Harriete Estel Berman
 
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PICK UP YOUR PENCILS, Begin

    Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin at DeAnza College sculpture in exhbition titled TheArt of Education  
   

Pick UP Your Pencils, Begin       Shown at Euphrat Museum of Art, DeAnza College, Cupertino, CA


 
   

Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin is about the impact of standardized testing on our educational system. The artwork hangs like a curtain from the ceiling 15' height x 28’ wide and ¼” depth (the thickness of a pencil.) 

 
       
   

The images and description below describe:

 
    Pick Up Your Pencils Begin about the impact of standardized testing by Harriete Estel Berman.  
       
    Harriete Estel Berman standing in front of the pencil installation Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin   It's time to start the next phase of this project - a video.

The video will offer insight into the creative process
including the design, fabrication and assembly for the bell curve of pencils over four years.

Additional commentary in the video will discuss how the emphasis on standardized tests is affecting our educational system at the expense of other learned skills such as creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking.

Pencils, the primary raw material in the installation, Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin, will be a recurring visual throughout the video.
 
       
   

Video is a collaborative process? Do you know anyone looking for a video project?

This sculpture is available for exhibition.
It easily ships in six boxes and installs in 3-4 hours. Please inquire.

 
       
   

The first public exhibition was at Anita Seipp Gallery, Castilleja School where it was photographed for the article in American Craft.
(The article is shown below)

Palo Alto Weekly article (right) March23, 2012
"Artist Makes a Point with Pencils"
Article writer is Karla Kane; Editor Rebecca Wallace; and the photographer is Veronica Weber.

 

Pencils Palo Alto Weekly article about Harriete Estel Berman Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin.

 
       
    American Craft article about pencil sculpture by Harriete Estel Berman  
   

This is an image of the recent article in American Craft Magazine Dec/Jan 2012.

This is a fabulous article by Julie K. Hanus! I recommend you get the magazine or read the article on line from the link above. Quoting from the article:"Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin" is a 12-foot-tall, 28-foot-wide shimmering curtain of pencils, hanging in the shape of a bell curve - the statistical "normal distribution" used to design standardized tests."

If you would like to read this article here is a PDF version. It is 6 MB.

 
       
   

View STUDENT RESPONSES to Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin

 
       
    Pencil Symposium recorded at Castilleja School, Palo Alto, CA with local high school students.  

Pencil Symposium: A discussion with local high school students about the impact of standardized testing and their most effective educational experience was video taped on Thursday, March 15, 2012.

This was edited into a short video shown below.

 
       
     
       
    Rob Goc editor for the Pencil Symposium video produced by Harriete Estel Berman Pencils Make a Point
 

Funding for videotaping the PENCIL SYMPOSIUM and the EOP provided by Applied Materials Excellence in the Arts Grants, a program of Arts Council of Silicon Valley.
logo for Arts Council of Silicon Valley


Video Editor Rob Goc (left images) working on the video.

 
       
    Pencil sculpture hangs like a shimmering curtain  the thickness of a pencil.  
    The installation hangs like a shimmering curtain presenting a broad face to the world, yet if you stand at the edge, it is only the ethereal thickness of a pencils.

The monofilament warp reaches to the ceiling as if it were the lines of a graph.

 
   
Diagram of bell curve of pencils.
 

The entire sculpture is divided in to nine sections called stanines; this is the same way the bell curve measures student performance is divided on standardized tests.

 

 
       
    Pencil Point in the sculpture Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin by Harriete Estel Berman  

Standardized tests are designed so that most of the students fit within the center three stanines.

The standard #2 yellow pencils are the center three yellow stanines and represent the nationally normed student performance.

 
       
   

Below is an actual ACT Assessment Student Report. The name of the student has been obscured for confidentiality.

 
   
ACT Bell Curve Assessment used as inspiration for sculpture about standardized testing.
 
    In the test results, you can see the numbers that reflect the bell curve in a nationally normed test where student performance is measured against all other students.  
       

 

 
    ACT Bell curve of test result nubmers.  

In this close-up of the ACT Assessment of the test results, you can see how the test score numbers are placed along, inside or outside the bell curve.

(I drew the bell curve in pencil so that you would understand how students performance is measured on standardized tests.)

