I went back to middle school. On purpose. Not just any middle school, but the very halls in which I lived out my sixth-to-eighth grade career. And what did I do? Observe other, smaller, people live out their sixth-to-eighth grade careers. I followed my former art teacher (now the ‘gifted’ teacher for seventh graders) around, migrating from class to class on a mission. The man formerly known as “art teacher Todd Marrone” has a proposal: revamp the state of classroom education to motivate kids to care about their learning. Tall order.

Marrone writes of an alternative plan for student motivation, saying, “If an individual is not interested, invested and/or personally accountable for achieving a goal, he or she will only move forward under the immediate supervision and intimidation/encouragement of someone who is. [This] model is an inefficient use of resources, shortsighted and unauthentic. The moment the supervisor is removed from the equation, the motivation dissipates.” Ironically, he brought me in as a kind of “supervisor” to observe his teaching, to take notes and realize possible alternatives.

I watched two classes of note. The first began with Marrone talking about eighteenth-century boats. It ended with a crowd of seventh graders singing Fleetwood Mac under their breath and discussing the logistics of parallel universes. Kids these days, eh? What happened in between is inessential – the moral of this story is that it made kids think. Too often we see rote memorization of facts lost with the conclusion of a test on the subject, but real cohesive thought isn’t a number or a name fading with time.

He let me teach a class – should I be admitting that? It doesn’t feel kosher. But I digress. It started in the same place (boats) and followed similar thematic lines, but concluded with a discussion of the ethics of cloning and the definition of personhood. Let me reiterate that these are seventh graders. Thirteen-year-olds. All of whom are capable of real intensive thought and are perfectly able to direct their own discussions and go beyond the aggregation of facts. Granted, they were seventh graders at a middle school in the Main Line, most of whom having grown up with two college-or-higher-educated parents and few (if any) financial issues. I can’t propose this system for every school – the Philadelphia public school system would benefit greatly, but is currently a complete mess and has too many current issues to overcome. Theoretically, the students should come first, but its current state sadly would not allow for these kinds of lessons.

“These kinds of lessons” just described were lecture-based ones, with a teacher standing in front of the class guiding a discussion. They’re not even at the heart of Marrone’s proposal. He wants a program in which “the students will assume the responsibility and accountability of their own, and the group’s, success by owning the authentic consequences of their choices and actions (or inaction).” An example: we moved to a classroom where, as promised, the kids would “teach themselves things we [teachers] never could.” The class was given notecards and scissors. We said, “Build something tall.” They built. They tried teams and individual work, stacking and folding and notching cards. One boy took the candy we promised vaguely as a ‘reward’ and hid it in his pockets, then confessed and gave it out to his classmates. He kept it no secret though; this boy openly let his teacher know that he had taken it from the table, seeking praise for his ingenuity, then sat at the table and offered advice on building. Occasionally the students would quiet each other, effectively monitoring their own behavior.

When they’d finished, Mr. Marrone had a list of the things he’d noticed in their work: diplomacy, politics, creativity, collaboration, leadership, negotiation, engineering, visual/spatial design, compromise, competition, etc. There were 23 items. How long would it have taken a teacher to enforce all of these? One child said “five hours,” another, “three years,” and another claimed that there was no lesson learned – only examples. This is the kind of thought we are looking for. Children should be examining their classroom activities and participating actively, so as to make a better environment for all involved. Why not include students in their own learning processes? Reconsider standardized testing. As Marrone wrote on his site, “Success isn’t a letter on a piece of paper, success is deciding on mutually beneficial solutions to problems and achieving authentic goals.”

Pete Bannan • Main Line Times • June, 2012

Students and teachers at Welsh Valley Middle School recently unveiled their new mosaic designed by renowned Philadelphia artist Isaiah Zagar. The artist’s Magic Gardens is a famed destination on South Street and his murals grace buildings around Philadelphia.

Art teachers Todd Marrone and Lori Roger said the work on the lobby wall was meant to be inclusive and with that in mind students in every class of the school took part.

Marrone said that Zagar sketched out the drawing. It then took two weeks of tiling to complete the mural.

The $4,000 project was supported by the Educational Foundation of Lower Merion, a parent group, and the Lower Merion School District.

