Becoming a Mother-in-Law

If you are the mother of a son, maybe you can relate to this posting today.

Last week, my only child, my son, was married to a beautiful woman. They met several years ago during their years as Grad students at the University of North Carolina, just 35 miles away from our home.

He announced his marriage plans to us over the phone fifteen months ago, and the anticipation of the wedding, and all that comes with such a grand event, began.  Ever since, I've been looking inside at how I felt and what I thought as the wedding day approached. I wanted to talk to her alone. I wanted to talk to him alone. There were things I wanted to say. Why was it so hard for me to say it?

They have lived and worked nearly 300 miles from our home for the past few years. The opportunities to talk... the timing, never clicked for me. The words that came to mind often choked me up. Could I even speak them aloud? 

My feelings flip-flopped several times over the course of the year... between feeling embarrassed for acting like my son was only 18 and leaving home for the first time, to feeling joyful that he'd found his soul-mate.... from thinking unrealistically that I'd never see him again, as if he wasn't going to be part of my life after he took to him a wife, to dreaming of a future with grand-children. I talked to my husband about it ... I talked to my best friend. But I couldn't talk to my son or his fiancee. Time and distance did not work in our favor.

I continued avoiding attempts to put my thoughts and feelings into words on paper. I knew I shouldn't wait until the day of the wedding to do it... but everytime I sat down to write, the words would not come. I was avoiding it. Trying to write without having my son and his future wife near me, where I could see them and know them, further blocked the words. I felt a little anxious driving to Maryland without knowing what I was going to say.

I needed to reach inside... to find the words that would make sense to not only my son and his wife, but also to the people who would be hearing the message. I finally decided to let my heart speak for me. I would know the time and place to write them down. I let it go so I could enjoy each perfect, present moment as the day of the wedding approached.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding on March 31, 2012 at the Vandiver Inn in Havre de Grace, Maryland... their marriage only hours away. All the motel guest bags I'd prepared earlier had been delivered the day before, thanks to the Groom, his Best Man, and the wedding planner. Clothing and shoes and accessories were ready to don. Mother and Mother-in-law were safe and resting in their rooms. Guests were all in their rooms getting ready, eating brunch/lunch, or relaxing in some way. The Bride and her entourage were getting ready, the Groom with his best friend at another location, also getting ready.

There was a mid-morning walk with my husband. I just wanted to be alone with him for awhile, before we became part of the crowd of wedding celebrants. The sun was shining. We strolled past shops selling souvenirs and art, past restaurants, past an old stone United Methodist Church ... where an inside yard sale was taking place, so we walked in to browse. It helped to clear my mind to do something that wasn't wedding-related.

Back at our room, there was peace and quiet. I told my husband I needed to write. He knows how I am about journaling... he said he would walk down to where his brothers were staying and visit with them.

Finally, I was alone. Peace and quiet. I stretched across the bed in the Victorian room of the Vandiver Inn... with journal and pen, I started writing. There was no order to what I wrote, I just wanted to get the words down. I could sort through it later and pull out the most important words. I wrote and wrote and wrote. I don't know how long I lay there thinking and writing. At some point, my husband walked in, saw the journal before me, and said, "Are you writing a book?" Yes, it appeared I had. I closed my journal. "Yeah, but I'm going to sum it up," I replied.

I went back over the pages I had written, and pulled out what I thought were most appropriate for a short Mother's Wedding Day speech... it had to be short as there would be three other speeches/toasts given before mine: one from my son's best friend, Mike; one from Anna, Matron of Honor and one from Jaimie, Bridesmaid, both best friends of the Bride.

The 5"x7" paper was folded and tucked away into my clutch. Just in case I forgot what I wanted to say. Holding a mic and standing before a crowd is not something I'm comfortable doing.

While we were all dressed and waiting for the wedding procession to begin, my son's future MIL and I were talking. I told her about my speech, and she said "Don't forget to tell them we want grandchildren!" I told her to give me a signal to remind me, and cradled my arms, rocking them sideways, like I was holding a baby. We both laughed. She and her sister said they would give me the signal.

