Blog Posts - DRHSART

Help Wanted! Let's Get This Room Organized

8/22/2013

I NEED VOLUNTEERS!

It's that time of year again! I've got a classroom in that is very clean, but in complete disarray, and I need helpers to get everything set up in time for the opening day. If you have time to help out during any of the slots listed below, I'd be very appreciative!

Monday, August 26: 10am - 12pm
Tuesday, August 27: 10am - 12pm, 2pm - 4pm
Wednesday, August 28: 10am - 12pm
Friday, August 30: 2pm - 4pm

Please comment to this blog entry below with the times you will be coming so that I know how many to expect.

Youth Art Month Newsletter for 2013

6/14/2013

YAM 2013

Each Year, the art departments from each high school in Virginia are required to submit two designed pages that detail the events of Youth Art Month. Those pages are compiled by the county specialist, and put into a large binder to represent all of the exciting events that occur within each county during the month of March.

We had many exciting events at DRHSART this year, and we have compiled all of those events into a two-page design. Below is a link to download the newsletter that will be put into the HCPS YAM binder for 2013. We hope you enjoy

2013-drhsart-yam_pages-final.pdf
File Size:	11803 kb
File Type:	pdf

National Scholastics Celebration

5/22/2013

Join us on the live webcast of the National Scholastics Art and Writing Awards on Friday, May 31st. Click the graphic above for details. DRHSART will be represented by three of it's outstanding students : Mary Clanton, Denzel Boyd, and Jinny Kang.

Langdon Graves Exhibition at the ADA Gallery in RVA

2/1/2013

Langdon Graves is currently showing at the ADA gallery in Richmond. I highly recommend seeing her work in person at some point while the show hangs throughout the month of February. There is a very good chance that she will be visiting DRHSART toward the end of the month before the show comes down, so it would be very helpful to see the work in person before she visits.

As described by the ADA website:

In her work, Graves explores the human body as fragments of bone, tissue, metaphor and belief in an effort to examine the split between how science and religion have historically sought to explain natural phenomena and the origins of our human existence. She draws on concepts derived from the ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles, whose ideas readily embraced and mixed scientific explanation and observation of the natural world with elements of the divine and the mythic. The imagery in her works invoke Empedocles' descriptions of the human body as an aggregate of anatomical fragments that function through an unusual and at times bewildering mix of botanical processes, surgical procedures, nautical symbols, and sacred rituals, all placed together as if on a dissecting table.

The title of the exhibition Small Truth is a reference to a line from the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, which Graves sees as suggesting that our understanding of the world and appreciation of its mysteries is formed from the examination of its minute parts and that which is near to us:

The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence.

Graves is a Virginia native who received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000. In 2007 she received her MFA from Parsons in New York City where she currently resides. She has had solo shows in Richmond, New York and Boston and has participated in group shows throughout the United States, Europe and Australia. In 2010 she attended the Fountainhead Residency in Miami and participated in The Netherlands' Kunstenaarsinitiatief Residency and Exhibition program in 2011. She is a recent recipient of Canson and Beautiful Decay's Wet Paint Grant.

TED TALKS COME TO RVA

1/9/2013

TED’s Idea-Spreading Comes to Richmond
BY JASON ROOP @JASONROOP

Do schools kill creativity?

How does it feel to have a stroke?

Why aren't we happy?

Those questions fuel some of the most-watched TED Talks — intense, polished, insightful lectures in which speakers are challenged to give "the talk of their lives" —exploring thought-provoking ideas in 18 minutes or less.

The talking comes to Richmond in the spring.

Since its California birth as a conference in 1984, TED — which stands for technology, entertainment and design — has become a cultural crossroads of disciplines and thinking, with lectures taking on extra life online. There's the late Apple founder Steve Jobs ("How to Live Before You Die"), author Daniel H. Pink ("The Surprising Science of Motivation") and Arthur Benjamin performing feats of "mathemagic."

Who's speaking here? It could be you.

Andy Stefanovich, who serves as chief curator and provocateur of the Richmond office of Prophet, a brand and marketing consulting firm, has given several TEDx talks and attended many of the events. He's long wanted to bring TEDx to town — a self-organized conference by locals under the TED umbrella.

Stefanovich's motivation grew after conversations with Tom Silvestri, president and publisher of The Richmond Times-Dispatch. After months of work, TEDxRVA comes to the power plant building along the James River flood wall March 22. It's planned as a fast-paced mix of national and local speakers, artists and performers focusing on the theme "create."

