Spotlight on Gallery Artist – Darlene Oshiro, Theta, Hawaii

We are pleased to share a little bit about one of our artists, Darlene Oshiro from Hawaii, and her interesting submission of “Tribal Spirit”.

Tell us a little about yourself as an educator, a photographer, and 2D artist.

I started teaching art in 1974 on the island of Lanai.  I was the first certified art teacher on the island. Most of the Hawaii schools I taught at had limited funds for the arts. I had to be very resourceful and creative. My art supplier was the environment and nature. This was the beginning of mixed and multi-media creativity projects. After 20 years of teaching at the middle school level, I realized my art program was not evolving or growing like some of the other schools in the state and the nation. By observing various art exhibitions and contests for students, I learned about expectations, skill levels, art media, technology, materials, composition, creativity, and imagination. This made teaching exciting, a refreshing rebirth of exploration and creativity.  Each student had their strengths, so we focused on developing them. I discovered applying strengths and creativity worked well with mixed media. It was also within our limited budget. Then, my art students started to win art awards for the state and qualified for national competitions. Students moving on to high school continued to be recognized for state and national awards. In 2015, I peacefully retired and moved on to another chapter in my life called "retirement".

Tell how your work, “Tribal Sprit”, became a reality.

My composition, called "Tribal Spirit", evolved from my love of colors, drawing, and photography. Working on my strengths and passion makes it easy to start creating, exploring, and playing with many possibilities. The tribal face was created about 10 years ago as a class demonstration sample of blending and overlapping color pencils. I always enjoyed capturing nature, animals, and people on my camera.  When the pandemic started there was a special photography course for the iPhone, and from it I've learned to use various apps: "Retouch", "Brushstroke"," Superimpose", "Reflect" and many more. The Hawaiian culture believes all things have a spirit soul or mana. The banyan tree is one of my favorite trees. Its roots and branches are so massive and strong. I saw the pencil sketch blending and melting into the banyan tree and becoming one. One soul, one spirit.

Do you have any tips on how you did this mixed media artwork?

I used my iPhone to take a photo of my tribal face.  Next, I used "Brushstroke" to manipulate and morph it.  Also, I changed the color values of the original sketch so it would blend with the photo of the banyan tree.  Next, I used "Superimpose" to place the tribal face over the tree and blended it in.  Now the tree and face are one spirit. To make it more interesting, I used "Reflect" to have a reflection of the image in water.  

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Since I have started this photography course, I've created over 100 different compositions.  Art stimulates the mind, creativity, and the imagination.  Endless possibilities...I will never get bored.

 

The Arts & Humanities Jury looks forward to you returning often to view exciting new content and to share in the joy of creativity.   

We invite you to view the Art Gallery, click here. 

Keep the conversation going, please use the comment section below to suggest new topics, ask questions, or give us your input.  

 

Better Safe than Sorry!

When publishing texts and pictures on any platform it is better to be safe than sorry. Copyright, fair use, and public domain will be topics for upcoming C&M blogs. Watch for and participate in the blogs. Goal: promote the knowledge of all members in this critical area. Let’s start with copyright. 

Copyright 

• Check your national copyright laws before doing anything. 
• Look for the signs or CC markings. 
• PHOTOS:  
• Is it your own photo? Good! 
• Has it been taken in a public place? Ok!  
• In a private meeting e.g. a chapter meeting? Do you have the permission of all the persons in the picture?  
• Do you wish to use free photos? Okay!  But when using online sources, read the fine print. 
• Credit to the photographer and reference the source.  
• ALWAYS check the source of your photos and the copyrights! 
• MUSIC: Probably best to play directly from a link – not attached to your presentation or your publication if you have not asked for artist(s) permission. Always credit the artist(s) even if permission has been obtained. 
• TEXTS: This is complicated. Check the copyright and always mention the author, writer, poet, etc.  

Have you experienced a copyright situation that you believe others need to hear about? If so, give us the highlights. 

