What I Wore #102 on a Charleston Vacay

 Day One of our Charleston Adventure: Knowing that Charleston this time of year is like a fiery inferno, I decided to wear my lightest vintage dresses and my comfiest of walking shoes. Thankfully, being right on the water, there is always a fantastic breeze that keeps you from overheating and sweating. Cuz when that happens to me, I'm usually done for the day. dress: vintage, found on etsy; belt: made by me; sandals: Chacos

Well, hello, long lost friends! I do believe I've said those very same words or similar at the start of each blog post of late. It seems that since summer began a coupla weeks ago, things have sped up around here instead of slowing down. Between a trip home to Indiana, a vacation to Los Angeles with the hubs and this voyage to Charleston with my muthahs, I need a break from this break! I'm ready to start plotting next school year, stitch up some dresses and, well, do nothing. Which is really what I do best.

That all bein' said, I just had to share with you my vacay to Charleston, South Carolina. I'd never been before and I found it to be absolutely amazing. Have you been? We stayed three whole days and managed to cram in so much goodness. I know I searched the interwebs far and wide for what to do...so I thought I'd share what we did so you don't have to do the same when planning your trip to Charleston! Oh and you'll have to lemme know what I missed out on as I'm sure we'll be making a return trip. Which is your fave restaurant (ah, so many choices!), fave beach or fave thing to do? I'd love to hear from ya! Until then, here's our Adventures in Charleston in Three Days!

 Day One: Staying in Charleston is mucho money during the peak season (and it's pretty much always peak season cept for Jan and Feb!). I'm talkin' like $200 a night. We weren't about to do that, we had souvenirs to buy! So we stayed just a couple exits outside of town and rented a car. The traffic was never an issue and there was always plenty of parking...even if you did have to pay for it.

 This photo cracks me up as it sums up Charleston in one shot: palm trees, beautiful homes and America. Our first order of business was a carriage ride. Now, ya'll, I'm not much of a carriage ride kinda gal, but this one was great. We took a 60 minute tour of the city that included Rainbow Row and Battery Park as well as quaint little side streets. We used Palmetto Carriage rides and I'd have to recommend them. They treat their mules so well and our guide was a history major so dude knew his stuff. 

 You can't go to Charleston without getting a big fat hairy history lesson. Much of America's history is not pretty. This town does an excellent job of not sweeping any ugly parts of American history under a rug. Time has stood still in this town and it's like revisiting another era. These colorfully painted houses are on Rainbow Row. These houses were in a pretty sad state until they were purchased by a group of ladies in the 1940s who painted them bright colors and essentially "flipped" them. They've kept their bright colors since.

 After our carriage ride, we hit the City Market which has been going strong since 1804. It's a covered open air market with vendors selling anything from flea market fair (we all picked up a hat quickly realizing that the sun was going to be relentless) to handmade goods. Of course, the market is best known for the artists creating sweetgrass baskets which you can see behind the painted portrait of the woman above. I loved those murals above each entrance to the market's buildings.

 After an incredible lunch at Brasserie Gigi (seriously, the food in Charleston was always amazing!), we decided to walk back to some of the sights we saw on our tour.

 Like St. Philips Church which can be seen from just about anywhere in Charleston and made for a good landmark for us...especially since I have no sense of direction.

 There are seriously churches everywhere in Charleston which is how it got the nickname The Holy City. There wasn't too much of a draw to come to the New World for the Europeans back in the day as getting here meant spending months on a boat with a high chance of death. And even when ya got here, you still had to battle the elements and those other folks that where already calling this place home (another ugly side of American history). However, one big draw was religious freedom. With that promise, many folks did take the leap to come to American with many of them calling Charleston home. This here super sweet pink church is the French Huguenot Church.

We also went through the Old Slave Mart Museum which was incredible. Slave auctions where held inside this museum because the auctioning off of slaves was outlawed in public view. Formerly, people were bought and sold all along this street. Inside this museum, you can hear the actual recordings of former slaves that were recorded by the WPA in the late 1930s. I found this museum so heartbreaking. I don't think you can take a trip to Charleston without going through it.

