President’s Letter
 Greetings, Fellow Art Educators! Welcome to your new Massachusetts Art Education Association website!
This site (still under construction, but functional) has been in the works for a long time (almost two years). We (the MAEA board) hope that you will find the site to be a useful resource, and that you will contribute your articles, images, favorite links, and ideas, in order to make the website a favorite tool for all Massachusetts art educators.
*I would like to thank the board, especially Jodi Schmidt, former MAEA Secretary, and Director of the Extras for Creative Learning Recycle Center (whose extensive research on websites and designers guided our work). The site was designed by Jordan Carver at Agency
Two features, that we hope to include, require your assistance. One is “Featured Art Educator”, and the other is “Featured Art Student”. We’d like to showcase members and their students, and have information about the work that both are doing. As we are a professional organization for ‘art educators’, it is assumed that many of us are also artists; we would like to focus on your work as both artists and art educators.
If there are other features that you might be interested in seeing (something not seen in the navigation bar, or something not mentioned in my letter), please feel free to send your ideas to the board. This is YOUR website.
My term as your president is nearing its end. I will join other ‘past presidents’ to put together a slate of nominees for the executive board (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer), and we will have this information in your hands by mid-June so that you can elect your next executive board. Please feel free to send nominations of your own, or to nominate yourself for a position. (Nominees MUST be members of the MAEA/NAEA.)
We also need your nominations for Art Educators of the Year. (*We will present the awards for 2009-2010, at the Fall Conference, at UMass Dartmouth, in November.) Awards are given in the following categories: Elementary, Middle, Secondary, Supervision and Administration, Higher Ed., Special Needs, Museum Art Educator, and Friend of Art Education. All, but “Friend”, MUST be members. Please see the NAEA site for awards nomination forms, and suggest nominees by July 1st, 2009.
—June Krinsky-Rudder
The 2009 Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards:
A Look Behind the Scenes
By: June Krinsky-Rudder
Upon entering the annual Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards exhibit, at the Transportation Building, in Boston, I always find myself in awe—in awe of the work created by the youth of Massachusetts, in awe of my fellow art educators who help guide these young artists and recognize that their work is worthy of consideration for a Scholastic award, and in awe of the committee of volunteers who help to hang the show.
Having served on the TBGSAA committee in my role as President of the MAEA, I am aware of some of the work that goes into this vast undertaking, and thought that sharing my insight might inspire more people to get involved in the ‘nitty gritty’ parts that they might not have known they could help with. It is a lot of work, but it is so well organized, that even newcomers are quickly absorbed into the system, and are able to contribute within minutes of their arrival. (If the country ran as smoothly as the Globe exhibit, we would not now be debating a stimulus package—we would not even need one!)
For those who do not know, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a national program that recognizes outstanding artwork and writing done by students in grades 7–12. While I’m not familiar with the writing portion, I have become much more so with the art portion of these awards. Each year art educators submit artwork created by their students in a number of categories (Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media, Animation, Ceramics & Glass, Photography—both digital and analog, Sculpture, Design, and more). In past years, a quota for submissions was based on school population, as determined by the formerly named Department of Education (now the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education). This year, individual teachers were able to submit up to 10 individual entries. (Portfolio entries – for high school seniors only—remain unlimited.) Submissions nearly doubled!
Work is delivered to drop-off points around the state, and ultimately delivered to Boston, where it is sorted into categories for judging. This is where the efficiency of the system becomes obvious. Teams of art educators, as well as the professional crew who assist with the Globe awards exhibit, gather at tables to unpack the artwork. Supplies for each crew include colored China markers, paper clips, tape, and stickers color-coded for each of the drop-off regions. Crew members carefully unpack the artwork, and check it against the enclosed inventory lists to make sure that all the work has been received. It’s important to make sure that each piece of work is properly identified and tagged with the registration papers. (One must make sure that the work is marked with the school’s DOE number, school name, teacher name, student name, color-coded by region, and marked with China marker to identify whether the work was high school or middle school level.) Anything not properly filled out by the submitting teachers, must be rectified by the unpackers. It’s often a long and tedious process, as much of the work is not properly labeled or inventoried, but the system is so well-organized that the time passes quickly, and the work gets done efficiently. The work is broken up on occasion when someone unpacks a particularly impressive piece of work and shows it to the others nearby, and also for lunch. It’s astonishing at the end of the day to see the staggering amount of work that has been processed by the number of people who helped out. It always seems that there should be hundreds more to do that amount of work. The art is unpacked and sorted over the weekend, and usually judged on a Tuesday, then hung the following weekend.
