DIY: In the Kitchen (You Know, that Weird Room that Came with the House)

Lemme just be honest with you: cooking is not really my thang. Because when I'm hungry, I like to eat. Like, that very moment. So playing around with the cutting and the chopping and the measuring spoons (where I have to stop and think "wait, what does TBSP mean again?!") isn't my idea of a good time. Naw, I'm more into the eat-a-bowl-of-cereal-and-move-on scene.

Howevers, there's this dude that lives in my house who seems to enjoy a hot cooked meal now and then. I don't know why. I blame his makin'-food-from-scratch mother. 

For that reason, I force myself to cook at least two giant meals a week. What we don't eat, that aforementioned dude and I freeze into lunch-sized portions and dinner-sized meals. A coupla years ago, we stopped eating meat (well, he did. I can't seem to give up sushi which is kinda like food-crack so it's not my fault) which means I gotta be creative with the meal planning. Because, as much as we've tried, one cannot survive on Butter Noodles alone. 

Now, not all vegetarian recipes are created equally. Some taste like, well, boiled down celery stalks and gym socks. With a TBSP of wheat germ. So when you come across a good one, you wanna keep it. For that reason, I recently started jotting down my fave recipes. I settled on this sweet little recipe box a buddy had given me to house my new recipes in.

Like, super cute, right? And while I totes love anything vintage, there was something about this that I just didn't love. So I decided to give it a fresh coat of paint.

But here's the deal: I wanted to keep the carved lettering of the box the original wood grain color. To make that happen, I used a little paint roller and simply rolled over the front of the box. This (for the most part) prevented the paint from completely covering the designs. And, done.

For the recipe cards, I decided to use the postcards I'd purchased from Anthro. I scored 'em at their 1/2 off the sale price sale (which is like Christmas only better because you don't have to be around family to score the goods) and I used a stash of vinyl stickers I found in my craft stash for the labels.

Yes, one of those recipes is for Krispy Kreme Donuts. Vegetarian Meal of Choice, yo.

By the way, I learned how to not cook by one of the best non-cookers I know, my crazy mama! This is a super rare photo of us for a coupla reasons: 1. We're in the kitchen (I think we got lost); 2. Mom's holding a cookbook (definitely a photo prop as this book looks like it's never been opened); 3. We're smiling. Which isn't unusual. Unless we're cooking. In which case we're usually cursing and calling each other names. And then ordering pizza.

And now my recipe box has a home! But, let's be honest, the only reason I'm showing you this cupboard is so you can look on in jealousy at my newly acquired ceramic bird house collection. Drooling yet? Again, that Anthro sale was nutz, ya'll! Got each house for about $20 each. I love 'em so.

If you were in my kitchen right now, you'd find dishes in my sink, an overweight cat tiptoeing on the counter scouring for scraps and this new painting hanging above the window!

I got this really cool, super long frame years ago and promptly painted it black and added this flower. It hung in our bedroom for a while but recently decided that I wanted it for a new sign in the kitchen. So, before I could change my mind (cuz I really did like that flower!), I repainted it black and started planning my new sign.

I measured the length of the sign, divided that by the number of letters in the word "Tennessee" and scoured the interwebs for a fun and funky retro font. I settled on this and began sketching our my lettering. Each letter was then cut out and traced into place on the black panel with a white colored pencil.

(This is how our dining room table always looks. And no, that's not an ashtray. I'm not allowed to smoke in the house.)

 Now I was gonna paint each letter outline...until I had flash backs of this and this lettering experience and decided that I was being ridiculously cray-cray. So I dropped by the craft store and picked up a couple of those white paint pens and just traced my pencil lines. WHAT?! So super easy, ya'll.

Now, I gotta admit, I'm still not certain that this is complete. The letters seem a little...empty? I don't think I wanna fill 'em in necssarily...but maybe just add a little design on the inside? A buddy of mine who has far better taste than me (which, honestly, wouldn't take much) said to leave it. Whatcha'll (translation: "What Do You All") think? Ideas? Thoughts? TBSP of Wheat Germ?

