About my Fund For Teachers fellowship

I am so grateful to teach my favorite subject of art to hundreds of elementary students each year! Art education is my passion, and research has shown that art classes develop students' creativity, critical thinking skills, and their understanding about the world. Art also relates naturally to many other subject areas like Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
I believe every child deserves a quality art education from teachers who continue to model lifelong learning. Thanks to a Fund For Teachers grant, I was able to travel to France in June of 2015 to see amazing art and antiquities and research art and architecture in the best possible way! While on my visit, I captured whatever I could with 3D scans, photos, 360º panoramas, photographs, and videos. Bringing back this technology will enable me to further integrate STEM into the art curriculum (STEAM- add Art to STEM) and will support unique learning experiences for my students!

Thank you, Fund For Teachers, for aiding these endeavors!

Day 14 / Return trip home and reflections on how to use my new knowledge in the classroom

I left very early this morning to catch the flight home. It was so early, in fact, that no one was driving on the roads, and the city of Paris was completely still. Although I was glad to be headed back to my 6 year old daughter who I thought about and missed immensely, I was also filled with a grateful heart and a thankful tummy as I downed the last few bites of pain au chocolate (a delicious chocolate croissant).

I speak the last bit of my broken French to the attendants in the airport. Once on the plane, I recline (ever so slightly), and do my best to relax for a long flight home as I ponder the possibilities ahead for my students. 

I will forever be grateful for the opportunity from Fund for Teachers to experience the art, architecture and antiquities of Paris and the Loire Valley firsthand. This experience was much more beneficial than any professional development that I could have imagined. There was so much to glean from the trip itself and the museums in Paris. The possibility of how I can adapt this information and experience to my classroom practice are endless! My students can learn about French architecture, create impressionist paintings like Monet, make a still life like Cézanne and Renoir, make Picasso-inspired pieces, create castles like those of the Loire Valley and Guédleon, and so much more. The most exciting part is that during our studies of French architecture and art, I can show my students my 360º panoramas, allow them to interact with the 3D captures on the ipad, and show videos and photographs that capture the essence of the locations and close-up details of paintings and brushstrokes by the masters. This can be done via the ipad and Smartboard.

Day 13 / Guédelon Castle and then back to Paris, France.

Today, I needed to leave Amboise and travel back to Paris by car in order to make it back to Paris for tomorrow's journey home. Along the way, visited the Guédelon Castle, which was difficult to find but well worth the trouble. The people who worked there were very friendly and helpful!

Small model of the Guédlon castle

Guédelon offers a unique opportunity to see all the phases of a castle's construction as it was done in the 13th century! Fifty people have teamed up to build a castle using the same techniques and materials that were used during the Middle Ages. They function as quarrymen, stonemasons, woodcutters, carpenters, blacksmiths, tile makers, basket makers, rope makers and other titles in order to make every aspect of the building process authentic.  Visitors can watch these processes as they tour the castle.

This castle began in 1997 and is scheduled to take 25 years to complete.


In case you are interested, here is a link to the Guedelon Castle, which also includes information for teachers.
http://www.guedelon.fr/en/the-guedelon-adventure/an-introduction_01_01.html

Day 12 / Chateau Chenonceau and Château de Chaumont

Today, I visited the Chateau Chenonceau, which spans the River Cher and is one of the most well-known châteaux of the Loire valley.

After Chateau Chenonceau, I visited the Château de Chaumont, which was founded in the 10th century by Odo I, Count of Blois.

Inside, the installation art of Gabriel Orozco was a nice surprise. He is an artist who draws inspiration from the surroundings from which he works. He does not have a working studio, but instead, goes to a variety of places to create installations.

Day 11 / Travel out of Paris to Tours, France, and a visit to da Vinci's Chateau and Amboise Castle!

Today I left Paris and took a train to Tours. From Tours, I rented a car and drove to Amboise. The countryside was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. Every little town is different. Some have castles and some do not, but each is beautifully charming in their own unique ways.

Surprisingly, much of the French countryside looks a lot like Alabama!

I am really looking forward to seeing the castles of the Loire valley and working on some ideas for exciting architecture and castle units with my students upon my return to the States.

Tonight, after hours of sitting in a train and brushing up on French road signs in my travel book, I explored the town of Amboise.

 

Leonardo da Vinci lived for a short time in a chateau in Amboise, so I had to check out his home!

This museum was filled with models of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions. 

I also went to the Amboise Castle!  

There was a little bit of rain while I was there, which led to some cloud cover and a high-drama sky in this photo of the Amboise Castle.

It was so nice to finish off the day looking at a beautiful sunset over the Loire river!

Day 10 / The Orangerie Museum

It was refreshing to visit The Musée de l'Orangerie, an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, after the Louvre visit yesterday. The Orangerie Museum is located in the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde.
It was full of Monet's Water Lilies!

...and many other famous art, also. Here are some Amedo Modigliani pieces.

 ...and Cézanne pieces,

 

 ...and Picasso pieces,

 

...and Renoir, 

 

...and so many other famous artists and renowned pieces! It is most famous for 8 murals of water lilies by Claude Monet, known as the Nymphéas. These paintings were arranged on the ground floor of the Orangerie in 1927. These paintings, displayed in two oval rooms all along the walls, are under direct diffused light as was originally intended by Monet. When I walked into these rooms, I felt a peaceful feeling emanating from all of the relaxing blue and green colors within the paintings.

Day 8 / Picasso Museum and Rodin Museum

There are so many museums to visit in France! I chose to visit the Picasso Museum, since he is one of my all-time favorite artists, and his work really goes over well with my students.  They enjoy the bright colors and his abstract style.

I'm already thinking of a million ideas for how to use the information gleaned from this exhibit with my students in art class! Not only were there a great number of Picasso's pieces in this museum, but there were also many pieces by other famous artists.

These are the parts that fit into the torso of a piece by Rodin. I think my students will find his interesting.

A Rodin sculpture without the arm yet.

The Thinker by Rodin.

Rodin was a master at capturing expression within his figures.

The Rodin Museum was also a great experience. Outside of the museum, there is a beautiful garden filled with life-size and larger than life-size sculptures by Rodin. Another full day of art in the lovely Paris, France!