A crown in the mural is in memory of Sean King, a student at Welsh Valley who died the year. His class did all of the tiles in the crown.

Some of the glazed tiles are from student projects from last year. Other tiles came from parents’ contributions.

David Robinson • Lower Merion School District • February, 2012

Isaiah Zagar is a mosaic artist whose work is included in the permanent collections the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. He has received grants for his artistic excellence from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pew Charitable Trust for his work in Interdisciplinary Arts. He recently visited Welsh Valley Middle School to begin a mosaic project with students and the art teachers, Todd Marrone and Lori Rogers.

“Isaiah Zagar is an internationally recognized mosaic artist working in the Philadelphia area for 50 years,” Marrone said. “His work is featured in about 150 exterior and interior locations, many viewable by the public. Especially centered around The Magic Gardens, a 15-year project that encompasses his studio, gallery, catacombs and pathways on South Street.”

In addition to his commissioned work, Zagar offers weekend workshops nine times a year in the spring, summer and fall to about 20 or 30 people. He teaches them his process and then they all work together and collaborate on a huge piece. “My wife and I took that workshop with him five years ago,” Marrone said.  “I was very inspired by his work.”

Marrone wrote a grant proposal for a mosaic mural at the entrance to the Welsh Valley Middle School auditorium. “The Educational Foundation of Lower Merion, a parent group, gave us a very generous grant and then our principal Scott Eveslage got very interested in the concept and matched the Education Foundation grant.”

“We hope to get all the students involved in this project,” Art Teacher Lori Rogers added. “Some will create components within the mosaic, such as ceramics, clay, and hand painted tiles. Other components will be glass and mirrors. Some kids will be involved first hand in putting the small tiles up, others will be involved in the grouting work. We will also have parents involved as docents to inform students about the artist and his work, as well as helping us ‘hands on,’ here on site as well as in our classrooms.”

On this initial day’s work at the wall, Zagar came to resolve the composition and place his pieces on the wall, then Marrone and Rogers will work with students and parents on the piece over the coming months. They expect to have it finished before the end of this school year.

“As to the design, we didn’t want something cliche, such as the Welsh Valley Dragon school logo,” Marrone explained. Considering Zagar’s body of widely respected work, Welsh Valley chose not to impose a design on the artist.  “We invited Isaiah to make decisions so that it would look like and be indicative of his work,” Marrone said. “We did request that the design incorporate young people who are happy and celebrating life, but we left the composition up to him.”

Eric Campbell • Narberth-Bala Cynwyd Patch • February, 2012

When Todd Marrone isn’t teaching, he’s painting. When he’s not painting, he’s writing. When he’s not writing, he’s on a podcast. And no matter what he’s doing, he’s tweeting:

• “Chinese handing stars are safer, but you still have to know what you’re doing.”
• “There has to be an easier way to learn about dinosaurs than having kids.”
• “Look, @CourteneyCox just joined Twitter. She’s going to ruin it just like she did when she climbed on stage during Dancing in the Dark.”
• “Breathe Wrong® nasal strips are just clothes pins. Save your money.”

Marrone, 37, an art teacher for 15 years and a Belmont Hills father of two, has entertained a variety of interests and media since he was young.

“For me, it’s important to always have projects going,” said Marrone, 37. (When giving his age, he added, “I’m reading at a 50-year-old level.”)

Marrone grew up in the northeast suburbs of Philadelphia as an only child, convinced he would grow up to be a monster-movie makeup artist. He drew and painted often and watched endless television in all flavors.

He attended Kutztown University and joined Welsh Valley’s faculty once he graduated but continued producing art and marketing it on his new website, a novel approach for an artist in the 1990s.

“I got lots attention from local media and international media for using the Web,” Marrone said. “Nowadays, you can’t even really be an artist without sharing your work online. Producing anything is all about putting it out there and seeing how people react to it. It’s very social. For me, a piece of artwork doesn’t feel finished until I’ve shared it as publicly as I can.”

Marrone is part of a group of friends that produce podcasts known as Used Wigs Radio, riffing on music, art, writing and culture in the Philadelphia area. They’ve produced 93 episodes over six years.

