ArtsFest 2015

I am really fortunate that I have had several opportunities to show my work over the last few years. About three years ago, I took my first painting class (more of an exploration of oils with a few tutorials). That fall, I attended the local art association's annual art show and realized that I should be showing my work! While I have had no formal training, and my "studio" sessions are sporadic, I am pretty proud of how far I have come.

Below is some underpainting I did in January of 2014. The final image is above and I only finished it this weekend! To be fair, I have completed several other paintings in between, but this one just kept taking a back seat.

That painting, "From the Beach" (8"x 10") and this one, "Nantucket 2" ( 11" x 14") will be shown this weekend at the 18th Annual ArtsFest in my city. This is my fifth show in two years and I am ready to sell some work!

The art association tends to be a little more traditional, so I have entered my landscapes. I'd really like an opportunity to show a couple of my more abstract works in the future. In fact, I have a handful of other ideas for abstract paintings, with a few completed sketches. It is just finding the time and energy to get them started! 

Renewal
 Oil on Canvas
22"x 28"
2015

Awakening
Mixed Media Collage
18"x 24"
2015

Thanks for dealing with iphone pictures! 

DIY Decor

pin

My bureau is usually a mess. Not necessarily because of jewelry, but that doesn't help. (I'm really bad at putting laundry away and I don't know where the best place is to store receipts.) I saw this on Pinterest about a month ago and decided I should give it a shot.

I purchased some peg board at Lowe's and after some trial and error, I found the color that I wanted. Valspar spray paint is the best. Below you can see my messy room and the curtains I love, from which I try to base all bedroom decorating ideas. I also have a Monet print that has served as color inspiration for pretty much all rooms in our apartment. Next to the bureau is my makeshift closet. We have two closets and a pantry in our two bedroom apartment. No linen closet. I turned the eave into a closet with a closet bar and a tension rod to hold curtains. 

And my new jewelry organizer. I decided to put the pegboard into an old frame I had. This is puts less holes into our rented apartment walls. Otherwise I was going to use mirror hanger rosettes. 

Tomorrow I will hang some 's' hooks and get this party started!

I know I might be jumping the gun a bit, but I also started a DIY holiday project. I have seen a bunch of Christmas card holding wreaths on Pinterest. Again, since our place is rented, I have felt bad about taping our cards to the wall, so I decided this year to make a place to hold cards. I bought a wire wreath frame, fifty clothes pins, red ribbon and a bag of styrofoam balls. I had the light green spray paint from the DIY project above and purchased some hunter green to complement this project. 

After spray painting the clothes pins, I hot glued them to the wire frame. Noticing that they were not going to stay very well, I ran some red ribbon around the back, hot gluing and hopefully adding some stability. I also wrapped the ribbon around and between the frame. Finally, I hot glued the styrofoam balls to add some extra decoration. I am pretty happy with the results and can't wait to start clipping some cards in there! 

Drawing, as an adult, continues

I don't think I have EVER been kicked out of a bar. There was the one and only bachelorette party I went to where we weren't even allowed into the bar... But I have never been asked to leave a bar...
Until this Thursday.

So if you missed the previous post, I am taking a drawing class that meets in a different pub each week. This week, due to the location, my classmates sort of trickled in, finding a few seats here and there at high tops and at the bar. I sat a few seats down from the teacher, next to one of my classmates who works for a children's book publishing company. We each ordered food and drink and casually sketched and chatted as we waited for our food. After we ate, my classmate and I agreed that our vantage point was a little spent, and eyed a high top table. A waitress hesitantly came over after we settled in, asking if we would be ordering anything, as these tables were part of the dining room. We each said that we would order and she brought over a drink menu. Upon her return, she asked if we could move back to the bar, since there was room.
I was a little annoyed, but I understood. We were not going to be a high paying table since we had already eaten. We awkwardly went back to the two seats we just occupied, explaining to the bar tender (whom we asked prior to moving if it would be okay) that we were asked to move. I don't think she really minded after we both ordered another drink.

