TEEN CENTERS! Photography by IS 138 and IS 192, Poetry by IS 109

13 May 2009, 1:56 PM by mike

In March, teaching artists Jules and Caitlin worked with students in Queens as part of an 3 day art intensive during the Teen Center after-after school program.  Caitlin worked with students at IS 109 to write personal poems during their Teen Center program.  Jules assigned the poems to Teen Center students at IS 138 and IS 192.  Jules' students then shot and edited their photographs as symbolic representations of the poems.  Here are examples of the resulting long-distance collaborations: 

MS 138:

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MS 138 Photographer:  Mary A. Mayers

Jamaica Ave
by Jordan Foster

Jamaica Ave on a Saturday
a throne
the palace of my dreams
close my brown eyes
and see God
sweet like a championship
a place of calm peace
where there are no
car horns ringing like wind chimes
I am peaceful as can be�

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MS 138 Photographer:  Kierra Singletary�

Welcome to My Life
by Daniel Gerard

Welcome to my life
it's smooth and cool.
I play video games.
when I beat a level
raise your arms and say yeah!
Happy as a hyena.
My parents guide me
in the right direction.
The best person is Nat Wolff.
he takes me to a world
called music heaven.
His band is cooler than me.
and believe me, I am really cool.
But in my eyes cool
is just being yourself.
I want to be their second guitarist.
When I hear their songs
it puts the music in me.
The second best person in the world
is Gary Lopez.
His hair is white and yellow
like lightening.
His code name is Zepol 100.
It's just his last name backwards.
He is as cool as me.
I wish I could see him again.
My third personal favorite
is Joseph, with black hair like a spider.
He is such a pervert, you would not believe.
But still a good friend to have.
Welcome to my world of insanity.

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MS 138 Photographer:  Luis Garcia

OMG, It's the Ice Cream Man!
by Destany Tolbert

From the house to the store
I pass some beat boxers
I think they need some help
I go and make a beat on the hollow tree
one starts rapping and another jumps in
I yell, "stop, everyone!"
everyone in the neighborhood is staring at me
we hear a familiar song
all check our watches
its 5pm
it is who we think it is
"Its the ice cream man!"
Briana yells
we all run inside to the B.O.M.-
Bank of Mom-
come outside with twenty bucks
lines around the block like they're
waiting for the best ride in the carnival
people cutting people
it's hot like the sun
people acting like they might pass out in front
one may call 911 but another won't care
it's too hot out here
I'm going to hang out with the ice cream
man
I help him sell ice cream
he don't pay me!
oh no, I want my money
I tell him I'm robbing him for the ice cream!

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MS 138 Photographer: Shamarie McClaire

As I Walk
by Sieam Alam

As I close my eyes
and walk out of my house
the voices of a million souls
rush through my mind
as I awaken my eyes
I see the sky shine
as I cross the streets
hear the sound of car siren
pounding against my chest
when I arrive to school
I smell the perfume
of a million girls

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MS 138 Photographer: Tichina Cameron

The Worst Dream Ever
by Samin Chopra

Hey y'all,
I had the worst dream ever
you want to know why?

I'll tell ya:
when I heard the garbage moving
I smelled stinky gas and the park
all the way to Hawaii

You ain't heard anything yet!

When I heard kids playing
I smelled nice air freshener
and smelled it all the way to Disneyland
there I had french fries and pizza
I said "sup" to the clerk
but he disrespected me
he didn't know who he was messing with
I fought him with my dresser
do you know what happened?
I hit him so hard, he cried all the way to
good ole' Australia

I woke up on my fat bed mad tired
but what can you do?
Got dressed fast like a roadrunner
and headed to the learning center
I saw the laundry man and he said
"heeeey," to me
my head was moving fast
but there is still more
my stomach growled just like a lion
I saw a great candy shop
and said to the clerk, "sup?"
I need candy right now
but I can't wait
I gotta get to that learning center

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MS 138 Photographer:  Akila Tonge

