Vol. 2, No. 90, March 31, 2017

2090 - March Tree Time-lapse.

I'm starting to get the hang of this. It still took me nearly an hour to get everything arranged, but the pictures lined up and were clear enough that I didn't have to do any editing.

It was neat to look at this month's pictures as we kept getting snow that would melt the next day. The month ended with a beautiful bright blue sky!

Vol. 2, No. 89, March 30, 2017

2089 - Tin Pencil.

In honor of National Pencil Day, I made an embossed tin pencil holder. I drew designs on foil tape, which I attached to a tin can that had been sprayed silver.

Vol. 2, No. 88, March 29, 2017

2088 - Larry Manatee.

I was subbing as an art teacher today and was trying to come up with a cool project when I noticed a book on a shelf, DRAW Really Cool Stuff. I flipped through it and saw that had "How to Draw a Manatee". Since today is Manatee Appreciation Day, a day to celebrate manatees and spread awareness about these endangered mammals, I decide that would be great for my project.

So I got to work doing a pencil sketch of a manatee. When it was finished, I cut it out and taped it to an art poster on the wall. I chose Monet's "Bridge over a Pool with Water Lilies" and placed my manatee on the bridge. It looked good there, but the poster was low to the ground and in a good spot to be messed with. I looked around some more and found Seurat's Seine at the Grande-Jatte. This poster still had water, but was up much higher, making it a great resting spot for Larry.

Ever since I read that it was Manatee Appreciation Day, I have had this awesome song stuck in my head.

Vol. 2, No. 87, March 28, 2017

2087 - Dandy Lions.

Today is Weed Appreciation Day, to celebrate I made dandelions from string, straws, and floral tape. Each dandelion was hand dyed yellow.

Weed Appreciation Day came at a good time as it forced me to get a jump start on my cast gifts for LCYT's Lion King Jr. I have 10 done, only about 50 more to go; good thing I have until April 20th to finish.

Vol. 2, No. 86, March 27, 2017

2086 - Whiskey Monday.

Today is International Whiskey Day. I celebrated by making a Miniature Chocolate Crown Maple Cake with a side of French Toast (Crown Royal Maple and Rumchata). The frosting got a little runny, but it still tastes good.

Vol. 2, No. 85, March 26, 2017

2085 - Spinach Flower.

In honor of National Spinach Day, I made a spinach flower garnished with chicken and cheese. I've decided I really like food art, because it's fun to make, looks cool, and tastes great!

Vol. 2, No. 84, March 25, 2017

2084 - Folded Flower.

Today was another Set Work Saturday at LCYT. However, we were working on making bunch of miscellaneous projects and didn't take any pictures, so there was nothing to show. So at dinner afterwards, I used the paper napkin band (I had to phone a friend to figure out what it is called) to make an origami flower; cute, little, blue, and easy. I left it on the table for the waitress.

Vol. 2, No. 83, March 24, 2017

2083 - Ordinary Paperclip.

Today I was subbing for a math teacher. On the desk, I found this spiral paperclip, and was inspired to draw a snail. Next step was to locate some paper. I wanted to draw on a post-it, but I couldn't find one; the best paper I could locate was graph paper, which is fitting for a math room. I decided to use the squares of the paper to make a colored pencil cross-stitch, laying the paperclip on top for the shell. It's not a fantastic drawing, but it works.

Vol. 2, No. 82, March 23, 2017

2082 - Forgotten Fish.

Today was Art Club day at the Winsted Arts Council. Today we were supposed to learn about Henri Matisse and make paper fish sculptures inspired by his goldfish paintings. Before class, I made my example and set it off to the side. I didn'the take the photograph it right away, because I figured I'd wait and take it with the student'services projects. Well the chandeliers we started last week took the entire class time, so we didn't make it to the sculptures. That was fine, however I forgot to take a picture of the sculpture, or bring it home. So when I got home from play practice at 9 pm, I still had to do a project. I decided that I could redo my fish on a much smaller scale using post-it notes. It worked great. I was able to use the sticky part of the post-it instead of glue, so less messy and fewer supplies to locate.

Here is the original fish.

Vol. 2, No. 81, March 22, 2017

2081 - Ordinary Thimble.

I found a project on Pinterest where someone took ordinary objects and incorporated them into a drawing. I decided this would be a good project for days when I am subbing or don't want to bring supplies with me, as all I need is a piece of paper, a pencil, and a found object.

