Fri, July 30, 10am: HandMade is hosting visitors - textile artists - from Kyrgyzstan, sponsored by the Open World Leadership Center, a program of the Library of Congress.  Our visitors will include four textile artists from Kyrgyzstan.  These women are leaders of organizations which support traditional handicrafts.  We’ll also have the Dir of the Union of Folk Artists and a graphic artist who is one of the country’s cultural visionaries.
Kyrgyzstan  is a country in Central Asia with a very interesting and beautiful tradition of handicrafts, especially in silk and wool felt textiles. Traditionally, the Kyrgyz are nomadic people who live in the high mountains of Central Asia and raise sheep and horses. Workshop held at 125 S Lexington Ave. Ste 101, Asheville, NC. For more info, go to www.handmadeinamerica.org

MITCHELL HIGH  JUNIORS AND SENIORS. Dual Enrollment Art 113 at Penland School of Crafts. Art 113: Methods and Materials, Fall 2010. This class will cover introductory methods in the Clay and Letterpress Studios. In Clay Studio, Suze Lindsay will teach basic hand-building and throwing techniques to bring form to the clay; explore surface enhancement using glazes and slips; combine form and surface to create work unique to each student’s vision. In Letterpress Studio, Melanie Finlayson will introduce students to the fascinating world of letterpress printmaking, learning the basic terminology and skills needed to work with hand-set wood type and carving linoleum blocks to produce a set of edition posters to communicate their message to the world.
Classes meet at Penland School of Crafts studios on Tues and Thurs from 2–5pm from Sept 21-Nov 18. Tuition and materials-$182. Full and partial scholarships available. Registration-July 19–23. Late registration-Aug 17. Students will earn 3 credit hours at Mayland Community College. Students who are not degree-seeking students at MCC can enroll as “special credit students.” Questions about app procedures at MCC? Please contact Jennifer Vance in Admissions at 765-7351 ext. 222. Questions about the class? Please contact Wendi Gratz at Penland School of Crafts at 765-8060.

2010 Summer Art Camps presented by Roots + Wings School of Art. Solid instruction from local teaching artists using high quality art materials.
Ages 3 – 6: June 21-23, Session I: Clay Sculpture; July 19-21: Collage + 3D Art
Ages 7 – 12: June 28-30: Session I: Drawing, Painting + Printmaking; July 12-14: Session II. Collage + 3D Art; July 26-28: Session III: Clay Sculpture.
Mon-Wed, 9-noon. $145/child per session.(Siblings-$15 off per session). The Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville’s Biltmore Village. Visit www.rootsandwingsarts.com to register online or download reg form; or contact Ginger Huebner at 828.545.4827, info@rootsandwingsarts.com

Film Independent’s 2010 Directors Lab, Los Angeles, is designed to help directors who are prepping their feature films, the Directors Lab is an intensive eight-week program running in Los Angeles each winter in which Lab Fellows workshop scenes from their features. Film Independent provides Lab Fellows with camera and sound packages to shoot their scenes. Additionally, Fellows receive mentorship from established directors and other industry professionals. Deadline: Oct 5. www.filmindependent.org/fellowships/filmmaker_labs/directors_lab

Carolina Literary Festival: Mountain Mosaic. Sept 11-12, Burnsville. The fifty authors gathering in Burnsville this Sept 11 and 12 have been selected around the 2009 theme Mountain Mosaic. Rather than a melting pot, the people and authors are a Mountain Mosaic created by the many vibrant colors and heritages that make up western North Carolina. The weekend will be filled with simultaneous readings, workshops, book signings, panel discussions, performances, and Q&A sessions. The keynote panel, We All Come from Someplace Else, will be moderated by Gloria Houston and include noted Cherokee historian Robert Conley; children’s author Eleanora Tate; Melungeon scholar Wayne Winkler; and journalist Paul Cuadros. For more information, go to www.cmlitfest.org.

Carolina Literary Festival: Mountain Mosaic. Sept 11-12, Burnsville. The fifty authors gathering in Burnsville this Sept 11 and 12 have been selected around the 2009 theme Mountain Mosaic. Rather than a melting pot, the people and authors are a Mountain Mosaic created by the many vibrant colors and heritages that make up western North Carolina. The weekend will be filled with simultaneous readings, workshops, book signings, panel discussions, performances, and Q&A sessions. The keynote panel, We All Come from Someplace Else, will be moderated by Gloria Houston and include noted Cherokee historian Robert Conley; children’s author Eleanora Tate; Melungeon scholar Wayne Winkler; and journalist Paul Cuadros. For more information, go to cmlitfest.org.

