Vol. 4, No. 090, March 31, 2019

4090 - In Review.

Day 31:  Part 1: Make a photo collage or grid that includes images of all your creations from the month so you can see them on one page. Part 2: What is one thing you learned from your creative work this month?

Well, this project is pretty self-explanatory. I used screen shots of my projects on Instagram to create my photo collage. In order to make it fit neatly in to the square, I included the last 6 days of February in the collage. Looking back on all of my projects from this month, the most important thing I learned is that being creative is more about the process than the finished product. Multiple times this month, I struggled to find time to complete projects or struggled to find motivation. Yet every time I posted a project, I felt as sense of accomplishment. I stretched my creative muscles and what may have seemed inadequate at the time could be inspiration for future work.

Vol. 4, No. 89, March 30, 2019

4089- Imagination.

Day 30: Make a trophy or award for yourself!

Today I was invited to Wheel and Cog in Hutchinson to celebrate Middle Miller’s Birthday. The kids had tons of fun playing at all of the different centers. I got in on some of the action as well. One center was large foam pieces that you can use to build different structures. I with the assistance of Oldest Miller, Littlest Miller, and a couple of other willing kids, I built this large “Trophy”. It stood nearly 7ft tall, but didn’t survive long amongst all of the kids running around.

Vol. 4, No. 088, March 29, 2019

488 - Sheepish.

Day 29: Take a 10-minute walk with no destination in mind - set a timer - make something with what you find wherever you end up. Bonus: leave it there for someone else to find.

When I got home from school today, I had enough time before play practice to take my brother’s dog for a walk. I set a timer and when we reached the 10 minute mark, I tied Ziva to a pole and started looking for materials for my project. There was a lot of dead leaves, gravel on a driveway, twigs and a small pile of some kind of fur. I arranged all of the pieces to create a small sheep. While I was looking through the pictures I took to see if one of them was good enough, everything except the sticks blew away. I took it as a sign that it was time to turn around and head home.

Vol. 4, No. 087, March 28, 2019

4087 - Happy.

Day 28: In 3 minutes write down as many things you can think of that make you happy. Pick one (or two or three!) and make a sign to remind yourself to do that thing!

I took a 3 minute break during my prep time today to make my list. The first thing on my list was climbing into my bed when after it has been made up. I especially like this when the sheets are freshly laundered and line dried outside, but that’s a different story. So for my sign, I used my Mr. Sketch Gel Crayons to write the words. I was going to use watercolors to paint the background, but I ran out of time, apparently I have to get school work done during my prep as well. I placed my sign on my neatly made bed for the picture, but it could actually be cute framed and hung in a bedroom.

Vol. 4, No. 086, March 27, 2019

4086 - Snapshot.

Day 27: Select a small object that has some significance to you and take it with you wherever you go today. Document it in at least 4 different places during your day.

I chose the necklace and ring that I wear nearly everyday. The necklace is one that I made in college and the ring was Granny's (my grandmother). I didn't have a very adventurous day, but I did take a picture each place I went. I tried to make the pictures more exciting by placing the jewelry in an interesting way. The top left picture was taken on a self-portrait mirror in the middle school. I positioned the mirror so it reflects the paper balls that hang from the ceiling. The top right was taken in a pile of glitter left behind from my 1st Grade Cacti project at the elementary school. The bottom left picture was taken in my car after school. I was enjoying the weather as it finally got above 60. The bottom right picture was taken on the program proof that I was finalizing at home tonight.

Vol. 4, No. 085, March 26, 2019

4085 - Splish Splash.

Day 26: Spill something and create something from the mess.

When I was filling my water bottle this afternoon, I accidentally spilt some water on the counter. I took the opportunity to do my project. I stared at the spill for a while before deciding that it looked like a witches hat. I pulled out my new Crayola Take Note! Dry Erase Marker and started sketching on the table. The proportions aren’t quite right but for a quick project between activities, it works. Please note that the marker was challenging to remove from the counter top and should have been tested in a small area before proceeding.

Vol. 4, No. 084, March 25, 2019

4084 - My Family.

Day 25: Create something that makes you LOL.

Tomorrow my first graders will begin drawing family portraits, so I needed an example, which is part of the reason why I chose to draw my family as my project today. I also chose to draw my family because when my family is together there is always lots of laughter. This drawing is based off of the family picture that was taken at my cousin’s wedding about 10 years ago.

Like many of my students, I hate portraits. Drawing people is a hard skill to master, and as you can see, I haven’t mastered it yet. Because of my lack of portrait skills, this picture itself makes me laugh.

Vol. 4, No. 083, March 24, 2019

4083 - One Day.

Day 24: Create a small personal time capsule that you will open in one year - a few items in an envelope will do. Include a note to your future self.

I had a fairly busy day, so my time capsule is just a note to my future self. To make it more fun and creative, I folded it up into an envelope and decorated it with Sharpie.

Vol. 4, No. 082, March 23, 2019

4082 - First Thoughts.

Day 23: Close your eyes and take 5 slow deep breaths. Open your eyes and draw or write the first thing that comes into your head.

