Kasana Concierge Gourmet and Plaid Tuba present “Nourishing Arts – Autumn Vibrations”, an intimate evening of eight gourmet courses, art, flowing wine, and music. This dinner is banquet style with the intention of connecting Milwaukeeans to each other over beautiful food. Share stories with artists Reginald Baylor, Kyle Cherek of Wisconsin Foodie, and Chef Ana Docta of Kasana Concierge Gourmet. Enjoy music from Milwaukee’s international musician Evan Christian during the champagne reception.

Auction items include a unique dining experience with Kasana and artwork from Reginald Baylor. A percentage of the proceeds will go to AWE (Artists Working in Education). For more information and to purchase tickets: http://www.kasana-mke.com/autumn-vibrations.html. Seating is limited.

As we dug inside the box further, it became apparent that so much love and kindness was put into our “art care package”. There were paint brushes, glitter glue, chalk, pipe cleaners, paper, stationary, Halloween decorations, feathers (collected by hand), even a boat making kit and more! The Truck Studio program immediately put some gems from the donation to use when we decorated our “Ugly Dolls” with kids from the Atkinson Public Library in our Fall Library Program.

We can’t even begin to express how much this special, international gift touched our hearts. We want to thank anyone who’s ever reached out to our organization and donated time, supplies, money and/or love . It’s because of the generousity of all of you that we are able to continue this work which we feel is so important to our community.

 Thank YOU!

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1969, Estevez has not forgotten his native cultures and traditions: he has incorporated his Cuban roots into his artwork today. Estevez studied art at Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. After receiving his education, Estevez found a passion for travel. Some of his artistic inspirations came from his travels to Brazil, France, and Mexico. Estevez currently resides in Miami, Florida where he is continuing his work. This year, Estevez has four international exhibits in Zurich (Switzerland), Paris (France), New Orleans, and Milwaukee.

Although Estevez creates art in many different mediums such as sculptures, paintings, drawings and ceramics, he is most recognized by his remarkable collages. Through these different mediums, Estevez attempts to reveal the nature of the world, human thoughts and ideas.

The workshop on collage was held at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and was organized by Natanya Blanck and Latino Arts, Inc for A.W.E.’s Professional Development Session. At the beginning of the presentation, A.W.E. artists were given a background by Estevez on his life growing up in Cuba and the culture and traditions he was accustomed to. Estevez described where some of his inspirations came from, including the work of a Brazilian native who was not considered an “artist” because he was put into a mental hospital. Inspired by the Brazilian’s work, Estevez felt that “the concept of taking something from reality out of context was…simply amazing.”

Participants were captivated for the entire hour and a half presentation. Estevez was eager to give advice to participants, explaining that he regularly shops at flea markets and thrift stores to find certain “treasures” to incorporate in his collages. These items he collects are seen as fragments of people’s ideas. Throughout his slideshow, Estevez pinpointed the sheer beauty in simple things made wonderful by his distinct balance of artistic enthusiasm and the patience he puts into his pieces.

After presenting his show, Estevez led A.W.E. artists in creating collages of their own. Using magazines, markers, oil pastels, pencils, and the artists’ own supplies, A.W.E. artists worked using techniques similar to that of Estevez: a mixture of non-traditional and traditional elements. The artists had the opportunity to experience a taste of Estevez’s personal life and incorporate what they learned into their pieces, while being able to give them their own unique twist. Although the weather outside appeared gloomy, there was a lively buzz of excitement that hummed throughout the studio. Artists engaged in conversations with each other and a spirit of enthusiasm hung in the air. The workshop turned out to be a great success and Estevez was eager to speak to the artists individually and give his opinion on their pieces. A.W.E. participants felt very fortunate to have a significant artist like Carlos Estevez present such an interesting and informative workshop on his collages.

In addition to attending his wonderful lecture, Alexandra was able to catch up with Mr. Estevez after his lecture at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design to ask him for a few questions. Click the ‘more’ link below to read the artist interview!