 
       
    Student pointing at the Red and Yellow stanine in the sculpture from pencils Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin by Harriete Estel Berman  

On students that deviate from the norm fit into the outer stanines indicating both higher and lower performance.

In my sculpture, this is represented by the three  stanines on either end using regular  #2 pencils with a colored exterior.

The stanine of red pencils is an example.

The social commentary about the impact of standardized testing on our educational system is enormous. There is  huge financial investment resulting in a tremendous impact on the students, teachers, school districts,  and the content of the curriculum.

In addition, standardized tests only evaluate a small spectrum of student ability excluding the arts, athletic and theatrical performance, creativity, and more.

 
   


Each pencil was drilled, threaded onto monofilament fishing line and meticulously assembled within specific sections.

Red pencils used in sculpture about standardized testing on education by Harriete Estel Berman.

 
       

 

 
    Looking at the sculpture it is interesting to note that the pencils have a formal abstract pattern that kind of looks like zigzag in a woven textile.

 
    Aryn looking at the pencil sculpture Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin  
   


"In the finished project, the zigzags of the pencil points form a pattern that adds to the tapestry-like look. Yardsticks, attached to the bottom for weight, underscore the idea of measuring students' academic performances."
Quote from Karla Kane from the article, "Artist makes point with pencils: Sculpture skewers standardized testing, celebrates art in schools"
Palo Alto Weekly, Arts & Entertainment - Friday, March 23, 2012


Below are images of this sculpture in progress from the past four years along with commentary and descriptions. You are welcome to ask me your questions, and I will answer them below.

 
       
    The bell curve model of this sculpture.  

To the left is a graphic model of the sculpture Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin.

It was the model for the gigantic hanging sculpture/weaving/curtain made entirely of pencils.

 
   


Where will you exhibit this work?

That is one of the first questions people ask. I have just started looking for exhibition spaces now that I have photographic images of the finished artwork.

As you look at the images below let me know if you have any additional questions. If you would like to add your comments, contact me and let me know what you think about standardized tests.


 
    Pencil sculpture installation.  

September 10, 2011
Here we are installing the first two stanines
so that this sculpture could be photographed.

It takes less than 4 hours for four people to install. My entire family helped. More installation photos will be added soon.

Installation ceiling height is 15' feet minimum.

A lift to the ceiling is necessary. The weight of the center stanines is over 30lbs. This weight would be very challenging to carry up a ladder by one person.

 
       
    Pencils sent to me for the sculpture from recycled pencils Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin.  
   


All of the images below are generally organized in reverse chronological order with the most recent at the top. As you scroll down you can see various stages in the fabrication from the last 4.5 years.

 
    Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin shipping boxes.  
   

September 6, 2011

Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin ships in five boxes.
Dimension for these boxes: 40" height x 12" width x 12" depth.
Weight for the boxes: 26 lbs., 30 lbs., 26 lbs., 25 lbs., and 23 lbs.
Depending on the shipper, I can ship the work in these boxes or double box the work in larger shipping boxes.


 
    Pencil sculpture is all rolled up and in its box to ship.  
   
Each stanine rolls up separately in its own paper envelope
(which you can see in the photos below.)
 
       
    Rolling up the pencils sculpture in a paper envelope so that they ship compactly.  
    September 1, 2011

In this photo, I am rolling up the pencils in their individual "envelopes".
They ship compactly, unroll and install easily.
 
       
    Pencils layed out in the envelope ready to roll up for compact storage and shipping of artwork.  
    September 1, 2011

The paper envelope shown above allows for compact storage and shipping
while offering adequate protection. As you can see instructions are written on the paper so it is easy to replicate for return shipping.

If you are interested in information about the step by step process for shipping you can see every step in a special Flickr album.

ASK Harriete offers advice and additional examples for packing one of a kind artwork. Look under the topic header Shipping Artwork and Craft on ASK Harriete.

 
       
    Pencils stanine laid out on the floor and ready to pack and ship artwork.  
   
The center stanine is shown in the photo above.
This is the first step in creating an envelope for shipping each of the nine stanines. The entire sculpture is 28 foot wide and 12' 3" height when installed. Constructed in nine separate stanines, it rolls up and ships compactly in five modestly sized boxes.
 
       
   

As you scroll down this page, you will see the construction of this sculpture.
It has taken four 1/2 years. I started February 2007.                    

