by Tami Vinson, Director of Development and Engagement

We were thrilled to open our new playground on Friday, September 6th! Students left our all-school assembly in the gym and gathered round to cheer on our beloved Physical Education and Health Teacher, Mr. Onderdonk, take the inaugural ride down the embankment slide! Kids chanted “Go Mr. O!” all the way down. Afterwards, all students in first through eighth grade got to have extra morning recess time to check out all the new features. 

With the construction timeline extending into the first few weeks of school, anticipation built up each day at recess. Students watched excitedly at the orange construction fence as the crew got closer and closer to completion. A couple students mentioned seeing the construction crew testing out the slide and even noted “They looked like they were having a lot of fun and they deserve it!” From moving boulders to enclose the natural loose parts play area, adding a walkway and safety guards to the boulder scramble, and placing the new tree stumps and tires, the students got to watch it come to fruition. Students were especially curious when the cave was installed! Each day at carline, the kids asked “Is the playground opening today?” 

The delayed construction timeline offered a silver lining. The students’ gratitude for the hard work involved in building the new playground was immense. It made the grand opening celebration all the more exciting and meaningful. Each day since opening it, we have all enjoyed watching the kids engage with the new features. 

With our students’ love for the “forbidden forest” and natural spaces of our campus, we wanted to build off of that appreciation and add elements that connected to nature for children to fill with their impressive imaginations, joyful spirits, and energetic bodies. Research indicates that exposure to natural elements can lower stress, boost concentration, and improve overall mental well-being. By integrating aspects of nature into our play environments, our students can experience the restorative benefits of outdoor play and a connection to the natural world.

Our boulder scramble encourages physical activity, helping children develop strength, balance, and coordination while navigating various heights and surfaces. This play fosters creativity and problem-solving as kids explore different routes and tackle natural obstacles, enhancing their motor skills and overall fitness. As they engage in this controlled yet adventurous play, children also develop critical thinking, spatial awareness, and risk assessment skills. Scrambling is an exhilarating way to build early mountaineering skills and prepares children for hiking in our beautiful Rocky Mountains. We really love that the rocks so easily blend into our hill and are a unique and attractive feature on our playground. Students are also enjoying practicing their balance and agility as they walk across the boulders surrounding the new loose parts play area. 

Fun fact: all of the boulders used in the scramble and play area were sourced from our Rocky Mountains – the Floyd Hill area of I-70 to be exact! Thanks to the generosity of Kraemer North America, who is managing the Floyd Hill construction project, we were able to attain all our unique boulders used in the scramble and the border around the loose parts play area. A big heartfelt thank you to Mack parent, Matt Hogan for arranging this in-kind donation! This aspect of the project highlights our commitment to building with sustainable materials and trying to do our part for our environment. In addition, our safety guards around the scramble are made from recycled rubber and amount to saving 31 tires from going into a landfill!

Our new embankment slide integrates seamlessly into our hill, maximizing our outdoor space while delivering endless thrills. The slide not only offers excitement but also sparks scientific curiosity. Climbing the hill builds potential energy due to gravity, which is transformed into kinetic energy when sliding down, effectively demonstrating concepts of acceleration and velocity. Additionally, the slide engages both proprioceptive and kinesthetic responses, making it a dynamic tool for illustrating various branches of mathematics, including geometry. Beyond the fun, it encourages physical activity, helping children stay fit while developing essential motor skills and coordination.

The cave offers a quiet place where students can enjoy a bit of downtime on the playground. That being said, within the first week of the grand opening, a group of students wanted to know how many kids would fit in the cave. The magic number was 11! We also added small natural wooden tables with seating for students to read a book, play chess with a friend, or incorporate into their imaginative play. It’s been wonderful to see students enjoying these tables in the loose parts play areas and near the front patio. 

Our loose parts play area fosters creativity and promotes peer interaction, enhancing social cohesion. These versatile materials ignite children’s imaginations, encouraging them to creatively integrate various components into their play. Loose parts facilitate open-ended learning and enhance problem-solving skills. Tree stumps, repurposed tires, rocks, and tree cookies provide limitless opportunities for imaginative exploration during recess.

