Get Creative

Get Creative is an app/website that allows designers/artists/creators or anyone in the arts to search or learn more about creative fields, find inspiration or just browse some interesting sites. The computer is used so much for nonsense (social media) or just scrolling through aimlessly. It would be great to be able to create a site/app where people can go to find out information about new fields. There are so many new fields that didn't even exist 5 years ago and unless you stumble onto it you don't wouldn't know about it. This app would allow users to search, read, research what people are doing for a career. People can post what they do and get connected to people interested in it. They can act in a sense as a mentor and they can post tips and tricks for getting into the field. This will allow users young and old to either change fields or enter it right out of college. 

Another part of the site will be just inspiration and people can post fun projects they are working on. They can also post if they need advice or they can get real user research online. People can post surveys or card sorting if they need some quick research for a simple project. There will also be kind of a Pinterest inspired section where you can scroll through designs, colors, photographs, etc. and get inspiration. 

The last part of the site will be a place for interesting articles or sites. You will be able to search a topic lets say "photography" and fun articles about photography will come up. Unlike other sites, these articles are generated by the ones that people found the most interesting. The top articles will be the top voted articles and there will be a constant update of articles. 

Arts Education - Wiki

Arts Education is the teaching of music, dance, theatre, and visual arts. "Study in the arts is integral to our society. ... The arts are what make us most human, most complete as people. The arts cannot be learned through occasional or random exposure any more than math or science can." [1]

Importance of Art Education

Many studies have been done to show that the arts have a positive influence on development. It is proven that by incorporating the arts into school systems overtime students have better fine motor skills and emotional balance. The arts are also helpful in developing neural systems. It is hard to measure the arts like you would math and science because it takes time to see an impact. There is no test to take like in a science based field to show if the arts are helpful. [2]

School Cuts

Lately, the government has decided to cut essential funding for the arts. President Trump wants to completely cut funding from National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by 2018. [3]

“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting money is actually crucial to keeping stations alive,” said Patricia Aufderheide, founder of the Center for Media and Social Impact at American University. “That is what pays for the electric bill, that is what pays for upgrades in the equipment. Without that money, I think there are very few stations that are going to operate purely on donations.” [3]

By cutting funding, organizations like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have to cut back programming and Independent Television Service would have to cut back on creating content that gives a voice to marginalized groups. This would affect everyone it would especially affect rural and low-income communities. Rural communities get about 25 percent of NEA block-grant funds  and low-income areas get about 54 percent. [3]

Music
Music is the art of sound. This art allows for the expression of ideas and emotion through rhythm, melody and harmony. [4] Music class is a core part of the curriculum for elementary and middle school. There are also classes in high school and college for students that excel and want to continue. Humans have an emotional reaction to music. Music can make us feel calm and make us excited or happy. Everyone responds to different types of music differently. So something you like, your friend might hate. It just depends on what how your brain responds to the sound. "Valorie Salimpoor, now a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, along with some of her colleagues, that music triggers activity in the nucleus accumbens, the same brain structure that releases the “pleasure chemical” dopamine during sex and eating. [5]

Dance
Dance is the art of movement that conveys the human experience. With the help of the music, movements are created to go along with it. Along with music, dance allows us to create; to take something we have an emotional reaction to and make something artistically beautiful with it. This form of art allows the brain to understand movement, form and be able take create something and perform it. Dance is an art that doesn't require any verbal communication. To convey a message you need to act it out and perform it. Most dance numbers require collaboration and working together to create something that works for everyone in the group. It requires teamwork and trust and allows students to build on those skills through dance. [6]

Theatre

Theatre is the art of the use of body and voice. This type of arts requires the actor to work off of other people and objects on the stage to help further the performance. Unlike dance, verbal communication is a huge piece of the performance. Theatre helps students develop self-confidence, empathy, cooperation, problem solving, memorization and trust. [7]  In order to play other characters, students must fully understand where they are coming from and be able to empathize with them. This is an essential skill for any job whether it be in theatre or even in an office or social environment. 

Visual Arts

Visual arts consists of painting, drawing, graphic design, mixed media, ceramics, etc. This form of arts lets visual creatives express themselves with paint and paper. Taking in what they see everyday and creating something they see. This helps with motor skills, attention to detail and working independently and in a team setting. Being able to see something as not just as it is but to see it and be able to make something more with it, allows for the brain to think critically. [8] Visual arts also allows students to look closely and observe around them. It allows them to not be afraid to try something and explore their potential. [9]

Sources:

[1] http://www.katyisd.org/dept/finearts/Pages/The-Importance-of-Fine-Arts-Education-.aspx
[2] Arts with the Brain in Mind By Eric Jensen

[3]https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/with-elimination-of-nea-and-neh-trumps-budget-is-worst-case-scenario-for-arts-groups/2017/03/15/5291645a-09bb-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?utm_term=.c9802e016d19