I’m not eligible to judge in MA, while actively teaching here, but I did have the opportunity to judge in Rhode Island. The judging was done by panels of three, who looked at work in a particularly category. I helped to judge Mixed Media and Printmaking. The work was shown to the judges, one piece after another, and the judges looked without communicating. After all the work was seen once, it was brought out again, one piece at a time, for a longer period. Judges then held up paddles, rating the work with a point system. (The judges do not communicate with each other during this part of the process, but may ask to see pieces more closely, and may ask for title, age of the artist, and what media was used.) The work was then sorted based on the number of points received. The highest-rated work was further screened for Gold Key awards. At this point, the judges met to discuss the work, first selecting the most obvious winners, and then narrowing down from what remained. It was a difficult process, as it’s important to be thorough, and give each piece the time and consideration deserved. (The number of keys to be awarded was pre-determined for us, and we were given the amount at the start of the judging. I presume it’s based on the number of pieces per category, but don’t know for sure. Knowing the numbers ahead of time made it easier to choose.) When the Gold Keys had all been awarded, the Silver Key pieces were then selected. Finally, the judges selected an American Visions Award nominee in the category that they judged. That piece was judged, alongside work from all of the other categories, by all of the judges. I believe that my experience in Rhode Island was similar to that of the judges who served Massachusetts.
Criteria for judging (as quoted from the program distributed at the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards ceremony):
1. Imaginative Content. The jurors looked for subject matter which reflected personal interpretation and individual viewpoints and which was invested with a sense of life, feeling, and personal engagement (interest and commitment).
2. The Human and the Artistic. Jurors worked to be sensitive to the personal statement made in a work. They looked for evidence of attention to the use of materials as a tool in the expression of ideas and feelings.
3. Skill and Craftsmanship. The jurors looked for work that exhibited sensitivity and inventiveness along with mastery in handling materials.
4. Style. The jurors looked for the emergence of a personal style and were sensitive to the relationship between style and ideas, thoughts and feelings.
5. Observation and Inquiry. Jurors looked for evidence of work derived from direct and thoughtful observation. The most successful works are not mere imitations of the observed elements but rather a reflection of personal investment in the act of looking, responding, organizing and expressing.”
Awardees of Gold and Silver Keys, both individual and portfolio, as well as American Visions award winners, are honored with ceremonies held at the John Hancock Hall in Boston. (*Due to the number of awardees, there is no longer a ceremony for winners of Honorable Mentions.) Tim O’Connor prepares the students, and the committee for their roles. When the ceremonies begin, there are some featured speakers—this year: Robert M. Powers, Vice President—Communication & Public Affairs for The Boston Globe, Kat Hendrix, Senior Manager, Affiliate Network & Outreach—for The Alliance of Young Artists and Writers, and The Honorable Mayor, Thomas Menino, of Boston. On behalf of the MAEA, I also spoke briefly. The awardees come to the stage after the speeches to receive their keys, and pom-poms. What I love most about the award ceremonies is that the winners introduce themselves, let the audience know which schools they attend, and the categories for which they won. They all seem so proud! It’s also wonderful to see the support of the families, teachers, and friends who attend with them.
Following the ceremonies, most of the artists and their guests take the complimentary Old Town Trolleys over to the exhibit at the Transportation Building. Punch and cookies are served. It’s a lot of fun to watch the winners interacting with each other, and with others present, as they show off their work, and discuss the merits of nearby pieces. It’s very inspiring.
