Art teacher Denise Warf surprised me recently when she showed up at that Andy Warhol's Flowers workshop in her finished apron! I love the Dia de los Muertos fabric she picked out, it has mini-Frida heads on it! Of course I demanded we get a twinsies apron pic together. Because I'm 12. You look adorbs, Denise!
Hello, y'all! I'm excited to share with you the fruits of our Apron-Sew Alongin' labor. Not too long ago, I threw the idea of a sew along out there to Facebookland and I was thrilled when many of your responded. And I'm even more thrilled (does that make me thrill-ier?) that y'all were able to follow my crazy directions and goofball vid clips (you can visit here for Part 1 and here for Part 2 for those sew along directions) to create your own masterpiece. Or is it an Apron-piece? Whatever you call it, it's simply Apron-tastic.
Now, for those of you that are still game but have fallen a pinch behind, no worries! You just keep on emailing me those super cute aprons (you can chat me up at cassieart75@gmail.com) and I'll keep sharing 'em here. In the meantime, I am currently dreaming up our next sew along, if you're game. I'll be sharing that idea with ya's soon.
So, without further jibber-jabber, check out these lovely ladies in their awesome aprons, why dontcha?!
Daw, look at how cute Nic Hahn is, would ya? She's the super amazing art teacher behind one of your fave blogs, Mini Matisse. If you've never met Nic, lemme tell ya, she's one of the sweetest ladies around. And super cute in that apron, riiiight? She went with an Amy Butler pattern for her apron and wisely only used fabric currently in her stash (if only I had that kind of self-control). You can read all about her stitchin' experience here. Thanks for joining the fun, Nic!
Can you believe this apron that art teacher Kerry Bevers made?! She scored that bargain ant fabric and stitched up this apron for her first grader's insect unit. I know the kids were just ant-sy over it (bwahah, sorry. I just had to).
The pocket detail is my fave. Kerry said the reverse side of her apron is heart-themed in honor of the artist Jim Dine. I love that her apron ties in with her themes! Thanks for sharing your ant-astic apron, Kerry!
Wait a Monet...er, minute. Is this lovely lady covered in Monet paintings? Your eyes do not deceive you, y'all.
Art teacher Christy Rasmussen is just a walking Monet-masterpiece, doncha think? I love that her apron is reversible so she can showcase all several of Monet's paintings. I know her students will remember this artist and their awesome art teacher who wore his paintings on an apron. Way to go, Christy!
If this beautiful lady looks relaxed to you, that's because newly retired art teacher! Which you'd never guess because my friend Ginny Guiffre only looks like she's 33. I love so many things about this picture: that lemon-y fabric, that gathered apron, that mirror (which has nothing to do with the apron but still, I loves it!). Thank you, Ginny, for sharing your lemon-y fresh adorable self!
I'm so glad I can call Leslyn Rushing, who is also the Kentucky Elementary Art Educator of the Year (way to go, Leslyn!), my friend as she is simply amazing. And this super adorbs apron (I am in love with that rainbow-ribbon-tie-thangie!) is just the tip of her awesome-ness iceberg. Last year she took a thrifted wedding dress and transformed it into this fantabulous peacock gown. A gown, I tell you! Thanks for stitching with us, Leslyn!
What was that? Did I just hear a collective "awwwwwww"? I know, right? I know, I too am smitten with this reversible artsy fabric apron. Meet art teacher outta Long Island, Kelly Ryan. After wearing her apron in art class, she wrote me the following: I wore my apron this week when I had the 4th grade because we are painting, and the one class especially FLIPPED OUT over it! They thought it was just pretty cool in general, and then when I said I made it, they absolutely could not believe it! They talked about it the entire period. I’m from Long Island, and I would say the thought to sew things ourselves is pretty much dead here, as far as I can tell. The only fabric store I know of is JoAnns, and it’s kind of gross in there. So to think that people can actually sew clothes is probably a very foreign concept to the kids. The teachers all really love it too! I can’t wait to make something else! Such a great story and what an impact Kelly made with her apron. I'm so glad you sewed along with us, Kelly!
