Thursday, July 28, 2011

I'm just getting started

Oh, Hi! How are you? Nice to meet you! And welcome!!

Is it weird that I'm starting a posting like this? Perhaps. But per my blog stats, I'm getting all kinds of new traffic on this here blog and I always feel like it's nice when something like that is not only recognized but also openly acknowledged. And I suspect it's happening because other art educators are doing the same thing I am currently doing. And that is, preparing for the coming school year by gathering inspiration, getting together art budgets so supplies can be ordered, scrapping/saving project ideas that did/didn't work in last year's curriculum. Etc. etc. etc. Better early than late to do this stuff, right? Here is the actual start of my planning for this year. I just took this picture of what is the core of my paperwork/planning notes right here in the teachers conference room of my school...


I started this blog last year because I believe in harnessing social networking and other powers of the internet as a way of helping me to be a more able, open-minded, forward thinking, and contributing member of the visual art and art education world. This blog came about also because I noticed that there were very few blogs/website specifically featuring high school art education and/or galleries of actual student artwork with corresponding lesson plan ideas. I mean, I can come up with plenty of ideas on my own but I will readily admit that it's easy to be stagnant if you hole yourself up and don't make an effort to connect yourself with what's outside of you.

I know I've been remiss about keeping up with student work and lesson plans as I have them but I'm really going to try and make a better effort to stay on top or as far ahead of things as possible this year on the blog. As my blog traffic shows on a daily basis, people are finding what I post here useful and they are returning for more information. I like this if only because I remember what it was like to be in the position of feeling like I just needed/wanted a little more information for what I was trying to do/be as an art educator and GOOD visual artist and if I can help to enrich (even just a little bit) the visual art community with the experience that I have had and continue to have, it's a positive thing that goes far beyond me just establishing a successful blog. I operate from the position that it's not about me anyway and I really believe in doing this for the better of the whole - whenever possible!

Anyway, I wanted to post something about the current state of things with regard to my role as an art educator...

  1. Getting my budget aligned with my supply ordering
  2. My decision making with regard to scrapping/saving projects I've done and shared here
  3. Implementing new project ideas
  4. General beginning of the year planning within art education
But it seems I've waxed on about, oh... I don't know really. But I've also stated what I feel like my newly invented purpose is for the blog, recommitted myself to what I'm doing and feel like I'm called to do in the first place, AND welcomed all of the new visitors who are arriving from all corners of the world - seriously! I'm getting a lot of international hits and that's exciting to me!!

My short term goal is that I will be blogging on all four topics (as stated above) starting tomorrow and leading up to the beginning of my school year - that is three weeks from now for myself and my colleagues and four weeks from now for the students. I might be able to sneak in some images here and there (if I can!) of the student gallery as I put it back together for the school year but I'm not sure since my work doing freelance photography and graphic design also needs to be a major priority before the school year starts. (I've got a wedding album to design, two engagement shoots, a weekday wedding, a senior portrait session, three family portrait sessions, and a major food photography shoot for a local bakery! *phew*)

In any case? I will hopefully see you tomorrow afternoon possibly while I'm amped up on cupcakes that I've both photographed AND had the great joy to sample!

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