Grade 4: iPads and Landscapes

It felt great to get outside this morning to take pictures with my 4th graders.
After a short discussion, we took the iPads outside to take photographs of the trees on the school property and photographs of fall colors in general.
Back inside, we reviewed the photos and got ourselves prepped for painting our landscapes. It was pleasant to see them navigating through the painting project successfully without any real directions. They know how to paint! They came up with solutions that worked for them and they did not rush to add unachievable details in. Normally kids will try to get it all done at once but I was glad to see that my kids knew better on their own today.
We will be finished next week. Stay tuned!

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Enjoy!

Grade 1: Fall Leaves

There are some projects (ok, you know me better...there are MANY projects) that I just cannot contain my enthusiasm for. These watercolor leaves made by my first graders is one of those projects. 

Watching them make decisions for layout, enjoy the process of using materials happily and successfully..... well lets just say this: I must have said "these are SO beautiful" at least 25 times. It got to the point where the kids were laughing at me. "Carlos, I love how you added just a touch of orange..your leaf looks so realistic!" "James, wow, you lightened the color in your background so well by adding water!", "Maeve, you swirled those cool colors together so nicely in the background..wow!" I couldn't control myself. Here are the kids in Mrs. McCann's class viewing their work that they knew I was rushing to hang up in the hallway....LUNCH CAN WAIT FOR THESE BEAUTIES!

1st grades view their freshly displayed work

Grade 5: Yearbook Cover Contest Entries

Here they are- 20 wonderful entries for the annual Bear Tavern yearbook cover design contest!

As the covers have trickled in over the past month, I have been excited to see what neat designs my talented 5th graders have come up with. Today, Mrs. Finnegan (Yearbook Chair, 4th and 5th grade teacher, parent and generally extraordinaire person) and I were flooded with even more beautiful entries. The next phase is school-wide voting to select the winner! What I love is that all of the entries will be published on the back cover or throughout the yearbook pages honoring each participant. 

Stay posted for the winner!

Mumble about a Friend

A friend of mine recently started teaching art for the first time and I am so excited for her.
When you have the chance to love what you do and "do what you love" it's such a great way to be.
I am also happy because my instincts served me right and she will be an incredible teacher. When teaching is your calling and you can make a difference in the lives of others, it doesn't get better.
Van Gogh is one of the most beautiful minds to grace the art world. This landscape of his "Wheat Fields at Auvers under Clouded Sky" is a dedication in this post to my friend and all new art teachers who have found their calling. Love every moment for in every moment there is a lesson that will take you further on your beautiful path.

Grade 4: Batik for the PSO

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) invited us to create art for a family series performance that they held this month on the Princeton University campus.

The Education Coordinator, Carol Burden, is wonderful to work with and I am so glad to have had the chance to participate. 

We were sent the book "The Great Migration" which is a story accompanied by American painter, Jacob Lawrence's paintings from his Migration series. As we read through the book and looked at his work, we identified his landscapes and the story he was telling about The Great Migration via his paintings depicting travel.

My students created their own batik landscapes and depictions of travel for this project. I hadn't done a batik project in a little while so it was quite fun to share this process with my love bugs.

The 70 or so batiks will be hanging in Pennington for a few weeks. I have to say, I can't wait to get them back and stare at them.

draw!

crumple!

paint!

rinse!

Back to Building Together: Sneak Peek

Building together is what we do well. Here is a sneak peek at our newest mosaic being worked on in September by our champion for the arts Superintendent, Dr. Smith and one of our supportive parents. 

All Grades: I Am Collages

Such rock stars! Here are my 4th graders working on their first project of the year in early September. All grades created mixed media self-portraits that were completed for their parents to admire on Back-to-School night. This project was a collaboration between the media specialist and me. We modified a project that I saw on a photographer's web page about a project that she did for her sons class. She took photographs of the children and had them write personal statements to incorporate into a painting that they made. I enjoyed watching my students work and enjoy scavenging for supplies, using materials as they chose to and ultimately telling the school some special things about themselves. In addition to black and white photos and text, my students created beautiful backgrounds and then got into the spirit of collage adding all sorts of materials to their final product.

I will see what I can do about posting the finished self-portraits considering photo permissions and all.

Chuck Close

How can I help but to love my job!

It's moments that I can capture like this that make my day. I love being as close as I can to art, after all, it is one of the things that I love the most in this world. Seeing my students intently enjoy the art making process and complain when the class period is over is one of the best feelings ever. 

My 5th graders are enjoying our annual name design project so much. It is one of very few projects that I repeat each year... going on 7 years strong :-)

My room has changed some this year. Mostly in that I hung up a few paintings that we collaboratively made and some of the decorations from the Art Show that we had in June. 

The only other major changes are that the tables have been pushed together to create "islands". So far, the kids and I are loving the new table situation and it's working great for us. 

Our Class mascot...long story.  If you haven't noticed over the years, I have an obsession with hanging things and mobiles. 

Summer Moments I Appreciated the Most

I have to say, this summer was one of the shortest on record. Naturally, I enjoyed spending extra time with my family and friends but as an art teacher, there were a few moments this summer that I really needed to have.

Last school year I burned myself out. Not literally but I did feel so exhausted from having such an incredibly busy/wonderful school year. It was my own fault because our school had so many wonderful events that I couldn't help but be a part of. We celebrated our 50th anniversary and really went all out,
a   l   l     y  e  a  r     l  o  n  g with exhaustive preparation. Outside of the classroom, I worked on 16 different projects. Yes, I was crazy....in love with each project.

