Posts Tagged 'Color My World'

Volunteer Spotlight: Go van Gogh-ing with Terei

With school back in session, we are so excited to jump into a brand new season full of Go van Gogh fun! And we’re very fortunate to have a group of extremely dedicated and talented volunteers who help make these programs possible. This month, we want to shine the volunteer spotlight on Terei Khoury, one of our fabulous Go van Gogh volunteers! Here is Terei in her own words:

How long have you been volunteering at the DMA?  I’ve been on-board volunteering at the DMA for Go van Gogh about a year and a half! I love working with children and tying-in art, creativity, imagination and joy is right up my alley! I’ve also started helping with the Meaningful Moments sessions. My father has fallen victim to Alzheimer’s disease, and helping in the Meaningful Moments program allows me to make a difference in another significant way.

Go van Gogh van

What do you enjoy most about volunteering with Go van Gogh?  It’s hard to say what is most delightful, maybe ALL of this:

  • The DMA staff and their ENTHUSIASM & CREATIVITY
  • The other volunteers and their COMMITMENT & CARE in offering a meaningful program in our schools and summer camps
  • The JOY and ENLIGHTENMENT we see on children’s faces (especially the special-needs children) as they listen, absorb and TAKE CREATIVE action!

What is your favorite Go van Gogh program and why?  Hands-down, it’s “Color My World,” followed closely by “Ordinary to Extraordinary.”

  • In Color My World, it is absolutely extraordinary to see our special needs children experience the hands-on work with clay, paint and tools… it’s just amazing to see the level of excitement and joy this program can bring to some of the children!
  • It’s the thought process and creativity in Ordinary to Extraordinary that is exceptional, and the opportunity to stretch the mind to “go beyond the tube sock”!!

What are some of your other hobbies?  I do a number of volunteer activities: Habitat for Humanity (I’m a Core Volunteer!), Austin Street Center (dinner-coordinator), Reading Partners for DISD helping young readers hone their reading skills, HobbyCrafters creating dolls for holiday distribution, and a bunch of other things like gardening, sewing, and stuff!  I also, most importantly, care for my father who has Alzheimer’s. He’s my priority. I have a wonderful son and husband who also require a bit of attention!


Thank you so much for sharing your time and passion with us, Terei! We’re so thankful to all of our Go van Gogh volunteers for their commitment, time, and energy in bringing art programs to Dallas schools.

If you are interested in getting involved with this exciting volunteer opportunity, please visit the DMA website or email volunteers@dma.org for additional information. We’ll begin recruitment for Go van Gogh summer outreach programs in the coming months, and we’d love to Go van Gogh around Dallas with you!

Andi Orkin
Volunteer Coordinator for Programming

 

Hitting the Highlight Reel: 2013-2014 School Year in Review

As our tours wind down and we make our final school trip in the Go van Gogh van, it’s time to look back at all we’ve done this school year (and be pretty proud of ourselves). If we could have looked into the future last September, we would have seen a year of change waiting for us. 2013-2014 has been action-packed, full of happy surprises and new initiatives and programs. Instead of looking at this school year by the numbers, we’re going to hit the highlight reel and showcase just a few of many great moments.

2013-14 New Docent Class

From left to right: Felix Landau, Flo Lockett-Miles, Debi Waltz, Annette Culwell, Charlie Kuzmic, Stephanie Avery, Sandi Edgar, Art Weinberg, Evan Simmons, and David Caldwell.

New Docent Class of 2013-2014

We are excited to introduce our New Docent Class of 2013-2014! In order to “graduate” from the program, our new docents attend over thirty weeks of training, give ten (or more) tours, and read almost all of Marilyn Stokstad’s Art History. These new docents have put in countless hours prepping for tours and learning different touring strategies and activity ideas. We are excited to welcome such an enthusiastic, creative, and dedicated group to our DMA Docent Program. Look for them on your DMA tours this fall!

Booker T. Washington Learning Lab Partnership

This was another fantastic year for the Learning Lab partnership with the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Students met artists Jim Hodges and Stephen Lapthisophon, learning first-hand about their respective special exhibitions and their process as artists. Students then put their own creative talent on display, re-imagining a DMA artwork using Instagram as their artistic medium. They went on behind-the-scenes tours of the Museum’s art storage areas and object conservation space, and got some career advice from a variety of Museum staff during a DMA career panel.  Most exciting of all, we will soon see the first class from the Learning Lab partnership graduate—congratulations class of 2014!

Go van Gogh Color My World Program for Special Education Classrooms

We were excited to unveil a new Go van Gogh experience this year. Designed to fill a growing need for Special Education outreach, the Color My World program incorporates multi-sensory activities in a color-filled classroom adventure inspired by paintings in the Museum’s collection. With the support of our enthusiastic Go van Gogh volunteers, we’ve been able to lead many Color My World programs this spring. And with the help of two very smart colleagues (thank you, Danielle and Hayley!), we’ve spent those sessions learning how the program works best, experimenting and modifying our way to what is now an inclusive experience for children with a range of abilities.

South Dallas Cultural Center Second Sundays

Sometimes the best learning experiences happen when the school day ends and we’re with our friends and family.  This year also brought the beginning of what we hope is a long-term partnership with families from the South Dallas Cultural Center. One Sunday a month, we have South Dallas “Second Sundays,” where a group of families spends two hours together at the Museum exploring and making art. Families have sketched and painted like Edward Hopper, designed chairs like Frank Gehry, and have spent many a Sunday using the Museum as both a resource and a source of artistic inspiration. While we haven’t wrapped up this program just yet (families, if you’re reading this, our June Sunday is not-to-miss!), this out-of-school, school year partnership is one that has defined 2013-14 for me, in a wonderful way.

To all the docents, Go van Gogh volunteers, hard-working Education colleagues (past and present), and our amazing McDermott Intern who have all helped make this school year so successful and fun-filled–thank you!  We hope you have a great summer, and we can’t wait to see you right back here in the fall!

Amy Copeland
Manager of Go van Gogh and Community Teaching Programs

Go van Gogh-ing on a Colorful Classroom Adventure

The newest Go van Gogh program involves two things that are deeply exciting in my book: expanding outreach to a new audience and getting messy with paint!

Color My World is a one-hour outreach experience for elementary students in Special Education classrooms. The program was developed by Head of Family, Access, and School Experiences Amanda Blake, and it takes the best of what we do in Museum Access programs—creating multi-sensory activities for a range of abilities—and brings it out to schools.

Color My World is a colorful adventure in a variety of media. Students listen to a story, watch color-mixing experiments, discuss the color wheel, and paint two artworks using a variety of ordinary (and extraordinary!) painting tools. We explore and take inspiration for our color-mixing and painting techniques from artworks in the Museum’s collection.

Color My World is offered to mixed-age Special Education classes within Dallas city limits. Programs take place on selected Monday afternoons and may begin at or after 1:00 p.m. If you are interested in requesting a program for your Special Education classroom, please email me.

And then grab a smock, ready your palette, and let’s get to painting!

Amy Copeland
Manager of Go van Gogh and Community Teaching Programs


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