The Paper Picker Press isn’t all about after-school! Today we hosted an open workshop spreading the pedagogy of the program to interested members of Romance Languages and Literatures Faculty and Graduate Students at Harvard University. In the three-hour workshop, we developed techniques of Literary Criticism, Interpretation, and Meta-Cognition through the media of re-writing, visual and performing arts. Theory (as it inevitably does) followed from play, building on presentations in Romance Studies 200, with Prof. Campbell assisted by Adriana Gutierrez and Doris Sommer. The message: Sophisticated lessons in criticism can be facilitated through a variety of arts and play. We put that theory to the test using Borges’ wonderfully idiomatic text, “The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths.” Luckily, we made it out of Borge's magical textual maze alive with a few "novel" lessons under our overstuffed belts.
Thank you to Kathy Coviello for all her help in organizing this event.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
First day of class
Chapter 2 of the Paper Picker Press officially began today. Six schools have adopted us and we started our creative literacy program in our first only hours ago. A painter and a visual artist braved kids ages K-5 to introduce the first of many productive sessions all geared around a single text. A musician and a bookmaker wowed an audience of seven to nine year olds. And so the love of reading begins for 40+ young literati…
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Artists, I’d like to introduce you to HASI…
Representatives from all six HASI programs met our artists today—enthusiastically hand-matched, of course, by our Paper Picker Press coordinator, Emily Ullman. I won’t say it was love at first site, but it was close: Schools seeking photography programs found their Polaroid (instant gratification, that is), while those craving book-makers were pleased to meet the charming Bob Davies…the list goes on and on. After a brief introduction, artists drove through short texts, explaining their ideas for exploding the narrative into a variety of productive “games.” Then we played one such game, asking our HASI program reps to draw characters described by their fellow guinea pigs. The results were magical. “All Summer in a Day” has never produced such wonderfully varied responses: “What was the teacher in the next room doing? Sowing like a good teacher! That’s why her kids didn’t get into trouble!” What will they come up with next?
For our end, Cultural Agents issued pre-assessment surveys chronicling the wants and needs of HASI program leaders as well as all the logistical goodies that make real-life programs tick.
Thank you so much to HASI once again for arranging this meeting of the minds!
For our end, Cultural Agents issued pre-assessment surveys chronicling the wants and needs of HASI program leaders as well as all the logistical goodies that make real-life programs tick.
Thank you so much to HASI once again for arranging this meeting of the minds!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Open Call to Artist-Educators
We’re hosting an open meeting with local area artists interested in partnering with our Paper Picker Press to implement the new program to those HASI programs that decide to pick us up. The meeting will be this Thursday afternoon, September 27th. We’ll run through the history of our creative literacy project and try to elucidate the essential role of artists: all you need is an openness to the intersections between arts and literacy-- and, well, any artistic skill under the sun!
Calling all painters, sculptors, sketch-artists, graphic designers, weavers, dancers, stompers, photographers, dramatists, musicians, set-makers, and PAPER PICKERS…
Calling all painters, sculptors, sketch-artists, graphic designers, weavers, dancers, stompers, photographers, dramatists, musicians, set-makers, and PAPER PICKERS…
Thursday, September 20, 2007
HASI Presentation
It’s been a whirlwind since this summer’s pilot programs of the Paper Picker Press. HASI (Harvard Achievement Support Initiative) invited us to present our creative literacy program to their core schools and after-school programs on September 20th. We ventured across campus to make our big pitch: We shared the you tube video of our summer pilots, explained the history of Cultural Agents Initiative (www.culturalagents.org), and the need for a creative literacy program using a multiplicity of arts! It was a mouthful, to be sure, but seemed to meet rave reviews. When the dust settled, HASI’s wonderful staff – Joan Matsalia (Associate Director), Lisa Moellman (Assistant Director), and Emily Smit (Coordinator)—informed us that six schools were interested in discussing the Paper Picker Press “trimmed” to meet their individualized needs! More to follow…
Friday, August 17, 2007
Last Day Zumix
I'm really going to miss these folks! They were all wonderful. Bob and I finished up the literary/performance work and the CD books. We first ironed out the mini-performances from yesterday and added some narration. The students read some of their pieces and then performed the original song they wrote. This was debuted to the Zumix staff who kindly gathered to support. The highlight, I'd say, was the Memory piece by a student who delivered it in stand up comedy style to a room full of supportive shouts.
The students also finished their books. They look wonderful and are really practical for a group of musicians.
It was fabulous and I hope we can stay in touch with these folks (I know I'll be watching their band perform).
Thanks everyone for a great two weeks!
Emily
The students also finished their books. They look wonderful and are really practical for a group of musicians.
It was fabulous and I hope we can stay in touch with these folks (I know I'll be watching their band perform).
Thanks everyone for a great two weeks!
Emily
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Zumix Day 5
It was a lovely day of bookmaking today. Bob came with me and he worked with the kids to lay out plans for their cd books. They did the cutting, gluing, and folding...very cool.
We then rounded them all up and worked in mini-performances using the Image stuff we did from yesterday. They worked with a narrative written by a member of the group and then built performances around it.
The performances worked fairly well but their energy was a bit scattered and it was tough to pull them away from their individual book projects (things to remember for next time!)
Overall these kids are wonderful, the only challenge is a highly fluxuating number of students. There are a core of 6 students and then we range everday between these six and about 13, not bad when this is the problem I'd say.
Thanks,
Emily
We then rounded them all up and worked in mini-performances using the Image stuff we did from yesterday. They worked with a narrative written by a member of the group and then built performances around it.
The performances worked fairly well but their energy was a bit scattered and it was tough to pull them away from their individual book projects (things to remember for next time!)
Overall these kids are wonderful, the only challenge is a highly fluxuating number of students. There are a core of 6 students and then we range everday between these six and about 13, not bad when this is the problem I'd say.
