ARTEducators

ofIOWA

in this issue:Message From the President

Fall Conference Recap2011 Award Winners

Photo SpreadPreparing for a SubstituteIowa Hall of Pride Request

Biography of a Board Member

Volume 3 ~ Issue 3 ~ November 2011the message

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, Ronda Sternhagen, Grundy Center MS/HS, president@artedia.org

Message From the PresidentFall Conference Recap

2011 Award WinnersPhoto Spread

Preparing for a SubstituteIowa Hall of Pride Request

Biography of a Board Member

HAPPYTHANKSGIVING

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3791011

WOW! What a conference in Des Moines! As I shared with those of you in a�endance, our conferences are Extreme Professional Development...you get lots in a li�le amount of time. I know that my art educator ba�eries are recharged, and my students are bene�ting from all of the new ideas that came my way at this year's conference. Many thanks to all who played a part in making this year's conference such a huge success! As an organization, we tried a number of new technologies to organize this year's conference such as online registration and online payment. Were there a few "bugs"? Sure, but I think it all went relatively smoothly and look forward to using the same or similar process next year. (�e �nal conference report will come to the board at the winter board meeting in January).

For those of you at the conference, you might remember Iowa Alliance for Arts Education Chair, David Law, giving us a number of low- or no-cost advocacy tips. You can �nd those advocacy tips at h�p://www.artedia.org/fallconference11/handouts_lessonplans.html. You can also �nd lots (yeah) of shared lesson plans from the conference also. I love art educators who are willing to share!

As your president, I have been invited to a meeting with Iowa's Department of Education Director, Jason Glass, with other leaders of arts organizations later this month "to have a discussion about K-12 arts education (music, visual art, theater/drama) and to determine a common course of action to support arts education in Iowa schools." I look forward to this meeting and will report back to you about the discussion in next month's Message.

Until next time...Ronda SternhagenYour AEI President

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, Ronda Sternhagen, Grundy Center MS/HS, president@artedia.org

Message From the PresidentFall Conference Recap

2011 Award WinnersPhoto Spread

Preparing for a SubstituteIowa Hall of Pride Request

Biography of a Board Member

HAPPYTHANKSGIVING

1

3791011

WOW! What a conference in Des Moines! As I shared with those of you in a�endance, our conferences are Extreme Professional Development...you get lots in a li�le amount of time. I know that my art educator ba�eries are recharged, and my students are bene�ting from all of the new ideas that came my way at this year's conference. Many thanks to all who played a part in making this year's conference such a huge success! As an organization, we tried a number of new technologies to organize this year's conference such as online registration and online payment. Were there a few "bugs"? Sure, but I think it all went relatively smoothly and look forward to using the same or similar process next year. (�e �nal conference report will come to the board at the winter board meeting in January).

For those of you at the conference, you might remember Iowa Alliance for Arts Education Chair, David Law, giving us a number of low- or no-cost advocacy tips. You can �nd those advocacy tips at h�p://www.artedia.org/fallconference11/handouts_lessonplans.html. You can also �nd lots (yeah) of shared lesson plans from the conference also. I love art educators who are willing to share!

As your president, I have been invited to a meeting with Iowa's Department of Education Director, Jason Glass, with other leaders of arts organizations later this month "to have a discussion about K-12 arts education (music, visual art, theater/drama) and to determine a common course of action to support arts education in Iowa schools." I look forward to this meeting and will report back to you about the discussion in next month's Message.

Until next time...Ronda SternhagenYour AEI President

Calling all writers... calling all writers!

Want to see yourself published in an issue of AEI’s The Message?

Lisa Jorgensen,marketing and promotions,would like your words too!

Please emailmarketing@artedia.orgfor more information.

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ART EDUCATORS OF IOWA2011 AWARD WINNERS

Awarded to Clar M. Baldus, Ph. D., of the University of Iowa.

Baldus began her career serving 17 years as a visual arts instructor at Regis High School in Cedar Rapids. She has also worked with studentsat the elementary, secondary, post-secondary, graduate, and professional development levels in the �elds of art, gifted education, and psychology. When speaking of her choices in educational endeavors, Baldus states that, “Her research has been guided by her passion for art, interest in creative processes, and commitment to talent development.”

Currently, Baldus is the Administrator for Rural Schools, Inventiveness,and Visual Arts Programs at the Belin-Blank Center and the State Coordinator for Invent Iowa, an invention program that serves K-12. She is also dually appointed as Visiting Assistant Professor of ArtEducation and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Psychological & Quantitative Foundations Division of the College of Education at the University of Iowa.