Today, I was subbing for Health in Howard Lake. In the desk, I found a small sewing kit which had a thimble in it. At first, I thought it would work well for the tip of a rocket, however I couldn't get it to sit right. So I flipped it over and made it a planter for some miniature spiked trees.

Vol. 2, No. 80, March 21, 2017

2080 - Paper Cranes.

Today, I didn't know what to make, then I remembered that I said I would make paper crane head pieces for LCYT's Lion King Jr. I figured that I could kill 2 birds with one stone, and set to work. I folded 14 paper cranes; the largest was 24" sq.; the smallest was 5.5" sq.

Once folded, I glued the cranes on to decorative wire sprays. The sprays will later get attached to headbands.

Vol. 2, No. 79, March 20, 2017

2079 - DQ Flower.

In honor of the first day of spring I made a flower using the wrapper from the ice cream cone that I got from DQ for Free Cone Day today.

I ment to post earlier so you could get your own free cone, but I got busy and forgot. Sorry.

#LOVEmyDQ #FreeConeDay

Vol. 2, No. 78, March 19, 2017

2078 - Chocolate Caramel Chicken.

Today we are celebrating two days, National Chocolate Caramel Day and National Poultry Day.  So I used chocolate and caramel sauce to draw a chicken on ice cream. For future reference, caramel is hard to draw with, because as soon as it hits the ice cream it freezes, and is difficult to manipulate.

Vol. 2, No. 77, March 18, 2017

2077 - Set Work Saturday.

Today was another set work Saturday for Litchfield Community Youth Theatre's production of Lion King Jr. Today my goal was to complete Pride Rock a 2 piece, 12' x 20' x 6' step and scaffolding structure that we wanted to look like rock. This was a large group effort, over the course of 6 hours, we had about 12 people working on it.

While it was a group effort, I got in on all of the steps. I unrolled a large roll of Kraft paper, tore it into long pieces, and crumpled it up. I stapled it onto the structure, using a Pheumatic Stapler (compressed-air). I added depth and texture to the rocks by dry brushing a redish-brown and golden yellow over the top of the paper. (You can't see the color in the photo, but trust me, it's there.) I'm not completely sold on the final out come, but it is finished. For now....

Vol. 2, No. 76, March 17, 2017

2076 - Green Spill.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to work only with green today. I also wanted to work in the weekly #CreativeSprint prompt which is Spill something and use it as your inspiration. So, I spilt green paint and green food coloring on green construction paper. Then I used green markers, crayons, and pens to zentangle the paint splotches. I actually prepared 2 papers, cutting close around one and laying it on top of the other. I hung the completed design on a bulletin board in the science room I was subbing in; the background was conveniently blues and greens. I left it on the board for the teacher and students to find when they come back from spring break next week.

Vol. 2, No. 75, March 16, 2017

2075 - Chihuly Chandelier.

Art club at the Winsted Arts Council today. Our artist of study was Dale Chihuly an American artist famous for his blown glass sculptureso and installations such as chandeliers. We made our own mini chandeliers using transparency sheets and sharpies. I'll post pictures of the student work when they finish next week.

Today I also got my twine heart charms and tray from February 13th. So I reassembled pieces and hung it up in my classroom. 

Vol. 2, No. 74, March 15, 2017

2074 - Shoe the World.

Last year, I was subbing on a Friday and as I was getting ready to leave I saw a shoe in the garbage. The sole was slightly worn, the shoelace was broken, and it didn't have a mate, but other than that, it seemed perfectly fine. I knew if I didn't rescue it, it would be dumped with the rest of the trash. So I took it homeand stored it away knowing that one day I would come up with the perfect project for the shoe.

That day was today, National Shoe The World Day. National Shoe The World Day is a day created to bring awareness, to everyone across the nation, of the incredible need to help those people around the world that do not have shoes to wear and then to take action in helping. #NationalShoeTheWorldDay Yes, I know that this, mateless shoe isn'the going to save the world'series problems, but this post does bring your attention to the problem, so I guess that is something.

I was subbing in a High School Math class today, they were taking a quiz, which mentioned I had lots of time to draw. It took me about 2 hours to cover the entire canvas part of the shoe with zentangles. The 9th grader in my second hour class were pretty impressed. I stuffed the shoe with some scratch paper so it would have a nice shape in the pictures.

Now I will store the shoe away again, or maybe is play it, until I come up with a project to use the shoe.

In case you are wondering how big it is, the shoe is a women's size 7.