Today I went to the chiropractor where I got to enjoy about 15 minutes of muscle stimulation. I spent the time to clear head, and plan out my day. First thing that popped into my head is that I need to wrap my sister’s bridal shower gift. I wrapped all of the individual parts of the gift in tissue paper and stuck them inside a personalized Thirty-One Stand Tall Bin. I added some extra tissue poofs on top and finished it off with a bow and some curled ribbon.

Vol. 4, No. 081, March 22, 2019

4081 - Mascot.

Day 22:  Transform something you would normally throw away into something you want to keep.

Tonight at play practice, I needed to remove shoulder pads from someone’s jacket. I looked at the shoulder pads in my hand and decided they looked like butterfly wings. So with the help of a dying Sharpie and some painters tape, I created a butterfly. I didn’t really know what to do with it, so I brought it back to the tech booth and declared it the new mascot. The tech boys took to it immediately, but decided it looked more like a moth. Therefore, I am proud to present Mike the Moth, LCYT’s newest tech mascot. Yes, they named it themselves. The boys used duct tape to suspend Mike from the ceiling in the booth.

Vol. 4, No. 080, March 21, 2019

4080 - My Day.

Day 21: Create a pie chart that tells a story about your day.

Well, this one is pretty self-explanatory. I used an online chart maker to create the chart. Yes, I think the art making process did end up taking an hour. I started with only 11 slices on my chart, but added one more when I realized I could make a color wheel. Do I always get 9.5 hours of sleep? No, but I am on Spring Break so I figured, why not stay up late and sleep in?

Vol. 4, No. 079, March 20, 2019

4079 - Puzzler.

Day 20: Break something into small parts and put it back together again in a new way.

I took a more creative approach to today’s prompt. Today I “broke” my room at the Millers in to small pieces, moved everything 7 miles down the road to my parent’s house and reassembled it. I had to do a new set up in my room because I lost some of my previous furniture and added some new stuff. It was a long process, which I actually started on Sunday and will continue working on throughout the week, but I did do a lot today. The Miller Littles were excited to show off their strength as they helped load up the car. As I unloaded the car, I was a little sad that I didn’t have them with me, to make moving in easier.

To make this slightly more creative, I folded my blanket into an origami swan.

Vol. 4, No. 078, March 19, 2019

4078 - Last Supper.

Day 19: Make up a dance and create drawn instructions for how to do it.

Tonight is my last night with the Miller’s, so I decided to let Oldest Miller help me with my project. I know how much she likes to sing and dance so I knew this wouldn’t be a problem. She turned on her rehearsal CD for LCYT’s The Grunch, and started dancing. I videotaped some short clips of her routine. I chose my favorite and drew instructions for it. I decided to include her dance as well as the instructions.

Vol. 4, No. 077, March 18, 2019

4077 - All Smiles.

Day 18: Invent a game for two or more people to play. Get someone to play it with you!

I invented ‘Handprint’. It is a game in which you compete to see how many tries it takes to get a 2 month old to open his hand, producing a good handprint on a canvas. Surprisingly, I was able to do it in one try. It helped that he clearly liked getting his hand painted; he was all smiles as we “played”. Alternative directions for the game could include timing players to see how long it takes them to complete the task from start to finish.

The handprint is part of a Foster Family Memory Wall that I am creating for my friends.

Vol. 4, No. 076, March 17, 2019

4076 - Burt’s Bees.

Day 17: Pick the most boring object in your workspace, alter it so it becomes unique or interesting!

My workspace changes constantly, but one thing that is always there is my chapstick. With just a Poist-It note and a marker, I made my chapstick more interesting by turning it into a butterfly.

Vol. 4, No. 075, March 16, 2019

4075 - Ducky Hunt.

Day 16: Hide something and create a map that someone else can use to find it.  Bonus: Give the map to someone to try out!

I decided to hide a little rubber ducky in the house. Then I drew a rough map of the house with a path or the Miller Littles to use to find the duck. Oldest Miller followed the path even before I hid the duck. She figured out which room it is in, but not necessarily where exactly.

Vol. 4, No. 074, March 15, 2019

4074 - Building Bridges.

Day 15:  Create a bridge. Anything that is load bearing and connects two separate things counts!

Periodically throughout the day I would remember I needed to build a bridge, but I never did it. When I got home and settled in after a very long day, I realized I had some work to do. I headed to the toy room in search of a building material. I chose Lincoln Logs. I started building and then noticed the car mat sitting near by. I adjusted my bridge to fit over one road while connecting to another. I added the reactor and car just to make it more real.

Vol. 4, No. 073, March 14, 2019

4073 - Into The Woods.

Day 14: Create something that floats on water (it doesn't have to be a boat)

Tonight I attended Annandale Middle Schools production of Into The Woods. It was fun because I have most of the actors in class this year. The few I didn't know, I will meet in 2 weeks when 4th quarter starts.
When I got home I used the program to fold an origami boat. When I was finished, I set it afloat in one of many puddles at the end of the driveway.

