What a Wonderful Idea Collage

A collage in my art journal

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Mixed Media Collage

Hello there!  I have not had a lot of time to make my own art, but I did make this art journal page with some cut outs of my old drawings and watercolor pieces.

My first graders at school also made this super cool assemblage.  Details about our process are written up on my art teacher blog.  Isn't it always a blast to glue a bunch of junk together?

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Bring Back Our Girls

Thursday, May 15, will be one month since nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped; it is rumored that they have been sold into slavery.  Can you imagine their anguish, and the anguish of their families?  It is unthinkable.

After weeks of this tragedy being virtually invisible, our government is sending some aid and many demonstrations have occurred.  The world is taking notice. Jessica Sporn put out "A CALL TO ART," and a lot of incredible artists are participating.  Here are the details:

 

So many amazing artists (including Ronda Palazzari, Kristen Powers, Marjie Kemper, Lesley Veneble and Judy Shea, to name a few) are participating in the online auction, which starts on May 15th at 7AM EDT, and ends on May 17 at 3PM EDT.  

Here is the artwork I am donating to the auction and here is the direct listing.  Bidding starts at $10 for this 9"x12" original mixed media collage on paper.

I Needed to Make This

Well, not necessarily THIS, but I needed to make SOMETHING.  I've been worn out from the day-to-day routine of teaching and from things going on in my life... not in a bad way, but just tired.   I've been falling asleep by 8 or 9 pm every night, which is fine because it is what my body needs.  Sleep is a priority for me!  Without getting a solid 8-9 hours a day I will be crabby and not able to enjoy the day. 

Some of the supplies I used are:
a variety of acrylic paints,
paper scraps,

Shiva Oil Paint Stiks

the pink Sharpie poster paint marker from this set:

Watercolor paints:

At school, we are building an addition to double the physical size of our school.  The construction is right outside my window, which has been really fun to watch. We will have another art room when the construction is done, which is super exciting.

In order to connect the buildings, they will be knocking out our wall and making a hallway through our storage and kiln room.  (A new storage area will be built between the two art rooms.)  That will happen at the end of October or November.  At that time, the kiln will be out of service for the rest of the year.  So I am doing clay with all of my classes now.  That is 11 classes doing clay all at once in our small space.  There are clay projects everywhere!  It is crazy. 

Linking to Paint Party Friday and Art Journal Every Day
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True Free Spirit painting

 

This painting I created using acrylic paints, inks, oil pastels and patterned paper while taking Mindy Lacefield's True Free Spirit class.   

The summer is winding down and school will be starting soon!  I don't know about you but this summer went by so fast.  I think part of the feeling was because many of the days at the beginning were rainy and cool so it did not feel like summer.  

 

Currently I am reading:

The Interestings and  Blogging for Creatives




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True Free Spirit

I am taking Mindy Lacefield's yearlong online class and I had some time last night to work on one of the paintings. 

I am having a lot of fun and enjoy learning how Mindy approaches the painting process and I think I am learning some things that I could translate into my own painting styles and subject matter.  The only thing that bothers me is that clearly this picture looks like Mindy's style.  I like how it turned out, but it definitely feels like an imitation.  I just need to figure out how to incorporate these techniques into my own unique style.

My long time friend Jen recently had a new baby who she named Grace.  I was looking for a gift for her and found the perfect one!  She has 3 other children, named Faith, Hope and William.  There are lots of home decorations with Faith and Hope on them.  This one was perfect because it had 3 of her kids names, plus Love.  Isn't it great?  She did love it when she received it in the mail.

Happy New Year!

Hello all my blogging friends!  I have lots of fun plans for 2012 related to art.  For a Christmas present to myself I bought some new Rheotech paints.  I love them...  I had been trying out random types of paints throughout the past couple of years and usually bought the cheaper ones.  It makes such a difference to have quality paints.  Mixing and blending are smoother, the colors are richer and they layer on top of each other better.  Since the pigments are stronger, the paints will last longer than the cheap ones. 

I signed up for Mindy Lacefield's True Free Spirit year-long class because I've always admired her artwork.  So far, it has been very fun.  She walked through the steps she took to create the picture you see on her class description.  The video aspect of this class is especially helpful to get new inspiration for approaches to mixed media art. 

