card update

 I only have six more cards until my 52 card challenge is finished.

so I'm starting thinking about my artistic challenge for next year.

and I'll be taking suggestions, because I haven't come up with anything good

yet.

 I realized advent starts this Sunday, 

so I made myself a little wreath this year.

and had to improvise the pink candle, but I kinda like it.

and no pantsuit outfit this week because...

Thursday is my birthday!

Steve Day

Hey Miss Rokos - is it Steve Urkel Day?

oh - I get it.

because my pants are real high today.

very funny, kid.

little architects

 My little second graders learned the four orders of columns.

they're now budding architects.

and I'm real proud of them.

and according to the third grade fashion police,

I got the pantsuit outfit right today.

and I was planning on going to fashion jail - note the prison stripes.

falling behind

note the last two weeks.

empty.

I need to get back on track.

one outfit. two ways.

with my jacket and scarf on this morning, 

I felt a little like Amelia Earhart.

too bad this wasn't Monday. I could have passed it off as a Halloween costume.

and without the jacket, this might be my cutest jumpsuit look yet.

except the shoes. I still haven't figured the shoes out yet.

Sugar Skulls and Red Balloons

Skulls and Sporty looks

Frosted sugar skulls with my first class today.

A lot of sugar was ingested, and the 5th graders got a little crazy.

hopefully the other classes can keep it together more than the class today.

still, there were some nice skulls made!

And it was team jersey day at school for our spirit week,

so my pantsuit got the sporty treatment.

totally retro:

80's pantsuit.

Barry Sanders Jersey

and my grandma's shoes.

(although this outfit today made me realize that the pantsuit might look better if I hemmed it. I can't keep wearing heels. they don't do good in the art room)

Sugar Skulls!

 We're Making Sugar Skulls and learning about the Dia de los Muertos!

Ingredients needed: 10 lb bag of sugar, 1/2 cup meringue powder, 8 Tbs. water and a skull mold

Mix together until it feels like wet sand.

 Press the mixture into a skull mold

 Turn them out onto pieces of cardboard, and let harden overnight.

 Decorate with Royal Icing!

This week we made the skulls.

Next week we're icing!

I'm very excited to see how they turn out.

Pantsuit, Sketches, and Paint!

 Sketches from backpacking this weekend

 Pantsuit, version 3

colorful amate bark paintings.

Thursday...a day for jumpsuits.

jumpsuit picture courtesy of 2nd grade student. my expression courtesy of 2nd graders in the back of the class acting ridiculous.

To spice up my weeks, I decided each day needed a theme.

and Thursday's theme is jumpsuit day.

so each week, I'll be wearing this (straight from my mom's closet - thanks mom!) but styling it differently.

it's a new challenge in creativity.

and i'm the art teacher, I can get away with being a little weird.

it's week two, and I was feeling like I was wearing it so much better than last week,

until a 3rd grade boy walked in,

looked at me, hiked up his pants as far as they could go,

and said, "Miss Rokos - why do you look like this today?"

because, Donovan, it's jumpsuit day.

the kiddos are working hard!

Circle weave .... on a paper plate ... made less cheesy by taking it off the paper plate!

 My 5th graders made Dale Chihuly "glass sculptures"

And then I did the lesson with my special ones today, and they decided they made great hats.

And these first grade Andy Warhol portraits turned out pretty cool, too.

and so ends our Aug/Sept. North American artists unit.

starting next week we're moving on to art and artists

from South America (and Mexico, because I want to teach dia de los muertos)

so, I'll call it the south of america month.

the book transformers.

this year 3-5th graders have club time once a week.

My club is the "book trasformers"

and we're altering books that I bought at my favorite store (goodwill outlet, of course)

first step: create a new cover with spray paint.

yes, i handed spray cans to fifteen ten year olds.

and only a couple tried to tag the school.



cards and things

 Third graders worked on marbling paper.

it's like magic when the dye transfers from the water to the paper.

 Fifth graders are working on line drawings of their shoes.

I was so impressed when this artist came in with at least 10 shoes drawn on notebook paper.

he maybe wasn't working on his math during class, but the boy can draw!

and my cards from this week and last.

last week inspired by spending labor day walking around uptown. (on the left)

this week inspired by looking at a lot of vintage photographs.

i like how they look together.

clean, modern, with a hint of nostalgia

today we...

today we

made a huge mess making paper.

i'm talking a -third- graders- in- charge- of- a- blender

making- paper- pulp

kind of mess.

the room's a disaster,

but the paper turned out nice.

and the kiddos were happy.

so i was happy.

it was a beautiful mess.

First Project: Done!

 Made some homemade puffy paint for the special little ones:

flour, salt, and powdered tempera: painted it overtop of crayons....and then... MICROWAVED it and it totally puffed up for a cool texture. 

and by cool texture, I mean similar to a puffy cheese pizza crust.

all the kids drew a self portrait to start the year off, and then I combined them to create a rainbow of faces!

 and in random life things: I made a vegan stuffed shells : wohoo homemade fake cheese!

been drawing new tattoos on my arms each week: felt like a hypocrite last week when going over proper use of materials:

"do we write on ourselves with markers?" "NOOOOOOOO."

and back up to date with my cards!

whew!

school is here again.

and the truth is,

my classroom makes me happy.

my job makes me happy.

my little artists make me happy.

art makes me happy.

the last week.

a skinny strip of pictures.

the last week of summer before school starts again.

and i've spent it...

babysitting this cutie.
lots of good snuggle nap time.









making kale chips...
working my way through the vegan cookbook.











pretending to be hip enough to have a tattoo.










the card stack is getting smaller.







the finished card poster is filling up.







and surprise, surprise....
this weeks card is done
on time!

tuesday triptychs

as usual,

i was behind on my cards 

so I did three all at once to catch myself up.

triptych time!

 The longboard is finished!

the finishing touches were:

include psalm 37:4 (as per the owners request)

and create an awesome overlay pattern with gloss and matte sealer.

that's my favorite part.

I woke up one morning last week, and the idea was just there.

i get my best ideas in dreams.

and the final triptych: vegan baking/cooking attempts

vegan cupcakes

they looked beautiful.

they tasted dry and horrible.

and then i tried one a few days after i made them, 

and it was moist and delicious.

the best things take time to develop.

a pretty lunch in the middle

and vegan snickerdoodle cookies.

my post gym breakfast of champions.

mmmm....sugar.

progress update

i've been happily painting on the longboard this week. and i think it's coming together.

artistic takeover.

Last year when I watched the documentary "It might get Loud," I obsessed over Jack White's cartoon section on his childhood bedroom, which got taken over by music - instruments, amps, speakers. Today, i looked at my own bedroom, and realized that I've done the same thing. but with art.

art studio first.
bedroom second.
just call me jill white.

thursday... a day for art.

i was worried leaving my little plants for a month, but they seem to have survived.

tomatoes are ripe.

lavender is blooming.

but the poor potatoes are floundering.

i was investigating the container where they are all popping out of the soil

and discovered one little potato that wasn't even connected to anything.

i held it in my hand like a little bird egg.

and then ate it.

and it did not taste good.

today is my art all day - day.

but i couldn't seem to get started.

so i rode my bike between the two thunderstorms.

and got re-inspired.

I made my favorite card to date.

designed a tag for when I become a graffiti artist

i cut a stencil of it and tested it. it looks good.

(but it will remain unseen incase i decide to go rouge and tag up charlotte. I don't want to be tied to it.)

then started two other secret projects.

for some special people.

maybe for you.