D-day (delay day!)

This time of the year is probably my least favorite. Coming off of the highs of the holidays, we're now in the midst of dreary PA weather and a long haul before our next break, not to mention everything that has to get done (grades! set designs! supply orders!). With two teachers in our house, there's the potential to really get down in the dumps, so my husband and I are taking steps to make sure we don't let the mid-year blues take over.

One plus of the dreariness was our unexpected two-hour delay this morning! There was some freezing rain and slush rockin' the roads, so we got some extra sleep. I even had time to do a little dancing with the help of my pal Just Dance 4 (LOVE it!). And the delay schedule isn't bad at all--slightly shortened classes and I still get planning time. Blessed big time, right here.

Also this morning, I got a chance to read through an article that I'd like to recommend to all you creatives: "A Resolution for Routine," over on the Braid Creative and Consulting blog. It's a quick read but gives suggestions for how creative types can increase their creativity with process and routine. I am excited to try it out--hopefully it'll whip me into creative shape and help to annihilate these January lows!

braidcreative.com

I'm also re-reading Steal Like an Artist, a short book by artist Austin Kleon.

I'll be posting a few projects tomorrow and Friday, as we have early dismissals (and WORK TIME!) due to midterms at the secondary level. Hooray for big kids and their big tests!

What do you do to stay uppity and out of the doldrums? Read anything inspiring lately?

Bad hair day?

You've probably seen this project before. I recall finding it in another of my good ol' Arts & Activities magazine. You can see more (better) examples here and here, though I'll show the steps here for any sweet souls who've stumbled upon this for the first time. I highly recommend this project for shortened classes and sub days. We used it as a fun extra for kiddos who finished their previous project early. Essentially, kiddos do the following:

With a black Sharpie (for no smudges), draw a U-shape near the bottom of the paper (white paper is fine, though I've done it with bright colored fadeless paper and that is pretty rockin', too).

Choose a few (we use 5) different lines to 'grow' out of the U-shape.

Repeat each line at least 5 times.

Continue to add lines till all space is filled.

Add a neck, shoulders, and a face for a bad hair day!

 

This artist told me that her project got tired, hence the ZZZ's.

OR flip your paper over and turn your hairy head into a hairy beard!

Watch out--if you don't follow the proper steps in this order, you could wind up with... well, this:

This young man saw his project going downhill fast and self-corrected, re-starting to get it going the right way. We had a good laugh over his 'barfing man,' particularly because this student's mother is the school nurse and she sees far too much of this! He gave it to his mom after class and they titled it "Kid After Lunch," which I think is just a riot! Call me gross, but this is real life, people.

Pinch Pot Palooza

My second graders are very excited. And I am equally messy. Because it's time for clay!

Our elementary art curriculum is extremely forgiving. There are very few specifics. For instance, though each grade level is charged with completing a clay project, the project is up to each individual art teachers--all two of us.

Like my colleague and the art teacher who came before me, I introduce basic clay modeling and imprinting in first grade before moving onto the basic pinch pot in second grade. But that's about it. Basic pinch pots. Without a kiln. UGH.

I spend a day introducing and practicing the pinch pot technique with the kiddos. We use modeling clay to rehearse pinching like crabs!

God bless yard sales. I think that crab hat was a whoppin' 25 cents.

 

When the kiddos think they've got it down, I slice their pots to check for uneven walls. They LOVE this because it involves destruction (haha), and I love it because it's a great visual.

 

Sometimes it feels like a waste of a day, although I've tried to squeeze everything into one 45-minute period in the past and that didn't work out so well for me (or for the pots).

On day two, I pull out my endless supply of air-dry clay... I KNOW, I KNOW, AIR DRY CLAY IS THE WORST. But alas, I am without a kiln and have not yet committed to hauling several hundred clay projects from my buildings to the middle or high school kilns. So, we deal.

I'm always excited to see how the students get creative with the basic pinch pot premise. Sometimes they get fancy...

"This is a pot within a pot."

YES! I'm praying that bird's head survives the air-dry process.

... and sometimes not.

Basic as it may be, I'm a fan of the pinch pot. Where do you stand on the ol' PP? Do you jazz yours up? Does your fanciness come in during the painting/glazing phase? Any suggestions on how to kick these up a notch without the love of a kiln? Let's talk.

Welcome to Pennsylvania

I can't say for certain, but I do believe that everyone else is having the same back-to-school shell shock that I am; I believe that my nearly-empty blogger feed is proof of it, though. Like you, we're jumping right back into projects, but there isn't much to share at this moment.

I do have some unique sculptures to show you, though. Ready for this?

May I present to you... what happens in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania on December 31st:

Photo courtesy of The Sentinel

While my husband and I opted for a quiet evening in for this year's NYE, I have attended the Pickle Drop and can attest to its splendor. It's serious business in Dillsburg--a few years ago, Mr. Pickle (crafted by Girl Scouts in the 90s) married Mrs. Pickle, and later on they gave the world Baby Gherkin. Oh, Dillsburg.

