Mark Making

Programs: Magic markers 2017 is a weeklong work readiness program for east chattanooga teens (14-18 yrs. Old). 10-14 participants attend m-f, six hours a day to create outdoor panels for neighborhood beautification. There are poetry writing and orating workshops, selection of words to figurate on panels, paint workshops, and installation of panels followed by a graduation ceremony. Teens compensations are based on a rubric scoring based on demonstration of soft (work readiness: punctuality, appropriate attire, level of engagement and etiquette) and hard skills (quality of poetry, painting skills, leadership skills. )

life energy workshops: mark making presented 6h of curriculum to four area schools to a total of 133 inner city teens. Participants were challenged to design vinyl wraps for traffic cabinets in east chattanooga that featured pictograms informed by the behavior of electricity. Each pictogram visually depicted a path from students' identification of a neighborhood issue to how that student personally impacted it's solution. Pictograms were also used to create 100 advocacy cards that were send to national and local political representatives in an effort to advocate for their causes. Wrap installation scheduled for 2018.

patten towers initiative: over the first half of 2017 mark making held weekly therapeutic art classes at patten towers, a public housing unit in downtown chattanooga serving low income elderly and disabled clients. Professional artist kim krause led students through an array of art lessons including landscapes, romare bearden inspired collages, and an exploration of reflections.