New School year...New resolutions...........

It dawned on me today, that the first day of school is a lot like "New Year's Eve". We wait with anticipation and a little dread. We think about what the future holds for the upcoming year, look over what our accomplishments have been and then moving on we draft our New Year's resolutions. Really they aren't that different. So, this year I drafted my back to school resolutions list.

10. I will remember to find my coffee cup at the end of every day. 

Since last year my coffee cups occasionally became science experiments in evolution randomly placed around the room. 

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9. I will not toss my hair up into a top not as soon as I get to school every day. Top knots are reserved for sumo wrestlers.

8. I will keep only one extra pair of shoes under my desk at a time. It shouldn't look like the clearance rack from Macy's under my desk. 

7. I will be able to see the top of my desk all week and not just on Mondays.... 

Most of it.  Well, at least my keyboard. I should be able to see my keyboard

6. I will only have one cup, or two, but definitely less than a pot of coffee a day. 

5. I will save my emergency chocolate stash for true emergencies. 

and remember the opening bell does not constitute an emergency nor do any other bells throughout the day.

4. I will keep my nails manicured each week. 

because I just took out a second mortgage to buy bunches of jamberry nail wraps.  

3. I will not apply my mascara in the parking lot at school. 

2. I will make time each week to work on my own art. I need this professionally and personally.

and

1. I will not sweat the small stuff.

Even though maintenance says that keeping all the small stuff is just clutter and hoarding.

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!

Still life season: Don't forget to renew your artistic license!

It is here and I have to admit I am anxious for it to be over already. Still life season. The weeks in the year where nothing gets put away where it SHOULD go, the room is in total disarray and my desk becomes completely lost for the remainder of the school year. So long fancy glitter desktop that I spent a week coating and layering.....I won't get to see you again until probably June. I should explain why the room transforms into a possible episode for the show Hoarders. I don't set one still life, I don't set two still lives, technically I don't set any, but in my room there are 7 still life sets AND many students set up a personal still life as well. So there is no counter space, extra table space or any extra space period. Which, in a classroom where there are almost as many sculpture students as introduction to art students that can be issue when it comes to storage space and places to put "stuff."

                      Getting back to the part where I don't set the still lives anymore........I bring in boxes and boxes of interesting items junk for the students to peruse. We spend almost a whole week setting them. A day or two "playing with the items and arranging them at seats and then begin placing them in a final setting over the next few days. While they are setting them they start creating thumbnails, and then begin final sketches in pencil, charcoal and also white charcoal on black paper. During this time we also talk about what a still life is and why artists have used them forever.  We begin discussing what makes an artwork successful, and how the arrangement and the objects of the still life can affect the final drawing. We look at what might be communicated to the viewer of the artwork.  Then we brainstorm lists of "have to find" items to truly complete their sets and finalize their message.



I am a firm believer in the idea that students will do better if they draw what they love, if they have a say in what they use to draw with and if they feel that they have ownership over the whole process............and why shouldn't they. Honestly, it is more enjoyable for them and less stressful for me to allow students to set them and the majority of the time they are better than what I would have tossed out there all on my own. And the really cool thing is that it is a perfect example of practicing 21st century skills (Collaboration, Creativity, Communication), not just with me but with their classmates and between classes as well and they still have the opportunity to have their independent and individual style show through in the final work. 2 more weeks and we will package up and put it all away, ending the season. But who am I kidding, we will still be a top contender for Hoarders: Education Edition.


 

Back to School!! THANKFULLY!!!!

