Pop Up Art School

Archives for March 2019

Tame the Glitter Beast

Art teachers hate glitter; there’s even a blog called Art Teachers Hate Glitter. Glitter is easy to hate on, it sticks to everything and no matter how well you clean you’ll find flecks of glitter mocking you for months afterwards.

Here’s another reason to loathe glitter; it’s a micro plastic that contributes to water pollution. Those little bits of plastic make their way into the ocean and into the bellies of fishes. Imagine trying to digest glitter! Companies like Bioglitter are now producing glitter made from plant derivatives. Biodegradable glitter has a softer texture compared to plastic glitter and is used for cosmetic, craft and educational purposes.

I did an art lesson with kindergarten and I knew it needed something else—something sparkly—yes glitter! The lesson introduced printmaking and radial symmetry. Kindergarten made snowflakes with cardboard dipped in white paint. When the snowflakes were complete, they looked dry and lifeless. But, there was no way I’d give the little people of kindergarten bottles of glue and sparkle rain. No way not in my art room!

I’m not a total glitter snob. When my kids were little, I allowed them to use glitter, and we called the errant flakes fairy dust. But, if you have 20 little ones sprinkling glitter, it will get nasty.

In my art supply stash, I have a large container of glitter with a variety of colors and types. I think it’s better to use it than tossing it in the landfill. Whether it’s plastic or natural, it will be messy.

Determined to conquer this menace, I experimented with making glue skins impregnated with glitter. I poured white glue onto plexiglass, in a thin layer. While it was wet, I sprinkled glitter on it to encase the glitter in the glue. I thought they would be pliable sheets of glitter that the kids could cut into shapes to glue on their snowflakes. When I peeled the glue skins off of the plexiglass they were flexible, so I cut them into squares.  While I was prepping for the lesson I realized that the glitter squares had turned brittle. Not what I was expecting, but the glitter pieces looked like ice shards which went with our wintry snowflakes.

My experiment didn’t eradicate the glitter mess, but the glue encased about 80% of the glitter and I contained it to the area where I poured the glue skins. Best of all, the printed snowflakes came to life by adding the glitter shards!

 

Palaces for the People

I love podcasts. A new one I’ve been listening to is 99% Invisible. The host Roman Mars has a sultry voice that’s easy on the ears. I recently listened to his interview of sociologist Eric Klinenberg the author of the book Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life.

Klinenberg coined the term social infrastructure while he was researching the deadly heat wave in Chicago in 1995. During this catastrophic event, over 700 people died, and overall, death rates were higher in poor neighborhoods. However, some poor neighborhoods had lower death rates. What was the difference that saved lives? Better physical and social infrastructure that brought people together. During the scorching heat wave neighbors knew who would be at risk.

Klinenberg asserts that libraries are the most effective social infrastructure. In his research for the book, he visited libraries around the country to see what they were up to. Many people believe libraries are relics of the past, but he found many libraries are offering innovative programs that help vulnerable populations including:

  • Early literacy
  • Job search services for former convicts
  • Resume help
  • ESL instruction
  • Citizenship classes
  • Rooms for teens to socialize in after school

This list is proof that libraries are no longer book mausoleums with hushed voices. In the podcast he describes a program offered by the Brooklyn Public Library which runs Library Lanes, a virtual bowling league. Teams of senior citizens compete against teams at other branches. The teams play using Xbox game systems. They even wear bowling jerseys!

Pop up Art School, has taught art workshops in over 40 libraries in Massachusetts. In our travels, we’ve visited  teeny-tiny and dilapidated libraries and architectural beauties that are brand-spanking-new. This weekend, we taught at the Scituate Public Library rebuilt in 2017. The building elegantly balances large open spaces with comfort and warmth. It has a variety of public and private spaces including a fireplace flanked with easy chairs, an art gallery, and a dedicated table for playing chess. Patrons can even sit on the balcony and relax on the white rocking chairs.

