Just spent all morning up at the school. The second graders had a school garden this year, and since Jenny, my youngest, is in second grade, the woman who spearheaded the gardening effort, asked if I would paint a mural, since, as she said, "You're kind of crafty, right?"
One of my big caveats when working with the kids is that the artwork should be THEIRS, not mine, so I started to think about how I could create a mural with 37 kids...Hmmm...
Eventually I settled on the idea that each kid would draw a picture of themself in the garden. They cut out their drawings, and today I pasted them down to the 4' x 8' plywood sheet that the kids had painted mountains and sky on.
It is the cutest thing! I was shooting for a primitive look to the whole thing, and we hit the mark!
I didn't take a picture while I was there today, but I will tomorrow when I finish up. I just love it. The piece will hang on the side of the building next to the garden--the outside border will be the signatures of all the kids. Perfect.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Another Journal Page
Here's another--I saw this in an ad in Vogue magazine: a black and white picture with journaling in white in the black spaces and in black in the white spaces. This isn't done, of course.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
A Journal Page
Here's one of the pages from my new journal. This is not my usual style, but I'm following along the lines of Teesha Moore's directions for creating a journal page. I don't usually use bright colors, and I don't usually create images. This was fun--
Monday, June 02, 2008
Altered Photo
This is an old photo, a duplicate of one that I took in 1988. I pulled it out the other day when I was trying to get back in the "play" mode--I was thinking I would make something that I could copy and use as decorative paper in my journal...
This used techniques that I first learned in Karen Michel's book, The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery.
To begin, I dampened the surface of the photo with water. Then I took some sandpaper and sanded the photo, concentrating on the areas that I thought were less interesting, which in this case was pretty much the whole photo except for a spot that had a purple-tinged sun glare on the upper right side. I went back in and colored on the photo watercolors, and voila!
Very fun, and best of all, there's no 'right' or 'wrong'.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Bad Girl, Bad, Bad Blogger Girl!
Oh, I have been diligently avoiding writing here. Not sure why, although it is that busy time of year around here, what with end of school and all that...
But honestly, I don't feel like I have anything to say. Well, no, not that, because of course I have things to say, I just can't imagine anyone wanting to read them. I'm feeling very dull and boring.
Today's big question was from 15 yr-old boy: "Why won't you let me go over to my friend Danni's house to hang out?"
Fair question, and one I can't really answer except to say, "It just makes me uncomfortable."
Don't get me wrong--I like Danni, a lot. She's a great girl, funny and smart and all that other stuff. And I do trust Joel--it's just, well, even though it's been TWENTY-NINE friggin' years since I was fifteen, I just remember that it's probably not a good idea. (I can't remember the word for, you know, those round things that we eat off of--but I vaguely remember being fifteen--what, oh, it's called a plate? Well, fancy that...). It's like two summers ago, when I was almost dragged out to sea by what Joel's friend called an "under toe" in his vacation journal. I'd just been telling the kids that no one intends to drown, and then, what do you know, I almost did! (unintentionally, of course).
Sometimes things happen without anyone intending them to, and, well, I'm a mom, dammit. Isn't it my prerogative to just say, "No."???
Okay, so you've figured out by now that I really don't have anything interesting to say--but I'm going to get back on track for Blog 365 by posting every single day, even if I just post a picture and a short sentence. Promise.
And remember, stay away from under toes, okay?
But honestly, I don't feel like I have anything to say. Well, no, not that, because of course I have things to say, I just can't imagine anyone wanting to read them. I'm feeling very dull and boring.
Today's big question was from 15 yr-old boy: "Why won't you let me go over to my friend Danni's house to hang out?"
Fair question, and one I can't really answer except to say, "It just makes me uncomfortable."
Don't get me wrong--I like Danni, a lot. She's a great girl, funny and smart and all that other stuff. And I do trust Joel--it's just, well, even though it's been TWENTY-NINE friggin' years since I was fifteen, I just remember that it's probably not a good idea. (I can't remember the word for, you know, those round things that we eat off of--but I vaguely remember being fifteen--what, oh, it's called a plate? Well, fancy that...). It's like two summers ago, when I was almost dragged out to sea by what Joel's friend called an "under toe" in his vacation journal. I'd just been telling the kids that no one intends to drown, and then, what do you know, I almost did! (unintentionally, of course).
Sometimes things happen without anyone intending them to, and, well, I'm a mom, dammit. Isn't it my prerogative to just say, "No."???
Okay, so you've figured out by now that I really don't have anything interesting to say--but I'm going to get back on track for Blog 365 by posting every single day, even if I just post a picture and a short sentence. Promise.
And remember, stay away from under toes, okay?
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