These playground updates are part of a multi-year plan of enhancements to our outdoor areas for learning, exploration, and discovery. We set out to create environments that encourage free and imaginative play, physical activity, and team building. We wanted to make the best use of our open spaces and opportunities for students to take in the fresh air and connect with nature throughout the day. 

This project would not have been possible without the generous support of our community of donors. We extend immense gratitude to all those who contributed with generosity to the Mack Fund and playground project. Thank you for helping to bring these plans to life for our students! 

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Eric Crotty, our playground designer, whose creativity and dedication brought this project to life. Eric’s thoughtful design beautifully integrates natural elements into our play space, creating an environment that encourages adventure, learning, and connection with nature. We also appreciate our construction partners at JPL Cares for their work in installing our new playground features. This truly was a community project from start to finish!

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Greenhouse Grant Awarded

Mackintosh Academy recently received a $3000 grant from the Colorado Garden Foundation to be used for improvements to our greenhouse. We incorporate the use of our greenhouse throughout our Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade curriculum. Our greenhouse provides the opportunity for our students to gain hands-on experience in studying and implementing crop production, comparing soil and hydroponic techniques, and developing entrepreneurial techniques to market their homegrown produce.

Mackintosh students assist in planning, maintaining, monitoring, and harvesting crops which they sell to our parent community. Nutrition education is also part of our curriculum and included in the program. Kids get to taste test various foods in our garden and share their thoughts.

Our Green Team sells food from our garden each week when there is a harvest. The money raised is used to support the garden program. This is an excellent opportunity for our students to grow in their leadership skills. They work hard to harvest, sort, and package the food for the greens sale. They also promote it with students, teachers, and parents. On occasion, some food is donated to teachers as a gesture of appreciation. There are also occasions when the funds from the food sales are donated to a worthy charitable cause.

We are grateful to the Colorado Garden Foundation for their support of our program. The Colorado Garden Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to furthering the horticultural industry and is the producer of the Colorado Garden & Home Show. They have supported our program in past years, and we are thankful for their continued support.

Mackintosh Academy’s sustainability initiatives, including the greenhouse, are part of our International Baccalaureate curriculum which encourages students to take part in hands-on activities that benefit the environment. Our school has won multiple local, state, and national awards and honors for our “green” initiatives.

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Mackintosh Academy would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to FirstBank for being a Silver Sponsor at our Mack Event. We appreciate their loyal support and value our long-term partnership. Most recently, FirstBank has sponsored our Mack Event since at least 2017; this year, they increased their sponsorship to become a Silver Sponsor.

Our partnership with FirstBank goes beyond financial support; they have become a trusted advisor when it comes to financial services. As our banker, FirstBank consistently goes above and beyond, both in customer service and in their broader support. In the past, Andy Hancock, Retired Regional President of FirstBank South Metro Denver and Colorado Springs, served on the Mackintosh Board of Trustees. In recent years, Zachary McFarland, Vice President at First Bank Littleton-Market, has been our trusted advisor. Zach shepherded us through the loan process for our campus expansion and continues to offer invaluable advice on other matters. We know exactly who to call when we have a financial question. Zach is always there on the other end of the line with a friendly and helpful voice. Last summer, as we approached the first day of school, Zach delivered cloth face masks with the Mackintosh logo on them for our teachers – an unexpected and greatly appreciated gift!

Head of School Diane Dunne shared, “Zach is more than a banker. He is a friend of Mack’s, offering advice and celebrating our accomplishments. And he has been an avid and fun supporter during our in-person auctions.”

We can’t wait to host our Mack Event in person in the future but for now, we’re so thankful that FirstBank continues to be a sponsor for our Virtual Mack Event. Thank you, FirstBank and thank you, Zach McFarland! We value your friendship and partnership at Mack.

