Amherst Writers and Artists

Amherst Writers and Artists is a resource for those looking for a method of leading writing workshops. They provide training all over the country.  http://www.amherstwriters.com/

From their website:
*****

The Amherst Writers & Artists' philosophy is a simple one: every person is a writer, and every writer deserves a safe environment in which to experiment, learn, and develop craft. The AWA method, which is fully described in founder Pat Schneider's book Writing Alone and With Others (Oxford University Press, 2003, and available at www.patschneider.com), provides just such an environment.

Peter Elbow, author of Writing Without Teachers, brought the writing process movement into classrooms across the U.S. In his the introduction to Writing Alone and With Others, he called Pat Schneider “the best teacher of writing I know.” The practices outlined in the book have proven effective in graduate school classrooms and in work with the homeless, in children’s schoolrooms, with nursing students, in bereavement groups and in living rooms among friends.

Unique to the AWA method, at the time of the publication of the book, are these two revolutionary practices:
-Everything in the writing workshop is treated as fiction, to minimize the personal vulnerability of the writer, and
-The teacher or leader writes with the students or participants, and reads aloud along with the other writers.

These practices, along with keeping all writing confidential, responding to just-written work with encouragement rather than negative critique, create an environment that is non-hierarchical, honest, and safe. Accomplished and beginning writers learn from one another in a generous atmosphere of both critical craft and personal respect for the value of every voice.

*****


Elizabeth Perlmans "Recommended Reading" list.

Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin
Women Writing for (a) Change by Mary Pierce Brosmer
Writing As A Way of Healing by Louise DeSalvo
Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Bird By Bird by Anne Lamontt
Story by Robert McKee
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock
Write from the Heart by Leslea Newman
The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We By, by Carol S. Pearson
Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions by Dr. James W. Pennebaker
Writing to Change the World by Mary Piper
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler

Elizabeth Perlman is a writer, designer, and storyteller, committed to the creative process as a catalyst for positive change. As group leader in the AWA (Amherst Writers & Artists) writing method, she has recently launched The Intuitive Writing Project, a Bay Area non-profit that facilitates creative writing workshops to empower teenage girls. You can learn more at www.intuitivewritingproject.org

Tribes Learning Communities in an Art class

 I was introduced to Tribes Learning Communities as a student teacher. My first year teaching I implemented a modified version in my art classroom. I bought the book on learning communities and pulled info from there and made my own modification. It is a good resource and has a listing of activities for all ages and subjects.

Visit tribes.com for more detailed information. From the website:

                                                                             ***

                                                 How It Works

Tribes is a step-by-step process to achieve specific learning goals. Four agreements are honored:

attentive listening

appreciation/no put downs

mutual respect, and

the right to pass

Students learn a set of collaborative skills so they can work well together in long-term groups (tribes). The focus is on how to:

help each other work on tasks

set goals and solve problems

monitor and assess progress

celebrate achievements.

The learning of academic material and self-responsible behavior is assured because teachers utilize methods based upon brain-compatible learning, multiple intelligences, cooperative learning and social development research. The teachers and administrators in a Tribes school or district also work together in supportive groups. They too enjoy the participatory democratic process and creative collegiality.

***

In my art room I started off the class placing students into their tribes which I named based on a color. Each tribe name was unique to those students, the included names like Alizarin, Malachite, Celadon and each had its specific color. I used the names to teach students where colors used in paint originally came from. I began the class with color theory in the Introduction to Creative Art class so this wove into the curriculum smoothly.

In the beginning I discussed with them what it meant to be in a tribe and went over the guidelines. These were modified for my class. I used tribes to manage the classroom and organize taking out supplies and cleaning up. I encouraged them to work as a team, but also assigned them roles based on where they sit at the table by letters A,B,C, or D.

Throughout the semester I included their tribe color whenever possible. I had them make a logo of their tribe name.

Had them do warm up activities like creating a mandala out of paper with their tribe color, or doing body exercises like having them make a group sculpture that was symmetrical or asymmetrical or expressed an emotion. I had them mix paint and create tints tones and shades of their tribe color. These were then cut out into shapes, strung together and hung on a class mobile to decorate the room.

Alizarin tribe with paper mandala

Student artwork display for open house with tribe colors

Tribe logos

Open house display

At first I was worried that my teenage ninth graders would not buy into it. But I think overall there was acceptance of the system and they liked it. My IEP students especially enjoyed it.

A couple of tips I would recommend:
-Allow students to choose who is in their tribe and move students around if necessary.

-It helped to give a project in the middle of the semester to give them a break from their tribe. I had them do a group paper maché project with a new group of five.

-Change the roles of tribe members and make sure they complete their assigned duties.

-Include whole class activities as well. They all got together during lectures or meditation or visualization activities.

paper group mandala

Luckily this story has a happy ending- Cadmium Tribe

Touch Drawing with Deborah Koff-Chapin

Deer-Sun, Sonia Garcia 2013

This weekend I had the pleasure of participating in an invigorating and introspective transformative art experience with Deborah Koff-Chapin in the Touch Drawing class at JFKU.

At first I thought it would be just a clever spin on a studio technique but I was pleasantly proven wrong.
The weekend showed me a simple but effective way to channel my inner psyche directly onto paper.
By flowing through tons of drawings, and with the structure and authentic support of the instructor, I created a series of work that can be reflected upon or used to inform later work.

I highly recommend Deborahs classes to anyone willing to open their eyes to their soul or those who want to use Touch Drawing with students. Deborah is amazing because she is so open to offering Touch Drawing to enrich others lives and offers support to those who seek it.

I imagine her retreats which tuck people away in nature must be profoundly rewarding. The next retreat one is at Esalen in Big Sur March 8-10. It is the only public weekend scheduled in CA for at least a whole year. Find out more here: <http://www.esalen.org/workshop/11673


Please visit The Center for Touch Drawing http://www.touchdrawing.com for more resources.