Bynum Front Porch offers two $1000 grants each year. One for AVID, and one for the Arts. It’s open to all graduating Chatham County High school Students who meet the grants criteria. The winner of this year’s 2012 Bynum Front Porch arts grant is Julia Sloane. She dances with the Northwood High School Dance Program. According to Diane Swan, she has been dancing for eleven years locally with Studio A Dance Arts in Chapel Hill, where she explores ballet, modern dance, jazz, and hip hop. After her winter 2010 performance in which she danced to Lost in the Trees song “Walk Around the Lake”, the composer/singer (who is a previous Bynumite) Ari Picker asked her to dance on stage with this internationally known touring band. Twice she has danced on stage with them and has danced in two of their music videos. Read more about Julia in last week’s blog.

Kristen accepting her award.Photo courtesy of Leslie Burwell (Visual Arts Instructor at Northwood High School)

Sounds like an energized year for the arts at Northwood High School for 2011-2012. Not only was Northwood High School Senior, Kristen Hutchinson awarded second place for her artwork during the Congressional Art Awards Competition, but will have her work displayed in the Congressional Office in Washington, D.C. The award was presented to Kristen by Congressman David Price after entering a photograph of her grandfather called “Waiting” into the annual competition. Her photograph also received a Gold Key for this winter in the Scholastic’s Arts and Writing Awards. One can only imagine the excitement when Leslie Burwell, Visual Arts Teacher at Northwood, felt when she heard Kristen’s name called during the ceremony!

Julia Sloane, another 2012 graduating senior from Northwood High School, has won a National Honorable Mention in the National Dance Education Organization’s annual awards. She is one of 7 awards winners across the nation. According to Gina Harrison, Art Director at Northwood High School, Julia dances with the Northwood High School Dance Program under the direction of Leah Smith (dance instructor).

Julia Sloane
photo: Charlotte Harrison

During the Spring semester of 2010, Julia successfully auditioned for and choreographed a solo performance for the dance concert, including her own costume, and lighting. In the next two consecutive semesters,  she performed two more solos. In the 2011 winter concert she auditioned for and choreographed a group performance with two other dancers. Locally, Julia has also been named winner of this year’s Bynum Front Porch Art’s Grant. We wish Julia all the best as she moves on to the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. According to Julia, she wants to make a dance experience available to a wide audience. Cornish College of the Arts has it’s dancers perform a site-specific piece for the public in downtown Seattle every year. She can not wait to become part of this process and see the impact the dance community has on Seattle as a whole.

Northwood celebrated sold out shows for past March  performances of Seussical, a show about friendship, the value of imagination, and the benefits of hard work. Students from Northwood High School worked really hard memorizing lines and learning music, constructing sets and painting drops to recreate the characters and story from the imagination of Dr. Seuss.

The photo is of the Sour Kangaroo rehearsing in the Jungle of Nool. NHS presented special previews of Seusssical for almost 1000 Chatham students on March 20. The show was chosen as a way to work with the elementary & middle schools and promote March as “Reading in our Schools” Month. Elementary schools throughout the district use the celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday to encourage the joy of reading.

Find out more at:  http://nhsaef.org/NHS_AEF/News_Events/News_Events.html

You’ll also find more info and pictures on the NHSAEF Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northwood-High-School-Arts-Education-Foundation/40062039586

So, ChathamArts President, Lesley Landis, is participating in the current session of the regional class of Leadership Triangle. A recent class focused on Pittsboro. A variety of leaders from across county lines spent the day on guided tours of Historic Chatham Mills, Piedmont Biofuels, Carolina Tiger Rescue, and the Sustinability Programs and  Culinary Arts Program at CCCC. Many were visiting Chatham County for  the very first time.

Want to know what they thought? Here are a few reactions:

• Incredible development and brilliant minds.
• Vivid and wacky.
• Excellent! Very interesting!
• So innovative and eye opening.
• Amazing! This is what the country needs more of.
• Great tour-brand new perspective on community colleges. Food, unbelievable.
• Was quite surprised at the level of environmental festivities. Cool connection.
• Unexpectedly awesome.
• Amazing all the productive programs and an amazing assets
•  Really cool to see great things happening in lesser known parts of the triangle.
• Awesome example of sustainability. Lunch was fantastic.
• Excellent programs. Terrific what they are bringing to the community.
• Very informative and interesting. Lunch was great. Really appreciate the gluten and dairy free options.
• Extremely cool-had no idea the CC system was this progressive. Lunch was fabulous.
• Very enlightening. Very interesting work they are doing. Food was excellent.
• Never knew, very interested in the fact that they have people coming from so far to see what they are doing there.
• So impressed with the innovation, leadership. CCCC: What a gem.
• Impressive. Learned a lot. Want to take my kids back.
• Interesting how things are re-used.

