A Night at the Gardens!

Frederik Meijer Gardens was buzzing with 3-6 year olds last week Thursday evening. Students from Ridgemoor and West Leonard, Early Childhood schools took their families out for a night of art and fun at the Gardens.
Each year VSA puts on Early Childhood events with lots of art activities for students and their families for each of the Early Childhood schools in Grand Rapids and last thursday was the night for these two schools.


The students went from room to room, dancing with butterfly wings in the creative movement room, making beautiful clay tiles, drumming outdoors, engaging in interactive stories, participating in puppet theaters, and of course enjoying the butterflies at the Gardens.


Along with the artists leading the various activites, there were also a slew of volunteers who came out and helped! One group of volunteers was made up of the top 20designers who are part of the upcoming fashion event on May 15, Runway on Monroe. With these designers, kids created beautiful fairy bracelets and coffee filter butterflies, and left with these reminders of their night at the gardens.


Thanks to all the families, artists, volunteers, and teachers who came out and to Frederik Meijer Gardens for hosting this wonderful event!
To see more pictures from this event, go to our facebook page.

Painting Expressions: VSA Student Exhibit

Over the past year, students in the Grand Rapids Public CBOT (Community Based Occupational Training) program have come to VSA each Wednesday for art classes. The art classes included a Drama/Theater session, a Jewelry making session, and a Painting session.

The students presented their work from their final session this past Wednesday, March 24 with a reception at VSA.



Before the reception, each of the students were also asked to finish two sentences:

1. I like art because:
2. My favorite part of VSA this year was:
These written responses were then hung up next to their painting.

One of the students answered the questions responding, "I like art because it helps you with many different techniques and colors," and "My favorite part of VSA this year was the painting because how it brings out your inner spirit and outer spirit and how it establishes your personal thought of how you feel."

The process of creating the pieces was definitely one of expression and the paintings the students produced were unique, intricate, and beautiful.

For more pictures of the student's paintings, see the album on our Facebook Page.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Yesterday, Tuesday, March 23, the VSA offices were transformed into a Black Box Theater for a very special production.

As the culmination of a ten week adult theater class at VSA led by teaching artist, Tim St. Claire, ten students performed a few scenes from “The Wizard of Oz” for an audience of teachers, parents, siblings, and friends.

The students did a fabulous job on stage. They hit their lines, transformed into their characters, and at many times elicited uproarious laughter from the crowd.




Thanks to all those who came to see the show, to Tim for his wonderful direction, and thanks to the very talented actors and actresses who performed!

A Very Special Concert

Come support the VSA choir!
This Saturday, March 13 at 3:00pm, at Kuyper College (Kuyper College Chapel, 3333 East Beltline NE, Grand Rapids).



The Very Special Choir was invited to sing with the training choirs of the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Choruses. This should be a wonderful concert and will include a reception following the concert as well as a free-will offering going towards Very Special Choir to help continue to support this program!

Children Make Art for Children: DeVos Children's Hospital Artwork

Friday night was an exciting night for VSA and the students who have been involved in the DeVos Children's Hospital project!

LaFontsee Galleries hosted an art opening exhibiting some of the art that has been created by VSA students for the Children's Hospital. The exhibition featured much work from VSA students along with students from other community organizations around Grand Rapids. Artists, students and teachers all came out for the event and everyone was excited to see their work framed and on display. Stay tuned as more VSA artwork is choosen as the hospital is completed.

Thanks to all the parents, students, and artists who came out for this exciting event and for LaFontsee for hosting.

Call For Art: Legacy Trust Award Collection

VSA arts of Michigan-Grand Rapids seeks artwork from adult artists with disabilities for the Legacy Trust Award Collection to be included in ArtPrize 2010 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

VSA is soliciting artwork entries created by adult artists with disabilities for the Legacy Trust Award Collection of ArtPrize 2010.

ArtPrize is a radically open art competition, giving away the world's largest art prize. Part arts festival, part social experiment - this international art contest is decided solely on a public vote. ArtPrize runs September 22 through October 10, 2010 in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information see the ArtPrize website at www.artprize.org.

This award collection has been designed to assist adult artists with disabilities to participate in a preliminary art competition with three winning artists moving forward to compete in ArtPrize 2010* in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as the Legacy Trust Award Collection.

*VSA will make every effort to secure an appropriate venue for the three winning artists, but neither artprize nor VSA can make any guarantees

To register and for more information,

see the Call for Art here.

Music in Mrs. Geers Room

Each year over forty special education classrooms from throughout our community participate in VSA Artist Workshops and Artist Residencies, in mediums such as dance, music, pottery, jewelry making, and painting—all which encourage expression and confidence in these youth.

