Joel E. S. Tanis - Speaking and Murals

I love to speak to people about art and publishing, and to interact with groups through discussion ( I especially like to do this in conjunction with a school or church mural project). In general, my presentations are between 35 and 50 minutes, depending on the audience.

The audiences that I have spoken to are (in order of age):

elementary schools
high school art and English classes
Christian high school chapels
college art or writing colloquiums
Christian college chapels
church Sunday schools (both for kids and adults)
my cat

While I am happy to speak on any given subject (I have no shortage of soap boxes), my talks are generally one of the following three:

1.) Art Motivation

In this talk I lay out some basic ideas about being creative. The experience will include:

me doodling while the audience figures out my main points
explaining the art process through brainstorming, research, and practice
showing the stages of the process through my drawings and illustrations while
sharing the story of creating a book
actually brainstorming and creating a drawing on the spot with the audience
answering questions (or smiling while first graders say something random)
occasional dance improvisation

2.) Murals

This is a week long project that involves the entire
audience. The audience, in this case, should be an
elementary school or the young children of a church. After
a school or church has chosen a theme, we begin with the
Art Motivation presentation and then proceed as follows:

kids research and draw pictures based on the
theme
I incorporate their ideas into the mural
I also incorporate actual drawings that I transfer to
the wall
every kid and teacher has scheduled time to paint
on the mural
I add my parts to the wall and pull it all together

Every time I get this opportunity, it proves to be a
wonderful experience. It has always been a uniting project
for a community.

Recent mural projects with school participants:
- Ada Christian
- Sylvan Christian

Other recent public murals:
- Grand Rapids Children's Museum

GCS Mural, Jan. 2000

3.) Faith and the Arts

This presentation is meant to raise discussion about the role that faith plays in the arts. The talk touches on the following:

the idea that art is communication
as communication, it should play a vital role in telling our faith story
however, a lot of the Christian community has fallen short in the area of the arts
I try to then share good and bad examples of the integration of art and faith
I use personal stories and art to demonstrate this as well as the art, music, and
writing of a number of Christians in the arts
this presentation is often followed by discussion groups

This talk has been most successful with older audiences. Rev. Matt Floding, former chaplain of Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa says this, "Joel is a postmodern communicator that connects with his audience at both the head heart and faith levels. His wit, artistry and utter candor are refreshing."

For more information about speaking or murals, and the applicable fees, contact me at 616-392-7621, or e-mail joeltanis@yahoo.com.