Myooz Arts Musings!

Quote of the Week

2009-08-19T20:30:00.003-04:00

"After a while you learn
the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn
that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.
And you begin to learn
that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn
to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground is
too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down
in mid-flight.
After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn... "
--Veronica Shoffstall

More Resources

2009-08-16T21:28:00.004-04:00

I am all for sharing resources, today I shared with a woman about for kids event when its so hot out. But if you can't even get out and stand the heat here is another awesome resource, WonderPlay Resource

Best of Luck beating the heat!

Lessons from my Kitty!

2009-08-14T20:45:00.007-04:00

I wanted to share with you what I am learning from watching and playing with my cat because even though I only had him for a month he has taught us a lot.

1. You always have time to play. Its not about how much you do but that you do.
2.Curiosity, Curiosity, Curiosity!
3. Everyday objects are toys, thanks to the power of imagination.
4.Pouncing is an art!
5. While I am at it being sneaky is too!
6. The opposite of Play is Rest. We all need breaks during our workday to refresh us all.
7. Play knows no time, you can do it anytime of day.
8.Be vocal about your needs and do anything to get them across, knock down papers, jump on computers, scratch sofa's, by any means necessary tell your owners you need new litter, pet, or play.
9. I may slide and hit my head on the door but next time I know my limits and I know when to stop.
10. Cute will get you in the door but fearlessness will get your further!

Join me!

2009-08-14T18:11:00.009-04:00

New York Cares is having their annual fundraiser , revitalize schools in New York City School. I am saving the date and signing up, Join in this awesome cause, at MYOOZ ARTS CARES!

Organizations I Admire!

2009-08-13T21:26:00.005-04:00

In my newest section: I want to share an organization that I truly look up to : ONLY MAKE BELIEVE!

What I love about it is not only its marketing but their simple but strong mission to help kids with the healing process. It brightens my day that organizations like this are in action. I've had the honor of learning about them through a past job hunt and loved them ever since. I hope to use organizations as both a model and a place to work for/with in the future.

Quote of the Week!

2009-08-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
-- Albert Einstein

Check Out, Shout Out!

2009-08-11T12:19:00.003-04:00

Imagine Off Broadway
Celebrate, dance and sing with us at the world premiere of our new show:
"IMAGINE"

New York International Fringe Festival - FringeNYC
A production of The Present Company
Tickets $10 and $15. For tickets visit www.FringeNYC.org
Tickets are limited.

CSV Cultural and Educational Center - Flamboyan, 107 Suffolk Street, New York, New York 10002
(Rivington & Delancey Streets)

Saturday, August 15 @ Noon
Sunday, August 16 @ 3:45pm
Thursday, August 20 @ 7:30pm
Thursday, August 27 @ 6:00pm
Sunday, August 30 @ 2:45pm

All actors are part of the ongoing Imagine Project creativity workshops. Half our cast members come to us from our programs in New York CityHomeless Shelters.

Based on ideas and improvisations of their own creation, our cast of twelve young actors brings to life eight contemporary stories filled with beauty, humor and magic expressed in their own words. Themes dealing with topics as universal as "LOVE," "WHAT IF?" "YA GOTTA LEAVE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE!" "IDEAS Parts I and II" as well as the fairy-tale-silliness of "MAGIC SHOES" and "THERE AIN'T NO ROYAL PRINCE IN BROOKLYN" illuminate the joys, doubts, and fears that young people so often express as they try to make sense out of the sense-less.

Can't wait to see you there!

Play is a Right!

2009-08-10T21:29:00.000-04:00

As Play is defined as a transitive verb
1 a (1) : to engage in or occupy oneself with (2) : to engage in (an activity) as a game (3) : to deal with, handle, or manage b : to pretend to engage in the activities of c (1) : to amount to by one's efforts

Here is more proof that Kids need to PLAY More

So why wouldn't we want to engage our children in their education. Be engage in their future's and ours! Give our children the tools to deal with conflict in a positive light . To play an important role in children success by giving children all they need to be the best they can be! I know I will and continue to be! What does PLAY mean to you?

Article of the Day

2009-08-09T20:22:00.005-04:00

Recently I have been by passing The New York Times and opting for the Huffington Post. But I found a gem of an article, New Endowment Chairman Sees Arts as Economic Engine. I agree with all my heart that the Arts have to be apart of the Recession plan. Without it we are lost to the wind, Artists should have the same rights as government workers, 401 K's and health plans.We pay taxes too! Its time that we get some resources back, maybe this time we have someone in office that has our back. Here's to Hope!

Sharing Resources

2009-06-09T22:47:00.003-04:00

I wanted to share some resources for art educators like myself:

The center for Arts Education

Career Transtion for Dancers

New York Foundation for the Arts

Dance Education Lab at 92nd Street Y

Enjoy!

