Sarabeth's Script

go to the portfolio page to see more work

I was asked to design a book that documented the “Story Swap: New Orleans and Haiti” project from this spring.  You can view a copy of it or purchase your own through blurb.com The cover image is from Haiti during a time when the students drew collaborative chalk drawings in the courtyard, and I love how it captures mixed identities and the visual essence of speaking with your hands.  All of the photographs were taken by Andrea Booher, Diane Moore, and myself.  The book also highlights student writing and the artwork they created as well as the process of the swap.  I’m really pleased with the final product and so are the students.

Now on view…I have new encaustic/mixed media work at the Aspen Chapel Gallery .  The show will be on display through August, come take a look.

Voted “Best Children’s Float” in Aspen’s Old Fashion 4th of July Parade, 2010

“It needs to be big, bold, and bright– an eye catcher, but it shouldn’t look like some scribbly kids creation,” were the instructions I received for a children’s float for the local Fourth of July parade.  With three weeks to conceptualize the float, much of the planning was my responsibility, but the students were the architects and artists who figured out how to bring the idea to life.  As art teachers, we get requests for many types of art projects, but this particular one provided rare teachable moments that I sometimes overlook in my classes.  Through this experience, middle school age students gained lessons in large-scale sculpture, collaboration, performance art, composition development, and the idea of ownership.  Problem-solving was paramount as this was a design problem, and student input was heavily encouraged.  Most importantly, this project reminded me to expand my repertoire of educational art experiences and explore the value of working in untraditional veins of art. 

“Garden Gone Wild” was the theme of our parade float which lent itself to a wide array of artistic elements.  I began by identifying, goals, outcomes, and project expectations, and then backtracked to overcome potential challenges.  As a group, we discussed the parts of a traditional garden and what would be different if that garden was wild and overgrown.  How wild could this garden get?  In terms of limitations, I had a flatbed trailer with specific size and weight restrictions, I knew that the art needed to be viewable from a distance, and each element had to be transportable and independently attached since the float would not be assembled until the day of the event and was not a permanent structure.  Beyond that, we were free to create.

There were four planned components—a  grass foundation, oversized cardboard flowers, flying insects, and wearable art—and then two components were added later—a flowering tree and wild produce—because the students were eager once things got started.  Some of the components were prepped ahead of time.  For instance, the plywood was cut to size and mounted with feet, and cardboard boxes were reduced to rectangles. The rest was done by students.

To create the “grass foundation”, plywood boards were cut with a jigsaw to varying heights of 1’, 2’, and 3’ by 8’ long and were horizontally layered to create a foundation for the rest of the art.  Triangular feet were screwed onto the bottom edges to hold the boards upright.  The students spray painted the plywood green, randomly drilled 1.5” diameter holes, and stuffed each hole with 1’ squares of green plastic tablecloths to achieve a grass-like texture. 

For the other elements, the cardboard flowers were created by drawing petal shapes on cardboard, cutting them out with utility knives (done by an adult assistant), mounting them on pre-cut cardboard cake circles using hot glue, and inserting strong dowel rods as stems.  Students decorated the flowers with acrylic paint, and they were later attached with wire through holes in the plywood boards.

Flying insects, such as butterflies and bees, were made from mylar that was painted with acrylic, detailed with sharpie markers, and were strengthened with sculpture wire and popsicle sticks.  They were hung on garden shepherd hooks to give the illusion of flight.  The flowering tree was a cardboard base and a chicken wire dome adorned with large tissue paper flowers.  Birds, comprised of pantyhose, rubber bands, fabric stuffing, feathers, and craft paint, flew around the tree from fishing line.  Students wore t-shirts that we tie-dyed and crowns of pipe cleaner flowers. 

Furthermore, students imagined what items would grow in their wild garden—like root beer, money, and gummy worms—and created these through scrap wood colored with oil pastels and mounted onto the plywood boards.  Finally, miniature butterflies from a craft store were redesigned and affixed to the flowering tree.  During the process, we took moments to loosely assemble and reflect on the components together, giving us perspective and a chance to understand how things were or were not working. 

