When I grow up

I'm not sure if it is just springtime that brings out the creative soul in me or what, but I've been hankering to do something artsy. I just never seem to be able to get started on anything.

Earlier in the year I became interested in Zentangle mainly because it seemed perfect for me and my limited drawing ability. Knowing that I needed some serious stress relievers in my daily life, I pulled out my art supplies once again. Zentangles are usually black and white, but I really liked the idea of adding color to my page before setting my black pens to it. This led me to researching how to apply gesso to journal pages -I had to research because I'm such a noob when it comes to art techniques. (BTW, how did we research before Google?!?) Boy, am I glad I did! I found a wonderful resource in Paula Philips, aka the JournalArtista. Finally, I feel like I can play with the art supplies I've got! As much as I love books and reading, sometimes I really need to see in order to understand.  I'm thinking that this may be my Summer of the Art Journal. Anybody out there who is already on the art journal band wagon?





A Row of Oil...

Caspar  Benson

Buy This at Allposters.com

Book Challenge Art?

I won a nifty journal to record my books for the challenge in.  But rather than make a mere list of the titles I have read, I took some inspiration from someone who has a great art journal and decided to jazz mine up a bit.

Its a start!  All I had on hand at the time were some old color pencils and a fountain pen.  Since creating this first entry I splurged on some grown-up crayons to play with.  Yes, I've only recorded one book so far!

It may take me longer to record titles this way than to actually read the books!  I couldn't draw a picture of the book as I have a digital edition and for some reason, there is no cover pic  :-P

How are you keeping track of your reads?

Artist in the Office

I don't consider myself an Artist, but I do consider myself creative.  I may have mentioned this before, I'm also a compulsive reader.  Being summertime, I'm finding myself at the library more frequently.  On one of my recent trips I found a copy of The Artist in the Office.  I heard about this book in another blog, so I jumped at the chance to read it for myself.

What I liked about it was that it wasn't just about how to have a day job and still call yourself an artist, but a book about being yourself no matter what you are paid to do.  It is a quick read (if you don't stop at the writing prompts), and even if YOU don't consider yourself an artist, it may help you find peace with your 9-5 job :)

Painting outdoors

Some paint (with liquid dish soap added in for easier clean up), an acrylic picture frame, a table cloth, some brushes, a bucket of water & a sponge,  you too can create an outdoor art studio for your child!

Don't like what you've painted?  No worries, just wash & go again!

Warning: painting the table cloth may become more entertaining as the afternoon wears on.

Poster Love

I have a Kandisky poster ready to frame and hang on my classroom wall.



Farbstudie Quadrate, c.1913 Poster



But as I was trolling for images to use on my blog, I found this series:



Twentieth Century Art Masterpieces -Wassily Kandinsky - Watercolor Art Print

I like the picture of the artist and information that goes along with the work!  I'm thinking I'll be asking my parents to get some for our classroom :D



Masterworks of Art - Water Garden at Giverny Art Print



African American Artists - Allan Rohan Crite - School's Out Art Print

Playdough

 Turtle has been doing a lot of imaginative play cooking recently, so I decided I would introduce playdough to her again.  When I did my Montessori certification training, I received an amazing recipe for cooked playdough.  Sadly, this recipe was lost in the flood.  Luckily I found one online that produced the most amazingly smooth playdough I have ever used!  I changed it up a bit & used my Kitchenaid to do the kneading.  I'm not sure if it was the Kitchenaid or the essential oil I added that got such fantastic results -I guess I'll have to try a batch by hand to see if it is grainy or not.  At any rate, this came together so quickly & easily I'm sure it will become a favorite recipe to make in the classroom with my students!

Materials:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 cup water
2 Tbsp oil
food coloring
optional: immitation vanilla extract or essential oil

Method:

Combine in a sauce pan the flour, salt & cream of tartar.  In another bowl, whisk together the water, food coloring (I used paste this time) & oil.  Pour into sauce pan.  Stir until it nearly comes together & add the vanilla if using.

Finishing by hand:
     Put on clean surface & let cool a bit, then knead until smooth.  I would consider wearing gloves if adding essential oil at this point, I would be afraid of not being able to wash the scent out afterwards!  Wearing gloves helps to start kneading the dough while it is still hot as well.


Finishing by stand mixer:
     As soon as it comes together  put it in the bowl  & add 15 drops cinnamon leaf essential oil (I did this rather than using vanilla).  Use the dough hook to knead it until  cool enough to handle. 

Store in an airtight container.

Preschool Art Lesson: Picasso

Doing art lessons is one of my favorite things to do in the classroom.  I get my inspiration from MaryAnn Kohl who has an amazing range of art books designed for kids.  What I like most is that these lessons are focused on the process of art and not the finished product -very appropriate for a Montessori classroom!

This last week we talked about paining all in one color and Picasso's Blue Period.  I put out an ice cube tray with five compartments filled with blue tempera paint.  Four of the blues got another splash of color added: white, black, yellow, and red.  I didn't like how the paint moved across the paper, so I added some liquid dish soap to help the paint flow. (Note: did you know that adding a drop or two of soap can make clean up time easier? Usually I add it directly to the bottle of paint, shake then use!)  If I had access to some vegetable oil I would have used that. The paint flows and blends together beautifully this way!

Check out some of our results:

 

This last one the child named The Blue Century in honor of Picasso!

To keep things interesting for the kids we'll try different base colors.  I'm also thinking I'll add flour or cornstarch so that it can be very textural!