Feeling proud yet?

This week, Gina Harrison and I presented to our County Board of Commissioner about the vital role of Arts in economic development, public education and in building a healthier, stronger, more connected community overall.

We would like to invite you to become arts advocates alongside us! You will help keep our schools, our downtowns, and our neighborhoods thriving instead of dead.

There are a lot of helpful resources to help you become the advocate you never dreamed you could be. However, to keep from overwhelming you, we will feed you these resources and topic areas in installments.

Our youth programs and arts in education programming countywide is a huge source of pride for me, so I will start us there by sharing Gina’s powerful BOC presentation with you:

Investment and Achievement from http://ginaharrison.wordpress.com/

Benefits of Arts in NC

In addition to improving the quality of life and promoting communities to new residents and business, the creative community offers tangible, economic benefits. As of 2009 in NC, this industry created and sustained almost 300,000 jobs, generated $10 billion in employee compensation, and produced more than $40 billion in goods and services.1 In metropolitan areas its easy to see how the Durham Performing Arts Center or the NC Museum of Art, for example, attract tourist dollars and contribute to the larger economy. In more rural communities, we need to look closer at the benefits investment in the arts brings. In Chatham County, our vibrant arts education program emphasizes these benefits. This is especially important as recent findings from longitudinal studies of over 20 years confirm that sustained involvement in strong arts programs are associated with increased college enrollment and attainment, and greater civic engagement, with higher levels of volunteering, voting, and participation in local and school politics. And these findings are most significant for at-risk and disadvantaged students.2

Arts Education opportunities at Northwood include Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, Instrumental Music, Choral Music, and Dance

1. NC Dept. of Cultural Resources. (2009). North Carolina’s $41 billion creative industry employs nearly 300,000. Retrieved online at http://www.ncarts.org/elements/docs/NCCreativeIndustryContribution_Overview.pdf

2.  Catterall, J. S., Dumais, S. A., & Hampden-Thompson, G. (2012) The arts and achievement in at- risk youth: Findings from four longitudinal studies. Washington, DC: The National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved online at http://www.nea.gov/research/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf

3. Chatham County Schools. (2011). About arts education Web page. http://bit.ly/IH1SGF

4. Parsad, B., & Spiegelman, M. (2012). Arts education in public elementary and secondary schools: 1999–2000 and 2009–10 (NCES 2012-014). Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from  http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012014.pdf

5. Northwood High School Arts Education Foundation. www.NHSAEF.org

CLYDEFEST ALL DAY KIDS’ FOLK ART FESTIVAL, CELEBRATING LEGENDARY FOLK ARTIST, CLYDE JONES

Where: The Bynum Ballpark (aka Earl Thompson Recreation Park, 173 Bynum Hill Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312)

When: Saturday, April 14, 11 am – 4 pm. (Rain Date: Sunday, April 15)

by ChathamArts Intern, Lisa Li. Lisa is a freshman business and marketing student at UNC Chapel Hill.
******
“It’s all about the kids” is Clyde Jones’ personal motto. Despite bearing Clyde’s namesake, the kids are truly what ClydeFEST is all about. In light of this theme, the Chatham Arts Council will be presenting a special gift to children identified by community groups in Bynum in the form of arts scholarships during next Saturday’s 11th annual ClydeFEST. Bynum is a sanctuary where kids experience the value of the arts, sustainability, and community.

ChathamArts board member and lead coordinator of ClydeFEST, Gilda McDaniel, recalled that in addition to old crowd pleasers like Happy Dan the Magic Man or Peter Loose’ enormous African turtles, her favorite memories from the event in past years were the interactions between the kids and Clyde Jones himself. Sure enough, from the moment of his arrival in the “Clyde-mobile”—an enormous truck covered in Mr. Jones’ colorful paintings—to the highly anticipated live creation of one of his World Famous Critters, Clyde Jones captivated youngsters like no one else can.

In “Critterville”, Clyde leads the kids in cutting out critter shapes from recycled wood, painting them, and glittering them. Throughout the entire process, while Clyde helped the kids in sawing wood and using paints, he always made a conscious effort to let their creativity be the ultimate guide. “He doesn’t want [the kids] to think he’s telling them how to do it”, Gilda observed. She found the image of children swarming to Clyde—especially during his live performance of critter-making— exceptionally heart-warming. “He’s magical with the kids”, she asserted, “He absolutely adores them.”