Mural after mural, field trips, art contests, art shows and exhibitions, technology projects, Earth Day, fundraisers. It went on and on all year.

Feeling exhausted for most of July, I decided that I would have to be a stronger person immediately. My weakness is that I am easily inspired by amazing art, concepts and ideas. I like to figure out how to make things work and I like to do it in the company of others.  It will be a forever challenge but while feeling "burned out" you start to wonder if the energy, time, effort and sweat is worth it.

I took a workshop at Grounds for Sculpture at the very end of July and literally scared the instructor with my creation...he could not look at it for long it's that hideous. What can I say, I was thinking about Halloween art projects! I think this scary face that I created out of clay was a reflective piece. The other adults were sculpting friendly faces and animals and then there was this thing I made.....












The moments that I experienced in the month of August came unexpectedly

While at Art in the Park, a camp of guest artists, a Bear Tavern parent said to me "I am so glad you're here this week..."
For those of you fellow teachers reading, you may or may not appreciate the value of those words to a recently recovered burned out teacher but the value in such a candid comment caught me by surprise.
I actually had to digest and process the words. When I did finish my processing (hours later) those words became engraved in my heart for the timing and sincerity of them.

Then I led my groups through creating self-portraits and felt my heart swell as these students did an incredible job.




Again, unexpectedly, I felt myself feeling energized by the art and by the kids enjoying the process of creating. Many of the kids I had taught before and had not seen in a few years so it was great to see how wonderfully they were maturing.

notice the vintage Bear Tavern t-shirt

Art in the Park was a phenomenal week. I met some great people and reconnected with many. I went off to Florida and when I came back to Bear Tavern, another unexpected moment came to be. While giving a tour to some new teachers, my Principal says something along the lines of "And there's the Art Teacher, every staff member finds their inner artist (or becomes an artist) after stepping foot in this building".

feather project found on pinterest

Maybe I'm being mushy but how nice!
So all in all, I learned from these moments that I don't necessarily need to be a stronger person. I have all the strength I need and any bit that's missing I find in the support and company of the many around me.
Besides seeing my students in a couple of weeks, I am looking forward to seeing my colleagues and the parents that have been such a tremendous support.

Summer Mumble: 12 Most Striking Tendencies of Creative People

I got a laugh reading this list of tendencies as I checked off each and every one (except rules, I do enjoy and appreciate some rules)

Click here for an easier read and full list

Random Summer Mumble: Art Teacher Individuality

It's finally July and we have been out of school for a week. As my mind decompresses from a very busy year, I find myself thinking about the many different types of art teachers that I meet and how each of us can be so different. Kind of like the actual subject of art... so vast.

 I know that part of my love for art is how wide of a subject it is. Exploring the subject and getting into the creation of art never gets old for me. Ever since I was a child, I have always enjoyed making things.

In such a wide open subject, I am definitely branded. The wonderful art teachers in my school district all seem to have an area that speaks to them individually. My area, my brand, that I hold close and that seems to speak to me individually is my love of green art, mosaics, collaborative art projects and large scale installations, especially those that have community service aspects tied in. These four areas seem to be my veins in my teaching and in my personal exploration so much of the time. It's what I love and what I share that so far has been uniquely mine.

As an artist/educator, it can be tough to have a unique interest but I find that the dozens of art teachers that I have met and worked with all have separate, individual interests. I respect and admire that. I wonder if musicians have similar feelings.

So as I reflect on the 2012-13 school year and think about 2013-14, I am excited to keep exploring my brand since it never, ever gets old.
I am looking forward to sharing with my students a new piece of green art that I started working on last month utilizing recyclables (of course). Since I started working with recyclables many years ago, I have found that I enjoy the struggle of the materials. I enjoy hunting for what I need and the cumbersome nature and high maintenance side to re-purposing throwaways. 
So, this summer, I will be resting, but I will continue to pursue my interests. What areas of art are you especially inclined towards? Do share!!

Summer Art Challenges!

Summer is almost here! 

Over the break, try out one of the challenges below!!

I will post the pics you email me from the building challenge on this blog so that you can see the cool structures invented!

Please click here to print

Evening of Arts: Thursday, June 13, 2013

Art! Music! Food! 

Free Raffle for kids!

Bear Tavern families, stop over for our Evening of Arts on Thursday between 6:00 and 8:00 pm

Weekend Art: Join me at the TCNJ Opening Reception for Art, Innovation and Ideas!

Opening Reception: Sunday, June 2, 2013 1:00-3:00pm

I am beyond honored to have art work from Bear Tavern in this highly selective exhibit.
Click Here for direct site

Weekend Art: Join Me today at Grounds for Sculpture!

Come on over to the GFS where I will be teaching a family workshop for the annual anniversary party! It's hot outside but the workshop is indoors. Lots of fun stuff going on! I hope to see you there!!

Anniversary Arts Party
Sat., June 1st from 11am - 5pm

Rain or shine!It's time to party and you're invited... It's Grounds For Sculpture's birthday! Come for the kids workshops. Meet working artists and tour the park with them. There will be musical performances throughout the day, free ice cream and cake (supplies are limited), and of course - everyone's favorite - the Peacock Calling Contest! Don't miss this annual blow-out!

For the most current Activity List for this event, please CLICK HERE.

Price: Free with park admission.

GFS website: please CLICK HERE