The pictures below are from one of our music workshops at Appleview Elementary. Teacher, Lynelle Geers, submitted a proposal for a workshop in music to "learn new ways to incorporate music into their routine that will burn some energy while teaching key concepts" She wrote, "I would would to use music to gain their attention, get some wiggles out, and build coordination."

Teaching artist and trained Music Therapist is doing just that with this class of 11, 8-11 year olds. Today was Erinn's second time visiting this classroom and she will finish up next week with the final, one-hour session. Erinn definitely has to work hard to keep the attention of these energetic students, but with the help of drums, active songs, egg shakers and lots of movement, she's able to do it!



Thanks to Mrs. Geers class for letting me come in today to make some music and take some pictures, you guys are great!

THANK YOU ARMA!

This past Friday, February 5, 2010, VSA received a very exciting delivery. VSA was the proud recipient of boxes and boxes of art and office supplies very generously donated by ARMA (Association of Records Management Professionals).

ARMA has chosen VSA as their 2009-2010 non-profit partner whom they learn about and support in a variety of ways.

Thank you again for your VERY GENEROUS support ARMA--your gifts will reach many youth and adults with disabilities through VSA programs!

Drumming and Choral Concert

Students in Holland, Zeeland, and Hudsonville's Community Based Instruction program recently finished their 9-session residency in Music. Every other week the students would meet with Jim Cooper, percussionist in a local band and teacher at the Holland Arts Council, to learn about various types of drums, experiment with different rhythms, and enjoy expression through a free-style drum circle. After an hour of drumming, students would then meet with Ron Toering, singer and experienced choir and music teacher, for an hour of vocal warm-ups, choral games, and generating a repertoire of popular choral music.

The students ended this residency by performing for friends and family in a concert. Both concerts showcased the students' hard work and enjoyment of singing and drumming and everyone (especially the kids in audience who danced to the drumming) had lots of fun.

Thanks to our two wonderful teachers, the students, and to our sponsors the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan and the Herman Miller Foundation for making this possible.

See more pictures of the two concerts on our facebook page.

Call for Art!

VSA arts of Michigan-Grand Rapids will showcase a special gallery exhibition of artwork by VSA artists in November, 2010 at the Forest Hills Fine Art Center Gallery. The Forest Hills Fine Arts Gallery showcases the talents of artists from throughout Michigan in exhibitions through-out the year.

VSA is soliciting artwork created by artists with disabilities of all ages for this upcoming special exhibition. Artwork received by VSA by the deadline of Friday, February 26, 2010 will be juried to create an exhibit of approximately 30 pieces that includes a full range of ages, abilities, and geographical representation.

To learn more and to download the application form, click here.

For questions about this opportunity call Katie or Michele at #885-5866 or e-mail vsaprogram@iserv.net or vsagr@iserv.net.

An Amway GRAND Tour

With many of our students interested in exploring careers in the culinary arts, getting a chance to see into the inner workings of a commercial kitchen is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. On Wednesday morning, the VSA Arts & Mentoring class got that chance with a behind-the-scenes look at the amazing culinary operations at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. We learned that on some days, the culinary department can serve as many as 4,500 people in their special events alone!

The tour started at the Hotel’s loading dock as the order of fresh fruits and vegetables was being delivered. Fresh produce is delivered daily to the hotel! From there, we toured the special kitchen used just for the produce. From special sinks to a full-sized cooler, the fresh fruits and vegetables are kept separate from all other aspects of the culinary prep to avoid any contamination.

We even met Executive Chef Josef Huber in the main kitchen, who was busy preparing for the lunch menu for the day. Speaking with Chef Sally, who was busy preparing bacon for a recipe, we learned about the training needed to work as a cook in the kitchen. Our own Grand Rapids Community College has one of the finest two-year culinary degree programs in the area and many of those graduates now work for the Hotel. Other line cooks learn their jobs through on-the-job training and many years of experience.

We thank Assistant Catering Director Darrin Lettinga for giving us this wonderful tour.

Early Childhood Art Exploration

Students from Wellerwood, West Leonard, and Ridgemoor Early Childhood Centers enjoy their second eight weeks of art with Phil Wilson teaching Pottery (Wellerwood), Mary Riley teaching Puppetry and Song (West Leonard) and Lori Teft teaching Creative Movement (Ridgemoor).

For the full picture album, go to our facebook page.

Pamper Yourself!

Come enjoy food, beverages, and a sampling of select Vasaio Services. The cost of the event is $50 and all money will go to support VSA.
There are still a few spots left so sign up today by calling #885-5866 or by e-mailing Katie at vsaprogram@iserv.net.

Grand Valley Artist's Newsletter

VSA was highlighted in "GVA Highlights: A Monthly Publication of Grand Valley Artists Inc."
See what was said:

Message From VSA
Making a Difference Through the Arts
VSA arts of Michigan- Grand Rapids (“VSA”) is a unique organization with
a unique mission. VSA provides access to and opportunities in the arts to
people with disabilities. Through their programs, VSA helps people with
disabilities gain self-confidence, become more independent and to develop
their creative voice. Each year, through its 16 programs, VSA provides arts
classes and other arts opportunities to over 4,000 individuals in our community.