Thanks,
Emily
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Zumix Day 4
Today was my favorite day!!! It was wonderful to have a room full of enthusiastic students. We had 13 (a number of them were there for the first time so that added a bit of a challenge but it was overall great).
We worked in some improv at the beginning because Maria and I agreed that these students really loved it. They opened right up, and this forced them to immediately work together, which was important for the rest of the day.
We worked on some of the themes from the story, to really push them to new levels by doing a few physical, silent exercises. This was amazing as Laura added an undercurrent of music. It was so thrilling to see how the piano brought the themes (and the students) to life. I'm really grateful that Laura was able to provide this for us because the use of music really spoke to what these specific students love.
We worked with Image Theatre and had to fend off quite a few giggles in the process. At first Maria T and I were a little frustrated but after we stopped the activity and made our expectations clear they stepped right up. I've never seen a group create such beautiful debriefs about their work, so insightful! They worked with themes from the story, including good vs. evil, betrayal, love and want-- some very powerful stuff.
We also worked on their music performances a bit to include everyone.
What a fun day!
Emily
We worked in some improv at the beginning because Maria and I agreed that these students really loved it. They opened right up, and this forced them to immediately work together, which was important for the rest of the day.
We worked on some of the themes from the story, to really push them to new levels by doing a few physical, silent exercises. This was amazing as Laura added an undercurrent of music. It was so thrilling to see how the piano brought the themes (and the students) to life. I'm really grateful that Laura was able to provide this for us because the use of music really spoke to what these specific students love.
We worked with Image Theatre and had to fend off quite a few giggles in the process. At first Maria T and I were a little frustrated but after we stopped the activity and made our expectations clear they stepped right up. I've never seen a group create such beautiful debriefs about their work, so insightful! They worked with themes from the story, including good vs. evil, betrayal, love and want-- some very powerful stuff.
We also worked on their music performances a bit to include everyone.
What a fun day!
Emily
Friday, August 10, 2007
Day 3 Zumix
The core group of students are just fabulous and had a great time. We warmed up and then moved into a writing exercise pulled from the story. We reviewed the actual text and discussed why they thought memories and remembering were so prevalent in the story. Then they wrote about a person in their lives who is defined by a specific memory. A few of them chose to write about themselves and one even made a whole history up (I loved that one).
We then worked on tightening our machines (lead up to sculptures) and finally polished and added music to the lyrics they wrote with Nathalie. The songs were pretty great and we ended on a good note.
That's it for now,
Emily
We then worked on tightening our machines (lead up to sculptures) and finally polished and added music to the lyrics they wrote with Nathalie. The songs were pretty great and we ended on a good note.
That's it for now,
Emily
Final Day Chelsea
In the chaos of an auditorium swarming with pre-teens we made out alright. Bob, Maria T and I traveled to the Boys and Girls Club with stars in our eyes and pride in our hearts (perhaps a bit over the top but we were excited) and were thrown into a swamp of children.
The talent show was a lot of fun, our kids were great except for the itsy bitsy audio detail. You really couldn't hear much of what they said...projection will be included in a longer session. But they learned a script (compiled of their own writing) in just a day and I'd say did pretty well. Doris made it to the show with a little crew and seemed pleased. We were then entertained by a skit that involved sock-footed 9 year olds running/sliding across a stage yelling "chocolate milk"--it was great.
All and all I'd say the work was a success so thanks for everyone who carted out there with us.
Emily
The talent show was a lot of fun, our kids were great except for the itsy bitsy audio detail. You really couldn't hear much of what they said...projection will be included in a longer session. But they learned a script (compiled of their own writing) in just a day and I'd say did pretty well. Doris made it to the show with a little crew and seemed pleased. We were then entertained by a skit that involved sock-footed 9 year olds running/sliding across a stage yelling "chocolate milk"--it was great.
All and all I'd say the work was a success so thanks for everyone who carted out there with us.
Emily
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Day 2 Zumix
Before beginning I would like to give a shout-out to Laura and Emily for making today possible :)
Today was great! Very productive and creative-- these kids are talented! The only downside of the day is that they came in 15 minutes late, so I would recommend, at least for next week, asking them to be here around 11:45am. Just a thought.
The day began with a couple of warm-up exercises that Laura led, the first a "follow the energy/movement" exercise that sent a movement around a circle, and the second one that asked students (and teachers) to pair up and maintain a conversation through gibberish, animal movements, strange movements and from across the room, in various combinations.
We then did the famous character exercise and a lot of great character drawings came out. The kids were certainly eager to share their reasons behind the intricate drawings, and the discussion worked well. However, they seemed to grow a little tired of everybody describing their characters because each person went, but it was fun because each kid was eager to do so.
We (finally) did the telephone lyric writing exercise, which turned oftentimes into a silly and far out deviation from the original. Once everybody read the actual "songs" the kids would usually end up roaring in laughter seeing the changes. Though some of the changes turned out a little less coherent than others, the next step, breaking them into groups of 3, 3, and 2, put them to the task of editing some of the parts they had created as a group and put them together into a single song per group.
The groups came up with some great songs that they shared at the end with the rest of the group. Laura was wonderful at improvising with the piano and the guitar to guide them through their presentations, and gave them interesting ideas as to how they could add some melodies to their lyrics. We had a cute little ballad, a hip-hoppish, call-and-response song (the sun is like a flower, the sky is like a bubble) and a rock/blues one sung to the melody of Bad to the Bone. They should rehearse and finalize these songs over the next days, they were truly creative! These kids are definitely lots and lots of fun.
By the end the kids wanted another fun moving-about type of exercise, but we didn't have more time. Emily, they were clamoring for the machine-building, so maybe you should do it again tomorrow!
Cheers for a wonderful day!