Yes, I said thankfully and back to school at the same time. YES, I am a teacher. So, why on earth would I be excited about back to school? I will tell you. It is more than just my awkward and weird love of the smell of new paper, new sharpies, fresh coffee, shiny waxed floors, having a real reason to be up at 5 am and I can't forget my new aprons.This summer has been CRAZY. A new-ish puppy along with my hubby and his partners starting a new business, ...well.....my routine is all out of whack and truth be told...I miss the creativity of all my kiddos. I have "Pinterested" till my eyes hurt, I have redesigned my curriculums,  I have reorganized my house-albeit not by choice(2 floods in June and July)-till I have no more organizational spots of genius left in me(or money left in my budget for totes and bins and Clorox), and I am ready for some normalcy.....and I AM really excited for some of the projects I have planned.

 My intro classes have almost all new lessons planned in pretty much every area, and my sculpture kids well, some of them actually started over the summer collecting their gear for the annual assemblage project which this year, involves a new twist. Printmaking has been revamped and the crafts kids will be pleasantly surprised this year. I am so excited to roll out the new stuff! AND I get to meet my new homeroom freshman class!!  I have so many ideas for their first week that I hope they will enjoy. I know I will, I mean what is not to love about mustaches, top hats and feather boas....a photo-booth, cup cakes, and  special invitations.

AND I get to do it all in a newly reorganized classroom-this time the reorganization was by choice. And I did make at least one classroom example to replace some of the ones that were destroyed. My sock doll Melton-who is a grilled cheese and spicy pickle aficionado and my rolling "lightening bug" finally was finished from my May workshop with Michael DeMeng.

Two weeks....that is all that is left of my summer, Two weeks that is all the time I have to "relax"..and two weeks...... is all I have left in my 30's. As crazy as this final summer of my thirties has been, I don't think I would have changed any of it........well, except for maybe the floods.

mmmmmmmmm coffee

I know, another post about coffee but after the crazy and hectic few weeks I have had I think I probably could use it in an IV drip! Among the changing of major projects in the art room  for my Intro students, frantically setting my room for my sub and typing up all of the plans and handouts, and the Ohio Art Education Association Conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio, I had also been selected to Host a Barista Prima Coffee party from houseparty.com.

It was the perfect way to unwind after spending days with my brain being overloaded with new arts techniques, new state initiatives, new artists, arts advocacy, and new media options. After all the learning, all the socializing, and all the art, I just needed a night to unwind with a few (10) of my favorite people relaxing with a cup of joe and massive quantities of delicious desserts to pair the coffees with.

After driving from one side of the state to get home, I made fresh biscotti, and did some last minute house maintenance and set up the table and counters with desserts, creamers, specialty sugars, and all of the amazing sample boxes of coffee from Barista Prima. It was a perfect way to sit back and round table the events of the week with other arts educators, other educators, friends and family. What a great way to remember why being an arts educator was so important and some of the hysterical conversations that happen in the art room. I wonder if everyone has stories from their conferences like we do. Thanks to Barista Prima, this may become an annual way to end our conference! By the way, my favorite cup of coffee, was the Italian roast.

Coffee, coffee, and more coffee...............please

Some of my favorite ideas for lessons come at those strange hours between 3 and 5 where it seems I wake up so often. Unfortunately, it makes for a seriously long day and a vicious cycle of coffee consumption. I am comforted in knowing that I am not the only educator in my building with this affliction. Many times we are united by the late night facebook posts of "anyone else up?"

For whatever reason while I was unable to sleep, I remembered attending the Ohio art Education Association conference in Toledo, Ohio where I was lucky enough to have my hubby join us for the last day. One of the evening events was a special trip to the Toledo Museum of Art to see their exhibits. One that really stuck with me, and not because Mr. MAC set off the museum alarm while looking at it,  was an installation by the artist Marisol Escobar called the Cocktail Party. A room filled with mixed media, life size figures with cast faces, painted wooden block bodies and other added elements. I knew I could never have my students work in the scale she did, but I could at least expose them to her. As it turned out she was a hard artist to find a lot of readily available info so she went to the back burner and was filed away in one off the many holy grails of lesson ideas. However, right before school was in session this fall, and right after the 4th cup of coffee on one of these 3 am wake up calls,  I figured it out. A combination of recycled materials, a combination of artists, on a scale that was acceptable for 50 plus kiddos, and in my budget............. thus was born "the classroom!"