 
   


The first year and a half
was just to collect pencils from all over the world, though most of the pencils came from the United States. All kinds of people sent me pencils, individual students, entire classrooms, artists, teachers, friends and people that didn't even know me.

Pencils sent to me from people all over the United States and the world.

The YIKES pencil (at the top of the above photo) is from the 90's. I found this out from a pencil collector. It is the lime green pencil with a triangular shape and red wood core.

Pencils convey information not just as a writing tool, but also the advertising and printing on the outside.

In the same photo (above) is a pencil that says, "ART BRIDGES THE GAP". It is from the California Art Education Association annual conference where I was the keynote speaker. I got a standing ovation from an audience of 300! They were a fantastic audience.

During the CAEA Conference they gave me a prime space right out the main lecture rooms where I began working on the pencil bell curves. Many art teachers helped those three days of the Conference.


The sculpture from pencils is about the problems with our educational system by Harriete Estel Berman.

Frank Wilson says: : "What do children really learn from years and years of forced immobility, ingesting simplified or frankly dubious narratives of human life and formulaic reductions of human knowledge? Increasingly, despite the bluster and bullying of the monomaniacal proponents of "rigor, assessments, and accountability" in schools, the answer appears to be "not much."

As you scroll down the page....all of the images are in reverse order of a the fabrication and assembly. The most recent pictures are at the top, Scroll down the page to see the evolution of this artwork over time.

Below is a close-up view of pencils from the Pencil Brothers (Ken Cory and Lepere) woven into the left center stanine.

Pencils from the Pencil Brothers woven into the bell curve.

 
   

Monday, February 28, 2011

This is the left center stanine of yellow #2 pencils. The sloping, curved edge includes a number of the Pencil Brothers pencils.

I carefully grouped them all together so they could be found once the large bell curve is on display.

Each stanine of pencils lays on brown paper so that it can be rolled up, moved around and stored easily. This is how it will be shipped to exhibition locations.

The blue masking tape holds the monofilament fishing line in a neat coil so it doesn't get tangled.

 

Left Center stanine of the bell curve with Pencil Brothers pencils.

 
   


In this animated sequence of images immediately below, emiko oye, my studio assistant (and friend) is helping me on Friday, February 18, 2011 fixing the top of the right center stanine of pencils. She is wearing a knit cap and sweatshirts because my house is so cold.

I had to move all the furniture in my living room to make room for the final adjustment of this sculpture. (You can see artwork normally on display pushed to the side.)


 
    Fixing the top of the right center stanine of pencils.  
       

 

 
    The center three stanines of the pencil sculpture are uneven, This is a huge problem.  

Tuesday, February 15, 2011.
(Left photo) If you look closely at the top
you will see the the top edges of the center three stanines are not even.

OOPS!!!!!!!!!!!! Huge problem.

Ultimately, I decided to shorten the center stanine and fix the curves of all three stanines so they matched. This took two weeks of very hard work.

 
   


Pencils can be very special.
Below is an image of pencils from the Pencil Brothers. They were two men, Ken Cory and Leslie W. LePere, that collaborated for years (approximately 1966-1986) making jewelry and small objects. They were best known in the Seattle and Pacific Northwest area of the United States.


 
    Pencil Brothers Pencils from a retrospective of their work 1966-1986 at the Cheney Cowles Museum and Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA.  
   

I was very fortunate to be given a number of pencils from the Pencil Brothers from past exhibitions to include in Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin. These pencils are from exhibitions at Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA.;Manolides Gallery, Seattle, WA and a retrospective of their work at the Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA.
Pencil Brothers:
Ken Cory, born Kirkland, Washington, 1943; Died Ellensburg, Washington, 1994
Leslie LePere, born Spokane, Washington, 1946
The pencils were donated by Nancy Worden executor of Ken Cory estate.


 
    The image immediately below shows me pulling up the monofilament fishing line to make the pencil stanine straight and snug. It takes a tremendous amount of time to carefully pull up the 24 monofilament fishing line threads in each stanine.

Each monofilament fishing line thread is like the warp of a weaving each spaced exactly 1.5 inches apart and is carefully threaded through small holes drilled 1.5 inches apart in the pencils. You can see the jig for drilling the small holes in the pencils further down on this page.

 
    Harriete Estel Berman pulling up the monofilament warp threads to tighten the strings on Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin.  
    Your hands get very dirty working with the pencils.  
       