1. What aspects of the culture and traditions of your Cuban background have changed your views on life and art?

“To me, people are like plants. Somehow we all belong to a certain place and we carry our roots with us on to new experiences. To be born in Cuba, inside Latin American culture, there is a very big mix of things and people. Influences from Europe, China and Africa are all combined together. We are very multicultural. In Cuba, there is no house or piece of furniture alike- the culture goes beyond.”

2. How has your transition to moving to the United States impacted your work today?

“The United States has a very good market for art. People relate to each other much differently. In Cuba, you know everyone and there is no privacy. It’s difficult to go back and forth from Cuba to the United States. In Cuba, everything is so slow and you can take forever to do one thing. In the United States, it’s all about time and money and everything is so fast.”

3. Which is your favorite collage you have done and what message are you trying to convey through this piece?

“All my pieces are my babies, so it’s hard to choose just one. But I really like “Self Fishing.” It is powerful and stimulating. Oftentimes we look for other things to find inspiration such as the media, books and pictures, but at some point we need to look within ourselves to find the answers.”

If you would like to participate in the workshop, our only other request is that you bring your own supplies.

If you are intersted in participating in the hands on portion please bring:

Scissors

Glue

Smooth Paper- medium sized

Colored Pencils

Magazine or other images you are interested in working with for collage

We also highly recommend visiting Mr. Estevez’s website to peruse his work, whether you are able to attend the event or not. It can be viewed here: http://www.carlosestevez.net/index.php

We hope to see you all this weekend for what is sure to be a fabulous experience!

Program Outreach Specialist Reanna Ottoson, Program Coordinator Mary Osmundsen and A.W.E. founder Barbara Manger presented in an hour and half long workshop where they shared the mission of the organization with folks from all over the United States.

A lively discussion about arts education and (lack of) funding for the arts in public schools followed where we not only shared our experiences in Milwaukee but also learned a great deal about similar situations in Madison and other cities around the country.

A.W.E. is extremely grateful to have been a part of this convention and looks forward to doing more talks in the future!

Click here to view press coverage of the weekend.

Artists Working in Education values art as an integral part of education. We believe that Teaching Artists offer a unique perspective and can help foster inquisitiveness, creativity flexibility, imagination and confidence in children. Through a School Studio residency, students collaborate with a professional Teaching Artist who brings a creative approach to the planning and implementation of a collaborative art experience.

A.W.E. offers two types of School Studio Projects:

• A “Single Studio” Visual Art Project where students work for 32 hours directly with one Lead Artist and an Assistant Artist on a collaborative visual art project.
• A Multi-Discipline “2-D” or “3-D” Project where students work for 54 hours directly with one visual artist and one or two artists of complementary disciplines to create a multi-disciplinary art experience. For example a sculptor and a dancer work may with students on a “2D” project; or a painter, story-teller and dancer on a “3D” project.

Projects take place during either the fall or spring semester. The project schedule is determined by the school and the collaborating artists. There are many different types of project ideas, so remember there are many possibilities. Let your imagination run wild!

If you are interested in getting your school involved in the school studio program, feel free to visit our website for more information or call the A.W.E offices at 414.933.3877. School Studios are a great, inexpensive (only $500!) way to get your school community together to make a stunning installation that they can be proud of!

Boy, was I wrong.

Compared to Summerfest, the Truck Studio program is an entirely different world, as I learned at my first experience with it at the final Truck Studio stop for the summer.

My first thought upon walking into the park was that I was amazed and slightly stunned by the array of languages that were flooding my ears from the group of picnic tables outside of the truck. I could only half-heartedly begin to comprehend the Spanish, as my K-12 education was spent in the relentless and fruitless pursuit of Latin, and I couldn’t fathom some of the other languages being spoken. The amazing thing was, though, that despite cultural differences, everyone was connected through the mutual bond of art making: in this case, crafting their very own Ugly Dolls which, by the end of the project, the kids refused to let go of as they ran about the park.