As I was working on this drawing

a woman, I later identified as a manager, started speaking to our teacher. I couldn't hear what they were saying behind me, I was in "class" after all trying to focus on my work, but it sounded like she was concerned. Like a game of telephone, the message that we should stop drawing people made its way down the bar.
Before I could even start another drawing, the manager looking woman started speaking loudly from behind the bar, at the teacher. "You couldn't even respect my wishes..." What? One of my classmates spoke up mentioning that we had all been there for at least two hours, had paid for meals and drinks. "Are you asking us to leave?"
Pretty much.
My classmates settled their bills and discussed going to a dive down the street. It was about 8:30 at that point (class is from 6:30- 9:00). I opted to settle my bill, finish my drink and go home. It was a school night!
My children's book publishing classmate decided to do the same and we ended up staying til 9 talking about books, illustration and the state of education and literacy in MA and the nation. I might have scored a free Caldecott Award winning wordless picture book, as well as some networking that might allow me to get in touch with illustrators willing to talk to high school students. Let's just say she works for a company that appreciates dots and ish. (mom, those are titles...)

So really, I was defiant and didn't leave the bar. The drawing may have stunk that night, but the intellectual conversation and networking was absolutely fantastic.  

Fashion as an Art Teacher

If given the chance, I'd wear something like this everyday. Jeans, t-shirt, hoodie and a pair of chucks. Most of my "kick back" shirts promote the local sports team, or like this one, beer. (The 'V' or peace sign stands for Victory brewing in PA). Definitely can't wear anything like this to school! So when it came to dressing for the MAEA conference, I panicked a little bit. What does a young art teacher wear that looks professional and creative?

On day one, I went with this.

I've felt a little like I am cheating this year, as I tend to wear different colored jeans and variations of t-shirts. My purple jeans above are a perfect example. Paired with boots and a blazer (made out of sweat shirt material!) I feel like I dressed it up a bit and stayed true to what I am most comfortable in. The blazer and black t-shirt are from Target. The sweater and jeans are from Ann Taylor Loft. The boots are a recent bargain found at Marshall's. They are by BOC.

On the second day I assumed others would be a little more casual. I was right, but I would still wear this outfit on any given day teaching. I paired navy cords with heeled booties, a collared shirt and sweater. I love a bargain and picked up the Not Your Daughter's Jeans cords at a local discount shop called Frugal Fannies. The collared Liz Claiborne button down I bought on clearance, per usual, at JCPenny. I wish the sweater from H&M fit a little better, but I made due, rolling the sleeves and folding under the the scoop neck. The scarf is a hand me down from my mom years and years ago... she thought it was ugly and I tend to wear it with everything!

I wore the sweater earlier in the week too, at parent/ teacher conferences. I paired it with a sleeveless dress from H&M, since my room was getting nice and toasty and I anticipated some anxiety perspiration. I threw on a pair of tights and ankle high cowboy boots that I have had since I started teaching, plus a silk scarf that was most likely my mom's in the 80s. 

Looking at these outfits, I guess I keep it together pretty well. When I first started teaching, there were some teachers in the building that still wore pants suits and other wore high heels. I've always tried to be comfortable yet professional. This year it all comes down to comfortable pants and shoes, paired with layers and sweaters in all colors. Seriously, I have red, yellow, green, blue, purple, khaki, black and gray pants, plus sweaters in gray, black, blue, brown, purple and yellow. I have really been enjoying my Dansko clogs and Clarke's wedges in tan and black. Having enough basics that can be interchanged really seem to be the key. I'll just keep trying to play off my jeans!

Greetings! From Day 2

It is a beautiful fall morning here, just south of Boston. 

Driving down to the South Coast, not to be confused with the South Shore, the last two days, the sun warmly greeted me, rising through the trees much like the image above. I don't always get to appreciate the beauty as I rush off to work in the morning. The chance to relax with hardly anyone else on the road and my music coming through the speakers, was very welcomed.

The second day of the MAEA regional conference was held at UMass Dartmouth's New Bedford Campus, also fondly called the Star Store. Before the university purchased the building, sometime before 2001, the building was a store, hence the name. The artisan program is housed here in addition to gallery and studio space.

My studio space was behind the column on the right in the photo above. I had a large table, a section of cork board and access to print tables and the dye kitchen pictured below.

I spent a lot of time here junior and senior year, wearing my blue apron, plugged into my first ever iPod.

The first session I took yesterday was absolutely for selfish reasons and I'm not afraid to say it! (Nor was I the only one!)  I spent many hours at these printmaking tables as an undergraduate and when I saw that my professor was leading a workshop, I absolutely had to sign up. While he couldn't remember my name, he did remember my face!

The photo process printmaking that was demonstrated for us would seriously need to be adapted, modified and previously prepared if it was to work with even high school students. I think the biggest take away as art educators was the idea of inquiry. There is so much left to chance, or the unknown, between light exposure times, how much time in the developer, what certain materials and pigments will and will not do... the list could go on... but printmaking can provide students with a sense of play and questioning that students can so often loose with painting or drawing. I guess that's what I took from the session. Others may have had a hard time with it, but beyond printing making for oneself, I can see it could benefit the students.