    Harriete Estel Berman working on the center stanine of Pick Up Your Pencils Begin.  

February 8th, 2011.
Here I am working on the center stanine,
the tallest section of the pencils sculpture.

I need to pull up the warp or vertical threads to adjust the tension on the entire piece.

As you scroll down you will see the assembly process in reverse order. Starting with most recent images working back to the very beginning of the project.

Images were posted regularly until the work was completed.

Scroll down,find more information about the project, ask me your questions.

Have you ever considered the impact of standardized testing on education?

 
   

 

 
    The next few images show how the bottom of each stanine is finished.
The image below shows the final assembly of the bottom edge for the blue & green pencil stanine.
I am using yardsticks to give the pencil sculpture a firm, straight flat bottom. Look closely at the top photos of the finished sculpture. The yardsticks nudge the floor.

This is a metaphor for measuring the students and the fact that students used to be hit by yardstick and rulers to conform to expectations.

Here the Elmer's glue is applied to one yardstick. You can see the fine monofilament fishing line used as the warp (lengthwise threads) to construct the entire bell curve.


 
    Pencil Take out your Pencils and Begin final assembly glueing the  yardstick by Harriete Estel Berman  
   
The next image shows the blue yardstick just placed on the glue. I am using my metalworking stakes (which are very heavy) to hold everything in place until the glue dries.


 
    Pencil Take out your Pencils and Begin final assembly using my metal work stakes to hold down the yardstick by Harriete Estel Berman  
   


In the above photo the rulers are glued together.
This creates a straight firm bottom for each stanine. The stanine of blue and green pencils had a blue yardstick.

The purple pencils have a pink yardstick at the bottom of the sculpture.

Small washers (made with recycled milk bottles)
and brass crimp beads prevent the fishing line from pulling up through the bottom yardstick. In the above photo, you can see the purple stanine of pencils.

Treading the monofilament through the washer in the pencil sculpture.

January 2011

In the above photo you can a student helping me thread the monofilament fishing line through the plastic washer.


 
    Pencil Take out your Pencils and Begin final assembly with yardstick by Harriete Estel Berman  
       
    MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SCULPTURE BELOW:  
       
   
Sculpture from pencils is about the impact of standardized testing on education.
  The pencil sculpture about the impact of standardized testing on education is getting closer to completion. (At this point I still have to make the top and bottom hanging structure and adjust the alignment of the pencils.)

In this photo (left) this is the center stanine that is 12 feet in height. You can see the brown paper roll holding the extending length of pencils all rolled up.

The assembly photo below from December 2010 shows the addition of the last few pencils to the top of the center stanine after 3 years and ten months of work. 1000's of pencils, hours and hours of work.
 
       
   
Sculpture from pencils is about the impact of standardized testing on education by Harriete Estel Berman.
 
       
   

The left front stanine is complete! In the photo below Alyssa Endo is working on moving the fishing line so it is all even and straight. There are total of nine sections duplicating the nine stanines in a bell curve. If you are confused, look at the diagram that is at both the top and bottom of 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.
 
   


Summer 2010: I hired a college art student Alyssa Endo to help me work on this project. After so many years of slow progress, I just needed to get it done. Taking the pencils to Maker Faire and schools for students to work on was fun, but not productive, very very slow....too slow.

 
   
 

 

 
   

Harriete Estel Berman at Maker Faire working on the pencil project.

 
   

In the photo above I am working on the pencil project at Maker Faire for the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild booth. For the better part of two days, people were invited to help assembly the stanine by threading the pencils carefully into rows.

My experience working with students, adults, the general public to art teachers was uncanny and unpredictable. Some people grasped the concept of assembly and learned how to thread the pencils immediately, others never quite got it right. Age had nothing to do with it. Some people are born to work with their hands.


 
   
Harriete Estel Berman lecturing at an elementary school at the invitation of the Art Docents of Los Gatos
 

During the assembly which took years, I went to schools lectured about my work and the students worked on the pencil project.

Interesting in concept, asking people to work on your art project is not easy. The implementation was a difficult reality. More than once I had to come home and fix the pencils the students or the public assembled.

 

 
       
   
Elementary school students admiring the pencils stanine Pick Up Your Pencils, Begin by Harriete Estel Berman
 

I took the pencils to several elementary schools, junior high and high schools. The children were always very engaged when they saw the pencils.