Vol. 4, No. 072, March 13, 2019

4072 - Iceland.
Day 13:
What is a country you have never visited? Learn something about that country and make something that represents what you learned.
One country I would like to visit is Iceland. Recently my sister and brother-in-law as well as some of my co-workers went to Iceland and they all had good things to say about it. Iceland is defined by it's dramatic landscape with volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields. While I want to go to Iceland for it's hot springs and to see the Northern Lights, I drew a volcano for my project. This choice was because my Kindergartners are learning about dinosaurs. We drew dinosaurs and well as some landscape pieces to go with them. One example is a volcano. We will be assembling all of the dinosaurs and scenery into a mural for the spring art show.

Vol. 4, No. 071, March 12, 2019

4071 - Silver Award.

Day 12: What happened today in history? Use that as your theme today.

Today is National Girl Scouts Day, a day to celebrate Girl Scouts which was founded on this day in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low. I chose this historic event for my project because growing up Girl Scouts was a pretty big part of my life. In fact, I am a Silver Award recipient, this is the second highest award you can achieve in Girl Scouts.

My initial thought for the project was to sculpt something out of Girl Scout Cookies. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any readily available, so I went to plan B. This was to print pictures of Girl Scout Cookies, cut them out and create a collage of the Girl Scout logo. This would have been a good plan, but with conferences at school, and then play practice, I didn’t have enough time to execute this plan. So, on to plan C. Plan C was to use the cookies that I already had cut out to create letters  for Girl Scouts and numbers for it’s founding year and then make a photo collage.

Vol. 4, No. 070, March 11, 2019

4070 - Aurora.

Day 11: Use stars, planets, and other things found in outer space as your inspiration today.

The timing of this prompt couldn’t have been more perfect. My 6th graders are currently working their Northern Lights project. They practice blending with chalk to make the auroras and then add a silhouette landscape, as well as some stars in the sky. Today’s class was working on the silhouette and stars. I needed to demonstrate how to use the paintbrush and their thumb to flick the white paint into their sky, without getting it all over everywhere, so this was my example.

Vol. 4, No. 069, March 10, 2019

4069 - Spring Ahead.

Day 10:  Camouflage something.

Mother Nature has been doing a pretty good job of providing camouflage for everything. Yesterday, we got another 8 or so inches if snow, so today I challenged friends and family to send me their nature camouflaged pictures. I created a photo collage with all of the pictures I recieved as well as the ones I took myself.

Vol. 4, No. 068, March 9, 2019

4068 - Tenfold.

Day 9: Create something and then increase or reduce it by a power of 10 (i.e. 10 times larger or 10 times smaller). Repeat.

I recruited Oldest Miller to help me with my project today. She needed to make a windmill for school, so we looked at Pinterest for some ideas. She painted the toilet paper tube base and chose the paper for the blades while I made and assembled the blades. I was going to have her do the assembly, but she got scared of the pin. While she worked on hers, I made a mini version, almost perfectly to scale, 10 times smaller. I considered making a larger version, but I would have needed paper that was 43 inches, and I did not.

Vol. 4, No. 067, March 8, 2019

4067 - Admiration.

Day 8: Create something inspired by an artist whose work you admire.

I like the work of Vincent Van Gogh, especially Starry Night. So today as I was cleaning up watercolors I decided to play. I drew out the scene with oil pastels, the soaked my paper in the sink. While still laying in the sink with small pools of water on top, I dropped watercolors into place. The extra water allowed the colors to flow smoothly through the maze of oil pastel. Some of the color shifted as I lifted it out of the sink. I laid it on another piece of paper in the hopes of absorbing some of the excess water. It worked. I also used a hair dryer to move the larger puddles around.

Vol. 4, No. 066, March 7, 2019

4066 - Rules.

Day 7: Break a rule.

Don’t tell my First Graders, but today I broke all the rules! For the Spring Art Show, my first graders are making “Crazy Cacti”. We go through it step by step, talking about lines, shapes, patterns, and color. They get to practice drawing, painting, cutting and gluing. Today, after class, I made a quick example, and broke the rules. I painted without drawing my shapes first. I used markers to outline and draw patterns before the paint was dry. (Don’t worry, I didn’t wreck good markers, I used the old, dried out markers from the recycle bin.) I used two paper strips for my needles, rather than just one. And when I was cleaning up, I brushed my scraps on to the floor.

Honestly, I liked how the patterns turned out and might gather more recycled markers for students who are a day behind to use. My favorite part of the cactus is the top right piece. I used a black marker to draw the pattern, but the design appears like a rainbow.

Vol. 4, No. 065, March 6, 2019

4065 - Monster Mash.

that doodle into a drawing of a fantastic beast or other imaginary animal.

When I got home from work, I grabbed a pencil and paper and was heading to look for a Miller Little, when I remembered the BoogieBoards sitting on my dresser. I decided this would be a more eco friendly way to do my project today. The first Miller I found was Littlest Miller; she was more than willing to draw a doodle on the BoogieBoard for me. After she drew her design, I realized that I couldn’t do anything to keep her art separate from my own, so I took a quick pic of hers. It is in the bottom corner of the picture. Then I added details, creating this “Fantastic Beast”. I started with the eye, then moved to the teeth. The last part I added was the wing. Due to lack of space, the wing ended up much too small to be functional.