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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — She's Mrs. Conn-Parent at Steele Elementary School, but to her students at Studio 101 she's always been Miss Rhonda.
"I think in traditional studio art teaching, a lot comes from the teacher," said Conn-Parent, a part-time Colorado Springs School District 11 art teacher who for 16 years has offered after-school classes, summer workshops and other programs at her studio in Old Colorado City. "Between second and fourth grade, there's a very bizarre dynamic out there that tells kids exactly what art is, and those artists like Matisse and van Gogh kind of defied what that could be and changed it and opened it up to so many possibilities."
At Studio 101, Conn-Parent teaches the skills and provides a context that includes some art history and the basics of language and technique, but her belief is that structure and instruction can take students only so far. Her bigger goal as a veteran artist and instructor is to nurture the "artist-self" by allowing room for the confident, informed exploration of skills and boundaries in a nontraditional learning environment. To that end, Conn-Parent even has taken youth artist groups abroad.
"We studied and made art on site, sculpting with soapstone in Italy and painting in Monet's garden after hours," she said. "My goal is to teach them how to navigate through (the art world) and use a nice balance of information and dreaming."
A big part of the dynamic for her, as an educator, is knowing when to back off and let her charges, who range from preschoolers to high school seniors, see where creativity might lead. Sometimes, her job is to goad them toward fresh perspectives — by, say, painting a landscape background with their feet, a project recently undertaken by her elementary-aged students.
"They are so hungry and very raring to apply what they get from the world — whatever it is, from the media, school, etc. — and they get very little time to do that," said Conn-Parent, adding that establishing a balance between academia and activity is key for "today's learners." She's developed a two-tiered approach that first provides a theme-based learning experience and then the free time to put those tools into action.
"They'll gather at the beginning of class and watch a technique or demonstration or get introduced to an artist through a slide show," said Conn-Parent, who uses a different approach for different classes, based on students' ages and experience levels. "After a 'tool time' session they go and do what I call 'jamming,' which is just art making. It's like what The Beatles did in their garage, where some of their best work gets created without any instruction, without any confinement."
The studio has a fully loaded "Smart Ideas Center" with materials to inspire those great works, including supplies for projects in clay, textiles, ink and acrylic, and even jewelry making.
"There are still lifes set up year-round for kids to draw. There's painting. It's ridiculous what is possible here," Conn-Parent said. "A huge element to Studio 101 is that they own who they are as an artist. I provide a ton of experiences and opportunities to help them define what that is on their terms."
Conn-Parent started the business with three students so she could work at home after the birth of her older son, Jonas, now 17. She has two part-time employees and teaches six weekly classes with about 60 students, some of whom have attended since they were old enough to lift a brush. Conn-Parent's "grads" — those in junior high and high school — have volunteered to teach art at a local assisted living center, completed a mural on an exterior wall at a nearby homeless shelter and soon will contribute pieces to a fundraiser hosted by neighborhood business Republic of Paws.
Springs mom Jane Murphy learned about the classes when she arranged to have Studio 101 host a birthday party for her daughter, Sophie Momani, in 2010. As soon as space opened up, Sophie started attending classes. Her younger brother, Zaid, followed suit.
"Space was getting tight in our schedule and I asked the kids to rank their after-school activities on a 1 to 10 scale. When I asked how she felt about Miss Rhonda's class, Sophie said '13,'" Murphy said. "There have been times when it's been a hard day and they really wanted to come here. This was a space where they wanted to be, and that's very special."
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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com
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