But first: A free kickoff party at the Hippodrome Theater Jan. 31 offers a taste of what's to come. Expect live music, DJs and networking. But at its heart will be 60-90 minutes of an open-mic night — "sort of like idea karaoke," says one of the organizers, Katie Benson, a jewelry designer who also works in the biotechnology industry. "You've got two minutes on the stage — tell us your best story."

No stand-up comedy, please, or investor pitches. Think about creation, whether it's music, a new drug or something more intangible: how it happens, how it's improved, how you can look at it from an unexpected angle.

"We want people that are adding to the storyline of Richmond," says another volunteer, Brad Dey, who runs an operational consulting firm. One goal is to find two speakers to join the lineup at the March 22 day-long conference — though people can also apply to be speakers separately. Those who want to take a stab at the stage are asked to visit tedxrva.com, or email openmic@tedxrva.com.

Jeffery Deane Hall : An Artist and Mentor

1/8/2013

" In my paintings, I explore the idea of remixed culture by creating “mash-ups” of art historical references, genres, and techniques as metaphors for personal and social commentary." -Jeffery Deane Hall

Article by Mike Guyer
Jeffery Deane Hall has been one of my strongest mentors throughout my career as an artist and educator. I was lucky enough to begin my career at the Center for the Arts, and both teachers with whom I worked (Mary Scurlock and Jeffery Deane Hall) were instrumental in shaping my vision. As the years pass, I often look back on those early days of my career working with them, and I cannot separate any success my students or I have had since them from what have and continue to learn from them.

Recently, Jeff's work was featured in New American Paintings magazine, and I wanted to write this brief story as a congratulations to his continued success as both and artist and educator. I still work closely with Jeff, as we are ever competitive with our respective programs. He is the Fine Arts Chair at Maggie Walker Governor's School, and we are in close communication about new ideas in both our artwork and our teaching. In my first year, Jeff taught me a lot about raising the bar of expectations in my classroom, and demonstrated the important role that technology has in contemporary education and art-making. Congratulations Jeff, on this new level of achievement with your artwork, and to the future of your work as an artist, educator, and mentor to the many people with whom you work.

Scholastics Deadline is Approaching

1/6/2013

No Longer Accepting Entries.
If you have not registered as of 8 PM on January 6th, your work will not make it into the competition.

I have allowed students to enter work up until today (January 6th) at 8pm. Because I have to let students know who needs to pay money, and how much to pay.... I need to cut off the entries. If you haven't entered by this point with all of the reminders, you weren't all that interested in competing anyway.

If you do not receive an email from me about payment, you will not owe any money. If you do receive an email, your check should be written to the VMFA, and should be given to me in the morning with all of the signed forms needed.

Click here to login to Scholastics and print your forms.

Feild Craddock will Speak at DRHSART

12/18/2012

Feild Craddock, a DRHSART graduate from 2008, will speak to the upper level students this Friday (December 21st) about what it's like in the Industrial Design department at Virginia Tech. In this informal discussion, he will talk about what it was like attending the Rhode Island School of Design and why he decided to transfer to Virginia Tech to study Industrial Design.

He will be discussing the work he has done at Virginia Tech, and will answer questions that students have about that field of study. If you are not in my 2nd block class, and want to attend this event, please get a pass from your teacher and come down to room A12 at 9 am on Firday, December 21st.

When: Friday, December 21st
Where: Room A12 (9am)
click here to see his work

Bring your visual journal and some good questions.

San Francisco Art Institute to Visit DRHSART

12/5/2012

Massimo Pacchione, an artist and admissions officer at the SFAI will visit DRHSART on December 7th to give a speech about his work and the program at the San Francisco Art Institute.

All students who are interested must get a pass to attend if they are not already in my Block 2 class. Toward the end of class, Massimo will be giving portfolio reviews, giving our students and advantage in the application process. Please have your portfolio sites up to date before he arrives if you want good feedback.

SAM LEGHART / MARY CLANTON

12/5/2012

Senior Exhibition Series Kicks off
December 7th

Sam Leghart and Mary Clanton will be the first seniors to exhibit their work in the DRHSART Gallery in the 2012-2013 season. Each artist is highly technical and a bit edgy at times. Please join us in the DRHSART Gallery on December 7th from 5-7:00 for the opening of their show. It promises to be impressive.

See The Student Portfolio Sites
Sam Leghart
Mary Clanton