Swapping Old for New

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….art projects

Last week I started to remove some of the older art projects in the hall for the newer assignments. I have close to 300 projects to display and I’ve barely put a dent in the collection but it’s a good start. Funny how things can be on display for weeks and people just start to notice them when you’re ready to take them down. Oh well at least they made an impression before they were removed.

I’m close to finishing the Faces projects. The kids really seemed to enjoy the process. When the collage assignment was done I shared the painting technique I learned on Carla Sonheim’s on-line class, Faces 101. It started out as an experiment with a grade 2 class that I don’t normally teach and it was so successful that I decided to pass on the knowledge to my other classes. Here are a few more ‘faces’ projects that I’d like to share with you:

As you can see I have a few students who like to think ‘outside the box’. I encourage creativity as long as I see some of the components in the lesson in the final piece.

The halls are starting to fill up with new work. Here’s a sample of what one might see if they came for a visit.

Having a ‘Hoot’ of a Time

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….drawing owls

I recently signed up for an on-line art class using gelli plates. I did one last summer and I loved it. So when Carla Sonheim offered another class I jumped at the chance to participate again. This class uses some of the prints I’ve done in the past and involves drawing on the actual gelli plate. I, therefore needed a subject to draw that was relatively simple and would work in a print application.

I choice to draw an owl. I’ve always been attracted to owls and wanted to create an owl that is somewhat whimsical yet simple. Here are some of the owls that I played around with tonight.

I think I will probably use the first two in my prints. We’ll see I may change my mind or I may draw a few more.

Cheers!

A Word a Week Photograph Challenge – Frame

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..every week Sue Llewellyn goes into her Oxford dictionary and randomly pulls a word that becomes the challenge for that week

The word this week is frame. I suppose you could take it literally and find pictures of frames or things held within a frame or one could go with the verb ‘to frame’.

A natural hand made frame made by a student in grade 3

A gate framing the entrance to a home in Dublin.

An arch framing the entrance to Dublin Castle.

A statue in Dublin framing my silly husband.

A tunnel framing Croagh Patrick in Westport.

To see more ‘A Word a Week Photograph Challenge – Frame’ go to Sue Llewellyn’s site.

One Word Photo Challenge – Yellow

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….I posted several yellow photos about this time last year….I’ll see if I can find some new ones

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/02/26/one-word-photo-challenge-yellow/

29 Faces – Day 15 to 25

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….these faces weren’t done by me but I did teach my grade 2s how to paint them

Today I covered a grade two class that should have had music but the music teacher was at the Kiwanis festival with two other classes and the class I should have had was one of the two classes at the competition. When the grade 2s came into the library I decided to turn the period into an art class. I thought that they could probably handle making faces using watercolour paints.

I demonstrated how to add the skin tones and face shape first and once that was dry we added the hair. I recommended that the facial features be done with marker. Some followed the instructions and others didn’t but most of them had a lot of fun and their faces were pretty good. Here is a gallery of faces for you to enjoy:

Too Tired to Draw or Write

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….falling asleep in front of the laptop

I was hoping to draw some more faces but I’m so tired that I am literally dozing off in my chair in front of the computer. So it’s off to bed for me and it’s only 10:00. I have to get up early tomorrow anyway for another basketball practice. The boys won their last game so they’re moving on to the next round on Wednesday.

Today I took 35 boys to a choir competition. I wasn’t slated to go but one of the adults supervisors was away so I volunteered to help out at the last minute. I rescheduled some of my classes and spent a couple of hours listening to the angelic voices of nine and ten year old boys. This was the first year that L entered a boys’ choir and they managed to secure a second place standing with a “gold” designation. Bravo boys!

Good Night! Maybe I’ll have more energy tomorrow for drawing and writing. Sweet dreams!

Share Your World – Week 8

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..these questions required a bit more thought than normal for me

Would you rather be given $10,000 for your own use or $100,000 to give anonymously to strangers?

At the moment I’d rather be given $10 000. for my own use. I’m trying to pay off some debt and if there was any money left over I’d rather give it to someone I know than to a perfect stranger.

When you’re 90 years old, what will matter most to you?

I guess at ninety my ability to get around and do things for myself will matter the most to me. I don’t want to become a burden to my children. So, therefore I need to stay physically and mentally fit and healthy to achieve this goal.

Candy factories of the entire world have become one and will now be making only one kind of candy. Which kind, if you were calling the shots?

I’m not a big candy eater but if I had to choose one it would probably be chocolate covered nuts. My husband reminded me of a candy called Bridge Mix that our parents would bring out for special occasions. It contained a variety of chocolate covered nuts, mints,raisins and jellies. My husbands choice is jujubes.

So, you’re on your way out and it’s raining. Do you know where your umbrella is or do you frantically search for it all over your apartment/house?

It’s usually in the back of the car or I’ve left it at work. Luckily I have more than one umbrella but unfortunately most of the time I have to search for it.

Cheers!

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/02/24/share-your-world-2014-week-8/

Reaching Goals Early

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..600 followers as of yesterday

Thank you to everyone who has chosen to follow me since I started blogging. My second anniversary is coming up in mid April. Last May I set a new set of blogging goals for myself but the only one I remembered was reaching 600 followers by May 1, 2014. So I went back to my post on May 1, 2013 and reviewed what I had written. Here is an excerpt of that post:

…. I reached 300 followers

I reached all my goals before the end of April with your help.