Reaching beyond our Littleton campus, FirstBank’s support is a cornerstone of philanthropy in Colorado. FirstBank helped launch and continues to be the main partner of Colorado Gives Day through the Community First Foundation. To date, over $217 million has been raised for nonprofits in Colorado through Colorado Gives Day. As you know, Colorado Gives Day has been an important day for our Annual Fund and ONE Campaign at Mack. Each December, our Mack community celebrates this day of giving along with their fellow Coloradans and FirstBank. We are grateful to FirstBank for enriching our Colorado community and leading by example when it comes to giving back!

FirstBank CEO Jim Reuter emphasizes the company’s belief in the importance of community. On their website, he says, “Giving back to the community means more to us than just writing checks. It’s dedicating our time and energy, volunteering and serving on boards and committees to help charitable causes — from the Autism Society to YMCA — make a deep and meaningful impact. We have a responsibility to support these organizations, while helping communities thrive. This is what FirstBank stands for.”

We are grateful to be one of the many local communities that FirstBank is helping to thrive.

About FirstBank
FirstBank started from humble beginnings in 1963, and has since grown to be one of the largest privately held banks in the nation with over $19 billion in assets and over 100 locations throughout Colorado, Arizona, and California. Learn more at https://www.efirstbank.com/about-firstbank/about.htm

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By Lillian Henricks, PsyD.

At the recent Colorado Association of Gifted and Talented conference Drs. Amy Graefe and Jenny Ritchotte from UNC spoke on how families can contribute to the resilience of their gifted children. This resonates deeply with an understanding of resilience as a strength that develops and is sustained in relationships rather than in isolation. It is encouraging that supporting children to access their own resources and strengthening our relationship with our children can work in tandem.  

Teaching resilience within the context of relationships emerges in What Parents Need to Know About Children, by Stan Ferguson. He highlights how affirming but non-evaluative presence and attention respects and elicits a child’s inborn self-agency. What children really need is “to be simply noticed, appreciated for who they are right now.”  Our attention communicates to them their worth and value; their perception of our delight, interest and enjoyment bolsters their sense of self.   

Practically speaking this means taking time to just notice what your child is doing. Ferguson describes a twelve year old boy, reluctant to talk, who is playing video games.  After some time of quietly observing nearby, Ferguson began commenting on the boy’s strategy.  Ferguson did not praise, criticize, question or give advice; he did note moves, developments, challenges, efforts and outcomes. The boy eventually started to open up and interact with Ferguson.  

Deliberately refraining from praise, criticism, or questions can also enhance how we listen to our children. We cannot enact this all the time, of course, but we can sometimes be more intentional about observing and commenting on our children’s experiences as they unfold. This unobtrusive focus can help deepen and extend the child’s experience, whereas telling the child that something is good or bad can truncate that experience.  Alternatively, we can unwittingly shape a child’s experience if the child changes courses to please us based on our positive or negative reinforcement.

Another opportunity to refrain at times is when a child asks for help in doing something that he or she could conceivably do independently with practice, effort or perseverance. Ferguson describes how hard it was for him to do this the first time with his own daughter. She was trying to get a plastic dart gun to work. Painfully, Ferguson did not show her how to work it, but rather “puzzled” with her, wondering aloud how it works. Over time he was able to rejoice with her after she figured it out all by herself.  

It’s a balancing act to know when to intervene with our children and when to let things develop naturally with the support of our presence and non-evaluative attention.  We certainly don’t want to increase unhealthy frustration.  However, we can persevere in trying to strike a healthy balance, knowing that we and our children are both growing through the process.

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By Lillian Henricks, PsyD.

When Covid-19 started we questioned what we can do to stay healthy, trying to focus on what is in our control rather than what is not. Now, amidst unrest and political polarities we can ask ourselves a similar question — what is within my capacity facing these circumstances? How can I respond and in so doing teach my children to do so? Can I indeed respond and not react?  

Often our own thoughts are not even in our control. This is why cognitive therapy is so prominent. And although our words and behavior are more under our control, these often depend on our level of understanding and our capacity of will to make choices freely, both of which are vulnerable to weakness. Lest we give up hope, however, seeking to know things more clearly and to choose more freely is a lifelong journey. 

