TAB Choice

When I took over as art teacher last year at my son's school, I changed the entire curriculum for seven classes. I wanted the projects to be fresh and to be ones that I tested. I got a lot of compliments on the work that was produced and the kids enjoyed the projects. The only problem was, it was cookie cutter art. Most looked like my examples. A teacher that I met through one of my art groups (our schools swapped ATCs) told me about TAB - teaching for artistic behavior. I started researching it over the summer, joined another Yahoo group dedicated to it, got a book on it and was convinced it was the way to go. Fortunately my principal is very cool and open to new ideas and gave me the go ahead.

So what is TAB you ask? It is a choice based art room filled with art centers where the students move from station to station creating their own art work. Studies and experience from other teachers show that the kids are more invested in their work because it is their work. The art may not be as pretty, but it is real and creative. Centers include; drawing, painting, fiber arts, collage, print making and short term stations like paper mache, book making, puppet making. It puts less pressure on me to create new lessons and gives the art back to the kids and gets them thinking like artists. Mistakes are a good thing as kids learn what works and what doesn't. I give a short demo each class on a technique and then step back and offer individual instructions or help when needed.

I didn't want to go right into this, so we started the year creating murals. I gave each grade a theme and let them work together to plan and create the murals. It went over very well and we had some great art work on the wall for open house. I followed this with the drawing and collage centers. The younger grades embraced this new system and really wowed me with their work. Kindergarten produced some books, first and second grade some very cool paper sculptures. My ADHD student was so engaged, he had no trouble focusing and produced some cool art. This past week I had a set lessons and second grade was dissappointed that the centers were not open. The upper grades were the ones that were lost. They have spent years being told what to draw/make, that they were unsure with this new freedom. I think they will need baby steps!

I hope to be fully switched over to a choice based room by December. Kindergarten will continue to alter between choice and lessons. I want to make sure they have help with basis skills such as tracing, scissor work, painting and drawing. I have a few kids that can't cut - they keep saying the scissors do not work. I am looking forward to this year and seeing what great art work the kids come up with.

Let it Go

My blog has been ignored for over a month! I have been crazy busy and blogging, Facebook and Yahoo have taken a back seat. I decided to add a piece that I did in August. It is a mixed media done on a recycled hard back book. The background is covered with assorted scrapbook papers, gesso, paint, stamping and images. The girl is done in fluid acrylics. I have done about five paintings with different sayings, but this is my favorite! I think we all have something in our lives to let go.

Art Journal

Here are a few pages from my newest journal. All are heavily layered pieces; papers, tissue paper, gesso, fluid acrylics, images, stamping. The two girls are aged versions of my daughters.

Trying to Fix my Blog

After visiting many blogs and admiring the layouts, I decided to fancy up mine. I found a site that had free templates, picked out one, followed the directions and then it got messed up. I lost my "layout" button and my blog layout changed to something I didn't set up. I spent some time before vacation trying to figure it out, but got frustrated (which doesn't take much) and just left it how it was.

Yesterday I went searching on Blogger and found a place to post questions to problems. By yesterday afternoon a very nice man e-mailed me with possible solutions. I just read thru what he sent me and found out my blog reverted back to a classic template. I clicked a few things and got my old layout back! It is still not completely fixed because the background I tried to import is now there as well as the free background button. Next step is to try and figure out how to delete this new background. I think I have to go into the html program - better leave that one for hubby!







I am breaking my altered art protocol and have added some photos from our wonderful vacation to the Shenandoah Valley in VA. The beautiful sunset is what we watched from our deck each evening. The landscape is also the view from the deck of the front lawn and pasture. You can see part of the 1/4 mile drive at the bottom of the photo. See why I am ready to pick-up and move! We visited Luray Caverns. The photos can not capture the vastness and majesty of the caves. A beautiful Monarch along Skyline Drive. The view from Stony Man at 4010 feet (2nd highest in Shenandoah Nat. Forest). We hiked to the top of the mountain and were perched on the rocky ledge (scary, scary). The cool part is we hiked part of the Appalachian Trail to get there. I am in love with the area and miss it!