Vol. 2, No. 73, March 14, 2017

2073 - Sweet Potato π. #NationalPiDay #LearnAboutButterfliesDay

There are many things that we can celebrate today, but who wants to celebrate National Potato Chips or National Children's Craft Day when you can celebrate Pi(e)?

Today, 3.14, is widely celebrated in the math community as π (pi) day. I have been celebrating it since my junior year of high school, when my Pre-Calculus teacher brought each student the kind of pie of their choosing. I chose Banana Cream Pie. Since then, with exception of the year or 2 in which I forgot until it was too late, I have celebrated my making my own pie of some sort. Some years it was just a pudding pie, but others it was more elaborate, like Chocolate Pecan.

This year, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time, because I had to work until noon, 35 minutes to drive home, and then play practice at 5:30, plus find time to eat lunch and/or supper. So, I decided to try my hand at Sweet Potato Pie. I've never had it before, but I like pie and I like sweet potatoes, so it should be good. Plus the recipe looked easy; steam the potatoes, throw all of the ingredients in the blender, pour in to pie crust and bake.

I didn't want all of the other national days to feel left out, so I decorated my pie with butterflies to celebrate National Learn About Butterflies Day.

As it turns out, I do like Sweet Potato Pie.

Vol. 2, No. 72, March 13, 2017

2072 - Umbrella.

Today is Open an Umbrella Indoors Day. I was going to make one of those cutsie dripped crayon pictures with a girl holding an umbrella. However, the sun was shining and there was 2 inches of fresh powdery snowing on the ground, so, after clearing the driveway and sidewalks, I decided to make an umbrella in the snow. The "drawing" is quite large and is best  viewed from above. I took this picture from the window in my second story craft room, but I couldn't figure out how to get the screen out, so that is why there is a weird pattern over the picture.

Vol. 2, No. 71, March 12, 2017

2071- Found Objects. Frozen Flower.

I saw a tutorial for these ice cream flowers on Facebook a while back and I saved it because I love to make flowers. Today turned out to be the perfect day to try it out. Today is Plant A Flower Day. Unfortunately, our Minnesota Winter decided to return and we once again have a solid covering of snow on the ground,  making planting flowers (at least outside) rather challenging. I took a Cordial Glass, filled it with a scoop of ice cream, and then placed another scoop on top. Then I used a metal ice cream scoop, dipped in hot water, to form the flower petals. Once the flower was carved, I placed the whole glass in the freezer and waited for the ice cream to firm up again. After about 20 minutes, I took it out and took the first set of pictures. Then I added strawberry topping between the petals for some color and took the second set of pictures.

To connect with the #64millionartists challenge, all of the supplies were things that I had on hand that need to be used.

Vol. 2, No. 70, March 11, 2017

2070 - Found Objects. Tools of Light.

Today is Worship of Tools Day; it is a day to celebrate and use tools, so that'she what I did. I used my power drill to make holes in a spam can that I found in my recycle bin. The image I decided to make was of Winnie the Pooh with a jar of honey, to celebrate the 1977 release of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh". After the holes were drilled, one drill bit was broken, and my arms could hardly move, I drew the outline, like a dot-to-dot, and added some color. Then, I lit a candle under it and watched it glow, only to discover that it needed a vent, because there wasn'the enough oxygen coming through the holes and the candle was snuffed out.

Vol. 2, No. 69, March 10, 2017

2069 - Found Objects. Sushi?

Today is Pack Your Lunch Day, because just packing your lunch isn't creative, I opted to make "sushi" rolls with my lunch. Yes, it was time consuming,  but it looks kind of cool, and it tasted great! The #64millionartists challenge comes in, because I had to find a way to take the items I threw in my lunchbox and turn them into something artsy.

Vol. 2, No. 68, March, 09, 2017

2068 - Found Objects. Pop-Corny People.

Hard to believe that it is Thursday again, which means art club at the Winsted Arts Council. Today we were learning about Keith Haring, a Pop Art and Graffiti artist. Using the brown kraft paper I keep on hand for covering the tables and old paint that was donated, I made my Graffiti person in motion. I cameven up with the title, which ties in to Popcorn Lovers Day, because this project is pop art that is sort of corny. My painting is the large pink one with the finished background. Side note, it is challenging and slightly awkward to trace yourself. The other 4 are student works, they will do their backgrounds next week.

Vol. 2, No. 67, March, 08, 2017

2067 - Found Objects. Dusty Clusters.