What might this process of seeking and choosing look like in these times? We could step back from the rhetoric and focus on our common humanity, modeling this to our children. We can try to refrain from blame or stereotype, even when there are easy targets. We could take into consideration that every person is formed by heritable factors and environmental circumstances, many outside of the individual’s control. With this said, there are reasons why that person experiences and views the world so differently than I do – physical, psychological, cultural, and spiritual reasons, among others.

Can we aim to embrace that person, so utterly different than ourselves, resisting the temptation to vilify them when this is what is preeminent and such vilification sells news? Can we strive to have mercy and compassion, hoping that if these persons are genuinely harming themselves and others that they can be free of this behavior? Can we love and forgive them, remembering that doing so in no way agrees with or permits illicit behavior?

Such a tall order! As I sip Sleepytime tea from my Mackintosh mug so generously provided by the Parent Council, I am reminded how at Mackintosh we strive to develop Keen Minds, Compassionate Hearts and Global Action within our students. May we follow your lead as primary educators in this regard. What beautiful children you have!  As we find our way together through these circumstances may we remember that it is in our capacity to seek understanding and to choose love, despite the pull to the contrary and despite our own inadequacies. In this endeavor may we enhance our children’s beauty as they learn from us to do the same.

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By Sam Pausback, Mackintosh Academy Class of 2017

(Note: Sam and all of the other students mentioned are Mackintosh Academy alums from 2017-2020.)

When I was in 7th grade I had a rather silly ambition; I wanted to hike from the front door of my house in Littleton to the front door of my grandparents’ house in Snowmass. For a good many years this remained more or less an idle dream that I’d bring up every once in a while but never act on. That is until this summer.

I texted my dear friend Quinn, and together we began to plan. Over the course of two weeks we scraped together the outline of a backpacking trip, we planned meals, determined our route, and coordinated with friends to join up with us along the way. After two weeks of preparation, we were prepared, we took up our packs, and set off for the great unknown. To put it simply, we had no clue what we were getting ourselves into.

The first few days proved far more challenging than we’d originally anticipated. As we hiked up Waterton Canyon, we bumped into a group of several other hikers. It was lucky we did, it turned out that Bear Creek, the one reliable water source for the next 12 miles, was bone dry. We loaded up on water, bracing ourselves for a dry couple days. With nearly 10 pounds of water weight each we staggered off. At Bear Creek we got a tip off from a random guy on a bike that we could access water after a ten minute hike. The next day we passed the South Platte; it was a truly brutal day. The sun was hot, we were passing through a burn scar, and we each had to take 10 pounds of water again. From there the going got easier, we entered Lost Park and water became much more plentiful. The distance began to fall away as our bodies grew stronger, we slowly got our trail legs beneath us.

In no time at all, we were hiking down the switchbacks that lead into Breckenridge. It was the first hard day since the South Platte, Quinn and I were tired and it’d been a hot long day. It was also the day Gillian was planning to join us. After she joined us, we hiked another three miles into camp. This, it turns out, was lucky, as the next day we were set to go over a pass and it would’ve been an incredibly difficult day at its original 13 miles. The next day we were up bright and early to hike Walker Pass and camped that night in the Copper Ski Resort. Two days and 20 miles later we arrived at Tennessee Pass. Gillian left us and Henry and Ember joined our crew of merry folks. We had entered our final day on the Colorado Trail. It was on the shores of Turquoise Lake (more of a navy in my opinion) that we were set to make our first fateful steps into the unknown away from the well marked Colorado Trail. At least that was the plan.

Our next move was to follow a winter trail up to Skinner’s Hut. The one problem, we couldn’t find it. We had traveled nearly 10 miles that day and we were all exhausted, so we decided to make camp for the night. That’s when we encountered our second “spot o bother.” Turns out, teenagers eat a lot. Seated there, our plans already awry, Quinn and I realized we didn’t have enough food. After some frantic attempts to contact my parents, a brief hitchhiking trip, and a lot of discussion, we finally got an emergency restock planned. The challenges did not end from there, but we trail hopped our way through the backcountry of Aspen.

