Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Legislative Link

The Art Mobile is invested in partnering with our community and bringing enriched art experiences across the state. We deeply value visits from all members of the state government. A personal visit is a great way to showcase what the Art Mobile does for students across MT
Here is a link to a visit from Montana State Representative JP Pomnichowski.

http://jpformontana.blogspot.com/2009/10/art-for-all-everywhere.html

If you are interested in attending an Art Mobile presentation, please contact me (Allison McGree).

Last Tour of 1/2010-

I just returned from a tour through Ramsay,Cardwell,Garrison/Gold Creek, and finished it up with two final days in Butte. It was another busy week! Winter road conditions make traveling a bit stressful. It seems the worse the roads tend to be, the more it seems like it's me in the Art Mobile interacting with a pack of semis on the road. I made it just fine however.

Ramsay was art lessons for K-8, along with a quick art show of our Native American pieces. It was a fast afternoon for sure. The students created visual stories, using ledger art for inspiration. I'm always amazed by the creative stories students come up with. One of the teachers at Ramsay is my cousin. So that made visiting even more fun.

Day two was through a snowstorm to Cardwell. I swear it snows most of the days I need to drive. It leaves me dreaming of all of the fun outdoor activities that I could participate in if I were not driving through the snow in a semi-stressed state. Yes, I do check snow conditions frequently and envy my friends who are out enjoying the weather! When I finally did make it to Cardwell, it was great. An old gym was my teaching headquarters. I love old gyms, they tend to remind me of all of the people who once enjoyed them. A box of history.
I was invited to return to teach a ledger art lesson (I was there in November). It was great. Senator Terry Murphy met up with me to see what the Art Mobile is all about. The students in Cardwell LOVE art, so it was a great afternoon.

I made it to Garrison on Wednesday. 1 student, 1 teacher, and a bus driver from Gold Creek met us as well. Garrison is the size of community that gives their school an address like, "1 School house Rd." It leaves me looking for speed zones, buses, and playground equipment as I inevitably drive through their 2 block long town. I don't think I've ever seen an actual sign for any "school house road." However, many rural schools leave this as their address. That, or "one tree road," named after the single tree behind the school.
Garrison was a quick 4 hour trip, gallery and lesson (cattle marker landscapes). I drove toward Butte to finish up my week.

Butte Central started self-portraits in December. This time, we painted (with spray paint) their work and added details and designs to them. It was fun. However, 2 days full of spray paint, even if it's done outdoors is waaaaaaaaay too much for me.

I'm now back to scheduling and trying to plan for the weeks ahead. Amazing how tired I get from a week on the road.
That's all for this update. Pretty bland as far as updates go. It was a good week, I'm just having difficulty remembering any funny details right now. More soon-