Alright, my friends. That's all I got. Now, unless you plan on doin' those dishes, ya'll best get outta my kitchen!

What the Art Teacher Wore #87

A Relaxed Kinda Monday: I loved my Monday off. I spent the day shopping with a good buddy and devouring sushi with a my ole student teacher. I'd do that everyday if I could. dress and sweater: Anthro label picked up at a second hand shop; tights: Target; boots: Frye, bought at a second hand shop

I don't know how ya'll spent your Saturday, but I spent mine chillin' out and chatting with over 1000 art educators. At my mother-in-laws. In Birmingham. Whilst wearing my pajamas. 

No, moms-in-law and I weren't hosting some sort of Art Teacher PJ Party (although that does sound like a rip-roarin' good time), I was attending The Art of Education's 2014 Winter Conference! It was such an amazing day with so many presenters and so much information that my little head is still spinning. Thankfully, Jessica of The Art of Education has allowed attendees access to the presentations so that I can go back and watch what I might have missed. 

Did ya'll attend? What are you excited to try in your art room? Me, I just went out and bought 10 dry erase boards today to use as free draw and sketching as was suggested by Art Teachers Hate Glitter...genius!

Now if you happen to have found me and this blog after viewing my (painfully goofy) presentation on Saturday, welcome! On this here blog, I try to share a DIY project, an update of what's happening in the art room and a wrap-up of my weekly outfits (along with a featured artist) each week. To keep up with all that crazy, you can find me on facebook here.

Also, if you're into reading books and drawing pictures and chatting with other artsy peeps, you might consider joining in on our Artsy Book Club! We will be drawing our way through the book One Drawing a Day by Veronica Lawlor. Our start date is next Monday, February 3rd but you can join the fun and begin creating any ole time.

To set the mood for our upcoming drawing adventure, and because he's the Artist of the Month in the art room, I thought I'd share drawings from Vincent van Gogh...

Self-Portrait 1887 oil on panel ...who, with his read beard and long skinny nose kinda resembles my hubs. Although, not gonna lie, van Gogh actually looks a little less hobo than my man. But whatcha gonna do. So, ya'll know the sad story of van Gogh's life, right? He became an artist in his late 20's after trying his hand at selling art (which his brother Theo was successful at doing), teaching and preaching. I have a feeling his manic personality frightened many and prevented his success at those chosen careers. So he decided to pursue his childhood passion of art.

1888 Fishing Boats at Sea pen & ink...looking at these drawings, you have to admit, van Gogh was a master mark-maker. I cannot believe the amount of depth and value he's able to create in this sketch with just pen and ink. Looking at his paintings, I don't often think of van Gogh's work as detailed and intricate...but looking at this drawing makes me think differently.

Tuesday: I haven't a clue what we did on this day, isn't that the saddest thing ever? I've started keeping a little book where I write a couple of sentences of what happened that day...but that would mean I'd have to get off the couch, find said book and read what happened. And there's currently a cat planted on my arm...so I'm not going anywheres. dotted sweater: thrifted; dotted shirt: Old Navy; skirt and shoes: Anthro; dotted tights: Target

Two Hands and Peasant Woman Stooping and Gleaning black chalk on paper...so I've read that when van Gogh initially decided to become an artist, he took tons of drawing classes and just drew continuously. It's amazing when you look at a body of his work, his drawing improves drastically. I'm hoping that the same will happen to me during the course of our drawing book.

Wednesday, Already?: The lovely thing about a short week is that it's, well, short. sweater: Anthro, picked up second hand; skirt: J.Crew, very old; tights: Target; shoes: Anthro

1884-85 Head of a Young Man with a Pipe pencil...I love his portraits. They remind me of Alice Neel's work. And I love her stuff.

Sunflowery Thursday: On this day after school, a buddy and I drove to Nashville's art museum, The Frist Center for Visual arts to drop off student masterpieces! It's always an exciting time for the kids. I have 10 students whose work will be on display there and I know they couldn't be more excited. sweater: DIY here; dress: vintage, thrifted; tights: amazon; shoes: Anthro

1888 Arles, View from the Wheat Field pen & ink...again with that off-the-chain amazing mark-making. There's so much going on in this drawing and he's able to capture it all. Nutz.

