Vol. 2, No. 151, May 31, 2017

2151 - May Tree Time-lapse.

This month started out pretty well, I had my photo guides so everything lined up pretty well. All of a sudden, mid-month, I realized that the leaves had come in and bushed out so much that I could no longer see my guides. This posed a problem. I went back and looked at pictures from before the leaves had come in and drew a line on my phone screen where the edge of the sidewalk was. I knew that the sidewalk wouldn't move and wouldn't get covered up, making it a good guide.

Looking at this picture, the tree looks really lopsided and not lined up correctly. However, this is just an illusion caused by going from no leaves to full leaves. I can't believe how fast it happened.

Vol. 2, No. 150, May 30, 2017

2150 - Creative Cards.

I was a 4th grade substitute teacher again today. The students had to make cards for two teachers who are retiring. I figured I would make my own card as well. I started with pink paper and balloons. Then I wasn't sure what to do with that card, so I gave the cutout pieces to a student. She glued the balloons onto the card, added string and felt pieces for reflections and then wrote a very nice message inside for her teacher. We left it on the teachers desk so she would see it when she returned tomorrow.

I suppose I could have cou Ted that card a a collaboration project and been done, but I felt like I should do more. Plus, I need 2 cards for graduation parties this weekend. So, I found paper and got to work. I reallt likd how the three page card turned out. The picture shows page 1 in the top left, page 2 top right, and page 3 bottom left. The bottom right is the collaboration card.

Vol. 2, No. 149, May 29, 2017

2149 - Ballpark Challenge.

Today I went to a Twins Game with my brothers and mom. We had seats in the Skyline Suites, this meant padded, covered seats with free food and drinks! I figured since the food was free, I didn't have to feel bad mutilating a ballpark hot dog; if I had been paying for it I would never thought to do this. Anyways, I grabbed a hot dog and a knife and then sculpted a baseball bat. The finished sculpture was okay, but not perfect; turns out it is harder to carve a hot dog than it sounds.

My brother looked at my finished sculpture and said he could do better using only his teeth. So I went and got him a hot dog. His bat is on the right, mine on the left. In the middle is a baseball made of sour cream and ketchup.

Don't worry, there was no waste here. After I took pictures, we ate the hot dogs.

Vol. 2, No. 148, May 28, 2017

2148 - Chalk Children.

My sister works as a nanny; today, she brought the kids to my parents. I took them outside to play with chalk and bubbles. In between removing chalk from the bubble containers and keeping the baby from eating the bubbles, I managed to get four pictures drawn. One of the kids helped me with the bike. The pictures are a brown and pink horse (requested by the 3 year-old), a lemon that got walked on and smudged and a fish.

Vol. 2, No. 147, May 27, 2017

2147 - Craft Queen.

I wanted to try my hand at balancing rocks today, but them my plans changed and I was at a friend's house and didn't have access to rocks. So about 9:30 pm still without a project made, I asked my friend for help. She dug through some drawers and found some random craft supplies. She handed me a baggie with some ribbon flowers, silver flower beads, and glitter glue. Then she found toothpicks and floral tape. I combined all of the elements to make a mini flower garden. I gifted the garden to my friend's daughter.

Vol. 2, No. 146, May 26, 2017

2146 - Thank You.

Today was another fun challenge from #64MillionArtists. As you may recall they have teamed up with A Book of Me to develop a set of Creative Challenges to help you Live Well With Dementia. Here are the details of today's challenge:

Whether you are living with dementia, or live or work with someone who does, or you’ve just picked up these challenges for fun, we all have people that play a really important part in our lives and everyday wellbeing.

Today we’re going to think about saying thank you.

Do
Make a thank you card for someone special. Someone who means a lot to you, or who has contributed to your life. This might even be someone no longer with us. You don’t have to send the card. But you could! In the video below, Juanita is making a card and you could follow her instructions - or you could just have a go at doing it yourself in your own style, whatever is easiest for you. Think about what the person would like and draw or design a card especially for them. And then write them a message thanking them for what they do for you. 