The wedding was beautiful... our pastor from home was there to marry them... in full ministerial robes. His words were personal, there was a sermon, a blessing, the promises... the kiss. They were married before us and before God.

There were the formal family photos in the yard of the Vandiver Inn... and then the reception began in the Pavilion. The toasts were given by Mike, Anna, and Jaimie... then it was my turn.
I held my folded paper torn from the notebook I'd written on earlier in the day. The mic was in my other hand. Yes, I knew what I wanted to say ... the words were on paper so I wouldn't forget.

As I stood before them, emotions overwhelmed me quite suddenly. I looked at them both, he so handsome, she so beautiful... and they took my breath away. These were our children, grown as they were, both professionals, both independent... beginning a new life together as a married couple. How was I going to put all these feelings into words? How could I even speak... I was standing there in the awe of the moment. Momentarily speechless.
My voice did return at last ... after another deep breath.

Following are the words I had written on the paper ... what I actually said, I don't remember... I don't remember what I read from the paper, and what I ad libbed. But I'm pretty sure this is what I said ... slowly... between deep breaths, breaking voice, and being on the verge of tears with every sentence. I don't know how much they heard...

There is much for a mother to say to her son on his wedding day... more than I can say in just a few precious minutes standing before his friends and family, ... and his wife. So I have chosen my words and speak from my heart... thank you all for joining us in this great celebration.

A mother knows... when her son is born... that she can only keep him... until he learns how to drive a car. Long story short... that car took him away to UNC where he met Vi, and now, here they are... married.

I can see it in your eyes ... how much you love each other.

Vi ... you are so beautiful today! ... he's yours now, my dear. I am not sad to know that you have his heart, as he has yours. I am happy... these are happy tears in my eyes. Steven has gained a brother, another mother, a grandmother, aunts and uncles. And, you are part of our family now, too ... with many aunts and uncles and cousins that you haven't even met yet! Welcome to our family, Vi... we love you and adore you.

Steven... though your future will take both of you ...to places and times.... where we will not, and perhaps, we should not... go with you, I want you to know that your father and I are happy for everything that is to come from this union today. You honor us... our family...  with your marriage to Vi. We love you, Steven.

I thank God for bringing the two of you together!

Suddenly, Vi's mother ran up to me and hugged me. She said, "Your speech was beautiful, Bea, but you forgot to tell them about the grandchildren!"

"Oh, I forgot to look at you for the signal!" I tried to speak into the mic, but it had been turned off.

Vi and Steven stood up.

"There's only one thing that could make us happier," I said as the three of us hugged... "and that's when you give us grandchildren." They laughed... no one heard it except them.

They are married, and well on their honeymoon travels.

The following week, my husband drove his mother home to Jonesville. I drove my mother home to Georgia.  Easter week followed... it's been a week of looking at all the photos we took, printing them, putting some in frames, some in a book, sending some to family.









A wedding/celebration shower will follow next week when they fly home to get Daisy, their dog... we are dog-sitting, of course!

Do you wear purple with a red hat?

It's been a good day. Just got back from a visit with my mother-in-law... I took her to the mall, shopping for a dress to wear to my son's wedding. She's 86 years old, white haired, and short like me (I guess I'm white haired, haven't seen my true color in a few years). She'd already shown me what she had that she could wear, but then she said, "But I kind of would like to buy a new dress, you know? Something different." Well, that's what I wanted to hear... and off we went.

Once we arrived in the petites department, she clearly avoided all the dresses and dress suits that looked like something an old woman would wear. I did point out the finer details of these garments, but I agreed with her when she said they were all too long and frumpy. She wanted color, and she wanted a dress, not a skirt with a jacket. She had skirts with jackets in her closet back home. She wanted something different. I encouraged her to find something that she liked, not what I liked, not what her sister liked, but what she liked.

