studiOmnivorous

Deliciously Happy on Studiomnivorous . . .

Megan and I have decided to swap blogs . . . We were sitting at Dose trying to figure out how we could feature each other on our blogs, and we decided being guest bloggers would be the way to do it.  Megan and I have been talking and collaborating since meeting each other in April.  We worked on a sculptural piece for Prius, together with Corey and Stephen, in July.  And, she played the octopus in Octopus Lament.  Megan will be instrumental in creating a participatory element for the opening reception of Deliciously Happy at Belmont University in March 2012, the project being featured in this blog post.  So, hooray for collaboration and wonderful friends that compliment my life so incredibly well . . . I’m lucky and thankful, all at once!!

I decided way back in March, after 2 months of being back in Nashville, that I wanted to collaborate with youth.  Fresh out of graduate school, I felt like this was a natural transition.  This would help me learn about Nashville in a new way, and jump-start my relationship with area schools . . .

And, it’s doing just that.

It’s now November and we are knee-deep in the project.  It is so much fun to be working with different groups of students on projects that I will respond to with my own work in the gallery.  I keep looking at their work and thinking, now how am I going to do this?  (Each of the schools are way ahead of me in creating the work–agh!)  Yesterday, I came up with the idea that I would only use materials that could be found in a school’s art classroom.  I keep thinking about googly eyes, and what an amazing and creepy texture they could give to a large sculptural mass.  One whole section of the gallery, covered in googly eyes!!  When the viewer is looking at the work, the work is looking right back at the viewer.  Humorous, too, because the eyes are so not real.  Ha!  Or, what about poof balls?  Chenille stems?  Construction paper garlands covering the ceiling . . . What about fingerweaving, will there be fingerweaving?  Of course, there will be fingerweaving . . . In fact, I’m thinking of creating an entire costume out of fingerweaving:  inspired by the swamp thing, voodoo, and George Clinton.  I just need someone to wear it at the opening reception.  Don’t forget that each person who has donated to the Deliciously Happy Kickstarter project gets their name in the installation somewhere.  Perhaps read in a poem, perhaps written on the floor, perhaps in sign language during a performance.

What I’ve realized in doing this project is that art definitely needs a role in the school system, whether public, private, or charter.  Now, I knew this prior to this project, but quite honestly, I wasn’t sure how art needed to be in schools.  It’s so drastically different than the other subjects (in terms of participation, assessment, and evaluation), that I didn’t know how it quite fit.  Now I see it as absolutely necessary as being a tool for instructors to draw in students who don’t process information orally, through memorization, or by taking tests.  Art is not just a class that should be thrown in the schedule one day every two weeks.  Art should be fully integrated into every classroom in every school.  If I had been taught math in a visual way, without memorization, more based on imagery, maybe I wouldn’t have had the trouble I had.  To some, like me, art is the first voice:  I’m much more eloquent at showing you a picture of what I’d like to say than saying it.  So, how can we engage the schools in adopting the arts as a tool for teaching, teach students through individualization so that students have equal opportunities to learn all subjects?  Food for thought.

As the project continues, I hope to learn more about school structure and implementation of arts-based learning.  I will be giving a talk at the opening reception for the Deliciously Happy gallery show in March.  My findings will be discussed during this talk, and questions will be encouraged.  Hope to see you there!

For more information on the Deliciously Happy project, please see the press release below.  And, visit the Kickstarter link to watch a short video featuring students from Bordeaux Elementary and the University School of Nashville.

Deliciously Happy features partnerships with students from three Nashville-area schools:  the University School of Nashville, Bordeaux Elementary, and Lead Academy.  In tandem with sculpture students from Belmont University, students from each school will construct social issue-based stories and create coordinating performance paraphernalia as part of an installation being featured at Belmont University.

Deliciously Happy is now being featured on Kickstarter to help raise additional funds needed to help realize the project. Currently 12 of the 24 workshops have been completed.  Each workshop includes project supplies and a documentation crew.  To finish the project, supplies are needed for the remaining school workshops, an editor is needed to put all of the workshop videos together, and transportation needs to be scheduled and reserved for the students to attend the gallery opening so they can see their work and speak with the people attending the opening.  Contributions will help with culminating event costs, like installation lighting, projection equipment, community invitations, and viewer participation workshop supplies.

A portion of the contributions will also help to publish a book, including all of the lesson plans, example artwork, and documentation; and the student, educator, and community responses to the projects.  This book will be made available to schools and organizations so that more youth can participate in performance-based workshops.

Spearheading the project is local artist and Belmont graduate student, Lindsey Bailey. Ms. Bailey moved back to Nashville 10 short months ago after receiving her Master of Arts in Community Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.  Immediately following, she approached Jessica Owings and Belmont University about Deliciously Happy.

Ms. Bailey’s work has recently been featured at D!verseWorks Art Space for the Houston Fine Art Fair and Texas Contemporary Art Fair in Houston and at the Sideshow Fringe Festival at Belmont University in Nashville.  In December and January, she will have work featured at the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut.  For Artober in Nashville, she was part of a panel organized by Actor’s Bridge and the Metro Nashville Arts Commission to discuss Nashville innovation in the arts and arts access.

More information on the Deliciously Happy project can be found here:  http://kck.st/unJK6l

Images of Ms. Bailey’s artwork can be found here:  www.cakecrush.com

High resolution images of Deliciously Happy works-in-progress available by request.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Lindsey Bailey

lindsey@cakecrush.com

www.playdeliciouslyhappy.blogspot.com