Feelin' Snippy Friday: Okay, art teachers...isn't this the best dress ever?! I wish I could take credit for it...I found it on Modcloth a week or so ago in their sale section. Sadly, it's no longer there. But I do think it could easily be replicated. It's a sweatshirt so it's just about the coziest thing ever. dress: Modcloth; tights: Target; boots: The Walking Company

1888 Fishing Boats at Sea pen & ink...and while the other drawing was so busy, I love all of the feeling of air and space in this piece. It's interesting that by not making marks, he's able to say so much.

DIY: A Felted Version of Van Gogh's Sunflowers

You know what, it may be 5 degrees outside but I don't care. I've decided to dress like a Big Ole (van Gogh-inspired) Sunflower-y Day regardless of the "I feel like I just walked into a freezer in Antarctica" temps (wait, do they even have freezers in Antarctica? I mean, isn't that whole place one big fridge? Shoot, I'd just be throwing my ice cream and popsicles out the window if I lived there. "Honey, where's the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream?"..."I dunno, look outside!")

Wait. Did I just have an imaginary conversation with an imaginary Antarctic companion about throwing imaginary Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream out the window? Wow. The effects of brain freeze are frightening.

Let's return to our convo about dressing like a crazy person unaware of seasonal changes, shall we? I got the idea for this sweater whilst creating the Starry Night Light Up Dress (yes, I just said "whilst". I like fancy words that create the illusion of intelligence like Fortnight, Dodgy and Absobloodylootely. Which actually sound more like Madonna during the late 90's when she was going through her "Oh, hey, I'm now from Bloody England, mates. Brillant!" phase but whateves.)

Oh no. What was I talking about again?

Ah, yes. Van Gogh's Sunflowers. My little friends in Kindergarten town are currently learning all about van Gogh's Starry Night. And if you ask 'em, they can tell you more than you'd ever wanna know about the following: background, middleground, frontground (tell me I'm not the only one who gets this) and landscapes. Of course, they can also fill your ear with: the-World's-Smallest-Paper-Cuts, Tooth-Losings, He-Cut-Me!s* and I-Think-I-Just-Peed-Myself's. Oh, kindergarten. They're like that kinda-funny/kinda-freaky relative you're introduced to at the family reunion that you pray isn't truly related but married to some distant cousin. Not that that has ever happened to anyone who met me at a fam reunion. Ahem.

* Just an FYI for you non-teachers, "He Cut Me!" doesn't mean that the kids are jabbing each other with scissors and other random art room shanks so frequently that I like to make light of the situation. It's their expression for someone jumping line. Which, in kindergarten, is just as traumatic as getting stuck with scissors. Yes, seriously.

Since van Gogh has so many amazing masterpieces aside from La Noche Estrellada (that's right. I'm trilingual. I speak English, Espanol {not really} and Southern. Which is seriously it's own language),  I decided to dedicate a sweater to his paintings of sunflowers. Dude painted about 12 sunflower-y paintings, ya'll! So I decided to give 'em a shout out with this little sweater I scooped up at the thrift store.

While at the thrift store, I also picked up a couple of green 100% wool sweaters. I promptly washed them in hot water which felted them nicely. SIDE NOTE: My moms-in-law just informed me that I shouldn't do that again as it can seriously mess up your washer. She speaks from experience after doing the same and having to have her machine repaired. 

At the craft store, I found the perfect sunflower yellow 100% wool felt and began laying out and planning my design. You'll notice in the photo above I cut out two layers of sunflowers and overlapped 'em a bit. In the next coupla pics, you'll see that I soon scraped that idea. But more on that in a sec (wait, did I just call you a "butt moron"? I believe I did. My bad).

Creating the center of the sunflower was easy enough. With a felting pad underneath, I applied the brown roving to the flower shape and commenced punching with that pink tool you see on the right. For a crash course on felting (as well as a lil list of my felting faves) go here and scroll southward.

