I had almost forgotten how much I LOVE to throw!!!

It is so easy to get carried away in the rush of life.. the non stop action of teaching... along with all the lessons and grading and paperwork..  and then needing to make sure I am assisting each of my students over the course of thI class and being supportive of everyone... I don't want anyone to feel like I've forgotten about them....

I love to teach. And I love to create art... naturally I love to teach art... but teaching art is not the same as creating my own Art... 

The other day I had a demonstration in my 2 ceramics classes on centering clay on the wheel... and pulling a basic cylinder... I then decided to show my classes a few other tricks they could try.. to easily modify their vessel...

I had SO MUCH FUN!! It's like I got sucked into my own land... away from the classroom and to my own dreamworld. I really didn't... and amazingly I was still completely aware of the students sitting semi-circle around me, and the ones roaming around the room behind them (Ask any one of the students paying attention. I had to stop and disilcipline my roamers a number of times.. the former group was not impressed).

But my muscle memory was right on que. And the cylinders came out perfect and smooth and balanced... I couldn't believe it!! The whole process was so smooth... and I could manipulate the clay so much!!  *sigh*

I need to throw more...but was 40 minutes of sheer pleasure.. and the strongest dose dose of art therapy I've experienced in a long time!

Anyway... I'm totally rambling...

Check them out...

I will be glazing them tomorrow!!

Talent Tuesday

One of my students painted this ocean scene on a recycled sonotube. On the inside she painted a garden scene with a beehive!!

Talent Tuesdays

Another post for Talent Tuesdays. 
Remember this is when I will be showcasing my students artwork! Some weeks I will have one piece to share. Other times many pieces.

The Mug is another work in progress. This project was created out of slabs then the student created the imagery using the a sgraffito technique. It is currently being fired, then will be over glazed with transparent glaze to seal it off and make it shiny. Great job!

The portrait was done by another student. This picture does not show the completed project, unfortunately I was unable to get a photo before she brought it home. Even in this picture it looks awesome!

Finally the paint brushes were painted by one of the seniors in out school (a former student of mine) who is working on her portfolio.. she is very talented!!

There will be more to share next week!!

Hope you enjoy!

Talent Tuesdays!!!

So I want to start this new thing (probably not new at all...but new for me)...

Talent Tuesdays!!!

Each Tuesday (or every Tuesday that I actually remember) I will post a piece of artwork by one of my students!!!

This one is a work in progress... I know she was inspired by a "Zentangle Inspired Artwork" that she found online while researching patterns to use in another assignment. And the next thing I know... she has this!! I believe the artist is going to add a little color.. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!!

I'll post another pic when she's done!

Connect the Dots?

This is an exercise I love doing with my students when they have hit a creative block. 

I won't lie, I did not come up with this exercise on my own. It is a modified lesson from Carla Sonheim's "The Art of Silliness". I learned so many fun things from her!

Try it out!? It's actually a lot of fun!

1. Mark 10-20 dots on a piece of paper

2. Number each dot in random order

        make sure your numbers bounce around

3. Connect the dots

4. See what you can find in your scribble

5. Illustrate!

Don't forget to have fun!!!

Falling into routine

Dear followers (if I have any out there), 

I'm sorry for not being around very much. Life has been very busy. I has been hard to find a few minutes here and there to post. Recently I got a part time job at a local retail store to earn a little extra... moola... this summer. This meant along with teaching, I was training and working shifts at the store to begin training. And let's face it... Teachers days don't end when the bell rings! From the expected staff meetings and other PLC meetings... to after school club meetings... to staying after school to catch up my students who were way far behind on their school work... to reading papers and grading artwork. My days just kept getting longer and longer.. 

And then I went and got myself a sencond job... (don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my now job... but...) This meant the days that I worked at school and at the store. I have to rush out of school (as soon as my after-school responsibilities were done). Take out the dog. Eat dinner. Change my clothes. And get to work on time, which was usually within 1 hour of leaving the school. When I'd get home from the store I'd be beat. But now the school year has come to an end. And the extra days I put in to work on the curriculum alignment have been completed! There (should) be lots of time to work on my creative projects. This also means I should be blogging more... Hopefully 

You know, its funny, in college I was always busy: classes, and homework, and work(my job), and student organization meetings, and office hours... I lived on the go... and that was great for me! I loved feeling busy and productive and focused. I still do! But I like slowing down a little bit too... I live on a balance of fast paced days and slow, relaxed, chill days.