As if that's not reason enough to visit Central PA, here's another:

This, my friends, is the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest indoor agricultural event in America. When it opened on Saturday, there were more than 11,000 cars parked! When my husband and I went on Sunday, we were two of thousands of attendees, all smashed together in the big arena to watch the horse hitch competitions, shuffling through the halls to see the livestock, and waiting in lines for the farm fresh foods. It was fabulous.

My grandfather was a farmer (he attended the Farm Show for decades) and I grew up in the middle of a cornfield, so I'm no stranger to this stuff. My husband grew up less animal-friendly in a small city and therefore is completely enamored with the hilarious-looking chickens, sheared sheep, and massive bulls. He has proclaimed that we shall attend the Farm Show every year. I'm up for that, even if it's just to see the infamous butter sculpture, a new-each-year work of art sculpted from 1,000 pounds of butter. Yup.

I <3 Pennsylvania.

Art projects (not made of dairy products) to come in the next few days!

I'm posting today to say Happy New Year! Also, I need to ease myself back into the school routine, and since I blog about school, I figured this was the easiest way to ease. I hope everyone had a healthy, fun, and relaxing break! Truth be told, I am looking forward to seeing and creating with the kiddos again.

We were supposed to have off until Thursday but will be returning a day earlier to make up a day missed due to Hurricane Sandy. Boo, hiss! Ah, well. It was a fabulous break here. I ate, slept, and celebrated my way through 11 days of goodness. And we had snow!

New Year's Eve was especially exciting, as my husband and I celebrated our first anniversary! Insert obligatory wedding day picture here!

How about another? This was taken after the bouquet toss, which of course was won by my sister-in-law Maria.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since we danced our way into 2012. What a blessing this past year has been! Yesterday, we celebrated our anniversary with brunch, professional massages, a movie, a fancy dinner, and champagne at midnight (in pajamas!).

Rewinding to Christmas Day, I must share one of the highlights, when I received this beautifully matted and framed reproduction of Picasso's "The Dog."

Please forgive the reflection of that hideous it-was-here-when-we-moved-in ceiling light.

Picasso had a dachshund named Lump (pronounced 'Loomp')--hit up Google for some great black and white photographs of the two of them together. While Cubism isn't my all-time fave, I love Picasso's series of simple animal gesture drawings, and since my husband and I have a little weenie dog of our own, this was the perfect gift. Rudy approves--or he would, I think, if he weren't too busy with all of his Christmas loot.

Happy 2013, friends!

Cheap Christmas music on Amazon today!

If anyone is like me and cannot, for the life of 'em, find their Christmas music--WHERE DID THOSE CDs GO!?--then hop on over to Amazon today to get "The Essential NOW That's What I Call Music" album for just 99 cents! It has 25 Christmas classics and my kids are diggin' it today.

When Colbie Caillat's "Mistletoe" came on, the following conversation ensued:

4th grader: "Oh yuck, Justin Bieber."

Mrs. Connell: "No, this is a woman singing."

4th grader: "WHAT!? No it isn't!"

Mrs. Connell: "Yes, this is Colbie Caillat."

4th grader: "Oh wow."

4th grader's friend: "Is this Justin Bieber?"

Kandinsky-inspired trees

Let's get right back into the swing of things, shall we?

I love this project! Probably because I have a thing for trees. Our downstairs bathroom is decorated with trees, a collection inspired by one of my aunts, whose tree collection is museum-worthy, boasting pieces from all over the globe. So when I saw this Kandinsky-inspired tree project, I knew we had to try it!

I showed my third graders images of Kandinsky's paintings, focusing on the Circles series.

I demonstrated the process of cutting a square, paring it down into a circle, gluing it onto another color, cutting around the previous circle... repeat, repeat, repeat.

Each 'target' had to have at least three circles and colors but could be bigger and more colorful if desired.

 

 

Some students rocked it!

Some didn't.

On the second day, more circles were cut, as were trees with branches. The kids had the option to either use their hand as a tree-ish template...

... or to fold their paper in half and cut a symmetrical tree.

Everything was mounted onto the color of each artist's choice. Gorgeous! I might steal one for my tree bathroom.

Pencils were used to write names on the back--the only time pencils were used the entire project. Some stinkers did try to sneak a writing utensil so they could draw their circles before cutting them, but Officer Connell cracked down on that criminal activity stat!

Side note. Sometimes I am shocked (and embarrassed!) by the lack of basic skills of my students--in particular, gluing and cutting. I attribute this to a few things. We have no art class at the kindergarten level. This saddens me, especially considering the many times the kindergarten teachers have shared that new curricula prevent them from doing the artsy/crafty things they used to do with their little ones. And I think that this "we don't have time to do arts and crafts because we have to get our kids ready for the tests" mentality is pervasive throughout the elementary grades. So onto the art teacher goes the burden of Glue Bottles 101 and Scissors for Beginners... and then reviewing that same information every year. All that to say that I might bump this project down to a younger grade next year, as it was good for workin' those scissors in a circular motion.

Does anyone else see this lack of basic skills? For the veteran teachers, have you seen a decline in basic skills in the past few years?