I hope to post some new projects soon. I am in between swaps at the moment, but have been working on my personal art journal and some paintings. I'll scan some of the journal pages and upload them. I am very pleased with the two paintings I just finished. They are very layered with collage materials. The old hard back book cover turned out to be a wonderful canvas. I am toying with the idea of selling them. My problem is I get attached to my art and don't want to part with it.

Have a great creative week!

More Charms

I was in another charm swap on one of my Yahoo groups. The round and square charms are a heavy cardboard base. They both have paper added. The Asian one has a charm and some cording. The square has a hand painted flower. The puzzle piece is just that - a puzzle piece painted, wrapped in wire and beads. I need to come up with an idea to display all the charms I have gotten in swaps. After this one, I think I will have about 15 very unique pieces of art.

As summer is winding down, I have been painting in overdrive. I think my free time will be greatly diminished when the school year starts. I will have to go back to "Sunday is my day of art" - don't bother me. I finished up the art journal for the round robin while on vacation. Unfortunately I don't have another one because we had problems with one of the participants and she has two of the member's journals and won't return them. Luckily mine is not one of them! I began my second personal art journal. So far in this one I have been concentrating on painting my big eyed girls on various collaged backgrounds. I am also playing around with larger versions on canvas and old books. I actually started journaling in the first journal I made - wrote about our trip to the Shenandoah Valley. I love making the art, but forget to write which is strange because I love to write. I'm just not a diary person.

Well enough computer time - I'm off to paint (and make dinner).

Coffee ATCs

I like coffee. A lot! I actually went almost my entire life without touching the stuff, then about 3 years ago, I started to acquire a taste for hazelnut and vanilla creme. My mom says I am not a true coffee drinker because I only drink the girly flavored stuff. My dad is so against flavored coffees that I bring my own coffee maker to their shore house so I don't contaminate his coffee maker.

Well, amid the chaos of getting ready to goto the shore house, I decided to enter the Cuppa Joe swap at the last minute. I was finally inspired to make six cards. The steaming cup is carved out of styro, I used my brayer to role paint then I printed it on my paper. It was enhanced with watercolor crayons. The yellow card is printed on a piece from an old phone book showing coffee houses. The other two are painted with fluid acrylics and you can see a piece from my coffee bags collaged in.

Now I have to get all my swaps that I am hosting swapped out before the next trip to the Shenandoah Valley. I will be packing up my art supplies and hoping to get some time in each day to work on the art journal for the round robin swap. I should be inspired by the quiet and beauty of the 90 acre house on top of the mountain we are staying at!

Another Art Doll

I made this little dancer for my husband's cousin's graduation party this past weekend. Katie graduated from a local performing arts high school and is going on to college to major in dance. She has been dancing since she was six! I decided to add a small card on the doll's back to make her into a greeting card. I may play around with the card idea since I enjoy making these dolls.

This doll has a hand painted face done in fluid acrylics. Her outfit is out of scrapbook paper with floral trim accents and her legs are from opera sheet music that I bought at the local library's monthly book sale.

Inchie Challenge (7/4)

Here is my entry at Small World of Inchies for the challenge entitled "By the Sea." The image is from last year's trip to the Caribbean. This is Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. one of the most beautiful beaches I have been to. While there were no palm trees or hammocks on this beach, I thought that would make a perfect addition to the blue water and tropical breezes. My daughter is playing in the sand in the bottom right corner of the inchie.


http://smallworldofinchies.blogspot.com

Anime/Manga

This is my first attempt at the Japanese style of animation know as Anime or Manga. One of the main characteristics of Anime is big eyes. If doing a full figure, the bodies are drawn out of proportion with the torso being shorter and the legs longer. I did these cards in colored pencil and Pitt super fine marker. I may play around with creating a character since I prefer drawing simplified images (kid's illustrations). These girls are for an upcoming swap.

New Swap for Third Grade - Fun in the Sun

O-k kids, here is the next swap - Fun in the Sun. You can do whatever comes to mind: fishing, a picnic, amusement park, swimming. However you have fun on a warm, sunny summer day. I chose the beach since my family and I just returned. It is an altered photo. I printed out a photo on copy paper, added colored pencil and drew the pail, bucket and blanket on separate paper and glued onto the photo.

If you need a re-cap of supplies, scroll down to last month's entry. Two cards will be due to me by July 22. Please include a postage stamp to cover the cost of me returning cards to you. As always, invite siblings, friends and family to play.