.@potus, .@vpotus, .@flotus, .@drbiden… Last week, as part of the White House’s efforts as they continue to reach out and hear the people as they speak about what is important, I sent a Facebook Messager to the White House, President Obama, et.al. about the Arts and Arts Education… here was my original letter:
Dear Mr. President, Mrs. Obama, Vice-President Biden and Dr. Biden, Thank you for your continued support of and concern for education and, specifically speaking, Arts Education. In a time when success is often gauged only by numbers on a graph, and scores on a test, the inclusion and recognition of success through creativity, endurance, persistence, reflection, as well as making (visually, spoken, sung, performed) is inspiring and sometimes hard to come by. With programs like Turnaround Arts, the Arts are able to be highligted as an important and essential element to the development of the Individual at any level. I work with the large variety of individuals such as high schoolers of all abilities, special needs adults, and have collaborated with older adults coping with dementia and senility and see, first hand, how the arts positively impact thier lives. Thank you again for your support of education, and especially Arts education, as well as teachers, parents, communities who use, need, and advocate for the Arts.
Respectfully,
Frank Korb,
Art Teacher,
Wisconsin Art Education Association VP Southeastern WI, and Arts Advocate. fjkorb@gmail.com,
FB: /fjkorb, TW: @fjkorb
Here is President Obama’s response to my letter.
Thank you Larry Wynn at East Coast Concessions for the commission in painting the award winning concession stand at the WI State Fair. There were (what seemed to me) millions of toys and inflatables and stuffed animals and poop emoji hats. Earlier in the week a couple of kids stopped at my easel and told me I should incorporate a Pokemon into my paintings. I listened, laughed, and then said “I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.” Well… I think I painted about 20 Pikachu’s. Thanks to all the conversation and teachable moments to the kids (and adults). Persistence, working through the materials, envisioning the results long before they are visible were all aspects that I spoke to my audience about. 8 hours of painting – all in this 18″ x 24″ finished work “Natalie and Katie at East Coast Concessions at the WI State Fair.”
Thank you to ALL the great WI State Fair goers, planners, celebrities, even the animals for their interest in my plein air paintings today at the fair. I had a great time meeting you all and being able to share my skills and compositions with you. Thank you to Jesse Ritka and John Malan from TMJ4 for the inspiration for for my final painting, good conversation, and the cream puff too. What a great day at the fair. I am very proud of 2 of my WUHS students for participating in the event too. Stop at the EXPO Building to see the many works up close (and buy them too). I may be back on Wednesday – keep your eyes peeled.
Frank
It was a hot one today but a really nice day in Lake Geneva. A special thanks to everyone who stopped by and chatted with me especially Hannah and her family. I wasn’t sure if today was going to be one that was going to rain on me, but thankfully it was a beautiful sunny day. Thank goodness for sunscreen. Here are the two paintings that I got finished today.
What a storied day. Bee bite on the scooter ride into Lake Geneva and I need to stop at a Pharmacy for hydrocortizone. The supports for the huge crate my scooter carries breaks and I have to stop at a hardware store. My morning started with storm clouds on the horizon and no certainty I wasn’t going to get rained on. Yet, I travelled on and got myself back into the swing of things. The wind kept the feeling of 98° away, and the easel kept blowing around. All around, a good day. My final painting complete “Jack on the Pier”. Thanks all for the conversation, and thanks Jack for the title.
I had a great weekend in Chicago at the 2016 NAEA National Conference. I gave out a few business cards that didn’t really help people find my educational blog, so… visit http://www.ArtWithKorb.com to see the Day to Day in my classroom. Glad to meet everyone!
Thank you Abby for taking me to see Idina Menzel in Chicago. We had a great time at the show and a great time seeing a bit of Chicago. Thank you so much for the fun time. Here are some pictures and my painting from the evening. Idina was a GREAT performerns and the musicians were great too. Hello to our neighbors on the lawn!
Thank you to ALL who came out to visit the State Fair and see the Plein Air paintings I created this year. 5 works – 3 for the fair and 2 commissions. In addition to the commission, I got a phone call today from Larry – Plein Air Volunteer / Coordinator, that the Giant Slide Painting “If We Get Separated, Meet at the Giant Slide” was sold today! GREAT week fore sales! Thank you Sara Toedter for taking the pictures of me painting. Thanks also to Matt and Ken for the commissions of your businesses at the fair. Continued success to you! More edits tonight for tomorrow! Thank you all!
Tonight, I am pooped. What a great day of painting and dodging rain, no, thunderstorms. Thank you everyone who knew me and came out to the fair and also to those who did not know but took the time to talk with me about the opportunity we had. It was a great day. 3 paintings, 4 cloudbursts, 2 frames, a crew of outstanding volunteers at the fair, 2 potential commissions ( thanks) and what will hopefully be a few sales from the day. My gallery, above, may not be perfect, here are my images from the day. PLEASE, share your thoughts and memories, contact me if you’re interested in the skyglider painting, that one is with me. The other two… Visit the fair and see them in the Expo Building.
Korb Pottery 