He started using Twitter after one Used Wigs interview subject told him about it. At first, the tweets were for promoting his art, “but every once in a while, I would just write something silly, and I began to get a really positive response.”

Aggregators of comic tweets such as HappyPlace.com and WitStream.com began picking him up, Marrone said: “To see my tweets alongside professional comedians’ is really rewarding.”

Marrone knows “I might walk the fine line” as a teacher making jokes on Twitter, he said: “I live very publicly. I recognize and I know that to my boss or to my students, I have a responsibility as a role model.”

The Internet has been a boon to young fans of art, Marrone said, remembering how much longer it took him to form his artistic tastes when he was his students’ age.

“They can really find work (online) that speaks to them. I do see kids actively seeking out and getting excited about artists and artwork,” Marrone said. “I think it’s a great time for a young person to become interested in art.”

Marrone’s children with wife Heather are ages 4 (Rocco) and 1 (Matilda). He said he won’t push them to be artistic or to be involved in as many activities as their dad is.

“I think nurturing their interests is the most important thing. I want to be supportive no matter what they do,” Marrone said. “Maybe they’ll rebel and be accountants or something.”

In this essay you will learn about Todd Marone, an amazing artist! Todd Marrone is a one of a kind artist! He lives in Philadelphia, and is the Welsh Valley Middle School art teacher. He has a very interesting life that I enjoyed learning about. Todd’s artwork is different but really cool! His artwork will make you say, “ WOW!” He is a wonderful teacher and artist! The first time he picked up a crayon he drew a face (past the scribbling stage) and he was only a young toddler.

Todd Marrone was born in 1974 to his parents, Michael and Cynthia Marrone. When he was two years old he lived in a small apartment in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He spent most of the time as a baby sleeping, crying and eating. He later moved to a small house in Levittown, Pennsylvania. As soon as he picked up a crayon, his parents knew he would be an artist, but his grandfather thought he would be a professional athlete. His parents were never artists, but his mom enjoys interior design. His father could draw well, but not do it as a profession. His parents are still alive today.

When Todd was five years old he moved again, with his parents and his dog Chum to Morristown, Pennsylvania. Chum would eat ANYTHING! When Todd was young, Marrone used to be pronounced Maroni. At Michael Marrone’s work, everyone would pronounce it Marrone even though Todd’s father said, “No, Maroni!” Finally his father said, “ Ok, pronounce it Marrone.” Whenever someone would pronounce it Maroni, they knew it was an old friend.

Some of Todd Marrone’s inspiration as a child was comic books, 80’s pop culture and video games, because of this he wanted to become a monster movie makeup artist. He chose to make this type of artwork because he saw something like it and got inspired. Todd Marrone went to Pennsberry High School. In high school the teachers liked his sarcasm so much they shared his company in staff office! His high school teachers knew he was destined for greater things. In high school, he had no art lessons! After high school he went to Kutztown University located between Allentown and Reading, Pennsylvania. He had a major in communication, English (he wanted to be an English teacher) and Art ED. In college he grew a lot as an artist. Kutztown taught him a lot of new techniques for his art. During college he realized he loved working with children because of his student teaching. He did student teaching in an elementary school and high school for about six to seven weeks. He chooses to become an art teacher because all he studied in college is offered as an art teacher.

When Todd Marrone was 15 years old he was selling his artwork at comic book conventions and comic book stores. A lot of his artwork is displayed at cafés and galleries. At 17, he owned at operated his own sign and painting company, but he was the only employee! His first published piece was on a Rolling Rock poster. His favorite piece of artwork is the Guernica by Picasso. His favorite piece of artwork that he did is the most recent. He likes drawing the best; he makes his art by drawing random shapes then adding faces. One of his heroes is a boy at Welsh Valley who drew an AMAZING car but only had arms up to his elbows and drew like that! Whenever Mr. Marrone has finished a piece of artwork he feels certain happiness. Mr. Marrone basically paints on anything he can get his hands on!

I choose this artist because his art is different! You don’t see something like what his artwork looks like everyday. I thought it would be cool to do a local artist because then I can interview him. I even have a piece of Mr. Marrone’s artwork! He was also my brother’s mentor! My friend at Welsh Valley said Mr. Marrone was really funny! The best part is I could have him next year at Welsh Valley as an art teacher.  He knows all my siblings so it would be cool that everybody in my family besides my parents had him!

I hope you enjoyed reading this essay about an AMAZING artist. I worked very hard on this essay. I was very excited to do this artist. Todd Marrone is currently married and has two children named Rocco and Matilda. He also has a cat named Mokey. His children are currently one and three years old. Todd Marrone still loves to paint, draw and design today. Cross your fingers I have him next year!

The Philadelphia Inquirer just ran a feature featuring an arts venue that features my art.

Mr. Marrone is an art teacher here at Welsh Valley Middle School. When you see him from a far you might think he’s just an average Joe, but Mr. Marrone is anything but an average guy. Mr. Marrone is one of the most interesting of people you’ll ever meet, and I was here interviewing him to find that out!

Mr. Marrone does a lot of things besides art. He podcasts online, designs t- shirts, plays video games, reads, listens to music, and loves to hang out with his wife and kids. His favorite genre of music is jazz/alternative. He is currently designing a t-shirt for Nike, which will be out soon. Mr.Marrone can also do some pretty weird things; he can whistle through his ears, and balance things on his chin.

Mr. Marrone grew up in Bucks County, PA as a kid. He had no siblings, so art acted like a sibling to him. He loved art as a kid, but he also wanted to be a “monster movie make-up artist” throughout his elementary school years. He went to Pennsbury High School, and he still had his eye on art. Throughout his high school years Mr. Marrone grew tired of being called, “The Art Kid” and stopped making art. He had rejected art for about 2-3 years. Even though he rejected art, he wrestled all the way through high school. Mr. Marrone went to college at Kutztown University, where he then majored in English. Mr. Marrone had then realized in college that he had a true talent for art, so after college he went straight to grad school to become a certified teacher. Mr. Marrone had then realized his love for teaching and art went together, and therefore he is now an art teacher.

Mr. Marrone currently lives in Belmont Hills, PA. with his wife Heather and two kids Matilda (3) and Rocco (1). He also has a cat named Milky. Mr. Marrone has been an art teacher for fifteen years, and has loved every second of it. He said he loves teaching for a jumble of things but the main reason he loves it is because of the company of young people. His good friends at Welsh Valley MS are Mr. Ginsburg, Mr. Birch, Mr.&Mrs. Sullivan, Mr. Eskin, Mr. Kagan, and Mrs. Rodgers. But he loves everyone here at Welsh Valley!

Mr. Marrone has traveled many places for art shows; some being Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, and London. A quote that Mr. Marrone likes is “In the end we shall have had enough of cynicism and skepticism and humbug, and we shall want to live more musically”. – Vincent Van Gogh.  His favorite piece of art is “Guernica” by Picasso. His favorite experience in life was having his two children.

Now you know why Mr. Marrone isn’t an average Joe!

Along with teaching middle school art and being a family man, Todd Marrone is an artist. He relates more to graphic or comic book artists, but still appreciates more traditionally known painters like Picasso. His work is very pop-culture based and is influenced by Keith Herring and John Burgerman. Marrone feels his artistic style helps create a connection between the art world and his students. It appeals to them and gives them a sense that they too can become artists. As a teacher, he has been very supportive of his students; recently he and a former student, now a senior in high school, have collaborated on a series of paintings that can be currently seen at MilkBoy, Bryn Mawr entitled the “Colabyrinth.” Another student, who is currently a sophomore at Drexel, started the Formation Skateboard Company and has worked with Marrone on about twelve different board designs.

While Marrone’s students enjoy his work they sometimes become bored or overwhelmed with older art periods or styles. Marrone tries to find ways for students to “sink their teeth” into art. For example, he sees most students struggling with impressionist painters, so he focuses on the history of the artist. Students tend to be more interested when they find out the rebellious history behind the paintings.

Marrone’s art can defiantly be seen as a product modern times. In order to get his art into people’s hands he jumped on the internet years before Twitter. He soon found his work being influenced by the techno distribution methods. By browsing his work it can be noticed that most of his pieces have singular, short words for titles. That became more of technical decision rather that creative; when he originally began uploading thumbnails of his painting to the web it was difficult to fit longer titles therefore brevity became habit.

