Two New Paintings Donated to Art Auction

A local town has been raising funds to build their own dog park for at least a few years now. And for a while I would drive by the fundraising thermometer -- you know the kind that gets painted in with red as the money accumulates. This one was shaped like a dog bone (cute, right?), but the red paint wasn't rising much.

Although I am not a dog owner and would be better described as a cat person, I do like dogs, just other people's dogs. For myself I find them to be too high maintenance. All the more reason they need a park in which to run and play. So, I did a little research and found that the dog park actually had a committee and the committee actually had a face book group. I joined the group and offered the suggestion of holding an art auction as a fundraiser.

A dozen or so e-mails later and that auction is happening with me as a donor. I didn't have time to do anything beyond give some advice and some artwork, but with my tiny suggestion, the committee is hoping to gather the last bit of money needed to get underway in the actual building of the park. They already have the land, a plan, and some additional financial backing.

The "Artful Dogger" art auction is taking place this coming Thursday, April 11, 2013 at the Danvers Art Association. Beginning at 7:00pm $5.00 at the door gets you in, and then the silent auction goes until around 9:00pm.

My artistic contribution to the event is a pair of companion paintings. These two paintings are 6-inches square and are painted in oil on oak. They have enough depth to stand on their own on a shelf. I envision them as bookends of a sort.

"Walk?" 6 x 6" oil on prepared oak, Copyright Margaurita Spear, April 2013

"Bacon?" 6 x 6" oil on prepared oak, Copyright Margaurita Spear, April 2013

Felted Bunnies.... Just In Time For Spring!

So today is the first day of spring. I don't believe it, not with ice and snow on the ground and on my car.

But all of the snow this winter prompted me to take up a new craft -- needle felting! During Nemo I felted my first bunny using wool roving that I had purchased over the holiday break. I posted that one little bunny to my facebook page and ended up with several requests for bunnies for Easter. So I spent a few more storms and many evenings felting away until they were all finally finished.

Should I ever decide to make another felted animal I am calling them "Felted Friends" so that if I do open an Etsy shop they already have a name. They each take a few hours to make though, so I am not sure if I will continue to make them for sale. They might end up being something I only make as gifts.This is the image from the packaging. On the back are lots of details about wool roving, handcrafted needle felting, caring for the product and how these are NOT toys. I also included contact info, including the blog address.

Felting is not for the faint of heart. If the sight of blood makes you woozy DO NOT DO NEEDLE FELTING. I pricked my fingers many, many times with that little barbed needle. It doesn't draw a lot of blood, but enough to make you stop your work in fear of making polka dotted animals. And you break quite a few needles if you felt a lot. I think they just wear out from too much stabbing into the wool.

If you do decide to take up felting, there are a few really great books out there. Such as Wool Pets by Laurie Sharp and Little Felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvath. I found both of these very helpful in getting stared with 3D felting. There are also plenty of other books available for 2D felting and for felting without needles.

  

And here are some more felted bunnies... the eyes are sewn on seed beads using embroidery floss. The mouth/nose is also embroidery floss. I do not knot it off; instead I just snip it with about 1/8" hanging and use the felting needle to push the thread into the animal.  Add ribbon in your color choice!

"What Remains" Available This Weekend at Brush Gallery, Lowell Fundraiser

"What Remains" 4 x 4 Oil on Canvas, February 2013, Copyright Margaurita Spear

This painting will be available for purchase for a mere $25 at the Brush Gallery's annual scholarship fundraiser.

Just the facts:

4 X 4 FOR EDUCATION
Artists 4 Education
Saturday, March 2, 2 - 5 pm

256 Market Street, Lowell, MA 01852

For more details visit:

The Brush Gallery Website 

 or

The Facebook Event Page

 

Bring on the Bling! Vacation Week Workshop at the Wenham Museum

Later this week, I will be teaching another workshop at the Wenham Museum. (www.wenhammuseum.org). 

The latest in the workshops that I have taught there coincides with their current exhibit: Spingle, Spangle: The Sequin Exhibit. This workshop is intended for young students age 6 and up. 

Workshop Details:

 

Bring on the Bling!

Thursday, February 21, 10 am – 12 pm.  

