RAW Art Show

I'm a little late getting this posted. I had a wonderful time at The Belmont for my art show. After a few hitches, and with the preparation help from my wonderful friend Heather, and the help of the wonderful RAW staff I was able to set up my display and have time to wander around and discover all of the friendly and talented artists sharing the showcase with me. It was great to have my friend there to support me and have the remote support from those who were unable to make it. Also, one of my favorite paintings found a new home! Success doing something I love! How does it get any better than this? :-)

My display didn't turn out exactly as I'd envisioned it, but I learned a lot and I know how to be prepared from next time.  (Number one is to prepared for anything, and number two is make sure to have dependable helpers.)

I got a cute super sparkly short-sleeved sequined sweater to wear over a simple black sheath dress.  I didn't get a great picture of it, but you get the idea.

Here's heather enjoying a tasty beverage in front of my display.

 This is the painting that found a new home that night.  :-)

I'll be MIA for the next few weeks as I will be moving, but who knows... maybe I'll post something about that too. 

Starry Night Lesson Plan

 (The bottom of this project was cut off a little bit, because all of it wouldn't fit onto my scanner,)


About four years ago I made a post on this blog about a Starry Night Lesson plan that my student teacher at the time, Heather, and I designed for the students at the elementary school that I taught at.  I've had quite a bit of interest in the project recently, so I thought I was include the actual lesson plan I used to help out anyone interested. 


Starry Night Lesson Plan (Grades 2-3)

Materials:
White drawing paper, or white water color paper - 9 x12 or whatever size you are comfortable with
Black, Purple and Blue Construction Paper (Could be other colors if you choose) - Cut in wide strips to layer
Tempera paint (blue/white, orange/yellow) or acrylic paint if you are brave  ;-)
Drawing Chalk in a variety of colors
Plain chalk
Glue
Scissors
Pencils
Erasers

Directions:
Day 1 -
Show students examples of Van Gogh's paintings, and discuss his painting style and technique. 

Start on the white paper with pencils to lightly draw small circles in the top half of the paper where the stars will be in the sky and a moon if the students want.  Once their stars and moon are drawn where they choose, show them how to use light dashes circling around the stars and radiating out.  Students will use these guide lines to create brush strokes mimicking Van Gogh's painting style to make their Starry Night sky.  This should take about one 45 min. class period.

Day 2-
Have construction paper pre-cut to the width of the white paper out for students to choose colors for their project.  Two different colors for the forground and middle ground and onedark color for the cypress tree in the front of the composition.

Students can use plain chalk to draw on the construction paper to get the shape of their cypress tree, and the shape of the hills, etc.  Students then glue construction paper pieces down to the white paper.

Students use chalk to add texture to the tree, landscape and even a village. 


I've taught this lesson a lot and they turn out awesome everytime!  Good luck everyone. Let me know if you have any questions.

-Misty

Faeries in Austin

This past weekend I did a little volunteer work at Zilker Botanical Gardens to help with their Faery Garden Plants event.  While there and dressed as a faerie, I enjoyed sharing my own knowledge about faery lore and plants, but also enjoyed meeting people of all ages and soaking up their enthusiasm for the event.  The public seemed to love it.  I heard quite of few adults say they were worried about wanting to come to all the events even though they didn't have children.  I reassured them, that there was no reason for them to not enjoy the event for themselves and that they were not alone.  There was a scavenger hunt and flower seed planting activity too.  I admit, even at my age, that the little faery homes placed around the grounds were delightful to discover.  I'm looking forward to the Faerie Trail By Starlight event coming up on March 15th.  I decided to go ahead and sign up to build my own faerie structure to put on display.  I can't wait to see all of the faerie home designs people come up with and what I end up with.  How fun! ;-)