My Turn at the Easel

pollen,
originally uploaded by Snippety Gibbet.

The Pollen Was Bad that Day” is the title of this little piece.

It’s summer and that means it’s Artist Trading Card time with art teachers. My ArtEducation2.0 Ning group is doing their annual swap. I have to make five cards.

I’ve been watching every grade stitch and weave this quarter. Weeks upon weeks of watching kids having fun with needle and thread. Finally, it’s my turn. I’ll do my ATCs with embroidery.

This particular card was first colored with a freezer paper print and then embroidered. I like the idea of printing first. It gives me good guidelines to follow while filling in empty spaces between stitches. The insect motif is a favorite of mine and was an easy choice to start off the process, but I think I will base the next one on a design from a masterpiece.

Looking at photos of my work, I always see errors that I don’t see in person. The eyes need to be darkened or outlined and I forgot to stitch an antennae. After that, I’ll be happy with it.

The weekend’s here. Finally. And it is the last one of the school year.

Without any thought of mentioning it to my students, I started using a computer drawing tablet in class. Whereas I used to stand in front of class and draw directly on the SmartBoard, now I sit at my desk and draw on the tablet. It then gets projected on the SmartBoard.

Today I noticed that when I drew, the kids looked at the SmartBoard, then they looked at me. They looked at the SmartBoard, and then they looked at me. Without seeing that I was drawing on the tablet, someone marvelled, “She’s drawing it with her eyes.”

The preschool printing lesson I did last week was successful, so I created a video and uploaded it to TeacherTube and YouTube.

Preschool Art - Bubblewrap Prints  on TeacherTube

Preschool Art - Bubblewrap Prints on YouTube

I really, really want to go downtown to the inauguration tomorrow, but this is what I feel like today.

This does not at all look like Diane’s “boy,” but I had him in mind when I was snipping this boy in a winter cap. I guess I had in mind his Mom’s adventures in knitting today.

Playing Barbies with Grandma Jan
-Scherenschnitte-

I’m still on Winter Break.  There’s a full, delicious week to myself awaiting me.  One of my goals is to do plenty of paper cutting.

I spent most of my break so far in Los Angeles.  My daughter and granddaughter live there.  It was a wonderful visit.  A sixth birthday.  Teaching the little one to ride a bike.  A visit to Disneyland.  Lots of  baking and playing with each other.

I did this scherenschnitte as a memory of my trip.  I still remember playing “Kelly’s Drive In” with my Aunt Helen when I was 5. I hope my sweet granddaughter will remember all the things she does with me.

If anyone asks why my students are painting “gingerbread houses,” tell them that it has a creative connection to architecture. That’s what I’m claiming anyway.

With three school days left until Winter Break, my kindergartners are “losing it.”  I was feeling bad, thinking that it’s my fault that they are less self controlled; thinking that it’s because I am getting crabby and it’s making them crabby.   But when several enter the class saying crabby with each other, I think that it’s something bigger than me.  I’m not so sure that things get better after an hour in my room, so that’s frustrating.

There are only two more kindergarten classes before break and we have things to do that must be done before break.  In January, I’ll try to start fresh with them.  An hour is a long time to be in art.  I think that when they come back, I’ll lead them through a lesson and then not teach anything else.  I will give them art “free choice.”  Blocks.  Tangrams.  Drawing.  Whatever else I can think of in that vein.

Fridays are interminable. I have five classes of four different grades with five different media. The preparation and clean up for all of that is exhausting. Yesterday I had kids printing, glazing pottery, working with clay, drawing, and weaving. I remember sitting for only short periods of time, and spending lots of time hunched over the sink, washing. Last night my brain was numb and my back was tired. Most of the rest of the week, my schedule is good, and I am happy with it. Fridays are just tough.