 After the museum, we strolled down to Waterfront Park and watched the kids playing in the fountains. One of my favorite things about this city are the large beautiful trees. Imagine how much history those trees have lived through!

 My mom and mother in law looking very Laverne and Shirley, my fave rerun as a kid.

We ended our day with a big ole mean at Hominy Grill. Kids, you go there, you order you some okra and shrimp beignets. And fried green tomatoes. Oh! AND shrimp and grits. And don't forget to have desert(s). Amazingly good.

 Day Two: We hit Folly Beach bright and early. It was such a beautiful beach in a fun little beach town. I would go back there and stay longer if I could. dress: vintage, gift from a friend (thanks, Cynthia!) and redone here; belt: made by me, details here

 Folly Beach was a 20 minute drive from Charleston. The pier was a lovely sight.

 Mom and I chatting about who-knows-what.

 A view from the pier.

I somehow convinced my mom to carry all of my stuff. She's got a sweet sherpa thing happening here. This photo cracks me up.

We strolled the beach for a coupla hours before heading in to the town for lunch. We ate at Folly Beach Crab Shack and I swear, the hush puppies were the most amazing thing ever. My moms-in-law spotted this fun place and I had to snap a picture.

 A short drive down the road brought us to Morris Island lighthouse. This nonfunctioning lighthouse is now submerged and the community is attempting to bring it back to it's full glory. Personally, I totally dig it's shabby chic appeal.

 While lighthouse gazing, we spotted a family of dolphins not far from the shore having a big time. This was the highlight of my trip to Folly Beach, it was so sweet.

 See ya, Folly! We spent our afternoon shopping on King Street popping in and out of shops. We also took in the Gibbes Museum of Art which had a fabulous collection of paintings and sculptures that captured the history of Charleston. Then we promptly pigged out at our fave restaurant of the trip Fleet Landing. 

Day Three: So mom and I got this crazy notion that we should walk the 5 mile Cooper River Bridge (aka the Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge). In the middle of the morning. On the hottest day of our trip. My moms-in-law, being much smarter than us, opted to go on another carriage ride. Smart woman. The walk was beautiful and hot. 

 No, this isn't the view from the bottom after my mom tossed me over it. I snapped this on our boat tour later in the day. It's this the coolest bridge ever? Sorry Golden Gate. You're cool too.

 That's a lotta walkin'.

 A mom and me selfie attempt.

Once our walk was over and we picked up my not-nearly-as-sweaty-and-exhausted mother-in-law, we hit Dixie Supply Bakery Cafe for a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives experience. This place is definitely a dive (I got the side-eye from my mom when we entered the place) but the food was delish. After that, we headed over to the pier for a boat tour. This here is Fort Sumter as seen from our boat.

Having eaten so much shrimp on this trip, I thought it only right to snap a pic of a shrimp boat being followed closely by a buncha hungry birds. After our boat tour, we dined at Blossom and had the best crab cakes ever. Holy cow, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! That evening we did a ghost tour which was really more like a history tour. It was so fun to hear the spooky side of Charleston.

Our flight outta Charleston wasn't until noon, so we popped back into town and enjoyed their Saturday Farmers Market and one last stroll through the historical streets. It was such a fun place with so much to do! I don't think we could have crammed in any more but that's okay. Gives us a reason to go back!

In the Art Room: A Pinch Pot Mascot

Well, kids, as you read this, I'm heading out the door and takin' a vacay to charming Charleston with a coupla muthahs. That'd be my dear, albeit totally crazy, mother and my mother-in-law (who will be in need of your prayers as she contends with a double dose of deranged). If one of us doesn't make it back, it'll be my mom who I'll prolly leave tied to a chair in the hotel room with tape over her mouth (true story: in elementary school, my mom talked so much the teacher resorted to taping her mouth closed. She promptly chewed through the tape and commenced chatting. This is what I'll be dealing with). Wish me luck, kids!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you these here 2nd grade Pinch Pot Tigers! At my school, the tiger is our mascot so the kids were totally excited to bring the Johnson Tiger to life. Some kids went the traditional Bengal orange and black tiger route...

