We Belong

"We belong to each other." A painting to serve as the centerpiece of my family photo wall. It perfectly describes how I feel about my family.

Stick Horse

Aven has been really interested in dressing up and role play lately. She's been having a lot of fun with the cowgirl shirt and hat my dad got her for her birthday along with other dress up clothes. Recently, while playing cowgirl, she's been "riding" a stuffed horse from Build-a-Bear which is hilarious but looks terribly awkward and not very fun, so I decided to make her a stick horse with some leftover fabric and a wooden dowel I bought at Home Depot. Here are the results: 

Birds

As part of this whole nesting phenomenon, that I did not experience while pregnant with Aven, I have been compelled to do all sorts of creative projects. I have been making teddy bears and blankets and was even inspired enough to make a painting for the room that Aven and baby sister will share. It's watercolor over an acrylic gel base- my favorite way to paint. My mom was jealous that I wasn't painting it for her. Hope you enjoy:

Seung Mo Park

Seung Mo Park is a pretty cool artist. He creates portraits using wire mesh- much like the kind that your window screens are made of. The process is pretty meticulous and it's really different from anything I've seen. There is an example below, but it's definitely worth your time to follow this link to read and see more.

Innuendo

The assignment: to create a concept for a movie and then design a movie poster to advertise it. The result: Thinly veiled innuendo. Gotta love 7th graders.

First Annual WJMS Chalk Art Festival

My Drawing 2 students wanted to do something special this year and since I wasn't really up for a field trip due to being pregnant I decided to plan a chalk art festival. Luckily my wonderful principal was completely supportive and even offered to buy pizza for my class and pay for my substitute for the day.

Since I had never done anything like this before it was really just a stab in the dark. I did some research and came up with lists of suggested supplies and techniques and picked several famous paintings for the students to choose from. I really didn't have any idea how big to have the students make the drawings, so I guessed on that as well. Most of them ended up about 5' x 7'. 

It ended up being a lot of fun and I learned a few things that I could do different next time to make the day even better.

Enjoy the results:

The Scream by Edvard Munch. Recently sold at auction for 119.9 million.

The Scream by Zach and Ed. They think that their drawing should sell for 120 million too.

Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

Starry Night by Carl, Jaxon, and Lacey. The most focused group of the day without a doubt.

Self Portrait with Monkey by Frida Kahlo

Self Portrait with Monkey by Fernando, Yuri, Mishell, Juan, and Arianna.  They loved that unibrow.

Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

Persistence of Memory by Tyler, Sebastian, and CJ. They were a little creative with their interpretation of the colors.

Madame Monet and Her Son by Claude Monet

Madame Monet and Her Son by Ariel, Andrew, Ariel, and Baylee. In case you couldn't tell, this group is all about anime.

Keith Haring Project

I really love the art of Keith Haring. I like how he turned his simple figures into complex designs full of rhythm, color, movement, and life. I also love how he used his art and fame as an artist to support positive causes such as AIDS awareness and anti-drug campaigns.

A painting depicting Haring's simple human figures.

I recently taught a lesson about Keith Haring to my Drawing 2 students and had them complete their own Haring style drawing and then paint it with watercolors. Here are some of the lovely results: