Crayola DreamMakers Online Exhibition - We Have a WINNER!

The video above includes all the artwork submitted from
Mount Prospect School

This year 19 students (K - 5th grade), from Mount Prospect School, participate in the Crayola DreamMakers Online Exhibition ~ Visual Voices Speak Up for Creativity.  In addition to the artwork, each student had to write a dream statement.  You can see ALL the entries, from the United States and Canada, here in the Crayola Gallery. 

The artwork submitted to this online exhibition was juried and 39 pieces were selected to be exhibited at the U.S Department of Education in Washington, D.C and it's offices around the country.

CONGRATULATIONS

to

Eric, 5th grade

his artwork, The Everyday Jungle was selected to be included in this exhibit!

Mount Prospect Students Exhibit at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center

Mid-Winter Exhibit at NJPAC

One of my goals, each year, is to display as much artwork as possible outside of our school. This month and throughout the mid-winter and early Spring, 4 pieces of artwork will be on display in the lobby of the Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ. This is a juried exhibit sponsored by the Art Educators of New Jersey, 30 pieces will be exhibited in all. All the artwork is framed under glass and lit in true gallery style. The Artist's Reception will be Sunday, February 28, 2010 from 11:00 - 12:00 pm. Congratulations to Thomas (1st grade), Juliette-Craig (3rd grade), Jennifer & Avani (4th grade)! If you are going to NJPAC soon please make sure to stop by and enjoy the exhibit! All the artwork from this exhibit can been viewed in the AENJ Artsonia Gallery.

Photos from "Nature Through a Child's Eyes" Art Exhibit at the Somerset Environmental Center

"Nature Through a Child's Eyes" Exhibit at the Somerset Environmental Center

Scarecrow Landscape, Anneliese3 (2nd grade)

For the 18th year the Somerset Environmental Center will sponsored the exhibit, "Nature through a Child's Eyes". This exhibit is open to all K-6th grade schools in Somerset County and it is the 9th year Mount Prospect School will participate.  Over 40 pieces of artwork from Mount Prospect, all inspired by nature, will be on exhibit. The children are asked to write, "What nature means to them..." the children's responses are included in the exhibit program. On Sunday - January 3, 2010 there will be an Artist's Reception. It is always so exciting to see the students with their family and friends, they are all so proud!!! 

Congratulations to all the young artists!

This exhibit will be on display at the Somerset Environmental Center, Basking Ridge, NJ from January 3, 2010 until February 7, 2010 - if you get a chance stop by and see it!  Please check back here in January to see photos of the exhibit!

More good news from the National Zoo Contest...

CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER!!!

We have ANOTHER honorable mention in the National Zoo Contest!  This year the National Zoo in Washington, DC ran a poster contest and 23 students from Mount Prospect School entered a design.  I just got the news today that Jennifer2896 (4th grade) received an honorable mention in the National Zoo Poster Contest!  Congratulations Jennifer and keep up the excellent work! Her poster will be displayed with the other honorable mentions in the Zoo's Mane Restaurant during their winter celebration ZooLights which beings this Friday, December 4^th (details can be found by visiting http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/Celebrations/ZooLights/default.cfm).

The National Zoo is proud to display such great work

by a talented artist!!! 

Congratulations to Jennifer & Lauren!

To see all of Mount Prospect's entries in the National Zoo Contest - CLICK HERE and visit our Artsonia Gallery

National Zoo Contest Winner ~ Congratulations!

CONGRATULATIONS LAUREN!!!

Lauren1311 design for the National Zoo Contest

This year the National Zoo in Washington, DC ran a poster contest and 23 students from Mount Prospect School entered a design.  I just got the news last night that Lauren1311 (4th grade) received an honorable mention in the National Zoo Poster Contest!  Congratulations Lauren and keep up the excellent work! Her poster will be displayed with the other honorable mentions in the Zoo's Mane Restaurant during their winter celebration ZooLights which beings this Friday, December 4^th (details can be found by visiting http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/Celebrations/ZooLights/default.cfm).

The National Zoo is proud to display such great work

by a talented artist!!! 

To see all of Mount Prospect's entries in the National Zoo Contest - CLICK HERE and visit our Artsonia Gallery

The Color Purple at NJPAC

The Color Purple

One of my goals, each year, is to display as much artwork as possible outside of our school. This month and throughout the winter, 3 pieces of artwork will be on display in the lobby of the Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ. This is a juried exhibit sponsored by the Art Educators of New Jersey, 30 pieces will be exhibited in all. All the artwork is framed under glass and lit in true gallery style.  The Artist's Reception will be Saturday, December 19, 2009 from 11:00 - 12:00 pm.

This exhibit celebrates the musical, The Color Purple, which will be performed at NJPAC from Wednesday - December 16, 2009 - Sunday - December 20, 2009.

There are lots of things to do at NJPAC on Saturday, so make plans...

• Kwanzaa Children's Festival
• Performance of "The Spirit of Kwanzaa" at 2:00pm & 5:00pm
  
• Performances of "The Color Purple" at 2:00pm & 8:00pm
• or take a walk to the Newark Museum
  

Congratulations to Jee Soo (5th grade), Michelle (3rd grade), & Anicia (1st grade)! If you are going to NJPAC this fall/winter please make sure to stop by and enjoy the exhibit! All the artwork from this exhibit can been viewed in the AENJ Artsonia Gallery.

Sofia64 is a finalist the Artsonia's "Artist of the Week"! Vote and help Sofia be a WINNER!

VOTE for Sofia64 

Great News!  Sofia64, from Mount Prospect School, has been selected as a finalist for this week's "Artist of the Week" award for the 4th-6th age group.  The finalist who receives the most online votes between now and Saturday November 14 will be selected as our "Artist of the Week." 
 
To view the finalists and cast your vote, simply click on the link below.  Voting is limited to one vote per computer per day for each age group!

     http://www.artsonia.com/aotw/vote/0/6744008

The "Artist of the Week" will be featured on the Artsonia homepage and will receive a commemorative plaque from Artsonia.  In addition, Blick Art Materials has generously donated $100 gift certificates to the winning teachers and $50 to the winning artists.

We have a National Winner - Nestle Push-Up & Create Contest

CONGRATULATIONS

to Katie

(5th grade),

her design was selected as one of

3 National Grand Prize Winners 

in the

Nestle Push-Up and Create Contest 
 and
CONGRATULATIONS
Elena (6th grade)

her design was selected as one of

50 First Prize Winners 

in the

Nestle Push-Up and Create Contest 
 

Entries for this contest were due to me, at the end of last school year, June 2009.  Students were asked to create a design for Push-Up Ice Cream Tube.  I received over 80 entries - I always tell my students, "You've gotta be in it to win it!"  Thank you to ALL of my students who entered this contest - keep up the GREAT WORK!  We have been waiting patiently for the website to reveal the winners...then last week we my principal received a call - it was so EXCITING, we had a winner!

As a National winner Katie wins a monetary prize and her design will be printed on the Push-Up Ice Cream Tubes - coming to a supermarket near you in 2010!  How FUN is that???  In addition, the school receives a donation in recognition of the student that goes to support ART EDUCATION at Mount Prospect School.   

You Can VOTE too!!!

To be part of the FUN, go to the Scholastic Website to VOTE for your favorite and help determine the 5 KIDs' PICK WINNERS!  Make sure to include Elena in your picks!!!  You can pick 5 designs each day and you can vote everyday until January 31, 2010!

BRAVO to Dreyer's, Nestle & Scholastic for

 developing a contest
that supports ART in schools!

Painting of Mount Prospect is on a Billboard!!!