I decided to make a thank you card for a friend. When I thought of this person, the first thing I thought of was a sunset, so that is how I decorated the card. I made a collage using paper scraps in a a wide range of reds and oranges, with a bit of blue an yellow to finish it off. The most challenging part of the card was making the silhouette that said 'Thank You'. I didn't have an X-acto knife handy, so I had to make due with a broken scissors. It's a little choppier than I'd like, but it still looks good. I outlined the letters with gold colored pencil to make them stand out more.

I wrote a rough draft of the thank you I would like to send, but right now the inside of the card is just blank because I haven't decided if I actually want to send it.

Vol. 2, No. 145, May 25, 2017

2145 - Wine Not?

Today was Holy Trinity's last day of school. It was a half day consisting of Mass, locker clean out and an awards ceremony. I figured I would have plenty of free time and could use it to do a folded book project. I ended up with less free to be than anticipated, and the book project turned out to be too overwhelming for the last day of school excitement. So I needed to come up with something new and easy.

After much deliberation, I remembered it is National Wine Day and I had a wine cork project kit at home. So when I got home after the end of the year party, I dug out the kit and quickly assembled the project.

Vol. 2, No. 144, May 24, 2017

2144 - Collaborative Hunt.

Today, as I was subbing,  I collaborated with  Mrs. McGraw's 4th grade class at the School of St. Philip. I had subbed for them before, and I know some of them outside of school, so they know about my art projects. They asked to see what I was working on today and I decided that rather than just showing them, I would involve them.

Today is National Scavenger Hunt Day, so I looked online for a picture scavenger hunt list. There are lots of lists out there, so I just randomly chose one. I divide up the list among the students. I had them find each item and bring it to me to be photographed. I would have been fun to split them into groups and take their own pictures, but I didn't have enough devices or time.

One of the  students really wanted her picture included, but since I didn't have permission to share their pictures, I was avoiding people pictures. I did eventually compromise for #18 and #25 (Something Short and Something Tall). I had the girls stand with their backs to the camera, so you could see their height without their faces.

Each picture is numbered to make it easier to match to the list.
1. something red: a dog
2. something to eat: CHEEZ-IT
3. something clean: dry erase board on an empty desk
4. something sharp: scissors
5. something hard: a rock
6. something tiny: a pencil stub
7. something blue: pens
8. something that moves: a solar powered dancing flower
9. something noisy: a whistle
10. something wet: a vase filled with water
11. something pink: an eraser
12. something soft: a stuffed sheep
13. something heavy: a box filled with toys
14. something special: a ring from my grandma
15. something with hair: a doll
16. something white: a charger
17. something black: an alarm clock
18. something short: one of the shortest 4th grade student
25: something tall: the tallest 4th grade student
19: smaller than a mouse: a pony bead
20: something green: a plastic roof
21: something smooth: a glass paper weight
22: something with wheels: a toy car
23: something alive: a potted plant:
24: something orange: a stack of folders
26: something light: a feather
27: something fluffy: a cotton ball
28: something purple: Relay For Life Medals
29: something colorful: a globe
30: something dirty: my empty lunch container
31: something shiny: a foil Birthday banner
32: something yellow: a book
33: something stinky: a garbage can
34: something glittery: a fabric scrap on an art project
35: something tasty: a cupcake
36: something you love: lilacs

Vol. 2, No. 143, May 23, 2017

2143 - Taffy Turtle.

Today is World Turtle Day and National Taffy Day. I combined the two holidays and celebrated by making a turtle out of taffy. It was one of those quick, under 10 minute projects, that don't always turn out exactly as I had hoped, but that were still fun to make.

Vol. 2, No. 142, May 22, 2017

2142 - Instrumental Money.

