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SCOTTSDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ART INSTRUCTOR
ROGER MCKINNEY INVITES US INTO HIS HOME STUDIO AND
TAKES US ON A JOURNEY INTO HIS WORLD OF ARTS.
THAT'S ON THIS EDITION OF "SPIRIT OF THE ARTS."
I'M ANDREA ZAKRZEWSKI.
NATIVE AMERICAN ART HISTORY CAN BE TRACED BACK TO CAVE
PAINTINGS THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.
IMPORTANT SYMBOLS OF NATIVE ART INCLUDES THE
SUN, MOON, BEARS, EAGLES, AND PEOPLE.
ROGER MCKINNEY CARRIES THESE SYMBOLS TO THE
MODERN DAY IN A CONTEMPORARY STYLE,
SHOWING A DEEP CONNECTION WITH SPIRITUALITY AND
MOTHER NATURE WITH FRESH BOLD COLOR.
MCKINNEY CREATES WORKS THAT ARE DISPLAYED IN
MUSEUMS AND PUBLIC PLACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND
RECEIVED HIS MASTER OF FINE ARTS FROM AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON DC.
A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND HIS WORK COMES FROM HIS
PASSION FOR HIS HERITAGE.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE KICKAPOO NATION OF KANSAS.
AND THAT BEGAN TO BE IMPORTANT TO ME, BECAUSE I
SAW SUCH BEAUTIFUL TRADITIONAL ART FORMS EVEN
BEING DONE, BUT NOT CONTEMPORARY ART.
AND SO I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE KIND OF
COOL TO BEGIN TO, YOU KNOW, EXPRESS MORE ABOUT
MY OWN CULTURE AND LIFE WAYS AND EVERYTHING FROM SPIRITUALITY,
TO HISTORY, YOU KNOW, THINGS -- ENVIRONMENT.
IT COULD BE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS -- AND SOMETIMES
POLITICAL COMMENTARY, SOCIAL COMMENTARY.
ONE OF ROGER'S GOALS IS TO EXPRESS A HEALING
QUALITY TO HIS ART.
I LIKE WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT MY WORK THAT IT BRINGS THE
PRESENCE OF HEALING TO THEM IN SOME CAPACITY.
SO I'M ALWAYS TRYING TO LOOK AT, HOW DO I BLEND
THE SPIRITUAL ALONG WITH THE ASPECT OF HEALING.
ROGER KEEPS A NOTEPAD HANDY.
IT'S LIKE I HAVE THIS MACHINES GOING OFF IN MY
HEAD THAT IT'S JUST THE PICTURES JUST FLOW CONSTANTLY.
IT'S LIKE A CATALOG.
SOMETIMES THOUGH IT COMES THROUGH CONVERSATIONS.
IT COULD BE JUST LIKE YOU AND I TALKING RIGHT NOW,
AND SUDDENLY SOMETHING WILL POP INTO MY HEAD.
AND SOMETIMES I GOT TO DOODLE THAT OUT AND SAY,
OH, YEAH, YOU KNOW, THIS WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA.
ROGER DESCRIBES THE CURRENT PIECE HE'S WORKING ON.
WHAT STARTED THE IDEA WAS I WAS LOOKING AT SOME,
LIKE, LIFE MAGAZINE OR SOMETHING OF SOME NASA SPACE SHOTS.
AND I WAS LOOKING AT THE CURVATURE OF THE EARTH.
AND WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THE CURVATURE OF THE EARTH
JUST IMAGES BEGAN TO POP INTO MY HEAD OF WOMEN
DANCING AS FANCY SHAWL DANCERS.
A LOT OF TIMES ONCE YOU GET INTO THEN YOU'RE GOING
TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE RELAXED.
ROGER DISCOVERED HE WANTED TO SHARE HIS KNOWLEDGE OF
ART AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEVEL.
ROGER MCKINNEY TAKES HIS PASSION FOR ART AND BRINGS
IT HERE TO THE STUDENTS AT SCOTTSDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
MCKINNEY TEACHES PAINTING, WATER COLOR, 2-D DESIGN,
DRAWING, AND HISTORY OF INDIAN ART.
THESE STUDENTS ARE IN HIS 2-D DESIGN CLASS.
AND THEIR PROJECT IS TO SKETCH A SELF-PORTRAIT.
ROGER WILL ASK HIS STUDENTS WHY THEY PAINT,
AND WHAT'S THE MEANING BEHIND THEIR WORK.
MAYBE IS IT SOMETHING THEY'RE WANTING TO MAKE A
STATEMENT TO THE WORLD ABOUT?
COULD IT BE ABOUT THEIR CULTURAL IDENTITY?
COULD IT BE ABOUT SELF-IDENTITY?
MCKINNEY TALKS TO HIS STUDENTS ABOUT
SPIRITUALITY AND ART FROM A CHRISTIAN AND NATIVE
AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE.
BEFORE YOU START A NEW PANTING, HE'LL SUGGEST YOU
CONSIDER -- DID YOU PRAY ABOUT IT OR DID YOU PRAY OVER IT?
OR THE USE OF THOSE OBJECTS, WILL IT BE
INSPIRATIONAL IN HEALING?
MCKINNEY'S CLASS CATERS TO ALL ARTISTIC LEVELS FROM
FIRST-TIME STUDENTS, TO PEOPLE WHO ARE FULL-TIME
PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS.
I REALLY WANT TO GO INTO GALLERIES,
HOPEFULLY PUT SOME ARTWORK UP.
BUT I ALSO WANT TO JUST GET BETTER AT WHAT I DO.
MY ULTIMATE GOAL WOULD BE PROFESSIONAL ARTIST.
AFTER THE STUDENTS HAVE BUILT A BODY OF WORK,
ROGER ENCOURAGES THEM TO EXPOSE THEIR ART.
STUDENTS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE
IN MANY ART SHOWS THAT SCOTTSDALE COLLEGE HOSTS.
ROGER ALSO SUGGESTS MARKETS, WHICH ARE OUTSIDE TENT SHOWS.
HE BELIEVES THIS GIVES THEM EXPERIENCE
REPRESENTING THEIR ART TO THE PUBLIC.
BEFORE EXHIBITING THEIR WORK, THE STUDENTS WILL
LEARN HOW TO SET PRICES.
ROGER WILL ASK THEM TO CONSIDER THE MATERIALS USED.
HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU SPEND? HOW LARGE?
HAVE YOU SOLD ANYTHING?
AND HAVE YOU RECEIVED AWARDS?
I'M NOT REALLY TRYING TO MAKE STUDENTS BE LIKE ME
AS FAR AS MY OWN STYLE.
I WANT THEM TO BE THEMSELVES.
MY REAL GOAL IS TO MAKE THEM BETTER ARTISTS THAN I AM.
IF YOU ENJOY THIS INSPIRATIONAL ART,
YOU COULD ENROLL IN ONE OF ROGER'S CLASSES.
FROM MORE INFORMATION GO TO SCOTTSDALECC.EDU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
I'M ANDREA ZAKRZEWSKI FROM SPIRIT OF THE ARTS.