[4] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/music

[5] http://science.time.com/2013/04/15/music/

[6] http://www.ndeo.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=194704

[7] https://www.acttooplayers.com/benefits-of-theatre-education
[8] http://www.businessinsider.com/art-history-major-skills-2014-2
[9] https://www.whitbyschool.org/passionforlearning/8-life-skills-kids-can-learn-at-art-class

Persona

Alexa Smith
Age: 25 yrs old
Occupation: Project Manager, part-time photographer

Alexa works during the day in the corporate world of finance as a project manager but likes being creative by shooting photos on the weekends. She lives in South Carolina with her boyfriend and two golden retriever puppies, Ash and Penelope. Alexa loves to photograph them and take on photography excursions. 

Right now, she mainly works with clients and goes around taking photos of whatever inspires her. She wants to start working as a photographer more than a side gig. She is a little apprehensive about the process and feels secure in her corporate job although she doesn't love it. Alexa is an avid pinterester and loves finding lots of interesting art and color schemes on the application. 

How to: host a paint night party

It's Friday night and you are trying to figure out if you should go out and spend $50+ at the bar or just forget it and stay in. You decide spending $50+ is probably not the most responsible thing to do so you decide to stay in. You are trying to come up with another activity to do with some friends. 

Why not have a paint night party? It's creative and fun and inexpensive! You can invite whoever you want and it is so easy to host! It is also a great way to do something creative and bring back memories of kindergarten art. 

Here are 9 easy steps to pulling off a successful, inexpensive and fun night!

1. Invite people. This is very important as you do not want to do all the following steps and then realize you didn't invite anyone to enjoy all your hard work with.
2. Decide what you will be painting. I recommend canvases. Canvases are awesome. They are cheap and easy for people to take once they finish it. People can hang them or give it as a gift. They also work great with acrylics. 
3. Once you have figured out how many people will be attending and what you will be painting on, look up some coupons from your local art store. Art stores always have coupons on their website. They usually have some pretty great deals that you definitely don't want to miss. You can even download them right onto your phone prior to getting there so you don't have to rush to find them in line (I'm one to rush at the last minute while in line looking for coupons but sometimes if you hunt a little more you can find an even better coupon).
4. Bring the coupons and yourself to the local art store. (If you plan ahead, you can always order off of good ol' Amazon which is usually pretty cheap and comes right to your door!) But that would take planning and who does that.
5. Collect some canvases, acrylic paint, palettes (or paper plates work well and are cheap), paint brushes (these usually come in large packs with a variety of sizes), plastic cups and an inexpensive tablecloth. You don't need paint stains all over your house the next day.
6. If you have a few extra minutes, stop at a local liquor store and pick up some wine (or Trader Joe's, Two Buck Chuck for the win.) Wine goes very well with painting and when people are a little tipsy they tend to let go and be more creative. (As well as cheese and crackers, gotta keep your guests full and happy!)
7. Next, make sure to have some inspiration such as magazines and/or art around your house. Your friends are going to be excited for paint night until they get to your house and then tell you they aren't creative enough for this. They are lying. They are creative and can create masterpieces. 
8. Play some music (pro tip: the Coffeehouse playlist on Spotify is a great one and a favorite while painting). Music is a great way to get into the creative mindset. It really helps focus the mind and let it wander and create.
9. Once all these things are complete you can enjoy a fun, creative night!

I hope this inspires you try a paint night party yourself. Keep on creating!

Who needs the arts?

The arts? Who says we need to include the arts in school systems. What a waste of money. All the money and time going to the arts should go towards teaching students real education like math, history, english. Those are what matter. Students need to understand how to write properly, understand Shakespeare and of course do a lot of multiplication and division. Those are the basic most important schools subjects that should get the most attention. Forget painting pears or peaches or learning how to mix colors, those things aren't important in today's society. 

Why should we spend so much money to teach kids to to sing or act or draw a bird? They say the arts foster creativity and creativity allows the kids to ask questions, collaborate with their peers and be more open-minded. Those things aren't going to get you a job at the top accounting firm. Those things aren't going to get you in the door at IBM working for the head of sales. You need to go to school to learn the principles of sales, the math behind accounting. Who cares if you are open minded, thats doesn't go on a resume. "Works well with others" or "open-minded" won't be under required skills on a job description. 

So lets invest money in what matters. The basics. The fundamentals. Math. English. History. Science. Those are the core subjects. Why do we need to add more classes for students? They have enough to worry about. We don't need to throw in more work to confuse them and let them loose focus on what is important. So cut the arts. Grow the math classes. Teach more algebra 1, algebra 2, pre-calculus, calculus, geometry. Those are what students need to be learning. That is how they will be successful.

This entire article is completely satirical and does not reflect my views

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