In my town, we are lucky enough to have a mayor who advocated to rebuild the main library. The new building will have 2- story windows facing a playground and park. The landscaping plan includes butterfly and sensory gardens with an amphitheater and picnic areas. There will be an auditorium with a separate entrance for groups to use the auditorium after hours. Our town has historical artifacts they housed in a basement room that was difficult to find. The new building will have a local history room with glass walls and doors. In addition, the building will be LEED certified. I hope the town will continue to fund the new library when it opens, so it can offer a diverse range of programs to contribute to the social infrastructure of the town.

What homeschools are looking for in an art class.

To learn more about what it’s like to teach art when homeschooling and what a homeschool parent looks for in an art program, we reached out to Krysten Lynch Callina.

Krysten has homeschooled her two sons for nine years and she’s the moderator of the Massachusetts Homeschoolers Connection Facebook group which helps facilitate support and fellowship among Massachusetts homeschool parents.  

What is your favorite thing about homeschooling?

The opportunity for kids to learn at their own pace and with their own learning style, and the freedom parents have to find what works for their children.

When planning an art lesson what resources do you use?

Library books, Pinterest, formal classes, YouTube, DIY.org

When you plan art lessons, do you teach them at home, gather a group of homeschooled kids or sign up for a lesson?

We have done both

If you could ask an art teacher to help you with your art curriculum what kind of help would you ask for?

Higher level lessons beyond arts & crafts that is connected to other subjects (history, English, mathematics)

How much importance do you place on visual arts in your homeschool curriculum? Do you try to incorporate art with other subjects such as science, English or math?

Our children were very interested in aspects of art including portrait drawing and anime style drawing, so we tried to incorporate that as its own subject. However, we love museums, so we spent a lot of time at different museums discussing art through the ages and across cultures. My kids are very experiential / hands-on focused learners, so that is what worked for us.

Do you use your public library? What resources do you use the most?

We did more when my kids were smaller…for books, videos, books on tape, planned social activities.

What kinds of programming do you wish your library would offer?

I’m happy with their offerings.

I appreciate that she’s exposed her children to art museums. The act of looking at a piece of art only scratches the surface. There’s so much information there about world history, art history and cultural history. A painting or sculpture is a snapshot of the time and place in which someone created it.

Krysten has taught visual arts to her children through lessons at home and outside classes. I’m most interested in her response to what kind of help she would request from an art teacher:

“Higher level lessons beyond arts & crafts that is connected to other subjects (history, English, mathematics)”

If you’re like me, you’re a walking encyclopedia of art techniques, art mediums and art history. Art teachers bring  unique skills to the table that can be used to enrich subjects like math and English. Furthermore, our lessons appeal to hands-on learners who might otherwise struggle with rote learning.

Many thanks to Krysten for sharing her thoughts and experience with us!

Do you homeschool your kids? Are you a librarian who serves homeschool families? Or, are you an art teacher who would like to provide art experiences for homeschooled kids? If so, leave us a comment.

Thinking about an MLM company? Here’s what I learned.

MLM or multilevel marketing is a business model in which there are two ways to make money. The first is selling products to the consumer. The second is recruiting team members. When a team member buys inventory the recruiter earns a percentage.

I’ve always wanted to have my own business, but I knew I didn’t want to go it alone, so when the opportunity came along to sell skincare and makeup with Mary Kay I signed on the dotted line. That was 18 years ago, and I consider it one of my self-employment experiments. Here are some lessons I learned along the way.

It’s all about the numbers

One thing I heard and experienced for myself is this: The more people you talk to, the more appointments you will book. For example, if I made 20 cold calls and six people answered my call, I probably booked one or two parties. The goal was to get as many names as possible, so that I could find the people who would say yes.

Rejection is part of the process

To get to yes you have to plow through a lot of no’s. Once you realize that rejections are part of the experience it’s easier to handle them because you know the next yes is just around the corner.

A support system is vital

I joined Mary Kay because I was a stay at home mom who felt isolated. A Mary Kay consultant came to my home and gave me a makeover and the pitch to become a consultant, so I agreed to go to a meeting with her. The meeting was fun and there was a lot of energy in the room. I had always wanted to have my own business, yet I didn’t want to do it alone. My Mary Kay experience fulfilled my desire to have a business and provided me with a social outlet with adults.

