Vol. 5, No. 163-170, December 28, 2020

You probably noticed, this year, I have been really bad at posting work. The truth is, I wasn't enjoying writing the blogs, so I would put off posting. Therefore I decided that next year, I am only going to post to Instagram and let it do the automatic post to Facebook. That way, I only have to post once. If you want to know about my project, you will have to ask.

Before I "give up", I am going to post all of the projects that I have missed.

5163 - Squash Soup.

I was helping to make squash soup and got to run the immersion blender. When it is held at just the right height, it creates a fun woven star design.

5164 -  Quilted.

In mid-November, my mom, sister and I finally finished the baby quilt that we had started nearly 2 years ago. It was a gift for my niece. It turned out pretty well considering it was out first actual quilt.

5165 - Mixed Media Self-Portrait 12/12/09.

In college, I took a drawing class; one of the assignments was to create a self-portrait. It is labeled as mixed media, although I am not sure what I used; I am guessing chalk, colored pencil, and paint.  After the class, I filed away the project in a tube. As I was going through art supplies recently, I came across the drawing. I unrolled it thinking I would look at it quick and then put it back in storage. Unfortunately, I noticed mold spots on the paper. I decided the best course of action was to photograph it and then dispose of the artwork. 

5166 - Giving Thanks.

Thanksgiving looked a little different this year. Rather than gathering with my dad's family like we normally would, it was only my immediate family in attendance. We still had a full dinner including homemade bread and pies. We arranged this picture showing our "bounty", to share with my dad's siblings as they were all sharing pictures of their own feasts.

5167 - COVID Cardinal.

At school, we are trying to keep our curriculum the same as much as possible, while still following COVID guidelines set out by the state. Sometimes this means changing how we do certain projects and we have found that some of these changes are good and we intend to keep them. One such happy change was the addition of a cardinal to Kindergarten Paper Mache Ornaments. In the past students have been able to choose between a reindeer, a snowman, or a penguin. All three ornaments were cute, but the penguin required two colors of paint and either two brushes or water to wash the brush. I didn't want to deal with the extra setup, so I changed the project. Our school's mascot is a cardinal, so I knew that would be a great winter bird option. I love how they turned out and will be keeping cardinals next year.

5168 - Snow Globe.

The ornament project that I did with my Transitional Kindergarten class last year required a lot of prep work and it wasn't really COVID guideline friendly. Therefore, I wrote a new lesson plan, deciding on paper snow globes. Using Epsom salt "frozen" paint, we iced the background. Next we added finger print characters and decorated with markers. The plan didn't go quite how I had intended, but most of them stilled turned out cute.

5169 - Cake Construction.

It's hard to believe, but ten days ago, one of my favorite littles turned 3! I did lots of research to find the perfect cake. He is in to trucks of all kinds, so I decided to make a construction themed cake. I made a Double Chocolate Banana Cake (he loves bananas) topped with chocolate ganache and crushed Oreos. A bit of powdered peanut butter helped to create the three in the middle. The cake was finished off with some Milk Dud rocks and little toy trucks.

5170 - Quarantine.

Due to close contact, I got to spend some time in quarantine. While it may sound like a paid vacation, it's really not that fun; especially for a teacher. I still had lesson plans to prepare. I decided to use a lesson I had initially done during distance learning last spring; Guided Drawing Cardinals. As the school mascot, I figured a cardinal was something that students could benefit from knowing how to draw. I made two examples showing different backgrounds that could be added.

Vol. 5, No. 162, October 30, 2020

5162 - Creative Sprint Day 30.

I was setting out some fall decorations, arranging gourds on a tray. My mom was watching, at one point she said "that looks like a swan". I thought that was cool, so I stopped arranging and deemed the swan my trophy.

Vol. 5, No. 161, October 29, 2020

5161 - Creative Sprint Day 29.