After trying on four different outfits/dresses, she chose something very colorful, nothing like the drab dark colors that seemed to be for the more mature woman who needed to look nice on a wedding day. She already had a closet filled with "Sunday" clothes in dark and light colors. I recalled the poem I had read, years ago, "When I'm an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat...." Maybe she was feeling like that. Maybe wearing this dress would take her mind off the pain in her knees. Maybe wearing this dress would make her feel extra special on a day that everyone else will be dressed up and feeling special, on a day when the bride will be feeling the most extra special of all. I wanted my mother-in-law to feel special that day too.

Well, you know what, I couldn't even begin to direct her away from those youthful colors. Spring is coming soon... Easter is around the corner. She could wear this dress Easter week! If I were her, I would want the option to wear what I wanted. The dress she picked fit her, aside from some minor alterations that she could do herself. The length fell just below her aching knees, and the waist fit her nicely. She considered the three other dresses she had tried on: a navy blue with white dots that had an atrocious tie-on belt that stuck out too far in the front; a dark blue skirt with matching top, white dots, and an orange sweater jacket (one of those short sweater jackets); another drabby long dress that neither of us liked... then finally, she chose the pink/orange/purple/red flowered pattern with a short, bright pinkish-orange 'sweater-jacket'... like I said, it is very colorful. And it looks good on her. It makes her feel good to wear it, and it's comfortable. So I told her to get it.

I even attempted to get her to try on other dresses in another store at the other end of the mall, you know, to make sure she was happy with what we had... in case she did find something else, I would buy it, too, because she would need something to wear to the wedding rehearsal dinner as well. I was prepared to buy her two lovely dresses today. However, as we walked along the racks, neither of us saw anything that could beat what she had already selected. She said she could wear one of her spring-color skirt/jackets to the rehearsal dinner, and the new dress to the wedding.


 Well, that was an easy shopping trip!

The kitten? somehow my MIL came to be its current owner. She doesn't need another kitty, but a woman who couldn't take care of it offered it to her. My MIL has a big soft heart, and finds it difficult to say no when it comes to helping someone out, so she offered to take the kitty. And now she is attached to it. It's name is Sophia. I tried to capture those bright blue eyes, but got red eye with a flash, and she wouldn't stay still long enough to take a clear shot in the low light of the living room. I didn't have any photos of us shopping, so I added the kitty. I love kitties... Don't want to have one now, but just love petting them and taking pictures of them. Someday, I'll have a cat, but not now.

When the Art Teacher is Absent... lessons for the sub!

There comes a time in a teacher's career when she has to be absent for some reason, or gets sick and finally gives in, goes home, sees a doctor and finds out the best medicine is rest. We laugh when we hear that recommendation, especially the teachers who have little ones to take care of at home. What we dislike the most about getting sick is not taking the day(s) off, but having to leave plans for the sub. God bless our subs, though, for without them we would be up a creek without a paddle, and without a prayer!

I am mostly speaking from the art teacher's point of view, but I'm certain all teachers have to decide if it's worth the extra stress to go home sick, or to stay home sick, put in for a sub, and often not even getting someone you know in there. There is much work involved in creating sub plans. On the one hand, particularly in relation to the art teacher, you have specific art projects to finish, and you may even have projected completion dates in mind. Several days' absences in one semester could easily set you back, timewise. Add into the time dilemma testing pull-outs, test administration duties, and even professional development days that take an art teacher away from her classroom, and it's quite possible a project won't get finished on time.



Back to the purpose of this entry... sub plans & sick teacher. That's me this week. Fortunately, I had a set of plans for all my classes from preK right through 5th grade, including a couple of EC classes. The plans were not of my own creation, but something I found online, or maybe at my Art Teachers Group (we meet once a month, I thank God for bringing them into my life five years ago!). I used the plans for three different days, same plans, but each day different classes came through. And had three different subs... not my doing, but how it worked out with our online sub system. I had to do some minor modifying to adjust for grade/ability levels, and the EC class, but that took much less time than trying to find something different for each grade level.

