What to do? What to do????

Well all, I am back.  I have turned the page and moved on to a new chapter, a new school (after 18 years), and new challenges.  Some of you may know and some may not, but I lost my son three years ago and it has certainly been a life changer.  Honestly, it just stopped for a while as did everything else....so, moving on.

Have you ever wondered what to do in-between projects in the classroom?  Personally, I hate free time.  Yep, that's right. I said it.  I hate free time.  As an art teacher, I modify with every student.  You have the kid everyone wishes they had all the way down the line to those who just don't want to be there and nope, you can't make them...at least until the art bug bites them.  Oops! I did it again...Yes, we all have them.  Let's be real here.  So what do you do?  What do you do to keep everyone engaged?

I like collaborative works. They work with EVERYONE.  A mini lesson here and a mini lesson there.  Let the kids take over from there.  Let the few show the others and let them make the artwork their own.  This piece was inspired by a driftwood sculpture I saw on Pinterest.  I will admit, I am a Pinterest junkie.  I am inspired, led, and encouraged all the time to try new things.  Life would be pretty boring if I did the same projects year after year. Not me! 

"Not me" had acquired quite a bit of cardboard from a kitchen remodel and from new furniture moved into the classrooms at the beginning of the school year.  "Hey, let me save you a trip...you can drop those boxes in my classroom if you don't need them."  You know, those large, straight pieces just screaming to become something else besides pulp.  Yes, I confess, I get excited over cardboard. If you haven't discovered its versatility, then I encourage you to explore the medium.  Explore, I say!  There is so much you can do with it and it stretches the ol' art budget. Another bonus!

I gave a quick mini lesson on collaborative works, pattern, paint, and of course, clean up.  I showed them the image and told them I wanted it to relate to the school.  Mistake!  When you tell the kids you want it to relate to the school, they immediately start writing, so I had to give another lesson on how to relate it to the school without words.  Horse shoes and color became our alternative, although we did incorporate everyone's piece...even those with words.  The "over achievers" were the ones already done so I left them to assemble emphasizing unity, balance, and repetition.  I let the kids take ownership and they loved it!

The great part about this project (for me)...I had to have a sub as I was a UIL coordinator who had to get ready to host the district meet the following day and was not in the classroom.  So, you are probably asking, "What was so great about that?"  Well, when I returned to the campus that afternoon, I saw a ladder in the hall and students busy trying to get it hung for our guests to see the next day.  Wow!  They were proud of it, it was theirs, and THEY wanted it displayed for all to see. Another great day in the life of an art teacher!  Oh, we made two.

Quilling with Old Magazines

Quilling is an art form that uses strips of paper that are that are rolled and formed into different shapes to create an image. There isn't a rule that says what kind of paper you have to use though.  For this project, we used old magazines which frankly, needed to be used.

A quilled letter made from old magazines.

The project itself was inspired by a pin on Pinterest. It is a great site for ideas and inspiration.  The pin was an image of a cross made out of old magazine pages that were rolled into circles. Magazines? Glue? Modge Podge?  Hmmm...this was something I had to try. Anytime I can use something I have laying around or fereee, I get excited. In this day and ages of budget cuts, I am all about saving and penny pinching. I started folding magazines the next day to give it a whirl.

What I saw when I looked at the image were lines and circles and I thought, this can be applied to other images you just had to think in those terms.  I made a cross first like the original image I saw.  Actually, it was so easy, I made several. It however, did take time.  The lengthiest part of the project was the actual folding, but when I showed the kids what I had made, I had several assembly line volunteers.  We all worked together to get the process done. Anytime someone was finished with their work, they were folding.

The original image I began with.

Instead of crosses, although many chose to do so, we made letters. It was close to Mother's Day, so some made a letter from their Mother's name, some made hearts, and some made picture frames.  It was only limited to their imagination. Since this was a first time project for me, I was all about "let's see what we can do with it" and was game to try anything that seemed feasible.

This was a fun project and once again, it didn't cost much to do at all.  The magazines were donated (thank you), we had lots of glue, and instead of using Modge Podge, we used a mixture of glue and water to finish off our creations (thank you again, Pinterest). I don't know who the originator was, but I found instructions for the project here. Enjoy!

Art Resources

Good morning, starshines!  School begins exactly one week from today so I have started organizing my favorite sites and, in the process,  added a new page on the blog, Resources for Art Teachers.  I hope that you find them as useful as I have.  I will add more as I go along. If you have found any worthy to share, please let me know.

Design with Adinkra Symbols

A foil relief/print using Adinkra symbols 

One of the first items on my list to teach the first 6 weeks of school is design.  The elements and principles of art. I call them our "checklist for success".  I have found that more open ended projects help with this.  The students become the decision makers and the elements and the principles become their guide.  I just facilitate this by giving them a few things to begin with.  Namely, a subject, and for my Art I students, a medium.  How they put it together is on them.  Sometimes, this isn't so easy as many at the middle school level are in art for the first time and are hesitant to make the decisions on their own.
Once I get them going though and get them to thinking about how to apply the elements and principles, I find that these projects are the most successful. We did  one using a foil relief/print.

For this particular design project, we used Adinkra symbols for the subject. The project itself is a fun one with any subject, and we were able to discuss two different methods...relief sculpture and printmaking as well as design. There are a couple of different ways to do this.

It's Official

That's right, folks.  It is official.  There WILL be another school year.  I just received my "Back to School" welcome letter.  Attached to it, a schedule of workshops...none of which have anything to do with art. This often happens in small districts. I understand that academics come first.  I get it. But don't they realize what we need is more creative thinkers in this world. Why do I need to learn about "foldables" when I can do origami? And what the heck is an IFD?   Didn't anyone tell them I was on summer vacation. I still have a painting to finish, a blog to set up, an art journal to start, and what about those cool paper bag albums I wanted to try on youtube? Where did the summer go?  I need more time!

Hello

My liver has grown back and just in time for the start of a new year! Time to start thinking about the challenges ahead and all the adventures it will bring. This year, like every year, is a unique experience and I decided to start this blog to share with other art teachers what I have learned, what I am doing, and what inspires me as a teacher and an artist.  And...yes, after 20+ years as an art teacher, I do have something to share...some good...some not so good, but we learn along the way.  Oh, and did I say I was a middle school art teacher?  That right there is a challenge in itself. For all of the other teachers out there, time to get in gear if you haven't already. I am looking forward to meeting more of you and sharing our thoughts and ideas.  Have a great school year and "may the force be with you!".