Can You Ever Imagine
by Steven Conserve

Can you ever imagine
the sound of a beat of a drum
in my room
playing guitar with Amanda
I'm making a song
she is bright as a sunflower
she makes me feel free
the melodic sound of her piano voice
she's a lover of music and I am too
we energize like a light bulb
lightening
life's about music
soul music

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MS 138 Photographer:  Elizabeth Mayers

My Girl
by Steven Conserve

My girl shines like the sunlight
home is like paradise
smelling like a garden full of roses
my heartbeat sounds like soul music
my dreams are lovely like my girl

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MS 138 Photographer:  Sean Fagan

Neighborhood Tour
by Jordan Foster

Yelling
screaming
cursing
walking to school I see people selling crack
handing out cups, asking for change
running to get the Q76
listening to music
I live in an apartment building
Mom's at work today
I see people going to Dunkin' Donuts
people running across the street to get that taxi
kids playing on the playground
teenagers playing some b-ball
people buying fruits at the market
a Mercedes filling up with gas
adults lining up for Carvel ice cream
cars lining up at Burger King
Pizza Hut is taking orders

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MS 138 Photographer: Khadijah

109 Rhyme
by Ryan St. Gilles

109 kids joke around
I wake up, keep going 'till I'm down
when I'm bored and got time
I get up and spit my rhymes
raindrops like block's hot
like janitor's mops
like Jay-Z's rhymes
you could learn to dress
by jocking my fresh
welcome to my world of unseen things
lions, tigers, bears
life is like a dream
wild things, bird's sing, my ice blings
like Chauncy Billups winning
his championship rings
my poems, like Lebron on the court
never keep my rhymes short
like basketball, it's my favorite sport
after a long day of school
I feel like I'm in an open world, cool where
it's a fresh breath of air
an empire where my hopes and dreams dare
close my black eyes and all I see
is the world's reality

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MS 138 Photographer: Brittany Washington

Welcome to My Life
by Jose Morales

best thing in the world
like birds chirping outside
I try my best
then scream and run
play soccer
my mom makes me proud
like the greatest hero of all time
the thing everyone can count on is me
God,  pleasure, greatness, spectacular
the heavens
girls bring you to life,
to the world, alive
myself, superman
brave like lions
stepping up to challenges
like eating oranges
in my world style is king
things like nice tuxes to du-rags
to stop nags
palms to psalms
from bomb to Mom
the beautiful things
like sunsets

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MS 138 Photographer: Kiya

Who I Am
by Jordan Foster

Name is Jordan, aka “Skittles”
facing life's challenges everyday
born premature
having problems
I'm a sickly kid in the 6th grade
church every week
mom, a single parent
Dad ran off
kid with potential to make it in life
love baseball, grew up with gospel
moved all over
lots of friends and family members
don't know what to do
just think and pray
'cause Jesus is my dude
and only that matters
I'm a smart person who's
been all over the world
people don't like me,
I don't care
my purpose on earth
is just to be here
louder than souped up cars
with their engines
better at basketball
than Kobe Bryant
I am Skittles

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MS 138 Photographer:  Tyon Thomas

My Hood
by Michael Guzman

when you walk in my hood
you'll hear skaters falling
trying to get greater
they'll be haters,
but we'll get out
and they will never
we'll drop bombs
be famous
riding in style
I'll be a mechanic
fixing my boards
jumping stairs
riding in no skate zones
running from cops
don't get caught
or you'll be a pretender
like Tony Hawk
fakin' everything

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MS 138 Photographer:  William

A Day After School
by Haider Malik

My bright street is like gold
my home
smooth as caramel
how I dig into my chocolate bar
car horns wake me up
children play on the street
my nose is lazy
my belly is achy
satisfied as a man who is crazy
my mind is a time bomb
where my stories begin

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MS 138 Photographer: Kimani Barnett