I discovered the first time I got a sub, several years ago, to NEVER leave your current art project plans with a sub unless you and she are close friends and she knows exactly what you are thinking and what you want done. There's no way any sub can be you, and do what you would do in any given situation. Oh! the pain the next day I arrived back in class... supplies not put back properly, materials mixed up; class work not filed away properly; and the students of one class had convinced the sub they could use the circle templates (plastic lids) to press into the modelling clay. Ruined for drawing, the lids were. Had to throw them all away. But I learned from that experience, a great deal, about what kind of plans to leave the art teacher sub. 

I found that it is best to leave something the students can do that is interesting for them, and keeps them busy to prevent any behavior problems. I don't want to scare off my subs as they are often hard to come by. But having a good activity reinforces the point of our students coming to school, after all: they come to learn!!
 
I want them to learn something valuable in the time they are with me, so why would I expect anything less while they are with my sub? And from the sub's point of view, they want to do what they've been trained to do, and that is to teach. 

Generally, I call the sub that is assigned to me before s/he walks into my classroom so I can get to know at least their name, which grade levels they feel most comfortable working with, and if they have children at home. Having a casual chat helps break the ice, eases my mind about the person in my room (if I didn't know her/him to begin with), and probably eases their mind before they enter my classroom for the first time. Some subs will tell me they love art, and can't wait to do my class, while others tell me they don't know how to draw a straight line.  just tell them they won't have to!



So I want to help other art teachers by posting some things I found on the internet, some I have used, and some not, that can be used for a day or two of classes. Most can be done in one session, or taken home and completed. They are for the most part simple, requiring only paper, crayons or color pencils, or markers.



First I will leave some links of the blog entries that addresses this issue, in case you need something right now. Then I'll come back and leave some of my own ideas (with photos) in a follow up entry.
Substitute Art Lessons at The School Arts Room

Animal Art Grids at Teaching Ideas

Feelings Flowers at Teaching Ideas

Kindergarten - The Five Senses at Teacher Vision

Substitute Teacher's Survival Kit at Teacher Vision

A Day in Space (5th-6th grades) at Teacher Vision

Sub Teacher Art Ideas at brighthub.com

Sub lessons for the Art Room by Janet at Mrs. Malone's Art Room



So, if you are sick, please stay home and take care of yourself! A good rest really is often the best medicine for your body to heal and recover. Make your sub plans interesting for the kids, convenient for the sub, and educational for everyone.  Oh, one more thing... leave them some chocolate... for a job well done, they certainly deserve it!



I hope you find something at these links that you can use as they are, or with some minor modifications.

                                                           Be well!!

Student Self-Portraits: Voila!!

Another project our fifth graders just completed last semester was the self-portraits they painted. I found this idea on a teaching video by Peggy Flores, as shown in this YouTube video. It is the very same one I have on DVD (except I bought the DVD 2 years ago) which goes on to explain several different ways to approach the self-portrait. For the 5th grade students, I gave them a choice to either do the Fractured Watercolor portrait, or the Puzzle Self-Portrait (both are demonstrated on the video).

First, I showed my students a powerpoint I had made featuring famous self-portraits through the ages during our first introductory session. The following week, we watched the Peggy Flores DVD segment so they would have some idea of the various techniques that they could use once they drew the original pencil portrait. This was followed by several drawing sessions during which students learned and practiced drawing themselves while looking into large self-standing mirrors. Most took about two to three practice drawings on newsprint before they felt ready to transfer their drawing to watercolor paper.

The transfer involved them placing the watercolor paper on top of the finished portrait outline over a window on a sunny day... sort of a vertical light box effect. Students easily trace their outline and features from the newsprint onto the watercolor paper with a Sharpie fine point marker.

Fractured Watercolor Portrait:
The next session saw them watercolor painting the portrait. Instructions included: use one color for the background, one for the hair, one for the face, and one for the clothing. Eyes and mouth were left open to the student. They had to paint wet on wet (which they learned in previous years).