--Nathalie
Today was great! Very productive and creative-- these kids are talented! The only downside of the day is that they came in 15 minutes late, so I would recommend, at least for next week, asking them to be here around 11:45am. Just a thought.
The day began with a couple of warm-up exercises that Laura led, the first a "follow the energy/movement" exercise that sent a movement around a circle, and the second one that asked students (and teachers) to pair up and maintain a conversation through gibberish, animal movements, strange movements and from across the room, in various combinations.
We then did the famous character exercise and a lot of great character drawings came out. The kids were certainly eager to share their reasons behind the intricate drawings, and the discussion worked well. However, they seemed to grow a little tired of everybody describing their characters because each person went, but it was fun because each kid was eager to do so.
We (finally) did the telephone lyric writing exercise, which turned oftentimes into a silly and far out deviation from the original. Once everybody read the actual "songs" the kids would usually end up roaring in laughter seeing the changes. Though some of the changes turned out a little less coherent than others, the next step, breaking them into groups of 3, 3, and 2, put them to the task of editing some of the parts they had created as a group and put them together into a single song per group.
The groups came up with some great songs that they shared at the end with the rest of the group. Laura was wonderful at improvising with the piano and the guitar to guide them through their presentations, and gave them interesting ideas as to how they could add some melodies to their lyrics. We had a cute little ballad, a hip-hoppish, call-and-response song (the sun is like a flower, the sky is like a bubble) and a rock/blues one sung to the melody of Bad to the Bone. They should rehearse and finalize these songs over the next days, they were truly creative! These kids are definitely lots and lots of fun.
By the end the kids wanted another fun moving-about type of exercise, but we didn't have more time. Emily, they were clamoring for the machine-building, so maybe you should do it again tomorrow!
Cheers for a wonderful day!
--Nathalie
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Day 1 Zumix
Whooeee!
This is a fantastic group of kids! Maria T and I had a great second half of our double header in East Boston this afternoon. There were 6 teenagers and should be three more tomorrow. We even had one mighty shy lad join us from the other room halfway through because he said it sounded like fun.
We started out with a few warm ups (they are pros at these games, lots of experience) and then went into a little journal making. We had them chose and fold the papers however they want (telling them they'd have to stick to that shape for the two weeks). Some of them challenged the old stand by shapes...good luck Bob, Maria and I decided you could bind anything (Nathalie, remember to have them fold their papers tomorrow in the same way so they can fit together).
We then read the story and had them write responses during. Maria suggested we up the anti a bit and have them write not only their reactions but what they thought was going to happen in the story next. This turned out to be a lot of fun and I'd say my favorite answer was "I thought Margot was going to turn into the sun after she got locked in the closet."
We discussed what they thought/liked/didn't like about the story. It was great and we'll get into more specifics next time.
At the end we set up some groundwork for our sculptures by having the students mold themselves based on themes from the story. It was great.
They were super giggly laughing messes at times and I loved it.
It's a lot of fun, I think everyone will love them.
Emily
This is a fantastic group of kids! Maria T and I had a great second half of our double header in East Boston this afternoon. There were 6 teenagers and should be three more tomorrow. We even had one mighty shy lad join us from the other room halfway through because he said it sounded like fun.
We started out with a few warm ups (they are pros at these games, lots of experience) and then went into a little journal making. We had them chose and fold the papers however they want (telling them they'd have to stick to that shape for the two weeks). Some of them challenged the old stand by shapes...good luck Bob, Maria and I decided you could bind anything (Nathalie, remember to have them fold their papers tomorrow in the same way so they can fit together).
We then read the story and had them write responses during. Maria suggested we up the anti a bit and have them write not only their reactions but what they thought was going to happen in the story next. This turned out to be a lot of fun and I'd say my favorite answer was "I thought Margot was going to turn into the sun after she got locked in the closet."
We discussed what they thought/liked/didn't like about the story. It was great and we'll get into more specifics next time.
At the end we set up some groundwork for our sculptures by having the students mold themselves based on themes from the story. It was great.
They were super giggly laughing messes at times and I loved it.
It's a lot of fun, I think everyone will love them.
Emily
Chelsea Day 5
Alright! It's the day before our talent show performance and Maria and I had a great time. We spent almost the whole day working on our presentation. The kids are pretty excited and we think it will be a great time. Some reluctant speakers came around with a little positive support and a little peer pressure.
So tomorrow at 1:30pm you will see a taste of the writing and goodies that we've been doing.
Then we were off to Zumix...
see you tomorrow
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4509770093562623758#
Post Options
So tomorrow at 1:30pm you will see a taste of the writing and goodies that we've been doing.
Then we were off to Zumix...
see you tomorrow
Emilyhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4509770093562623758#
Post Options
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Chelsea - Day Three - Boys and Girls Club
Again, a wonderful day with an exceptional bunch of ladies (and now two lads).
Maria T rounded up the crew to have them do a few excerises that used both voice and body. This was a lot of fun; many of them wanted to do it again. Mary and I then split them up into two groups and had them talk a little more about the words and themes found in the story, before having them work directly on the accordian book.
Overall the children worked well as a group, adding to each others pictures, and writing descriptions about each others drawings.
We then put them into two more groups. Maria worked with the paper instruments technique that Antonio had created in Framingham. This went over very well. We took the other half and had them sew the book together.
Great day. Lots of progress.
daVies
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Day 3 – BRAMAS
Today was our 3rd day at BRAMAS and overall it went pretty well.
Good news: we've got 2 new rooms on the same building (2nd floor). They are bigger than the bigger room upstairs and are going to be used for the performance.
The day started with a little warm up. Then Adriana finished what she had planned for yesterday. The kids looked at the pictures they took from each other and discussed about different interpretations/meaning/styles.
After that we went to the space downstairs where Antonio and me led a free writing exercise.