I have asked my students to trust me on the results. Not every student in my Sculpture classroom has had experience in sculptural techniques, so before starting our actual large scale project with the expensive materials, we spent the last week working with white clay creating fist sized works of wonder. Noggins in such detail that they created an eerie collection as they were put out to dry this weekend before firing. While this was an introductory lesson on basic modelling skills, it will finish as a project they can be proud of. It addresses many of the state standards for Art Education in Ohio, and can stand alone as independent sculptures or as combined as a group installation project. A win-win all around. I am so impressed with what they have done so far and I can't wait to see their new creations and how they finish these over the next few weeks. As a reminder, these are unfinished.....we will be finishing them up with acrylic paints (ohhhhhhh trust me they won't look painted, I know what you are thinking) and some mixed media techniques as well.

MAC'S Top 10 reasons to be Excited for Back to School!!

I don't think I have ever not been excited to go back to school! These are my top 10 for this year!

10. Shiny waxed floors and a clean sparkling classroom!!

Let's be realistic, in the art classroom, even when we try, this only lasts a few short weeks. With about 165 "official" students in my classroom a day, this room quickly self-destructs in just a few short weeks but our maintenance department works miracles!

9. New students and of course returning ones!

Oh my goodness!! I ADORE my new classes!!! It might be too early to say that and hopefully I won't be jinxing myself, but they are AWESOME!!! And it is so Nice to see some familiar faces returning  with their creative energies restored after their summer breaks! After spending the summer revising, adjusting, and creating new lessons and projects they are finally going to be put into action!!! I am so excited to see what they do!!!

8. Sample Materials from Arts representatives!!

Who doesn't love free stuff!! Especially free stuff that encourages us to play and explore our creative sides! and as a bonus there is usually a sharpie in there someplace!!

 

7. Getting back into a regular routine..............

because really that sleeping in until 7 thing, not showering until 2, and taking a nap whenever was starting to get old!

6. coffee.............coffee........and more coffee:)

I just love my coffee:) even more so if someone else makes it! Since at least two of my lessons will be focused around a coffee cup this year, it would be safe to say, it is a BIG part of my day;)

5. NEW SHARPIES!!!!!!!

I will admit.....I have a sharpie addiction. It isn't to the point of becoming a real problem, but it would be very easy to start hoarding them!. And going back `to school in the fall just gives me an excuse to buy more.

4. NEW APRONS!!!!

I love my aprons!!! I started this year off with a ruffled zebra apron! My color wheel apron, Halloween and Election day aprons are almost finished!

3. Did I mention Coffee?

 

2. The 2013 high school musical announcement!!!!

This year they have selected AIDA!!!!!!!! Who wouldn't love a love story set in Egypt! The costumes and set on this are going to be out of this world! I can not wait! And the student response so far is awesome!

1. All things Autumn!!!

The smell of new pencils! A fresh tub of Ink! New glue! HOMECOMING!!!Football, bonfires and hot chocolate.......the colors of the changing leaves, and Halloween and the crazy creative costumes the kids come up with are just around the corner!!) The new videos over school procedures from the award winning VP staff!  New lessons, new ideas, new inspiration! and cut out cookies. I know that last one is available at pretty much any time, but my favorite is to dunk a cut out sugar cookie in hot chocolate-not nearly as much fun in July!!!!

 

 

 

top 10 perks to being an art teacher

You should know, these are not reasons for teaching art, or reasons for having art, but rather subtle and sometimes under appreciated perks to the job of being an art teacher.

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10. WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS

No one thinks twice when your clothes don't match. or have paint on them. or have holes. or have tape. or coffee. They actually kind of expect it.

9. DUMPSTER DIVING

It is acceptable for you to dumpster dive, in fact people kind of expect it. A big bonus is when you can convince someone else on the faculty to do it with you.

