Masterpiece Performance and Gallery Show

I have had the privilege of teaching art at Masterpiece Studios for the last five years.  My girls dance at the studio and all of my children take art classes.  My kids have grown up at the studio.  Sicily started dancing there when she was just two, Analiese was four, and Chris was seven.  Masterpiece is our home away from home.  My co-workers (there are only three of us)  and their children have become a part of my extended family.  I'm incredibly blessed to love my job.

As much as I love teaching year round, my favorite part of the year is our Performance and Gallery Show.  It truly gets better every year.  I love the creative energy of preparing for it.  I love the adrenaline of the last week.  And I love that moment when I'm near tears backstage watching my students, who I'm so proud of.  It's the culmination of a year's worth of hard work.  We all pour ourselves into this show.  Not only is it rewarding for me, it's also an incredible experience for my children.  They get to see the complete process of putting on a show.  They help with sets and props.  They rehearse for hours.  They help backstage.  They have their own dressing room for their many costume changes.  They help with set up and tear down.  They see the sweat and tears and laughter and joy of it all.  Not many kids can say they've been a part of the whole process.  I'm not going to lie.  There are days when we are all exhausted and never want to go back and I wonder why I do this.  Being a part of the arts is hard and tiring (and penniless).  But the payoff comes every time.  It's that moment after it's all over when a student walks up to you and gives you a hug and you can see the pride in their parent's eyes.  You were a part of that child's moment.  It's worth it every time.

This year our theme was Kicking It Old School.  We took a tour through the decades.  It was so much fun!  In fact, it was hard to limit ourselves.  There's so much we wanted to represent.  I feel like we hit the highlights though and ended up with some very fun pieces.  This show stretched me technically.  Chris put together 30 second videos for each decade.  I learned that my computer skills aren't as advanced as I'd like to think they are.  Formatting a video montage may be outside of my skill set.  But we all learned something. (And that's a good thing, right?)  This show also had more sets and props than we've ever had in a show.  It made backstage a bit of a mad house as my stage hands and I ran from one side of the stage to the other.  My feet have never hurt so bad after a show!  This was also the most performance art we've had in the show.  It made it a creatively challenging show for me and my art students.  All in all, it was a great show.  Despite many hiccups in rehearsal, the show itself went smoothly.  It was fun and I think the audience loved it because they knew all of the songs.  Most importantly,  I think the students had fun.  Everyone was wonderful.

representing the 1940s :  USO girls dancing to Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrews Sisters

This is my favorite recital costume that my girls have ever worn.  So cute!

representing the 1940s:  My USO girl saluted the audience and then bowed her head in tears at the memory of her fallen friends and the horrors of WWII

As the music starts (Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson)  the artist begin building her wings

This moment got me right in the heart.  He gently takes her hand and leads her  

She is a live sculpture representing hope and love

representing the 1950s:  The dancers showed the lighter side of the 50s so I felt that artists should show the edgier side. The boys represented Abstract Expressionist, Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.  Analiese is representing the Beat generation by reciting a poem about the deeper meaning of abstract art.  I'm seriously so proud of this girl!

representing the 1960s civil rights movement:  the female artists demonstrated and sit in and protest for civil rights.  On one side of their signs was negative qualities sometimes given to girls.  Instead of accepting those labels, they rose in protest to proclaim the positive attributes they have to offer.  All to the tune of Aretha Franklin's Respect!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

representing the 1960s:  What the World Needs Now Is Love

these embroidered costumed fit the period so well.  And they were so pretty as the girls flitted around hippy style

Our finale represented today.  Performed to Hall of Fame by the Script and Will.i.am
Our beautiful pointe ballerinas danced around the back alley set as the boys graffitied our studio motto.
Dream *Create* Inspire

these photos were taken during rehearsal.  So you have to picture it without the practice paper up.  It looked really cool

It was a wonderful juxtaposition between what's seen as beautiful and what's seen as gritty.  It also spoke to the struggles of being an artist of any kind.  The determination and strength, the risk and inspiration.  It was really beautiful.

Gallery Show

I had some amazing artists this year.  I'm really proud of all of them

My older students focused on concept and individual style.  Their work reflected it.  They presented real gallery quality work this year.  I'm really proud of them.

I'm especially proud of this kid.  In a few weeks you will be able to see this piece hanging over my couch.  I think it's awesome

We did a unit on Andean Textiles and Installations.  This is part of that unit.  I really like the way this turned out.  The two to the right are my girls.  These will also be hanging in my house soon.

This was my favorite show to help produce and display.  I poured my heart into it.  I know that my children poured their heart into it.  This will be one of those things that sticks with us all forever.