September 2020 Fine Arts Office Updates
Alysia’s Corner
After a wonderful summer of 130+ hours of professional learning, we are back in the shed to prepare new offerings for the creative education force.
The MSDE Fine Arts Office is preparing Fall professional learning that is responsive to the needs of arts educators and teaching artists. The Maryland Micro-Credentials are back! For facilitators looking for tools to support LGBTQ+ students and families, we have a new course developed in partnership with GLSEN. For facilitators looking to engage older adults in creative work, we have the newly developed Creative Aging #mcred developed with our partner, Lifetime Arts.
Are you preparing to create digital performances with your students? Starting September 30, MSDE will present a variety of hands-on, technology training for performing arts educators and teaching artists. All workshops are taught by arts educators and teaching artists for the beginner through the advanced user.
And of course, M:BRACE, the weekly professional learning workshops that keep us all open, curious, and reflective will return in late October.
All registrations will open on September 15. We are here to support you!
#MDArtsUnite!
The Fine Arts Office team is sharing their creativity during COVID-19 on social media.
Lillian Jacobson
I am spending time in the studio working on three paintings at the moment. I have so many ideas and thoughts I want to share through my work that is really driving my practice right now. Here is an image of a recent sculptural painting, Towards Greatness.
Towards Greatness, Lillian Jacobson, 2020, Oil paint on stretched strips of reused plastic bags over a wire frame, 6.5” x 7” x 5.5”
I am so grateful that artists and galleries are embracing virtual ways to show their work. I am constantly inspired by the artwork being shown and am discovering new artists I wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Check out some of the artists inspiring me right now:
“Manhattan Skyline” Oil on Canvas, 16 x 24 inches, 2020, Brandi Twilley
Kayla Morgan
I have spent the past month “fall cleaning” my studio. Although I am no longer a student, I spend “back to school” getting back into routines that were abandoned and creating new routines that will help me to meet my goals. A lot of my artistic research comes from reading. I am an avid collector of books and as my collection grew over the past year, I found myself needing more room for my research. I built two bookshelves for my studio space and reorganized supplies and equipment to give myself a “new” space to work. I have also picked back up the practice of journaling each day. I am always surprised by how much more creativity can flow from me with just a few minor changes to my space and practice. I consider myself a lifelong learner and I look forward to assigning myself some more projects to work on as the weather begins to cool and students begin to go back to their studies.
