State 4 H Expressive Arts Development. Committee Meeting Minutes

Transcription

1 State 4 H Expressive Arts Development Committee Meeting Minutes November 10, :00 11:30 am Pamela Rose called the meeting to order at 9:00am and welcomed everyone to the meeting. Present at this meeting (four by phone, three by polycom, and two in person) were: Steven Kershaw, Teri Fladstol, Elliana Fladstol, Mel Jeffrey, Jan Williams, Tom Katzke, Elissa Wells, Patricia Spark, and Pamela Rose. The minutes from the fall 2010 committee meeting were reviewed with no corrections made. Patricia requested that the minutes be sent out right away after the meeting to facilitate conversations back in the county. Pamela provided an overview of the Enrollments and Exhibit Summary Data utilizing the report she prepared for the 2011 State Fair Board of Trustees (The chart from the report is attached at the end of the minutes). Our enrollments in art, cast ceramics, and leather craft each showed an increase this past year and enrollments in photography, fiber arts, and cake decorating were all pretty level. Our fair entries in all areas showed a generous increase. Discussion and feedback on the 2011Oregon State Fair with suggestions for 2012: Cake decorating This was the first year a cake decorating division was added to state fair. We had 39 entries out of the 220 enrolled in the project. The entries were displayed in two glass cases so all items were easily seen and yet protected. The cases were displayed near art exhibits. Chair Anne Koster did a nice job of handling questions and displaying exhibits this year. Various committee members commented on how nice it was to have cake decorating at state fair this year. The only specific suggestion for improvement was adding the word flat to the decorated cookie description. There were no reported problems from the county staff/volunteers are transporting exhibits. Pizza and cake boxes seemed to work well. There was some discussion on adding another more advanced phase for cake decorating, but it was decided to wait a couple of years before this was done. Photography Mary Walker and Cody Walker are stepping down and co chairs for the Photography division. We thank them for their leadership and investment of time over the years. Pamela announced that Vicki Pope and Emile Pope have agreed to serve as the new Co Chairs for Photography. Vicki had hoped to join in today, but obviously something has come up. A few suggestions for Photography were brought to the table for discussion. A. The current verbiage in the fairbook reads They may be mounted only or mounted and matted. The concern is around the word may in this sentence which is not clear. After

2 discussion, the committee decided to utilize: Photos must be either mounted or mounted and matted. B. Our fair book does not address the array of sizes members now can create with their digital photos, we currently have problems with photo dimension disparity as members utilize commercially made mats. To solve this, our new wording will be: All single images must have one side, the shorter side, no less than 5 inches. The final exhibit size, including either mount or mat must still be no less that 8 x10 and may not exceed 16 x 20. C. There was discussion about the _ Series or Story class in regards to the number of print images to be included. Right now there is no minimum and a maximum of 20. A great reflective discussion insued on what constituted a story, how many pictures it took to convey story or series, and what can be conveyed in only a 16 x 20 story board space. All agreed that a story can be told in just one picture, but this class was designed to depict a series or story, as conveyed by its description. We decide to add the wording in this class description to say: minimum of 3 and maximum of 12. D. A suggestion was made to provide a way for the public to see the explanation of the creative or special effect techniques used in classes _ Creative Process and _ Special Effects. Ideas were shared about ways to have the explanation card be seen on the front side of the photo or something placed on the mat board to share this information. However, the final decision came down to not supporting this idea because 1) this exhibit is more about the final product not the process which can be shared via an educational display and 2) we didn t want to take away from the visual effect the youth is creating through their photo and matting. E. Adhesive hangers are currently recommended not required and it is requested that the plastic hangers are attached with about ½ inch exposed over the top center of the exhibit. At the county level, some counties do not want this ½ inch of the plastic hanger exposed. There was agreement, however, in the need for exhibits coming into state to meet this requirement. The wording will now read Exhibits must be ready for hanging with adhesive plastic hanger. F. Committee members asked about being able to purchase these hangers in quantity from the state 4 H office. Steven Kershaw stated that he was the one who provided the source for these hangers. Pamela will have Sherri solicit orders from counties so enough hangers can be ordered to meet needs across the state. Steven mentioned that he thought the minimum order was about 5,000 hangers. Encouraged those hanging exhibits at state fair next year to start displaying from the bottom, making sure exhibits are not too close to the bottom. G. Another change in the fair book will be that the exhibitor s name, county, class number must be printed on the back of exhibit instead of should. H. Finally, Pamela asked the group for feedback on the number of classes members can exhibit in photography. Currently it states two classes, but all other expressive arts areas allow members to enter up to three classes. We want to keep quality high. Tom pointed out that at this time