Several times we didn’t have a trail and had to bushwack our way, relying on instinct as much as map and GPS to guide us. It was in this way that we finally entered Lenado, Colorado  (a town of approximately 5 people), a band of tired wayfarers. In Lenado we were met with hospitality and kindness, meeting unexpectedly with a few old family acquaintances. The next day we were in Aspen, eating in our first restaurant after nearly 20 days on the trail. We camped on the Buttermilk Ski Aria (semi-legally), and in the dead of night Ember saw our first bear of the trip! After many hard days of travel, our goal was in sight. Hemmed in with flames, our schedule had to be moved up a little. It was that afternoon that we finally entered Snowmass Valley, re-tracing familiar ground. And finally, with tired eyes, we saw our goal. The finally few steps simply flew by as we walked up the driveway to my grandparents house.

Sitting in the car on the drive home, I reflected back on what we’d done. This had been a trip I had been dreaming about for nearly four years, and I had just finished it. Now, after nearly 20 days of continual walking, we finally had a chance to sit and reflect. All of us sat there in our separate worlds. I can’t speak for my companions, but I found myself dwelling on the first day of the trip, the excitement I had felt, as well as the uncertainty. We had all grown so much from that first day, both in strength and character, and even as I began to drift off, I smiled a little to myself content in what we had accomplished.

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By Lillian Henricks, PsyD.

As we re-group for another year of learning together, I want to introduce you to a tool that some teachers are using with classes for Social Emotional Learning this year. The tool is a story-writing process called The Imagine Project in which students can write Imagine Stories.  Using this very simple framework, students write personal stories about a life challenge, starting each sentence with the word Imagine. The process alternates between celebrating strengths and positives, on the one hand, with processing a difficulty, on the other, ending on a very positive and future-oriented note.  The framework is quite flexible and can be applied in any number of ways. Mack Art Teacher Christy Allen found a way to incorporate it into some Visual Arts classes recently and found it really fruitful. 

Writing an Imagine Story is a reflective process that helps students reframe difficulties and grow in resilience. Children become familiar enough with the process to use it over and over again. There is no one story or a right story; rather, our lives are full of stories. Students also have the opportunity to read stories out loud if they wish. Research suggests  that sharing the stories in the classroom is a powerful way to increase understanding and empathy among students. 

Please check out the website theimagineproject.org for more information. Given the uncertainties and stressors of this unique time, we thought this would be a wonderful outlet for us to use as a community. You can also use this tool at home with your children. When children become familiar with the process, you can encourage them to write or tell an Imagine Story in relation to tricky circumstances; the opportunity to reflect and express is so healthy.  

As adults and parents this process is equally valuable.  How often do we give ourselves the gift of slowing down to integrate a difficult experience so as to move forward with more insight, peace, and hope? This process is not only a gift to ourselves but also to family members whom we impact in more ways than we know. 

With regard to supporting ourselves in ways that keep giving, feel free to also consider an upcoming parenting group that is being offered through Birch Psychology. The group, starting next week, is aimed at parents of children age 5-12. In addition to providing an opportunity to connect with other parents, psychologists will offer particular skills to help parents better address the ups and downs of parenting.  Please find more information on Parent Support Group (Elem Middle).    

In addition, we wanted to share an upcoming webinar presented by SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted). Heidi Molbak is a longtime SENG professional and national expert in advising families on school and therapeutic placements for gifted young people. Her webinar teaches you how to identify and evaluate key criteria when considering an out-of-home setting for your child, demystifies the process and the programs, and reviews resources to help make an appropriate decision. You can find more information here.

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Honoring our Students at Graduation

At Mackintosh Academy, our graduation ceremony traditionally involves the entire school. PreK students escort the eighth grade graduates into the building to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance.” All students from each class perform a tribute in honor of the graduates. Teachers write and present poems for each of the eighth graders. Selected student from each class are recognized for their accomplishments with International Baccalaureate Learner Profile awards. Parents from the entire school watch on as the eighth graders honor their parents with flowers. And of course, one graduating student is selected to give the farewell address. This student is known as our “Mackalaureate,” and is selected by faculty and peers not only for their grades, but also for embodying the values and attributes of a Mackintosh graduate, including open-minded, principled, caring, thinking, and resilience.