8. MULTI-TASKING MASTER

28 students, 4 different levels, all on different time lines, and with different needs. You can tackle that with only one cup of coffee.

7. APRONS!!!!

You have a wardrobe of funky aprons that you can use to cover up the spilled coffee, unmatched clothing, or paint stains.

6. EXCITEMENT!!!

It is never boring! In fact, it is almost like having a different soap opera every period, every day.

5. POWER TOOLS!!!

or hobby knives, hand drills, and coping saws and spray paint.

4. REFINED PALETTE

You have an appreciation for what paste, plaster and clay all taste like.

3. SHARPIES!!!!!

No explanation really needed.........and in a pinch they serve as makeup as well. 

2. COMMUNICATION

You keep current on all the new slang and the surprised look when you catch students using some of that slang is priceless. "YES, I know what that means, and no... you can NOT say that in here or even talk about it"

 

and my number one bonus to being an art teacher

1. CREATIVITY

It is what keeps usand so many of our students coming back every day to school.

What do you think is the best perk for your job?

 

 

 

Summer Vacation? ummm.....huh??

I am not going to lie, I am sure there are teachers out there who do nothing their entire break but vacation...but I don't personally know any of them. I usually spend my summer vacation working.yes... working. Working on being a better artist, on being a better teacher, on building connections, on reorganizing and restructuring my classroom, and working on that massive pile of laundry that accumulated between the early May arts festival and the June graduation ceremonies.

Michael DeMeng demo on paint

I realize that because I don't have to punch a time clock and I can actually sit with my coffee and catch up on facebook before I start most people don't consider it work.  But, everything I am doing is bwork-related.  For example, I am in the process of completing 17 hours of online coursework through ed2go(CRAZY I know) and I only have 9 more to go. I can now be the master of my own wiki, create beneficial pod casts, use Microsoft Word 2010 and PowerPoint 2010 with incredible ease and have created a workbook and other learning aids for my classroom. soon I will be the master of differentiated instruction and assessment. And while I am really enjoying the online graduate work, I do like the hands on workshops just a tad bit more. Especially when they are taught at the Small Studios in Westlake, Ohio by the illustrious Michael DeMeng.

Watchmakers results

If you look closely,
you can see the blue
 monkey

Demeng's workshops are all about assemblage, or Ahh-sem-blahge. They cover techniques that I can use in my own art and teach to my students. They are filled with laughter, anecdotes, and plenty of puns.  I started the first workshop, Mad Watchmakers,  the next day after school was out. I should admit, I hardly considered it work though. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. As a teacher DeMeng is encouraging, knowledgeable, and comical. While I was learning from Michael and the other artists in the group, it was the perfect way to start the summer. Two whole days of tips and techniques, and creative influence and two fully finished, well almost finished, projects......well worth it.

The second workshop with Michael was creating a shrine to the Saint of Discarded things. This is my piece. Not finished of course but I had a creative block early on. I plan on adding lights, a footing, and maybe a mini handle for the top. I also still have a lot of painting to do yet. I plan on leaving it the vibrant yellow. I have already located a place in our home for display and have sketches started for a few more variations from all the junk I took with me.

MARK GOLDEN

After the DeMeng workshop I had a breather for a few days before attending the Golden Acrylic Paints workshop in Ashland. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the instructor was CEO Mark Golden. What a fantastic person. I was amazed at the generosity and responsibility that Golden paints feels towards their employees and their artists. Their humanitarian actions are humbling.  I already use their paints with my sculptures but their mediums I wasn't familiar with. I can foresee a huge monetary commitment on my part for home and for school! I can't wait to incorporate some of their products into my classes!

Bead Medium...love

A Little Redirection.......

