Read Right Brain’s spread in The Hillsboro Argus!
February 14th, 2012 by Natalie
We were already aware of the excellent article written about our work in the January 27th Hillsboro Argus. But we’ve just now seen the print version, and we’re surprised, and completely excited, to see such big, colorful images accompanying the article on the front page of the Focus section.
In this article, read about how our program has developed in the four years since its inception, through the lens of two of our original partner schools. Read about the ways in which Right Brain differs from traditional arts programs, with testimonials from two Hillsboro School District principals and a teaching artist that attest to the effectiveness of our collaborative arts integration practices.
We couldn’t be more proud of the impact our partner educators and teaching artists have made through Right Brain programming in the past few years — and the fact that it’s visible on hallway walls in schools across the city!
Read the full article here.
Donating to Right Brain: make a habit of it, and soon!
February 8th, 2012 by Natalie
What bad habit did you resolve to relinquish in 2012? Whatever it was, we all know that the easiest way to kick an unwanted habit is to replace it with a good one. Here’s one idea…
After hearing the demand from the public, we’ve just made it easier than ever for you to make your contribution to the future imaginations of all Portland area K-8 students. Through our brand new Facebook Causes page, you can show your support by donating $10 or more to our arts integration programming in Portland’s public schools.
So how does this relate to the emptiness left in the wake of your New Year’s resolution, you ask? Giving through our Causes site is the SOLE way that you as a supporter can donate to Right Brain on a monthly basis without lifting a finger. Simply click on the site’s “Give” button, and you’ll receive the option to make either a one-time donation or an automatic monthly installment. A monthly donation to foster the creative capacities of K-8 students in our very own community? That’s a habit worth keeping, if you ask us!
BUT WAIT. It gets better: If we can raise $1,500 thorough our Causes site by February 29, First Independent Bank will generously match the donations! In other words, by just getting the ball rolling, you’ll end up doing double the work.
The first step is to follow us on Facebook if you aren’t already. From there, visit the Causes section of our page (find the link in the left hand column of the main page). Then, bingo! You can choose the amount that suits your fancy.
We hope you’ll consider this simplest of opportunities to give to Right Brain. And if you need to fan the flames of your giving spirit, make sure to check out the new images of classroom residencies from this school year while you’re on our Facebook page. That should do the trick.
Insects write books at Free Orchards
January 26th, 2012 by KendraYao
As our 31 partner schools return from winter break this month, Right Brain programming is moving at top speed. At Free Orchards Elementary in Hillsboro, teaching artist Addie Boswell is helping 3rd grade students imagine life from the perspective of an insect to create original, illustrated stories from their new vantage point.
Addie knows that by treating students as author/illustrators, they are excited and motivated to learn about story line and character development and improve their writing and drawing skills. At Free Orchards, classroom teachers used the information students studied in their life sciences unit as topics for their books, and helped with writing in between sessions with the artist.
Mrs. Rooke’s class of 3rd graders learned about several species of insects and created fact sheets about them. They then chose their favorite species and transformed their fact sheets into character bios. Students brainstormed details about diet, habitats, and personalities for their insects. Addie introduced the students to the bookmaking process. She talked about how authors and illustrators take “artistic license,” turning facts into fiction.
A student uses his thumbnail sketches to draft illustrations for his book. Photo by Holly Renton.
Addie read Diary of a Worm with the 3rd grade classes, and they discussed text layout and composition. Students then created a series of guided thumbnail sketches of their characters in different poses: close-ups, from all sides, and in a variety of movements. Now the fully-realized characters were ready to be placed in scenes.
Students examined other books to think about how stories unfold, both visually and with text. Photo by Holly Renton.
Students were then told to imagine the passage of a typical day in two to four “spreads” and create them in a dummy book. During this process, students had to decide which scenes in a day were important to illustrate and then how to visually depict them.
When the artist returned the next session, they shared their drafts with one another and went on to explore the idea of “the big spread,” a moment in the story line that would be scary, funny, or surprising, with a very dynamic composition. Partners shared their completed “big spread” compositions with one another decided how to make them better, later drawing their final version on watercolor paper.