A Day in the Life
by Kenneth Horne

An elephant in quick sand
gunshots and police sirens
not supposed to be in the streets past eleven
remember death and dishonor
like being isolated in an enclosed hut
this makes me more respectful
to the streets and my peeps
my dreams, a fake excuse to lie
like a rug on the floor
up and awake, get a bacon, egg and cheese
pass 8am like butter
like butter
like butter on a bagel and a 50 cent juice
how many people and how many wars?
play some ball in Bed Stuy's court
my mind is a ticking time bomb
waiting to explode
happier than an ice cube in soda pop
my heart beat, a drum in a band
with thousands listening
I call God for a real conversation
the radiant street sweeper,
faster than the trains
keep my head up
I am the only person I can control for now
I can do anything
barking giant, Brooklyn street
where the elephants walk out the quick sand
a jungle, a predator and prey
but I am happier than a lion
in a monkey cage
I am a predator

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IS 192:

Keith

Mike

Nellie

Akeem

CJ

IS230 Presents "Our Jackson Heights"

19 Mar 2009, 9:13 AM by erasmussen

Our Jackson Heights from Elise Rasmussen on Vimeo.

PS 7 Photo Essays Part II!

09 Mar 2009, 6:56 PM by caitlinmeissner

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... And now we get serious!

Ok, folks, we're back. After our goofy "practice" photo essays, the students are ready to declare their messages to the world! Here is our process:
 

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1) ME-WEBS!

Students created their own personal "me-webs," a Ms. Caitlin creation that colorfully explores what we are each care about in the world, from homeless issues to... candy. (I mean, who doesn't like candy?) Check out the awesome explorations below!

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2) POEMS

As an exercise in exploring these topics, students wrote poems. Basing their work off of Barbara Ras's brilliant poem, "You Can't Have It All," students were asked to write their own version and must include each item on their list. Here are a few examples. I was blown away!

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You Can't Have It All
by Pearl Baxter

but you can snuggle up with some hot chocolate
you can't have it all
but you can have a good friend to talk to
you can't have it all
but you can have a heart to keep you moving forward
you can't have it all
but you can have music to match your mood
you can't have it all
but you can have a significant other to turn to
you can't have it all
but you can have a sour candy to get you through it
you can't have it all
but you can have a mother's shoulder to cry on
you can't have it all
but you can have an A on a test to get a reward
you can't have it all
but you can have a school full of friends to tell jokes to
you can't have it all
but you can have a favorite animal to talk to
you can't have it all
but you can have a past relative relive the last
moments you spent together
you can't have it all
but you can have food to fill you up
you can't have it all
but you can have a warm slice of pizza with your family

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You Can't Have It All
by Katiria Altruz

But you can have your family
after a bad day at school
you can have love
when you feel left alone
you can have art
to show how you feel
you can have a freedom of speech
when you think something is wrong
you can have music
to make you feel better
you can have world peace
if you speak up
you can have a God if you believe
and go to church
you can have an elder
like your grandmother or grandfather
right next to you when you're going to sleep
you can have global warming
if you don't help the earth
you can have pizza when you want
something tasty and good

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You Can't Have It All
by Esther Gonzales

but you can have someone to protect you
you can hear classical music and relax
you can have the delicious strawberry ice cream melting in your mouth
you can have the freedom of going to your church and praising your God
you can have a school in which you can learn many subjects
you can have lots of food that fills your tummy
you can have a pack of M&M's and taste and share
you can have good health and watch what you eat
you can have delicious pizza from the shop on the corner
you can have a father and a mother
in which to protect you and love you
you can have lots of love in which to give
you can have a home in which to sleep and live in
you can have a career in which to learn and know from

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3) GROUP WEBS

In two groups, the students created a giant web of all of their cares and concerns. From these lists, two groups chose a handful of topics they wanted to focus on in the creation of their next set of photo essays.

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4) HAIKUS

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In groups, students studied the haiku form and looked at the work of famous haiku poets, such as Basho. Of course, we wrote our own! Here are a few. We don't want to give it ALL away just yet!

