Harriete Estel Berman-Seeking #2 Pencils for Education Artwork

PICK UP YOUR PENCILS, Begin

        Below are images of this sculpture (in progress) along with
        commentary by the artist Harriete Estel Berman.
        You are welcome to ask me your questions, and I will
        answer them below.

The left front stanine is finished....!!!!!!!!! Alyssa Endo is working on moving the fishing line so it is all even and straight. The right center stanine and the center stanine are almost done. If you are confused look at the diagram lower on this page.

Working on the left center stanine of pencils as a commentary about the impact of standardized testing. Constructed from recycled pencils by Harriete Estel Berman.

I hired two college art students Alyssa Endo and Adam Klafter to help me work on this project this summer. After four years, I just needed to get it done. Taking it to MakerFaire and schools for students to work on was fun, but very slow....too slow.

As the pencils drillling and threading (see below) near completion, I have planned out the hanging structure and need to find an exhibition space. If you know of any possible exhibition opportunity, contact me. I hope to be finished by the end of 2010.

Treading pencils on to the bell curve of pencils as a commentary about standardized testing.

Threading pencils on to fishing line must be done very precisely, but it is the easiest part of the assembly process. The holes are drilled exactly the same distance apart. You can see the drill and jig in images below.

This sculpture is about the impact of standardized testing on education. Have you read the recent article in Newsweek, July 19, 2010 titled, "The Creativity Crisis". It's fascinating!

"Overwhelmed by curriculum standards, American teachers warn there’s no room in the day for a creativity class. Kids are fortunate if they get an art class once or twice a week. "

Center stanine for a bell curve constructed entirely from pencils as a commentary about the impact of standardized testing in education by Harriete Estel Berman.

This is the center Stanine at about 9', ultimately it will be 12' in height.

Only three more feet to go on this stanine. We are a lot closer to being done than I thought. 3 feet is approximately 146 rows of pencils. 2920 minutes of work. Wow! Just 48 more hours on this stanine plus time making the structural elements.

No wonder this has taken so long! I vacillate between exuberance and feeling overwhelmed at the effort and time involved.

Working on the left stanine of the bell curve constructed from pencils as a commentary about the impact of standardized testing on education.

This is the left center stanine which Alyssa is working on.

We drew the shape on the piece of paper which you can see in the very top of the photo. When you are working on the stanine, you need to thread the pencils onto the strings...and we have only about 6 more inches to do on the bottom. Sometimes the string gets too short so Alyssa has to pull the strings down from the top.

Soon we will start working from the top...to create the shape.. It is very complicated yet very simple in concept at the same time. Read more of the explanation below with photos to see how this is constructed.

I would like to make another video...but need to find grant money.

This entire sculpture will hang like a curtain 27' wide and 12' tall. The stanine will be about 5'7" on the left side increasing in size to 11'6" on the right side.

QUESTION from Mary Anne Enriquez: "I am wondering what led you to this idea in the first place Harriete. Were you a teacher?"

This sculpture and the previous artwork about education titled "Measuring Compliance" were both inspired by my experiences as a parent with the current K-12 educational system designed primarily for the success of the conforming student.

Despite the stated goals of education to teach problem solving, most teachers apply one teaching methodology to all students. We know that people learn in different ways, and that there are multiple intelligences, yet the current academic focus is for everyone to do the same assignment the same way.

We measure student performance, teacher performance and school performance with standardized tests that only measure a few levels of performance (including how well people take tests.)

One other aspect of the current K-12 education is that so much of it is focused on the underperforming student. This also represents a politically sensitive topic that is difficult to rectify in our financially stressed school systems.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when discussing the impact of standardized tests on our current educational system.

Harriete Estel Berman sharpening pencils for the pencil bell curve sculpture Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin.

Here I am sharpening pencils as fast as I can. While I do have an electric pencil sharpener, it just is not fast enough for the quantities of yellow #2 pencils.

Harriete Estel Berman sharpening the pencils, a closer view.

Here is a closer view. I sharpen the pencil so they look like they were sharpened by a real pencil sharpener but this method is much faster. A shop vacumm is set up to suck up most of the dust, but there is still some dust so I take a precaution and wear a dust mask.

Here are all the pencils in various boxes.

Here are all the pencils that are to be sharpened for this afternoon. And the pencils that have been sharpened already.