Through her position at the Belin-Blank Center, Baldus has brought the Scholastics Art Awards for visual arts and writing back to the state of Iowa, renewing a focus on quality art instruction. University of IowaAssociate Professor Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, Ph. D., says of Baldus, “I have had the pleasure of working as a judge under Clar’s direction for the Scholastic Awards and I am always so impressed by all of the work and the care that Clar gives this special project. Clar has also traveled to New York to participate in the Scholastic Art Program there. She is a fantastic spokesperson for art teachers in our region. Clar is also a passionate artist and teacher with a continued desire to engage in advocacy for the arts.”

Williams mentions that , “Clar also taught the Saturday Morning Workshop at the University of Iowa last year. As a result of her work on this large-scale project nearly 100 children in Iowa City had the opportunity to extend their learning about the visual arts under the direction of pre-service teachers. Saturday Morning Workshop o�ers an impor-tant training ground for our future teachers as well as a great educational experience in the arts for youth ages 4-12.”

Baldus is a continuous in�uence on excellence in art education in the state of Iowa. She helped organize and hosted a conference this past June on Giftedness, Creativity, and the arts. On this subject Williams stated, “People made connec-tions with top researchers in the �eld of creativity and also engaged in productive conversations about standards, the Iowa Core Curriculum, and ways to be better teachers.” Attendees left enthused about creativity, and prepared to expand its role in the design of their classroom instruction.

Baldus’ work is an in�uence and an inspiration to visual arts instructors of all levels in the state of Iowa and across the Midwest. She is very deserving of this award.

Outstanding Higher Level Art Education Art Educator Award

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Carol Webb has been the Art teacher at Miller Middle School in Marshalltown for 15 years, and has impressed parents and colleagues while working her way into the hearts of her students. Each year she organizes a �eld trip for the 8th Grade art students to the Des Moines Art Center. Madelyn Mayberry, retired art instructor from both Marshalltown Community Schools and Marshalltown Community College and current docent and docent coach for the Des Moines Art Center, says of Carol, “Her students are among the best prepared for their experience at the Art Center. This is evidenced by the quality of the experience we docents enjoy with her students as they engage in dialogue with the art works. It is obvious to us that Carol has shown her students images of artworks they might see and that they also have experience in the process of discovery. They use quite sophisticated art terms to describe, analyze, and interpret the meaning they �nd in the art. Carol does an outstanding job of empowering her students to get the most out of their touring experience by teaching them observa-tion skills and encouraging grounded, personal dialogue about the art. Her students then leave their museum experience excited about what they’ve seen and with tools they can use to build their own relationships with art.”

Other opportunities Webb has created for her students includes numerous after-school art classes, which she frequently obtains funding for. She has received three di�erent “Artists in Schools” grants from the Iowa Arts Council. These visits all resulted in community art projects, the most well-known of which is T.J. Moberg’s collaborative sculpture for Marshalltown Public Library, “The Homework Machine.”

When speaking of her time spent teaching at Miller, Webb says, “Teaching middle school art is full of rewards and challenges. So much time with seventh graders has made me feel that I am turning into one of them! Yet, I continually �nd new signi�cance in art instruction each school year. In the words of many art and education professionals who have impacted my career, the way to teach art is through connections - connections to creative experiences, to the personal and the global in art interpretation and art making, and, most importantly, connections to the students with whom we interact daily.”

Webb is a vital part of the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) sta�. She spent 2 years on the School Re-Organization Committee. She is the treasurer and framing coordinator for the “Young Artists of Marshalltown” annual district art show. Webb mentors a new teacher at Miller each year, and also serves informally as a mentor and advisor to the other MCSD art teachers. Webb’s committment to art education extends to the entire state of Iowa though her work with AEI. She has been a member of the board for a total of 11 years, serving as the local Area rep, Membership Chair, and for the last 5 years, Treasurer. Webb honors AEI back stating, “Thank you AEI for connecting with and positively in�uencing the professional lives of art educators in Iowa who spark creativity in students.” But Webb, herself, is an inspiration to the art teachers she networks with.

Middle Level Art Educator Award

Oustanding Secondary Art EducatorBecky Sue Johnson of Roosevelt High School received the 2011 Outstanding Secondary Art Educator Award. Johnson is an inspiring art teacher who builds relationships with her students as she guides them to learn the fundamentals of Art. Kathie Danielson, the Principal of Roosevelt High School says of Johnson, “Her pedagogical knowledge and commitment to students are evident every day in her classroom, and as she collaborates with sta� to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of students.”

Johnson works hard to provide a quality experience for her students. At Roosevelt she is a member of the Instructional Leadership Team and is the chair of the Fine Arts department. She is on the Art Advisory Committee and the Art Department’s Curriculum Committee for Des Moines Public Schools. She is constantly searching for ways to improve student learning.