A Different Kind of Graduation

This year’s Mackalaureate speaker, Grace Muench, was not able to address the entire school during graduation as she normally would have. Our drive-in ceremony looked a little different this year in the face of the coronavirus, featuring masked graduates and a limited audience of parents looking on from their cars. A Mack “lifer,” Grace has attended our school for ten years, and although she did not have her moment on stage, we would like to share her words here. We hope you enjoy Grace’s wit and wisdom, and her reflections on what it means to be a Mackintosh graduate.

You can also watch the video here.

The Mackalaureate Speech

 “I hope you appreciate how challenging and scary these times are and you kept putting one foot in front of the other”- Joe Pausback  (Mack MYP Teacher)

I’ve gone to school here for 10 years but really I have been at Mackintosh since birth, yet I never really thought about what I would say to a group of my best friends if I got the chance to say goodbye to and for them. I really didn’t want to think about it because Mackintosh is a second home and my second family and well actually one member of my first family. Even though my class may be leaving, Mackintosh has given us the tools to leave with confidence and the tools to learn so much more about ourselves and the universe(s) around us. 

You don’t go to this school in agony of the drama you will endure that day, you go to school excited for the first laugh and the first smile. You’re in a community of teachers and friends who are able to spend real-time teaching and learning about what you do best and all the qualities that are good. They don’t point out your flaws but make you improve on them naturally. They teach you how to be a good friend. We may be leaving Mackintosh but we’ll never forget each other because we were each other’s rocks at some point. Working on math at school late, a teacher presenting your exhibition for you because you had a throat cold, or giving a gift to someone who had a bad day.

My community of best friends: 

Hazel-  a person who reads books when she wants and makes me an unstable unicorn

Henry- will spend hours putting up a 1000 little paper loops for someone to smile just to see them fall or even wants to move a 1000 pound rock just for the fun of learning how 

David- the friend I’ve gone to school with for the longest, someone who puts his shirt on backward but doesn’t mind it because he has a mission to complete in the Blender software 

Ember-Someone who I can count on knowing the answer and who can sing beautifully

Jacob- Someone who rolls with the punches but knows when to debate about what’s he knows and believes

A community of people who love the challenge of finding ways to fix the problem, or plain out spill green paint all over the problem and make sure that it gets cleaned up. This community has keen minds, compassionate hearts, and global thinkers. Mackintosh has given us a community where it’s ok to fail, grow, and change. We are taught to accept our own changes and the changes of others. We learned about ourselves to be able to go into the world knowing what we need to do for ourselves. What I think I learned most from these years that Mackintosh has given me is the ability to look at and solve a problem from multiple perspectives and to be able to communicate the solution efficiently. A solution like “oh why don’t we just do our play over a zoom call” is something I didn’t think was possible when we went into it. Mackintosh gave us the ability to use technology to have classes every day where we were able to actually absorb the information because, even in a world where you can’t physically be together in person, why can’t we still have the same experiences as we would in-person? Even when everything in these last months told us to stop, such as toilet paper being a form of currency and masks being a new fashion statement, we tested our odds and found ways to continue growing. Instead of giving up, we attended Zoom Academy, a place where even Shakespeare can flourish. Mackintosh gave us superpowers to soar even through a pixelated, glitchy screen. 

Thank you for our superpowers that we will continue to grow. Thank you to our teachers who have spent hours catching us up, planning, teaching, and grading our work. You’ve taught us what we need to go into our new chapter not only with school smarts but with street smarts. Thank you for keeping our days at school interesting and fun. Thank you to our parents who’ve also spent hours making sure we’re learning and growing and hours by our side at our desks when we don’t understand or we are just tired. Thank you for understanding it’s ok to make mistakes sometimes. The parents who know we don’t mean to bring anxiety or stress to anyone and deal with us with calmness and love. Thank you to my classmates who have worked so hard just to get to this one pillar in their life. Thank you for supporting each other and making each other laugh. Sometimes over the years you get tired of people you’re with every day yet I’ve been with most of you every day for 10 years and I haven’t gotten tired of you all and I wish we had more time to make more memories. 

