"Out of Order", Wayside Elementary, and More

Howdy all,

Much is going on in my world at the moment. I'll start by talking about things that are upcoming, and then move on to the events of the recent past.

This friday, April 3rd, I will be participating in the annual "Out of Order" benefit art auction at the Maryland Art Place (MAP) in Baltimore. If you have never been to this event, I highly reccomend going. It's a great way to see a wide variety of fabulous art, and potentially buy something, often at great price. Plus, they have an open bar, which is always a bonus in my book. Here's how it works: Each particpating artist is permitted to bring ONE piece of art which they get to hang anywhere they choose in the gallery on a first come - first serve basis. This is done durring a 24 hour period starting on wednesday morning at 9:00. The artist gets to set the price for the starting bid for their work. On the night of the auction, a bid sheet is posted next to each piece of art. Attendees then begin posting their bids for any works that they are interested in purchasing. Each new bid must be at LEAST $10.00 higher than the previous bidder. At the end of the night the highest bidder gets to go home with their art. 50% of the proceeds go to benefit MAP, and the other half goes to the artist. Anything that hasn't been bid on is returned to the artist. In order to attend, you do have to shell out $40.00 to become a MAP member (payable at the door), but I think it is well worth it. I have been a participating artist in "Out of Order" for the past four years, and have had great success. The trick is bringing the right piece of art, and setting a fair starting bid. Too many artists set a staring bid that is unreasonably high for what the work is. Some others bring large, high priced works that ARE worth every penny that they are asking for, but unfortunately most of the attendees are not willing to spend quite that much. Either way, most of the works that fit in those two categories don't get bid on. I feel that those artists are not doing MAP or themselves any favors, and their art is taking up valuable real estate which could be containing works whose sale would help the gallery. Did I mention that MAP is a non-profit gallery whose mission is to promote the work of local Maryland artists and curators? Anyway, I hope to see you there: having fun, buying art, and benefiting a worthy organization! Visit the Maryland Art Place website at mdartplace.org for more information.

Another upcoming event that I am excited about is Artomatic. This years event will be located at Half Street's 55 M Street, S.E. - blocks from Nationals Park - atop the Navy Yard metro in D.C.'s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. It will run from the 29th of May through the 5th of July. Visit the Artomatic website at artomatic.org for more information. An Artomatic preview will be the topic of my next blog.

Now it is time to talk about the happenings in my recent past. I have recently completed an Artist in Residence program at Wayside Elementary School in Potomac, Maryland. The artist residency program is sponsored by the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC). The school found me using the Maryland Artists Registry which is a service of the MSAC and administrated by the good people at MAP. Wayside Elementary participates in the residency program every year, and each year the resident artist works with the 4th grade classes. For those of you that are unfamiliar with my work, I make mobile sculptures that are similar in many ways to the work of Alexander Calder. The focus of my program was to introduce the students to Calder's life and work, and to teach them how to make mobile sculptures. We began with a field trip to the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. to see their permanant Calder exhibit. The kids were very enthsiastic, attentive, and were genuinely inspired. Particularly by the giant mobile which hangs in the museum's central atrium. The only challenge was getting them to keep their hands to themselves. They all wanted to touch the artworks. The museum doesn't like that. Needless to say, the guards kept a close eye on us, and the alarms that beep when you get too close to the art were beeping with great regularity.

I then spent three class periods with each of the four 4th grade classes teaching them how to make mobile sculptures. At the end of these classes, each student had made their own small mobile which they could take home. These mobiles were made using craft foam sheets and wire. I am immensely impressed at how well most of these mobiles turned out. Much better than I was expecting, honestly. The skills involved in making a mobile are not easy, especially the bending and joining of the wires, let alone the balancing of the different elements. It was a difficult challenge for most of them, but their enthusiasm was tremendous and they proved up for the task. I have to say that 4th graders are the youngest I would want to work with for this type of program. Any younger and I don't think that they would have the physical coordination to master the skills. I was also fortunate to have the help of many parent voulenteers. this made it possible to give the kids a great deal of one-on-one help if they were having difficulties. Of course most of the parents had never made mobiles before either, so they were learning right along with their kids. Still, their assistance was invaluable, and I can't thank them enough for donating their time.

I also spent one class period with each of the classes where the assisted me in making a large mobile which will hang in the school. The mascot for Wayside Elementary is a dolphin, so I created a design for a mobile where the shapes of each element of the mobile combine to form the shape of a dolphin. The children with my guidance did the work of enlarging the pattern, and cutting out the different shapes. These shapes are made of corrugated plastic, which is a material which is constructed like cardboard but made out of plastic. I did the final assembly of the mobile as it required tools which would not be appropriate for children to operate. I currently have the completed dolphin mobile hanging in my basement. It is nearly life size. I can't wait to see it hanging in the school.

The craft foam sheets and corrugated plastic are materials which I have not used in my sculpture before I started this program. Both of these materials turned out to be excelent for the purpose, and are inspiring new and future works. I have already started making a series of small mobiles using the foam. The foam is inexpensive, the work goes very quickly, and this will allow me to sell them at a bargain price. The corrugated plastic allows me to make large works that are still very light in weight. I am very excited about the possibilities provided by both of these materials.

Until next time,
Andrew Cronan

Coming Soon to a Blogspot Near YOU

Hello All,

In the coming weeks I will be using this space to share my thoughts on all things art-related, life-related, or whatever is on my mind. By sharing these thoughts, I hope to gain more insight to my inspirations and motivations, as well as my frustrations and setbacks. The goal is to keep growing, learning, and improving.

There's a lot going on and coming up, so there will be plenty to write about. I'm teaching fourth graders how to make mobiles. Artomatic is coming up. Sara and I will be moving shortly. The adventure goes on and on.

I hope you'll be along for the ride.

Andrew