August 8, 2009 • 1 Comment
This week has been insane. I just worked an insane amount of hours in only 4 days. I literally just spent the last 4 hours with a crying 2 year old on my lap while I was trying to do homework. Alas, I am behind finishing my blog. No excuses. It’s just life.
This weekend I’m going to be working on a painting for my niece. I haven’t found my inspiration just yet, but I know it will show up this weekend. I’ve done paintings for the boys, my other niece, and my godson. Now it’s little Peyton’s turn.
I’m an acrylics painter. It’s quicker. I can do layers and work with them for a while, but they still dry quickly enough that I can move on with more layers without having to wait what seems like an eternity. For the last 3-4 years I’ve been working with text in my painting. It’s kind of like therapy. Whatever’s in my head, whether it be thoughts, quotes, lyrics, or simply words, ends up on the canvas. 99% of the time the text is there as texture. It isn’t meant to be read. That’s the interesting thing about painting with text. People want to read it. It’s difficult to grasp the concept that it’s not meant to be read.
Perhaps this weekend I’ll paint with text for Peyton. Who knows.
August 6, 2009 • 1 Comment
I consider myself to be a fairly crafty person. I am currently back at my post as a nanny to three wonderful little boys while I am in search for a “real” job. I put that into quotations because although I love being with the boys, I’ve been doing it on and off for 6 years and I am officially ready to find my career type job.
At any rate, I try to do something crafty with the boys at least 2-3 times a week. It gives them something to look forward to and I gives me a chance to be creative. I love homemade cards. Today’s project was exactly that. Having been the recipient of several homemade cards from children, I can speak from experience how much more I appreciate the card knowing that the child worked to decorate it and create it especially for me.
The beauty of such a project is that you can be as elaborate or as simple as you wish. Today, we just used construction paper and crayons. Jack (age 6, and autistic) decided to draw a picture of a person on the outside of the card and wrote “Jack Happy Birthday” on the inside. I was impressed that he gave me that much time. (Today was an off day for him.) Charlie (age 5) drew a heart on the outside of the card and on the inside wrote “I live in a car” with semi trucks drawn all around. Nicholas (age 2) obviously can’t express his feelings in text, so I wrote for him. I asked him what he wanted to write to Auntie Renee and he said, “I like cars. Chick Hicks. Mac. Thank you.” He then drew ‘cars’ and ‘bridges’ all over the inside of the card.
Who says you need to pay an arm and a leg for a birthday card? This is by far one of my favorite crafty projects. I know that when Auntie Renee gets her birthday cards from the boys tomorrow, she’ll appreciate them much more than anything Hallmark could come up with.
August 3, 2009 • 2 Comments
I went for a walk with my niece through the woods by Chapman Dam. She looked up at me (she’s 5) and said, “Aunt Laura, how come the trees are green today?” Now, sure I could have gone into a long scientific process that I’m sure has something to do with chlorophyl or something of that nature. However, I decided instead to tell her that today the trees are green because it’s summer, and soon, in the fall, they’ll change colors before they fall off the trees. That was enough for her. She was satisfied with my lackluster answer, or so I thought. We walked a few yards more and she said, “If I paint the leaves different colors, will they fall off the trees?” To which I replied, “If you climbed into the tree to paint the leaves, they wouldn’t fall down. But if you’d like, we can pick some up off of the ground and paint the ones that have already fallen because of the wind.” She was sold.
My favorite fall activity to do with my preschoolers was to gather leaves and use them for a variety of projects. We would trace around them, use them as stamps, paint them, decorate with them. We pretty much did everything imaginable with leaves. When we ran out, we simply went back outside to collect more. I always liked linking various projects to whatever was going on in the world around us. Whether they be seasons, holidays, or Tuesdays, my goal was to allow them to experience everything I could let them experience. Since it’s so easy to make an art project for basically anything, it was always fun to incorporate the changing leaves into our classroom.
August 3, 2009 • 1 Comment
This past week I went on vacation. It is a term I don’t throw around lightly. I haven’t been on a real vacation in a long time. I didn’t respond to emails. I did work that needed to be done, albeit not on my own computer or using cable internet. (Remember the fun of dial-up?) 
As I was sitting on the beach, I came up with aa project to try with a high school photography class with water. I would love to have them capture water in as many different ways as they can. I think it would be interesting to see the variety of shots that are achieved in a process that seems so simple. Just the idea of the different ways water is ‘displayed’ in our world is enough to make one think.
So, I suppose that even while on vacation, I was working. Thinking is hard work.
July 24, 2009 • 4 Comments
Working in the art room with a preschool class can be very interesting, to say the least. One rainy day, I decided that our project would be the most interesting, messy, fun project the kids had done to date.
In the preschool world, the big idea is to allow the kids to explore the world in various textures and materials. I was bound and determined to expose these kids to some amazing textures and materials. The project: fluff paint.
The concept is quite simple: grate ivory soap, mix with toilet paper, and water. It creates a shaving cream like substance that is insanely cool to play with. The students assist in the mixing (they were unable to grate the soap due to safety concerns). We add food coloring to the mix and the the kids went wild.
Adorned in smocks, the kids stuck their hands into the mixture and began scooping it onto their paper. They squished it between their fingers, dropped it on the floor, smeared it on themselves, and made wonderful creations. It was by far the messiest, most wonderful project. The kids enjoyed themselves and were able to experience a wildly different texture and materials they may not have thought to use in an art project.
It was very successful and every day that it rained, at least one of them asked to do it again.
July 19, 2009 • 3 Comments
Using Digital Photography in an Elementary Art Room
In an experimental trial, I chose to use digital photography with my fifth grade art students. The journey began by taking my students to the school’s nature trail. We went in the morning, an excellent time because of the natural lighting.
The majority of my students had used a camera before, but had never really learned how to take visually appealing photographs. Once on the nature trail, we discussed composition, lighting, color, and overall quality. We discussed the rule of thirds as one of the major points in taking visually appealing photographs. After discussing some of the techniques and rules for photography, the students were let loose to begin their photographic experience.
After the students completed the picture taking process, we headed back to the classroom to experiment with editing. I introduced the students to PhotoShop Elements. While it can be difficult to learn, especially at this grade level, there are basic tools that can be easily learned. Students were taught 3 major tools to use in this exercise; crop, selection, and magic wand. These were the only tools the students were allowed to use in this project.
Students then went to work adjusting their photographs and then printed their final product. Students then mounted their projects and a group critique began.
After having completed the project, the students were more interested in photography than before. Most wanted to continue doing more projects with this medium. It was a great experiment and will turn into many more photography projects with this grade level.