Stephanie Amato’s Painting of
Mount Prospect School
Named Winner in Statewide Competition to

Help Beautify NJ’s Highways

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – August 19, 2009 – Congratulations to Stephanie Amato of Basking Ridge, whose NJ-inspired landscape entitled “Mount Prospect Elementary School” was announced as one of 13 winning pieces in the Palisades Highway Art Gallery competition. Her painting will be displayed on Rt. 202 at Old York Rd. in Somerset County beginning the week of August 17, making passersby smile every time they drive by.

"There are so many talented artists in New Jersey, and this is a wonderful venue to exhibit work," said Amato. "I have received so much support from the Bernards School District, as well as the people of Basking Ridge."

For more than 15 years, Amato has been honing her craft through study and practice. She pursued an education in visual and graphic arts at the Parsons School of Design and at the Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts before earning an associate’s degree from Raritan Valley Community College. Amato’s work has generally been inspired by New Jersey views and landscapes and has been shown at more than 40 juried exhibitions. She is a charter member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey and coordinator for the New Jersey Society of En Plein Air Painters. Most recently, Amato received an honorable mention from New Jersey Center for the Visual Arts for her “John on the Mountain” piece, in addition to having won second place honors at the Tuckerton Paintout and Bayonet Arts Festival. She is represented by Design Domain Gallery, Bernardsville and lives in Basking Ridge with her family.

The Palisades Highway Art Gallery is the state’s first-ever highway art gallery, using prominent billboards to display the work of local artists throughout New Jersey. The initiative was officially launched on July 13 with the unveiling of two billboards by renowned New Jersey artists Tim Daly of Hoboken and Gary Godbee of Westfield. The contest inspired state artists to submit over 940 original paintings, drawings, photography and mixed media interpretations of the state’s beautiful landscapes to the Palisades Drive With a Smile Web site. Visitors to the site viewed the submissions and voted for their favorite pieces over four weeks this summer. In the end, Amato’s “Mount Prospect Elementary School” was one of the public’s top favorites and was selected to be one of the featured works of art of the Palisades Highway Art Gallery. All submissions to the Highway Art Gallery are on display on the Palisades Drive With a Smile Web site.

The Palisades Highway Art Gallery is the first initiative of the Palisades Drive With a Smile campaign, with the goal to remind drivers about the best the Garden State has to offer and create nicer New Jersey driving moments and more smiles all around. For more information about the Drive with a Smile campaign or the Palisades Highway Art Gallery, visit Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.

For information about Palisades or any of its more than 300 independent agents across the state, visit Palisades.com.

About Palisades

Palisades is the nice New Jersey car insurance company that gives you more. Drivers and agents get more reasons to smile with more value, friendly New Jersey expertise, and service done right. Palisades sells exclusively through over 300 independent agents and is a leader in the fast settlement of claims. Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation is a Plymouth Rock managed company. The Plymouth Rock Companies write and manage more than $1 billion in personal and commercial auto and homeowner’s insurance across the Northeast. Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation is the Attorney-in-Fact of Palisades Safety and Insurance Association (PSIA). Insurance is written by PSIA and its two wholly-owned insurers, Palisades Insurance Company and Palisades Property and Casualty Insurance Company (collectively “Palisades”).

Help Mount Prospect be a WINNER!!!

Artwork above created by: Stephanie Amato

http://drivewithasmile.palisades.com/highway-art-gallery/view-gallery-vote/

Last week I wrote a post on a contest being run by the Palisades Insurance Company called Drive with a Smile - the Palisades Highway Art Gallery.

I visited the site to see all the entries and
there was a painting of Mount Prospect School.
VOTING STARTS - Tuesday, July 14, 2009
CLICK HERE to VOTE!!!

How do you vote?
Scroll down the page until you find the painting, Mt. Prospect Elementary then
Simply move your mouse over the stars below each image, and once the number of stars you want appears, just click and you're done.

Let's help Mount Prospect WIN and we can see our school on the largest and most-viewed canvases in the state – New Jersey’s highway and roadway billboards. You can vote on each image once a day,
so come back each day and vote until August 7, 2009!
Up to 12 winners will be selected!