The second session I attended was about how a small, disjointed, hardly recognized art department became a power house in a now regional-ized high school. The quote above is placed on every bulletin and program this department publishes. I left the session empowered by some great ideas and much to think about over the next years...

I totally skipped the lunch provided by the conference, even though the buffet the day before was awesome. Instead I opted for the local burrito joint, No Problemo. I "checked-in" on Facebook and let me tell you, my friends were all sooo jealous. There are a bunch of places to eat and shop in New Bedford, in fact the little down town area, complete with cobblestone streets, has had a bit of a comeback in recent years. But nothing beats No Problemo. The food is fresh and tastey and the music and skate culture is popular with the clientele and staff alike. Its the kind of place that writes on the chalk board near the tip jar "a free kiss with every tip." (I didn't get mine.)

This has gone on way too long. I will wrap up with this:
The UMass Dartmouth Art Education Association Student Chapter had a great presence at the conference. You could tell that each was involved in some capacity or another, from attending the sessions, to guiding conference goers, to discussion panels. The buttons on the right and in the middle above were being sold by the chapter as a fundraiser. They are trying to raise enough money to represent UMass at the National Art Education Association Conference in San Diego this spring. In addition to the buttons, students produced 8"x8" art works, displayed in a gallery the second day of the conference, and held a silent auction.  Both are fantastic ideas (that I might need to steal borrow, for art club) and I wish them luck with their endeavor!

Greetings!

From the Massachusetts Art Education Association Conference! 

Actually, I am at home in my sweats blogging from the couch again. The conference is taking place at my Alma Mater, as you know if you are a frequent reader, of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Its only about an hours' drive away, so I have opted to commute. Today's workshops were in Group VI pictured above. Tomorrow we'll be at the Star Store in New Bedford.

The campus was designed by Paul Rudolph. Some group or another recently voted it one of the ugliest campuses in the nation. The architecture style is called Brutalism. As a student, the winter months definitely felt "brutal" and to be honest, I initially didn't want to go to school here because of the coldness of the concrete (among other things.) Pictured above is the recently renovated library. The design has won awards for bringing Brutalism into the 21st century. Had this renovation been done while I was a a student, I would have been there way more often! It is a beautiful combination of color, glass, and concrete.

Check out all the swag!
Really, there are a lot of flyers... information about Sargent Art, including an opportunity to get to other conferences with funding from the company, Youth Art Month information, a brochure for the College of Visual and Performing Arts, a New Bedford Tour Guide and most importantly, a certificate of attendance. With our new evaluation system, that piece is like gold. Not only does it have the number of PDPs you have earned, but also counts as evidence to be documented for the evaluation...

I really wanted to attend this conference because there was a workshop about DDMs or District Determined Measure, which is tied into the new evaluation system. My department has been creating and implementing a pilot this year and I was looking forward to more information and discussion points. And I think everyone else was too. I didn't get into that session.

However I was very happy to be in a session about divergent thinking and middle school. Really, divergent thinking can apply anywhere, but it was rewarding to hear about how it works in an inner city middle school. I came out of the session rejuvenated and looking forward to implementing many of the ideas, including written reflections and artist's statements as a part of a rubric that can be applied to every assignment, in my own classroom.

The last session I went to made me really want to get my MFA... at UMD. Or at the very least take this new class that was created out of the realization that teaching practices are better, and teachers are happier, when they are creating. The class is inquiry based and an individual experience for each student. In the beginning, students generate a list of questions to explore in their work. Then, through guiding questions by their peers, create and assess. Thanks to wikispaces, students have a place to share and gather feedback, almost in real time. The professor acts as a facilitator and participant, creating and acquiring feedback just as the students. I've noticed personally this year, that it is easier for me to approach students and give feedback, as I am engaged in creating outside the classroom. (Or at least I paint and draw with a much greater frequency than I have in the past) I also thrive on the energy of my students which makes me want to go home and create. The structure of this particular class could totally be adapted for upper level high school. Its a great lesson in how students can help each other and how teachers can help guide discussions... I am always the teacher who answers a question with a question, so often that students now anticipate what I am going to say. Teaching students how to think this way will foster collaboration and more authentic engagement and creation.

So overall, a great day.
I am really looking forward to tomorrow. All of our sessions are 80+ minutes since they are studio experiences. My first session involves printmaking and is taught by a professor whose class I thoroughly enjoyed. Check back soon for more conference goodness!