Members: $8; Non-Member: $12

Adult Non-Members: Museum Admission

Be inspired by the museum's shimmering Spingle Spangle: The Sequin costume exhibit and bling-out a papier-mâché box with decoupage and glittery embellishments.

Ages 6+ (A drop off program)

Secrets of Rusty Things: A Book Review with Potential

So I am not the best at not being a teacher. Even though I am not actively teaching art right now I can't stop myself from seeing potential art lesson inspiration everywhere!

I was visiting my local library  -- which as I've said before is one of my favorite places -- and I came across a book on the central display. One of the nice things about living someplace where the library is across the street from an art college is that the librarians frequently display books they think art students will like. The book Secrets of Rusty Things by Michael de Meng is one that certainly fits that description.

This book has beautiful full-page photographs of found object art. But the best part is that after each image the artist gives his inspiration for the piece as well as his technical approach to gathering and assembling the works. The personal anecdotes make the work so much more accessible. And the inspirations are mostly from world mythology and lore, which is the part that really made me think "how could this artist's work inspire an art lesson?"

Well, I don't have an art lesson to go with it yet. But I know I eventually will, and in the meantime I thought I'd share this artist with everyone else who may also be inspired by him!

New Painting: "Slow and Steady" Donated to Hope For Creativity Art Auction

 

Hope for Creativity is a non-profit organization for which I was invited to create a painting. This organization provides art supplies to homeless children between the ages of two and eighteen. A former student of mine became involved with this organization as part of her community service requirement for her confirmation this year and she asked me if I would donate my time and talents. I was, of course, delighted to oblige because I think she is a great young lady and this is a terrific cause.

There are so many charitable groups that provide some sort of aide to homeless families and kids, but I like that this group provides art supplies because when times are tough art making can be an excellent outlet for our emotions. Giving kids the means to express themselves through art is just so wonderful. And I remember how awesome it always was to get new art supplies growing up -- perfect Crayola crayons and plump and juicy markers -- so I am happy to support this great cause that gives kids that otherwise may not get new art supplies that same sense of joy!

For this art auction, Hope for Creativity provided participating artists with an unfinished wood painter's palette. The theme was Hope. Create. Inspire. Three very important words indeed! For the piece I made I did not want to take a literal approach, although I did consider it at first. Instead of actually incorporating the text into the painting, which I thought of doing as a fortune cookie message, I wanted to contemplate the meaning of the words. To me hope is about not giving in, keeping steady, and forging onward. I thought of the tortoise and the hare and the saying "Slow and steady wins the race." For my piece I arranged a simple set up with a turtle figurine that my mother brought me from a Native American pow wow. This turtle would embody that message of hope. A major component of hope for me lately has been understanding that life is a journey and that eventually you'll make it through. This has become my personal mantra, especially as I continue to hope for a teaching position in my own classroom.

And from this seed of hope, "Slow and Steady" was conceived. "Slow and Steady" becomes available for auction beginning on October 1st and ending on October 12th, with the auction wrap party in Wakefield, MA. For more information about this event, to buy tickets to the party, or to learn more about Hope for Creativity visit: http://hopeforcreativity.org/Art_Auction_2012.html

Here is the painting "Slow and Steady" that has been donated to this worthy cause:

Eek! My Quilled Paper Designs At Visionspace Gallery

So I am taking a break from substitute teaching, which means there may be fewer posts about art lessons in the coming months.

I needed a more reliable income. After looking for work all summer, I am now an office manager at a music school. I am still looking for a full time teaching gig, though. And in the meantime I am finding new doors opening up in terms of my own creative work.

One of those doors opened about a month ago when I was approached by a fellow alum from art school and asked if I'd be interested in showing my quilled designs at a local gallery that he is involved with.  I was a.) surprised since I hadn't thought many people would want to see them, b.) nervous because I wasn't sure what people would think about them, and c.) excited because I am eager to get some feedback.

And now, two of my quilled pieces that have previously appeared on this blog will be making their real world debut at Visionspace Gallery. Here is the postcard image for the opening -- which is October 5th!