And as I started with a quote I will end with one: “As long as you are trying to figure out you, y’all will be ok” -Mallory Remy (Mack MYP Teacher).

 

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Our Visual Arts Teacher, Christy Allen, shared her thoughts on art – why we do it, what is is, and how we might consider practicing art even in these challenging times. Here is the second in the series, with some of Christy’s insights on how to silence the inner critic and get started creating! She also shares some art exercises you can use to get started.

Don’t Invite the Judges!

When it comes to artistic creation, many cannot begin without sending out an invite to the judges.  Those judges may be perceived to be outside of oneself, classmates, other people in the room, etc., or they might be those internalized judges so familiar to us. In any-case, they are never too busy to pop in with some authoritative declaration, almost always a downer! I hear time and time again, “I’m no artist!” or “I can hardly draw a stick figure”. First of all I question why the stick figure is the low end of the skill scale? Did no one inform Keith Haring of this? 

For many young adults (and adults)  the space between beginning, and delivering a masterwork feels sort of embarrassing, and the question of quality is viewed in black and white. Of course, self reflection in any endeavor is a good practice however, I would argue, asking ourselves “Is it good or is it bad?” is an irrelevant starting point (especially if we haven’t even begun), and perhaps is not a helpful question throughout. How can you possibly know if a work is interesting to you until you’ve met it and conversed for a time? 

Make Your Own Rules

Many artists that we now consider masters did not let the good/bad standards of the time stop them from following a line of inquiry. They were deep in conversation and invented the “words,” the rules, as they went. They pushed art forward by refusing to consider an external good/bad scale. Which is not to say they did not have one of their own, but most certainly, in the cases where they succeeded to produce innovative work, they did not shut themselves down before they had even begun.

As with any relationship beginning a creative endeavor, can be awkward at first, halting with long moments of silence. Especially so, if you enter feeling nervous or with high expectations. Many gifted students excel at high expectations and perfectionism.  The thing one imagines, is often different once it appears in the world outside of one’s mind. It has a life of its own so to speak, and if the goal is to hold it to one’s mental blueprint it will often disappoint. 

An idea is rarely born fully formed, it has to grow. We cannot know what something will be until it is. I believe artistic expression is the result of a back and forth between a person, their intellect, emotions, associations  and the life of the medium, the place, the world outside of themselves. For example, a random line one draws, might have the feeling of a wave, or something more abstract, like the feeling of the sound of a trumpet. Not all lines are alike. Unless one is willing to let go of the need to dominate over the conversation, the exchange can be one-sided and less fulfilling. 

Try A Guided Exercise

For gifted students I have found artistic exercises that set the student up to follow rather than lead helps the student focus on the process of creating rather than hyper focusing on what they wish the end result to be. The reason this is positive is that it allows the student to work for a time, keeping the judges at bay. They can blame the “limits” of the assignment for the results instead of knocking themselves. It seems less personal if they feel they themselves were not in charge. It also allows for space enough, to sit back and take in the results, judging them on their inherent qualities. For example, if the assignment is a blind contour drawing, which is a drawing in which the student is asked to look at something, say a pot of flowers, then asked to close their eyes and draw it from memory without picking up their pencil from the paper. There are two points in which the student is being asked to let go of control. When they close their eyes, and when they are restricted to keeping the pencil lead on the paper as they draw, without lifting it. These are things outside of themselves they can blame, if they don’t like the results. 

Often though, a surprising thing happens, often the results are interesting. This gives the lines themselves a chance to be heard. A line’s quality is not limited to its ability to impersonate something else, it has a life that perhaps can be associated with a feeling that reminds one of something. It truly has an energy all its own. Once that is discovered, one moves into a more balanced relationship with creating – one in which an individual makes a move and listens for a response, and so the engagement, or even joy, weighs heavier in the process and less heavy in the result. And so the practice of creating becomes a sentence with commas, that allow for pauses but a continuation, instead of periods that stop one in their tracks, and forces one to start over, and over again.  