For some of the leaves and the stem, I used those aforementioned felted sweaters cut into the desired shapes. And punched 'em into the fibers of the sweater.

For a little variety, I added light green roving to some of the leaves for veins.

There were two reasons I ended up ditching the doubled-up flower idea. One, once the wool was felted, you couldn't see the difference between the top and bottom layer, it all just became flat without that 3-D effect you see in the earlier photo. And the other reason was that two layers of felt and the sweater were difficult to felt though. So I just used one layer of felt (in the photo above, I had already started so I was trimming off the extra flower petals as I went along). To create a little dimension, I shaded with the brown roving.

And I think I like it. Like, I think it's finished. But I'm not sure. More leaves above the large flower on the left? Another small flower on the right?

Forgetaboutit and move on? That's what I'm leaning toward.

Outfit Details: sweater: thrifted; dress: vintage, thrifted; belt and shoes: Anthro; sunflower tights and crinoline: amazon...by the way, these are FOOTLESS tights. Look closely, ya'll. I'm wearing a pair of turquoise tights underneath. Because I'm a super genius.

And there ya have it! What Not to Wear in the Wintertime Unless You Happen to Hate Winter and Wanna Pretend It's Summer. In January. In 5 Degree Temps. Whatever. I bet they dress just like this in Antarctica. 

Chat soon, ya'll!

In the Art Room: Floating Chalk Prints

Ya'll might recall the suminagashi or paper marbling technique I recently shared. In that post, I shared the pros and cons of the whole experience. They kinda went like this. 

Pros: 

• The kids loved it. Just the idea of making paint float, creating a design and then capturing that floating paint on paper was thrilling for them. 
• The results were usually pretty rad. 
• Each paper piece was unique, just like the artist.

Cons: 

• The carrageenan (powderized seaweed) and water mixture had to be blended the night before and left to "rest". Which meant I had to remember to do it before leaving for the day. And me remembering ANYTHING at the end of a school day, other than picking up dinner at the drive thru, is a miracle.
• The stuff feels like snot. Like super snotty snot.
• Near the end of a marbling run, the designs were often not as vibrant because of the muddied waters.

Having experienced all that, I shared my love-hate on the aforementioned post and asked your advice. And ya'll delivered! This here floating chalk project was one of the mentioned ideas that I thought I'd share with you. But before I get to that, here are some other great ideas that were suggested: 