Drawing, as an adult

I finished my Master's in August, but I love learning so much that I signed up for a drawing class through the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It's not your typical drawing class though...

It meets in a different pub each week. 

The class pretty much combines two of my favorite things; drawing and beer. But really, the class is an opportunity for me to get out of the house, meet new people and enjoy drawing. There are only eleven people in the class, including the instructor. The first session was on Halloween, so only five of us were there. (I am guessing the other six either have kids, were out partying or didn't want to chance going in town) The instructor had us start by playing a few rounds of the Exquisite Corpse game.

If you have never played before, you should definitely bring out the drawing pencils at your next party. Very basically, each person gets a piece of paper and folds it into thirds. On the first third, the first person draws a head. This person makes sure to draw a few guidelines into the next third before passing it to the person to the right. This person then draws the mid-section of the figure without looking at the head. Guidelines are drawn and passed to the third person who adds the feet, or bottom of the figure. We played three times, which was enough time for a beer and some food, and each drawing was progressively strange. Salvador Dali and his Surrealist friends would play this game at parties. Its a great way to get the creativity flowing.

From here, we began drawing each other at the table. The image above is my second drawing of the night. I was so hesitant to draw people that I really focused on the architecture of the dining room. Hopefully I get a little more comfortable. But at the same time, this is one of the first drawings I have really done in pen. It felt really satisfying.

We ended the evening with gesture drawings in the bar. I filled about three pages with thirty second scribbles while my classmates tried to complete multiple minute drawings. Above is a bearded gentleman pouring a beer from a pitcher.

Mind you, it was also Halloween... above was some cat lady with pearls and a man wearing a squid hat.

Unfortunately the next class is also the night of parent/ teacher conferences, so I will have to miss out. :(

Proud to Be UMD

I woke up this morning feeling like yesterday was a bizarre but lovely dream. 

My university's homecoming events were announced over a month or so ago and I decided that for the first time ever, I would attend. I was enticed by the promise of a Resident Assistant Reunion AND Orientation Leader Reunion.
I know, I am a huge dork.
But it was because of my experiences with these two programs that I am the person that I am today.

At the Resident Assistant Reunion there were groups of these canvas prints with photos of RAs throughout the years. The one above has a bunch of folks I was on staff with. (Thankfully?) I am not in any of these photos. I spent two years as an RA and it was probably the hardest I have ever worked in my life. I am so thankful that senior year I was able to live in the brand new apartments and focus on my studies, particularly student teaching. I lived with three other women who were "retired" RAs and I have to say, we had a blast, amongst the trials and tribulations of college life.

My junior year of college I was an Orientation Coordinator for Family Orientation. The other OCs and I called ourselves the "Party of Six" that year. Above is the party of four who could represent. The other two are working in upstate New York and could not join us for the weekend.

I had a fantastic day between the reunions, the beer tent with a bunch of (650!) alum, dinner with friends and an evening, self guided tour of campus.
I look back and realize how much I really did grow up in four years. Others may argue that high school was the best four years of their lives, but for me, college was it. The people I can call my friends know just how shy I was as an eighteen year old AND  how by twenty one, I could confidently address a group of parents or a class of high school students.

I may have never, ever wanted to go to UMD with its ugly buildings and not quite far enough away location, but it was the best decision of my life.
Rolling Stones and newspapers across the country may have dragged UMD's name through the mud in recent months, but I could not be more proud of from where I have come.

Maybe one day I will be so lucky to return as a Professor of Art Education.

DIY back patch

Aside from painting, I haven't been that creative this summer. The idea of sitting in the backyard, reading a book in the sun has been much more appealing to me that dragging out all my supplies. However, I had a request!
As I mentioned before, my boyfriend gets a bunch of band t-shirts. Sometimes they don't fit and I get them, but last summer between the two of us, we figured out that we could keep the shirts and turn them into patches. So I was asked if I could put this t-shirt on this sweatshirt. It was pretty easy, and the extent of my sewing skills, but enjoyable to sit and watch Project Runway and sew!

I had my self healing, green cutting mat. A rotary cutter- if you don't have one, get one! I love it! I also had a t-square and your usually sewing notions- needle, thread and pins.

First I squared off the logo, keeping even on all sides. This is where the combo of a rotary cutter, t-square and mat make things super easy!