He believes art can be accessible to new audiences. There is a snooty stigma behind the way art is marketed, “If you ask someone about a movie or TV show people will give an answer without being a filmmaker, but with art, people will just say ‘I’m not an artist.'” Since he makes his livelihood through teaching he has been able to take more liberties with his art. It has allowed him more “freedom” to make his work more accessible without having to think in terms of profit. “People who need art can’t always afford it,” he explains. Marrone is as accessible as his artwork; he’s willing to create unique pieces and work with an individual’s budget.

Wanted: Willy Wonka is looking for his Charlie to lead philosophy/discussion group in coffee house setting once a month. Required skills include a love of art, new ideas, and an appreciation for stimulating conversation.

Local artist, Todd Marrone has been organizing Socrates Cafe for about three years and is currently looking for a partner in crime to help lead discussions and meetings. The concept of this discussion series stems from the book of the same name by Christopher Phillips who was a professor of philosophy. Phillips had become disgruntled about the state of how philosophy was being taught; he felt academic students were trained to regurgitate old ideas instead of developing new concepts of thought. He decided to travel across the country holding “Socrates Cafes” where people could come together and hold discussions. He went everywhere including bingo halls and prisons. The conversation’s jumping point would be an abstract question and everyone in attendance was welcomed comment.

Marrone continues this tradition on third Monday of every month at MilkBoy Acoustic in Bryn Mawr. He creates an informal environment that makes people of all mindsets and ages feel welcome. While some people do have an academic based philosophy background, the group is more focused on freethinking and non-traditional concepts of philosophy. The group can range from just 2 to 3 people or be as large as 25. Marrone starts the group out by directing them to write an abstract question on an index card and then the group democratically votes on what question to discuss. He feels by coming up with a concept on site it will allow for more “organic” thoughts. Marrone, who is also a middle school art teacher, has a way of getting everyone to have a say in the discussion. He calmly deters people who monopolize the conversation and helps break down the question when the crowd starts out on the quiet side. People are also welcome to just come and absorb .

The goal is for attendees to be stimulated by the conversation. Marrone says it may be “daunting after a day of work but participating wakes you up.” Ideas can make a person feel alive and allows them to be more immersed in things, whether it is life or art. Marrone says, “There’s enough room for everyone to participate.”

Join the discussion on Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m. at MilkBoy in Bryn Mawr.
If you are interested in becoming a group leader you can contact Todd Marrone.

Welsh Valley Middle School art teacher Todd Marrone quotes Leonardo da Vinci, “Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master,” and typically refuses to draw or paint on a student’s project. Of course all teachers are honored when former students acknowledge their work and ask for advice so he was thrilled when his former eighth-grade pupil, graduating Lower Merion High School senior Hanna Williams of Narberth, asked him to collaborate with her on her independent community-learning project, Senior Project, which in the case of Hanna (pronounced hah-na), a talented traditional oil painter, was an art project.

The age difference or the former student/teacher tie aren’t what makes this artistic partnership unusual. Rather it’s the two artists’ very different styles. Hanna’s work is realistic and extremely detailed, the sort of thing portrait painters tried to master before the advent of photography and still awe-inspiring. Todd’s work is much more modern and abstract, taking its cue partly from the shapes of primitive painting, cartoons or even graffiti: faces, alien-like creatures or worms painted with bold lines.

“She’s evolved and I’ve de-evolved” in their styles, he likes to joke.

The resulting set of paintings, “The Colabyrinth,” debuted at Bryn Mawr’s MilkBoy café June 1 and will be on display through the end of June. There was a reception the evening of June 4 complete with live guitar music at which family, Hanna’s friends and MilkBoy patrons got to enjoy the work. The paintings are for sale. MilkBoy is in the Bryn Mawr Film Institute building at 824 E. Lancaster Ave.

Hanna learned a few things with this project: for one thing she now enjoys using paint markers as well as brushes.

Arguably she inherited some of her talent: her father, long in film production, is also an artist and used to create the puzzle page for every issue of “Highlights for Children.”

This fall Hanna is headed to Laguna College of Art and Design in California.

Of course each artist has a Web site: toddmarrone.com and hannawilliams.com.