OK enough gabbing... pictures???. As the last project of the year my ceramics made masks. Here are a few of them...


 This student really is a lumberjack... The mask is very fitting

 This pair of photos make me laugh... to the left... the photo is taken while the student is back-lit, so the camera doesn't pick up all the detail... the Mask almost looks believable!

The pic to the right shows the real deal... I do have to say. While the skin on the mask is a bit bright... it blends with his natural skin tone well.




I LOVE  this mask!! It is super creepy! (go ahead.... enlarge the pic check out the detail... the eyes are sewn shut!!!)



In case you can't tell, this student has quite the personality. She actually went home... Put on her mask and a hooded black cape that covered her whole body and sat at the dining room table (in the dark) until her mother came home. Her mother screamed.

I have to say, if I was her mother, I would be in the ER with a heart attack.

A spoof on the mask from Phantom of the Opera... Except this student loves the color purple... can you tell?

I love how the students' personalities shine through their artwork. It is quite impressive!


 

Two very different students...

Two very different styles...


Two awesome projects!

Finally, This last mask is a butterfly... I love how the student incorporated the wings into the face of her mask.

I've also been working on an artist journal. I think we're pretty different techniques I'm learning from different artists that I've been in contact with. Each page has a different artist and/or technique.... Some activities go on for a couple of pages. This has been a lot of fun and tend to get carried away. I'm going to have to do some more work on it. I can't wait to turn some of these pages into full out pieces of art!  Those pictures will be here soon!

I also want to take a minute to share these productivity playlists that Tiffany Han has been putting out each month. They are great! I honestly tried it for the first time the other day. And got so much done. To quote her, "To maximize your productive time, remember: hit play and commit to focus for the duration of the playlist. Then when the music stops, you get a 5-minute break. It's sort of like musical chairs for your brain - except at the end of this game, EVERYONE wins!"

So.... Hop on over to her blog at TiffanyHan.com and check it out!

Taking a deep breath and Feeling accomplished..

I am sitting in my classroom right now... as I type... It is First block on Thursday morning... and my students are actually Sitting, Quietly and Working!... I am speachless. This class has been quite difficult semester. They have been challenging the things I say and ask them to do and just plain... not listening... A few of the students have been particularly rude... INCREDIBLY rude, and disrespectful. Overall, the class has been very chatty. I am finding it very difficult to get them to cut back on the conversation so that they can better quality artwork.

Furthermore, I am getting ready for a trip to convention with The KEY Club. We leave tomorrow a.m.... and I've been nervous about today. There is so much I need to get done. I need to make sure my lesson plans are finished and clear enough that the sub can follow along. I need to make sure students understand their current projects clearly so that they can continue to work productively on them while I am gone, even if the substitute doesn't understand the project... <-- That's the teaching part. Other than teaching...tons more... the buss schedule, the check for our donation, my bags, the car driving the bags down, Phone numbers and procedures and the dress code... eeekkk...

So this morning when I woke up, I was (completely honestly) very uncertain of today... not dreading it but hesitant... Questions FLEW through my head as I drove to work.. Am I going to teach the lesson clearly enough that they will be able to work tomorrow? Will I  answer all of their questions?...these questions seem simple enough, but to be honest... they are daunting... And these questions are relevant for all my classes... Yes, I will be here tomorrow during my first class. I don't need coverage for them, and yet, the questions are still very much pertinent.


And now, I am sitting in my classroom... the class is actually working, and quite focused (not perfect but good!) And I am taking a deep breath... Writing this blog to get it out there! They are quiet and working and I am appreciating every moment of that. And as I "sign off" I am turning back to my "to do" pile... and I am feeling accomplished....

A Post for a Cause

Last summer a friend of mine visited Namibia on a mission trip. She worked with the children there, in several schools. She came back and shared many stories with our KEY Club.

Namibian Village

She told of children from poverty stricken families, who for many, will eat their only meal, at school for lunch. A meal called mealy-pap... their version of cream of wheat... This meal was cooked in a large, cut-off oil drum over the fire.

Cooking Mealy Pap

Many (not all) of the primary schools (kindergarten) are made up of wooden pallets and/or a corrugated metal called zinc, and any other materials they can pull together. These materials are nailed together to shade the children from the sun but do very little to ward off the heat or protect them from rain. When it does rain, the children pull their pictures and posters off of the wall and stand in the middle of the room where it is more dry.