Bang #11 WORLD FELLOWSHIP

How often have you contributed to the World Fellowship Fund and wondered who would benefit from your donation? It is likely that many DKG members have asked the same question about the way World Fellowship funds are distributed, and this blog post should highlight the details of this important program.

The theme of the World Fellowship Fund sounds like a very lofty goal, but there is truth in every word. “Impacting Education Worldwide” is exactly what the program provides in opportunities for women from all over the globe to further their educations.

In 1972, the World Fellowship Committee became a standing committee of the Society but has been in existence since 1960. Contributions and bequests to this fund determine the number of awards given each year. Your donations are critical to the ongoing work of World Fellowship.

All recipients are non-member women educators who reside in countries other than the United States or Canada. Delta Kappa Gamma receives applications from the Institute of International Education (IIE) in the United States. IIE screens the applicants and then helps students with enrollment, visas, insurance, and travel. Students wishing to attend Canadian universities submit their requests to members of the World Fellowship committees in Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Evaluation and ranking are completed by the International World Fellowship Committee.

Contributing to World Fellowship can be considered your own personal mission work as you reach out beyond your local sphere of influence. After logging on to the Society website, you can click “Resources” on the black banner and then choose “Brochures and Flyers.” You will find a blue tab that allows you to view the current World Fellowship recipients. Names, addresses, birthdates, and fields of study are available. Seeing the names of individuals who are currently reaping the benefits of funds donated to this cause will certainly change your perspective about giving money to World Fellowship.

Members of DKG have touched the lives of many students during their varied careers. With World Fellowship, there is a new opportunity to support women who have traveled many miles to fulfill their dreams of education in America and Canada. In addition to your monetary contributions, please consider choosing at least one current World Fellowship recipient to contact with words of encouragement. “Impacting Education Worldwide” will then become a true mantra for each of us.

Building Leaders in DKG

Willing, capable leadership is necessary on all levels of the Society: chapter, state organization, and international. It’s important to build leadership from the ground up and to support the development of future leaders. Here are some ideas for doing that.

• Identify future leaders early.
• Personally reach out to chapter members to encourage them to step out of their comfort zones. Don’t give up on members too easily. Support and mentor!
• Challenge members to go beyond the chapter level and to attend conventions and/or conferences on the state organization and international level.
• Encourage chapter members to apply for scholarships and grants, for Leadership Management Seminars (on the state organization and international level), for state committees, for state officer positions, etc. Spotlight those who are successful in those endeavors.
• Forward articles in newsletters from the state organization and international to chapter members to keep them aware of opportunities for personal and professional growth in DKG.
• Provide opportunities for leadership development. Involve all chapter members, even if it seems minor (hostess, inspiration, program presenter, project chair, etc.)
• Stress the importance of members’ responsibility to the chapter. (In other words: We need you!)
• Encourage chapter officers to be very visible in their leadership roles.
• Remember that your passion is contagious so inspire others with your passion.

Spotlight on Gallery Artist – Priscilla Humay, Nu Alpha, Texas

Briefly tell us a little bit about yourself. 

Balancing life and learning with my four distinctly different and amazing children wove a surprising path for me.  I completed my formal education with post-graduate study at Charles University in Prague.  

Learning didn’t stop there. My education continues as each day provides me with the joyous opportunity to teach, learn, and discover.  

What is your preferred medium and why?   

My passion is drawing, painting, and mixed media. I love to experiment with colored pencil, graphite, and acrylic paint on 100% cotton paper, canvas and wood. My cameras are always on the alert to photograph a special moment that could have passed unnoticed.  

What plays an important part in your artistic process?   

At different seasons, I was twice awarded the Artist-in-Residence at Big Cypress National Preserve. Each month-long residency offered me solitary time to explore its natural beauty in reality. This experience inspired my artworks created and formulated there. 

“Cypress Strand” was created during this time and is now in a part of  the USA National Parks Collection through the US Department of the Interior.