Today, for the first time in 11 years, the federal government released a national report card on achievement in the arts among 8th graders. This long-awaited report finds that since 1997, our nation’s students have not made significant progress in developing their skills and knowledge in the arts. The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in the Arts report is the only continuing, national measure of academic achievement in America’s schools.
A nationally representative sample of over 7,900 eighth grade students from public and private schools participated in the NAEP Arts NAssessment in 2008. Students were measured on their ability to create and respond to the visual arts; whereas, the study scaled back on music questions and only measured a student’s ability to respond and identify music. Unfortunately, theatre and dance skills were not assessed at Education Statistics.
As reported today in the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and USAToday, the findings are “mediocre,” “lackluster,” and “may make America’s arts instructors kind of blue.”  Not a great report card. However, new U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gave a strong reaction in support of arts education, “This Arts Report Card should challenge all of us to make K-12 arts programs more available to America’s children …We can and should do better for America’s students.”
As you may know, Americans for the Arts has been leading a national effort to increase federal funding and to strengthen the role of the arts in the classroom through legislative efforts in Congress. We have published a set of legislative recommendations that calls for changes to the problematic No Child Left Behind Act. Our schools need greater support for arts education — take two minutes to send a message to your Congressional delegation, please visit our E-Advocacy Center.
To raise awareness of the importance of arts education, we have also been leading, along with The Ad Council, the NAMM Foundation and hundreds of local, state, and national campaign partners, a public service awareness campaign titled, “The Arts. Ask For More.” currently airing on radio and television and appearing in print media. In the television and radio ads, the arts are equated with a healthy diet; just like kids need healthy foods on a daily basis, kids need their daily serving of the arts. Included in the campaign is a list of “10 Simple Ways,” detailing how parents can get involved in their child’s arts education.
Please take action on this important education effort by sending a message to your member of Congress let your voice be heard: http://capwiz.com/artsusa/utr/1/MJDEKRHVQC/AJLUKRHVYE/3489886661

Exciting things are happening in Glendale Springs at the new Florence Thomas Memorial Art School We are offering 40+ classes this year—from drawing, to Plein air, photography, bookmaking, rug-hooking and even children’s classes. Classes range from 1-day workshops up to 5-day sessions. Most are $90/day including all materials (unless specified otherwise in class description), continental breakfast, and lunch. We have 20 rooms available for campus lodging on a first come, first served basis. It is for artists of all levels and interests who want excellence in instruction. View the website for course descriptions and additional information about instructors and registration. www.florenceartschool.org.

Arts Education Bill Receives Favorable Vote from Senate Committee
At the recent Senate Education/Higher Education Committee meeting, Senator Jerry Tillman made the motion for a favorable vote on the amended arts education requirement bill as sponsored by Senator Katie Dorsett. Senator Dorsett presented the Fiscal Impact Study results that cited the 8 systems in North Carolina that have an arts education requirement. The study says, “None of these LEAs received additional State funding for this purpose, and all 8 LEAs implemented the requirement within existing resource levels.” The motion received unanimous, bi-partisan support.
S66 as amended to include a 2011 implementation date and a Working Committee of representatives of DPI and Cultural Resources will now move to the Senate floor for action. Once the bill passes the Senate, it will move to the House for discussion and action in the House Education Committee.
Advocates across North Carolina should receive a standing ovation for your extraordinary response to last week’s Call to Action. Once we know when the bill is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor, we will let you know. It would be extraordinarily remarkable for the Senate Gallery to be full when this landmark decision is made.
When the arts education requirement becomes law, a new phase of work begins to include:
1.    Collaborative planning with DPI and Cultural Resources to strategize unified support from communities and educational interests.
2.    Advocacy training and planning to ensure that local systems do not make the “wrong” decision about what resources should be used to implement the requirement. One of the landmark examples is the mammoth effort of Guilford County advocates to restore programs and funding that were eliminated. We are strong enough as an industry, working together as educators and community arts advocates, to be proactive in implementing the requirement.
3.    Coordinated resource development including federal grants and public support for model implementation programs.

Senate Budget Restores Partial Grant Funding
The Senate budget calls for 6.4% reduction in Grassroots Arts and Basic Grants recurring funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, which is less than that proposed in the Governor’s Budget. The specifics from the Senate budget are:
Grassroots Arts: -$173,456
Basic Grants: -$247,892
Once the vote is complete in the Senate this week, the budget process will move to the House.
For more information on all arts advocacy news, go to www.artsnc.org

You still have time to sign up. The Toe River Arts Council announces the continuation of the popular Junior Appalachian Musician program. Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) is a program geared to teaching 6th, 7th and 8th grade students the musical traditions of Western North Carolina. Students participating in JAM will learn to play traditional tunes on the guitar, banjo, fiddle or mandolin. Master musician Rhonda Gouge will be the lead instructor. Students will not only learn to play the instrument of their choice, but will also learn the rich history of music in the Western North Carolina Mountains and the stories behind the songs they have heard their grandparents sing. Classes are open to all 6th, 7th and 8th graders in both Mitchell and Yancey counties.
Classes will be held on Saturday afternoons at the Picking Parlor in Ledger. Sessions for beginners will be held from 1:00-2:30 pm and for intermediates from 3:00-4:00 pm beginning April 18, 2009. Cost for classes will be $6.00 or $25.00 if paid in advance for all 5 classes. Instruments can be rented from the Toe River Arts Council for $25.00.
Applications can be obtained from TRAC or at any Middle School. For more information on this or any other TRAC program, call 828-682-7215 or contact carolyn@toeriverarts.org. This program is funded in part by a grant from The Blue Ridge Heritage Area.