In response to receiving this award, Johnson states, “The �rst life experiences that newborns feel are sensory; tactile, auditory, and visual. In fact, many Art philosophers & historians maintain that we are born with an aesthetic sense. It is our cognitive capability to create and recognize symbols & imagery that sets us as modern humans, apart from all of our predecessors and from our contemporary animal relatives. We are de�ned as a species by our abilities to make and understand art.

I believe that teaching someone else, is the best way to show that you have learned something. And in this case, recognizing and appreciating that we are all born with this aesthetic sense, demands a respect for all learners that come to us as students. As passionate as I am about life, art, and learning; I am equally passionate about my teaching and my students. Teaching itself is an art, one that I continue to strive to master.

In my classroom, I believe that respect and e�ort are reciprocal between teacher and student. It is my charge to help my students understand, master, and appreciate the ”Language of Art”; using a variety of media, tools, and problem solving skills. Students �ourish in this environment gaining : self con�dence, an expanded visual vocabulary, and the understandings to increase their range of personal expression. My students know that they do not have to be a “master artist” to succeed in my classes, rather, they simply have to give me their best. And they generally do!

It is my great honor to accept this award for something that I am passionate about and just driven to do! I thank my myriad of students that have graced my classroom, their parents that sent me their best, and my numerous colleagues & friends that have always made me a better teacher.”

Art Educator of the YearThe 2011 Art Educator of the Year Award was presented to Nancy Sojka of Decorah. Sojka taught at North Winneshiek School for 31 years, then retired in 2008. In her retirement she continues as a part time technology and curriculum leader, garden manager, substitute teacher, and she �lls any other role that is needed by the district, including paint-ing the walls in a classroom. Tim Dugger, the Superintendent/Principal of North Winneshiek Community Schools, says of Nancy, “She dedicated her life to providing quality art experiences for her students.”

The quality of art education across the state of Iowa and beyond has been positively impacted by Mrs. Sojka’s work. She developed web sites for both the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education and AEI. Her AEI website was awarded the National Art Education Association’s (NAEA) Honorable Mention in 2010. She has been instrumental in keeping arts educators informed of the latest information and opportunities by maintaining the web sites and by sending frequent noti�cations electronically.

Other ways Mrs. Sojka has in�uenced quality art education include co-organizing the Northeast Iowa Secondary Art Show at three area colleges for 27 years, presenting at both AEI and the NAEA conferences, and serving as a co-planner of the 2002 AEI conference in Decorah. She also represented her area of the state on the AEI board, along with her husband Ted Sojka, across the span of three decades.

This is not the �rst award Mrs. Sojka has received. AEI has also honored Mrs. Sojka as the Outstanding Middle School Art Educator in 2003 and for Distinguished Service within the Profession in 2009. She was a Northeast Iowa Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show ribbon winner in 2006, 2008, and 2010. She has also had artwork displayed in the Decorah Public Library Mezzanine Exhibit, the Decorah Chamber of Commerce Exhibit, the Art Educators Fall Conference Exhibits and Blue Heron Knittery in Decorah.

Mrs. Sojka designed and initiated Mustang Gardens at North Winneshiek in 2003 to honor Brady Stortz, a third grade student who died in an accident. What began as the com-memorative planting of a tree with a bench has grown with Mrs. Sojka’s hard work, guidance, and prodding into a 30’ X 125’ garden. It includes trees, perennials, a gold�sh pond, a butter�y garden, and most recently, a vegetable garden. Hundreds of students have participated in helping with this garden that actually provides vegetables, berries, and herbs for students and sta� to consume in the school lunch program.

In her retirement Sojka has continued to connect with education. She commented, “I love keeping in touch with art and the teaching of art through these endeavors. It is excit-ing to be involved with young teachers, as they share their experiences and grow as professionals. I learn new things every year!” Sojka is a true professional, and very deserving of this award.

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2011 FALL CONFERENCE

PHOTO SPREAD

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Lisa M. JorgensenWebster City MS

marketing@artedia.orgPreparingforaSUBSTITUTE

Preparing for a substitute is di�cult for any teacher but especially in exploratories... And the cold/�u season has arrived. What do you do to prepare for a sub? Here are some tips.

It does matter whether you know you are going to be gone or not but most often, when you know you will be gone, you have thought ahead to what you want done in the classroom and what you can trust your sub with accomplishing. Whether or not you know if you’re gone, the �rst thing you should do is �nd out who your sub is. If you can’t �nd out your sub, it might be a safe assumption that they are not knowledgeable in art. Once you �nd out who your sub is, get the 411 on their capabilities from other teachers. Sometimes I �nd that the principals have the best insight.

After �guring out exactly what you want to have your sub accomplish while you’re gone, it is a good idea to prepare the classroom and directions. This can be impossible sometimes due to illness or situation but a good rule of thumb? Always be organized in your class-room and use previous sub plans as a guide. Of course, we can’t always color code artwork or students but when you write directions, include references to which cupboard has what; what the usual routines are, and who they can go to if they have questions. Don’t just hand them directions that state “paint” and expect them to know what you mean.

Finally, always be prepared that whatever you are doing might not work with the sub and have a back up plan. That might include an art game, an art activity or similar. If you do these things and have students aware of procedures at the start of a term, you can get great results. I know others can agree when I say the best feeling is coming back after being sick and seeing the room in order, the students happy, and the work completed. It is my suggestion to always think ahead, stay *somewhat* organized, and get to know your substitute pool.

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The Software Design Plan to update the Iowa Hall of Pride (IHP) kiosk has begun. A teleconference with Jack Lashier, Director of the Iowa Hall of Pride and Tim Wren's software design team at Silver Oaks in Moline, IL was held October 12th, 2011. Formats for communication, updates and revisions were discussed. We are four years behind in getting the updates completed due to the fact that funding was di�cult to establish. Corporate assistance had essentially dried-up during this period. This fall, in cooperation with the IHP, a Bravo Grant for $5,000 was secured. There are plans to re-apply for funding from Bravo each year from now on. By combining our IHP goals in the grant writing process we have a much stronger strategy for service to the peopleof Iowa. There are many categories that need updating in the Software Design Plan. However, revisions will be the �rst order of business. Errors on the part of the �rst software developer, Synthesis Design, need to be corrected and a new page design with our new color logo will receive attention. I will be giving a report to the Board in January on the items needed from each of them. In the meantime, I would like to build on an Achievement Page that is included in the kiosk program. The title of the page is, "Achievements of Art Educators of Iowa Members".. Listed are the following:

Jim Harris, a Des Moines art educator, was the �rst black president of the National Education Association Bernice Setzer, Des Moines Public Schools Art Supervisor, was given an honorary membership in the American Institute of Architects, (AIA). She was given this honor because she incorporated architectural appreciation into the K-12 curriculum. This was a requirement for all students in 1947, a �rst in the nation. She is still the only woman to receive this award. Mary Jane Gill, a Des Moines art teacher, was a model for a Norman Rockwell painting when she was six years old. "Who's Having More Fun" was the name of the painting. Mary Jane and a neighbor boy are depicted eating an ear of corn. The painting was used in an advertisement for Niblets Corn. Frank Wachowiak, University of Iowa Professor of Art Education, was the author of two outstanding books for art education. EMPHASIS ART and ART IN DEPTH. Both were recognized nationally.

I'm sure there are many more members and their achievements that could be listed in this section. So, take a few minutes and send me the name of the member that you wish to honor and limit their achievements to less than 50 words. AEI/NEA awards should not be included since they are covered in another section of the kiosk program. I realize that there are many things that could be highlighted. For example, Mary Jane Gill's achievements could be much more extensive but we must limit the achievement to 50 words or less. Let's honor those who truly make or made a di�erence. Thank you.Dave Pratt, IHP Chairpratt3d.dave@gmail.com

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BIOGRAPHY ofABOARD MEMBERCarol currently teaches at Mediapolis High School in Mediapolis, Iowa. She previously taught at Burlington but now teaches in Mediapolis; her longest stretch is at Mediapolis, thirteen years and still counting. She received her BA in Art Education from the University of Iowa. Carol is the AEI Representative for AEA 16, or Great Prairie. This job entails a large amount of communication, including contacting her peers in the AEA, keeping up on events, classes, professional development, shows, and more that would help art educators through Art Educators of Iowa.

Carol loves Iowa and the changing of the seasons, which is one reason she teaches in Iowa. More importantly, she loves the type of people who live in Iowa; they carry great morals and great environment in which chil-dren grow up. She says, “Basically, [Iowa has] great friends. What’s not to love about Iowa?” In regards to Art Education, she can’t imagine another place in which she can go and do what she loves, make art, and be with people in the same mind set.

Carol centers her life around three of her favorite people; her husband, Jamie, her son, Andy, and her daughter, Makenna. She enjoys gardening and cooking. Furthermore, she believes home is where the heart is. She spent a lot of her summer months creating art and gardening. A random fact that one might not know is that Carol loves the theatre, including acting, makeup and set design. You name it – she loves it!

A goal she has in mind for AEI is for the Task Force of which she is involved in. She would like to encourage law makers to change the K-6 visual art licensure requirements. She would encourage others to get involved in AEI because it is a place to share what you have and know so that it will reach more students and teachers. AEI is a place in which we learn to enhance the education of our students and ourselves. She feels it is important to be involved with AEI so that we can encourage family, community, students, and others to think creativity. AEI’s purpose is to promote excellence in visual arts education through the advancement of knowledge and skills, professional development, service, and leadership.

Carol Keller-Hein, Mediapolis High School & AEA 16 Representative