The watercolor session took one to two sessions, depending upon a student's speed and comfort zone with this media. For most, they got the entire painting done in one session. I found that the best looking paintings were the one in which the students didn't overwork the watercolors, and were able to live with the way the colors would bleed together. Some kids really thought they were messing up when this happened, but I was prepared to address that.


I told them to consider themselves on a discovery mission: they knew they wanted to complete the project, and they knew the materials they were working with, but they didn't know what the results would look like. There was a real fear (for some) that they would mess up. I explained that was a risk, indeed. Artists often take risks when they make a piece of art because there is always the chance that what they see in their minds will not match what they actually make. But what I've found (from my own experience) is that what I make is usually better than what I had imagined in the first place... mistakes and all!  I wanted them to look at the 'mistakes' as part of the process. I reminded them that many discoveries were made from misjudgments, errors, misunderstandings, and taking the wrong path. I had hoped these words of encouragement would allow them to let go of the fear of making a mistake, or at least to accept the minor anxiety they were feeling, and just go forward anyway. Just do it, I said, to quote a famous advertising slogan!!

The next week, they picked up the ultra-fine point Sharpie marker to fracture the watercolor. To fracture, they first had to notice the places where colors met and blended, where values suddenly changed from light to dark. When they could see these 'lines', they could trace over them with the marker, and outline these 'islands' of color/value. A few kids had a hard time with this at first, but once I pointed the possible fractures out, they easily began finding new ones to trace on their own.



I think the girls had the most difficult time when fracturing their faces... it didn't make them pretty.  (I overheard their comments as they worked.) It felt like they were putting scars, lines, wrinkles, etc on the face. In the end, though, most of the girls were happy with the effect of the fracturing. The boys got a big kick out of the fracturing technique. One even emphasized his outlining technique with stitch-like marks. It wasn't bad actually... unfortunately, his is not finished. I may come back and edit this later and add it. It's interesting.
The biggest complaint I heard was "Man this takes a long time!"... "But look how good they look!" I replied frequently. "Isn't it worth the extra time?"

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 Puzzle Watercolor Portrait: One class elected to do the Puzzle portrait instead. Their instructions were slightly different... and they used washable markers (we used RoseArt, Crazy Art, and Crayola brands). They transferred their outlines to the watercolor paper the same as the others had, and they outlined with Sharpie markers...  but they used the washable markers to color, and brushes with water to paint over the marker colors, to achieve the watercolor effect. However, the background was completed with wet on wet brushed on watercolor (using Prang semi-moist pan colors).

I would have to say that of the two portrait sessions, the fracturing took the longest, and was the more challenging for the students if only of their patience and endurance to continue working on the same project over a period of time. The Puzzle portraits didn't take quite as long, but coloring the puzzle pieces with markers took longer than painting them with watercolor directly. I suppose we could have just used watercolor paints, but I was trying to get two different looks. And if you compare them closely, you'll see that the Puzzle portraits are brighter and bolder than the fractured portraits, while the fractured portraits have a greater looseness, almost a sketchy look to them.


If you are an art teacher, I hope you find this information helpful. I think it helps when art teachers share their class work... their students' work, and the process. It helps take the mystery out of teaching art, or even making art.

Please feel free to contact me, but mostly, just leave a comment. Thanks!

Odd discovery today as I tried to read the comments on the previous post... I kept getting a blank screen each time I clicked on the comments at the end of the post. I finally was able to read them when I went into another feature of the blog, and clicked on comments. That's where I could read every comment written, without any of the text from the post. Just comments. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced that, or if it is something unique to my computer. I've not been using this blog for so long, possibly there's something I haven't done, that I need to do, to make sure it's updated??? Would appreciate any help ... thanks!

It's been too long since I last posted... not a day has gone by that I didn't think about coming back to post here on my blog. Things happen, you know? Life, and living it, sometimes... often.... most often, takes me away from doing what I love to do more than anything, and that is to write about my observations and experiences.

Facebook was another thing that happened to me, and if you are on Facebook, then you know what I mean!

