My Paisley Example

I thought it turned out pretty cute. :)

Who's the fairy-est of them all?

Here's a little drawing of me as a fairy that one of my first grade students made for me. (not sure if the other things are bees or birds) Awww.... :)

I'll be tired, but it will be worth it!

On Wednesday the 26th of May, I get to take my safety patrol group on a field trip to Volente Beach. That evening, I get to attend an 'Ebru- Art of Marbling' workshop. I am so excited that they added an extra class.

Doesn't this sound fun?

Introduction
One of the most unique and beautiful forms of Turkish art is Ebru, or water marbling. Ebru is formed by drawing designs with dye on top of water, and then carefully placing paper on the surface of the water in order to absorb the dye. The earliest examples of Ebru are found in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, and are dated 1539, but the detail and quality of the work suggests that Ebru was present long before that time in the Ottoman Empire. Ebru has traditionally been rarely signed, and therefore many great artworks remain unnamed. Modern day students may study for more than 10 years before being considered master marblers, learning how to make the perfect dye, water bath, and design. Since each dye bath can only be transferred to paper once, every original piece of Ebru is unique.

Overview
A basic Ebru Class with instructor Nazli Cizmeci. Nazli has Masters Degree in Textile Education from Marmara University in Istanbul. The will consist of one hour of introduction followed by hands-on training, and tasty Turkish treats. Come and join this joyful experience.

Can't believe it took me so long

to teach a lesson involving goldfish. ;-) These fourth grade projects turned out great! I have my annual Fine Arts Night Program tomorrow night. Free to anyone interested, fourth grade choir is doing musical numbers from Grease, Hairspray, and Wicked. Frito pie and drinks will be served to all in attendance and then I will have a student artwork gallery walk, and three art stations for kids, parents, etc. to make some artwork. Stations will include collage, water color, and food sculpture. Thursday night at Boone from 5:30pm - 6:45pm . (PS- I can't wait until the weekend... lol)

Upon seeing this...

at the nursery this morning, did I:

a. say "Woah!" in a low voice

b. say "Hmmm..." in a normal and bored voice

c. say "Eeeee..... Hee-Hee!!!" in a high-pitched voice that offended nearby dogs (and people probably)

Little Cards

Here are some new little hand-painted business cards! Next on my list..., post some artwork on Etsy, and take Monday off to spend with Mr. Spotbear and read.

Inspired by the wonderful things I see, have and want in my life...

I've been doing some thinking about the artwork that I have been creating lately. It is very different from my work over the past 20 years. What caused me to reflect on this was a video that my sister posted of a song that was stuck in her head. The song was 'Eet' by Regina Spektor. I also liked the song right away and got from the song a feeling of being disconnected from something that you once loved, a person, place or time in your life. I felt like the song was an expression of trying to reconnect with that feeling. After watching the video, I clicked on the video for 'Fidelity,' another song by Regina Spektor that I already knew and liked but had not given much thought to. In fact, most often I had seen it used as a breakup song. After seeing the video, I liked the song even more. It seemed to me to be about a woman who had always closed herself off to life and love, to protect herself. After meeting this person, the door to seeing all of the beautiful colors/things/possibilities was now open to her. She may still be with him and she may not, but the thought of her life ever going back to that cold, colorless, protected place ever again, breaks her heart.
All of my paintings, up until the last few months have had the color black in them somewhere. They were almost always dark, I guess even a commentary on how the world had seemed to be for me so far. Now, all I want to do is try to show all of the beautiful colors that I still see everyday, everywhere. I know that my life will never go back to the way it was before, and that makes me smile - and apparently want to paint a LOT! :) <3

PS- I'm going to be in a play this summer, yikes! Ok, fine, whatever... I'm excited. Haha!