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The world is a TV
it's like a messed up channel
when will the world change?
- Katiria Altruz

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I beg in the streets
I cry all I want is bread
a few cents is good
- Esther Gonzales and Pearl Buckman

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Some people love cash
family matters to us
what matters to you
-- Quetzy Escobar and Cathy Campos

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5) FINAL PROJECT

We're not ready to show you yet, so stay tuned! But I will reveal that they are artful photo essays based off of A Softer World's work. Example posted below. (Don't tell them, but I think ours are better.)

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Check back next week!

PS 7 Photo Essays

04 Mar 2009, 12:19 AM by UrbanArtsAdmin

The first half of the year PS 7's middle school students studied digital photography and poetry in relation to themselves. Artists start with what they know, right? After really (and I mean, really) getting to know ourselves, the second half of the year is focused outward, using the "My Message" curriculum. The students have some special projects in store for you, but first we'll show you a bit of our process.

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Behold! Our warm up exercise in photo essays, in steps:

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1) STUDY

The students were shown a variety of photo essays through each session. Most notably, perhaps, "What the World Eats," from the book Hungry Planet, which brilliantly illustrates consumption, culture and other huge concepts through the simple vehicle of food and family around the globe. (Find it here for your use!)

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Making our study a game, students were asked to make a silent guess on a piece of paper as to how much each family spent as we flipped through the photos. After discussing each photo's cultural significance, as well as it's photographic properties, we shared our guesses and learned the real answers to each family's spending habits. Below pictures the biggest disparity: Germany at $500.07 per week and Chad at $1.23 per week. Imagine the student's shocked responses! This opened up a broader dialogue about the importance of art, specifically in this case, photo essays, and their ability to create change, conversation and make a deep impact on their audience.

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2) PLAN

Time to plan our own photo essays! Using the school as their backdrop, students are asked to create a short story in just four photos. You know what this means... story boarding, galore! The kids got silly, as middle schoolers often do, but for a small exercise in creating a photo essay before they begin their serious, message-driven work, I let 'em go hog wild!

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Click the photos below for the larger versions of each:
 

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3) CREATE

And finally, the finished versions! After critiquing the work, I let the groups pick one extra photo to add to the batch. I was so impressed by their integrity and skills that I wanted to see more of their work showcased! Next came the captions. Please take note how Ms. Caitlin subtly appears in not one, but TWO of the essays. What? Can't a teacher feel cool, too? Kidding, kidding, I'm just terribly proud. You can catch the work live displayed on Ms. Cassidy's bulletin board!

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School Alone On a Saturday
by Esther Gonzalez and Quetzy Escobar
 

Caitlin enters the quiet school.

She sees the hallways empty and soundless.

As she walks in the hallway, all she can hear is her footsteps.

She enters the classroom of her first period. What a strange day of school, she thought.

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Stay tuned for our next project! We're taking all the skills, dropping the silliness and working towards meaningful work that communicates messages that are important to us (from love to world peace to homeless issues and lots in between!)

'Till next time...

Animals in the Rainforest

17 Jan 2009, 12:51 AM by UrbanArtsAdmin

We have been learning about animals in the rainforests of the world.  We researched different rainforests and found animals that we are now drawing on murals in their natural environment.  We have learned all sorts of fun facts.

Did you know...

Some Gorillas live in the Congo.  98-99% of their DNA is exactly like humans!

Red-bellied Piranhas can be found in the Amazon River Basin.  They are known as the most ferocious of the freshwater fish.

Poison Dart Frogs can be found in tropical rainforests around the world.  Unlike most frogs, Poison Dart Frogs are diurnal rather than nocturnal.  This means that they are awake during the day when most frogs are sleeping!

Toucans can also be found in tropical rainforests.  In large species, their very colorful bills are half the size of their entire body!

The Anaconda is a large, non-venomous snake.  They are one of the largest snakes in the world!

Bengal tigers live in tropical rainforests in Asia.  They are solitary hunters.  There are only about 1,300-1,500 left in the wild in the Indian Subcontinent.

Here are some examples of our murals.  They are works in progress so we decided to take the pictures while we were working on them.  It's like you are in the studio with us!  We would love to hear what you think!