Blog

Walk down the hall of any arts academy high school and you’re bound to run into more than a handful of students who have synesthesia. And it’s not something you can avoid with a mask. The term synesthesia might sound scary. It’s not though. In fact, if you’re a synesthete (one who has synesthesia), the...

New developments in the field of neurology are studying the brain through art. Did you know that the human brain more quickly recognizes a person in as a cartoon caricature versus in a photograph? It’s all because of the fusiform gyrus. That’s the part of the brain involved in facial recognition. And cartoon caricatures generally...

Art and athletics are often seen as positioned at opposite ends of the spectrum. It’s as if they are mutually exclusive – that one cannot be an artist and an athlete at the same time. But when you get right down to it, are athletes and artists really all that different? They may not be....

There are different learning styles for everybody and each of us learns in unique ways. Some people do better with visual information while others glean knowledge from a lecture. There are those who absorb everything through reading, and other students who benefit from some sort of movement to fully grasp a concept. And the diverse...

Do you have a particularly creative or artistic child who’s not faring well at a conventional high school? It’s not unusual for students at an arts academy high school like Arts Academy in the Woods in Fraser, Michigan to have started at a conventional high. They quickly find that it’s not the right fit for...

The world is a strange place right now. Downright surreal even. And it’s hard to deny that there are a lot of emotions at play. Interestingly enough, the Latin roots of the word emotion are e (out) + movere (move). In an ideal world, emotions create feelings that flow naturally. But oftentimes they get dammed...

Using art to deal with tragedy may seem a heady topic for this time of year. Especially because early June is typically a hopeful time when students and teachers look forward to a break during the summer; and when graduating seniors celebrate their achievement. We all know that’s not exactly the case this year though....

Shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders have made teaching tougher than ever. (Tell you something you don’t already know, right?) But how do art teachers institute distance learning when their classes have such a physical component? For example, many of the classes at Arts Academy in the Woods in Fraser, Michigan, involve materials, group activities, and even...

At the time of this writing, a lot of Americans are still in “lockdown” in their homes. In times of trouble, one place where humans shine is in their ability to come together. It’s something we embrace all the time at Arts Academy in the Woods. But right now, we’re forced to be apart. And...

Authentic voice in the world at large is difficult to find these days. The birth of fake news and the polarization of politics and social issues certainly haven’t helped. Plus, the complete dismissing of dissident opinions and inconvenient truths have only worsened the situation. Some could argue that some of these very factors played a...