Finally October!!!

I didn't forget about the blog but I have been so swamped that I just haven't had time. SO today I am making some. I am so excited that 3 of my students had work shown in the Ohio High School show sponsored by OAEA last month. The take down and awards reception was a nice surprise because while one student was awarded 3rd place and had his work chosen to be used on the Show Catalogue CD, YAY !!!another of my three, had their work chosen to be showcased on the awards certificates!!!Ahh So Proud!!!!

I am in the process of rehearsing for "Dracula: The Comedy" right now. Soon to be performed at the Mansfield Playhouse on October 22, 23, 29, 30, and 31! I play Gypsy Rosa Lee....I like the fact that it is so fun and humorous. Great cast, great director, great all around! It should be a very amusing show!! We are off book tomorrow so I can't be on here too long.:)

My students are working on a variety of projects right now. Intro students have been working on value studies and they are coming along nicely. we will focus a little more on drawing skills in a few weeks when we start working with charcoal. VERY excited to do that! Sculpture has been working on abstract sculptures. Very open with a few requirements. I think that they have done a fantastic job and now they are in the finishing stages. They have been inspired and are creating a wall of color samples inspired by the artist Michael Demeng. I can't wait to see them all finished and hung up. Printmaking has taken off like wildfire with monotypes and are just doing some gorgeous pieces!! we start collographs in less than a week.

And myself....my artistic endeavors at the moment revolve around Halloween of course!!! Last year was the crazy CAROL from where the wild things are costume...........and this year well for that you will just have to wait and see...........

The little Blue Moosebug was finally finished.....not a bad little specimen ........and is in it's new home now. More stuff to follow as I finish. However.......Birdboy needs a proper name. Since he may be a part of a series, I am entertaining ideas. Feel free to suggest. I have re-attached his head and it is supported fully now so it shouldn't have any more stress cracks. I have the perfect "place" for him. I will be taking him tomorrow... finished or not ....to the Artist's luncheon to share for a little feedback. So this afternoon will be spent working on him....and cleaning during breaks...and making it to the pool.

Birdboy et al............

This weekend I took a workshop in Avon Lake with Michael deMeng.......It was FABULOUS! The people were FANTASTIC, the Instructor was AMAZING, and the artwork was DIVERSE. I can't say enough about Ginny and John from Small Studios who hosted the two day event. They are wonderful people! Now on to some specifics. ....

The workshop -Island Of Demented toys.......The first day covered the deconstruction and reassemblage of toys. All kinds! Demos included using a dremel, sanding, and how to assemble the pieces using Aves apoxie clay. Great stuff.....not cheap, but excellent. I worked with it some but mainly I used Pearl paperclay. For my classroom and budget, it is cost prohibitive, but without a doubt the better option. It was harder and dried much faster than the paperclay. We also had demo's over Golden Acrylic paints and their uses. Gorgeous, vibrant, colors..fantastic combinations with colors called jelly brains, barnacle blue and gothish black. Day two continued with more demos over the paints and finished with a class critique. DeMeng discussed every single piece that was created. Giving a full review and suggestions for each artist and their work.

I enjoyed his workshop more than any other I have gone to recently and look forward to attending more from DeMeng and from Small Studios in the future! I came away with a lot to use in in my classroom and in my studio.  I highly suggest that if the chance arises, you should go to one and take me  with you:) Now on to the pics! Be warned they are not finished and a little creepy, and as I often tell my students, A little creepy can be a good thing! I think that with this workshop, the summer crow series is going to go in a slightly different direction......

Spring Break has started with snow! What a great way to start off the weekend! I have several projects about to be underway. I found this great old high chair at a local antique store. A little pricier than what I would have wanted to normally spend for an assemblage piece-cause I am cheap-but it really spoke to me. It is going to become a a political response work, but you can derive your own meaning when it is posted. Also have a series of prints that the sketches have been started but the plates are still nonexistant. I am debating betweeen 2 different plate series and don't know which one to start. I will be working on those eventually hopefully tonight!