Hello out there! Here we are! Welcome back to StudioMaury!

Year seven is alive and well and we. are. cruisin.

As many of you all know, for whatever reason, it is almost humanly impossible for me to reuse content material from past years. No matter how successful or popular certain units were, when a new school year rolls around, I find myself reinventing my space, my goals, and my units (against my husband’s best wishes). Don’t get me wrong, there are a few standbys (Fiber Arts and Sock Super Heroes in 4th grade, Color Theory, and Shaving Cream Painting during the last week of school, for example) but most of what we do inside StudioMaury from year to year is brand new and untested.

Yes. Starting from scratch almost always feels like reinventing the wheel. There is still no set art curriculum for DC Public School Visual Arts teachers (almost, but not quite). That gives people like me, who love the autonomy and freedom to create content from the ground up, the chance to dream big and take creative risks when planning. I have been fortunate to help write much of the soon to be DCPS art curriculum over the past few years and my wonderful principal always supports my ideas, even when they are conceptually challenging and MESSY! All that being said, I love my job and am never bored. Haha.

Someone once told me that no great learning happens when we’re comfortable, so I always try and set goals for my students (and myself) that feel just a little bit out of reach, and just a little bit uncomfortable. Often times the topic being discussed is new and unfamiliar. Sometimes, the technique itself provides the challenge. Whatever it is, we have already begun stepping foot into new and uncharted territory during art class in the hopes that studying art and the process of creating it, will help us see things in ourselves and others we hadn’t noticed before.

Take a look at our first few weeks as we made fire hazards of the ceiling, spilled permanent paint on the fresh floors, and stained quite a few school uniforms on our quest to adequately break in StudioMaury for the 20127-18 school year!

 

Here I am making spray paint stencils before the students arrive in an attempt to create a more permanent solution to our assigned floor spots during whole group instruction. So far, it’s working! The starts are all still there!

The Solar Eclipse feels like ages ago! What a memorable way to ring in the new school year! Oh! And check out my new ride! Well, Oz’ new ride technically…

Refreshing studio routines with homemade behavior management tools made from trash! Upcycle!!

This year, the students in grades K-5 wrote inspirational messages on ribbon and attached them to class “Hoops & Dream Catcher Chandeliers”  to encourage their peers to remain positive as we accomplish our studio Hopes & Dreams all year long. I like to call them my psychedelic jellyfish friends! When the AC kicks on, their tentacles sway in the breeze!

The littlest cougars were introduced to new (and familiar) media as they collaboratively created class banners for their teachers upon their first visit to the studio.

And to wrap up the first few weeks with some real excitement, our studio door has begun to undergo its radical transformation as part of our “Bore No More” design contest!

Six anonymous jurors selected a winning design submission last week. Four 4th grade girls are well on their way to making our door a bore no more. Check out the progress in the coming weeks and stop in for a visit!

And the winner is…