By: Brandon

My name is Brandon Porter . I'm 16 years old and works for Artworks. I finally finished my Mosaic today and it looks wonderful. I'm very proud of myself.The Name of my Mosaic is " You Choose" . The message I'm looking to send out to our neighborhood is Be smart and lets all come together as One and make our community a better place to be.

Week 5 -- by: Shade'

Work Tasks completed in week 4:

• We continued laying glass on the window.
• We meet our career coaches at manpower.
• We had our midpoint performance evaluations.
• Took pictures to start moving forward for invitations.
• Flyer design had a committee meeting.
• we had various committee meetings.

Employability Skills practiced in week 4:

• Building consensus
• Performance review
• Excepting constructive criticism
• Talk to career coaches about career exploration
• managing deadlines
• Productivity and accountability

This Week = Week 5
Tasks:

• Start Grouting
• Continue laying glass
• Work on our frames
• Blog
• Continue with committee meetings
• Talk about our frame designs.
• Thursday 88.9 managers will be here to interview some employees

Employability skills:

• Collaboration Skills
• Interacting with the public
• Meeting deadlines
• improving performance based on results from evaluations

Personal thoughts from Shade':

• This program is a big challenge I can say.
• I learned a lot of good things by working at ArtWorks.
• I thought when I got here the job was going to be easy.
• Its really challenging -- the work ethic i had to follow.
• For me this is the best work i have ever had because it's teaching me to be a responsible employee.
  

Week 4

Tasks Completed:

• Blog about progress
• Start layout to figure out glass estimates
• Talk about safety
• Guest speaker - Ryan Bakouras
• Check in goal setting sheets
• Polished & primed mosaic frames

Employability Skills:

• Collaboration
• Working as a team to set deadlines
• Preparing & self prep
• Professionalism

This Week:

• Blog
• Mid-point evaluations
• Continue production of windows
• Career coach meeting - Manpower
• Continue work on artist statements
• Flyer committee meetings
• Paint mosaic frames

Skills For The Week:

• Creativity & innovation
• Productivity & accountability
• Fundamental job skills
• Cross cultural skills

Personal Response:

"I am very excited to be working with mosaics; taking it step by step to create a work of art. I enjoy working with others as well as working independently, and I think this experience is a great opportunity to do so. I can't wait to see how this project turns out! I'm sure it'll finish excellent."

-Selena

Week 3: Eric S.

Tasks completed in Week 2:

• Blogged about progress
• Informal performance reviews
• Went to Manpower, Inc.
  
• Met our career coaches
• Made our Mosaic frames
• Went through demonstration on cutting and placing glass
• Finished templates-taped into window for fit

Employability Skills practiced in Week 2:

• Creating more professional resume
• Creativity and innovation
• Initiative and self-direction
• Corporate meetings
• Dependability in getting back to work from Manpower
  

Tasks we will complete in Week 3:

• Blogging about what happened last week
• A meeting with the poetry group to plan our unveiling event
• Transfer template design on window
• Estimate amount and kind of glass for windows and make shopping lists
• Pair up to cut glass for windows
• Guest speaker for an hour

Employability Skills We Will Practice in Week 3:

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  
• Learning how to write a formal estimate report
• Productivity and accountability skills
  

Personal Thoughts About the Program:

• A great program overall with great people involved
  
• It challenges me to be an artist
• It opens my eyes to a lot of things that takes place in communities in Milwaukee
• It helps mold me into a better employee with every little thing that we do; including Manpower
  

Pictures from Week 2, all taken by Helen Goodman

Want to see even more pictures?
Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/artworksformilwaukee/sets/72157624396830040/

Selena's window design concept.
Niesha and Brandon are "in the zone."
Lead Artist Nicole Lesser manages her team.
Ken concentrates on the task at hand.
Helen's window design concept.
Eric, Alex & Selena design their frames.
Eric journals.
Eric & Alex are in uniform!
End-of-the-shift reflection.

Brandon and Niesha hide from the camera.
Alex's window design concept.
Alex & Selena design their frames.

WEEK 2 with HELEN G...

ITS ONLY WEEK 2 BUT THE MOSAIC WINDOWS ARE COMING ALONG REALLY GREAT !
I ENJOY ALL THE AMAZING COLORS OF THE DIFFERENT KIND OF GLASS PIECES, THEY ARE BRILLIANT. MY MOSAIC WINDOW IS BASE ON MILWAUKEE "PAY IT FORWARD" GIVING BACK TO EACH OTHER WITHOUT A REPAYMENT. I HOPE TO SEE A CHANGE ONE DAY..!

Week 2

1.Tasks Completed

Fundamental Days

• Self assessments
• Goal Setting

Collaborated different Ideas

• Ice breaking Interview activities
• Ten conversation starters

Primed Windows

• Sanded , Removed Hardware ( etc.)
• Coated Primer onto Windows

Sketch Designs

• Cut And edited Templates
• Drawing designs

Learning to Blog

2.Job skills practiced

• Collaboration and Communication
• Interviewing
• Meeting
• Marketing
• Planning

This week our Tasks :

• Manpower
• Meet Career Coach
• Finish Templates
• Performance Feedback from Lead Artist
• Create outline for artist statement
• Transfer designs onto windows

My name is Brandon Porter and The Mosaic Program caught my attention from its name.I wanted to always know what people meant when they said Mosaic . So, I joined The program. My Mosaic Window is based on Stopping the Violence and Drugs going on in our Community . I want to send a message out to Milwaukee saying Help us and Yourself Make our Communty a Bigger and Better place.

Program Information: Mosaic Window To Your Community, Summer 2010

Thanks to a collaboration between ArtWorks for Milwaukee, Inc. and The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, we are thrilled to offer the following Summer 2010 program:

Mosaic Window To Your Community
Lead Artist: Nicole Lesser

How much do you know about the community in which you live? How would you describe the story of your community? This summer, our program team will learn about and utilize colorful “glass on glass” mosaic techniques to tell the story of each Apprentice’s community. Each Apprentice will be given a glass window frame to use as his/her canvas, and will work in stages to create a one-of-a-kind “window to your community.” We will work as a team to inspire one another and learn from one another, but each Apprentice will be responsible for the creation of his/her own window.

Introducing the Apprentice Team:
* Shade B. ~ Milwaukee African-American Immersion H.S.
* Selena D. ~ Milwaukee High School of the Arts.
* Helen G. ~ Washington H.S.
* Niesha H. ~ Wauwatosa West H.S.
* Ken J. ~ Messmer H.S.
* Alex M. ~ Wisconsin Lutheran H.S.
* Brandon P. ~ Milwaukee African-American Immersion H.S.
* Eric S. ~ Wauwatosa East H.S.

The team will begin blogging about their experience and team progress on a weekly basis beginning Monday, June 28th!