The kids wrote a few lines (poems, songs, narratives) related to the text. Than, we divided them into 2 groups.
Antonio worked with those who wrote lyrics and poems and I worked with those who wrote narratives for a possible theatrical performances.
We all read what they wrote together.
Once the group was back together Antonio transformed them into an orchestra. It was really beautiful to see. They all worked on the same musical piece from yesterday but played it with instruments they made out of recyclable materials. The kids even chose a name for their orchestra: “Os reciclados”. It was really nice.
That was pretty much the closing, as always we ran out of time.
I left the kids writings with Arlete for Emily to use/expand them. Some kids want to act and sing, some want to do sound effects and others want to work on building costumes (Rosana will be there tomorrow and work on that).
It’s hard to get the kids engaged all the time on all the activities. They also respond differently depending on what we ask them to do. Caio for example is hard to keep engaged most of the time but he made a very creative instrument (a flute with plastic bottles and water) and was very engaged in the orchestra part.
Like yesterday we had only 20 kids and they were not hard to work with.
I think that’s all for today.
Good luck tomorrow Emily!
Maria Tereza
Good news: we've got 2 new rooms on the same building (2nd floor). They are bigger than the bigger room upstairs and are going to be used for the performance.
The day started with a little warm up. Then Adriana finished what she had planned for yesterday. The kids looked at the pictures they took from each other and discussed about different interpretations/meaning/styles.
After that we went to the space downstairs where Antonio and me led a free writing exercise.
The kids wrote a few lines (poems, songs, narratives) related to the text. Than, we divided them into 2 groups.
Antonio worked with those who wrote lyrics and poems and I worked with those who wrote narratives for a possible theatrical performances.
We all read what they wrote together.
Once the group was back together Antonio transformed them into an orchestra. It was really beautiful to see. They all worked on the same musical piece from yesterday but played it with instruments they made out of recyclable materials. The kids even chose a name for their orchestra: “Os reciclados”. It was really nice.
That was pretty much the closing, as always we ran out of time.
I left the kids writings with Arlete for Emily to use/expand them. Some kids want to act and sing, some want to do sound effects and others want to work on building costumes (Rosana will be there tomorrow and work on that).
It’s hard to get the kids engaged all the time on all the activities. They also respond differently depending on what we ask them to do. Caio for example is hard to keep engaged most of the time but he made a very creative instrument (a flute with plastic bottles and water) and was very engaged in the orchestra part.
Like yesterday we had only 20 kids and they were not hard to work with.
I think that’s all for today.
Good luck tomorrow Emily!
Maria Tereza
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
- BRAMAS - day 2
Today was a musical day. Arriving at BRAMAS this morning, Maria Tereza and I met with Antonio, Adriana, and Arlete to set up for the day. We had twenty kids today. Taking advantage of the summer, and the adjacent park, we took ourselves outside to experience the sun and a few activities to initiate us onto our day. We walked when we were told to stop, and stopped when we were told to walk, shouted our age when we were told to jump, and jumped when we were asked how old we were! The morning was fun, joyously confusing, free-ing, and filled with movement. A great start with lots of energy and laughs.
Antonio had an amazing lesson planned for the kids, discovering and associating through music. Adriana also had a terrific lesson in photography to teach the kids about composition, and discovering interpretation through the lens.
With his group of ten, Antonio led the children to discover music through paper. PAPER! It could not have been a more fitting opportunity. A Piece for Paper, was a piece of music made especially to play a piece of paper, --through sliding, tapping, clapping and rustling paper, the children created an orchestra. Antonio discussed ideas of 'form' with the children, and directly related these notions to discovering the form of All Summer In A Day -- by comparing the components of each. It was truly amazing to see such a talented teacher give such a comprehensive lesson, and make all the pieces fit so wonderfully.
Just the same, Adriana took the other ten children (and then the groups swapped) to learn about basic concepts in photography/composition; the rule of thirds, the pitfalls of centered images, and what constitutes a working photograph-- with movement and space; showing the children a variety of images and letting them chose which worked well, and which did not work so well --and why. After the slide show, the group of ten split into groups of five; one group doing body sculptures, or metaphoric adaptations from the story -- and the other photographing them. Lunch came just as the second group was finishing up, so tomorrow we are lucky to have Adriana return to look at the images the children created, with them -- and to talk about what they were able to produce. This was an amazingly well-organized lesson that seemed to cover a tremendous amount in an agreeable amount of time. Another amazing teacher.
Kudos to both Antonio and Adriana!
After lunch, we wrapped up the day and were treated to bit of Jobim, when Antonio took his guitar out, and helped students (and er, some teachers..) learn how to sing it! It was a wonderful way to end the day. ~ Maria
Day 3 Chelsea Boys and Girls Club
Before I begin, I would like to give a shout out to Maria Theresa, Nathalie, Google maps and the cop in Dunkin' Donuts for helping us find our entirely round about yet good intentioned way to the Boys and Girls Club--we appreciate you.
Ok, so we started with a few warms ups and goal setting activities to get things going and then moved into writing. We asked the girls (and one new boy) to write a narrative from Margot's perspective after she was locked in the closet. We refreshed their memories about what it is to be first person and sent them on their way asking them to be extremely aware of their senses. We got some lovely responses about slippery doors and smelly fish shoes, and one escape route with candy in coat pockets. It generated great stuff for the final book.
Then we moved into revised version of sculptures. We asked them to create multiple images based on the same word and then move between them on the same count. This created quite a lovely effect and will be used in their final show. We then worked with a "practice book" so they could play with the actual physicality of the book in preparation for their performance. They then were given copies of the story and in small groups worked on mini-performances using a phrase from the text, multiple images and the "practice book". I think it turned out pretty well although some of the groups were a bit too literal for my taste but I realize that it was a tall order.
Our goal for Thursday is to have them physically write on the final books and to work with a lose script pulled together from their writings.