Students working

One particular story she told was of a mother who sold her 7 year old daughter into prostitution for money... When the teacher found out. She went and "stole" the little girl from the brothel she was being kept in... The little girl is now much happier living with a foster family. Oh, did I mention... this little girl is deaf.

Now, it is necessary to mention that not all schools are made out of wooden pallets and zinc. There are some very nice private schools available to the children of Namibia. However, these schools are costly and... "despite the government efforts to have every Namibian child enrolled in primary school, parents do often not afford to send their children to school - opting for them to assist in chores at home" (namibiansun.com).

Primary School

Unfortunately, with young children unable to attend kindergarten, because of cost, they struggle adjusting to primary school. Because of their limited educational background the children have a hard time learning the materials taught to them.


Students in Action!

The KEY Club students decided to run a series of fund raisers to send money to some of the teachers in Namibia to buy better classroom supplies and educational toys. This will help the children learn more and ensure a better future for each one of them. The children will have the education to get a job in the city and earn more money throughout their lives and support their families. Helping the young, can promote the future. 

TOYS TO TEACH A GENERATION

So far the KEY Club has held several bake sales and earned over $100 to send to Namibia. This would be roughly 925 Dollars Namibian, but to put it into perspective, a bottle of water in Namibia costs roughly 12 Dollars Namibian much like our bottles of water cost $1 -ish.

These bracelets are another fundraiser the students have planned. Each bracelet is made up of two colors. One cord (red, white, or blue) to represent the United States and one cord (blue, red, green, yellow or white) to represent the children of Namibia.

The knot in the middle is to symbolize that we are united and working together. The back of each bracelet has slip knots to adjust the size. Bracelets are multiple sizes as well, to fit different sized wrists.

We will be bringing these Para-cord bracelets to our District Convention at the beginning of April and selling them for $2. We are hoping for much success. When we return from convention we will have  more bracelets to sell. Please let me know if you are interested in supporting our cause.

Week 3... a school-busy... artistically-quiet week.

Alright,

This week, I dropped the ball... or maybe didn't drop it but its definitely dribbling away from me.

I didn't post a goal at the beginning of the week, like I had hoped I would. And I didn't really think up one either... To be honest. I looked at my schedule for the week and just hoped to make it through without becoming too frazzled .. It is now Friday... the last day of my work week..YEAH!
My Saturdays are when I have time to myself and can focus my time on being creative and begin my personal rejuvenation for the week ahead.  Looking forward to tomorrow!

I did, however, get several things started and accomplished this week! Check it out!



A friend of mine asked me to make a Sock Monkey hat for her grandson. The little boy is three years old and it is my understanding that he LOVES his Sock Monkey toy to pieces and she thinks he'll be thrilled to have a hat to match!

The first hat I made ended up being HUGE... OK well huge for a 3 year old (it fit my head). So I began hat #2. I kept hat #1 to make sure I didn't goof up again... I was constantly measuring the cranium of #2 to #1.

Hat #2 finished... Now for the features! ...notice the mouth off to the side. It looks silly when it's not attached to the hat.

All Done! And WAAYYY better than I had expected. I am so proud of the way Mr. Sock Monkey came out. ---I almost don't want to sell him.

The eyes are made out of black buttons that have been sewn onto the hat... And I made the ear flaps double thickness... they are great!

I finalized the etsy post for Mr. Sock Monkey this evening... you can view it here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/127244120/reserved-for-meg-cildrens-sock-monkey

I will also create a post for custom ordered Sock Monkey hats so that the public can place orders with their choice of colors and design...



Other things this week...

My sister gave me this hair clip she made... I LOVE IT! Its made of a bobby pin and button and selection of feathers... I am trying to get her to make some for my etsy shop!

Here is another pic of the hair clip.. I was trying to get a good shot of the super pretty shiny green feather but kept getting glare from the table. But I love the way the brown table accents the brown button and pulls out the browns in the feathers.




I also finished crocheting the octopus hat I started months ago...

 ...and started painting the Bright YELLOW Eyes!

I'm not sure I like the way the acrylic paint was sticking to the button... It started peeling... Even after I sprayed it with a semigloss... I'm going to try coating it with nail polish... Usually that is my go-to... It's like duct tape!