And the two pieces being shown, in case you are wondering, are:

Rotational Motif # 4 Copyright Margaurita Spear, 2011

Rotational Motif #6 Copyright Margaurita Spear 2012

How I'm Spending Summer Vacation

In taking a cue from the often overused question posed to returning students, I am dedicating this post to outline what I've been doing since school ended in June.

First, I must apologize for my absence from blogging. I've been without an internet connection for a while, which limits my blogging options. Yes, I could have taken the laptop to a place with WIFI, but honestly I've had other things on my mind.

Just before the school year ended, I was sad to hear that the summer camp where I have taught art classes for the last three years has suffered a massive drop in enrollment this year. I usually count on the income from this job to get me through until September when I can go back to subbing, so it was quite a hit to learn that my classes were being dropped completely. I have been faced with the daunting task of finding a summer job when most of them were already taken by high school and college students. The most I have found has been working as an usher at my local music theater. Now, this is a fun job since I see all the shows -- often more than half a dozen times all the way through -- but the pay is minimal as are the hours. I was planning to pick up a second job in a new restaurant that is opening soon, but the opening has been delayed due to political paperwork. So I am for the most part, unemployed. And, needless to say, I am very stressed out about it.

Well,  I was determined not to waste the summer hours that I now had to so whatever I wanted to do. I WAS determined to make more art, organize things, listen to free concerts, etc. Thing is I WAS determined. But instead I find myself looking for a permanent teaching job and a temporary or part-time second job. And when I am not doing that I am worrying about what I will do if something doesn't come through soon. All this time wasted worrying means I have no finished art to share.

Now, you may be thinking that if I have wasted so much of my own time worrying, why waste anyone's time reading about my doing so. Well, I haven't been completely unproductive. Before I began the worrying cycle, I looked into some online classes that I could not afford to take. But rather than just say to myself that it is shame I can't take this class, I decided to get the required reading for free from the library and read the books on my own. I am very glad I did because now I can share them with you.

The first book I read is The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. This book by Ken Robinson, Ph.D. was a very fast read. I'm sure many fellow art teachers will relate to its contents. Robinson describes your element as the place where your passion and talent meet. It is a sweet spot where if you are lucky enough to work in your element it does not feel like work at all -- it energizes, inspires, and replenishes. Reading this book confirmed what I already thought but did not have words for -- teaching art is my element. This book also offers insight in how others can be helped to find their element. The element can be anything, by the way, not just something in the arts. Reading this book gave me some perspective on how I'd like to be an instrument in helping my students reach the same level of bliss that I have when I teach.

Robinson has also written Out Of Our Minds: Learning To Be Creative. This book is still on my summer reading list, but after just a brief perusal it seems like just as interesting and easy a read as his other book. More on this book later.

The second book I have begun reading, but not got very far into is The Hundred Languages Of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach - Advanced Reflections edited by Carolyn Edwards, Lella Gandini, and George Forman. It is a denser read written as a series of interviews with those involved in the beginnings of the schools in Italy and those practicing the approach in the United States. Although it has been tough to get to because of the writing style, I have found it to be enlightening. There are some aspects of my personal teaching philosophy that I have found differ from the general model in public schools. Things like really involving families and communities in a substantial way. Or promoting open communication through sharing of documentation to the world (like these blogs). I thought my ideas were somewhat out of place with what I was taught in college or what I've seen in some schools -- a cookie cutter approach to education with too much emphasis on standardization. Turns out my ideas are not that strange and are in fact in line with many of the founding principles of Reggio Emilia. Reading this book has prompted me to look for teaching opportunities in non-traditional schools as well as made me more determined to continue exploring my ideas in my own teaching regardless of where I teach.

So, that is how I'm spending my summer vacation -- for now. There is still the month of August, so who knows where my journey will lead.

Signs of Summer Grade 3

 

After creating the beach ball mural with the second graders I was feeling the summer spirit, therefore for the last lesson of the year for grade three I decided to have them make "Signs of Summer." It is really a play on words because they are making a sign and using imagery that they consider to be signs of summer, such as surf boards, ice cream, etc.

