Arts Learning Grant
Arts Learning Grant
Clay Club: Offering learning opportunities in the ceramic arts for community youth.
Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist, Cultural Programming Coordinator at American Indian Community Housing Organization; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, and former Children’s Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artists, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Kayla Aubid: Native American craft artist, writer, employee at MacRostie Art Center; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota-Duluth; Ron Piercy: jeweler, gallery owner; Emily Swanson: arts administrator at Oldenburg Arts and Cultural Community; Christina Nohre: writer and arts advocate.
Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Ariana Daniel: mixed media artist, arts instructor; Kathy Neff: musician, Director, Fine Arts Academy at the University of Minnesota Duluth; Amy Varsek: Education Director, Duluth Art Institute; Kendra Carlson: writing and theater instructor, University of Minnesota Duluth; David Marty: former director of the Reif Performing Arts Center, Grand Rapids.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The primary goal of Clay Club is to facilitate an opportunity for engaged learning. Participants will gain knowledge and skills specific to the ceramic arts. I aim to reach each participant where they are with positive reinforcement and creative challenges in order to enhance their understanding of and participation in the creative process. I envision that this understanding will empower the participants as creative problem solvers as well as gaining an understanding of how creativity and creative work surround us in our lives. Participants will build connections with each other (including helpful adults) in a positive environment focused on the creative process. I will measure the participant’s knowledge and skills gained by using pre and post-Clay Club surveys. Outcomes will also be measured by asking specific questions related to the project goals. Are participants engaged with creating? Did they complete the entire process? Did participants use what they are learning to grow and create more work? Are participants able to connect the ceramic process to other areas of their life, for example, problem solving, persistence, critical thinking and self-awareness? Are challenges being resolved in a positive way? Are participants having positive interactions with others (including adults)?
The primary goal of Clay Club was to provide an opportunity for engaged learning in the ceramic arts. A secondary goal was for participants to build connections with each other, including adults, in a positive environment focused on the creative process. I measured the knowledge gained by using prepost surveys. Very few participants had much previous experience in ceramics and all participants gained knowledge according to my observations and the prepost survey data. To determine the educational success I also relied on observations. Participants were engaged, most (98%) completed the entire process and used what they learned to create more work. Many were able to connect the ceramic process to other areas of their life, especially observable was the self-expression of the older group. I observed participants having positive interactions with each other and the adults. I observed the participants gain confidence and a sense of belonging to a group.
Other,local or private