In the past I've had many followers who encouraged and supported me and my efforts to do this, and without going into all the details about where I've been and what I've been doing, I'd like to just start with where I am now. My apologies to those who have come here to see what I've been doing only to find I haven't been posting.                

I continue (most gratefully) to teach art in an elementary school in North Carolina. What amazes me about teaching art is that I prefer to do new art projects from year to year, just to satisfy my own need for new experiences and new images, yet often I come upon an art project that is so satisfying and beautiful that it can be done again and again, year after year without producing any semblance of boring repetition in the classroom.

I've linked the text from where I got the following project for art teachers who may be interested in getting their own copy: Dynamic Art Projects for Children by Denise Logan. If the link does not work, here is the URL for you to paste into your address bar: http://www.amazon.com/Dynamic-Projects-Children-Step-step/dp/1562903500

Okay, onto the pictures and narrative... my favorite part. The project book mentioned above is filled with project ideas, not lesson plans, but they can easily be rewritten into lesson plans that suit your schedule and grade level. I found the large color photographs of finished projects helpful for my own use, so I could create my own finished pieces to use as examples to show the students. I've never been disappointed when using this book for project ideas.

One project I've repeated over the past few years is the Abstract Animal Relief. The book includes several black and white masters of Reptiles for teachers to copy, which was very thoughtful of the author to provide. However, I was working with fourth graders, and they already have a good skill: copying and tracing. I gave them access to hundreds of pictures from various nature magazines (Ranger Rick, Your Big Backyard, Nature, Wildlife in North Carolina, National Geographic for Kids, etc).

But even before any drawing took place, I had to introduce the project, so I created a powerpoint of animals that lived in North Carolina... they are studying North Carolina history in their regular classroom, and animal behaviors and adaptations in their science curriculum. (As the art integration teacher, I integrate grade level curriculum with art.). 

After viewing the powerpoint and selecting a North Carolina animal (that was one session alone), they had to find a picture to copy. It took a couple of sessions just for them to find the animal picture they wanted, or felt comfortable trying to copy it. If the picture was a large two-page spread, they could easily trace the outline of the animal using tracing paper (9x12"). But if it was a smaller picture, they had to trace it, then enlarge  the outline using their own copying skills. If a student had trouble copying/enlarging (as some are inclined not to copy well), I let them ask another student who had finished their drawing to help them. This prevented anyone from asking ME to copy it for them. Besides, every class has 3 or 4 students who are highly respected by their peers for their drawing skills... I like to give them the opportunity to help each other as much as possible.

After the drawing was made (the final drawing had to be done on white bond paper, at least on a 9"x12" and up to a 12"x18" paper because I wanted the animals to be large), the next step was to transfer the outline from the white paper to the black construction paper. I don't have pictures of that step. The student places the white paper outline on top of the black paper and traces over their pencil outline with a ballpoint pen. Pressing a bit hard, but not too hard as to tear the paper, they trace the entire outline, which leaves an easily visible track/outline of the animal on the black paper. Then, I gave them each a white watercolor pencil to draw over that track just so they could see it better for the painting step. It took them only a few brief minutes to complete the white pencil tracing.

In the photo below, students are working on the next step: painting the outline with white tempera using a flat brush (I forget the number of the brush, but it made about 1/4" wide line).

Each student has their own cup of white tempera paint and a flat brush. They have already drawn the animal on white paper, transferred it to the black paper in white watercolor pencil.

This student is painting the outline of a wolf. From what I saw, they enjoyed this part the most, especially if they had a good tracing. They were impressed with the realistic shape of the animal, although in the next step, they would be abstracting it with inside lines, shapes, and color.

Outlining continues here in white tempera. Tip: don't dilute the tempera with water... you want a solid, thick white line against the black paper. Most had to repaint the lines at least twice to get that bright white outline.

Students are working on the background piece... it's non-objective, oil pastel. They had to create an abstract by painting white tempera lines directly on the blank black construction paper. They painted this step directly, with no guidelines... using what they knew about line types, they included straight, curvy, zig-zag, diagonal, horizontal, vertical, etc... but I told them to make the lines a single thickness, which is why they used a flat 1/4" brush.

