...And So It Ends, My Internship Adventure with Zootown Arts!

        How do sum up my summer's internship with the Zootown Arts Community Center? That is tough. I showed up at the ZACC seeking out this opportunity back in May, not knowing what to expect; and I leave this internship part of (I hope) the funky fun ZACC family within the center's doors. What a fantastic creative source and outlet for Missoula residents and passersby! I've met people from all walks of life, while just sitting in the ceramics room clear coating bisque ware. I loved and took so much away from this experience.

        First, I'd like to thank UM's School of Art Director, Professor Julia Galloway, for allowing me this opportunity to way to further my education and helping to support the expedited manner in which I am pursuing it.  Second, I would like to thank Kia Liszak, Linds Sanders and Lindsey Weber for welcoming me into the ZACC crew so warmly and allowing me to grow and learn. Lastly, I'd like to thank my mom, Sue Facklam, a lifelong educator with EON'S (haha....had to, Mom) of dealing with kids under her belt, for the instructional guidance pertaining to the camps.

        I've learned several things through this summer's experience. I helped with 8 of the 12 summer camps so far this summer and each one was a learning experience. I would say the biggest thing I've learned from working with the campers is the HUGE diversity within the ages 6-12! Oh my goodness! MANY days they had me worn down. A classroom with several different ages in it has to be handled a certain way, and I found out quickly (also a HARD learned lesson my first week of Flagship last semester) that a strong and clear foundation of guidelines and structure had to be Lesson Number I! A "funny" also--I learned eight different ways to get a room full of loud, boisterous children quiet! Each instructor had his/her own little trick but used a lot of silent hand movements, in general. I also learned that the most powerful game to play with this age group which induces instant cooperation, creativity, focus and a usually much needed reprieve from the chaos of the campers is...THE QUIET GAME! It saved me a few days...just those few minutes of utter silence were almost therapeutic enough to get me through the rest of the day!

       I absolutely loved working with the kids though. It's amazing how beautiful un-jaded creativity can be. They haven't been told how to think, or that drawing/sculpting/acting perfectly is the only right way to do it...as many adults are conformed to thinking. Just free creativity. It was very enlightening and so very refreshing. They are given a general direction and the rest just flows, and they are EXCITED! Excited to make, create, perform, and just explore the learning! I know without a doubt, now more than ever, that this is what I want to do. I want to watch that look of wonder followed by the  concentrated look of determination in making an idea come to fruition...I want to help that wonder blossom for the rest of my career... (And, then I'll figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Haha!) 

       Aside from all of the classroom instructional learning, I started to learn how correctly to load the kiln, which isn't as easy as just "loading the kiln." I was moving into Step 2, or 30 (depending on how you look at the steps) of kiln instruction when the ZACC's kiln had a malfunction. It's currently waiting for parts. But, I've got the gist and, as Pam told me, she's been loading kilns for years, and kiln is different in how it runs, so you just have to learn how each one operates individually, concerning the settings and what not. I also learned in all of this that I find working with ceramics incredibly meditative. I loved working with all the kiddos, but I also really enjoyed my many hours of clear coating all of the glazed bisque-ware in preparation for the kiln firings. I also helped with teaching the Boys and Girls Club classes at the Burn Street Bistro twice, as well as helping with several different events throughout the summer, all of which were fantastic community events with tons of interaction. The ZACC booth/set-up was almost always the most attended because really, who doesn't want to stop and just make a quick art project on the fly!?

           I really want to reiterate how much I learned from a few of the instructors. What an absolutely unique experience to watch so many different teaching styles within a period of two months! The ZACC was such a tremendous opportunity for me. A real mentor, Pam was an absolute joy to work with and so patient and knowledgeable with the kids. She offered me a job working for the Sussex school's after-school program, and I am definitely going to try to make that work with my schedule, as well as trying to fit in doing the YAAP program (The ZACC's after-school art program.)  So many amazing options have been born from this internship and I am grateful for them and for everything I've learned.

       I will close out my internship blog here with a hearty thanks to all, gratitude for new friends, appreciation for lessons learned, and admiration for the creativity shared by all of the kiddos. It has been a very rich experience. I worked 24 days and a total of 92 hours with the ZACC and I wouldn't trade a day or an hour of it!  "Inspire. Connect. Create." 

All the best!

Katie