3 we currently have the same proportion of members exhibiting in the photography area as we do in other project areas. One concern if that with increased exhibits may come the need for an additional judge. Steven shared that he and many other judges did finish earlier this year than in some previous years, but it is still a concern. With budget concerns from state fair, it will not be something we will do this year, but it something to consider down the road. Art The art area was again filled with a wide array of wonderful exhibits. Jan Williams wondered if we could spread out the art exhibits at state fair, so they were not just limited to the cove under the second floor. Pamela shared that a more generous footprint for Art could definitely be considered in the layout of the state fair exhibits. We could even consider having some art displayed in other parts of the building. A few items were discussed relative to the fair book classes and/or information. The current wording in the fairbook states that Backing or mounting of artworks is strongly encouraged, if appropriate. The problem with this statement is that we have many pieces of art not coming in ready for display at all, such as jewelry. After some discussion to weigh out the concerns and pluses in this area, the committee agreed on the following wording: Artwork is to be mounted for display. There was a sentence not completed in the fair book last year which should read: Exhibits that have more than one piece need to be tied together or connected together in some way so the pieces can be considered as one exhibit. An exhibit question related to soaps was discussed. Soaps made through use of molds need to be exhibited under Home Environment. Only carved soaps fit within the artistic work of the art project. Pamela noted for the committee that we are getting larger enrollment numbers in Creative Writing (304), Crafts (1261) and Graphic Arts (82). These are areas we may want to consider addressing in the future, such as coordinating with the Communication Committee on creative writing opportunities. In consideration of the graphic arts numbers we are getting, Pamela proposed whether or not we could add a place for graphic arts exhibits. Jan commented also on the exhibits we are getting in this area that don t really fit within our existing Art categories. These exhibits often then get moved to SET, yet they shouldn t be judged according to SET standards when it is more of an artistic work. After some discussion, the committee supported the idea of adding a class in this area. Jan and Patricia volunteered to work with Pamela on creating wording for a new class category for graphic design. Fiber Arts Teri and Elliana shared that everything went really well in the Fiber Arts division this year. All of the suggestions incorporated last year were well received. The judges appreciated the clarity in the new judging score sheet and the new class descriptions helped with the clarity of exhibits being entered in the right classes. There were a number of very small quilted items that compete against large quilted items, but at this time there is not the number of exhibits to distinguish separate classes. In addition, the techniques utilized in quilting are the same for each so it is just something the judges have to focus on instead of the size of the exhibit. Overall, again, they are very pleased with how all is going.

4 Leather craft Tom shared that the quality of exhibits was very high this year and the number of exhibits have increased. He is hoping that the displaying of the exhibits in secure, locked glass cases will encourage even more exhibits to state fair. Tom shared that he knows some counties (members) are not sending some of their best exhibits for fear of them being stolen. Overall the judging went smooth. Cast Ceramics Pamela reported that all seemed to go well in this area during state fair. Gail, again, did a great job with this area. Pamela will check back in with Gail to be sure there are no changes needed. Discussion on Leader and Judges Training: Jan and Patricia suggested that training focus on some of the topics which came out of our discussion today, such as mounting of jewelry, mounting of other unusual items, and mounting of photographs. Everyone supported the need for conducting training for leaders, judges and 4 H staff. Steven suggested that instead of face to face trainings that we create short videos (3 5 minutes) that address or demonstrate some of the how to s needed. Steven had already created some of these with Elaine Schrumpf s involvement and the format used for creating these has already changed. Jan suggested pachyderm training. She has received training in this use of technology and thinks it would be a great fit for this purpose as you can make the video interactive with little video clicks within the recorded training. Jan will send out a link after the minutes are sent out to all committee members. Pamela will work with Jan and OSU Extension Communications on how to utilize this technology for developing some training for leaders, judges, and 4 H staff. As a group, we brainstormed some topics to address: Pachyderm Training Topics Mounting for display Proper mounting of adhesive hangers for photography and art Completing the Explanation cards Explaining of the Series/Story class illustrating the story or series, showing examples Basic mounting of two dimensional works Providing mounting solutions for three dimensional works Interview judging from both member and judge perspectives Aspect ratio and cropping of photographs Selecting and Using proper adhesives

5 Using judging contests as a teaching tool Project Standards what is a judge looking for (reviewing the score sheets) Incorporating science and science inquiry in expressive arts projects Addressing artistic choices exploring when an exhibit is better with or without an element/photo/matt/etc. Being an effective clerk Making project/club activities experiential Judges Training Specific items suggested to be incorporated into judges training included: Helping leaders transition to be a judge Share the standardized version of the meaning of blue, red, white, champion ribbons Expectations of a judge really about the kids, value of comments on explanation card Review of project standards Conducting an interview judging experience Steven suggested we could utilize polycom and/or webinar technology to allow people easy access to training. Other topics for consideration: Curriculum/Support material: The project area with the biggest need for a curriculum update is the Leather craft project. However, this will need to be addressed after Pamela has addressed needs in Foods and Clothing project areas. Pamela shared that there is interest expressed for modifications in our existing Art project record. This will be evaluated, modified, and shared when completed. National Survey: Pamela briefly shared with committee members the results of a national survey conducted by the NAE4 HA Communication and Expressive Arts Task Force. The survey, which Pamela helped create and provided the analysis of the data, shares some program ideas that could be considered in Oregon (i.e. web gallery) as well as ways for incorporating science and healthy living through expressive arts. Pamela will send out a copy of the survey report with the minutes. Meeting adjourned at 11:30 am.

6 Family & Consumer Science and Expressive Arts Oregon 4 H Statewide Enrollment and Oregon 4 H State Fair Entry Data Family & Consumer Science Enrollments Entries Enrollments Entries Enrollments Entries Home Environment Food and Nutrition Food Preservation Clothing and Textiles Knitting Crochet Contests Fashion Revue Foods Contests Clothing Judging Foods Judging Not state supported: Outdoor Cooking Consumer Ed Table Setting Child Development Expressive Arts Art Cast Ceramics Photography Leather craft Fiber Arts Cake Decorating Not state supported: Cake Decorating Hobbies Dance Music Drama 5 13 Creative Writing