The purpose of the exhibit is to offer NJ artists a public venue for their work, and give local drivers an uplifting driving experience. This unique concept will give widespread exposure to New Jersey artists in a first-of-its-kind setting.

Voting runs from July 14th through August 7th. Up to a dozen winners will be announced on August 10th on Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile, based on the number of votes.

NJ Highway Art Gallery

OK young ARTISTS at Mount Prospect School!
I have a challenge for you...Palisades, the nice NJ car insurance company, is looking for artwork inspired by NJ landscapes for the state’s first Highway Art Gallery. Create a new piece of artwork that tells a story about New Jersey or take a look in your portfolio and find a piece you have already created, take a photo and upload it at the address below!

Good Luck!!!

This summer, the Palisades Highway Art Gallery will exhibit images of original works by NJ artists on some of the largest and most-viewed canvases in the state – New Jersey’s highway and roadway billboards. The first two billboards will feature artwork by renowned New Jersey landscape artists Tim Daly and Gary Godbee.

We’ve picked up to a dozen additional billboards on some of the most traveled roads throughout the state to feature work by artists like you! Your work could receive more than 80,000 views A DAY – and Palisades will foot the cost of the billboard and printing!

The purpose of the exhibit is to offer NJ artists a public venue for their work, and give local drivers an uplifting driving experience. This unique concept will give widespread exposure to New Jersey artists in a first-of-its-kind setting.

Guidelines

Want in? Starting July 13th, register and submit images of your original paintings, drawings, photography, or mixed media inspired by New Jersey scenic views, landscapes, seascapes, urbanscapes, destinations and landmarks at Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.

· There is no registration fee, and all submissions are free.

· Each applicant can submit a maximum of 10 pieces.

· Entries will be accepted as of July 13th, 2009 at Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.

· Entries should be in .jpeg or .gif format at least 600 pixels wide and 175 pixels high.

· The size of the file uploaded to the site should not exceed 8 MB.

• Sorry, sculpture or three dimensional works can’t be accepted.
• All submissions must be capable of being digitally reproduced and enlarged in order to be posted on the billboards.

The competition kicks off July 13th and you have until July 31st to submit your work, so enter early! Your art will be showcased in our online gallery, where site visitors can vote for their favorite submissions. Voting runs from July 14th through August 7th. Up to a dozen winners will be announced on August 10th on Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile, based on the number of votes.

Want more information? Send an email to highwayartgallery@mww.com. We hope to see your artwork in New Jersey’s first-ever highway gallery!

The parties agree that the artwork and images made by the artist will be the sole property of the artist. However, the artist agrees that Palisades Safety and Insurance Management Corporation (Palisades) shall have unrestricted use of the artist’s name and the image and artwork provided and produced by the artist in any and all commercial, promotional and advertising material without any monetary compensation. The decision to use and the manner of such use of the artist’s name artwork produced by the artist shall be the sole decision of Palisades. Employees and family members of Palisades, its affiliated and subsidiary companies and its vendors are not eligible to submit their artwork or images. All those under 18 must receive permission to enter from a parent or guardian.

Design a Backpack and WIN!!!

Are YOU looking for something
to DO this SUMMER?
Well, Sharpie & Office Depot have joined together for the
My Backpack Project!
The artwork is DUE - Saturday, September 19, 2009.
Then you will be able to VOTE on the finalist!

There are two ways to complete the artwork for this contest, you can go to Office Depot, purchase an actual BACKPACK and draw right ON IT!
OR
You can go to the website and DOWNLOAD a form to complete your design on!
Either way it sound like FUN!
Remember - you've GOT TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT!!!

So, what's in it for YOU???
Designers will have the chance to win prizes, including the opportunity to have their backpack design reproduced and sold in Office Depot stores nationwide during the 2010 back-to-school season.