Teaching and sales are close companions

In both teaching and sales, you must present an idea or product in a way that engages your audience and brings them to an expected outcome whether it is a sale or a test score. Either way, there is a measurable result of success.

I always approached my makeovers and parties with the attitude of teaching people how to use their skin care regimen and how to apply make-up. The more I focused on providing useful information the better my sales were. My demeanor wasn’t sales-y it was helpful and reassuring.

In the end, Mary Kay wasn’t for me. Did I lose money? No, but I can’t say I made much either. Recruiting team members is fundamental to making a profit, and that was my weak point; I was not comfortable asking individuals to fork over several thousand dollars for inventory. I’m glad I didn’t. I ended up with a shelf full of products I couldn’t unload.

I’m now a co-owner of a successful teaching side gig and I’ve found what I was looking for all along: entrepreneurship with a friend. Drawing upon my art skills to conduct workshops and using creativity in marketing is fulfilling. Providing art experiences for kids, teens and adults is a wonderful way to make a living.

If you are considering starting a business, you don’t need a pre-made template like an MLM company. Instead, join a Facebook group for entrepreneurs or listen to a side hustle podcast. Your community of like-minded people is out there—keep searching, you’ll be glad you did.

5 Creative Ways to Make Money (for teachers)

Pop up Art School has been happily chugging along teaching 45 to 50 workshops a year, almost all at public libraries. It’s been a legit way to make an extra $1,000 a month, but our business model has the potential for more. Here’s how we’ve been expanding our offerings in 5 new ways.

  1. Downloadable lesson packet for libraries

It took us a few months to develop, write and design two STEAM lessons for librarians to teach in their libraries.

The packets include:

  • PowerPoint slideshows
  • PDFs
  • diagrams
  • promo materials
  • video instruction

We have a newfound respect for educators who sell products on TPT (teachers pay teachers!)

  1. Blogging

For five years, we’ve had a basic WordPress site that we’ve used as a landing page. Now, we’re publishing a new blog post every week. On the back-end, Janell has been working hard to redesign the landing page, and she built a shop using WP plug-ins, so that people can sign up online. The ability to register online is important because of the next two items.

  1. After-school Art Enrichment Classes

After listening to a podcast on Nick Loper’s’ Side Hustle Nation about May Najafabadi who teaches after school art and craft classes, we have been contacting local schools.

It hasn’t been as easy as she states, but it’s a real way to make more money per hour, depending on sign ups.

Here’s what we’ve found so far:

  • The art teacher doesn’t want competition.
  • An outside company manages the school district’s after-school programs.
  • My email or call disappeared into a black hole.

Those 3 reasons haven’t deterred us; we’ll keep emailing and letting people know what we offer.

So far, we’ve booked one school. Initially the director of the program told me he couldn’t bring in outside people because it would be competition for the art teacher. We were lucky to have two friends, who live in the district, contact the director and recommend us. It turns out, the art teacher is on leave and can’t offer an after-school class for a while.

Yay! A foot in the door. Sometimes, it comes down to whom you know and a healthy dose of persistence.

  1. Bookstores

Another route for after-school enrichment is independent book sellers.

It’s a win-win for both businesses; we get to use space in a brick and mortar location and the bookstore gets more foot traffic. My son used to take a chess class at a local bookstore, so I contacted the owner and we’ve got a session starting this week!

  1. Adult Art Instruction

At our library workshops, it’s clear that the adults want to create because there are always a few who stay to make the project.

To start, we surveyed the parents on our email list to discover their interests. Our first workshop was on wool felting a three-dimensional cactus and our upcoming adult workshop is glass mosaics which was everyone’s top choice in the survey.

Since we started the expansion of our business we’ve had a few opportunities fall in our laps.

  • Two private childcare centers emailed us to teach workshops.
  • A friend who runs Lego robotics summer camps wants us to come once a week to do a STEAM project.

Sometimes what you want doesn’t come from the direction you’ve been looking in. The important thing is to be open and persistent!

If you’re looking for fun and creative ways to make money join us in our Facebook group Freelance Art Teachers in Libraries or share your ideas below in the comments.