So there you have it, they are a great group of kids and are a lot of fun to work with.
Emily
Ok, so we started with a few warms ups and goal setting activities to get things going and then moved into writing. We asked the girls (and one new boy) to write a narrative from Margot's perspective after she was locked in the closet. We refreshed their memories about what it is to be first person and sent them on their way asking them to be extremely aware of their senses. We got some lovely responses about slippery doors and smelly fish shoes, and one escape route with candy in coat pockets. It generated great stuff for the final book.
Then we moved into revised version of sculptures. We asked them to create multiple images based on the same word and then move between them on the same count. This created quite a lovely effect and will be used in their final show. We then worked with a "practice book" so they could play with the actual physicality of the book in preparation for their performance. They then were given copies of the story and in small groups worked on mini-performances using a phrase from the text, multiple images and the "practice book". I think it turned out pretty well although some of the groups were a bit too literal for my taste but I realize that it was a tall order.
Our goal for Thursday is to have them physically write on the final books and to work with a lose script pulled together from their writings.
So there you have it, they are a great group of kids and are a lot of fun to work with.
Emily
Monday, July 30, 2007
Day One @ BRAMAS Workshop: Framingham, MA
Today we arrived in Framingham to start the week with our new group at BRAMAS- [Brazilian American Association]. Bob, Femke, Nathalie and myself were there to teach the 26 students, and lead them onto and into the PPPPerforms journey. The kids ranged in age from 9 to 17.
During the morning warm-ups, Nathalie led us in some games to help the kids build confidence in each other and to get to know one another. We continued this by introducing ourselves, stretching, moving, playing a game of catch of sorts, and then ended with a "machine building" exercise where the kids "built" their own machines using their bodies,-- each having a demonstrative movement and sound to go with their respective role in the multi-bodied machine.
After warming up, we gathered in the larger room where Bob took the lead on introducing the kids to the art of book-making. He showed them the materials they would be using, demonstrating how to use each one, and also gave them a look at what their choices would be for the textures and colors of papers they could choose from. We broke up into a few groups, and made use of the three rooms; one for painting, and two others to have a bit more space to stretch out and work. The kids dove in!
The students made sketch-books to write in during various exercises, and to use for themselves throughout the week to jot notes, to draw in, and to reflect on what their experiences are/will be. This was an introduction to the finalized books they will then make on Friday.
It was very exciting to see the kids explore their options for cover layout, and interior pages; all the books varying in colors, sizes, lengths and design elements. As their confidence grew with their bookmaking skills, some students (not necessarily the older ones) found a place in lending a hand to their peers with their newly found skills. It was great to see them sharing and really focusing on their creativity and ideas. This portion of the day seemed to be a joy for all, teachers included.
After the book-making session, we took a break to eat lunch, and gab a bit about what their books turned out like, and how they were feeling, what they thought of the workshop (so far, so good!) and some other side notes.
We then resumed in the larger room to introduce the text All Summer In A Day
by Bradbury. Femke and I took turns reading the story aloud, breaking in-between sections (three in all) to give the kids 'one minute' to write and/or draw their reactions to what they had heard.
After reading, we broke up into different groups. We asked each group to take three pieces of paper to draw on. We suggested they look to their sketch-books for inspiration-- to what they had written during the one-minute reactions. This exercise, we also let them know, was about collectively making decisions--- about what to draw, in reference to the three sections of the story, and how they would go about chosing and deciding, some children preferring to draw while others might be the idea makers, or 'directors'. There were a couple of bumps along the way, but overall this was a very successful exercise and the kids really took care of their work and put in a huge effort. There were many accounts of the rain, the sun, and also Margot.
We then met together in the larger room, to discuss for a small amount of time what words/images the kids thought about and what portions of the story they may have been associating or informing their drawings with.
The last exercise involved asking the kids to sit in pairs, back to back, on a 7' roll of paper to conjure and draw. One child would sit facing the paper, ready to draw what the child opposite would then describe; this proved to be a fruitful exercise, though we will have to re-cap tomorrow as there were many children getting picked-up at this time, and overall the exercise was cut short.
A few issues we need to be saavy about are using the space to the ut-most and not letting it hinder our experience. It can be overwhelming for all involved when there are nearly thirty kids in one average sized room! I also feel very strongly about dividing the girls and boys in a more equal way-- so that the girls do not convene and the energy the boys have together can balance out more evenly.
Also,there are several older students who are fantastic helpers, and should be encouraged to do so! This helps tremendously with community building, and also of course with getting things accomplished.
Looking forward to tomorrow with Antonio and Adriana!
Maria LaCreta
During the morning warm-ups, Nathalie led us in some games to help the kids build confidence in each other and to get to know one another. We continued this by introducing ourselves, stretching, moving, playing a game of catch of sorts, and then ended with a "machine building" exercise where the kids "built" their own machines using their bodies,-- each having a demonstrative movement and sound to go with their respective role in the multi-bodied machine.
After warming up, we gathered in the larger room where Bob took the lead on introducing the kids to the art of book-making. He showed them the materials they would be using, demonstrating how to use each one, and also gave them a look at what their choices would be for the textures and colors of papers they could choose from. We broke up into a few groups, and made use of the three rooms; one for painting, and two others to have a bit more space to stretch out and work. The kids dove in!
The students made sketch-books to write in during various exercises, and to use for themselves throughout the week to jot notes, to draw in, and to reflect on what their experiences are/will be. This was an introduction to the finalized books they will then make on Friday.
It was very exciting to see the kids explore their options for cover layout, and interior pages; all the books varying in colors, sizes, lengths and design elements. As their confidence grew with their bookmaking skills, some students (not necessarily the older ones) found a place in lending a hand to their peers with their newly found skills. It was great to see them sharing and really focusing on their creativity and ideas. This portion of the day seemed to be a joy for all, teachers included.
