Adult Students

I was a presenter at the 2009 Michigan Art Education Association's Annual Convention.
I demonstrated a lesson on creating Dale Chihuly style sculpture from pop bottles.
It was a joy to instruct other art educators. They are eager to learn, are generous with supplies, and they are ready to show originality in their work.
Here are some examples.

Chihuly Style Flowers

Close-ups of the Chihuly flowers on a sunny day.

Art is Springing Up

The fourth graders constructed Chihuly Style flowers from pop bottles and bed springs. Bottles were cut, melted, painted, drilled, and attached to painted bed springs. On a foggy morning the flowers were installed in the lawn looking like alien flowers. Fun times.

Harvest

I call myself "Art Gardener," because I am busy sowing the seeds of inspiration. This time of year I am harvesting what has grown out of my "art sprouts."
The weekend of April 18th was the all school art show. We had a wonderful show! Afterwards much of the work went right to the Stair Library for the Community Art Show, which was established to welcome internationally recognixed artist Tyree Guyton. Guyton is the artist responsible for the Heidelberg Project in Detroit. The project is a neighborhood embraced in symbolism and art. Intended to draw attention to the problem of urban blight, the neighborhood is thoughtfully clothed in discarded objects and paint.

For Guyton's visit I conceptualized a sculpture and with the help of many students, in middle school and elementary, constructed it out of cardboard, paint, brads, photos, markers, colored pencils, rubber cement, hot glue, and plastic caps. A photo of each student and staff member was taken and colored with markers, cut, and placed in a milk cap.

It was an honor to have the sculpture placed by Tyree while he spoke at the library about his art.

Guyton is an eloquent speaker with a big soul. It is heartwarming to know there are people aggressively working to make out world a better place through their art. We need more people to follow in Guyton's example.

Recycling is another word for . . .

The Story That Made My Day

My colleague John Craig (a first grade teacher) stopped to give me a box of plastic lids. He went on to tell me how he lives in the country and that the cost of garbage removal had gotten too expensive, so his family has begun recycling. His daughter Kayle (a first grader in Mrs. Jarrell's class) is a student of mine and was very excited about the idea of recycling, but the first trip to the center proved to be a big disappointment for her. She thought her family was going to recycle "like Mrs. Drake."
In her mind recycling was just another word for making art.

Fruit Cup Species of Jelly Fish

The third graders had a really good time making these jelly fish.
It's always nice to expose students to a collaborative installation project.
Fruit cups
Styrofoam packing peanuts
Fishing line
Tape
Lasagna noodles
Unused laminate (what's left on the roll)
Plastic wire coating
String
Dyed Sheet
Cardboard
Brads

Art from Recycled Objects

So the cafeteria ladies saved the trays that the syrup containers come in. The students painted the trays and then glued objects into the recessed circles. The center example has little tooth in it.

The Recycled Art Show

Cork Dolls and Shadow Boxes
Beauty Queen - Sierra Bloomer
Cool Guy - Adam Roseman
Cork Buddy - Dwight Thayer
Sea Princess - Karis Blaker
These are just a few of the clever projects made by my students which were entered into the Recycled Art Show. The show was at the Croswell Opera House and was sponsered by the Lenawee Soild Waste Dept.