Another Love Letter....... From Brenda at Maconaquah Elementary

I am thrilled to be able to share another love letter with you. This is from Brenda, an Elementary Art Teacher at Maconaquah Elementary School in Indiana. The Henri Rousseau Traveling Exhibit is the first in her Student Art Experience and this is what she had to say,"Good afternoon Lisa,
WHAT A GREAT EXHIBIT. I am THRILLED, and the kids are really excited. I have been teaching from the panels since Wed (our first real day to do art class and not rule days). We have done history, observations, contrast and compare............... I could not ask for a better resource. Thank you so much. Thanks too for sending the info on the two artists and the pin. You truly are the best company I have ever worked with. Thanks so much. I will send you pictures of the kids and their projects when we are finished, and of my room." Brenda has 8 more exhibits in her Student Art Experience. So watch for Brenda's updates and student art projects. This is why we do what we do. Obviously Brenda is inspired, therefore her students will be inspired too! Thanks Brenda

Google Teacher's Discovery Traveling Exhibits and this is just one of many articles that you'll find

Google Teacher's Discovery Traveling Exhibits and this is just one of many articles that you could find. It's a great story of our Claude Monet Traveling Exhibit and the Impression and Inspiration that it evoked while visiting Parkside Middle School in Manassas, VA. This article can be found at insidenova.com. This article was published March 20, 2009 and reporter Amanda Stewart does and excellent job telling the story of Parkside's Memorable Exhibit Experience. You'll see what I mean when you read on.
" Reggie Miles said he never considered himself a big fan of art museums. But that might have changed this week. After a traveling exhibit on impressionist painter Claude Monet visited Parkside Middle School this week, Reggie, a 14-year-old eighth-grader, said he gained a new appreciation for art. "I hadn't been an art appreciator before," he said. "But now that I've seen this up close, I think I'd like to go to art museums and see more."
The exhibit, put together by the company Teacher's Discovery, included three large prints of Monet's most famous pieces, including a 17 x 7-foot-long-print of "The Water Lily Pond; Pink Harmony." The large prints hung in Parkside's hallway all week, alongside Monet-inspired work done by Parkside students.
Students have been studying Monet and impressionism in their art and French classes and in the library, since November, said school librarian Jill Hubbell. This weeks traveling exhibit was the culminating event, she said.
In Myriam Lawrence's art classes, students learned about French impressionist painters and used the impressionist's dabbing technique to create their own art, Lawrence said.
French teacher Nancy Lopez said she used Monet's paintings to teach French vocabulary. Sixth-graders used the paintings to learn the French words for colors. In eighth-grade classes, students read a biography of Monet written in French and learned past tense of verbs.
In the library, students went on a "scavenger hunt" to find the answers to questions about Monet's life and work. Students also went on a field trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where they got to see some of Monet's paintings up close. "It was exciting for our students, because they saw it first hand, not just from a picture," Hubbell said.
Teachers also tied the traveling exhibit into language arts classes, Hubbell said. Underneath the paintings, writing prompts were posted.
Friday afternoon, students Lisa Zilka's seventh-grade language arts class sat in front of the exhibit, using it as inspiration for their writing. A few other students, including Reggie, were busy making their own crayon drawings based on the Monet painting.
"It's challenging trying to mimic one of the great artists," said eighth-grader colt Burton, 14. The students said they liked having the exhibit in their school all week. "It's nice to have time to appreciate this kind of art," said eighth-grader Ijya Khatwada, 13. "When you just pass it in the hallway, you might not look at it that closely. It's good that it was here all week so we could see it."
By using Amanda's article I've been able to show you another perfect example of why we do what we do here at Teacher's Discovery Traveling Exhibits and Art Teacher's Discovery.

More love notes.... This is why we do it!

Last April Lincoln Street Elementary School in Waverly, NY hosted our Spectacular, Teacher's Choice Award Winning Vincent vanGogh Traveling Exhibit. Teacher, Karen Navaie sent me a love note which contained quotes from students. This is what they said, this is how they felt, this is why we do it.
Lisa, the exhibit Vincent vanGogh was awesome. Thank you so much. My students, parents, staff and faculty were so excited about the exhibit. Everyone was talking about vanGogh & Starry Night. One kindergarten student came around the corner after I set up the exhibit. His comment, "WOW!", "That's Starry Night by Vincent vanGogh!". Other comments - "I think that the display was really amazing!" "It was so big that many people can see it at once". "My favorite display was the Night Cafe and the view from his hospital room, because there were very bright colors!" 6th grade student.
"When I first saw the painting it looked alive and I like it ever since." 6th grade student
"Spectacular! Beautiful, Amazing" 5th grade student
"I think I'll never forget that exhibit! Starry Night was beautiful and big, and just like lots of Vincent's wondrous paintings. It really touched you just to look at it, and that exhibit shows you that!" 4th grade student
"I thought is was awesome with all the beautiful colors and the brush strokes. It reminded me of being in a patch of flowers with lots of colors. I learned that Vincent died penniless and that his paintings were worth so much. Starry Night was beautiful!" 4th grade student
Thank you again for the exhibit. I'm already planning to get one for next year.
Thanks, Karen Navaie