After the book-making session, we took a break to eat lunch, and gab a bit about what their books turned out like, and how they were feeling, what they thought of the workshop (so far, so good!) and some other side notes.
We then resumed in the larger room to introduce the text All Summer In A Day
by Bradbury. Femke and I took turns reading the story aloud, breaking in-between sections (three in all) to give the kids 'one minute' to write and/or draw their reactions to what they had heard.
After reading, we broke up into different groups. We asked each group to take three pieces of paper to draw on. We suggested they look to their sketch-books for inspiration-- to what they had written during the one-minute reactions. This exercise, we also let them know, was about collectively making decisions--- about what to draw, in reference to the three sections of the story, and how they would go about chosing and deciding, some children preferring to draw while others might be the idea makers, or 'directors'. There were a couple of bumps along the way, but overall this was a very successful exercise and the kids really took care of their work and put in a huge effort. There were many accounts of the rain, the sun, and also Margot.
We then met together in the larger room, to discuss for a small amount of time what words/images the kids thought about and what portions of the story they may have been associating or informing their drawings with.
The last exercise involved asking the kids to sit in pairs, back to back, on a 7' roll of paper to conjure and draw. One child would sit facing the paper, ready to draw what the child opposite would then describe; this proved to be a fruitful exercise, though we will have to re-cap tomorrow as there were many children getting picked-up at this time, and overall the exercise was cut short.
A few issues we need to be saavy about are using the space to the ut-most and not letting it hinder our experience. It can be overwhelming for all involved when there are nearly thirty kids in one average sized room! I also feel very strongly about dividing the girls and boys in a more equal way-- so that the girls do not convene and the energy the boys have together can balance out more evenly.
Also,there are several older students who are fantastic helpers, and should be encouraged to do so! This helps tremendously with community building, and also of course with getting things accomplished.
Looking forward to tomorrow with Antonio and Adriana!
Maria LaCreta
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Teacher/Artist workshop
We arrived a little late but very well received by the warmth and hospitality of the BRAMAS organizers.
Today we started with a variety of fun, community building exercises and getting-to-know-each-other games. We started by saying our names and sharing with everybody our word of the day. Then Emily led a very energetic group throwing exercise, which made everybody laugh. We continued by doing a group machine and body exercise to accustom ourselves to taking risks. Each of these exercises played with association of words and the environment, the attention and focus we pay to certain things, and the engagement of sounds with body risks.
We then moved on to making some wondeful little books, using various sheets of paper to make journals of different shapes and sizes, with a wide varieties of decorations and creative shapes. We moved on to listening to the story "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury, read by Emily and Femke, and so we jotted down thoughts and reactions to the story at strategic spots when we were asked to stop. We shared and discussed the different types of intepretations, and various exciting drawings, interpretations and stories came out as a result.
We took a break, enjoying some cheese puffs (pan de queso) and orange juice, chatted about our experiences, and returned to work.
The workshop then moved into a character exercise, where participants were asked to pick a character and describe it to a partner, who would draw it on a long sheet of paper. Once these were ready, we chose different drawings to analyze them, explaining the significance of interpretation and concluding that the discussion should lead to a sophisticated evaluation of rhetorical and literary devices.
After an engaging discussion on the days achievements, we had a delicious brazilian meal at a restaurant down the street, where a delicious buffet and dangerously spicy hot-sauce awaited.
--Nathalie
Today we started with a variety of fun, community building exercises and getting-to-know-each-other games. We started by saying our names and sharing with everybody our word of the day. Then Emily led a very energetic group throwing exercise, which made everybody laugh. We continued by doing a group machine and body exercise to accustom ourselves to taking risks. Each of these exercises played with association of words and the environment, the attention and focus we pay to certain things, and the engagement of sounds with body risks.
We then moved on to making some wondeful little books, using various sheets of paper to make journals of different shapes and sizes, with a wide varieties of decorations and creative shapes. We moved on to listening to the story "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury, read by Emily and Femke, and so we jotted down thoughts and reactions to the story at strategic spots when we were asked to stop. We shared and discussed the different types of intepretations, and various exciting drawings, interpretations and stories came out as a result.
We took a break, enjoying some cheese puffs (pan de queso) and orange juice, chatted about our experiences, and returned to work.
The workshop then moved into a character exercise, where participants were asked to pick a character and describe it to a partner, who would draw it on a long sheet of paper. Once these were ready, we chose different drawings to analyze them, explaining the significance of interpretation and concluding that the discussion should lead to a sophisticated evaluation of rhetorical and literary devices.
After an engaging discussion on the days achievements, we had a delicious brazilian meal at a restaurant down the street, where a delicious buffet and dangerously spicy hot-sauce awaited.
--Nathalie
questionnaire
THE HARVARD CULTURAL AGENTS INITIATIVE
AND
BRAZILIAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION – BRAMAS
2007
PROJECT:
PAPER PICKER PRESS
ARTISTAS
Falando sobre o workshop:
Responda, por favor, e repasse para todos os participantes.
Obrigada.
Quais as suas expectativas em relacao a este workshop?
O que voce, como artista, acrescentaria neste workshop?
Como voce se sentiu neste workshop?
Mais alguns comentarios……
AVALIAR E UM ATO SUBLIME.
Coordenadora: Doris Sommer
Educadora: Arlete Falkowski
Como voce se sentiu neste workshop?
O que voce, como artista, acrescentaria neste workshop?
Quais as suas expectativas em relacao a este workshop?
AND
BRAZILIAN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION – BRAMAS
2007
PROJECT:
PAPER PICKER PRESS
ARTISTAS
Falando sobre o workshop:
Responda, por favor, e repasse para todos os participantes.
Obrigada.
Quais as suas expectativas em relacao a este workshop?