Grand Prize

One (1) Grand Prize will be awarded to the Finalist who receives the most votes. The Grand Prize will consists of a check in the amount of $5,000 for the winner and the winner’s back pack design will be produced and sold in Office Depot stores in 2010.

First Prize
One (1) First Prize will be awarded to the Finalist who receives the second highest quantity of votes. The First Prize will consist of a check in the amount of $3,000.

Second Prize
One (1) Second Prize will be awarded to the Finalist who receives the third highest quantity of votes. The Second Prize will consist of a check in the amount of $2,000.

For more information read this article in Woman's Day Magazine - CLICK HERE

over 300,000 visitors to our Artsonia gallery!

We did it! I was hoping to reach this goal by the end of this school year
and we just squeaked by...our
Mount Prospect School ARTSONIA Gallery
officially hit 300,436 visitors this morning!

We finished the year publishing 4,351 piece of artwork! Congratulations to all the young artists at Mount Prospect School. If you have not had a chance to see what we have created this year - CLICK HERE

Parents please remember if you have NOT already REGISTERED for ARTSONIA you can contact me to get the security code to do so, just e-mail me at: sbivona@bernardsboe.com.
Registering as your child's parent or legal guardian will alert you to when new artwork is published and allow you to approve comments left for your child!

Comments, friends and family members LOVE to leave positive comments about the artwork that is published on ARTSONIA, these comments MUST be approved by a parent of legal guardian before they will show up for the students to read.
To approve you child's comments just log-on to Artsonia. Again, if you need assistance you can e-mail me at: sbivona@bernardsboe.com

Finally remember, if you make any artwork this summer you can add it to your personal gallery on ARTSONIA, just log into your account for more information. It's really easy -- you just need a digital camera, a computer
and access to the internet! Good Luck!

Wishing all of you a creative summer with your children and
I will see all of you back at
Mount Prospect School in September!

~ Mrs. Bivona

All Kids Can Create Exhibit, Washington DC

Congratulations Matthew!

The photos above are from the CVS Caremark "All Kids Can Create" Exhibit at Union Station in Washington, DC. This exhibit is sponsored by VSA Arts. My student, Matthew D's artwork was selected as the New Jersey finalist for this exhibit. Winners were selected from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. This exhibit opened in Washington, DC on June 1st and will be on display until June 21st. Matthew & his family and my husband & I traveled to Washington this weekend to see the display and go to the VSA arts Start with the Arts Family Festival at the National Portrait Gallery. WOW -- what an exciting weekend for everyone! We met at Union Station and took lots of great photos, then we took the Metro to the National Portrait Gallery. When we arrived we were directed to the atrium, this beautiful space was filled with tables, FILLED with art supplies and plenty of willing teachers and assistants to help! So Matthew and I sat right down and started working! What a BLAST ~ and for a day, I did not have to be the teacher -- I got to enjoy and create! This exhibit will go on a 2 year national tour of children's museums in the United States. To see all the work from the "All Kids Can Create" Exhibit - CLICK HERE!

All the work was submitted through ARTSONIA, to see all the entries for this exhibit, CLICK HERE to go to the ARTSONIA - All Kids Can Create Gallery!

The experience of participating in this exhibit has been EXCELLENT! As you can see from the photos above, the work was framed beautifully, each piece included the artwork and the artist statement. VSA arts published a beautiful catalog of the exhibit, which provides a wonderful and lasting memory for all the children and their families! Each student whose work was submitted through ARTSONIA received a certificate of participation.

So, if you are an art teacher - make sure to answer the Call For Entires for the All Kids Can Create Contest next year!

Once again Congratulations to Matthew, it was a joy to spend time with him and his family this weekend!