Next, I centered the logo.
I am a sloppy seamstress so I then pinned the logo before baste stitching all around.
Since the edges of the t-shirt are unfinished, I whip stitched all the way around. That was the tedious step, but once this is washed again, you don't want it to fray.
I have used iron adhesive before, but for pieces this big, it is really uncomfortable. There's not a lot of give.
This was a simple solution, but I get great pleasure knowing that it is pretty unique. I am even more thrilled when my boyfriend comes home from shows and tells me he got complimented on his sweatshirt. I know, I am a dork and I own it!

Mom's Visit Continued

The rest of the week we took a little easier than Day 1. There were lots of people to visit!
On that Tuesday, I unfortunately had a dentist appointment that I had already rescheduled due to my Nantucket adventures, so I had to go. Trying to kill some time in the morning, I brought Mom to one my of favorite spots along the water. That's Mom's photo above. She also caught me, below.

Afterwards, I took this as an opportunity to go look at some of the real estate on that little peninsula to my right. Mom was an agent when we were kids and I grew up enjoying scoping out new listings and beautiful properties. Who better to go snooping with than my Mom?

After the ever exciting dentist visit, we drove to Plymouth to meet my Mom's oldest friend from high school. She lives on the Cape, so while we didn't visit the pilgrims or the disappointingly tiny rock, the Cabby Shack where we had lunch, was a nice half way point. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be by the water with clear skies and no humidity. We all caught up over fried seafood, clam chowder and drinks. On the way home, Mom and I did some shopping at our favorite, Christmas Tree Shoppe. We love a bargain!

Wednesday we slept in, grabbed some Dunkin Donuts and went back to the beach for some sunshine. Later in the day we had lunch with my boyfriend's parents and then hopped back on the train for free admission to the Museum of Fine Arts. (I hope to do a stand alone museum post at a later time, since I have visited a couple this summer. Stay tuned!)

When we returned from the museum, my brother had arrived at my apartment a day early to surprise my mom. It was awesome! We sat around my kitchen table, just like we would have at our old house, chatting until we were all too tired to talk anymore.

Thursday morning I brought my mom and brother to a breakfast spot I could walk to from my old apartment. It's across the street from the birth houses of John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Next time we will have to get a tour there, but a cheap, greasy breakfast was more important this time around! Check out all that bacon!
Instead, Mom and I were educated in the afternoon when we went to the John F. Kennedy Library.

 Not much had changed since I was there in middle school. I found it to be really well done and from a student's point of view, the exhibits peaked my interest just enough to want to know a little more.
When we were outside the building, we were back on the Harborwalk I mentioned in the previous post. Only this time we were on a different side.

 Afterwards we drove over to that sandy patch straight ahead, called Castle Island. It doesn't have a castle, nor is it an island anymore, but there is a cool fort and the parks department has done a nice job keeping up the walkways and playground. Lots of people were out and about, enjoying the weather and a nice, open place to play. Mom and I enjoyed some soft serve from Sully's. You know it is officially summer when this place opens, it's usually a story on the local news!

For dinner we went to Patriot's Place in Foxborough where the Patriot's play. Over the last few years stores and restaurants, even a hotel, have opened next to the stadium, right there in suburbia. We met Mom's girlfriend's from the church we grew up in, and caught up over bowls of pasta, salads and glasses of wine. It really felt like home being with those wonderful women, even though we were in the middle of the Olive Garden!

Friday was the big day! I had scoured the internet for weeks trying to find just the right Red Sox tickets. I had looked forward to this game before school was even out!

We headed into the city early, boarding a train for Harvard Square. Walking around Harvard on one of the first sunny days of spring is up there with showing off my city. We went to Charlie's Kitchen for lunch and sat in the beer garden. Its definitely a dive compared to other places in the area, but the prices are right and there is nothing better than drinking a beer outside and enjoying your company. I then successfully navigated the bus system, a first for me, over to Kenmore where the fun began.

We lost in the end. But what was more important is that we went to the game as a family. Each of us has had opportunities to go on our own over the years, but never together. We had some great fun!

I honestly do not remember what we did Saturday, other than sleep in! We must have gone souvenir shopping, we most likely got Dunkin Donuts and probably relaxed. It was Mom's birthday after all!

For dinner, my boyfriend graciously borrowed his parents mini van and chauffeured my aunt and uncle and the rest of us to one of my Mom's new favorite restaurants in the city, the Sunset Bar and Grill. Parking can usually be a pain, but the gods shone upon us with a spot right out front.
This is probably one of my most favorite photos from the whole week.

It was so nice to have a week full of family time. I was exhausted in the end, but as Nana always says, its important to make memories.