I decide to redo yesterday's prompt, use a tool in a new way. I was thinking about the tools I use in the art room and I remembered the "tragedy" that happened when I was peeling crayons a few weeks ago. I had dumped a bunch of crayons into a bucket of water to encourage the wrappers to come off. When I returned to the crayons, some of them were soggy and mushy. I noticed that these crayons all had labels marking them as Washable. I decided that I would use crayons in a new way and paint with them. I soaked a rainbow of washable crayons in water. When they were wet, I rubbed a paintbrush on them like one would do with paint. I liked this new way of painting and may try it with my students someday.

Vol. 5, No. 160, October 28, 2020

5160 - Creative Sprint Day 28.

Today at school I was removing glue dots from envelopes because I didn't want my students to struggle with opening the envelopes. When I was finished, I used my pile of glue dots in a new way as a sculpting material. I created an elephant and a heart. For future reference, a pile of glue dots is not the same as clay.

Vol. 5, No. 159, October 27, 2020

5159 - Creative Sprint Day 26 & 27.

Yesterday, it was late before I decided that I should paint in reverse, so I opted to wait until today and combine it with today's prompt. My plan worked perfectly, it provided me with both a subject and medium. On my way home from work, I stopped at the thrift store and picked up a clear glass plate. Then I got to work making a painting from a snails point of view. I started with the details and outline, adding the base colors last.

Vol. 5, No. 158, October 25, 2020

5158 - Creative Sprint Day 25.

Today was the final performance of The Little Mermaid. During the cast party, I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the seniors. When I finally made it home about 9pm, I took time to arrange the flowers in to a scrambled rainbow in a vase. Calling any of the flowers blue was going to be a bit of a stretch, so I chose a vase with a blue ribbon.

Vol. 5, No. 157, October 24, 2020

5157 - Creative Sprint Day 24.

I didn't have time to make a frame today, so I just took pictures of beautiful things. First I made a carrot cake that I made for my dad's birthday. I decided to photograph both the whole cake and an individual slice. Then Margo made cookies to bring for the cast and crew at the theater tonight. I made the sign so that the kids would know what the cookies were for. Finally, I took pictures during the show tonight. This was one of my favorite shots; with over 2500 pictures on the camera (only 2 shows worth of pictures) it took me a bit to find my way back to this one to snap the picture for my collage.

Vol. 5, No. 156, October 23, 2020

5156 - Creative Sprint Day 22 & 23.

With it being performance week for the play, I have been busy and didn’t have time to create yesterday. So I combined prompts today. I created a movie poster inside of a box. I found a box in the recycling, opened up, grabbed a Sharpie and started drawing. I drew for about 25 minutes (one episode of a show). When the show was over, I put down my marker and called it good enough. I really like the direction it was headed. Maybe I will finish it some day.

Vol. 5, No. 155, October 21, 2020

5155 - Creative Sprint Day 21.

When you get 6+ inches of snow, you take advantage of it,  even if it is only October. I decide to make my art today by walking in the snow. I wasn't super creative with my subject though, opting for a simple tree. I couldn't get high enough above the finished art to take a centered picture. This picture was taken with me standing at the top of the tree and then rotated. I like how the angle makes the image appears to be raised rather than carved in; or maybe that's just me.

Vol. 5, No. 154, October 20, 2020

5154 - Creative Sprint Day 19 & 20.

Yesterday was a very long and exhausting day. I didn't even have a moment to think about creating according to a prompt. So today I decided to get caught up by combining the prompts. I made toilet paper origami, folding the paper in the bathroom to create a repeating pattern. It was quick, it was easy, and it satisfied both needs.

Vol. 5, No. 153, October 18, 2020

5153 - Creative Sprint Day 18.

Today I celebrated Mom Says Day, a holiday which is best celebrated by doing what your mom says. I had a plan for what I was going to do, and I ended up spending most of my day sewing masks, because that's what my mom said we were doing today. 

Despite the difficulties with the sewing machine, it was actually a pleasant day. Besides I didn't really want to do the other things on my to do list anyways.

Vol. 5, No. 152, October 17, 2020

5152 - Creative Sprint Day 17.