O que voce, como artista, acrescentaria neste workshop?
Como voce se sentiu neste workshop?
Mais alguns comentarios……
AVALIAR E UM ATO SUBLIME.
Coordenadora: Doris Sommer
Educadora: Arlete Falkowski
Como voce se sentiu neste workshop?
O que voce, como artista, acrescentaria neste workshop?
Quais as suas expectativas em relacao a este workshop?
From Arlete
The Harvard Cultural Agents Initiative
And
Brazilian American Association – Bramas
Project:
PAPER PICKER PRESS
2007
First day: july, 29 – Sunday ( Teachers and artists).
Este foi o primeiro encontro dos professores, coordenadores e artistas locais, na Sede da Bramas, das 9 horas da manha ate a 1 da tarde, para que a equipe do projeto pudesse orientar a todos no entendimento do objetivo deste projeto.
Tivemos um pequeno momento de acolhida, com um café e paes, aonde foi possivel, para muitos dos participantes se conhecerem e trocar algumas ideias. Logo a seguir a equipe conduziu o grupo para algumas tecnicas de descontracao, que nos levavam, com muita naturalidade, a importancia de despertar, nao so nos jovens, as inumeras habilidades, que se pode transmitir atraves dos sons, gestos, movimento e palavras. Outras tecnicas nos auxiliavam a compreender a concentracao, a sequencia nas atitudes das pessoas. As tecnicas foram alegres, descontraidas e extremamente criativas. E COMO APRENDER BRINCANDO.
Chega entao o momento da LEITURA, que nos envolve e nos reporta para o mundo magico. Todos ouviam atentos e expressavam, no seu livro, o seu entendimento, a sua compreensao do texto. A beleza da forma com que foi feita a leitura, as pausas e a entonacao nos levaram a criar, desenhar e escrever com muito prazer.
A LEITURA TRANSPORTA E TRANSFORMA O SER PARA INFINITAS PERSPECTIVAS.
Uma das tecnicas, apos a leitura do livro: All Summer…. foi expressa num grande painel, com a participacao de duplas, que primeiro reportavam as suas caracteristicas para o seu companheiro expressar, atraves do desenho. Logo a seguir, o grupo pode visualizar as diversas expressoes e caracteristicas da riqueza e percepcao de cada ser diante de uma obra.
Pode-se perceber a alegria e o envolvimento total de todos os participantes deste workshop.
Educadora Arlete Falkowski
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Paper Picker Press Day 2
Day 2 was fantastic. Emily has a wonderful presence with the children.
After some warm up exercises, we showed the children the book they would make, explaining various materials they could use. We then had them focus on two specific words: Sun/Rain, and had them write, draw and cut out a number of different objects that represented these words.
The next two words were Earth/Venus. Emily had them perform different games that required them to think about the different elements between these two planets. They then broke into two groups, each taking up one end of the room, and again used drawing techniques to describe these planets. In Venus we had them move, and write in ways that were different to Earth. When the groups switched up we had them move to the other side of the room as if they were transporting themselves to a different planet.
At the end of the class Emily then had them finish up with some other performance exercises.
Some areas we should think about:
• How to have a large group of children interact on pages of the same book.
• How much of the bookmaking should the children do. In Framingham they have more time to sit and focus on drawing and writing. For Chelsea we prepped the initial paper to be used for the book. We will also make the front and back of the book but have the children stitch it together and glue in their materials/work. This saves a lot of time and keeps the workshop focused more on the performance aspect that the Girls and Boys club wants.
Again! Great job Emily!
daVies
After some warm up exercises, we showed the children the book they would make, explaining various materials they could use. We then had them focus on two specific words: Sun/Rain, and had them write, draw and cut out a number of different objects that represented these words.
The next two words were Earth/Venus. Emily had them perform different games that required them to think about the different elements between these two planets. They then broke into two groups, each taking up one end of the room, and again used drawing techniques to describe these planets. In Venus we had them move, and write in ways that were different to Earth. When the groups switched up we had them move to the other side of the room as if they were transporting themselves to a different planet.
At the end of the class Emily then had them finish up with some other performance exercises.
Some areas we should think about:
• How to have a large group of children interact on pages of the same book.
• How much of the bookmaking should the children do. In Framingham they have more time to sit and focus on drawing and writing. For Chelsea we prepped the initial paper to be used for the book. We will also make the front and back of the book but have the children stitch it together and glue in their materials/work. This saves a lot of time and keeps the workshop focused more on the performance aspect that the Girls and Boys club wants.
Again! Great job Emily!
daVies
Chelsea Boys and Girls Club Day 2
We had a great time today with a few bookmakers as welcome additions! In attendance were Maria Theresa, Emily, Bob, Mary and Fernanda
We started with warm ups and some name fun then Bob and Mary introduced the physical books the students would be making. The girls loved them, and spent quite a bit of time folding , looking , twisting and touching, which was wonderful to watch.
We then worked on metaphor--they understood it well so we worked off of the sun from All Summer in A Day. They had time to write "In my life the sun is ____" and then explain. The answers were beautiful, some of my favorites were "The sun is my mind" " the sun is my imagination" the sun is the love of my family" really lovely.
After sharing we worked with rain. For this part we generated images for the books, their assignment was to use construction paper and make shapes that meant "rain" keeping in mind that our discussion Tuesday was that there are no "wrong" interpretations. They cut and crumpled, folded and drew. Some favorites were a "lollypop of sadness" "ocean for my grandfather" and "diamonds". These two exercises gave us a bunch of material for their books.
We then worked with the concepts of Earth and Venus and they explored these concepts as they related to familiar and different. We used bodies and then drew (two big pieces of paper on either side of the room, one for drawing on Earth and one on Venus). Bob pointed out the striking difference in the two (Earth was filled with houses and fairly recognizable shapes, while Venus was a mixture of lines and squiggles and scrapes--some were drawn with their feet).