Addie Boswell looks with a student at her use of negative space. Photo by Holly Renton.
When this was finished, the artist oriented students to the art of the book cover, examining sample book covers in the library so that they could better imagine their own cover design.
The next step in the bookmaking process involved students learning about color theory and use of a limited palette for their covers and pages. Addie showed them how to use pastels, crayons and vibrant New Zealand dyes to bring their drawings to life.
Finally, when books were complete with illustrations and text, students read their stories with classmates and learned to write positive reviews for one another. To complete their books, classmates wrote their reviews on the back covers of one another’s books.
Now Kelly Rooke’s 3rd graders have a large collection of books written by a very experienced assortment of insect species, revealing a peak into the world from a bug’s point of view, and a glimpse at how children grow their creativity and critical thinking.
See our full set of images for this Right Brain residency on Flickr.
Compound Gallery hosts a benefit for Right Brain!
January 23rd, 2012 by Natalie
Join us Thursday, February 2nd for the opening of “Deadstock,” a show of work by a truly impressive selection of local visual artists.* Good news for us, this show is also a benefit for The Right Brain Initiative! Curated by Jason Sturgill, ”Deadstock” will feature unseen and unsold work at Compound Gallery‘s unique downtown gallery space. Proceeds from the art sales will be donated to Right Brain’s work serving teachers, artists and students in Portland area K-8 public schools.
*Exhibiting artists: Amy Ruppel, APAK, Alan Rose, Bwana Spoons, Carson Ellis, Chris Johanson, Ryan Berkley, S. Britt, Kate Bingaman Burt, Phil Marden, Ashley Goldberg, and many more. Scroll down to see images of some of the incredible work that will be on view.
We are truly proud to be part of this project. Thank you to Jason and Compound for letting us tag along!
Compound Gallery | 107 NW 5th Ave. | February 2 – 26, 2012
Opening reception February 2, 2012 | 7-10pm
Show runs through February 26, 2012
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Make your creative additions to the bustling city in The Brain Food Lab at MoCC!
January 20th, 2012 by Natalie
Visit The Brain Food Lab at the Museum of Contemporary Craft before February 18th! This photo, and all subsequent images, by Holly Renton.
Check out some of our favorite pictures, captured by intern Holly Renton, from the past few weeks at The Brain Food Lab, in action now and ready for your creative touch at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. We’ve invited visitors to use found materials to collectively create a prototype for an imaginary town—and we couldn’t be more excited to have more than 100 pieces contributed so far.
"People's Ferry Boat. Free transportation for everyone." Visitors can use their imaginations to conceive of everything from creative health services to alternative transportation methods in this interactive city-building exhibit.
Materials are provided by AIGA, but feel free to bring along your own found objects.
"This is a chicken house."
Farmer Fred's Flaming Fireworks Stand!
The Brain Food Lab is an interactive museum experience dreamed up by the ongoing partnership between Right Brain and AIGA Portland, and presented in concert with MoCC’s Studio H: Design. Build. Transform. exhibition. We invite you and your family to explore how design can lead you to think creatively and critically through the construction of a prototype for this fictional town which is changing, growing and improving with each new visitor throughout the course of the exhibition.
When you stop by, you also find take-away Brain Food cards with additional activities that you can try at home, or in the classroom, if you’re an educator. All these activities combine creative thinking with other disciplines to promote really rich learning.
AIGA designers are available to help you realize your imaginative design ideas.
Studio H: Design. Build. Transform. is a display of past work created by the students of Studio H, a program led by designers Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller in rural Bertie County, North Carolina that teaches high-school students how conscientious design can promote positive community change.
Read more on our blog.
Read more at MoCC’s website.
Museum of Contemporary Craft | 724 Northwest Davis Street | 97209
** The Brain Food Lab is open during all Museum hours and participation is free with Museum admission. On alternating Saturdays from 2 to 4 pm through February 18,, you can collaborate with designers from the AIGA to create your addition to the town. The next AIGA session is this Saturday, January 21 from 2-4!**
See our calendar for the full set of dates.
Right Brain on Kink.fm!