So if I saw art teacher Jenny Knappenberger's apron for sale in a boutique, I'd totally throw my credit card down. I mean, how cute is that apron?! And I most def wouldn't wear it in the art room for fear that some crazed kiddo would get their grubby mitts on it (today's convo: Kindergartener, while tapping my arm, "Hey! I have paint on me!" Me, looking down at the painted taps on my arm, "Great! Now I do too"). That tiered skirt portion is amazzzzzzinggggg.
And woulda look at that! A Warhol-tastic apron. So bloomin' clever, Jenny! Thank you so much for sharing. By the way, Jenny has a super amazing blog that you gotta check out! Go here.
Leah Keller's apron is so stinkin' adrobs, y'all. From the pom-pom'ed bottom and the flowery accent to the two pockets and the scrunchie neck strap, it's just top-to-bottom, front-to-back super cuteness!
I really loved how she played with pattern, one of my fave things to do when I'm stitching. Her fabric choices are so happy -- and I love that one side of the apron is so different than the other. Way to go, Leah!
Meet my amazing art teacher friend, Hilda Thomas. I absolutely love that she used denim because it's the perfect fabric for an art room apron. It's super thick so no paint/ink/clay/whateverness can soak through and totes durable. But my fave part is that tie-dyed fabric. I love that she used it again for the waist tie. Doncha love Hilda's "I Am Art Teacher, Hear Me Roar" stance? She's the bomb squad, y'all.
Lucy Zucaro's apron has my retro-loving/sailor-themed heart. All the sweet details she added to her apron are so sweet. I'm a huge fan of rickrack and I love that she used it at the top, middle and bottom bringing the cute thing together. And the buttons at the top! I die! Congrats on your retro-tastic apron, Lucy!
Art teacher Amber Dow's apron is so rosy and romantic. I feel like it would be just the perfect thing to wear when making a cuppa tea and biscuits, doncha think? I'm a sucker for florals so I adore this super sweet apron.
Judy Harney's reversible apron showcases her interest in photography. That camera fabric has been in my virtual shopping cart many a time, I just love it so! And that mod face fabric on the reverse side pocket is just so awesome. I like how she used that band of fabric at the top of the pocket to bring both aprons together.
I know y'all know Phyl who blogs at the always amazing There's a Dragon in My Art Room (one of my go-to/omg, I-need-a-lesson-stat! blogs) but you might not know Violetta. She's the lovely mannequin that Phyl created (yes, she MADE that mannequin! She wrote a blog post all about it here). I love the fabric Phyl picked out for her apron, it's so stinkin' fun.
I mean, look! Yoga frogs! Her apron is just as fun as she is. You can read all about Phyl's apron stitching adventures here.
I love Laura's apron...but I might be a lil biased. I have a thang for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The book is hilarious and the colors in the pattern are so cool and retro. Which is why I love that she created a half apron and that it's gathered. I do love me a gathered apron. Way to go, Laura!
Art teacher Amanda Kaiser's apron is covered in paint! Well, paint trays, anyway. This fabric is one of my fave art teacher-y fabrics and I'm so glad Amanda used it for her apron. What I really like is that she added a green trim and matching pocket. Her apron is so flattering. I know her students must love it!
Leah Klimet wrote, "My apron is done! After a little disagreement between me and a bobbin (which I won after a long battle), I am finally done!" And looking super cute, I might add. I love that color palette of gray, yellow and green, it's one of my faves. I'm so glad she was able to show that bobbin who's boss. I wonder if she could talk to my husband...
If y'all don't know this hilarious art teacher then allow me introduce ya. This is Lisa Beynon, super stitcher, blogger and art teacher. If she looks a pinch familiar, you might recognize her from this post or from her always fun blog.
Lisa is some kind of awesome. She's a big thrift shopper who transforms frumpy dresses into fabulous fashion. AND she's hilarious. So there's that. Thank you so much for keepin' us in stitches, Lisa. Like, literally!
Deborah FitzGerald should win the prize for Most Art Teacher-y Apron. Or maybe Most Upcycled Art Teacher-y Apron. I love how she transformed a pair of overalls into something splatter-tasticy super (can I say "super" any more in the post? What can I say, I am in love with all of these super stitchin' aprons!). I gotta get my mitts on some of that spluttery fabric, I just love it. Looks awesome, Deborah!
Speaking of prizes, if I were given' 'em out, Lisa Anderson would win Most Stitched Aprons as she's sewn up four now (maybe even more at this point). Each and everyone is so adorable that I feel like I need all of 'em in my closet. I mean, a heart-shaped bodice?! I. Die.