As I meandered through the groups of families, friends, neighbors, and strangers, through piles upon piles of craft supplies, listening to the constant hum of art making that suddenly made the languages still unfamiliar to me completely understandable, there was one language that I could not get over: one of the many dialects of Burma spoken by a family who immigrated to Milwaukee from the far distant country.

For those of you unfamiliar, Burma – or the Republic of the Union of Myanmar – is a small Asian nation to the southeast of India. Like so many countries, it was a victim of colonialism, and once it gained its independence in 1948, it was struck by a series of social and economic consequences that plunged it into one of the world’s longest running civil wars. Some might remember the 2007 uprisings of the monks of Myanmar against the military junta; though that story faded from our media, the fighting did not.

The constant battles have driven much of the population of Burma to neighboring countries as a means to escape, and the families at my first Truck Studio were some of them. Burma is a country of many ethnic groups, and they represented some of the Karen people. They had escaped Burma to spend several years in Thai refugee camps before making the trek to America, where they were lucky enough to land in Milwaukee in the hands of a very caring landlord.

Their landlord, noticing that his residents had very little contact outside of their families during the summer months, sought to get them involved in the community. He made a call to Artists Working in Education to find the Truck Studio park that might be accessible to them, but not finding one, elected to drive them to the parks himself. There the children found an outlet of expression for lives that they found hard to communicate in their new English-speaking community: they could make art about where they came from, and with their parents, talk about what they were making.

The landlord even went so far as to get in touch with a translator, and it was through him that I spoke to several of the boys who came to the last Truck Studio to draw while some of their extended family (all younger members) worked at making the adorably silly Ugly Dolls. With colored pencils and pastels, they painted eloquently simple pictures of Thailand: beautiful jungle scenery that made up much of their early memories.

When they had enough of drawing, they ran off to play in the park with some of the other children.

“It’s a nice space to just let kids be kids,” their landlord commented. “They need that.”

I watched for a moment the comfortable, easy environment that had come from the coming together of the community over something so simple as art making. I did not have long to watch the quiet, however, before one of the Truck Studio artists produced a bucket of faux fur and the scene dissolved into something reminiscent of the Summerfest tent.

If there is one thing to be learned from my Truck Studio experience, it’s that kids love faux fur.

BY COURTNEY MORGAN, A.W.E WRITING INTERN

Josh receives art made by Truck 2- "Monster goes to the Doctor"

The opening act was an amazing pianist who was featured on the show America’s Got Talent. ELEW‘s music is described as “an inspired melding of ragtime, rock and pop that he calls Rockjazz”. Sporting sneaks, silver vambraces, and without a bench to sit at, he delivered a lightening performance that energized the whole crowd in anticipation for the upcoming show. We were even lucky enough to meet ELEW after his set where he took pics with our kids and signed their CDs!

Taking pics with ELEW during intermission

What some folks might not know about Groban is how dynamic of a performer he his! He ran through the crowd numerous times, pulled people on stage for comical skits, played the drums for a number of songs and cracked jokes all night long. Favorite part of the show you ask? When he pointed out A.W.E. in the audience and spread the word about our mission and programs!  

 Thank you so much Josh Groban and the Find Your Light Foundation- we had a blast!!!

A.W.E. backstage with Josh Groban

Well, come check it out! As you may or may not know, we spend our summers in the Summer Truck Studio – they’re beautifully painted trucks absolutely filled with art supplies that run around to different Milwaukee area parks to bring art to kids during the summer months. Maybe you’ve seen us driving around town. Of course, you were probably still wondering, “Well, what sort of stuff do they make?”

Obviously the best way to answer that is to get over to one of the parks. Right now, unfortunately, we are in the last week of the summer truck studio, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out! Tonight, as part of National Night Out, we have a very special event planned.

Artists Working in Education Presents:

Summer Art in the Park Exhibition

Thursday August 4th, 2011

6:30-8:30pm

Part of National Night Out at Kops Park

3321 N 86th Street, Milwaukee, WI, 53222

Come out and see what our very talented kids have been making this summer, enjoy the beautiful weather, and soak up some art – Truck Studio style.

See you there!