Pick me up

2009-06-01T23:06:00.002-04:00

I am always in need of a pick me up after the Mondays. Enjoy the video of Michelle Obama's plea for education:

Happenings For this Week

2009-05-31T08:16:00.000-04:00

For over 20 years, IRT has been dedicated to supporting the work by and for the Deaf. The Emerging Deaf Artists Festival will feature an array of exciting new talent during the first week of June, 2009. The centerpiece of the festival will be a presentation of Willy Conley's play "Broken Spokes," performed by students from RIT/NTID (Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf), June 5-7, 2009. After the show on June 5th there will be talk back with Willy Conley.

Details of the week:
June 2nd- 7pm A talk back with Ann Marie"Jade" Bryan, Owner/CEO/Producer of Jade Films and Entertainment
June 3rd- 8pm Open Mic Deaf Jam
June 4-7pm Film Screening of the RIT/NTID performance of Othello and live performance
June 5-8pm Show..Broken Spokes-after the show talk back with Willy Conley
June 5-7-Show..Broken Spokes-Friday/Sat.8pm Sunday 3pm

If you are interested in being a part of the Open Mic night please contact Renee Pena rpena@irttheater.org

To purchase tickets for Broken Spokes contact Theatermania all other events are $5 suggested donation at the door-
http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/155297

or call

Tickets by Phone: 212-352-3101
866-811-4111(toll free)

IRT
154 Christopher St.,Suite 3B
New York,NY 10014
212-206-6875

AWOL

2009-05-29T13:43:00.001-04:00

I know I have been awol! However, I am back and stronger than ever! I will post three times a week.

An Event that must be Shared!

2009-04-17T18:16:00.003-04:00

Fund For Public School is having their 2nd Annual Madison Ave Gallery Walk!

Here is the event's details:

What: 2nd Annual Madison Avenue Gallery Walk, including guided tours of participating art galleries, a children’s art scavenger hunt and artist talks

Admission: Free!

When: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Saturday May 16, 2009

Where: Walking tours will depart from two event Information Centers, one located at East 57 Street & Madison Avenue, and the other at East 78 Street & Madison Avenue

Contact: Matthew Bauer, President of the Madison Avenue BID at 212-861-2055 or via e-mail at mbauer@madisonavenuebid.org for more information

Life Update

2009-04-08T08:22:00.001-04:00

I will be away for a few days so there won't be any Weekend Happening as well as other post for a while. Happy Passover and Easter!

Sharing is Caring

2009-04-08T08:20:00.002-04:00

As a product of New York Public Schools I found this article interesting. Check it out:
The Sudden Charm of Public Schools

Weekend Happenings April 3rd-5th, 2009

2009-04-02T17:45:00.004-04:00

In New York City:

Discovery Programs (www.discoveryprograms.com) in Hippo In the Park are doing a (drumroll please)

Puppets in the Park

All Ages are Welcome, but its best for 1 to 5 years old

April 4th,2009

1st show at 10:30am

2nd show at 11:30am

It's Free!

Hippo Park is 91st Street and Riverside Drive!

and

In Philadelphia

At the Please Touch Museum

April is Celebrate Stories Month:

Join them at the Please Touch Playhouse at 11Am, 1 and 3pm to hear "There is Something Under My Bed"

to check out details go to www.pleasetouchmuseum.org

Sharing of Inspiration

2009-03-29T12:53:00.009-04:00

I found this information on Thriving blog and wanted to share this with my readers because there is so much food for thought, it's so insightful. Enjoy!!!

In recent years, IDEO has spent a lot of time and effort thinking about education. The firm’s work with Ormondale Elementary School, in Portola Valley, California, helped pioneer a special “investigative-learning” curriculum that inspires students to be seekers of knowledge. We spoke to Sandy Speicher, who heads the Design for Learning efforts at IDEO. Her insights provide powerful lessons for architects and designers creating the schools of tomorrow:"

1. Pull, don’t push.  Create an environment that raises a lot of questions from each of your students, and help them translate that into insight and understanding. Education is too often seen as the transmission of knowledge. Real learning happens when the student feels the need to reconcile a question he or she is facing—and can’t help but seek out an answer.

2. Create from relevance.  Engage kids in ways that have relevance to them, and you’ll capture their attention and imagination. Allow them to experience the concepts you’re teaching firsthand, and then discuss them (or, better yet, work to address them!) instead of relying on explanation alone.

3. Stop calling them “soft” skills.  Talents such as creativity, collaboration, communication, empathy, and adaptability are not just nice to have; they’re the core capabilities of a 21st-century global economy facing complex challenges.

4. Allow for variation.  Evolve past a one-size-fits-all mentality and permit mass customization, both in the system and the classroom. Too often, equality in education is treated as sameness. The truth is that everyone is starting from a different place and going to a different place.

5. No more sage onstage.  Engaged learning can’t always happen in neat rows. People need to get their hands dirty. They need to feel, experience, and build. In this interactive environment, the role of the teacher is transformed from the expert telling people the answer to an enabler of learning. Step away from the front of the room and find a place to engage with your learners as the “guide on the side.”