The materials are simple as are the instructions. It is the end of the year and many of the students are already on a mental summer vacation so why make things too complicated. First cut paper into 6 x 18" strips. Then fold those into 6 sections -- one for each letter of the word S-U-M-M-E-R. Have students write the letters using a block or bubble style. There should also be at least 6 images that accompany the word, preferably spread out across the sign. They can overlap the letters or go behind them, etc. I used the standard markers/colored pencils/crayons that are available to the students at all times and did not limit which was used or what was combined.

Here is an unfinished student example. He was very thoughtful in creating his imagery, being careful to be original and not copy the example that I had made...

Beach Ball Mural -- Grade 2

About a week or so ago I began clearing the bulletin boards to get all the students' work sorted to send home, but since the year is not quite over I did not want to leave the boards totally empty. I also did not want to have to hang up anything that would have to be taken down too soon to be handed back. As it turned out the school was also having literacy week and the second graders were doing something in their regular classroom that related to beach balls. I decided that the best solution was to create a beach ball mural. It used simple shapes that would look awesome as a repeated pattern; it provided an opportunity to use up some left over paints; it gave the students a chance to work collaboratively -- the best part by the way; and it was so much fun!

 

I created the design on large poster boards placed in a grid before the students arrived in class. Then I divided the boards between the six tables in the art room. Each table got a tray with six paint colors and six brushes (one per color). The students were told that they had to work together in their groups to decide who would paint which parts and what color they would use. They were also told to give the paintings at least two coats of paint to keep them from being too streaky. That was all I instructed. It was really interesting to hear them planning. Some were very methodic -- painting one color at a time and taking turns with that color. Others divided up the colors among themselves and only painted with their individual colors, but worked out who would paint where. Some were very careful not to put the same colors next to each other -- other students not so much.

After the students left (it was the last class of the day) -- I went over the outlines in black and filled in the background space with a neutral mixed tan. I wasn't planning to paint the background at all since the poster board I used was blue, but there were a few accidental drips that made it necessary to paint over them. That and I felt there needed to be more contrast than the blue background was allowing.

The mural was a huge hit with teachers, staff and students, who had a blast trying to figure out which part they had helped paint.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream!

These two lessons are very similar. The first was taught to a fourth grade class and the second to a third grade class. They both use the same ice cream bowl imagery with a patterned background. The older grade used tempera (so theirs are actually not done yet) and the younger grade worked smaller and used oil pastels.

For the tempera lesson, I provided only primary colors, brown, white, and (lastly) black (for shades in the toppings). The background is done in marker. Each scoop of ice cream has to be a different tint (flavor).

My sample painting:

For the oil pastel lesson, blending is key. Again the scoops all have to be a different tint (flavor). Even if the students used pink I asked them to add white to tint it even lighter. Required number of scoops: three or more.

A few student examples:

Random Object Yankee Swap! Gr. 4

Almost everyone knows how a Yankee swap works. You pick a gift then get to swap with someone else no matter if they want to or not. And being the first to choose means you get to swap last and have your choice of everything. It can be fun or frustrating depending on what you get stuck with.

Anyway, I was in need of a fourth grade mini lesson last week and thought it might be fun to try with random small objects that are placed in a box. These could range from art supplies to little toys or knick knacks or pretty much whatever is handy and whatever you have enough of for every student to get one thing. The students are already assigned numbers in their classroom so they chose from the box in that order. It was great fun and although it did take a little longer than expected with all the swapping, it was worth it.

Once the swap was completed, students were instructed to draw their objects from observation. They could incorporate the following:

• cropping
• change in view point
• overlapping
• change in scale

They were asked to draw the objects more than once, but you'll see from the examples below that this did not always happen. Once the drawings were complete and traced over with permanent marker, they had some choices for how they could finish them off with watercolor. These were:

• Paint around the object only and leave the object white -- Not many chose this option.
• Paint the object and a border only and leave the background white -- The popular choice.
• Optional: Add some splatter paint. This first occurred to fix a stray mark and then everyone wanted to try it so I said it would be okay if they were careful of others working around them.

Here are the results of this little art game experiment:

Wind up snail toy.

Miniature brass candelabra.

Key chain.

Toy alien figure (with movable arms).

Little felt craft bear.

Key chain.

Alien toy (this student never started the painting because he was so careful of his drawing).

Plastic minute timer.

Bulldog clip.

Cowboy hat car air freshener.