Made by Teacher

At a workshop we made the cutest tiles of ourselves. I finally got around to painting mine with water color. All the kids like my art.

Another Testimonial

The mom and me project made quite an impression on at least one student. Remember the girl who thought recycling was another word for making art? Well, Kayle's dad commented to me that since the Mom and Me project he could tell that how Kayle draws people has changed dramatically. Awwww!

One of my student's mom came in the art room and saw the pictures hanging and asked, "Who made that one? That's nice!" Can you believe it was her own child's work.

Mom and Me

With the Guyton visit behind us I have turned my students attention towards Mother's Day. Student's were told about Whistler's Mother, and about various works by Mary Cassatt who painted beautiful images of mothers doing daily tasks with their children.
My students created portraits of "Mom and Me." Done in a caricature style, students used pencil, colored pencil, paint, markers, and chalk to color a bright and cheerful picture.
The picture layout began with a U, one small and one large. When all the details were laid in place the coloring began.
Students were motivated to do well for their mother. For me the results are so sweet and charming they make me a little teary eyed. The three above were done by students in kindergarten.

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.

Trophy People

Wrestler
Ballet Dancer
Champion Cruncher
Champion Napper
Basketball Trophy
This is one of my all time favorite projects. I love that, in the mind of one of my students, napping is an activity deserving of an award.

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