Florian Brinda Supports STEM Education By Volunteering His Time & Talents.

by | May 23, 2021 | Blog

Mat Bevel Company (MBC) began working with Florian Brinda in December 2020 to develop motion graphics the opening videos of The Universe Within. We absolutely could not have completed the project with Florian! He provided 80 hours of volunteer services to help us complete illustrations as the basis for the motion graphics you see in the first 20 lessons of Module 1: Corrugated Headgear.

Florian said, “Volunteering is my way of ‘giving something back’ and ‘making a contribution.’ I’m not able to donate significant amounts of money to good causes, but I can donate some of my time and my knowledge and skills. Volunteering is my way of supporting NGOs and non-profits whose work I consider important, trying to make a contribution to changing things and making the world a better place.

Florian Brinda is a multimedia designer and illustrator who lives with his family in Vienna, the capital of Austria. He studied sound engineering and worked as an event engineer for several years, but when his boys were born, he decided to transition to a career that would also allow him to spend more time with his family. He took a 1-year course and became a multimedia designer. Currently, he designs information materials for a company that trains doctors’ assistants. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time with his two boys, going for a run and making music.

Florian decided to work with MBC because he thinks it’s really important to spark the creativity of kids and to get them interested in science, engineering and technology.

He said, “I am very happy to be able to support MBC’s The Universe Within program with my illustrations. I really enjoy finding creative solutions that help kids understand aspects of science.”

Thanks you, Florian! We appreciate all that you give to kids and good causes.

Year End 2020 Request For Gifts

by | Dec 29, 2020 | Blog

Dear Patron of the Arts & Education,

Have you ever experienced the wonder of a child when they’re excited to learn? It’s hard to describe the feeling of seeing a student when they’re able to use their creative intelligence….an ability they were born with….to produce new ideas, or invent a new, novel solution to a problem.

The Mat Bevel Company has made it our mission to reach into the minds of kids of all ages through the magic of science, art and creativity. For years we’ve sparked the creative genius of people through our many popular initiatives:

Museum of Kinetic Art—Over 150 mechanical fine art sculptures demonstrate how even junk can come back into the flow and find new purpose.

Surrealistic Pop Science Theater—A one-person theater celebrates the excitement of creativity with a large cast of characters, all choreographed to music, light and poetry.

School of Intuition—A kinesthetic learning lab teaches people how to tackle challenges using awareness, resourcefulness and original thinking.

Bevelvision Productions—Multi-media curriculum and TV shows share the magical world of Beveldom, “the lost land of found objects,” and the many stories of problem-solvers from all walks of life, with people everywhere.

Here’s the exciting part where you come in!

We’re transitioning the all these exciting programs into 21st century programs that help everyone of us achieve freedom through creative intelligence!  STEM curriculum and ART TV will be made available to homes, schools, clubs and museums anywhere. Even during COVID-19 your support of these programs—The Universe Within curriculum, The Creative STEM Club, Kid Bevel, a virtual tour of the museum and theater, plus The Seven Worlds of Wonder installed by Launchpad artists—will allow us to continue our mission.

GIVE THE GIFT OF CREATIVE FREEDOM
LEARN MORE

Your contributions have helped make Mat Bevel Company what we are today, and we are so grateful to you for helping to create and support our programs. You are helping us touch the lives of people:

“If you don’t believe in imagination to help you step outside the box, that’s one thing the magical world of Beveldom will change for you. I think it’s fair to generalize that many of us in our work routines don’t find time to exercise the creative parts of our brains. But that’s something so critical to intuitive decision-making, and it’s where so much of world’s progress comes from. Ned Schaper’s ability to stimulate us to think in non-linear ways and see what other people can’t is what’s so important about experiences like the Museum Of Kinetic Art.” — Doug Rogers, co-founder of Sonora Investment Management, LLC and Mat Bevel Company sponsor, Tucson, AZ

“The Universe Within world-building curriculum helped me find myself. I found the very creative side of me. To make a character and write a presentation about the character, you had to be creative about it. The headdress was very creative because you have to make it look cool, and also be functional.” — Kannon 

“There is NOTHING like Surrealistic Pop Science Theater. Mat Bevel’s Museum Of Kinetic A.R.T. – Available Resource Technology – is a true inspiration for young offspring and inner children!” — Steven Gendel, Art Enthusiast, Tucson, AZ

“The Universe Within helped me express what my mind was thinking and it was fun to invent. When I invented my headdress…it came out crazy but inspiring. I put hair on my headdresses, eyes and a mouth made from recycled items. There was a mini person hiding who was my character. She was hiding but she wanted people to know she was there because she was part of my creation.” — Erika

Sparking a people’s imagination is crucial during this time, especially as students, teachers and parents navigate the reality of learning during a pandemic. Your gift is extremely important because it offers immediate assistance to adapting our programs to serve more people. Please make this possible with your contribution.