Mount Prospect Spring Art Exhibit 2009

Mount Prospect Students exhibit at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center

One of my goals, each year, is to display as much artwork as possible outside of our school. This month and throughout the summer, 7 pieces of artwork will be on display in the lobby of the Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ. This is a juried exhibit sponsored by the Art Educators of New Jersey, 30 pieces will be exhibited in all. All the artwork is framed under glass and lit in true gallery style. The Artist's Reception will be Sunday, May 31, 2009 from 11:00 - 12:00 pm. Congratulations to Natasha, Andy, Joseph, Roshun, Vivian, Meghan & Valerie! If you are going to NJPAC this summer please make sure to stop by and enjoy the exhibit! All the artwork from this exhibit can been viewed in the AENJ Artsonia Gallery.

Mount Prospect Students exhibit artwork at Charter Day, 2009!!!

Saturday May 16, 2009 is the 15th Annual Charter Day - a celebration of the day that Basking Ridge received its charter! The day runs from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm - a variety of community groups and businesses have booths and there are activities throughout the day. Most of the activities take place right in the center of Basking Ridge.

One tradition is an Art Exhibit, from the Art classes in the Bernards Township School District, at the church. Mount Prospect School will have over 70 pieces of artwork on display. Enjoy!!! Any child who has artwork on display has already received a certificate from Mrs. Bivona or Mrs. Moench!

For more detailed information about Charter Day, check out the Historical Society of Somerset Hills website! Hope to see you there!

Mrs. Bivona gets published!

"Unbound by Place or Time
Museums and Online Learning"
by William Crow and Herminia Din

Two summers back, I signed up to take my first online class. "Face to Face ~ Comparing Portraits". It was through the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was the first online class they had ever offered. In the beginning I was not sure what I had gotten myself into, but it didn't take long for me to realize that it was going to be one of the BEST professional development experiences of my career! At the end of our 2 weeks together online, we had an opportunity to come together at the Metropolitan with one of our instructors, William Crow. William is an Associate Museum Educator for the Met, he oversees programs for K-12 teachers and off site school programs. Herminia Din our other instructor is from Alaska, and could not make it. Herminia is an Associate Professor of Art Education at the University of Alaska - Anchorage. Not everyone could come to our on-site visit to the Met since participants were from ALL over the world, but many did and it was wonderful to meet, in person, these people we knew so well online.

Last summer, the Metropolitan offered another online professional development class and I was hooked - I signed up again! This time we explored the idea of Landscape, and again it was an excellent class.

Then last fall William contacted me and asked me if I would be willing to write about my experiences in the online classes that I had taken through the Metropolitan, I enthusiastically said, "YES!" So, last week at the American Association of Museums Conference in Philadelphia, the book - "Unbound by Place or Time, Museums and Online Learning" was released, and my case study can be found on page 67! How exciting! Congratulations to William and Herminia on publishing this book and thanks to both of them for allowing me to be apart of it!

If you are a teacher and you are interested in finding out about the Metropolitan's Online class for this summer ~ CLICK HERE! Go to the second section where it says 2009 Summer Teacher Institutes.

Mrs. Bivona receives the
National Elementary Art Educator of the Year
at the NAEA Convention ~ Minneapolis, MN
April 2009

Reston, VA -- Susan Philp Bivona, Bernards Township School District, Basking Ridge, was selected by the National Art Education Association (NAEA) to receive the National Elementary Art Educator of the year Award. This award recognizes the exemplary contributions, service and achievements of one outstanding NAEA member annually at the National level within their divisions. The award was presented during the NAEA National Convention that took place in Minneapolis, MN, April 17 - 21, 2009.

NAEA President, Bonnie Rushlow states, "This award is being given to recognize excellence in professional accomplishment and service by a dedicated art educator. The recipient exemplifies the highly qualified individuals active in the field of art education today: leaders, teachers , students, scholars and advocates who give their best to the profession."

The membership includes elementary, secondary, middle level and high school art teachers in 50 states, higher education professors, representatives from America's major art museums, State Departments of Education, arts councils and major colleges and universities throughout the United States and many foreign countries.

For more information visit the NAEA website at http://www.arteducators.org