Prior to teaching this step, I briefly taught them about abstract (expressing a quality or idea of the subject, in this case, the animal) and non-objective art (easily identified by not having any recognizable objects: no person, place, or thing) by showing examples. The emphasis is on line, shape, and color in this project. The background is the non-objective piece, the animal is the abstract piece.

After they drew the animal, and colored in with oil pastels, they cut out the animal shape, leaving a black construction paper outline around it. Then they glued cardboard squares onto the back... this gives the relief effect as the animal piece lays just above the background.

Students are at various stages as we work... some are working on the backgrounds, others are working on the animals, and still others are putting it all together. Early finishers are working on another activity (weather picture for newspaper publication).

Here are two more finished examples. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do!

                                                                                         

What I am Doing in my Classroom, II

Thank you to Astaryth for sending me a copy of my entry that I lost. I was able to piece it back together. It only took me an hour to reclaim it all...THANKS, Astaryth! You rock!

Recently, in Kindergarten, I read to the students a book, A Stranger in the Woods. The beautiful photography, from wildlife photographers Carl Sams, II and Jean Stoick, tells the story of animals living in the winter woods. One day, a stranger shows up. As the animals gain the courage to walk closer to see who the stranger is, students are also curious about this stranger. Students never even suspected it to be the Snowman until they saw a clue in one of the photographs. After all, the snowman is no stranger to them. It is interesting for them to think from the point of view of the woods animals, how the animals respond to the new stranger, and why it is there. Following the reading of the book, I lead the kids through a series of steps to begin a painting that tells the story from their point of view.

I taught them how to blend blue and white for a background sky of tempera paint. They learned about painting trees... it doesn't matter how many times I showed them how to make the same tree, they made theirs different from all the others.

I admit, their trees are generally more interesting than mine, but they're nice to me when the work is done.

One kindergarten student offered these words one day: "You could be an artist when you grow up!" It brought a smile to my face.

We painted the falling snow with the ends of toothpicks and tinker toy sticks to create varying sizes of snowflakes.

We painted the snowman,... well, I painted one snowman, but more often they painted multiples of this image, for they do love their snowmen.

After we recalled some of the woods animals from the story, the children added theirs with oil pastels. Deer and chickadees seemed to be the favorite animals drawn in, a few rabbits, and one student even added a huge owl flying amongst his trees.

First graders are presently working on a kite-flying landscape with watercolors. I'm often in conflict when teaching the students how to work with watercolors because it is, at once, a simple and complex medium. So much about watercolor painting is in knowing the medium, and how it responds to certain papers, about the colors and color mixing, how much water to use, the brushes.

But that's too much to teach at any one time, and I really just want them to enjoy the experience of applying water and paint to paper while creating this image of sky and land. Soon they will add trees, a fence, some children flying their kites, and flowers blooming in the trees and on the ground. I see the big picture, and I show them a finished example so they'll know where we are going... but as with the snowman painting, every painting will be different as students add their own personal touch.

My second graders are delighted about their Jazzy Jungle Cat designs.


Watercolors is also the medium for this project, but they'll be adding a third dimension later on.
The whole effect will be very jungle like, with the colorful cats prowling through the bright leaves of a rain forest.

  

Fourth Graders are puzzling over the idea of abstract art as they make an Abstract Animal Relief. Their work is mostly soft pastels, a medium I am about to swear off of for teaching in a classroom. It is messy, dusty, and the finished piece needs to be sprayed with a fixative of some type.

Did I say it was dusty? I took precautions, of course, and had students stand at the doorway to tap off the dust from their pictures when they changed colors. The final piece will remind me "but it's worth it." But next year, no soft pastels will be my mantra.

Third graders came with me to explore the world of air dry clay. I told them right at the beginning that it was as much a learning experience for me as it was for them, and now that the project is finished, I am satisfied to say that clay is another medium that should be reserved for art classes with longer sessions.