Today we are celebration Accounting Day and Buy a Musical Instrument Day. I decided to do some dollar bill origami (moneygami). The only musical instrument I could find instructions for was a guitar, so that is what I made.

Vol. 2, No. 141, May 21, 2017

2141 - Rainbow Walk.

This week #64MillionArtists has been teamed up with A Book of Me to develop a set of Creative Challenges to help you Live Well With Dementia. I really liked today's challenge and decided to do it. Here are the details.

One of the Five Ways to Wellbeing is to Take Notice. So often we rush around in our day or we get stuck in our thoughts and we forget to notice what’s around us. Today we’re inviting you to take a closer look at your surroundings.

Do

Go for a walk (you can do this indoors if the weather is bad or you are unable to get out) and try and spot all the colours of the rainbow.

I walked around my parent's house and my grandma's house (inside and out) searching for the rainbow. After collecting over 40 pictures, I made a photocollage, arranging the pictures in rainbow order.

Vol. 2, No. 140, May 20, 2017

2140 - Singing in the Rain.

It was a cold and rainy day. I was supposed to go to the Twins game and I was going to do my project there, but it was postponed due to the rain. So when I got home I had to come up with something else. I decided to incorporate the rain into my project. I drew the background of a picture using dots of washable marker. Then I used Sharpie to draw a silhouette on top. I laid the picture on a tray put it outside in the rain. The rain caused the colors to bleed and blend together, creating a smoother picture. I photographed my drawing in 3 stages; first, before going outside; second, right after coming back inside; third

Vol. 2, No. 139, May 19, 2017

2139 - Paint Party.

Today I subbed for 4th grade at Holy Trinity. It was a pre-planned subbing day, so the classroom teacher asked me if I would like to do an art lesson. I decided to do a painting lesson, run like the popular painting parties (minus the wine). I walked the students through an seascape, with a featured silhouette. They all turned out great!

In planning for the lesson I did a couple practice pictures. They are the sailboat and the sea turtle. These paintings were with acrylic on canvas, but they cracked as they dried. so I decided to go a safer route and had the students paint with tempera on glossy paper. The top left corner, with the whale tail, is the picture I painted with the students.

Vol. 2, No. 138, May 18, 2017

2138 - Nature's Beauty.

At art club today,  we set out for the beach to make Land Art inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy. We got a variety of art works.

The top left picture is the a portrait of a student that I made. The bottom row is all student works from left to right we have a campfire, a fairy garden,  and a face.

Then as I was driving home I was admiring the gorgeous sunset and I realized that while we can make beautiful art in nature, none of it compares to the natural art made by God. So I pulled over and took some pictures to add to my project. The top right picture is one of my favorites from tonight.

Vol. 2, No. 137, May 17, 2017

2137 - Apple of My Eye.

My co-worker (the recipient of the cupcake card) wanted to know how to make honeycomb shapes. Since I had some free time this morning, I stopped in at  school and did a demonstration. I used white velum, which was thinner and easier to open than the scrap-booking paper that I used for the cupcake. I colored the edges of the apple while it was still folded. Then I rolled some brown paper for a stem and cut/folded a leaf.

Vol. 2, No. 136, May 16, 2017

2136 - The Sky's The Limit.

Today at school, I made my final graduation card. I wanted to give the cards out at the end of class at 11, so I had to hurry to get it done in time.

This was an extra challenge as I chose to base this card off of the class ceiling tile, galaxy. I used a combination of watercolor, acrylic, and metallic Sharpie to creat the front. Thankfully I had a hairdryer at school that I was able to use to speed up they drying process.

Despite the rush, this turned out to be one of my favorite cards.

Vol. 2, No. 135, May 15, 2017

2135 - Grad Greetings.

I was subbing today, but wanted to make graduation cards for my project again, so I looked around for supplies I could use. I found index cards and colored pencils. I drew a graduation cap on the card, over the lined side, to give it a school-ish look. I then cut the cap out to adhere to a card when I got home. I used another section of the index card to write the text for the card.