Another unforgettably exciting moment each year is the auction of Clyde’s freshly made critter for charity. Clyde does not sell his work, so a critter from him is coveted worldwide. Gilda still vividly remembers a fiery battle on the auction floor one year. The price had steadily risen until only two gentlemen remained in the auction. Neither one refused to back down.  Soon, the event was transformed into a relentless spar between the two, each offering a marginally higher price until Clyde stepped in with a truce: the price would remain at the most recent bid, but Clyde himself would make another critter and sell one to each gentleman for the same price. At the end of the day, the auction earned twice the amount of profit for charity, and the kids got to see Clyde make two critters instead of one!

Chatham Arts Council cannot thank the Bynum community enough for offering a space to create such unforgettable memories for children. The scholarships sum $500 and will be awarded to four deserving Bynum students towards the Woods Summer Camps, a local summer program of the arts. Recipients will be chosen by representatives from the Bynum community, and the scholarships will be awarded on stage, marking a proud moment for the students, their families, and the community.

“It’s all about the kids”, Clyde Jones says. ClydeFEST is a place where children can run wild with nothing but recycled materials and imaginations, accompanied by local musicians, performers, and see that sometimes old-fashioned fun makes for the most lasting memories.

Below are some of the top quality performers, food vendors, and prizes you can expect to enjoy next Saturday, April 14th at the Bynum Ballpark. Wonders await people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and types at ClydeFEST.

From the Bynum Front Porch/ClydeFEST Stage
(sponsored by Bynum Front Porch):

11:00-11:30  Tommy Edwards & Carolina Lightning
11:30-12:05  Justin Johnson
12:15-12:45  Takiri Academy
1-1:30  Bouncing Bulldogs Jump Rope Squad
1:45-2:30 Happy Dan the Magic Man
2:30-3:15  Sarah Honeybee Osborne and Joe Keasler
3:15   Woods summer camp Bynum scholarship recipients
FINALE:  Critter carving and auction

Current Food Vendors Include: Jake’s Dusty Donuts, Howard Alston’s Fish Truck, The Bynum Ruritans, Triple J Ice Cream, Barney’s Hot Dogs, Little Dippers Italian Ices, Bulkogi Korean BBQ

Chances to win prizes and Clyde Critters. In addition to our Annual ClydeFEST Critter Auction, our Raffle Items include:  Clyde Jones Gator Sculpture

Gift Certificates to: unWINEd, Women’s Birth and Wellness Center, Advanced Auto, Doug’s Auto, Pittsboro Auto Care, Glazed Expectations, Marbles Kids Museum, Museum of Life & Science, YMCA, Siler City Country Club, Townsend Bertram, Mama Dip’s,  New Horizons Trading Company, Carolina Brewery, …and more!

And Thank you to our Sponsors!!!  Captain John’s Dry Dock Seafood Restaurant  Crook’s Corner  Weaver Street Realty  Small Café  Life 1031, Sanford 

ClydeFEST TICKETS: $7 FOR ADULTS & INCLUDE A CHANCE TO WIN A CLYDE CRITTER, $3 for kids under 12

Fun for the whole family with proceeds benefitting ChathamArts

SEE YOU AT CLYDEFEST, 11am – 4pm, Saturday April 14th.
Complete directions and details at www.chathamarts.org.

Our Rain Date is Sunday, April 15th. We will make our official weather call at 5 pm on Friday, April 13th, so check the website or email info@chathamarts.org. Direct additional questions to 919-542-0394.

Please Help Get the Word Out Far and Wide!

After the tragic passing of his parents, Todd Tinkham realized that he could not die without pursuing his dream. He quit his job and turned to film-making. Many short films and several awards later, Todd tackled his first feature film in 2009—Southland of the Heart, which will be showing on March 27^th in the Fearrington Barn in Pittsboro, NC, starting at 7 pm.

Part of the inspiration for the film stems from Todd’s 17 years of experience in working with at-risk kids in North Carolina. However, what cemented Todd’s vision was the young and enthusiastic production assistant who would go on to become the lead actress for Southland.

Jennifer Evans first worked with Todd in an earlier short film of his. While she loved to act and even attended film school for a year, she was forced to drop out due to pressing family difficulties. Todd introduced the young aspiring actress to the manager of a theater company, and soon after attended Jennifer’s performance in a play in the winter of 2009. Todd recalls being so impressed with Jennifer’s performance that he started to write a film with her in mind.

