OCR Text |
Show Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 Page 4 A&EDilf•FSi01111 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com Music, motion bridge learning gaps BY ALLEE EVENSEN assistant features editor "Oh, oh, oh, ostrich," Cari Johnson, student-volunteer for ArtsBridge program, says. "Your turn." "Oh, oh, oh, ostrich," a group of 21 kindergartners from Wilson Elementary School in Logan, responds simultaneously, using their tiny fingers to draw 0's around their mouths. In Camie Palmer's classroom at Wilson Elementary School, learning to read requires more than looking at a book. The 5- and 6-year-old children are rapt listeners as Johnson, a USU student, teaches them basic phonics with Reading in Motion, a program using rhythm, body movement and music that teaches children to read. In the 45-minute class, students hardly sit still for more than a few moments at a time. While singing they use small instruments and break down words into rhythmic syllables, Johnson said, which helps them learn and retain knowledge they may have otherwise not been able to focus on. "It's an amazing program," said Sundee Ware, principal of Wilson Elementary. "They apply the academics, make it creative and connect all those brain cells, all those dendrites, and it just puts it all together and helps them explore." Johnson, a senior majoring in elementary education, is in her third semester working with Reading in Motion, which falls under the USU ArtsBridge program. The College of Education and Human Services supports the program, along with the Caine College of the Arts, and is funded by grants and donation money. The program utilizes art to teach core subjects like literature and math in classrooms. USU ArtsBridge Director Holly Conger said the program creates better students, better schools and eventually better communities. Currently, there are ArtsBridge programs at 24 universities in 13 states. According to data from the College Board, students who take four years of art and music classes have an SAT score averaging more than 100 points higher on the critical reading and math portions than students who take less than half a year of art. "With the arts being so broad, there's a higher chance of reaching somebody," Conger said. "It might be through music, and it might be through creative movement. If not through creative movement, it might be through visual arts. There are so many avenues for the arts to reach the children." Although a large part of the USU ArtsBridge program focuses on elementary schools, it has recently taken on new ground by moving into high schools, most notably Fast Forward Charter High School, a public school with a strong emphasis on art, primarily designed to help atrisk students. Mauro Diaz graduated from Fast Forward and completed the ArtsBridge program last year. When Diaz described his art, he used words such as, "technical" and "intricate". At the same time, Diaz said he enjoys death-metal music and getting his hands on his first guitar at 12 years old. He said he believes art is the ultimate form of sophistication. "I think art, in general, whatever art anybody uses, is a way to express yourself and open a new voice in mind and expand knowledge. Music is my art," Diaz said. Last year, Diaz was one of six ArtsBridge scholars from Fast Forward. The scholars spent their senior year putting together portfolios of their work and planning events based around their art. By the time he graduated, Diaz said he organized and preformed in multiple benefit concerts with the help of Todd Milovich, the education outreach coordinator for the Access and Diversity Center. Milovich said graduating with experience as an ArtsBridge scholar will help them find footing in the work force. Humanities, he said, are a ► See ARTSBRIDGE, Page 5 KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS FROM WILSON ELEMENTARY learn basic phonics through music and body motion. Principal Sundee Ware said she sees the program increasing the students' reading levels and plans to expand the program to other grade levels in coming years. ALLEE EVENSEN photo Alumnus bleeding with artistic passion BY ALEX VAN OENE staff writer Artists who say they put sweat and blood into works have never met Trevin Prince. The USU alumnus puts a piece of himself into his work — literally. Prince, a blood painter, said he constantly has people asking if he's really painting with his own blood. "Some people don't know how to react to it. They usually resort to 'Twilight' jokes and stuff like that," Prince, a Logan native, said. Prince is one of only a few artists who paints with blood. The technique, which took him close to four years to master, involves a mixture of his own human blood and a blend of chemicals to reach the variety of colors that Prince uses in his artwork. From deep reds to warm, subtle skin tones, his technique offers a wide range of variety different from what one would expect. "I tried researching to find others who do this," he said. "I found one person who did something similar on Plexiglas, but they wouldn't give me any advice. I'm kind of glad they never told me, because I can say that I figured this out on my own. Each painting is done on a sheet of hard-plastic acrylic. "I do most all the work on clear sheets — I paint on those," Prince said. "With everything, I work backwards. On the side that I'm working on, when I'm finished I'll actually flip it, and it will be displayed that way. I have to switch everything in my mind, or sketch it out opposite to begin with." He then adds a blood-chemical mixture to the painting using a syringe and then once the combination of additive and reductive dries, he said he scrapes the edges with razorsharp knives to add effect. Trevin said his favorite thing to paint is figures. "When I started college my worst subject matter to paint was people — I was terrible at it," he said. "I kept working at it over the years and improved little by little." Prince's artwork has a 3-D effect to it, because the layers appear to absorb into the painting. Due to the liquidity of the medium, Prince said each wash has a smooth texture. By eliminating the paintbrush and brush strokes, the layers appear smooth and realistic. "I think (Prince) is pushing the boundaries of art because it needs to be pushed right now," said Holland Larsen, a junior majoring in fine arts painting. "It takes a lot in art to be unique and have a voice that actually stands out. Especially in painting. With him using the medium that he does, he takes it to another realm that is hard to do with classic mediums. I think that his paintings are really grotesque — in a good way." Larsen and Prince both attended USU at the same time. Majoring in a similar field, Larson said he personally finds his work inspiring as he explores the human form. "I think he has made an impact in art," Larson said. "He's well known in Salt Lake. This kind of budding art world, which to make any kind of impact on is pretty significant. He's marketed himself in a way that undergraduates can look up to him," he said. Trevin Prince continues to make art out of his home in Logan and has been featured in several exhibitions and museums. "I think Trevin is a successful artist," said Professor Christopher Terry, the assistant dean of the Caine College of the Arts. - alexander.h.van_oene@aggiemail.usu.edu TREVIN PRINCE USES A SYRINGE filled with his own blood to paint a picture. Prince uses hard-plastic acrylic as his canvas. Once a month a nurse draws the blood he uses in his work. He changes the hues of his blood by using different chemical treatments. DELAYNE LOCKE photo |