Today I was a subbing for anow Industrial Technology/Shop teacher. During my prep time, I looked around the room for scraps that I could use to make something new. I found sawdust, wood glue, and dark brown wood filler. Since today is National Peanut Cluster Day, I decided to make a non-edibble peanut cluster. I combined sawdust and wood glue to create peanuts. After they dried I covered them in wood filler to create the chocolate. I put a thin coat of varnish over the top to freshen up the color. It is seriously making me crave peanut Clusters!

Vol. 2, No. 66, March, 07, 2017

2066 - Found Objects. Cereal Spiral Snail.

Today is National Cereal Day, so I decided to make a mosaic using the Cherrios and Granola I packed for my snack. I follow many artists on Instagram and I always enjoy the work of @sarah.smiles9. Sarah's year long project is a spiral a day. Today I was inspired to follow her lead and create a spiral. I then turned my spiral into a snail. The mosaic was laid out on a large piece of paper that I found in my classroom.

Vol. 2, No. 65, March, 06, 2017

2065 - Found Objects. Frozen Dress.

New week, new #64millionartists challenge. This week'so challenge is to make something good using found objects/objects that are right around you. This should be easy as that is what I have been doing recently.

There were lots options for National Days, I chose two of them: #NationalDressDay and #NationalFrozenFoodDay.

First, I took to the freezer to see what I had for frozen food that I could work with. The best I found were frozen blueberries and strawberries. While I was hoping from mixed veggies, the fruit would work. Next, I drew a torso on a piece of scratch paper, cut it out and started assembling the dress around it. My fruit dress turned out pretty well, considering it only took me about 10 minutes.

Vol. 2, No. 64, March, 05, 2017

2064 - Cheese Doodle Dancer.

My sister suggested that I start using national day calendars as inspiration of my projects. Today is National Cheese Doodle Day. For those who don't  know, cheese doodles are cheesey snacks like Cheetos or Cheese Puffs. I thought it would be a lot more fun to make a "doodle" from cheese. So that's what I did; following the #64millionartists challenge 'dance together' I "drew" a ballerina using string cheese and shredded cheese. It turned out pretty well, and it tasted great!

Vol. 2, No. 63, Month, 04, 2017

2063 - Redesign.

Today was a set work day for Litchfield Community Theatre. Our show this year is "The Lion King Jr." Since I am in charge of painting sets, I knew I would be spending my afternoon at the theater, and therefore I decided to do my project there. I chose a set piece that I knew I could finish in the 4 hours that I had today; that piece was Scar's Cave. Scar'so cave was made using the base of the Cave of Wonders from last year'so show, "Aladdin". We wanted it to look different, but didn't want to redo the whole thing.
I mixed up the base color, using 3 different colors of paint to achieve the correct shade of gray. The next step was to sponge dark gray in each rock segment. The gray was followed with white. I finished it all off by re-outlining with black and doing some dry brushing to round out the edges.
I now have 1 set piece completely finished, only about a dozen more to go.

Vol. 2, No. 62, March, 03, 2017

2062 - 400 Clip Cake.

In honor of my mom's birthday today, I decided to make a birthday greeting. I was a Math sub today, and didn't bring any supplies with me, so I had to make due with what I found in the classroom. I found lots of paperclips! This design was made using 4 boxes of large paperclips, which according to the box is 400 paperclips. However, I counted them as I was picking them up and got about 420, so apparently there is more than 100 in a box.

Vol. 2, No. 61, March, 02, 2017

2061 - Dance Together. The Dancer.

Today was another art club day at the Winsted Arts Council. Since the #64millionartists challenge this week is to dance, I decided that we would draw ballerinas inspired by the work of Edgar Degas. I walked you students through the drawing, using soft pastels. The ballerina in the middle is the one I was working on during class, as you can see, it doesn't have legs or a face yet; we needed just a little bit more time. So I guess we will be finishing them next week.

Vol. 2, No. 60, March, 1, 2017

 2060 - February Time-Lapse Photo-Collage.

Continuing my year-long photographic tree project, I created February's collage for my project today. It was still a little time consuming and not quite perfect, but it was a million times easier than last month. I learned that I need to use the grid lines on my camera to line up the picture as I am taking it. This helped tremendously when assembling the collage. Now I have to work on getting more consistent time wise when taking the picture to help with the lighting issues.

You may notice that the "lapses" are larger than in January. This is because a.) February only has 28 days, and b.) I missed 3 days while in Omaha. Fortunately I didn't miss any important weather opportunities.