Begin YOUR Conversation with Art

If this approach appeals to you, I have included a series of exercises you can try. Some of the exercises ask that you draw things, but the focus is on the looking and noticing as opposed to techniques. Learning technique is important, like learning different languages allows you more opportunity to communicate, however in my opinion it is simply a means to allow for further conversation, and so first the conversation must begin. 

Try These Exercises!

These were created as lessons for Mack art classes during our MackFLEX virtual learning

Nature Journal

Found Object Drawing

Curious about how our inquiry-based, cross-disciplinary approach that fully integrates the arts into our daily instruction? Learn more.

The post Art and the Pandemic: Getting Started! appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

That thought-provoking headline comes from our Visual Arts Teacher, Christy Allen, who shared her thoughts on art – why we do it, what is is, and how we might consider practicing art even in these challenging times. Here are her insights. Stay tuned for Part Two, with tips on silencing self-criticism, getting started, and ideas to explore.

Art Does Not Require a Classroom

Well, let’s begin with this. Art does not require a classroom, nor does it require any particular material. We might be fooled into thinking art is housed inside something other than ourselves. I suppose it is, in a way.  It is housed in our relationships, to the world outside of ourselves as well as inside of ourselves. Art does not, however, require any specific material, place, or technique. Perhaps, being stripped of these things, allow us a chance to discover this truth?

I think of art as a conversation, sometimes light and chatty, sometimes with a greater depth. This conversation, as I see it, is between an individual and their senses, emotions, and intellect. It’s between their desire to make conscious experience and to connect with other experiences, in order to more strongly feel their own. Simultaneously, and seemingly contradictory, it sometimes provides the sense of being outside of our individual self and connected to a greater whole. 

Art as Conversation

This conversation can be had in many, many ways — almost any way. It can be through movement, through sound, through sight. It does not need even to be documented or made physical, like a painting, sheet of music, a film, or a meal. However,  there does seem to be something primal in our desire to make art tangible, in our desire to share or somehow manifest our experience into a form separate from our own, an object of art.

It is wonderful to realize that wherever we sit now, as long as we have the ability to pay attention, art can be created. It is a living thing, an organic thing. However, despite the ever-present opportunity to create, it is not always easy. This kind of attention takes muscle and endurance. Even play takes energy! Art takes focus, concentration, perception and a desire to make experience conscious. And, yes, it takes courage.

Silencing the Critical Voices

It is in fact difficult, especially as we grow older, to keep the conversation going without being distracted by the rude interruptions from critical “outside” voices – voices that say things like, “A GOOD drawing is a drawing that physically resembles the thing you are observing.” That, I would respond, is mastering the technique of illusion which can be used, but should not be confused with what makes something “good.”  Technique can be helpful and give us choices but, as anyone who has spent time around a young child knows, profoundly beautiful and perceptive thoughts can be communicated with a few simple words. 

Poetry in Art

We can be wowed by a technique like, for example, photorealism, but even the most photorealistic works can be devoid of poetry – or they can contain poetry. I once heard a poet describe poetry as the action of banging two words together, like stones: the poetry is in the space between…the energy, the vibrations. The poetry is in the authenticity of the engagement and the realness of the conversation, that give life to the work.  As an individual, this is the energy I am seeking when engaged in creating. As a teacher, I hope to help my students in discovering this energy.

Relief from Distraction

This time during which we are restricted to home has to a certain degree, relieved us from distraction. Perhaps right now the creative experience can be condensed down to the basics. These basics include: the moment; our thoughts, feelings, and sensations; the specific space we occupy, our desire to engage; and whatever may be at hand to document that engagement. We could use  a piece of paper and a pencil, a leaf and a twig, water, a brush, and the sidewalk. There are endless tools.

We, all of us, parents and children alike, have all the ingredients we need at hand. Shall we enter the conversation with art and see where it takes us?

Stay tuned for Christy’s second article, here on this blog!

Curious about how our inquiry-based, cross-disciplinary approach that fully integrates the arts into our daily instruction? Learn more.

The post Art and the Pandemic: What’s the Up Side? appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.