• Ingrid of NorridgeArt wrote: I've used Elmer's art paste, which turns out to be methyl cellulose, which works great and is really comparable in price as far as I can tell, to buying it in bulk. I would second using the tote-trays. After many uses, the remaining acrylic paint sinks to the bottom, and eventually, it does gray the water and dull the transferred colors a little. I haven't done this for years and I think I will crack into this soon! Fun! 
• Phyl of There's a Dragon in my Art Room said:  Hey, Cassie, I don't know why I didn't think to tell you this before: liquid starch (the inexpensive blue stuff in the bottle) works GREAT for marbling, using watered down acrylic paint just like you did. And we used cheapo plastic forks for marbling. Only when we were done, we used tissues to blot them gently. THAT was the disgusting messy part, but the results looked a lot like yours, brighter than shaving cream marbling. Test it! (She also wrote on my facebook page): Have you done shaving cream marbling? It's easy, it makes your room smell good, and when you are done the shaving cream all over the place cleans the tables!
• Laura wrote:  Do not be afraid to experiment with India inks. The best color you can get is to use thinned down oil paints but with students it's not the safest method. (I too teach kids in my private studio) I have gotten the best results with kids using air brush paint. The createx brand is the one I have used with good results. My friend told me the best description she could give to how much to thin down the paint it get it to the consistency of whole milk. I found that those plastic utility tubs are perfect for using to put the mixture in- keeps the paint contained better when they are putting it on the moss mixture. I use small paint brushes to put the paint down because they seem to have better control than with the eye droppers.
• Amazingly awesome author Pam Stephens (of the Dropping In book series) wrote:  I have a never-fail method that Nancy Walkup {editor of SchoolArts} taught me. It's nothing more than a tub of shallow water, Prang Freeart chalk, something to scrape the chalk with (plastic knife works), an old comb or fork (to stir the chalk), and heavy white construction paper. I wear plastic gloves because the chalk stains like the dickens. Just hold the chalk over the water and scrap whatever colors you want. Stir with an old comb or whatever you have to get a nice design. Drop the paper on the chalk. Let it sit for about 30 seconds. Pull the paper off the water and TaDah! Marbled paper. Dries in a jiffy (about half an hours). You can also use colored construction paper depending on the colors of chalk you use. WARNING: This is addicting.
• Mrs. Walton commented:  Use tote trays instead of cookie sheets. Fill half way with water. Have one sheet of posterboard directly next to the tote tray so you can immediately have a place to put the soaking paper. Use pastels and a cheap pair of scissors to scrape color onto the water and let it float. If they accidentally break the chalk into the water, tell them not to fish it out. The minute you stick your finger in teh water, it breaks the tension on the water and the chalk sprinkles start to sink. Folding (not creasing) so that the ends of the paper are up (think U shape), set the paper in the water center first. Slowly let the edges go onto the water mixture. This keeps water bubbles from forming (as badly) on the paper. Then, I tell the kids to grab the corners closest to them and drag the paper up towards them #1 so that they are dragging more chalk onto the paper as it's lifting, #2 so they can see what they are getting when they lift it, #3 so that the water is still dripping downwards when it's lifting into the tote tray. Then, simply place it onto the posterboard next to it.

Aren't those just the best suggestions?! Thank you, art friends, you're the best. When I ran out of carrageenan the day before my last group of students were to marble, I decided to give Mrs. Walton's idea a go as I had all mentioned supplies on hand. And it was a total success! Here's how we did it.

Just like she mentioned, I filled some tote trays with water. I decided to cut some old plastic lids in half as scrapers and laid out some chunky chalk.

Now, I have to recommend that you not use any ole chalk for this project. I mean you could...but the small stuff will probably just break and side walk chalk is just too lacking in color. I strongly recommend ordering a couple sets of Prang's Freart chalk (I think I ordered mine from Nasco). It's vibrant and big enough for little hands.

Ya'll, the process was so super simple it was kinda ridiculous. The scrapped their chosen colors with the cut lid until their tray looked like this...

(ooooh, pretty.)

Then, holding their star parallel with the surface of the water, they dropped it onto the water while I lowered their paper on top of the star. Together, we "massaged" their paper to capture the chalk. We knew it was working when we saw a faint outline of the star and the colors of the chalk through the back of the paper. Slowly, I lifted the paper out. Sometimes, I would see a white spot where it didn't take at which point I would lower the paper again and attempt to pick up the chalk. Once I lifted the paper out, the student plucked the star from the water. They looked a little like this.

Amazing, right?

I love the layers of vibrant color.

And their stenciled papers looked like this. The kids thought it was Christmas.

Once dry, these were sprayed with fixative (or AquaNet if you live in the 80's) so the chalk wouldn't smear.

So. Would I do this method again? Definitely. It was so much easier and the results were ALWAYS amazing. It was a fun and new printing technique that fascinated the children. 

However, it just wasn't the same as suminagashi. This isn't true paper marbling because you cannot really manipulate the chalk once it's on the surface of the water. For that reason, I will continue to also use the suminagashi technique...even if the stuff feels like super snotty snot.

By the way... I'm so super stoked about this Saturday's conference, you don't even know! I cannot wait to see what other art teachers have to share. Are any of you lovelies attending The Art of Education's online conference this Saturday? If so, just an FYI, my presentation is off the chain goof-ball. Just so's ya know. Looking forward to chatting with you!

In the Art Room: Self-Portrait in a Kimono

Konichiwa, ya'll! 