What is the best piece of artistic advice you’ve been given?  

The best advice that I ever welcomed was to create from what I know, see, and feel……. then to work in a correlated series of visual expression.  

What does the value of Art in Education mean to you? 

The History of Art through human endeavor and the knowledge of the basic Principles of Art can provide us with a vast understanding of our beautiful world.  

Is there one more thing you’d like us to know? 

Every human has the choice to open their realm for learning, creating, and teaching what they know. 

When photographing both “Shadow Play” and “Sisters”, I sought to compositionally capture a slice of emotion in time. 

“Shadow Play” A hot day in this little girl’s Arizona backyard. When she put her feet into water to make footprints that were drying as quickly as she made them.

“Sisters” attend an outdoor performance. The early desert evening becomes chilly. The sisters cuddle closer for love and warmth.

 

The Arts & Humanities Jury thanks our Texas sister, Priscilla Humay, for sharing her artistic insights with our international sisterhood.  Remember, there is talent within all of us; just finding its pathway is the key to unlocking yours!

The Arts & Humanities Jury looks forward to you returning often to view exciting new content and to share in the joy of creativity.   

We invite you to view the Art Gallery, click here. 

Keep the conversation going, please use the comment section below to suggest new topics, ask questions, or give us your input. 

DKGIEF: Foundation Outtakes #4 – July/August 2021

Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and even volcanic eruptions are just a few of the natural disasters that may face DKG members throughout the seventeen countries that make up our Society. When DKG members, no matter their location, are confronted with destruction brought on by a force of nature, they know that help in the form of a 500 USD check to assist in moving forward is available. It’s a unique practice and a benefit of membership that has been in effect since 1948! 

Where do you begin when a natural disaster occurs? That is a question that at least 124 DKG members have asked during the last year and to which they have received an answer from our Society. A simple notification from their state organization president to the executive director in Austin netted 500 USD for each qualified request. While this sum will not address the full expenses tied to a natural disaster, it begins the process of rebuilding. More importantly it comes with a message of HOPE and CARE. DKG members regularly contribute to the Society’s Emergency Fund knowing that it will make a difference in the lives of members when they most need it. It may even, in turn, make a difference in their own lives in a similar situation. We never know when a force of nature may wrack havoc any more than we know to whom that disaster may hit. 

Over the last year and a half most DKG members have not been meeting as often in face-to-face gatherings at any of the three levels of the Society – chapter, state organization, international. That means that there have been fewer opportunities to collect for the Emergency Fund. Even though collections will be taken at each international conference this summer, the numbers attending those events will not be as great as in the past. It is imperative that we make the effort to donate to this fund to keep this unique and meaningful activity available for our members when needed.  

While natural disasters can occur at any time, it is the summer months when property-destroying storms most often occur. Don’t let the 2021 storm season be the one when DKG falls short in helping members facing the aftermath of a natural disaster. Give to the Emergency Fund today and make a difference tomorrow! 

Follow this link on the DKG website to donate to the Emergency Fund or any of the other eight funds under DKGIEF. 

Award Concepts – Our Society Jeweler

Have you had a chance to order from Award Concepts?

An online shopping store found on the DKG website, Award Concepts has been in business since 1985 and is a leading designer of successful employee and organization engagement programs and products.

If you have been to an international convention, you probably have seen the Award Concepts booth. They design our convention pins and so much more for our organization. They have been a long-time partner of DKG.

When you log in as a member to the DKG website—www.dkg.org—choose DKG store > shop now. Award Concepts is listed on that page. Take a minute and look at all the branded products that have been designed for Delta Kappa Gamma. Check out the new bangle bracelets, too. Ordering is easy via the order form provided on the website.

Intrigued? Click here to go to the site quickly: Awards Concepts

After looking over the items, if you have suggestions for new products that you would like to see in the online store or have questions about Award Concepts, respond to this blog. You can also talk to the representatives at convention and offer your suggestions.