Beginner pencils that have been sharpened.

I am including Beginner pencils in this project. Standardized testing starts in Kindergarden.

Cathy Tapia commented:
"I love your concept!! As a preschool teacher I am appalled that I am now REQUIRED to test my 3 & 4 year old students to PROVE their progress. I have worn out many pencils filling in the bubble sheets for the state of Michigan. :( I love that you included the kindergarten pencils. Good luck with your project! "

Standard #2 pencils ready sharpened ready for drilling.

Standard #2 Pencils that have been sharpened ready for drilling (see images of drilling in the pictures below.)

Pencils ready to be donated to the library.

There are some pencils I don't use. For example Gold Pencils that are short most with no eraser. These were never intended for use taking a standardized tests, so it doesn't seem appropriate to use in the sculpture. I sharpen these "reject" pencils and give them to the library. (I am a big fan of the library.)

QUESTION from Mary Anne Enriquez: "Cool! Here is my big question...when you decided to create this...did you have a work space to put it all together in...and a venue for displaying it?

This sculpture like all my larger pieces impacts the storage in the rest of my house. Since my children are no longer living at home, it is stored in their room while the work is in progress.

In my studio, I have certain areas dedicated to the assembly. I pull out the pencils, work on them, then put them away. When a person comes over to thread the pencils onto the fishing line, a stanine comes out, they work on the dining room table, and then we put it away. When a project is this big, and takes this long, you've got to plan on how it can fit into your life both physically and mentally.

I don't have anywhere to show this, but when it is closer to completion, I will start sending out "packages" to museums, and non-profit spaces that I have shown at before to try to find a space. I really want to show this at the California State Department of Education. I understand they have a huge atrium.

QUESTION from Mary Anne Enriquez: "Its going to be huge! how will you transport it to and from the installation site?"

There are nine stanines. Each is a separate unit so that it can roll up, ship in one box, be carried by one or two people, and hang separately. When not on display it stores compactly. I design all my work so that it can be easily dissassembled and shipped.

Look at the Grass page, and the chocolate pot titled Obverse Obsession for examples of work that dissassemble for shipping.

Harriete Estel Berman drilling pencils at a special drill press and jig set up to drill holes exactly the same space apart.

Here I am at a special drill and jig designed by my son Ace so that the pencils have small holes drilled exactly the same way, each hole exactly the same distance apart.

Harriete Estel Berman drilling pencils for Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin sculpture constructed from pencils.

Here I am drilling pencils. Look over my shoulder a little more closely. The pencils sit is a piece of aluminum, milled to hold the pencils in a row. I am drilling the red pencils.

Lookin more closely as Harriete Estel Berman drills pencils very carefully for Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin a sculpture about the impact of standardized testing on education.

Drilling the pencils is the most time consuming and tedious part of this project. The graphite from the pencils is not "dusty", but it makes a mess. Each hole needs to be drilled very carefully so that the printing and words on the pencils will show in the final sculpture.

Drilling the red pencils. Look closely at the jig.

Here we look more closely at the jig designed by Ace. I have been working on this project for over three years. This summer I am working intently to get this finished. I try to work at least two hours a day. It doesn't always happen.

Drilling the last few pencils for the red stanine,

Here I am drilling a red and white pencil for the red stanine. I am running out of plain red, so I have to use pencils that are red with another color.

Here is the model of the sculpture. It will be a gigantic curtain of pencils. The bell curve is divided into nine parts called stanines. You can see that the red stanine is the the 3rd from the left.

I hired Alyssa to help me this summer. I need help terribly, but really can't afford to pay you.

Alyssa is working on the assembly of the pencils. It is very tedious to thread the line into each hole of the pencils.

Here you can see the red pencils stanine assembled. All of the colored stanines are threaded and ready for final assembly with the hanging structure, but first I need to finish the center three stanine of yellow #2 pencils.

The yellow #2 pencils represent the nationally normed standardized test where half of all students are supposed to fit into the center of the bell curve.

Can anyone participate in this project?
Do you need help?

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can come to the next "ASSEMBLY DAY" or just volunteer to work for a couple of hours. (Three hour minimum time required.) Contact the artist for the next date by emailing me at: bermaid [at] harriete-estel-berman.info.

I am working very hard this summer 2010 to get this done and really need help. The hours are flexible. Bring a friend, but a minimum amount of time is required so that you can learn how to drill and assemble the pencils.