While others created a white tiger. Did you know that the white of the tiger's fur is a recessive gene? Some mistake them for being albino but that's not so. Many white tigers are bred but, because there are so few of them, there is usually inbreeding. This results in all sorts of birth defects and also has scientists considering renaming the White Tiger the Kentucky Tiger (so sorry, Kentucky friends. That was a low [although hilarious, right?!] blow).

The kids loved creating these tigers. I was so thrilled to see them painstakingly paint those wee tiger faces. That's when you know they are in love with their project, when they put forth so much effort. 

So just how'd they do it? Well, we started out with these supplies:

* Low-fire clay (I'm a Cone 06 gal, myself)

* Toothbrush (preferably your mom's or mother-in-laws, depending on who you're ticked at)

* A skewer

* Aqua

* A clay mat. Canvas works great.

To create these bad boys, we used 2-3 thirty minute classes. On the first day, we made a pinch pot and tiger legs. For the pot, I tell the kids to begin by rolling a sphere and placing it in the palm of your hand. Notice that the sphere isn't perfect. I try to discourage the kids from rolling a perfect sphere because they will do it FOREVER thus drying out their clay and using up precious art time.

Next up: stick your thumb in that sphere of clay until it looks as though your thumb has an afro. Do not puncture your thumb all the way through your clay as that would result in a clay donut. And don't nobody like clay donuts. They's nasty.

Pop that thumb out and use your pinching fingers to evenly pinch the sides of your pot. It should be of cookie-thickness. Once completed, the kids are given another piece of clay. For this, they'll divide the clay in half and roll two coils that are about 4" in length. I have rulers out on the tables for this reason. Once complete, the kids stack their pot onto their coils, wrap it in a damp paper towel and put it in a labeled zip lock bag until next class.

The following class, we chat about making tiger faces. I don't like to tell the kids an exact way of creating a face so we go through many options. When working with clay, I like to stress that you can make anything outta clay with a sphere, a slab or a coil. We chat about the different features a tiger might have and what, out of those three things, we might use to create them.

When demoing, I always stress that you gotta slip and score. I have the kids use the toothbrush and that cup of water for this purpose. After this chat, the kids work on creating the heads. Because of the detail they like to create, most take the entire time making that clay head. Once finished, it gets placed in the zip lock bag along with the pinch pot and coils.

This young artist didn't like my cartoon-y version of a tiger. I had a buncha tiger photos on display as well as one pulled up on my brand new big screen T.V. (ya'll, this thing makes me feel like I'm in a sports bar, it's that huge). I love how she created a three-dimensional muzzle for her tiger and that painting job, gah! I love my 2nd graders. 

On the final day, we toothbrushed and added the heads and legs. Now, I'm not gonna lie, those legs had been in that zip lock bag for days. So they were a little dried out and noncooperative. To solve that, some kids opted to have their tigers laying down (as the clay was too weak to support the pinch pot) while others crumpled up newspaper and used that to prop up the tiger's legs. 

After the legs and head were attached, some kids created a tail. I had to really encourage them to make strong thick tails that did not protrude. So most rolled a coil for the tail and then turned that into a spiral before attaching to the pot. If the kids happened to have extra time when finished, I told 'em that they could create something to go along with their tiger. However, I reminded them that I'd only fire it if they made sure to slip and score. 

This young artist created a baby tiger to accompany the mama. 

And this one decided to have a mouse riding on the back of the tiger.

Another Kentucky Tiger.

Once the tigers were complete, the kids glazed then with Mayco's Stroke and Coat. It's my fave as the colors are just perfect. The kids spent an art class with the World's Smallest Paint Brushes to create these lovelies. When it comes to glazing, I only have two rules: Don't Glaze the Bottom (because the glaze, when melted, will adhere to the kiln shelf) and Don't Layer Three Zillion Different Colors of Glaze as this will result in an unappealing mix of muddy colors once fired. 

And there you have it, friends! A Pinch Pot Mascot that's both functional ("oh, my tiger can hold my earrings!") and adorbs. Until next time, wish me luck with those mothers and have yourself a great week, ya'll!

DIY: A Clay Faux-saic for the Kiln-less

 You know, there are many perks to being an art teacher. Let us count the ways, shall we? 

