Simply Art-Rageous!

May 2008
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Happy New Year

By artrageous

While January 1 may mark the beginning of the official New Year, I think most teachers tend to think of the first day of school as being a more significant start to a new year. I’ve been back at school for several weeks now (first in meetings and then in class) and it’s been one of the wilder, woolier starts to the new school year that I can remember!

And I thought that having 5 “preps” was a good idea, why? Again I realize that I missed my true calling in life as a “plate spinner“!

I teach Art 1, Art 2, Advanced Art (3-4), Honors Art and Graphic Design/Yearbook. I have at least a couple of different levels in each period, as well as a mix of kids in grades 8-12. I also have a lot of international students, with five different nationalities represented in one of my smaller classes! Picture a one-room school house and you kind of have the idea. Each level has a different curriculum, with different projects, lectures, homework assignments, etc. Trying to figure out what to do each day with any given group makes planning the invasion of Normandy seem simple in comparison!

But really, it’s going quite well. Really. Largely due to the fact that I have some wonderfully awesome kids!

My Art 1 students recently completed a “pre-instructional” project, in which they had to design a “movie poster” about their life. The “Your Life as a Movie” project (or a variation) is something I’ve done in past years. It’s a good way to get the Art 1s up and running while I get the other levels engaged in projects. After the posters were completed, students studied and critiqued them.

Now, after a week of instruction in things such as brain function and creativity, value scales, shading techniques, practice in blind contour drawing, drawing games, etc., the Art 1s are ready to start on their first “real” projects. They’ll be doing still life arrangements as contour drawings and then as “careful observation” drawings (which start out as contour drawings and then include shading and shadows).

My Art 2 students started with a project I’ve also done before — “Light Capturing Cut Paper Designs”. These are really fascinating. Here are two views of one of the finished pieces:

The Art 2 kids are now working with charcoal. They’ll also be doing still life arrangements. First they’ll do a drawing featuring “classic” still life objects, such as fruits, cylinders, etc., and then they’ll develop their own compositions in charcoal by bringing in objects of their choice to arrange and draw.

My Advanced Art students are working on projects using Art Nouveau as a theme. I did this several years ago and will be doing some of the same projects, as well as some new ones. Their first project involved doing “etched glass” designs on vases. Instead of actually etching the glass (I tried that once with a chemical etching product and was so paranoid about the potential danger that I didn’t want to try it again!) they used a thin translucent film that they cut and applied to the vases. The vases are difficult to work with, due to the rounded shapes, and they WILL be doing this later when I’ve managed to round up enough glass and mirrors for them. WAY cool and the results were awesome! (I want to try this, too!)

They’re now doing preliminary sketches in preparation for ink drawings:

My Honors student (just one) is working on a watercolor project. Yep, blame it on the muse, Lily!

Students in my Graphic Design/Yearbook class are finally getting to play with the Art Department’s new toys (a computer, scanner, printer, card reader, and graphics tablet) and they’re doing a lot of brainstorming about layout, what to include, who will be responsible for what, etc.

So it’s busy in all directions at school. I’ll update my website when I have more pictures from recent projects taken and organized.

When I come home in the evenings I’ve been just as busy. Most nights I’m grading homework or working on plans for the next day in class, plus I’m still “kitten-sitting” a few days a week for my grandcat, Simon. This boy has GROWN!

Picture Dennis the Menace. Picture Dennis the Menace on speed. He doesn’t eat ALL the time (try telling that to Riley) but it’s about the only time that I can get a picture of him. Little cat in motion. Constantly!

In retrospect, I wish I’d let him interact with my cats sooner because he’s definitely lacking in cat social skills. (This is frequently a problem with kittens who are “onlies” or who have been separated from their moms too soon.) I chose to keep him confined to one room for perhaps longer than necessary simply because I was afraid he would get hurt if he had the run of the house. He knows no fear and has no discretion — or common sense! He’s definitely a wild man and I’m hoping that he’ll settle down at least a little once he’s been “tutored.” (And to that, I say the sooner the better!)

So that’s at least SOME of what’s been happening in my little corner of the world for the last month or so. There’s simply not enough bandwidth available to cover the REST of the story!

Posted in Cats, Art Education | No Comments

“I smell a blog entry”

By artrageous

Life is busy. WAY busy. Simon the grandcat is doing well — I’ll post some new pics of him when I can.

Now that the apple trees here are heavy with fruit, it’s quite common to see deer in the yard, especially early in the morning and late at night. One very large one is the most frequent visitor:

On the night of August 2nd when I was leaving the house to go let some friends’ dog out, I was greeted by glowing eyes under one of the apple trees. I’m assuming it was the same deer, returning for a late night snack.

This was just the start of an evening of “glowing eyes” and I’m glad I had my camera with me!

After I drove to their house and let their dog out and back in, I looked around for the canned cat food to set out on the patio table for the feral cats they feed. I looked out on the patio and there was one black and white kitty sitting on the table beside a bowl full of dry cat food, but apparently when the regular petsitter was there earlier, she’d misunderstood this part of the directions….

The container with the canned cat food was on the ground near the patio and there were a bunch of black and white “kitties” eating out of it!

I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but staying inside and shooting through the patio door seemed to make far more sense to me than opening the door to get even closer. (Hey, I’m not THAT eager to be a wildlife photographer!)

I never realized there were so many variations on skunk “apparel.” One was almost solid black with a white “toupee” and another one was almost solid white with black legs. Another had the most feathery, elegant tail and the rest (I counted at least 5!) were also very individually marked.

As soon as I showed these pictures to my oldest son, he quipped, “I smell a blog entry” — and so he did!

Posted in Miscellaneous, Wildlife | No Comments

Shopping “Spree”

By artrageous

I’ve never been a “recreational” shopper when it comes to clothes; I buy what I need and prefer to shop online.

This morning, realizing that it would be helpful to have a few new things for the upcoming school year, I visited my favorite online store and bought 2 pairs of slacks, 2 tops and a skirt.

My total for these purchases, including shipping? Just $38!

Yep, 5 pieces of clothing for $38. Blair has the best clearance prices around and I’ve always been pleased with the quality of their clothing.

Check them out by clicking on the link below:

Posted in Miscellaneous, School | No Comments

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Happy New Year

“I smell a blog entry”

Shopping “Spree”