I made these two paintings.  They are both a kangaroo and baby, but the backgrounds are slightly different.  I was focused on playing with the backgrounds and blending colors.  I like the kangaroo imagery with a mom protecting her baby. It's kind of fitting for my life now.  Next time I will play with the poses and expressions more!

Celebrating 2012-- Highlights of My Year

I read Carin's post today about her creative achievements of 2012 and it got me thinking "what would be on my list if I were to make one?"  At first I thought, well, I don't have a whole lot to say, but then I thought back to all the little things I am proud of, that made me happy and experiences I had this year that were fantastic. 

I'm not going to lie, this Christmas season I was not fully in the mood to celebrate the holidays.  I pay a lot of attention to the news and read many of the stories that come across my way.  Of course, there were the big tragedies in Newtown and the movie theater and the one in my own state at the Sikh temple.... and many more smaller tragedies that I hear about all the time.  All of the bad things in the world have really weighed on my heart and I have just not felt right celebrating when the world is so broken.  How can there be such evil in the world?  It really has thrown me for a loop.  I try to keep my blogging light and happy and positive but it just seemed like one after another this year.  Because of this, it has really made think about how I treat other people and how I need to be a positive force.  I need to keep perspective and not let the little things irritate me.  I need to focus more on the big picture rather than the day to day.  Letting things go that are really not a huge deal!  We all need to be kinder to each other because we do not know the burdens another person bears.  And I'm not just talking about a random act of kindness thing, but overall a shift in perspective for myself. 

It's important to not take the little things (and the big things) for granted.  It easy to let things slip by without really celebrating them.  It's easy to focus on what you don't have or what you are not, rather than the things that you do well or the things that make you happy.  I encourage you to make your OWN LIST of things that you are proud of or great memories you have from this year.  Celebrate them!  Embrace them and be proud of them.  Carin had 60 things on her list! 

Here are some of my creative and personal highlights of this year:

1.  Participated in a fun online workshop from Strathmore with Traci Bautista.

2.  Showed my students artworks in the Youth Art Month Show at the Hilldale Mall and the State Capitol. 

3.  Created some amazing collaborative canvases with my students (2 of which were auctioned off and 2 of which are hanging in my school.)

4.  Conducted several fun and messy afterschool art classes for kids.

5.  Went to New York in March for the National Art Education Conference and had an amazing time!
I got to hang out with some of my favorite art ed bloggers in person, and saw Peter Max and Chuck Close give speeches! 

6.  In January I started working with Marit and the team on a new mixed media art magazine called Featuring.  The first issue came out in April!  I interviewed artists and wrote 3 articles for the first issue. 

7.  Put out another school yearbook successfully with the middle school kids at my school.

8.  In June I volunteered at the Re-Art Swap at a local art store in Madison where you can drop off unwanted supplies and then pick up new ones.  Amazing!  I am so volunteering again next year. 

9.  In June we also took a family trip (with Andrew's family) to Disneyworld!   Yeah, I want to go back.

10.  Had a lazy summer filled with art, friends, Daria time and relaxation.

11.  In August, I wrote a lesson that was published in Scholastic Art magazine.

12.  In August, I created a new logo image for our school's 30th anniversary that was printed into a big banner and used on our school t-shirts.

13.  In September, I launched the Weekly Doodle-- printable drawing prompts for kids.  I'm considering make some more e-packets for download.

14.  Had a drawing page published in the Doodler's Anonymous Coloring Book yeah!  It's so cool.  The book, I mean.. my drawing is nice but the other ones are so amazing.

15.  Sold a few things in my Etsy Shop!

16.  Bravely experimented with glass fusing at school!

17.  Got a new phone with a texting plan!! (Welcome to the year 2005, right?)  And I joined Twitter. Woah!  Technology overload.

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18.  Was in the running for the Art Ed blog of the Year with The Art of Education.. did not place in the top 10, but still honored to be one of the 20 in the running!

19.  I had a few activities printed in 2 books in October.  The best part of submitting to these sorts of things is that you get free copies of the book!  And it looks good on your resume.  Not that I am planning on ever leaving my current job but it's still always good to pursue recognition in your professional field.

20.  Issue #2 of Featuring Magazine was released in the fall and I wrote 2 articles in this issue (one really long and intensive one and the other was a shorter interview.)   

21.  Continued to moderate the online group Artists in Blogland and continued to connect with more and more amazing, soulful and positive artists across the world.  If you have not joined us there, the New Year is the perfect time to commit to making more of your own art.  We have lots of fun challenges, swaps and interviews in the works.  