Preparation and clean up time is important, but practice time is the entire point of having an art class. I did everything I could to reduce the time spent cleaning up so they could get those few extra minutes of practice time.

At the start of every class, I filled four dish tubs with water, set out hand towels and nail brushes to make sure the kids could get cleaned up before returning to their next class.


Once they learned the routine, clean up was a breeze.



Most of the items they made were bowls and cups. I think they learned to appreciate clay more, as the only experience most of them had had prior to this class was with modeling clay. One thing we learned about air dry was not to make something that had little arms or limbs sticking out... things like that broke off easily. We learned that making and using slip helped hold parts together, and we learned that shaping pots, bowls, or cups more than a 1/4 inch thick resulted in stronger products.

I loved the Space Fantasy Art pictures we made in Fifth Grade.

Here you see students applying an acrylic varnish to their finished pictures. The varnish was my idea, serving two purposes: 1) to give it a glossy finish; 2) to make it water resistant to any future spills or splatters; 3) to protect it from fingerprints of curious students that walk by in the hallway and want to touch it. I had taken some pictures of the Space Fantasy Gallery, but they are not on this computer... must be on my computer at school. I'll have to find them and come back later to post them.

My latest art project borrows from the style of Gustav Klimt, who liked to surround his subject with flat planes of color and pattern. If you check out the link to this interactive website, be sure your volume is turned up.

Most of his subjects were women, but there is this one painting, called Baby Cradle, which shows a child covered in a myriad of blankets and quilts. However, the planes of color do not appear to be flat as those in the women portraits he painted.

The Baby Cradle painting reminds me of the times when my young son would wait with anticipation for the clothes to come out of the dryer.

When he saw me taking them out, he'd say "Momma, throw them on me!" The dryer was just a few steps from the living room, so I'd grab up an armful of the warm towels and sheets and toss them on the boy who lay on the couch waiting. He snuggled there for several minutes before the heat wore off.

Then he'd help fold them, like a good son.

One of the characters I painted into my version of this blanket collage is an image of my son (as a child) in the white t-shirt, with his arm peeking out of the blanket. It's just the memory I tried to capture, and the feeling of peace, warmth, of being embraced, loved, safe.


Fifth grade students are producing their own versions of a Krazy Quilt. Some are including their pets, friends... currently we are at the stage of initial drawing, creating shapes of blanket planes, thinking about colors and repetitive lines. We'll be using watercolor and tempera for the most part. They'll be learning how to make tints of the color brown, to create any skin color they wish.


Last week, students helped me stage a live version of the Crazy Quit: I brought in several blankets, and borrowed a couple of quilts from one fifth grade teacher. I positioned students in and around a hammock chair, covering each one with a different blanket. Then they pretended to be asleep. The rest of the students could easily see how sleeping postures vary, how faces angle and tilt, how hair falls around the face, how eyes and eyebrows look in sleep. Doing this little staging prior to starting the drawing helped give them ideas on what they wanted their drawing to look like. I took a picture to show the ones who were involved in the staging so they could see themselves.

I plan to post the results of their paintings here within a few weeks... it will take that long to finish them.

Since this is actually the second time I've posted this entry, I found another Crazy Quilt I painted that would fit well here. Teachers need to have a model or two for the students before beginning a new lesson. In teaching art, we walk a fine line between showing them an example and giving them something to copy. I do not want them to copy my example, but use my model as a jumping off place. I encourage them to copy elements of design and arrange them into their own creation.

It helps stir the imagination of those who seem unable to imagine the picture they want to paint. When I show them several examples, of classic pieces, prints, my work, other teachers' work, or even other student examples if it's a project I have done before... if I can show a variety of examples I know they will have a more confident beginning.

Those of you who knew me before, when I was with aoljournals, you might recognize the miniature schnauzer sketch I worked into this. Whether I used the memory of Max or of Misty, I can't be sure.

And I apologize for those people who had left comments in the previous entry... those were lost as well. Please come back and comment. I enjoy reading your comments!