I'd Like To Share A Love Note......

As coordinator for Traveling Exhibits I get the wonderful privilege of working with Teachers, Librarians and Museum Directors across the country gifting awe, inspiration and a memorable, cultural, museum experience to "Many". Whether hosting Art exhibits, Science or Social Studies there is a lot to experience and learn from each Traveling Exhibit, bringing their subject matter larger than life. As Traveling Exhibits continues to grow, we are becoming busier and busier and our fan mail is poring in. Skip the owner of Teacher's Discovery has re-named our fan mail to our "Love Letters". If you've read my introduction here on my blog than you know that I have created this blog to be used as a venue for our exhibit renters to inspire their peers. Well keeping on with that agenda I decided that I really wanted to share this love letter with you from Ms. Maxwell, Spanish Teacher at Woodglen School in Califon, NJ. So.... Here's Ms. Maxwell.....
Dear Lisa,
I extend tardy but hearty thanks to you and Teacher's Discovery. I have always enjoyed and used all the great items I have purchased in the past from Teacher's Discovery, but I was most impressed with the traveling art show. The promotional material was excellent. Our custodial staff, Mrs. Gaskill and I had no problem installing and dismantling the show. What a great product from conception to presentation. However, now there is an emptiness that must be filled. We realize what we were missing.... art and color.
What a transformation Picasso made to the room and what a reaction we had from our audiences. We planned the date to coincide with our drama club presentation of "Mulan" to increase exposure. Everyone who entered the room paused to study when confronted with the paintings on the wall. The PTA who sponsored the show had but one response; what are we going to do next year, Kahlo? The Board of Education enjoyed the back drop to their meeting. The show affected many. The custodial staff had their coffee breaks and lunch in the room just to be able to see it more often.
Cheryl Gaskill and I were able to co-teach a lesson to our joint Spanish classes using the life sized Picasso paintings. It was great to have them see the paintings almost as they would be, rather than using a book or a too small poster. Many were truly mesmerized and it gave them an opportunity to study three paintings in depth. Had they gone to the museum, they would not have walked away so impressed nor so educated. Less is more. Students we did not expect to like the show wanted more. They loved it, but that is how art works, it speaks to some more than others. Even if they did not like art they were able to see how two paintings by the same man can be very different. They could sense the light, colorful calm before the storm of Night Fishing at Antibes compared to the negative, harsh reality of Guernica.
In my next class I had the students try their hand at drawing like Picasso. They were to draw faces of other students and were to try to capture their personality or their physical characteristics... but not in a traditional manner (no oval face!), as Picasso might have at age 80. Amazingly many could. They seemed to understand what he was trying to do and a bit more of the man himself. I credit the show for allowing them to experience art in depth for at least one day.
Thank you again, personally I loved it and miss it. However, it inspired our school to create some Student Wall Art next year. Looking forward to future exhibit rentals.
Sincerely,
Jerilyn Maxwell, Spanish Teacher

Hats off to Target!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many Thanks From Traveling Exhibits

Did you know that Target sponsors arts programs that bring the arts to schools and help to make it affordable for youth and families to participate in cultural experiences. One such example is Target Family Day at art museums around the country? Programs that make the arts accessible to school children are of particular interest to them. It appears that Teacher's Discovery Traveling Exhibits is exactly the kind of arts in the schools program that they are funding. Target has been a very generous sponsor for our exhibits for the last two years now and they are definitely continuing with their support with most grants averaging between $1,000 to $3,000. I've heard from 2 teachers and 1 librarian within the last 3 days who've been awarded a combined $5,000 for Traveling Exhibits. The notifications are already being sent out when our grant writers were told that they'd have to wait until Sept. 30, 2009. With all of that being said:
Here's a link to Target Grants FAQ.
Please keep in mind that the deadline has passed for the 2009-2010 school year and they will be accepting new applications again after March 1, 2010. It's never to early to Aspire to Inspire.