And angled pockets with lacy detail?! Be still my heart.
But this one just might be my fave...or, wait...
Doggone, Lisa! You are amazing, I love 'em all!
Rebekah Cohen's apron features some of my fave fabric (that may be sitting in my sewing room as I type just waiting to be stitched up). My fave part about this apron is that pop of blue. It's so perfect with the rest of the colors in the apron.
Here's Rebekah's daughter modeling the reverse side of the apron. I love how she used the blue again as the background and added those sweet fabrics for the pocket and the boarder. Her daughter looks adorbs!
Like our super stitcher, Lisa, Julie Fouts made more than one apron, she made two and a matching one for her mini-me. Two things: 1. Isn't that little girl precious?! 2. Could she be more excited about her apron?! That face is priceless!
Here's the reverse of Julie's apron. I am loving those rounded chevron pockets, girl!
Julie's third apron was one made from fabric from Ghana. Um, like, that's cool! I love African print fabric (I've got just a pinch in my stash) and I'm so glad to see this bold and unique apron. It's so fun, thanks for sharing, Julie!
So I pretty much squealed out loud when I saw Emily Gau's apron. I mean, it's got all of my fave things: polka dots upon polka dots (yes!) and a red/turquoise combo. Which is pretty much perfection in my book. So glad you joined the fun, Emily!
And here's the reverse side of our aprons seen in the first photo. Can you tell by the look on my face that I was a pinch pleased that Denise wore her apron? Gah, crazy much? By the way, don't you love that sweet bird fabric on Denise's apron? So cute and goes so well with the Frida fabric on the reverse.
And there you have it, friends! Thank you so much for sewing along with me, I had a blast! Remember, you can keep emailing me your aprons as you finish 'em. AND stay tuned for our next sew along...I think you'll really like it. Chat soon!
I thought I'd share with you what my students created for International Dot Day in this here What I Wore post because I'm so stinkin' excited! My lil artist friends have worked so hard for weeks on these masterpieces (I've shared a sneak peak here and last year's Dot Day here)...and their art teacher (um, that'd be me, speaking in third person like a true crazy) just barely got everything up in time for Thursday's Open House. Over the next coupla weeks, I'll post the complete dotty lessons starting with that Dots-turned-Flower-Garden mural that my sweet first grade artist created as it's my personal fave. Or was it the stitched dots by fourth grade? Maybe the metal dots by third...? Oh, I can't decide, I just loves 'em all!
This week our Word of the Week was inspire and our Artist Inspiration was the author of The Dot, Peter H. Reynolds. We chatted about how The Dot has inspired artists all over the world to "create a mark and see where it takes you". The kids and I talked about how their dots can now inspire others throughout our school. It was so fun to hear them encourage each other and drop the "i" bomb (that'd be "inspire") as they know that anytime anyone says the Word of the Week, everyone says "Whoop! Whoop!"
In other non-dotty news, I've got a ton of beautiful ladies who've made beautiful aprons to share with you this week! The Apron Sew-Along was so fun that I've come up with another sewing project for those interested...so stay tuned, y'all.
Until then, lemme show you something Dot-tastic!
Lemme introduce to you the Kindergarten dot! With kindergarten, I always start the school year with a construction paper line sculpture (you can read all about my kindergarten unit on line here, if you wanna). Instead of giving the kids rectangular construction paper, I simply gave them either a black or white pre-cut (shutter if you like, it was our first day in art. We'll cut more later.) dot and let 'em have at it.
Our Word of the Week that first week of school was artist. So after our 45 minute art class, we hoped on the Art Train (um, just a long line of kids that chugga-chugga-chuggas to each table). I held up each kid-created sculpture and would say, "Wow! Morgan is an artist!" to which everyone gave her a Whoop! Whoop! There wasn't a single kid not beaming before they left the art room.
Now, you know, kindergarten is notorious for touching the walls. These have stayed unharmed...and I do believe it's because they created them!