“Jennifer is a very inspirational person”, Todd asserted, “The way she looked. The way she moved.” As a result, Jennifer was cast as the lead character (of the same name) in Southland of the Heart, a moving rendition of a troubled teenager’s experiences in life and love.

The powerful storyline of Southland caught the attention of renowned cinematographer Ken James Peterson. Peterson is best known for his work on the hit television series, Miami Vice, as well as the Emmy-Award winning prime television series, Lost Civilizations. Todd once requested to work with Peterson on a short film, and at one point, the two had a conversation about the idea of Southland. Ken was so moved by the vision that he insisted on shooting the film himself. “We’ll worry about money later”, Peterson assured Todd.

Money was an issue indeed. With a budget of $10,000 stretched out over two years of filming, the cast and crew faced endless adversities, but never lost heart. However, the appearance and quality of the film gives nothing anything away about the meager budget it was produced with. Todd attributes the film’s “million dollar look” mainly to Ken James Peterson’s expertise. Peterson was a virtuoso when it came to manipulating a few lights to transform a banal setting into a vivid, magical scene.

Despite this, the funds were sometimes so constricted that Todd did not have enough money to buy food for himself. Throughout the thick and thin, he always had his priorities straight—to make sure his cast and crew was warm, dry, and fed. It became a joke that everyone always ate turkey sandwiches, but at other times, Todd would whip up a delicious homemade meal for all. “I was famous for a turkey soup I made, especially in the cold days.”

Aside from financial difficulties, the cast and crew also had to respond to unexpected situations with resilience and tact. While filming a scene in which Jennifer steals a car and almost gets caught, it had been raining all day, and the gaffer (in charge of lighting) slipped off the roof of a storage shed—he was 60 years old! Thankfully, the man suffered no major injuries, but Todd had no choice but to stop production for three weeks. When production resumed, the weather was no longer consistent with the first half of the scene, so the crew had to use nets to block out the sun and recreate the appearance of rainy weather.

Todd’s ardent devotion to his cast and crew stems from his belief that the most important part about making a film is fostering genuine relationships between everyone working on the film. “The relationships we build were magical”, Todd recalls fondly. Throughout the making of Southland, Todd has now become best friends with Ken James Peterson (with whom he has since worked on several other projects) and Jennifer Evans, among many others. “If we make a good movie, it’s just icing on the cake.” True to the theme of the film, Todd asserts, “Southland showed me anything is possible. It’s about the relationships you form with people.”

Sustainable Cinema is a film series featuring documentaries, narrative and independent films involving producers, directors, subjects and/or locations in North Carolina. Screenings take place Feb-June and Sept-Nov at the Fearrington Barn in Fearrington Village, Pittsboro. Admission at the door is $5 except for special events.

Cash beverage/bar available during films. Admissions proceeds benefit ChathamArts and its arts & education programs. Filmmakers are usually in attendance for post-screening Q&A’s. Join us for cinematic treasures, learn about the art of filmmaking and enjoy engaging discussion afterwards!See www.chathamarts.org for details.

Lisa Li is a freshman Business and Marketing Student at UNC Chapel Hill, and she is amazing at helping keep ChathamArts in the spotlight. We love Lisa! 

How lucky are we here in Chatham County? Two of the Southeast’s finest contemporary writers, Belle Boggs and Marjorie Hudson — both Chatham County residents — were recently awarded the North Carolina Arts Council‘s esteemed Fellowship for the Best Literary Talent in the state. For a rural county like Chatham to produce more than one Fellowship recipient in the same year is extraordinary, and may be unprecedented!

To celebrate this achievement, Boggs, author of the “The Mattponi Queen” and Hudson, author of “Accidental Birds of the Carolinas”, were special guests at a recent ChathamArts reception for Governor’s Club residents hosted by Jill Ehrenfeld of Domicile Realty. The gathering was a Chatham County arts event in more ways than one.

Local fine furniture maker, Doug Trimble was on hand to show off his gorgeous hand made wood tables. Metal sculptures from Tamera Mulanix, located in the lobby and on the grounds, enriched the arts atmosphere as well.

Tamera Mulanix‘s work illustrates her spirituality and unique vision of the world. Tamera writes that she tries “to play a small part in transitioning this divided and chaotic world toward a planet full of acceptance, love and unity.” Mulanix creates work that attempts to “move someone to feel a small sense of peace, or bring a bit of joy to the heart…” Personally, I find comfort in the gentle, curvilinear lines of Tamera’s work. Her sculptures encourage contemplation and bring a sense of calm to me.