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but growing up I always knew I wanted to be an artist...or a dancer(HA).......but really, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I loved that when I put pencil to paper people really saw what was there, unlike my dancing which was met with averted eyes. I didn't really want dance lessons, or piano lessons, or baton lessons, although I did like being in parades, but what I did want was an easel and all the things that might go with it. Pencils, charcoal, paint..man I loved to paint and ultra fine pens and permanent markers!! A little slice of heaven.

I don't think I ever expected to grow up to be an art teacher. In fact, I know I didn't. I was only in FTA(Future Teachers of America) for the letter and honor points. But when I went to college, I had a long discussion on the financial aspect of being an artist, mainly that I wouldn't be receiving any help financially from my parents if I went for "ART". So I declared physical therapy my major and signed up for as many general ed and fine arts classes(as electives of course) that I could. Eventually, I started researching art careers and I stumbled across Art Education. I changed my major and yes, eventually told my parents. I actually liked education. I transferred to a school that had a better arts program, (GO FALCONS!!) and started on my way with methods courses and some heavy studio coursework.

I think everyone of us in that ART ED graduating class thought that being an artist and an educator would be easy because they go hand in hand. But there is a fundamental difference between being a professional artist and a professional educator and juggling both is something that I struggle with. I am not going to pretend I am in galleries, that I am represented, and that money is rolling in, although I wouldn't mind it, but I am producing and creating.  Mostly small commissioned pieces and work for friends and loved ones. It took a long time to get to the point that I could even want to do both again.

But I did find that there are a few things that I needed to help make me more successful...first ..a dedicated work space other than my classroom or kitchen table. Actual work time while at school..no not gonna happen at least not with my high schoolers. They keep me busy enough.   Second, I needed a dedicated work time. It just so happened that I had to sacrifice my daily walk on the treadmill. Um yeah, that "sacrifice" isn't really working out though so I will be adjusting the schedule to include both this summer.  I also needed my own "holy grail". Something I could jot down ideas in whenever they hit or wherever I found inspiration. I have one for home and one for school. Actually I have about 15 total because I always misplace them. Sometimes they are old abandoned sketchbooks, or a moleskin journal-still missing, or a new sketchbook from a vendor, and sometimes they are just a yellow legal pad but I always have a sharpie or a uni ball to jot with. and last, but not least, I needed to have a sense of humor to deal with everything life tends to throw out at you at one time


Anyways, this blog is mainly about that struggle, the choices, we make to do both, the experiences, influences and everything else that shapes us into artists AND educators, with some of those classroom escapades thrown in for some comic relief. Just be thankful it isn't a video of me dancing.

The search for the Holy Grail.........

As summer approaches and I begin to disect the school year, I think about the lessons I have learned, the ones I have taught, and what to do with them.  I begin to fill the Holy Grail with ideas and adjustments for the following year. My Holy Grail is my journal. It is filled with lesson ideas, inspirations, images, and techniques that I either want to try, think I need to look at again, or want to share. I always create a new holy grail starting about mid April. I usually look at my old grails to see what I have missed from previous years, but this year I will only have one that I am able to review.

I was asked by a colleague and friend what my plans for summer were this year. I said I didn't know and I really didn't! I had been contemplating(barely) getting a second job, looking into graduate coursework and just working in the studio. After thinking about this for a little bit, I realize that for many of us who teach, summer is almost like like our second chance at "New Year's resolutions" So I am dubbing them Summer resolutions...I  know really creative title.

So here are a few of my summer resoltions.:

1. Finish the army of Pot and Pan people....they deserve it.
2. Clean the couch in the studio. No explanation needed.
3. Finish the revisions for the Crafts Curriculum.
4. Work on the portraits I need to finish.
5. Finish the Ceramic Monsters series...they rattle, they roll, they look like little trolls
6. Enjoy the morning sun since the afternoon sun hates me.
7. Finish the Holy Grail samples

I am sure I will add more to this list soon, but since that f word keeps popping up often, I think I will need to accomplish those first.