The exhibit is open to the public during business hours, and on weekends—usually through the February vacation. (*Arrangements can be made to bring your students for a field trip. I’ve taken students in past years, and have always found that to be a highlight for them. They particularly enjoy finding work produced by their friends, but also get ideas for improving their own work—something that makes the trip even more worthwhile.)
Following is the list of people who helped to make this year’s event successful; perhaps you will be on next year’s list?:
The Boston Globe Foundation—Leah Bailey & Cathy Downs
Massachusetts Scholastic Art Awards Scholarship Partners—The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University; Boston University School of Visual Arts; Massachusetts College of Art and Design; Montserrat College of Art; New Hampshire Institute of Art; Salem State College; School of the Museum of Fine Arts; The New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University; University of Massachusetts, Boston
Scholastic Art Awards Advisory Board—vDiana Hampe, Walpole; Mark Milowsky, Belmont; Walter Meinelt, Topsfield; Chairs
Shirley Bloom, Brookline; Maureen Caouette, Littleton; Ralph Cauoette, Holden; Thom Carter, Wellesley; Tessil Collins, Boston; Renee Covalucci, Boston; Ann Gurek, Plymouth; Deborah Haverty, Cambridge; Amy Janicki, Everett; Eva Kearney, Winthrop; Katie Kelley, Belmont; Kim Kent, Methuen; June Krinsky-Rudder, Revere; Douglas Lack, Holliston; Heidi Lee, Boston; Frank McGrory, Lancaster; Jeff Moy, Boston; Maren Olson, Chelsea; E. Linda Poras, Framingham; Kay Ransdell, Medford; George Ratkevich, Burlington; Ben Sears, Amherst; Jonna Sundberg, Holbrook; Lorraine Sullivan, Arlington; Diana Adams Woodruff, Acton; Jessie Young, Cambridge; Phil Young, Arlington
2009 Scholastic Art Awards Jurors—Dave Areford; David Lloyd Brown; Nettrice Gaskins; Irene Gerwick; Rob Gibbs; Willa Heider; Doris Howard; Hope Irvine; Carolyn Knight; Lin Lufkin; Frank McGrory; John MacPhee; Leslie Miller; Susan Paradis; Liz Rudnick; Julia Sheepley; Steve Smalley; Lisa Sullo; Rob Treanor; Christopher Whitehead; Leslie Wilcox
2009 Scholastic Art Awards Staff—Timothy O’Connor; John-Michael Gray; Tom Coon; Michael Beshara; Alaina Mahoney; Michael Mellor; Richard Rose; Lorraine Sullivan; Raymond Thomas; Mitchell White; Phil Young; Richard Travers (pianist)
Volunteers & Corporate Partners—Student Volunteers (Acton-Boxborough Regional High School; Belmont High School; Boston Latin Academy; Wellesley High School); The staffs of Genesis Management Corporation and Reliable Security (Massachusetts State Transportation Building); Old Town Trolleys; Gentle Giant Movers; Shaw’s Market; Chester Brown’s Flowers
Special Thanks—Tillinger’s Concierge, Inc.; John Hancock Hall; Massachusetts Art Teachers; Parents, Guardians and Families of the Award Winners
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Featured Student
In this space, we’d like to feature one of your students (or student teachers? other interns?) who did something worthy of recognition...
All of us have students, or student teachers, or interns, who do special things that we feel are worthy of sharing – they make great work; they teach great lessons; they make connections with the community – what would you like to share?
*It’s important that you make sure you get a signed release form to use images of students/their work. (For now…please use the NAEA form; we will have an MAEA form to use shortly.)
Featured Teacher
In this space, we’d like to feature MAEA members who have something special that they’d like to share...
Have you recently completed a new body of artwork? Completed a hard-earned degree? Traveled to an interesting location to make art? Studied with an artist whose work you’ve admired from afar? Seen or been part of a wonderful exhibit? Read a great (art-related) book, or discovered some other resource that the rest of us should know about? Planning to teach a workshop where the rest of us can get PDPs? Been published?
Whatever your exciting news, we’d love to have it in this space!
*Please sign release form before sending images/information. (For now…please use the NAEA form; we will have an MAEA form to use shortly.)
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