If you think that it would be interesting to have me come visit your school, or arts group and talk about my work let me know.

 
       
    Harriete Estel Berman as visiting artist at Sequoia High School talking about her artwork.  

Here I am visiting Sequoia High School in Redwood City.

First I came to lecture about my work. Later the students and I worked on threading the pencils for hours one weekend. With a core group of students we made great progress (a couple of inches on every stanine.)

Years later Sequoia High School students participated in The Pencil Symposium. The video about
The Pencil Symposium is at the top of this page.

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

As the pencils drilling 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.

 
   
This sculpture is about the impact of standardized testing on education.
Have you read the 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. " This is a very sad statement and reflects the impact of standardized testing on education.

While all schools place problem solving and creative thinking as a fundamental goal of education, the curriculum becomes more structured.This sculpture is using art to make a statement about our current focus in education that excludes the arts. A pencil can be a powerful tool for writing or drawing. It can be used for problem solving and creative thinking. It allows for mistakes and corrections.

 
       
       
   
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.

In this photo there are only three more feet to go on this stanine. It takes about 10 minutes per row of pencils. So close to being done, yet still so far to go! Once the stanines are done, I need to work out 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 monofilament fishing line strings.

It is kind of like weaving with pencils. The monofilament fishing line is warp, the pencils are the weft. Here we have only about 6 more inches to do on the bottom. Sometimes the string gets too short. The monofilament fishing line needs to be constantly adjusted pulling down the extra monofilament fishing line from the top.

As soon as the bottom is complete, we start working from the top...to create the shape.. It is very complicated. There is a lot of engineering involved, yet it is very simple in execution 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 financing for the video.

This entire sculpture will hang like a curtain 28' wide and 12' tall. This 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 levels of intelligence, 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 system is that so much of it is focused on the under performing 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 vacuum 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. I try to work on this a few hours a day.
 
       
   
Beginner pencils that have been sharpened.
 
   


I am including Beginner pencils in this project. Standardized testing starts in Kindergarten. By 3rd grade all students in California take standardized tests.

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, Golf 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 were not living at home, everything was 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.

Boxes of yellow #2 pencils waiting to be sharpened.

I don't have anywhere to show this sculpture, 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 stanine's.
Each is a separate unit so that it can roll up, ship in a smallish box carried by one person, and hung as separate units. When not on display it stores compactly. I design all my work so that it can be easily disassembled and shipped.

Look at the Grass page, and the chocolate pot titled Obverse Obsession for examples of work that disassemble 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.
 
       
    Looking 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.
 
       
    Harriete Estel Berman drilling the red pencils. Look closely at the jig custom designed for this project.  
   
Here we look more closely at the jig designed by Ace. I have been working on this project for over three years at this point.
 
         
    Harriete Estel Berman 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.
 
       
    The bell curve model of this sculpture.  
   
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.
 
       
    The red pencil stanine up close.  
   

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.

 

 
   

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

If you lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, you could have helped with this project. I took it to several classrooms, and Maker Faire.

 
       
       
       
   

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 28 feet long.

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

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.

 
    Diagram of bell curve of pencils.  

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 bell curve is divided into nine parts called stanines.Each stanine is a separate group of colored 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 Education Association 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.

 
       
   

Listen to a great video lecture by Sir Ken Robinson about how our current educational system is undermining creativity? It is worth your time.

 
       
   

How did you know if you had enough pencils?

In the beginning I sorted the pencils by color and weighed each bag. I had an idea how much a square foot of pencils would weigh. One square foot of pencils = about 12 ounces.

By weight it looked like I have enough pencils. My fingers were crossed that I have enough for the whole sculpture . 28 feet wide and 12 feet high.

I had more than 300 lbs of used pencils. It seems to be working out....with only a small quantity of pencils left over.

 
   
 
 
   

I am 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.

 
       
    Please contact me with quotes or comments anytime.  
       
   

 

Measuring Compliance has a third grade desk and third grade chair.

   
   

The sculpture above is Measuring Compliance.

You can purchase a poster for your office or classroom.

Contact me to purchase a note card with this image to your congress representative, or the president of the United States?

   
   
Art can play a role for advocacy and change.
   
         
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