For baby.

I don't usually do cutsie, but I had fun making these projects for one of the teachers at school and her baby boy. I finished them yesterday sitting out on my new front porch soaking in the warm February sunshine. It's days like that that make me love living in the south: spring came early.

wednesday. a day for...

coloring on the floor - because sometimes you need to lay out and draw.

hanging out with these girls after school.

stickers, temporary tattoos, and running in the sun.

photo shoot with a second grader and kindergartener after Girls on the Run.

New space, new thoughts

I moved yesterday to a new house. and I have a new desk. I feel completely inspired again.

I finished my latest card for my card project, and it might be my favorite one yet. I'm still taking blurry pictures of the cards. I need to get out my tripod and put it to use. There are two other cards that are "finished" from the two weeks prior, but I'm not ready to take pictures of them yet, because I'm not happy with them.

I was thinking about my art today while sitting at church, and the way I approach the idea of finished work.  The sermon today was on growing in a relationship with God, and that we're a work in progress - an unfinished work - we are striving toward being finished, but will never actually finish - or reach that perfection, and that it's frustrating sometimes when we see things wrong with ourselves, but can do nothing to fix them - especially in a relationship with God - where we are so flawed.

So I was thinking, if I project my spiritual life - my relationship with God into my paintings, then maybe that's why I have a hard time creating a finished work, because I -as a person - am never finished. In my paintings I white wash, paint over, re-draw, leave parts of paintings exposed, change and cover other parts. Just the same way I approach my life - always looking for a way to move, challenge the way I think about things, re-create myself - look for change and movement in my life... I myself am a work in progress, so that is reflected in my creation. I guess this is one of the ways that I insert myself into my art. I'm still thinking about this and working out what it all means, but I think it might lead to something interesting with my next cards. I always like to think about my art in new ways, and what it all means, and why i create the way I do - and why I create at all.

Classroom update

Love...minus the signature tilted "O"

Italia!

For Valentines day, we studied Robert Indiana, and created our own illustrated words (Love was of course the most popular...) and then google had this logo on Monday - way to tie my lesson into the real world, google! My fifth graders came in all excited today that they had recognized Indiana's style when they were google searching.

Third graders started flag drawings inspired by Jasper Johns. Fourth graders are starting clay maracas, fifth graders are starting monochromatic portraits, and first graders are illustrating poems.

....

And I'm moving tomorrow, so my room is a mess of boxes and bags and it's finally WARM! And I've been keeping up to date with my card paintings... I"ll post pictures of the latest ones soon. I promise. I've also been working on some wooden initials for a baby nursery, and starting a painting for my friend Amanda's baby, who is on his way any day now!

bright start

I haven't had coffee in the morning before work since I broke my coffee makers this summer, and went on the cleanse in the fall.  But this morning, I felt that my day would be better if I started it with espresso in this cute little tazza from one of my favorite stores.

 

yesterday was the 100th day of school!! Here are some portraits by my 1st graders, who imagined what they will look like when they're 100 years old. What lovely old people ... these brighten my day more than the most beautiful cup of coffee could!

free day.

when the kids behave and earn their 10 behavior stickers, we have a free art day. clay. stamps. beads. paint. crayon cakes.

i love free days.