Doug Trimble states “Wood is alive and has a spirit and I strive to bring that spirit into a form that is meaningful. Experimenting with woods from around the world, I bring together the functional, the playful and the sensual into uniquely designed furniture creations.” Doug’s tables are a visual and tactile treat. Be sure to check them out!

I’m deeply appreciative for Jill Ehrenfeld’s commitment to supporting and advocating for local entrepreneurial efforts — and yes, the arts are businesses. Business leaders like Jill know that the arts are an effective catalyst for attracting innovative thinkers. The presence of art stimulates the mind that’s active and curious about concepts and the world. That’s good for thought leaders as well as for tourists seeking specific, place-based arts experiences.

Whether one reads the latest work from our bevy of literary artists, enjoys delicious foods from local culinary artists, enjoys a massage from a healing artist, or appreciates sculptures made of wood or metal, Chatham County residents are lucky to be surrounded by the incredible creative talents embodied in the artists that calls our county home.

Last night, ChathamArts convened our quarterly Arts-in-Education committee meeting. We learned that about many new arts integration efforts across the county. Of course, the term “partnership” arose repeatedly, as it has with almost everything our agency does.

The economic shifts of the past several years have created an environment in which everyone must cooperate or perish. I think this is truly a positive shift, but first me must truly understand what “partnership” means and what makes an effective one vs. a misguided attempt. In this blog entry, author and educator, Jane Remer explores “the value and challenges of collaboration through complex examples taken from schools, districts, and arts organizations across the country:”

http://blog.artsusa.org/2012/03/12/how-do-we-define-quality-engagement-partnership-in-the-arts-education-world/#more-13425

P.S. If you have an arts integration story or project you would like us to publicize, please email us at info@chathamarts.org.

To learn more about ChathamArts arts integration residencies, youth documentary filmmaking program, and early release day arts workshops, visit http://www.chathamarts.org/programs/artsineducation.html.

You’ve seen Second City (Dan Akroyd, Mike Myers, Tina Fey & the like).

You’ve spent countless hours watching “Who’s Line Is it Anyway?” (while secretly believing that you too could be that funny if only given the chance).

But you have NOT yet experienced the likes of the Coconauts, ChathamArts & Chatham County’s first live (as in not dead) Improv Squad.

The Coconauts will be performing 2nd Fridays at Circle City Late Nite at the General Store Cafe, 10 pm.

And will be doing longer shows every 3rd Friday at Davenport & Winkleperry Steampunk Gallery, 9 pm. Davenport has wild Victorian wear, a blimp mural, coffee, tea, and a PUB.

For the full skinny, read the article in the December 2011 issue of the Chatham County Line (thank you, Julian Serrano)! http://chathamcountyline.org/pdfs/CCL.dec11.web.pdf

P.S. A couple of corrections-

1. The Coconauts were founded in October 2011 (not in 2008) and emerged from ChathamArts’ community classes, which launched with a beginning improv acting class in 2009.

None of the Coconauts had any improv experience at that time. Many of them recall being terrified, but now improv is an addiciton that they refuse to give up.

2. Molly Matlock, Executive Director of Chatham County Arts Council, does not perform with the Coconauts. However, she did participate in the intro and intermediate classes for a year and LOVED them.
[So, now you'll be prepared for Coconauts Trivia Night - some day.]

3. You too can register for ChathamArts’ improv classes (or other classes in photography, art history, portraiture, and much more) at http://www.chathamarts.org/classes-camps/

I enjoy ironing. I also really like scrambling eggs. I love to watch things becoming. Similarly, I’ve caught myself completely unable to turn away from Bob “Happy Tree” Ross as he paints landscapes. I know I’m not alone.

The act of creation is a mesmerizing experience that touches a primal cord in everyone. It’s the process of formation that’s fascinating.

In his work as a visiting artist in the department of Communication Studies at UNC-CH, Joseph Megel (currently a Chatham County resident) directs The Process Series, a program of Carolina Performing Arts which aims “…to illuminate the ways in which artistic ideas take form and to follow artists and performers as they explore and discover.”

This coming weekend, Friday, Dec. 2 & Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8pm, the multi-media production by Jared Mezzocchi “Poppa, God Bless” will be the latest featured presentation in The Process Series at the historic Playmakers Theater on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Admission is free and performances are open to the public.

For more information, contact Joseph Megel: megel@email.unc.edu

The Process Series is a project of Carolina Performing ArtsCo-sponsored by the Department of Communication Studies and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities