In the Art Room: A Glennray Tutor Inspired Marble Still Life

 So this was a lesson that I came up with just the other day as a way for my fourth graders to 1. have a quickie lesson after working FOREVER on their snow globes ...which look amazing, by the way! Check it out:

(these just need their bases!) and 2. Use the practice papers they created before painting their snow globes. You see, before making the background of their globe, they had to do three painting sketches:

The kids asked me several times what the plan was for their sketches and I was like, I dunno, planets?! The other day, I thought marbles would be more fun...and a shorter lesson. A friend over on IG (thank you Mrs. Cook! Y'all give her a follow!) suggested the artist Glennray Tutor as an artist inspiration...and that's how the lesson came to be. Here it is, if you are interested:

I was SO EXCITED to do this lesson today with my kids that I actually got to work EARLY (which never ever happens) to prepare. The minute I walked in the door, they'd cancelled school for snow. C'est la vie. I did stay and get a bunch of stuff accomplished. Including editing my I Can board!

 If you are interested, the kindergarten lesson can be found here, first grade weaving lesson is here, second grade LOVE lesson is here, third grade is getting ready to create these guys and you already know what fourth is up to! 

I hope y'all enjoy this lesson...and I'm really hoping my kiddos do. I'll keep you posted!

Read more »

DIY: Latch Hook, Needlepoint and Perler Beads Yayoi Kusama!

 If interested, you can pick up your Yayoi Kusama needlepoint, latch hook, cross-stitch and plastic canvas design in my Etsy shop, right here! 

Well, I finally finished my Yayoi Kusama latch hook design shortly before heading to Atlanta with some art teacher friends to see her exhibit Infinity Mirrors. You.Guys. If you ever get the chance to see it, you must go! During the four hour car ride to Atlanta, I started working on the plastic canvas of my design, making some alterations as I went. Can you see the difference? Fuller hair on the right side and a more narrow face. I'm pleased with both but the design on the right is the one that you'll find in my etsy shop. Feel free to alter when you are creating your own Yayoi!

While creating the latch hook, I decided to watch the documentary on Yayoi that you can find on Amazon. I'm so glad I did. To be honest, prior to watching, all I knew about her was that she loved spots and painted them on pumpkins. That's not at all what she's about! Seeing her history and growth as an artist in the documentary really made me appreciate her work and the exhibit all the more. 

Each of my designs looks a little different as I'm not approaching them in the same way. In my Frida design, she's very symmetrical, Andy's turned a 3/4 turn (not easy to achieve in a latch hook, y'all!) and Yayoi is forward facing but not symmetrical. 

This design also has a super limited palette which I like...I feel like the bold and contrasting colors really capture what Yayoi is all about.

 And here's my group all together! I've got one more spot on this rug and my plan is to add Jean Michel Basquiat to the mix. Then I hope to continue with more, adding more familiar and artsy faces to the group. My vision is one big ole artist shaggy wallhanging!

 If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw me overshare my experiences at the exhibit. Sorry not sorry bout it.

 We had such a fun time! MAYBE a little too much fun but what happens amongst art teacherin' friends, stays amongst art teacherin' friends, okay?

 We hit up IKEA while in Atlanta and I picked up some Perler beads. I've never used these before...so this was my first attempt. Sadly my set didn't have a skin color for Yayoi so I went with white. This is the back.

And here's the front. I messed it up pretty badly...so may redo when I get the proper skin tone. But it was fun to play around with! If you tweak my pattern a pinch, you could do a version of this too!

Happy latch hookin'! 

Read more »

In the Art Room: Chris Uphues!

Well...something super duper and magical happened to me this weekend while I was taking a little trip to Orlando...I got to met Chris Uphues and Jennifer!

You.Guys. I have been WILD AND CRAZY for these two for a while now. They are simply the best. SERIOUSLY. I mean, look at this amazingness first of all...

And having met them, I can tell you, they are just as bright, happy and loving as each and every heart you see right here. Seriously, y'all. My mom and I sat down with them, totally interrupting Chris' mural painting time, and they made us feel so welcome, happy and warm just to be around them. I've never met two people who were as cute and kind as these two. I could literally hang with 'em all day!

When I discovered through some excited messaging with Jen that we'd be in Orlando at the same time, I knew I wanted to make a meet up work. I mean, I've been creating lessons and sharing my love of Chris' work for a while now! 

Since I'd be meeting them...I decided to have my students learn about Chris while I was away. So...Chris taught art for a pinch while I was gone, even if he didn't know it. 

Sweet baby Jesus in the manger, there is nothing, NOT A THING, I hate more than prepping for a sub. Can I get an amen up in here?!

THAT being said, I did create some drawing sub plans for my kids and I thought I'd share 'em with you. My students and I LOVE Chris Uphues and I am so excited to share this drawing lesson with them. When I'm out, I like to keep my sub life easy: so a lesson for ALL GRADE LEVELS with LIMITED SUPPLIES AND PREP it is! Yippie! Happy sub means happy classroom to return to.

I told my sub that the classes that only have 30 minutes will probably only get to the dry erase board sketching. They're also reading the book The Shape of my Heart at the start of art class. 

For my hour long classes, they will also sketch and then, after a short time, meet again on the floor to view the rest of the video. 

What's up next for these drawings? Just you wait and see (which is code for I HAVE NO IDEA BUT I'M UP FOR SUGGESTIONS!). 

Also...stay tuned. I'll create a post in the next day or so with free downloadables of the handouts I created. Until then!

Read more »

Field Trip! Visiting the Artist Miranda Herrick

This summer, I had the chance to visit the artist Miranda Herrick at the gallery where she works, Bennett Galleries. In an attempt to bring living, breathing artists to my students, I've been working on a video series called Field Trip! In this series, I visit the space where artists work and/or create and interview them about their process. Miranda's work is super unique in that she does a lot of her creating with recycled goods. In fact, this series of work is made entirely with recycled aluminum soft drink cans. I really think her method of creating is something students in middle and high school could also do. Here's a video of her walking us through her process:

I love so many elements of her work from the recycling to the idea of meditation to the notion that her work can be changed like that of a kaleidoscope. I also loved that she shared her inspirations...and that they ranged from her grandmother's quilts to Islamic tile work. 

 I've not tried to cut aluminum cans but Miranda made it look so easy. I really would love to explore this avenue of creating on my own...but, I don't know about my students. Ideally, my fourth graders should be able to cut this material. But, honestly, I'd be worried about them harming themselves. It will definitely be something I'd explore on my own before bringing a project like this to my art room. However, I do think that sharing this video with them will be fun!

 Someone recently asked me how I go about sharing these videos that I've created. I share them when they tie in with a current lesson. They also come in handy when I have to be absent and need a video to share with the kids. I've also shown snippets to my early finishers as they relax and use the dry erase boards on the floor. 

 Love to know your thoughts! And feel free to use the videos I create in your art room...that's why I share them with you.

 Now, when it comes to Miranda's drawings, I do see a way to tie-in. I really think they would be fabulous at teaching mindfulness and meditation. I am excited to bring this lesson to my student's sketchbooks. I can see even a collaborative project based around these. So many thoughts are in my head! 

 Um, can I get a wall of these in my home, please? 

 In case you've missed the other videos in the Field Trip! series, here you go:

Read more »

In the Art Room: Collaged and Printed Landscapes

I'm launching a ton of landscape projects with my students this fall. I shared the Claire West inspired landscape project my fourth grade is working on here. This week, I'll be rolling out my third graders' landscape lesson. Today I thought I'd share with y'all the Elouise Renouf-inspired landscape collage that my first graders will be doing! Here's the video'ed lesson that you are more than welcome to use in your art teacherin' world:

I was recently asked how I share these videos with my students: do I show the video in it's entirety or just in bite sized bits. Definitely the latter: I share what we will be working on that day. I share the opening, of course, as an intro to the artist...and we dig deeper into the work of the artist in LIVE format (meaning sans vid). The first day I taught this lesson, I didn't have my video ready for one class so I did it LIVE. I managed to get some footage of me teaching and thought I'd share:

Once again, what's my take-away? I TALK TOO MUCH! Seriously, filming myself teaching has really helped me grow as a teacher. I know what it is I'm doing wrong (so many things!) and what I need to improve upon. I also see what I am doing right and what the kids are responding too. It's painful to watch but super enlightening.

If you've not explored the work of Elouise Renouf, you really should. I love everything she creates and found so much inspiration. 

I will definitely share the progress my first graders make on this landscape adventure. Until then, have a great week, y'all!

Read more »

In the Art Room: Claire West-Inspired Landscape Lesson

Now that my fourth graders have made their contribution to our school-wide collaborative (details to come, stay tuned! I'm STILL trying to figure out my life, y'all) and completed their sketchbooks and their first couple of sketching tasks, it's now time for them to move on to the art makin'! I have decided to kick off the school year with landscape for all of my students. I also decided that I wanted my kiddos to learn about contemporary artists (and it so happens, all female artists!). It's with that in mind that I introduce you to the lesson I'll be sharing with my fourth grade artists: Chalk Landscapes inspired by the artist Claire West!

These drawings are my teacher examples...I had so much fun creating them, I couldn't stop! You can see the process in this video I created to be shared with my students:

Now let's take a closer look at some of Claire's work...

 Isn't her work beautiful? I love the colors! They are so rich and stunning. I knew chalk would be a good way for my students to capture that incredibly rich hue. 

I also love how her work really shows depth. What a great way for my students to learn about the horizon line, back-, middle- and foreground.

 Here are the supplies we will be using for this lesson:

* Chalk I really like Faber-Castell's chalk. It's vibrant and rich with no fillers or junk. They are my fave!

* Liquid Starch! The magical ingredient behind this amazing process.

* 11" X 17" Paper I went ahead and cut an inch off the normal 12" X 18" paper so that matting and framing will be easier in the future.

* Paint! This will come later...but we'll use a variety of colors of tempera paint. 

 This project will probably take us some time. A couple of classes for the chalk and starch...and maybe one class for painting. I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Why I am so smitten with the starch trick: no messy chalk pastel dust! No need to spray with hairspray or a fixative! No smearing! I'm so in love. Big shout out to my good friend Jennifer Avarado for sharing this trick with me.

 More landscape lessons for my other grade levels are in the works so stay tuned. I'll keep you posted here and on my YouTube channel. 

 Until then, happy landscaping!

Read more »

Art Teacher Travels: Wayne White in Chattanooga, TN

Despite the fact that I was just a pinch older than their target audience, I spent my early teens living for some Saturday morning Pee Wee's Playhouse. I acted like it was bonding time with my younger brother but in reality I just couldn't get enough of the show. The silliness and childlike behavior of Pee Wee definitely drew me in but what I really loved where the other characters and the amazing set...which all my retro dreams are made of. I know I'm not alone in my affection for all things Playhouse: my art teacherin' buddy Stephanie and I threw our friend Mallory a Pee Wee's Playhouse themed baby shower and I even stitched her up some Pee Wee-inspired bibs! I like to stay in Pee Wee-loving company. 

It wasn't until years later that I discovered one of the creative geniuses behind the look, design and a good amount of the characters of Pee Wee's Playhouse, not to mention the puppeteering, was Wayne White. The documentary about Wayne, Beauty is Embarrassing, was recommended to me and it blew my mind, y'all. If you have not seen it, please do. You can thank me in bowls of ice cream soup. 

At the end of the documentary, when asked what his plan was to do next, Wayne says that he's going to build puppets...and that he did. But I'm getting ahead of myself. When I heard that there was an interactive exhibit of the history of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Wayne's hometown, created by the artist, I knew I had to go. It's titled Wayne-o-Rama and it's just about the best thing ever. This show closes September 30th so I strongly encourage you to go and check it out. In case you can't make it, here's a short video I created for my students to share this exhibit with them. Feel free to use it in your art teacherin' world:

So fun, right?!

Mitch and I drove there one Saturday. After a pretty two hour drive (hilly east Tennessee is really pretty amazing), we pulled up at an unassuming building. Inside, we were greeted by two super helpful folks who explained the small but mighty exhibit to us. In the first room there was this diorama, I guess you could call it, of Chattanooga.

 If you've never been to Chattanooga, it's pretty famous for it's incline, Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls and Rock City, among other things. The drive to the top is twisty and turny, just as the diorama shows. Your ears pop; cars swerve out of each other's way; it feels a little dangerous but in the very best way. At the top, you find cottages that have been there for ages next to a brand new Starbucks. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a racket to take a tour of the mentioned sites but, hey, somebody's gotta pay for their lattes, I suppose. 

Mitch and I used to go to Chattanooga quite a bit when we first started dating. Here we are at Lookout Mountain in a photo that looks like it was taken a lifetime ago. I'm gonna say at least 17 years past...he's much hairier and I'm much less mom-jeans-y. Really, what IS that groin bump I have goin' on?! The late 90's were dark days, y'all. Dark.

At the exhibit, we learned that Wayne drew out the sketches and designs for the exhibit and volunteers came in and followed his lead. I was so sad to learn that I'd missed out on such an incredible opportunity to work under the directions of the artist. I woulda come and spent a Saturday painting dude's toe nails if he'd asked me!

This portion of the exhibit also put me in the mind of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and the vintage rides at Disney. It was retro and magical, a perfect combination.  

 Imagine if kids could learn about history with interactive exhibits like these. They'd love to come to school and they'd never forget the experience!

 In the same room, just off the left, were the giant puppet and displays of other significant folks in the history of Chattanooga. The exhibit was described like this, "Wayne has saved his most personal, meaningful ideas for Wayne-O-Rama with several goals in mind. He wants to bring a sense of play to art, to pay tribute to his Southern roots and to inspire and stimulate the imagination of a new breed of Tennessee artists – from the youngest to the oldest – and encourage and foster creativity in everyone."

To think that Wayne had this dream and goal, laid out his plan, worked like crazy and made it come to life was so inspiring for me. I have some big dreams that I'd love to make happen but I often allow myself to get hung up on the "I don't know how's" and give up too easily. I love that Wayne didn't let that cloud his vision...he just went for it. And went for it big.

 I love that in Wayne's work, there are no secrets. You can see what materials he's working with, how the parts are attached and how they operate. There are no smoke and mirrors, no perfect pieces and clean edges. It's expertly primitive. Masterfully messy. I love that about his work.

The cardboard puppets were some of my favorites. I would have loved to see this work in art school, it would have blown my mind. If only I'd known the artist behind Pee Wee's Playhouse back then! 

 I couldn't stop snapping photos and making videos. I loved that I was able to. I know my students are going to be so inspired by Wayne.

Did any of y'all have to do that ridiculous assignment in your 3-D class in college where you had to create a chair made from cardboard that could both support your teacher and be aesthetically pleasing? Yeah, if only we'd been tasked to do something much cooler, like this. By the way, my teacher totally fell on her rear when she plopped down in my chair. Needless to say, I failed that one. 

This giant telly with the black and white screen was my favorite. This one was made from cut pieces of wood and gradations of gray. 

This one might have been my favorite.

 The giant puppets aren't merely for display. They've been used in parades in Chattanooga. In fact, in Beauty is Embarrassing, you can see Wayne operating some of the puppets. 

I'm not sure what is going to become of the pieces in this exhibit when it closes in September...but I do have some room at my house. Just sayin'. 

After leaving Wayne-o-Rama, we had lunch before heading over to the Hunter Museum where they were also having an exhibit of Wayne's work titled Thrill after Thrill: Thirty Years of Wayne White. This exhibit closes the day after Wayne-o-Rama. Y'all gotta go if you can. 

Lemme just say, I'd not been to Chattanooga in a couple of years and, man, that city is pretty stinkin' sweet. I has a very rich artsy vibe with galleries and smaller museums located near the Hunter. The Hunter is a STUNNING museum that sits on the cliff of the Tennessee River. You could go just for the view, it's that beautiful. Not only that, but they have fantastic exhibits and a surprisingly solid permanent collection. I was all, "okay Hunter Museum. I see you." 

 But Wayne's exhibit was where I spent most of my time. Thirty years of creating...the volume and diversity of his creations was so fun and inspiring to see. 

 Again, they allowed me to film and snap photos like crazy. I loved it. These brothers were my favorite. They are completely made of cardboard. One art teacher friend mentioned that when she took her students to this exhibit, Wayne was there and operated the puppets for the kids. Can you imagine? How fun!

The walls were filled with his sketches and the floor was spotted with his sculptures. 

I think what I love so much about his work is the style...and how you can see his "hand" in everything from his sketches to his sculptures. I guess that's what 30 years of creating gives you: a distinct artistic voice. 

 Unmatted and unframed, these sketches stretched from floor to ceiling.

 Wouldn't this make incredible fabric? 

This house-shaped creature on two twig legs had me all kinds of gaga. Also, check out those puppets in the background...can you believe that scale?

 In Beauty is Embarrassing, Wayne talks about selling his text paintings at a local coffee shop in Knoxville. Man, how fun would it have been to score one of these pieces? 

 The backgrounds are usually vintage paintings or reproductions with his clever text on top. I love this one, "Did it Anyway".

 The grouping of them was very cool. 

 People having fun without you. Story of my life, ha!

 I really loved that top left one, "Uh huh" and "Now Maybe I'll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve."

 There were also tons of sketches of Wayne's designs for T.V. shows and music videos. Here's his sketch for the Christmas Special of Pee Wee's Playhouse.

 And his design for the show Beakman's Place. Did you know that Weird Al had a show in the 80's? I didn't either...but Wayne designed the set! Seems about right. 

 I think this sketch is my fave. A couch in the shape of a blue cowboy boot and a prairie wagon?! Sign me up!

I'll leave you with this view of the Tennessee River from the Hunter Museum. You can just barely see the kayakers just under the bridge. 

Have y'all been to Wayne's shows? I'd love to know and hear what you thought? They close soon...so pack up the fam and take in a road trip, it's so worth it! 

Read more »