New Art Room

I am in the process of moving into my brand new art studio.  It is beautiful.  Two great walls of windows, three magnificent sinks, four sturdy art tables, and storage galore.  Here is your first glimpse into the space




My new home

Well, what do you think?

I'll be update more as I move in.

Dead Birds & The Phillips Collection

I was considering what artwork to enter in the Phillips staff show this year when I discovered one of my works already fits into a strange subsection of Phillips Collection artworks: dead birds.  Below is an image of my artwork and here is a link with more information about a work by Albert Pinkham Ryder in the Phillips Collection titled Dead Bird (this link will also take you to a similar works by Henry Varnum Poor and Morris Graves).



Loss- inspired by my work with incarcerated youth

Now that I am aware of it, I would like to know more about Phillips interest in the subject- is the thematic relationships of these 3 works important or is it mere coincidence? 

Expeditionary Learning

I added a new educational term to my lexicon this year- expeditionary learning. 

As the name suggests, expeditionary learning schools engage students to be active participants in learning expeditions.  EL schools combine many strategies I am familiar with as a museum educator- inquiry, experiential learning, object based research, authentic learning opportunities- and combines them with character development.  At an EL school, character building and academic scholarship are seen as equal components in student achievement.  Much of what I've learned about EL reflects my personal educational philosophy and it is affirming to see EL perform comparatively well.

More updates to come during training this week, but in the meantime, check out the EL website and see if you can't find a video of President Obama visiting Capital City PCS.

What am I?

Looking back over the past 3 years, one of my favorite projects from the Incarcerated Youth Program was "What am I?"  Each student had to create a cropped close up drawing based on a photograph from a nature magazine.  At the top they had to write the label "what am I?" and on the backside the students had to cut out and paste the original picture and write the answer as well as one fact about the picture.  Here are my top 4 favorites and the one that made me laugh.  See if you can guess what each picture is (leave guesses in the comments, if you so desire).

HS

DT

DC



TC

DS

Never Sorry

I recently saw the moving documentary Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry.  The film relates the story of Chinese artist Ai WeiWei's controversial and complex work (largely focusing on works of political activism) through a series of interviews with him, his staff, friends and family as well as quiet shots of his studio, studio assistants, and art installations.   It is funny, thought provoking, and inspiring.

If you want the full DC/Ai experience, you can check out his zodiac heads at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (currently on display around the outdoor fountain) and wait in anticipation for his exhibition (also at the Hirshhorn) opening October 7th called Ai WeiWei: According to What?

Here is the trailer (fyi: there is some profanity & inappropriate gestures in the trailer):

Summer

I'm beginning to understand the important role summer time plays in the life of a teacher- it is a time to relax, refresh and be inspired.  Here are some highlights from this summer:

Art in the Alley - I organized a booth at Art in the Alley for Free Minds, where alleygoers could learn about the good work of Free Minds while sending positive messages and comments to our members.

Budapest, Belgrade, & Athens - I got a chance to marvel at some amazing architecture, eat delicious food, and visit good friends.

Cincinnati - Took a trip back to my hometown to hang out with my family, indulge in eveyone's favorite chili & cheer on the hometeam.

My adorable family

Eastern Shore - Drove over to the eastern shore for some relaxing time away from the city and to visit the much famed Duck Decoy Museum

Pure joy @ the Duck Decoy Museum

Epic Yoga & DC Arts Center - What do Epic Yoga and DC Arts Center have in common? Both have Ellen Stedtefeld original artwork on display this summer!  Epic Yoga has 6 works from my collage series in their reception area (along with the work of the talented Paris Goudas) and DCAC has a set of 3 small landscape paintings I created for my art education course at GW in their 1460 Wallmountables exhibit.

Capital City Public Charter School - Next Monday, I begin training for my new job as the middle school visual arts teacher at CCPCS.  I am excited for this new experience and am keeping an open mind to all the new possibilities this job will offer. 



From one of the early days @DCPS

Congenial Spirits

Have I mentioned lately I love working at the Phillips Collection?  I may only be there a few hours a month but I appreciate how they foster learning, even in their staff, by encouraging us to write for the blog.  I'm happy to share my latest post here. 

I apologize for the lack of posts lately but I will be posting some news in the next week or so!