Where do I go from here? Here’s what I’m thinking:

150 likes for one post (114 for https://mamacormier.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-blue/) This one will be more difficult to reach. It seems that I get most of my likes when I participate in a photo challenge

Our principal taunting the boys and girls

August: Niagara Falls, ON

200 views for one day (currently sitting at 159) I reached 303 views on June 7th

600 followers one year from today I reached 600 followers 10 weeks early

30 000 views one year from today I am 5500 views away from this goal – That would be 550 views a week, 79 views a day – right now I average about 50 views a day

300 new posts in the next year I’m at 262 so I have 38 posts to go – that’s 3.8 posts a week….very doable. My magic number will be 614 posts in total.

Of course once you reach a goal it’s time to set new goals. So in the next 10 weeks my revised goals are to:

• attract 75 more followers

• write 50 more posts

• reach 320 views in one day

• average 80 views a day

Of course none of this is possible without your support. Looking forward to hearing from you. Hopefully I can give you something that sparks your interest and makes you want to visit here. Carol (aka mamacormier)

Cheers!

Flags & Food

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Mama Cormier

This might have been an interesting way to make our flags for our Winter Olympics at school…..or maybe not. Very creative, check it out.

the bippity boppity beautiful blog

Flags & Food

NATIONAL FLAGS MADE FROM EACH COUNTRY’S TRADITIONAL FOODS

Italy

basil, pasta and tomatoes

India
curry chicken, rice, cheera thoran and papadum wafer

Brazil
banana leaf, limes, pineapple and passion fruit

China
dragon fruit and star fruit

United States
hot dogs, ketchup and mustard

Greece
olives and feta cheese

Japan
tuna and rice

Lebanon
tomatoes, pita bread and parsley

Vietnam
rambutan, lychee and starfruit

Australia
meat pie and sauce

South Korea
kimbap and sauces

France
blue cheese, brie cheese and grapes

United Kingdom
scone, cream and jams

Turkey
Turkish Delight

Spain
chorizo and rice

Indonesia
spicy curries and rice

Thailand
sweet chilli sauce, shredded coconut and blue swimmer crab

Switzerland
charcuteries and swiss cheese

Credits
Client: Sydney International Food Festival
Advertising Agency: WHYBINTBWA, Sydney, Australia
Executive Creative Director: Garry…

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Burning the Midnight Oil on the Weekend Preparing for the Winter Olympics

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….my weekend wasn’t all fun and games with the family

Of course when I say ‘the Winter Olympics’ I’m referring to our fun day at school where we organized a variety of winter games for the boys and girls to participate in. Last week a group of us quickly assembled a committee to plan for a Winter Olympic extravaganza that involved the entire school, from JKs to grade 5s. Not knowing how much longer the snow would stay on the ground and knowing that the temperatures wouldn’t be in the polar vortex zone we decided to host the games on the Tuesday right after the Family Day weekend.

The committee came up with 12 different sporting events, from the ‘Biathlon to Luge to Hockey, that teams could compete in. The sign up sheet went up in the staffroom and all the staff signed up for an event. Two teachers volunteered to make hot chocolate for 420 children and two of the kindergarten teachers wanted to make the Olympic banner with the Olympic Rings. My colleague next to the library worked with me and her class to make 22 different flags from some of the countries that actually participate in the Winter Olympics. After making the paper flags we decided that we needed to laminate them so that they wouldn’t be destroyed when they were taken outside. That job was done mostly during our prep time and after school and G took some home to finish off the remaining ones after we ran out of the Mack Tack that we were using.

I volunteered to make the 60 medals on the weekend and I had started to make paper dowels for the flags but I hadn’t made nearly enough before I left for the weekend. I also wanted to make an Olympic torch but I wasn’t quite sure how I would tackle that because of course I wanted it to look like the one that was used in Sochi.

Over the weekend I spent some of my time shopping for ribbon for the medals and silver spray paint. A parent at school donated enough CDs for 60 medals and a can of gold and bronze spray paint.

After spray painting the CDs gold, silver and bronze I wrote on each of them, Rosethorn’s Winter Olympics 2014 and then I attached a ribbon big enough to fit over a child’s head. I debated whether to hot glue the ribbon at the ends or sew the ends together. On Monday night I opted for a quicker method and I taped the ends together.

Once the medals were finished I made 36 paper dowels to attach to the flags so that the children could carry them high in the air and then I taped them to the back of each flag. This is what my dining room table looked like Monday night.

One night over the weekend I was up till 3:00 in the morning working on the medals and on Monday I was up till 1:30. Before I went to bed the night before school I decided at the last minute that I really needed to make the Olympic torch as well. I quickly traced out the shape of the torch that they used in Sochi and then transferred the design onto 3 pieces of cardboard that I glued together and spray painted white. In the morning I added the red trim and glued some tissue paper at the top to represent the flames. When we did the closing ceremony I chose a little boy in kindergarten to carry the torch into the gym. He was the perfect choice.