1. You never have to clean your room. When my art room is looking totes disastrous (which would be any day that ends in "y", ya'll, let's be honest) and a classroom teacher happens to pop in my room, I'll catch her doin' a horrified glance at my dingy tables and crusty countertops (as she slow-gulps and thinks "oh gawd, how can I get outta here before whatever is on her hands gets on my sweater set?!"), I always do the same ole "My room is such a mess today [notice I said "today" as if it's not a daily thing], I should really clean!" song and dance.  It's then that the scarred-for-life classroom teacher says the most magical words in all of art teacher land : It's an Art Room! It's supposed to look this way [spoken whilst looking for the nearest exit].

2. You got a free pass to Freak-a-Zoid. Not only do you never have to clean your room when you're an art teacher but you totes have a free pass to let that freak flag fly. Shoot, if you're doin' right, you're way beyond freak flag and have entered full-tilt bat-sh$$ crazy. Crayon shoes? Check. Sushi headband? Checkity-check. Light up dress? You mean there are other types of dresses?! Triple-check. Your freak flag just spontaneously combusted. 

3. Your professional development hours don't include Common Snore, er, Core. Naw, man! You're the art teacher! Which means you get to spend the day hangin' with other like-minded, messy-art-room, freak-flag-flying chums who get you AND, added bonus, you make stuff. Which is exactly what I spent my Saturday doin', ya'll. Makin' this here Clay Faux-saic for the Kiln-less.

It was so super easy I bet even a class room teacher could do it (you know I'm just kidding, class room teachers! This is way over your sweater-set-wearin' heads,). For this easy breezy project, you'll need to russell up the following:

* A picture frame with plexiglass or glass

* Air dry clay (we used Polyform Model Air available at your local big box craft joint)

* Glue (I like Aleene's Tacky Glue because I imagine a lady named Aleene to have a big fat beehive hairdo and tacky handmade jewelry crafted from beer bottle caps. An art teacher, of course.)

* Acrylic paint. The cheaper the better.

Now, I gotta tell you, I totally deviated from the instructor's directions. Not because she wasn't an excellent teacher and artist (her stuff is amazing, ya'll, check it here) but because I have this terrible habit when it comes to art teacher professional development classes: I have Creativity Constipation. Please tell me I'm not the only one. Some call it "slow processor"; my grandma ustah say, "Cassandra, either sh&& or get off the pot!" Normally, when I finally do come up with an idea, it's unattainably elaborate. Knowing this, I decided to keep my mosaic super simple: A Keith Haring-themed Celebration of a Messy Art Room.

 To which the instructor said at this stage of development: Oh! An Olympic theme! I love the torch, nice touch. 

(face. palm.)

 But lemme back up for a second as I believe I was supposed to be giving you some DIY directions in here. I started by pounding the daylights outta that clay until it was about cookie thickness. From there, I used a needle tool to trace around my Keith Haring-inspired dancing artist figure template. Once one was traced and the edges where smoothed, I flipped my template over and traced a second dude. With my left over bits of clay, I created the filler that you see: pencils, paint blobs, scissors, hearts, moons and rando organic shapes. By the way, that air dry stuff is not my fave. It kinda felt like I was sculpting with an uncooperative stale marshmallow. But that's par for the air-dry-clay course, I have found.

 I laid out all of my pieces directly onto the plexiglass and commenced painting.

 As soon as I was finished painting a piece, I laid it right back into it's spot. I knew that if I didn't, I'd totally forget where it went. By the way, it wasn't until I was about this far that I realized that all of my background pieces looked like Lucky Charms. They're magically delish, ya'll.

 Yay, not an Olympic Torch. 

Once the paint dried, I picked up each piece and glued it to the plexiglass frame. When that was complete, I decided that I didn't like that white "grout" background. I toyed around with a couple of color ideas for the back but in the end settled on black as it made my Lucky Charms "pop". And who wouldn't want that? So I painted a piece of paper black and inserted that into the frame.

And there you have it. I can't wait to hang this bad boy in my Disastrous "But it's an Art Room!" I think it'll go perfectly in-between those dingy tables and that crusty sink. Until next time, ya'll, fly that flag high! And, please, save that classroom teacher a heart attack and go wash your paint-stained hands.