Make your donation today.

Thank you so much for your support! It means the world to us!

Sincerely,

 

 

Ned Schaper
President, Mat Bevel Company

 

 

Paula Schaper
Vice President, Mat Bevel Company

GIVE THE GIFT OF CREATIVE FREEDOM
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Stage Stop Inn and Wild Horse Restaurant & Saloon

Stage Stop Inn and Wild Horse Restaurant & Saloon

by | Apr 30, 2018 | Blog

Mat Bevel Company Educational Sponsor Highlight:

Meet Lynne and Gerry Isaac, entrepreneurs and philanthropists

Lynne and Gerry Isaac (the two touching fingers above) own the Stage Stop Inn and Wild Horse Restaurant & Saloon in Patagonia, Arizona. Since they purchased the hotel in 2010, there isn’t anything they haven’t retouched, replaced, retextured—the ceilings, walls, floors, furniture, fences and doors.

The 35,000 square-foot property, with 30 fully restored rooms, is part of a remarkable story that dates back to 1960 when the avid horse lover Anne Stradling moved to dusty little Patagonia and opened her Museum of the Horse. Admission to this amazing collection of anything horse related was only $2, yet no one came to visit the museum. Anne surmised that it was due to lack of lodging. So, this wealthy East Coast family heiress built the Stage Stop Inn. It was completed in 1969.

When Lynne and Gerry purchased the property, they named their restaurant Wild Horse Restaurant in her honor.

Hear the authentic Mariachi music of “Mariachi Penumbra de Nogales, Arizona” on Sundays at The Wild Horse Saloon

Several months ago, Lynne and Gerry expanded the Wild Horse Restaurant, with the opening a new Saloon that connects street-side, indoor and courtyard patio bar and dining areas. The new Saloon is the former place where Anne stored her extra wagons and stage coaches in the hotel, just a few steps away from her Museum of the Horse.

It was Lynne’s sleuthing that led her to design the Saloon as an open breezeway leading from the street sidewalk to the poolside courtyard in the center of the hotel. She realized that when Anne built this part of the property, she made it so that the horse-drawn vehicles could roll directly from the inside room onto the street.

And just a few weeks ago, a new tradition began at the Saloon. Every Sunday, and occasionally on Saturdays, from 1 to 4 pm guests can enjoy the authentic Mariachi music of “Mariachi Penumbra de Nogales, Arizona” on the sidewalk café. Members of the band are Carolina Yadria Sanchez, Salma Diaz Zdunczyk, Jesus Abraham Figueroa, Maria Siquerios, Luiz Andres Chavarria and Dionicio Figueroa (pictured above).

When you go, check out the stunning back bar mirror in the saloon. Lynne repurposed it from Anne Stradling’s bedroom head and foot board, refinishing the wood and adding beveled glass. The door to the wine room in the saloon is an historic jail door from Santa Cruz County. There’s fine art, historic relics and special touches throughout the hotel, conference room, restaurant and saloon.

Lynne and Gerry are creating a totally unique Patagonia experience. Lynne explains, “We’re keeping the history of Patagonia alive by memorializing its people and places in each of our guest rooms. We’re creating themed guest rooms that honor Anne Stradling, John Wayne, Patagonia Lake, the Railroad and much more.”

Anne’s museum and hotel would change Patagonia forever, creating a new “main” street on McKweon Avenue. Lynne says, “Without Anne the town would not exist. She invented something out of nothing because she could.”

Lynne and Gerry are following in her footsteps. Their generous labor of love is creating another Patagonia treasure, a gift and a gathering place for people who live here and visit.

For more information:
303 McKeown Ave, Patagonia, AZ 85624
(520) 394-2211
www.stagestophotelpatagonia.com

 

Doodle Your Ideas Into Reality

by | Apr 17, 2018 | Blog

When most people think of doodling they think of a way of passing the time, escaping from boredom. In reality, doodling is a powerful way to capture your ideas. Doodles are idea snapshots that can be connected through time so that your ideas can become reality.