At first I thought I would make a Picasso style portrait. Then Becca sent me a picture of a sculpture my niece had created while playing in the kitchen. As soon as I saw it I knew there had to be a way to make it into a collaborative self-portrait. I rotated the image,cut out the background and added some dinnerware emojis to create this portrait. The final portrait is inspired by the work of Giuseppe Archimboldo.

Vol. 5, No. 151, October 16, 2020

5151 - Creative Sprint Day 16.

This stacked rock monument was a collaboration between me and my friend H. H carried the rocks to me while I stacked them. He wasn't really a fan of this game and as soon as I got some stacked he wanted to knock them down. I tried multiple times, 4 rocks was as high as I could get today.

I dedicate this monument to everyone who works behind the scenes in theater. Theater crews come in all shapes and sizes and rely on each other to create stability for both the cast and crew. Theatre crew is often a thankless job and we put in way more hours than anyone knows. Just like the rocks when a show is over, we collapse.

Vol. 5, No. 150, October 15, 2020

5150 - Creative Sprint Day 15.

There is one scene in the Little Mermaid where Ariel is sitting in a bathtub. Obviously in a high school show she can't be nude, so we have to disguise the fact that she is dressed. Today I came up with the perfect solution. A few weeks ago, my aunt gave me 2 sheets of half inch foam. They had just been sitting at my house while I contemplated a use for them. Last night it hit me. The foam would be perfect to "fill" the bathtub, creating a bubbly layer to cover the clothed Ariel, without trapping her inside. After stapling in the foam, I covered it with some glittery white tulle, creating the appearance of a bathtub filled with bubbles, thus camouflaging Ariel's clothes. Unfortunately I was too late to get a picture of Ariel in the tub.

Vol. 5, No. 149, October 14, 2020

5149 - Creative Sprint Day 14.

Dollar bill origami isn't a new venture for me, however I decided to mix it up a bit and try something new. I found a YouTube tutorial for an origami owl. It was fairly easy to make and I love how it turned out. I can't wait to leave this owl behind as a tip for a lucky waiter.

Vol. 5, No. 148, October 13, 2020

5148 - Creative Sprint Day 13.

Busy with work and play practice, creating something got away from me today. So as I was settling into bed, I searched my camera roll for a picture of unposted work. I found a picture of a bun that I created in an actresses hair last night. I was being the teacher as I showed her how to twist the hair around a stick, making it stay in your hair. 

Tonight I used my phone's editing program to turn that picture into a work of art. As I was creating I thought of my past teachers, some of the ones that jumped to the foreground were art teachers. They taught me things like repetition and balance. This completed work probably wouldn't look as cool without the knowledge that I've gained from my teachers.

Vol. 5, No. 147, October 12, 2020

5147 - Creative Sprint Day 12.

We the people of Annandale Elementary School collaborated to create a Drip Mural inspired by the work of Contemporary artist Jen Stark.

My part of this mural was small. I taught about the artist to my 4 classes of first graders and hung 5 classes worth of drips. A shout out to my co-worker who prepared the lesson and hung the rest of the drips. It is so fun listening to the kids walking down the hall talking about their drip and the artist.

Vol. 5, No. 146, October 11, 2020

5146 - Creative Sprint Day 11.

Today I spent 8 hours at the theater doing set work for a high school show without any students present. Not only was it something new, it was something I said I would never do. I always tell the kids, if you're not there I won't paint. Well part of the set needed to be spray painted and it was too large to move outside. So I had to paint it at a time when others wouldn't be present. I went in to paint the cauldron, this should have taken me 2 hours tops. Then I got to work finishing the ship, and the grotto, and the hair pieces, and organizing the backstage, and setting the stage for tomorrow. I'm sure that I could have found more to do, like clean and organized the paint room, but at 10 pm I called it quits.

Vol. 5, No. 145, October 10, 2020

5145 - Creative Sprint Day 10.

After a fun family day of shopping and dinner, took my after dinner mint and broke it apart. I arranged the pieces to create a pine tree.