January 15th, 2012 by Natalie
Don’t miss The Right Brain Initiative on 101.9 KINK.fm Sunday, January 29th! Tune in at 8:30 am to catch Program Manager Marna Stalcup and “Speaking Freely” show host Sheila Hamilton discuss what Right Brain’s collaborative arts integration programming looks like in the K-8 schools it serves, and why this program matters to our public school systems.
It’s official: you helped us bring the Give!Guide to a triumphant close!
January 10th, 2012 by Natalie
Whew! We can’t believe it’s over! In early November, we dove headlong into the Willamette Week Give!Guide campaign. For seven whole weeks, we drew relentlessly on our vibrant community to lend a hand to our vision of putting arts education at the hands of every single K-8 student in Portland. And on January 1st, we emerged to a truly inspiring sight:
188 donors had pledged their commitment to the future of arts education in this region by helping us to raise a grand total of $8,590! That’s 30% more than we raised through the Give!Guide in 2010, for the record. And if you’re a competitive type, you’ll be happy to know that 80 of those individuals bumped us up into the Top Ten organizations for donors under the age of 36 in the final stretch. We can expect to tack a $500 bonus onto our total from that triumph.
On behalf of Right Brain staff and teaching artists, K-8 teachers and students around the Portland area, THANK YOU for your support during this campaign! We are so excited to dedicate EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR raised directly to our work serving local teachers and artists through professional development, community engagement and creating imaginative learning experiences at new schools in 2012-13. We can’t believe how lucky we are to have such a committed community of arts education advocates on our side.
Speaking of luck … there was lots of it to go around in the form of enticing local incentives throughout the course of the campaign. From tickets to the Portland Art Museum to free wine tastings to Oregon Ducks-bedazzled keyboards, many of our donors were rewarded handsomely for their contributions. Congratulations to the following winners:
- Sarah C. won a $25 gift certificate to The Secret Society Lounge
- Gregg S. won a pair of tickets to the Portland Art Museum
- Libbi J. won four passes to the Portland Art Museum and four passes to the Lan Su Chinese Garden
- Kylee B. won tickets to the Portland Opera, Portland Baroque Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony
- Angela A. won two $20 gift cards to Veritable Quandary, monthly bread from Pearl Bakery and a free wine tasting at Bergstrom Wines in Newberg
- Sheryl H. won passes to the Nike, Adidas and Columbia Sportswear employee stores, as well as wireless keyboards decked out in honor of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers
- Amber H. won a $20 gift certificate to I’ve Been Framed
And now for the five lucky recipients of the big-deal prizes from the final raffle…
- Bettie D. won dinner for two with wine pairings at Genoa, Portland’s legendary Italian restaurant
- Scott K. scored two tickets to see the Portland Timbers in the 2012 season
- Diane W. won two tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Rose Garden arena
- Ben M. and Jodi H. both won admission to our annual three-day Imagine This! seminar for arts educators
Winners all around! But we’d like to end this whirlwind by acknowledging the many non-monetary riches this campaign produced. Along the way, we heard moving testimonials of those who gave (one donor called Right Brain “the smartest, most collaborative, most comprehensive initiative for arts education that Portland has ever seen”). We attracted out-of-town donors who tapped into our message and felt compelled to give despite their physical distance from us. And we generated quantifiable proof that we live in a community that is unwilling to see the arts fall from the menu of public school curriculum. Here’s to a new year full of healthy, happy right brains.
Another huge thank you from The Right Brain Initiative!
Learn how we nurture right brains at our January 5th information session!
December 28th, 2011 by Natalie
Why are these students thrilled about learning? Find out what makes our classroom programming so powerful at our Jan. 5th information session.
Interested in learning more about what we do here at The Right Brain Initiative? Don’t be a stranger! Join us January 5th for a short, informal presentation to learn just what makes Right Brain a unique arts education partnership in this region. Connect with staff who work with all aspects of Right Brain’s programming, from our classroom artist residencies to community engagement, and hear how you can get involved. A Q&A session will follow the presentation, so make sure to stick around.