MORE commonly asked questions about this project:

How big will the finished artwork be? What will it look like?

The artwork about standardized testing will be in the shape of a bell curve. The bell curve will be approximately 12 feet high and 27 feet long.

This graphic is a bell curve. Student performance on standardized tests is evaluated against other student performance within the bell curve.

This is a model for the sculpture.

The standard #2 yellow pencils will be in the center three yellow stanines. The three stanines on either side will be made using #2 pencils that deviate from the norm because they are painted other colors on the outside of the pencils.

When was the first public event with this project?

The assembly of pencil project was officially started at the annual conference for the California Art Educators in the Hyatt Hotel in Burlingame in 2008. (I had been collecting pencils for two years before that.) The conference participants started to assemble the pencils in stanines of colored pencils. I also lectured for the Conference attendees, they loved it! I received a standing ovation for my lecture!!!! I am not kidding....the first time ever....a standing ovation from the entire audience.

Will you come to my school to lecture about your art and this project ?

Yes, any time. I can bring one stanine with me and present a Power Point lecture about my artwork for students of all ages. I have lectured at numerous high schools, junior high and elementary schools. .

Will you accept colored pencils?

The colored pencil stanines are complete. Send only yellow HB #2 pencils that a student would use for taking a standardized test. I no longer need pencils that have different colored exteriors other than the standard yellow #2 pencils.

Colored lead pencils will not be used in the sculpture. Colored pencils (by that I mean, pencils with a color core for artwork) are not as good just because a student would not use a colored pencil to take a standardized test.

How many pencils do you have so far?

Currently I have enough pencils to make a solid rectangle measuring 10 feet by 25 feet. That is way more than I need to make one bell curve. By weight it looks like I have enough pencils.My fingers are crossed that I have enough for the whole sculpture . 27 feet wide and 12 feet high.

I have more than 300 lbs of used pencils.

One foot of pencils = 12 ounces.

While I am confident that I will have enough pencils to make a 27 foot long x 12 high bell curve, if you would like to participate, I am continuing to accepting Yellow #2 pencils for the project!

This is a photo of the red stanine.

Threading the pencils on to the monofil- ament goes very slowly but it is not hard to do. Anyone can learn how.

I have some very special pencils that I found in my grandmother's house. Can you use them?

Yes, absolutely! I save all unusual pencils in a separate box. I already have quite a few very old pencils. One pencil has an enameled pencil clip. Another person sent me a box of pencils from the "Pencil Brothers: Ken Cory and Leslie W. LePere" exhibitions dating back to 1973. Other interesting pencils say: Census 1990 and "Star Performer".

It is very interesting to find pencils with writing embossed or printed on them with the name of a school or given as a present to the students from the principal of a school such as: "SKYLINE SCHOOL, STUDENT OF THE MONTH.".

Sequoia High School just gave me a huge quantity of pencils they couldn't use! They are all purple! There will be a whole stanine of purple/pink pencils.

Here I am at Maker Faire at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds working on the Pencil Project.

Many people came out to volunteer their time and help with the construction during the two days that we were there.

If you would like to participate in the pencil project, contact me and next time I'm doing an assembly day, I will let you know.

Assembly is not difficult. Pencils are pre-drilled and threaded through with fishing line. Or you can also volunteer to drill the pencils.

How can I participate in this project?
Do you need help?

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can come to the next "ASSEMBLY DAY" or just volunteer to work for a couple of hours.( Three hour minimum time required.) Contact the artist for the next date. If you think that it would be interesting to have me come visit your school, or arts group the stanines can be easily shipped to assembly locations.

Where will you exhibit this work?

I am still looking for an exhibition space for "MEASURING COMPLIANCE" and the bell curve new artwork PICK UP YOUR PENCIL, Begin about standardized testing. Support his project and its visibility by buying a POSTER for your classroom, faculty lounge. Or send a NOTE CARD to your child's teacher, local administrators, governor, or U.S. President. Use the power of art for change.

Check back soon for more information about my artwork including additional questions, answers and comments from individuals. If you would like to add your comments, contact me and let me know what you think about standardized tests. CLICK HERE.
Listen to a great video lecture by Sir Ken Robinson about how our current educational system is undermining creativity? It is worth your time.