22.  Wrote an article for Art Journaling magazine by Somerset Studio which hits the newsstands any day now.  I am very (humbly) proud of it!  I have submitted to many, many publishers and contests this past year and received *many* rejections, but also a few acceptances. That is part of the process I have learned.  Maybe some people have an easy time with it, but I am simply proud of what has been accepted.  When I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer for a magazine as my career.  Now I am simply satisfied with a few articles here and there.  :)  

23.  My husband started his foray into the world of blogging with a Lego blog.   It has been fun to share the experience of writing a blog.  There is a whole community of adult Lego collectors who buy and sell sets.  Very interesting.  

24.  Bought a binding tool to make my own sketchbooks:

25.  Kept several art journals and filled a few of them!

26.  Experimented with Gelli plate printing.

27.  Made several mixed media collages for fun!

28.  Filled two scrapbooks with Project Life style scrapbooking!

29.  Participated in an ATC swap where I received some beautiful cards in the mail and made some to send out.

30.  Read a whole bunch of inspiring books! 

31.  Made a little bit of art with my darling daughter.

Well if you have read this far, thank you!  I hope you will create your own list now and share it with me.  Going forward 2013 seems full of possibilities.  Happy New Year!!

Live in the Sunshine

It's been blizzardy here.  We had about 15 inches of snow.

We had school cancelled today and tomorrow because of the snow.  Before that I was at home sick for the 2 days prior.  I'm starting to get stir crazy!  I'm actually a bit bummed about having school cancelled the day before winter break (I know, that sounds crazy).  Usually the last day before school gets out, everyone is in a super cheery mood, lots of treats and excitement, handwritten Christmas cards from kids, and we were going to have our Market Day (where the kids sell their handmade crafts and sweets for each other.)   I have a pile of gifts and cards to give to some of the school staff and my student helpers.

So today I stayed home with my darling daughter and we played outside a little bit and made some chocolate pretzels.  Isn't she sweet in her kitty hat?  And catching snowflakes with her tongue, so precious.

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this quote from Emerson.  I had been working on this collage painting for awhile and it seemed fitting to finish it today on a very dreary blizzard day.  

This is a hybrid art journal page.  The collage elements were physically cut and pasted in my journal. Then I scanned the page and added letters using Photoshop.

This is a collaborative art journal page made with my daughter.  She and I drew on the page with water soluble colored pencils, added water and spread the colors around.  Then, I collaged scrapbook papers and a sticker around the border.  Finally, I added acrylic paints to tone down some of the colors.  I'm in the process of adding words and other imagery to this page.

I signed up to do Reverb, but I haven't really done too many.  I did one or two as a journal page, but then sent that off somewhere and didn't take a picture of it.  Reverb gives you questions to reflect on from the year, to close out the year and start the next anew.

Reverb #6:   Compare the “you” from the beginning of 2012 to the “you” that you are now. What new skills or talents have you learned or discovered this year?  I have learned a few things about writing articles and interviewing artists for Featuring magazine.  It has been a great learning experience and a thrill to see my articles in print!  I learned the basics of Adobe Illustrator to create a design for my school.  I dabbled in glass fusing at a local shop and tried it with my elementary students.  I have learned to recognize my limits.  I have discovered that I have an abundance of ideas that I want to do someday, but I need to just pick one and go with it.  I've learned that when submitting your artwork to publications or competitions, rejection is a part of the process and that process shouldn't define my artwork or minimize my enjoyment.

Reverb #9:  What was the best book you read in 2012, and why? (And by "Why?" I mean: Why did you read it? And why was it your favourite? Although these answers could be one and the same...!)

The best book I have read this year was The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  Charming story, amazing cross-hatched drawings!  I love everything about it.  The movie was good too.  If you have not read it, take a look at it if only for the beautiful pictures.


Reverb #13:  Please post your favourite picture of yourself from 2012, self-portrait or otherwise!
This is one of my favorites because it reminds me of my trip to New York for the National Art Education Association conference.  What a blast!  This night I think was the night I walked about 50 blocks across New York city.  The lights.. the people.. so much going on.

More Reverb coming later!!

Linking to some of my favorite places:
Art Journal Every Day
The Answer is Chocolate
It's a Hodgepodge Life
Paint Party Friday