I wanted four cards finished for school tomorrow, so I did one more quick design using paper scraps and a star punch.

Vol. 2, No. 134, May 14, 2017

2134 - Green Thumb.

Today, as a present for my mom on Mother's Day, my family and I weed her flower garden. I was inspired by the weeds to make a quick portrait of my mom. There was a breeze, so it was challenging to make the eyes and mouth stay in place,  but I managed to get it to stay long enough to take the picture.

Vol. 2, No. 133, May 13, 2017

2133 - Congrats Grad.

Graduation season is upon us. I like to make my own graduation cards. I found a design on Pinterest and made it using purple paper and a purple tassel to match the Holy Trinity school colors.

Vol. 2, No. 132, May 12, 2017

2132 - Ordinary Lock.

I was subbing for PE today and I decided to do my project during my prep time. I looked around the PE office for some ordinary objects. Sitting on the desk was a pile of locks. I took one and made into a flower. I left it behind for the teacher to find upon his return.

Vol. 2, No. 131, May 11, 2017

2131 - Phone-A-Friend.

I was at a loss as to what to make today and I wasn't feeling very creative. I talked to a friend to get a project idea. My friend didn't have a project idea, but did get me a theme on which to base my project; National Nurses Week.

It was a beautiful day, so I decided to do a simple water drawing in the driveway. I got ambitious and decided to draw with ketchup at supper as well.

Vol. 2, No. 130, May 10, 2017

2130 - Going Postal.

I was subbing for my co-worker today, so I decided to make an envelope for the card I made yesterday. I tied in all of the same papers that I used for the card and even included a little bit of glitter. It was a fairly simple and very quick project, but some days that's what you need to do.

Vol. 2, No. 129, May 09, 2017

2129 - Pop-up Party.

Yesterday, I made cupcakes to give to my students. I made a tray of them for my co-worker as well. I wanted a card to go with the cupcakes so I decided to make one with a pop-up cupcake. It was very time  consuming, but it is sort of cute.  One of my students added glitter to the front to make it shine. After I got done writing, the saying on the front I decided it would have been better if it said 'Wishing You A Sweet Day!', but what's done is done.

Today is National Teachers Day, so I used that as my reasoning for  the gift giving, but really it was just because I felt like making cupcakes.

Vol. 2, No. 128, May 08, 2017

2128 - Nutritious Yet Delicious.

I spent the day making cupcakes, as I promised my students some before the end of the year. I decided to make my specialities which are Chocolate Zucchini, Banana, and Carrot. I figured if you make cupcakes with fruits and vegetables in then, they are healthy. The banana and zucchini have chocolate buttercream frosting and the carrot cake has cream cheese frosting.

As I write this, I realize that I didn't sample any of the finished product, so hopefully they taste okay. I did do plenty of tasting while mixing though, and that was good.

Vol. 2, No. 127, May 07, 2017

2127 - Pucker Up.

To celebrate National Lemonade Day, I made a batch of homemade lemonade and drew a lemon design on some coasters. Simple yet tasty.

Vol. 2, No. 126, May 06, 2017

2126 - Fruty Flower.

With the Creative Sprint and it's reflections over, I have to come up with my own projects again. By dinner time I still hadn't come up with anything spectacular, so I carved my kiwi into flowers. Yay edible art! After eating it, I remembered why I don't like kiwi; it makes my tongue hurt.

Vol. 2, No. 125, May 05, 2017

2125 - Short Sharp Advice Reflection Poem.

Reflection Day 5 What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is starting their first Creative Sprint?

My biggest piece of advice is stick with it and share your work. Making a project everyday may be frustrating at times but the complements you get from sharing your work are worth the frustration.

I decided to use a limerick for my five-line #64MillionArtists poem today. Limericks use AABBA rhyming, with the A lines being longer and the B lines being shorter.