Meet Alex*
In VSA’s Graduated Art classes for adults with disabilities, each week
student-artists explore new and exciting art projects, from creating candle
holders decoupaged with tissue paper or fashioning necklaces and
bracelets to painting beautiful watercolors. After the class, Alex and
several of his friends started keeping the plastic CD covers that they
were sorting, which are normally thrown away. When asked, Alex told
us that he was saving the covers in order to glue tissue paper to them and
create mobiles- a program he learned about during the VSA art class!

Meet the Puppets
In their early childhood special education art class, VSA introduces children
to the wonderful world of puppets. Using the puppets, the artist
teaches emotions, gender – “is Happy (the puppet) a boy or a girl?”,
colors and appropriate touch—“can you gently shake Sad’s hand?” The
puppets are also used to aid with singing, to help learn attention skills
and communication.
“It’s wonderful seeing Marcus* responding to the humor—he LOVEs
it” raves classroom nurse Pat. Classroom aid Kate adds “It’s been so
positive for our kids. Such a nice change to the normal routine and
something they look forward to. Even Molly*, who is blind, really tunes
in. You can hear her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star long after the
song is done.”

How Can You Help Other Budding Artists like Alex, Marcus and
Molly?
VSA is always looking for interested community members to become
partners in our organization. If you would like to learn more, VSA offers
Very Special Tours to the community to see our programs and organization
in action. These tours are one hour long and are free to attend- all
you need to do is call VSA to set-up your tour time!

Volunteer
Are you interested in volunteering? VSA needs help in many areas.
Classroom assistants work alongside teaching artists to help students in
their art classes. These volunteers are friends and mentors to our students.
Office assistants help in the many tasks that are needed to
successfully run the VSA offices on a day-to-day basis, from website
and blog updates to mailings to correspondence. Board members and
planning team members help VSA to set and to carry out the strategic
plan to help the organization fulfill the VSA mission. Through these
jobs, you will have a voice in the path that VSA takes into the future.

Teaching Artists
Are you interested in teaching for VSA? VSA is always looking for new
artists to lead our arts programs and classes. We are looking for good
teachers, who have a passion for helping others learn about the arts.
These paid positions provide a wonderful opportunity for the right artists
to pass their wonderful talents and gifts onto others. Right now, VSA
has an immediate need for new photography teachers! (There is an application
and interview process required to become a teacher for VSA.)

Advocate for VSA
VSA needs other voices to join with them. Advocates help VSA by
organizing Very Special Tours, setting up art supply drives in the community
or even hosting a table at VSA’s annual Very Special Event Luncheon
in June of each year.

Want to learn more? Here’s how! Call or e-mail Michele or Katie
at VSA at #616-885-5866 or at vsagr@iserv.net to come in for a tour.
Check out the VSA website at: www.vsagr.org or the blog at www.
vsagr.blogspot.com. Become a fan of VSA on our Facebook page at
VSA arts of Michigan Grand Rapids.

*Names are pseudonyms
http://www.gvami.com/newsletters/january2010.pdf

Creative Movement Video!

See what Clark Communications has to say about VSA's Early Childhood Creative Movement Classes. Then go to the link below to watch the fun!

"Remember when you were a kid and somehow you learned to do somersaults - maybe from your older brother or your preschool gym class? Somehow you learned to balance yourself, jump, swing, follow directions and be a little gymnast.

The reality is, not every kid has an older sibling or cousin or even parent to teach them these skills. For some kids it is a much tougher process due to a disability, to be able to learn and practice balance/technique.

I was honored to attend one of the VSA programs called "Creative Movement". VSA has set up a teacher who teaches these skills to children at learning centers in GR. This class is specific to children with disabilities or "at-risk" kids between the ages of 2-6 years. With respect for the teachers, children and families, all of these kids have been approved to be on video (just so you know).

I wanted to take you into the same thought pattern I was experiencing while watching these kids in their classroom setting. The laughter and joy was so contagious, that I was smiling the whole time I was there (I think you will too :)

Watch the children as they learn very small and simple things like following directions, keeping balance on one foot, curling their knees to their chest and rocking backwards. Remember that these are skills that most of us take for granted.

Please take some time to watch this video with that thought in mind. Look at the kids faces, their concentration and ambition. The video is over 9 min. long, so skip through a bit and listen to them laugh and learn life skills that teach them to socially interact and understand body awareness."

Guest Blog Entry by Jennifer Luth, Clark Communications

http://www.youtube.com/user/clarkcommunication#p/a/u/0/2q1haJ7nIjE