My second grade students have been wrapping up their Self-Portraits in a Kimono collages this week and I just had to share. Because, well, look at 'em. They are, like, totes adorbs (so sorry. With my {gulp} 39th birthday approaching in a month and a half, I've decided to hit mid-life crisis mode and talk like a 13 year old. Mostly because I still act like a 13 year old.)

We covered so much with this project from traditional Japanese clothing to portrait drawing to collage techniques.  We even learned how to write a couple of Japanese characters! It was a whole lotta stuff crammed into one masterpiece and the kids are so excited with the results.

One of my favorite things about displaying these pieces together is that they often appear to interact with each other...like Capt. Spiky Hair and Samurai Scar Face. Scar Face doesn't look too enthused. Maybe the scar is from a bad run-in with a certain spiked hair dude.

Students could create a fan to include in their collage or not. Some students decided to get all FANtastic and spring for two fans. Notice the one tucked into the obijime (which is that little yarn belt).

Now, ya'll might recall that our theme for the school year is Asia (even if we did take a wee detour to Norway to study all things Viking when my student teacher was with us). You can catch a glimpse of my Asian-themed art room here. I've worn this kimono a couple of times and chatted with the kids about the different elements of the outfit. This really piqued their curiosity and got them excited about creating a mini-kimono of their own. Now the boys did take a little convincing...that was until I showed them examples of samurai in their kimonos. Then they were totally on board. 

BY THE WAY...if you are attending the Art of Education's online conference this Saturday, this here is one of the four different costumes you'll get the chance to see. Please BYOC (Bring Your Own Crackers) because my presentation is full of some serious cheesiness.

The first thing we did was create our kimonos. We chatted about the tradition in Japan of having four different kimonos, one for every season. I asked the kids to pick their favorite season and color two coffee filters with colors that reminded them of that time of year. Once colored, these filters were placed on a styrofoam plate and painted with water. NOW, this project was delayed a bit because I did switch gears and have them use their painted coffee filters for a temporary installation for International Dot Day (see here). Once that installation was down, coffee filters were returned and we were back to work.

Our next order of business was creating the body. The children were given a template that was about 3" wide and 9" tall with a round head shape at the top. After selecting their flesh color, they traced the template for the head portion only and began drawing out the features of the face.

We did chat quite a bit about the placement of facial features. The children drew their portraits in pencil, traced with thin sharpie and then erased their pencil lines. Color was added with colored pencils. We then worked on the kimono. The children learned that a collar called a eri sugata is often worn under a kimono. They created one with a small piece of origami paper. Next we folded the kimono over the body...in just the right way with the left side first, right side on top. Folding the kimono the opposite way is how it is worn when buried.

Hair was added with a choice of decorations for the ladies. Arms were created with the second coffee filter folded just like the kimono. Hands were made with the aid of a template. Then came the belts: the obi, which is the large belt and the obijimi, the small cord that goes around the obi. I happened to have some snazzy fabric for the obi and some funky monkey yarn for the obijimi.

Here's a group of first grade creations before arms were added.

Because white toe socks are usually worn with the wooden clogs called geta, the students were given white paper the same width of the body. They were told to draw two curved lines, cut out and slip inside the bottom of the kimono. The top of the geta clogs were created with the letter "V".

I really wanted the background to be interesting but not take away from the awesomeness of the self-portrait. For that reason, the kids used Mod Podge to adhere a piece of tissue paper to white drawing paper and then proceeded to cover that with Mod Podge I had added glitter to.

Once the sparkly background was complete, the kids added their self-portraits. Then they were to write some Japanese characters that best described them (based on a handout that was on their tables) and glue to the bottom of their piece. Once complete, I have the kids my "red stamp of approval": a stamp I had created in Japan that has my name on it. 

Whew! I'm exhausted just explaining all the elements of this lesson...I know the kids are happy with their work. And probably even happier still to move on to something new. Next up: Sumi-e Brush Painting! I'm excited to share this art with the children. Have you taught sumi-e before? Any tips?

OH! And thanks to all of you that have joined in on the Artsy Book Club! If you've not done it already, you can join our facebook page here. And you can join this blog's facebook page here! 

Chat with you soon!