Whooo!
I Have been wanting to do an owl project for awhile now and these past few weeks one of my students and I have been doing just that.  I forgot to get pictures of hers.  We have been working on drawing owls and then we picked our favorite to use as a pattern for one out of paper.  The background is acrylic paint and then the moon is tissue paper.  We finished with charcoal and oil pastels.  I thought they turned out so cute!

April Classes Got Us Flying!

I saw this project on thatartisticwoman.org a few years ago and have been wanting to try it.  But, not with a grade level of 100 students!  So I decided to get my small art groups going on this spring.  It has been sooooo much fun and the results are fantastic!  These windsocks have taken 3-4 sessions.  They end up looking like we Batiked them with wax.  We made the white lines with good old Elmers Glue.  Thanks Gail once again!

A Typical Art Class

For my private and semi private classes held during the month of March we worked on these wonderful Spring Blossom watercolors.  Thanks to Gail who has a wonderful art blog called That Artistic Woman. Link to http://www.thatartistwoman.org/2009/03/how-to-paint-spring-trees.html for this wonderful project.  A typical art class begins with a drawing exercise like the one below and then we work on a project.  Sometimes those projects are one session and some take a couple.

In this drawing project we observed the dolls and talked about the basic shapes that we could see.  We penciled those shapes in with light butterfly pressure so that we could erase those lines if we wanted to.  I am also trying to get the student to look at the lines that the arms are making.

Ceramics!

                                                         3rd Grade Animal Pinch Pots
                                                                                      

Cups and Goblets by 5th and 6th Graders

1st Grade Guppies

Pinch Pot Hearts by the 2nd Grades

These photos are of the ceramic projects that I did with some of my art classes last year at Mountain View Elementary.  The PTA funded these cute projects!  Working with clay gives students a chance to create in 3D.  It is not always easy to control the outcome but most students find the process to be enjoyable and successful. And, what parent out there doesn't love a pot or animal sitting on a shelf made by the little hands of a child.  I especially love those guppy fish made by my first graders!  I will never forget the giggles and smiles that appeared as they created these little guys.  Each one has his own personality.  After firing them the first time I ended up having them paint them with acrylic paint and then cover them with a layer of glossy Modge Podge.

Summer 2011 Art Adventures

The summer of 2011 was the first time I offered art classes in my home.  It was so much fun!

We created comic strips and new machines, drew people and animals, learned how to use nature as inspiration, made wearable art,  used our imaginations, and discovered new pets and friends!

My kids loved helping or participating in the classes.  It was a wonderful way to make a little extra money for my family, be with my own children,  and help to inspire others to be creative and use their imaginations.  Summertime is the perfect time for art!

Showing Off

This is the work of my first private student. She is a senior in high school. We have been working together now for a little over a year. It has been so exciting to watch her improve and grow as an artist. When we first started she was very nervous about putting in the darker values, the shadows. We see form in light and dark. Wow! She is really making progress! I love to see what she has been working on during the week. She inspires me to keep creating!

This last photo is the mixed media cover she did for one of her art journals.

I love how her hair is transparent and text underneath.  It makes us both happy :)

Changes are coming....

Last year at this time I was told that my prep time specialist position was being changed. Our school lost funding for the arts grant that we had that made it possible for a full time music specialist and then my part time art specialist. The faculty had to decide which subject they wanted a specialist to cover. And, they choose music. I was given the opportunity to teach the music but declined it. At the time I thought I would easily be able to go to another school to teach art. But sadly it hasn't happened. I loved teaching art everyday. It feed my spirit to be drawing and creating daily. I really enjoy feeling my students energy and love of art and being able to see what they created.  At times when I was out and about the community I would hear, "Hi Mrs. Adams!"  It makes you feel like a rock star!  The students would say that their favorite class was art.  I would tell them, "Mine too!"    When I was young and going to school I was good at art. I was horrible at reading and math. Art is what got me through. Interesting enough when I was in middle school I took all the art classes I could. But, when I got to high school there wasn't a art department. No money for it back then. So my mom made sure I was enrolled in every summer art class, private art class, and USU sponsored program that I take. My mom and dad are both very artistic. So my home was filled with drawing paper, pencils, paint, glue, etc. It was fun! I am grateful for those years. When I was teaching myself I came to realize what those teachers where talking about when they would draw blind contour drawings and circles. Drawing is a skill that is observational and only gets better with lots of practice. My skills got better after drawing everyday with my students. So now, even though I am not teaching formally in a classroom right now, I still have a strong desire to create art daily and to be able to teach it. It is so gratifying to see a student progress and learn. To watch her blossom and be excited about creating on her own. I am not sure what changes are coming ahead for me and my family but I am pretty sure it has something to do with creating art everyday!