Two hours before the start of the parade, the entire float was completed.  It looked overgrown and colorful as flowers lurched in a multitude of directions and cascaded around the trailer.  Each artwork was unique, but they looked unified in a way that felt artistic and overwhelming made by children.  The students, also titled artist/gardeners, followed behind the float to “tend” to their creations, and we won the Best Children’s Parade Float award.  Upon seeing our finished float, everyone was proud of the effort put forth, and especially how we pushed the idea of “wild.”  I was proud of how this opportunity was truly a rich learning experience beyond what typically happens in the classroom.

I have just been officially inducted into the “Habla Best Practices Handbook” which is a document of all things related to teaching and learning which are considered a best practice in the field, according to the Director, Kurt Wootton.  The two best practices are “Junkyard Portraits” and “Miracles in Park Aak” each of which was completed during my time teaching various workshops in Merida, Mexico in July , 2009.

Check it out and others at: Habla: The Center for Language and Culture

A newsworthy and noteworthy event just took place in my professional career and in the greater consciousness of society.  The Aspen Writers’ Foundation (AWF) just completed an international story swap which connected students in Haiti with students in New Orleans.  I acted as the lead facilitator and created the project lesson and execution plan.  It was a tremendous opportunity to be part of this exchange, and given the final feedback from the students, it was certainly an impactful experience.

Story Swap is a project where two partners share a significant, life-changing story– one that defines who they are and has  altered their life perspective.  After listening attentively and exchanging stories, one on one, each partner takes the story they heard and is tasked with recreating it as their own.  By using creative imagination, written, and visual expression, they interpret the story and eventually share it in this new form.  Jordan Dann adapted this idea from a theater exercise, and in 2007, I collaborated with her at AWF to bring this idea to high school students.

Since this pilot run, Story Swap has been adapted into a community version, artist/author version, and has been used with various groups of students.  The most recent execution took place on April 19-23  with 12 students at Cours Prive Edme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and 16 students at Sci Academy in New Orleans.  Because both groups had experienced high levels of devastation and crisis, it was a fascinating pairing.  I was sent to Haiti with Natalie Lacy from AWF to facilitate our team of students at Cours Prive Edme.  The entire project was filmed in order to document the power and progression of Story Swap and will be edited into a 10 minute video in the coming weeks.

After being involved in two prior Story Swaps, this was by far the most challenging and meaningful in my experience.  The students were wonderful to work with and generous in telling their tragedies (which went beyond memories of the earthquake), but more importantly, they felt as though people cared and wanted to hear what they had to say.  Many mentioned that they no longer felt alone, and it meant a great deal to know their stories were carried to a partner like a living memory.  Their spirits were uplifted and positive energy filled their lives as a result.  I have attached some images of my time working with them, however, there is more that took place beyond what is captured in words and images.

Aspen Writers’ Foundation

I’m teaching an Art Appreciation course at Colorado Mountain College this semester, and in order to reinforce concepts, terms, and provide an experiential sculpture assignment, I asked the students to bring gummy candy to class.  Without information on the planned activity, students selected a set number of each type of candy along with toothpicks and straws for “construction”.  They began by designing compositions on a sheet of paper that represented elements of art and principles of design using their candy.  Then we moved into 3D forms, and practiced additive and subtractive methods.  It was a fun and lively time, due in large part to the copious amounts of sugar we were ingesting.  Here are some images of our investigation, see if you can figure out what design ideas they were practicing.

The True Media Foundation, a student based organization that empowers students as documentary filmmakers, made this video two summers ago.  They finally sent me a link to the online version, and I admire how they captured the various elements from creation to installation.

Dalai Lama Project Video

Equipped with original designs, buckets, shovels, and an array of tools, six determined Wintersculpt teams and five groups of Kidsculpt students competed in an intense snow sculpture contest during Winterskol 2010.