To finish the day we worked a bit with Boal's Image theatre and sculpted exploring concepts they felt in the story through their bodies. This got them out of language and into the world of the physical (and was a welcome silent activity). We then followed it with a lively discussion about moments when language fails and how powerful bodies and non-verbals can be.
Overall I'd say it was a success, it was wonderful to have so may collaborators, and the product will definitely be great.
Emily
We started with warm ups and some name fun then Bob and Mary introduced the physical books the students would be making. The girls loved them, and spent quite a bit of time folding , looking , twisting and touching, which was wonderful to watch.
We then worked on metaphor--they understood it well so we worked off of the sun from All Summer in A Day. They had time to write "In my life the sun is ____" and then explain. The answers were beautiful, some of my favorites were "The sun is my mind" " the sun is my imagination" the sun is the love of my family" really lovely.
After sharing we worked with rain. For this part we generated images for the books, their assignment was to use construction paper and make shapes that meant "rain" keeping in mind that our discussion Tuesday was that there are no "wrong" interpretations. They cut and crumpled, folded and drew. Some favorites were a "lollypop of sadness" "ocean for my grandfather" and "diamonds". These two exercises gave us a bunch of material for their books.
We then worked with the concepts of Earth and Venus and they explored these concepts as they related to familiar and different. We used bodies and then drew (two big pieces of paper on either side of the room, one for drawing on Earth and one on Venus). Bob pointed out the striking difference in the two (Earth was filled with houses and fairly recognizable shapes, while Venus was a mixture of lines and squiggles and scrapes--some were drawn with their feet).
To finish the day we worked a bit with Boal's Image theatre and sculpted exploring concepts they felt in the story through their bodies. This got them out of language and into the world of the physical (and was a welcome silent activity). We then followed it with a lively discussion about moments when language fails and how powerful bodies and non-verbals can be.
Overall I'd say it was a success, it was wonderful to have so may collaborators, and the product will definitely be great.
Emily
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
PPP Performs - Boys and Girls Club - Day 1
Paper Picker Press Performs
Boys and Girls Club – Chelsea
Day 1
Who: Emily, Maria and Patricia
Story: All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
14 kids (only girls)
We started the first day by doing the questionnaire that took them 2 minutes to fill it out. One of my favorite answers for the question about what is their favorite part about writing was “you can write your own words anyway you want to”. I thought it was perfect.
We started with some games (names, Boal stop/walk) to get them moving.
We moved to picking an object in the room/ talking about it/ word association/ expressing it with their bodies/ images/photographs/discussion about meaning. When asked about what makes all of them different from each other some of the answers were: the way you think, the way you speak, express yourself, personalities, emotions, culture and heritage.
We moved into the story, clarifying that there were no wrong or right way to listen to a story. They all chose their special place in the room where they would go back to write down some thoughts, feelings or drawings about the story.
While reading the story Emily would stop at some moments and give them 1 minute to write their thoughts.
After we finished the story the kids shared their thoughts and feelings. They talked about depression, disappointment, sadness and happiness. They talked about how they imagined the planet Venus with the bright sun and all the different colors. We then chose together 4 themes that were said by the group. Sadness, disappointment, happiness and Anger.
We divided them in 4 groups and each group was assigned a theme to come with a performance. A lot of the girls wanted to perform happiness.
After 10 minutes they all went on stage and performed their stories. They were apparently having fun. According to the survey a lot of them loved the acting part but a few of them were not into it. They were told if they don’t want to perform they don’t have to.
At the end we discussed all the performances and how they were connected to the story.
Closing game
End of the day survey
To sum up, all went pretty well for the first day. Emily led the activities most of the time and I observed how the kids were interacting. It’s a good group. They all know each other and that makes them more comfortable to do all the games and activities. When asked if they knew what the workshop was about they said besides reading and writing that it was about imagination.
Can't wait for Day 2. I had fun too.
Maria
Boys and Girls Club – Chelsea
Day 1
Who: Emily, Maria and Patricia
Story: All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
14 kids (only girls)
We started the first day by doing the questionnaire that took them 2 minutes to fill it out. One of my favorite answers for the question about what is their favorite part about writing was “you can write your own words anyway you want to”. I thought it was perfect.
We started with some games (names, Boal stop/walk) to get them moving.
We moved to picking an object in the room/ talking about it/ word association/ expressing it with their bodies/ images/photographs/discussion about meaning. When asked about what makes all of them different from each other some of the answers were: the way you think, the way you speak, express yourself, personalities, emotions, culture and heritage.
We moved into the story, clarifying that there were no wrong or right way to listen to a story. They all chose their special place in the room where they would go back to write down some thoughts, feelings or drawings about the story.
While reading the story Emily would stop at some moments and give them 1 minute to write their thoughts.
After we finished the story the kids shared their thoughts and feelings. They talked about depression, disappointment, sadness and happiness. They talked about how they imagined the planet Venus with the bright sun and all the different colors. We then chose together 4 themes that were said by the group. Sadness, disappointment, happiness and Anger.
We divided them in 4 groups and each group was assigned a theme to come with a performance. A lot of the girls wanted to perform happiness.
After 10 minutes they all went on stage and performed their stories. They were apparently having fun. According to the survey a lot of them loved the acting part but a few of them were not into it. They were told if they don’t want to perform they don’t have to.
At the end we discussed all the performances and how they were connected to the story.
Closing game
End of the day survey
To sum up, all went pretty well for the first day. Emily led the activities most of the time and I observed how the kids were interacting. It’s a good group. They all know each other and that makes them more comfortable to do all the games and activities. When asked if they knew what the workshop was about they said besides reading and writing that it was about imagination.
Can't wait for Day 2. I had fun too.
Maria
Thursday, June 14, 2007
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