this kind of focus and spontaneous language?

Other new and spontaneous behaviors I observed were collaboration in each others’ pieces and attention to fine motor movements. In reflection I realize that I was watching these students do what they do best: teach themselves by exploring their world. When faced with no limits to their exploration, they proved to have seemingly unlimited attention. Skills that a teacher might toil for months to teach with limited success were suddenly being used appropriately in the context of this activity. I realize now that I may have learned as much as they did by simply watching. I have learned about parts of these children’s personalities that I didn’t know existed. I can’t help but wonder what the results would be if we teachers would focus our attention on creating the context for children to learn by their own exploration rather than simply trying to direct information (mostly verbal) into their heads. Thank you for a true, whole class, learning experience Mrs. Kramer.

–
Joel B Smith
W.H. Councill Elementary

Local Talent Illuminates the Pages of Gwyn’s Tale

lakramer — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:22:14 +0000

Gwyn’s Tale
by Angela Ford

I led the cows to pasture, but then started across the field with nothing but my frayed overalls and my dinner. I said goodbye to the freshly turned dirt, squelching under my bare feet and oozing between my toes. I said goodbye to the brown fields full of stubble and plants just beginning to grow, to the dew on blades of grass, the wide sky of promise and everything I had ever known. I didn’t know how I’d fare, but all the same I was going to the Forbidden Forest, never to be seen by anyone in my village again… To read more please visit www.angelaford.com

*

Angela Ford is an avid reader whose writings have been inspired by authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and George MacDonald. She is passionate about the fantasy-adventure genre and has been creating stories of her own for the past ten years.

Gwyn’s Tale is the first book to be published, but she is currently working on an epic series in hopes of delighting fantasy lovers everywhere. Angela resides in Tennessee where she enjoys sports and music when not reading and writing. www.angelaford.com

Five $1,000 Krylon Clear Choice Art Scholarships

lakramer — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 06:47:17 +0000

Application Deadline is: May 31, 2010

Scholarships are available to High school seniors graduating before July 1, 2010*… In addition, the art program at each winner’s school will receive a $500 grant and a large gift package of Krylon Artist Sprays and Adhesives… *Visit their website http://www.krylon.com/art/ for full details!

Ch 42 News Story Painting with Poetry Hip Hop Metaphor & Simile

lakramer — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:06:01 +0000

Painting with Poetry

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Hip-Hop-Learning/b-VuSBG3i0ivf-3K6hvsbA.cspx
Source: cbs42.com

Hi you guys! Here’s the 411-

Noel Johnson (The White Oaks) volunteered his time and talent to collaborate with me on a special project I did with students during my art residency.

Beverley Tanner reported on the story- did you know I could rap? The 4th grade students at Powderly can bring it!

Thank you to the Birmingham City School System, The Cultural Alliance and The Community Foundation for providing this opportunity!

~Laurie Ann

Kids at Powderly Elementary are painting with poetry. Teachers are using hip hop as a means of teaching simile and metaphors. This is part of the Artist As Educators Initiative from the Cultural Alliance. To hear some of the rhymes watch the video clip.