Anyone is welcome to attend this session. Please RSVP to Becky Miller at bmiller@racc.org by January 3rd with a brief description of what you would like to hear information about—whether that’s joining our artist roster, becoming a volunteer, participating in creative collaborations, or simply learning more about what our school program looks like.
Right Brain Information Session
Thursday, January 5 | 1-2 pm
Regional Arts & Culture Council | 411 NW Park Ave., Suite 101
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Sporties! Donate to Right Brain and be entered to win athletic gold.
December 27th, 2011 by Rebecca
We’re thrilled to round the bend on our Willamette Week Give!Guide campaign on a really high note. We are blown away by the 127 donors who have helped us raise nearly $5,500 so far. Thanks to all who have helped us get there!
But we still have a few days left and a lot of work ahead to get as close as we can to achieving our ultimate goal of raising $12,000 from 300 donors. Fortunately, we still have tricks up our sleeves to incentivize you to support our arts programming in public schools around the region.
**Donate just $10 or more to Right Brain through the Give!Guide by Wednesday, December 27 at 11:59pm to be entered to win our athletics package. One winner will receive ALL of the following:
- Pass to the Nike Employee Store
- Pass to the Adidas Employee Store
- Pass to the Columbia Employee Store
- Two wireless keyboards—one bedazzled with UO Ducks pride and one for OSU Beavers (see images below; total retail value is 139.98)
TO ENTER TO WIN ALL OF THIS, DONATE $10 OR MORE TO RIGHT BRAIN NOW! (Find us in the education category)
On the athletic front, don’t forget that all who donate to Right Brain through the Give!Guide at any time are entered to win two tickets to see the Portland Timbers during the 2012 season, and two tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Rose Garden Arena in February. That means your donation by Wednesday automatically enters you into not just one, but an entire series of raffles.
Thank you for supporting our work!
See the complete list of our Give!Guide incentives here.
Propagate the right brain!
December 20th, 2011 by Theresa Somrak
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working within nonprofit fundraising. Although I’ve discovered that asking people for money isn’t necessarily what I want to do for a living for the rest of my life, there is one organization whose fundraising efforts I couldn’t help but volunteer to support this season! What could be so compelling, you wonder?
Well, it’s the one and only Portland arts education partnership, The Right Brain Initiative, that moves me to ask you to please make a donation through the Willamette Week Give!Guide today.
In an era in which public school systems are breaking down further each year, this program works with the school districts to find a permanent home for music, visual art, dance, theater and other creative mediums in every single local K-8 classroom. Right Brain is the leading-edge, common-sense kind of program that can make a game-changing impact on our public schools. In fact, I believe it’s the smartest, most collaborative, most comprehensive initiative for arts education that Portland has ever seen. And since the arts are known to keep kids in school, Right Brain’s potential for long-term impact on other areas of the community is inevitable.
But what puts The Right Brain Initiative closer to my heart than the other 99 fantastic nonprofits in the Give!Guide? The fact that Right Brain puts arts back in public classrooms, for everyone. Unlike population-targeted and after-school programs, it brings the arts to not just the privileged, the poor, or the lucky, but to all children. The art experiences I had as a child played such a huge role in making me who I am today that I desperately want to give all children the opportunity for the arts to be part of their everyday person-making. And I fear what our society would look like without that.
I gave a donation to Right Brain, and I now encourage you to join me in supporting this effort by making your own contribution. The minimum donation to the Give!Guide is only $10. It’s up to you what amount feels best, but know that the larger the gift, the more swag you’ll receive from Willamette Week! (In addition to Right Brain’s weekly prizes!)
Last year, Right Brain won a $500 award for having the most donors under the age of 35. Let’s do it again, eh? $10 is all it takes, my peers!
**PLEASE MAKE A DONATION HERE. (Find Right Brain under the Education category.)**
And if you’re looking for other ways to support the campaign, make sure to spread the word to your friends, colleagues, and any fellow aspiring artists or educators you know through email, Facebook posts, blogs, tweets and other social media outlets.
See the full list of incentives here.
Theresa Somrak is Operations Director for the Democratic Party of Oregon and a member of Right Brain’s Grassroots Fundraising Committee.