Also! Check out this teapot and cup set one of my students is making .. this is an independent project. She is no longer in my class (her ceramics class was first term and ended in January) so she's been coming in during her study hall and after school to work on it.

Red...

Two things...

1...

The KEY Club is again hosting the 2nd Annual Winter Blowout!! Last year was our first year and we decided to make it an annual event!

Saturday, February 9th, 9 am to 2 pm... at MVHS

So... our big day is coming up in less than two weeks! and I am PUMPED.. For a moment I thought that maybe I'm just not feeling the pressure yet.. but I honestly feel like it is planned out well... The KEY Club has been working hard, and I've been keeping track of everything... and I am looking forward to it!

This being said, I have been trying to create as much of my own stuff as I can to sell at the table I am renting for the event. And I thought... February -> Winter -> Cold... so I've been crocheting hats and scarves... and then I thought February -> Valentines day... and there came the hearts and the jewelry and the red and pink and purple... there are times when my dining room table / workstation look like a cotton candy monster threw-up...all over...

2...

I don't polish my nails often... but when I do... I love color! Green... or Green.... Purple... Turquoise... Blue... I've had many colors on my nails. I usually stay away from red though... Its Bright, Bold and Dominant... ...too much for me?... Well guess what! I'm wearing RED...

"Crimson Pearl"...  I'm Boasting Confidence this week!! (Maybe it was a sub-conscious decision... to boost my moral with a new group of classes...) It's funny how things work out like that. SYMBOLISM in nail polish... Muahahahha!

But again... Here comes the red... 

Some Fun Little Tidbits...

As I've posted before... The school year has begun, and is in full swing. Last week was the first full week of school and OHhhh... my did it seem forever long....

But today is Monday, the beginning of a fresh new week... and it has been a very busy and productive Monday (I like these Mondays).

 Aside from my regular classes, there are several other things that came up today...

(1)   During a meeting today I was Tangling.. (I doodle a lot during meetings, it allows me to focus on what is being said better...really... who ever said students cant learn if they are doodling/drawing on their notes, needs to take a good look at the learner profiles!)

Anyway... I made a bookmark. I love the way it came out! What do you think?  I think I'm going to add a little more...  (**Sorry about the image quality... My next task is to get my scanner back up and running... Pronto!)

Lively Tree... Inspired by an image I found on Flikr

(2)   Ironically, after the meeting, I returned to my room to find a Zengangle Newsletter from Rick and Maria in my e-mail... There's a new tangle pattern!You can check it out in their newsletter here: ZT September Newsletter    I'm going to have to try this one out soon! I love the way it looks! 


(3)  I also was thrilled to find the note from a teacher in the newsletter. She teaches ZT to her classes too!...Check out her student examples... They are beautiful!!  I'll have to take some pictures of the ZT Bulletin board I am working on and post them! (4)

 (5)   Also, Carla Sonheim has published a new book! Imaginary Animals. It will be released very soon... Actually she is hosting a two week long "Blog Celebration". Check it out by clicking the button on the right panel of my blog.     -->   -->   -->   --> 

I took one of Carla's online courses (Silly 5) last spring and had so much fun! I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to have some creative fun (without having to stress about being "perfect").



Alrighty, I gotta go be productive again!  

I'll be back soon with more!

School Days...

Well, the school year has started and will soon be in full swing. I was rather anxious last week looking forward to our first day. What to expect? How many students are really going to be in my classes (schedules change a lot between June and September)? Who is on my roster? What is the dynamic of each of my classes going to be like? My brain was swarming with questions and thoughts and fragments... Don't get me wrong, I was excited. ...but then I was dreading the end of my summer. It seemed short.

...Sunday night, mentally getting ready for Monday, I looked back over my summer...And boy did I have a Great summer! It was busy, but I both worked and played; I did some schoolwork and professional development... worked on my website and made some more jewelry for my Etsy shop barefootedwanderer.... I worked on other crafts and artwork... I went fishing, and I spent time with my family on vacation... I had a wonderful summer...

So, with this viewpoint; I hope to have a wonderful school year!... Positive thinking right?!?

Here's a little something to make you smile... I always have pen and paper at staff meetings, yes I do take notes... But my doodles make it into the notes too!

Cluck, cluck, Cluck

It all goes around, and around, and around...