6. Teachers are designers.  Let them create. Build an environment where your teachers are actively engaged in learning by doing. Shift the conversation from prescriptive rules to permissive guidance. Even though the resulting environment may be more complicated to manage, the teachers will produce amazing results.

7. Build a learning community.  Learning doesn’t happen in the child’s mind alone. It happens through the social interactions with other kids and teachers, parents, the community, and the world at large. It really does take a village. Schools should find new ways to engage parents and build local and national partnerships. This doesn’t just benefit the child—it brings new resources and knowledge to your institution.

8. Be an anthropologist, not an archaeologist.  An archaeologist seeks to understand the past by investigating its relics and digging for the truth of what was. An anthropologist studies people to understand their values, needs, and desires. If you want to design new solutions for the future, you have to understand what people care about and design for that. Don’t dig for the answer—connect.

9. Incubate the future.  What if our K–12 schools took on the big challenges that we’re facing today? Allow children to see their role in creating this world by studying and creating for topics like global warming, transportation, waste management, health care, poverty, and even education. It’s not about finding the right answer. It’s about being in a place where we learn ambition, involvement, responsibility, not to mention science, math, and literature.

10. Change the discourse.  If you want to drive new behavior, you have to measure new things. Skills such as creativity and collaboration can’t be measured on a bubble chart. We need to create new assessments that help us understand and talk about the developmental progress of 21st-century skills. This is not just about measuring outcomes, but also measuring process. We need formative assessments that are just as important as numeric ones. And here’s the trick: we can’t just have the measures. We actually have to value them.

Quote of the Week

2009-02-24T08:23:00.002-05:00

It is noble to teach oneself, but still nobler to teach others--and less trouble.

-Mark Twain

Reneesance Update!

2009-02-19T17:15:00.004-05:00

Dear Blog World,

At the current moment, I am working on my grad school applications that are due next month!

I am reading: Mollie Is Three: Growing Up in School by Vivian Gussin Pale

I suggest everyone check out: Chuck.Chuck.Chuck by Immediate Medium, it is a Village Voice Choice!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful President's Week!

Reneesance

Urge our Government Officials

2009-02-08T18:05:00.005-05:00

I just signed a petition for the Obama's administration to look into having a Secretary of the Arts in his cabinet. Why?, you may ask. Read this article: Arts Leaders Urge Role for Culture in Economic Recovery and it will begin to answer your question. If you need no convincing than please sign this petition at: Secretary for the Arts.

Quote For The Week!

2009-02-05T21:23:00.001-05:00

"If you ever feel left behind my your dreams remember that your dreams can't go far without you!"

-Ziggy (Comic Strip)

Ground Hog Sharing

2009-02-02T18:31:00.009-05:00

Happy Ground Hog's Day!

I just wanted to share with you a website I just came across named Community Arts Network, www.communityarts.net!

I am in love with the purpose of this site as a tool of communication fostering the conversation of why and how the arts are important by providing news and theory based articles to keep the conversation going. Here us an example of what I mean: The New New Deal Part 2

Quote for the Week!

2009-01-31T18:25:00.002-05:00

Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not preparation for life; education is life itself.

-John Dewey

Child Interviews

2009-01-31T18:17:00.002-05:00

For my Dance in Foundation class at the 92nd Street Y, we had to conduct Child Interviews.

I just wanted to share a little bit with you and what I got out of it

Me: Do you dance?

Child: Sometimes like a fish!

Child: I move my arm like this, (Does an arm movement up and down like a fish).

Me: Like a fish dance?

Child: Yes!

The child in this interview was 2, almost 3. Or as she says 2 and 3/4 years old. Yes it may seem like a silly conversation to an adult. But the child was making sense of the world around them. And through an art form like dance. If this is not enough proof that the arts are important at every stage even at 2 and 3/4 years old then you must be crazy.

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

2009-01-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

The question posed by "Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?" is such a loaded question. What I have to say about it may not be new however I feel this dialogue needs to be on going until the problem is solved. With the No Child Left Behind Act, schools are killing creativity asking teachers to just fill kids heads with answers and not allowing them to think for their selves. However what I see a ray of hope is in Early Childhood. Early Childhood seems to be moving towards a practice of are much freedom in creativity within a school structure. They are calling this "new concept": Preschool Alternative. To be this is a step in the right direction, we start with the young and plant the seed. But as we know our Education system has a ways to go and Sir Ken Robinson talk added volumes to the conversation! Enjoy!

What do you have to say on the matter?

Quote For The Week!

2009-01-22T17:25:00.000-05:00

Quote of the Week :

"And he greatly thought he nobly dared"-Homer!

Any thoughts?

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Myooz Arts Musings!
It is fitting that I start this blog on Inauguration Day! I have a lot of hope for the future. But there isn't anything like the present to start working on my dreams. I am a social entrepreneur! As wiki states " A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society. While social entrepreneurs often work through nonprofits and citizen groups, many work in the private and governmental sectors.". I myself love the arts and strongly believe that arts can change the world. With Obama's Arts Agenda in my head on this day, check out Arts Agenda, all I can do is SMILE!