Anderson Ranch Arts Center’s Wintersculpt competition started 4:30pm Thursday, January 14th and lasted until 4:30pm Saturday, January 16th on the Mill Street Mall in Aspen. Teams worked night and day to transform their 8’ x 8’ x 8’ snow blocks into freestanding creations. This year, 28 sculptors competed in the competition. Sculptures were judged on four criteria:

•  Overall creativity and design concept
•  Technical execution and use of snow as a medium
• Compliance with rules
• And interpretation of the 2010 Wintersculpt theme “What Goes Around Comes Around”

On Saturday evening, the sculptures were judged by Jeff David, General Manager of the Viceroy Snowmass, Jean-Philipe Malaty (Executive Director) and Tom Mossbrucker (Artistic Director) of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and Tom Alpern, previous four-time winner of Wintersculpt. Judges were so impressed by the caliber of the sculptures, that there was a tie and two second prize awards were given. Each 2010 Wintersculpt team received a $250 participation stipend and cash prizes were awarded to first and second place winners.

The 2010 Wintersculpt winners are:

First Prize- $600 Title: “On a Rug, Sumo Reads ‘How to Dance’“ Team Name: The Numb Bums Team Members: Brian Howard, Natasha Seedorf, Tim Sabo, and Alex Cain

Second Prize- $100 (tie)

Title: “Unidentified Freezing Object” Team Name: The Humanoid League Team Members: Noah Davis, Danika Davis, Soozie Lindbloom, Scott McCallum, Petunia Davis, and Dewey Davis* *(they will be donating their prize money to Haiti relief efforts)

Title: “I’m Sorry If I’ve Been A Little Spacey Lately” Team Name: Frozen Chozen Team Members: Jason Speich, Jason Schneider, Emily Fannon, Elizabeth Ferrill, Ian Blasco, and Erin Dinsmoor

Additional Wintersculpt Teams:

Title: “Mutate” Team Name: Heap Squad Team Members: Elizabeth Thorp, Kendra Lizotte, Lisa Kohlhepp, Paul Gurrieri, Ellen Burns, and Nick Melle

Title: “Coming Down, Spinning Round” Team Name: Refined Sugar Studio Team Member: Matt Kotlarczyk

Title: “Amor Infinito” Team Name: S.L.U.S.H. Team Members: Joe Hernandez, Eduardo Cagna, Alicia Matesaoz De Las Heras, Will Young, Shelly Stein, and Kristin Cagna

In addition to Wintersculpt, nearly 50 students between middle and high school ages participated in Kidsculpt on Friday, January 15. Five student groups gathered in front of McDonald’s on the Aspen Mall, representing Aspen Middle School, Aspen Country Day School, Aspen Community School, Wyly Community Art Center, and Yampah Mountain High School. They had three and a half hours to sculpt their 4’ x 4’ x 4’ snow blocks.

The 2010 Kidsculpt theme was “Fables and Fairytales” and each group received a check for $300 for their art program. Judges were Scott Boberg from Aspen Art Museum and Samantha Birnbach from Aspen Film, and they enthusiastically awarded the following prizes to each group:

Overall Creativity and Originality – Aspen Community School They sculpted Humpty Dumpty after he had fallen from his wall.

Best Use of Theme – Aspen Country Day School Their sculpture consisted of a giant frog with a crown on its head.

Best Use of Snow – Yampah Mountain High School They created a giant fairytale castle.

Most Likely to be in a Museum – Aspen Middle School Their design was a large white rabbit in a wonderland setting.

Most Sculptural – Wyly Community Art Center They created an intricate and detailed snow castle.

Congratulations to the winners and participants! Anderson Ranch would also like to acknowledge the support of Claudia Potamkin who generously sponsored the event and hosted a wonderful kick-off party for the Wintersculpt teams, and the Thrift Shop for their grant support. Furthermore, Wintersculpt and Kidsculpt could not take place without the help of the City of Aspen Parks and Recreation Department for creating the snow blocks, and Takah Sushi for opening its doors to sculptors during the cold nights. Finally, the Aspen Chamber Resort Association helped the Ranch make the event possible.

Check out the Roaring Fork Open exhibition on display now at the Aspen Art Museum. I have an artwork in the show:

Untitled Home, 2'x2'x2", 2009