For all of his adult life Mat Bevel Company president Ned Schaper has rarely let a day go by without a doodle. He says “It’s the daily doodle that has enabled me to record my thoughts and construct ideas through time.”

Our thoughts evolve every day but it’s impossible to see this progression or do anything with it if we leave those ideas in our brain. To actualize our ideas, we must put them on paper and refer back to them. The doodle is a great way to do this.

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology found that doodling can improve the ability to remember information by nearly 30%. Doodling can free up short- and long-term memory, improve content retention and increase attention span. Doodling can also produce creative thoughts and problem-solving insights, because it stimulates default networks in the brain that help us analyze information differently.

To support The Universe Within program in schools, consider making a donation or purchasing a fun doodle shirt like this one from the World of Beveldom.

Sunni Brown, author of The Doodle Revolution, teaches “applied visual thinking”– a.k.a doodling–to coders, designers, and even journalists. She says, “[Doodling] gets the neurons to fire and expands the mind.” Just why and how this happens is the topic of Brown’s recent book, The Doodle Revolution. Here, she shares her doodling “dos.”

Doodling can also produce creative insight, because “when the mind starts to engage with visual language, you get neurological access that you don’t have when you’re in a linguistic mode,” says Brown. Most of us use reading, writing, and talking to brainstorm, but “the human mind is very habit forming,” she says. To break that habit, you have to think in an unfamiliar medium–a visual medium.

Doodling has practical and powerful applications. Mathematicians and scientists use doodles to explain complex theories and equations. Business people use doodles to map business plans and strategies. Across the globe, people from all walks of life doodle to give visual representation and meaning to their ideas. Visual aids help us communicate and help others.

Doodling helps us focus and recall information. A large body of research indicates that visual cues help us to better retrieve and remember information. Our brain is mainly an image processor, not a word processor. In fact, the part of the brain used to process words is quite small in comparison to the part that processes visual images. You may be on the verge of a daydream when you start doodling, but the simple act of doodling will help you concentrate and kick you into visual learning mode as you create visuals.

Doodling helps us find creative solutions to problems. Not only does doodling light up different parts of the brain that could spur an ah-ha moment, it also allows you to record potential solutions. You can refer back to doodles to find answers to a problem that has been in the background of your brain.

Doodling helps us reduce stress and deal with tough challenges. Sometimes, life’s challenges can create emotional stress and impair our ability to deal with the situation at hand. Spontaneous doodles allow us to find lost puzzle pieces of memories, bringing them to the present, and making the picture of our lives more whole again. With this greater sense of self and meaning, we may be able to feel more relaxed, define the problem and figure out a way to handle the situation.

Prolong those consonants but don’t encourage misdirected faith. At the Daily Doodle the story is how you tell it.

The great thing about doodling is that you don’t have to know how to write or draw well to use its power. Schaper has been doing his daily doodle routine for 40 years, and it has never been about perfection.  He wants to capture his ideas every day. He attributes his prolific body of work to the doodle, and says, “The only way to fail is to give up.”

Diane Bleck has spent almost 20 years studying and teaching doodling. She launched The Doodle Institute following the publication of her book, Discovery Doodles: The Complete Series, which reached #1 on Amazon for Education & Professional Development the week it was released.

Bleck says, “I believe visual learning is a powerful tool for strategic thinking, brainstorming and business planning, for real life applications like math & science, or even in your personal life to help you imagine your hopes and dreams. Other applications also became apparent through my students. I saw them using doodling for health and healing. It is a tool to relieve stress and to attract positive energy into their life.”

The Universe Within is a grassroots solution to a national creative intelligence deficit that increases student capacity to innovate, problem-solve and navigate unknown situations through original thinking exercises and out-of-the-box approaches.

The Daily Doodle is part of a suite of creative thinking skills taught by Mat Bevel Company as part of an educational worldbuilding series called The Universe Within. This specific class teaches students visual thinking and the importance of recording thoughts and ideas using drawings and words. Students are encouraged to pick up where they left off the day before so that they can tackle life’s challenges, big and small, with greater imagination.

For more information contact:
Paula Schaper, Vice President 
Mat Bevel Company
520-604-6273
pschaper@matbevelcompany.org

Additional references:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2076785/?page=1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4324396/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-thinking-benefits-of-doodling-2016121510844