For those who start a Creative Sprint, please heed my advice.
Set aside some time to work; even five minutes is nice.
Create everyday, simplicity is fine.
Share your work and let it shine.
With any luck you'll fall in love and will want to do it twice.

Vol. 2, No. 124, May 04, 2017

2124 - Short Sharp New Reflection Poem.

Reflection Day 4 What is one new thing you did month that you would like to try again or incorporate into your work in the future?

I tried a few new things this month, but the one that stands out to me the most, that I would like to try again is galaxy egg painting. Rather than dying eggs the traditional way, I painted an egg using a paint brush and food coloring. I loved how it turned out and can't wait to try it again.

At Art Club at the Winsted Arts Council, we were making paper kites. I decided to use it as my project today, which meant incorporating my #64MillionArtists five-line poem into it's design. I used a white oil pastel to write the poem, and then painted over it with watercolors making it look similar to my galaxy egg. The spine of the kite is made from straws taped to the paper. The other side of the kite is just an abstract design, because I didn't want to repeat the poem.

In order to make it fit and look cool, I combined some of the words of the poem into one long loopy line. So here is the text:

This month I tried something new.
I dyed an egg with a brush.
The colors mixed creating a beautiful hue.
The eggs beauty made everyone gush.
My galaxy egg tasted good too.

Vol. 2, No. 123, May 03, 2017

2123 - Short Sharp Suprise Reflection Poem.

Reflection Day 3 What was the most surprising or unexpected thing that happened this month?

When I started my Creative Marathon 17 months ago, I was saving most of my projects. There were a handful that were disposable, edible or given away, but I have a lot of them. When I looked back at the pictures of my projects from the April Creative Sprint, I realized I only had a handful in my possession. Some projects like days 2, 5, 9, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26 and 28 were left behind and were most likely thrown away, unless someone else claimed them.  Other projects like days 1, 6, 10, 12, and 17,  were given away. Still others like days 3, 4, 14, 15, and 16, were eaten. A couple projects like days 7, 8, and 24, were disposed of/erased shortly after a picture was taken. Days 22 and 30 were photography projecst, so I have nothing physical to keep. That leaves me with days 11, 13, 23, 27, and 26; five projects that I actually want to keep.

My #64MillionArtists five line poem is a summary of this surprise I found. I wrote the poem on small strips of colored paper that I folded up to be used as packing in a surprise package.

After 17 months of creative venture, not much takes me by surprise.
Yet when I looked back, I found a new pattern did arise.
I used to keep every project in a box right before my eyes.
This month I gave most projects away and some I ate like pies.
That left only 5 projects to have at home, which is a much more tolerable size.

Vol. 2, No. 122, May 02, 2017

2122 - Short Sharp Challenging Reflection Poem.

Reflection Day 2 What day was most challenging for you? Why?

The #64MillionArtists Weekely Challenge of writting a five-line poem continues to work with my Creative Sprint reflections. I wrote the poem out by hand today, so it is slightly hard to read. Here is the text:

A challenge came on Day 28, when it was time to collaborate.

With a busy schedule, I lacked the time to seek out sprinters with which to climb.

So on my own I ventured forth and found some friends on my way up north.

During dinner, wrappers in hand, we built a zoo that wasn't so grand.

Collaboration can be fun, even though it's a challenge to get it done.

Vol. 2, No. 121, May 01, 2017

2121 - Short Sharp Poem: Why is this important?

Reflection Day 1 What was your favorite day of this Creative Sprint? Why?

I combined my #64MillionArtists weekly prompt (write a 5 line poem) with the Creative Sprint Relfection by writting a 5 line reflection poem about my favorite Creative Sprint project.

It was hard to choose my favorite project, but after looking at all of my project posts from the past month, I decided on Day 20, because it was one of the most fun. I got to make something and leave it for others to find.

After writing my poem, I used Microsoft Publisher to format it, creating a fun design.