Eat chili to help students
The University of Oklahoma School of Art and Art History will host a chili cook-off fundraiser from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Lightwell Gallery, 520 Parrington Oval, in Norman.
Chili will be sold in ceramic bowls made by art students. Cost is $15 for chili in a bowl or $8 for chili not in a ceramic bowl. The bowls are dishwasher and oven safe.
Money raised through the event will go to student scholarships.
For more information, contact David Akbaran at (405)325-2691 or dakbaran@ou.edu.
School programs highlight student talent
It’s the time of year that schools get very busy right before the hush of Christmas break.
Many students are practicing for winter programs through their school bands, orchestras, choirs, drama groups and elementary classes.
I’ll never forget my fourth-grade program, “The North Pole Goes Rock-n-Roll.” I was a poodle-skirt-wearing elf, and I had one line, which I can’t remember. Although I didn’t go on to star on Broadway, I thought I was a star at the time, and my family did too.
Students work very hard on these programs, and they’re some of the best and cheapest entertainment around.
The Norman School District has a fine arts Web site that lists all of the activities going on at district schools. Visit http://www.norman.k12.ok.us/fpa/CPA.htm to find out more.
Jennifer Griswold, staff writer
A rosy picture
More than 400 schools and libraries in Oklahoma are each receiving 40 large, high-quality reproductions of historically important American artworks.
They’ll also get a book full of information and ideas on how to integrate the art into the study of other subjects, plus access to additional lesson plans online.
Oklahoma’s 424 locations are among more than 26,000 schools and libraries nationwide taking part in Picturing America, a free initiative headed by the National Endowment for the Humanities to promote American history and culture.
Applications to receive the materials next year will be available again from Aug. 4 through Oct. 31 at this site.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Extra chocolate sauce, hold the whipped cream
Creativity is an essential part of life, producer David Kennard told me in a video interview Monday for a story about his documentary work in Oklahoma.
I particularly liked his analogy about creativity to ice cream, because who doesn’t like anything involving ice cream?
Here’s what Kennard had to say (or, listen to Kennard’s quote here):
“Sometimes people think about creativity, it’s like dessert after the meal — you know, we do all the serious stuff and everything else and then if you’ve got still room for a little ice cream with a little chocolate sauce on top, that’s creativity. …
“No. Wrong. It is fundamental to our survival as an individual, as a family, as a community, as a city, … as a state, … as a nation, as a species, as a planet.”
I consider myself a creative person, but I’ll admit I can be hesitant to step outside of the proverbial box.
Then there are people like my brother, who, I believe, isn’t aware there’s a box in the first place. I guess that puts him on the higher end of the creativity spectrum.
Still, creativity is a great thing, especially if it comes with a little chocolate sauce on top.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Dinner & a photo
Most folks buy artwork for their home or office from boutique shops and arts festivals. But some pick out a piece over dinner and a glass of wine, choosing art right off a restaurant’s walls.
On Thursday, an Oklahoma City eatery will give fifth-graders the same chance as professionals to show off and sell their black-and-white photographs.
Pictures taken by 16 students from Cleveland Elementary in Oklahoma City will be exhibited at Tom & Jerry’s, a steak and fish grill at 1501 NW 23, from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Each student will get to display two pieces, for a total of 32 items, parent Nancy Woodard said. The subjects of the images vary, though the students were given some instructions — like to consider texture and motion, said Jeanne Davis, co-chairwoman of the school’s PTA yearbook committee.
Professional photographers Kay Wetmore and Michael Muller helped the students select and prepare their art for the dining-room gallery, said Davis, who helped organize the event.
All proceeds from the sale of the artwork will go to the Cleveland photography program, which is in its first year, they said, and 10 percent of food sales from the evening also will benefit the school.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Pomp School Dropout
I did a lot of things in college, but pomping was not one of them.
That changed Thursday when I went to OSU to write a story about Homecoming and the elaborate decorations created each year for floats and house decorations.
At the Sigma Nu house, two co-eds gave me a quick tutorial in pomping, the art of poking squares of tissue paper into chicken wire. If you do it a few million times, you can create large colorful patterns that form all manner of designs.
There are several types of pomp: Regular pomping is done on relatively large circles of chicken wire and can be done with your finger. Micropomping is done on smaller gage wire using a pencil, and nanopomping uses thin straws or metal rods to create the smallest florets.
I tried micropomping. It looked easy but apparently requires a gentle touch. I poked a hole clear through the paper floret I was making.
I quickly decided I don’t have this kind of patience — but I’m so thankful these girls do. Their hard work has paid off with some spectacular decorations. Check it out if you are in Stillwater Saturday.
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