Totally Dotty Tuesday: Lookin' back on What I Wore for Dot Week last year...I gotta say I did several repeats. Tis okay. Don't nobody need to know...unless I tell em in a blog post. Der. sweater: thrifted; dress: vintage; belt: Target; sandals: Anthro
My first graders are so proud of their mural! They've seen the fourth grader's Warhol Soup Cans and the third grader's Magritte mural so they were ready to create one of their own. So I took down The Great Wave that was still hanging outside my door from last school year's Asian adventure and replaced it with these lovelies. I feel like I'm taking a trip down Candy Cane Lane every day when walking in the art room door!
Y'all might recall from my previous posts that the kids were learning about Kandinsky's concentric circles. After being inspired by that piece, we turned our attention to his other paintings that involve line like Composition VIII. The following art class, we made textured and stamped papers...
and used those to create our flower petals! Like I said, more details to come this upcoming week! Not trying to be vague...but I don't wanna spoil all the fun.
The kids also painted many sheets of line and shape patterned papers for the mural. They informed me that they loved painting on those big sheets o' paper the very best.
Squiggly Lines and Dots Wednesday: The temps here have been slowly dropping so much so that I'm currently sitting in a sweater and wearing tights. TIGHTS! I'm so afraid to pack up summer duds this early because it was only a week ago that we were still trapped in the 90's. Not the decade, the temps. Did I really need to clarify for you? Sorry. sweater: Forever 21, old; dress and belt: Target
So last year, all the kids had a coffee filter dot hanging in the window. It was the first time I'd hung art in the window (what took me so long?!) and it was a huge hit. This year, I picked up a buncha pizza rounds that were white on one side. I painted the other side black (to remove one useless step for my mere 30 minute classes)...
And we talked about Kandinsky again. Which is totes perfect for my second grade friends as they are the grade level I'm taking to see the big ole Kandinsky exhibit that's coming to our local art museum The Frist. We looked at Kandinsky's painting Several Circles and our word of the week was creative. I challenged the kids to only paint dots or circles on this side of the board. We chatted how we'd have to be super creative with such a constraint and they totally nailed it. I love this dotty painting.
On the reverse, we chatted about line and went crazy creating a line design in black ink. The following art classes we added color. I love how they rotate in the window so both sides of the painting are visible. These kids had Double Dot Duty!
Open House Thursday: I still can't believe it's all up -- all 400 plus kids works of art. I really liked having a deadline to get all the work up and I think I might set that as a goal in the future. It forced me and the kids to really hop to it. AND I also snapped photos of (most) works of art and a super mom uploaded 'em all onto Artsonia for me! Yay, I'm thrilled! You can see them here. art supply blouse: DIY here; pencil skirt: DIY here; pencil shoes: DIY here
My super third graders created these foil relief sculpture dots. I'm currently obsessed with Sharpie on aluminum foil (we've seen it before...and yet it never gets old!). I'm plotting a project for my fourth grade using a similar technique.
But we couldn't just leave 'em be. Oh no, we had to dot-afy the frame as well. ESPECIALLY when metallic markers are thrown into the mix. Then the kids were unstoppable. Or, rather, undotable!
They even wanted to sign their name like "Peter H. Reynolds" which totally cracked me up.
Exhausted but Standing, Friday: Not gonna lie, after a long day (and night) at school on Thursday, I was super pooped. But it was a good, big-sigh-of-relief kind of tired. This weekend is gonna involve lots of chill-axing. And not much else. top, skirt, shoes: thrifted
Here's a peak at what the final display of all my fourth grades stitched art looked like together. I paper clip chained them like I did the second grade paintings. I like the way the look all together like some sort of groovy stitched string art quilt. You can see the complete lesson on this string artiness here.
I had one class finish their's off the very day of Open House. That didn't stress me out. Oh nooooooo. Not. At. Alllllll.
And there you have it!
Happy International Dot Day, everyone! I can't wait to hear all about what you and your students have created for the occasion!
So all my students, kinder-town through 4th-grade-land, are participating in International Dot Day. I know several of you art teacherin' peeps are doing the same, amiright? I have absolutely loved dreaming up projects that I hope (fingers and toes crossed) have been artistic, creative, unique and inspiring (our feature Word(s) of the Week for these first four weeks of school). I'll give you a sneak peak of all our projects at the end of the week with complete lessons to come. In the meantime, lemme introduce you to my favorite dot lesson to date, the String-Stitched Dot!
Dude. After seeing this 4th grader's stitched design I've decided I wanna create a stitched color wheel! Doesn't this one totally remind you of that? I love his pattern.
I gave the kids three design options to choose from with the freedom to play with those ideas, change 'em and make them their own. I love how this artist used symmetry and color to create a sunset-esque stitch.
One of the ideas the kids could stitch was one we called "rotating squares". This was not an easy design to stitch but once you got the hang of it, it went by in a flash. None of the kids wanted to stop stitching so many of them thought of ways to enhance that design idea. I liked how Tony found a way to stitch a circle around this squares.
For this lesson, we used the following:
* 10" X 10" cardboard (I did a lil dumpster diving for those)
* Paint and brushes (because the cardboard looked like, well, cardboard. We had to jazz it up.)
* Florescent yarn (because this here art teacher is currently on an '80's kick, can ya tell?)
* Tapestry needles (what big eyes you have! The better to thread you with, my dear.)
* Stitching template (so we all end up with the same 16 evenly spaced lines)
* Masking tape
On our very first day of art, after covering all this biznatch, the kids painted their pieces of cardboard, "thickly and quickly". Meaning, since they had the option of using texture combs, they needed to make sure the paint was thick and wet as the comb can only rake the surface and create super cool textures when it is. Then I gave the kids of using florescent paint to add some splatters as, let's be honest, splatter painting is super rad. AND makes the first day of art just about the best thing everrrrr.
On our second day of art, after our Word of the Week/Artist Inspiration routine, we had to prep our board for stitching. For that, I gave the kids these old coffee container lids with 16 evenly spaced notches drawn with silver Sharpie. The kids were to make sure the circle was placed 2" from the top/bottom and sides (well, hello thar, math connection!) before tracing it and drawing tick marks for the notches.
Once done with that, the kids were given such dangerous art supplies as push pins and needles.
With the push pins, the kids put the initial holes in their boards where the notches were drawn. Because they'd be stitching with thick tapestry needles, I then had them go back and push the needles through the board to make the notches even bigger. From there, the kids had to start plotting their design...
For this, they got a worksheet. Yay, worksheets! They had to complete the directions of each design ("even if I don't want the other designs?!" YES. DO. IT. RIGHT. MEOW.) They were also given the option to come up with their own ideas, or mix and match the ones I suggested, on the right.
To best explain this process, I created a lil video clip. There are several steps so I hope I'm making some sort of sense. I showed the kids the steps to stitching ALL three of these designs that way they could feel free to pick and choose/mix and match once they were on their own.
And now! For a Totally Inappropriate Short Story!
Gather 'round friends, this one's a gem:
So, on that very first day of stitching, when I'm walking the kids through the steps, I thought it might be less confusing for them if I referred each of the 16 holes in their stitching board as a letter. This way they could remember stuff like, "I stitch from A to B, from A to C, back to A then to D", for 'zample. However, whilst in the midst of teaching, I may or may not have mistakenly said this several times (unbeknownst to my innocent babies!):
"You first start at the A-hole. Then you go to the B-hole. Return to the A-hole. REMEMBER! If you are doing a radiating design, you always return to the A-hole."
And I think it was the phrase always return to the A-hole that actually stopped me mid-breath and caused a rash of red to creep over my face. My mind started racing: did I just say the words A-hole to my kids, not once but several times, and neither me nor the kids noticed?! If I don't call it A-hole, what DO I call it? The "A-Spot"? What happens when we get to the letter G?! OMGeee, what am I gonna do?!
And it was then that we began to refer to the notches as numbers. And all was A-hole-free in art land. WHEW.
I gotta say, the kids loved this project. Especially my boys. Which I don't find that surprising as they are always the ones that love any weaving projects we do. It's that working-with-my-hands/math-mind that makes them adore these types of things. Is that sexist? Maybe. Is it true? Yes.
A coupla kids found ways to incorporate their initial in the design. This one kills me ask it looks like the symbol for Anarchy...and this sweet child is the furthest thing from a punky-Anarchist.
I love how this artist played with our school colors to create her design.
And there you have it! A String-Stitched Dot for Dot Day! Do you think this is a project that you'd give a go in your art room? I do believe your kids would dig it.
For our display, I decided to connect the boards together with a coupla paperclips. I love how they look as a group...ready for Dot Day!
And what are you up to for Dot Day? I'd love to know what your kids are creating so puh-lease share, y'all!
