“You’re an artist, Mrs. Cormier!”

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…why do I have such a difficult time seeing myself as an artist?

I love art, I teach art, I appreciate many styles of art and I occasionally create art. I’ve even sold my art; however I find it difficult to describe myself as an artist.

Today during one of my art classes with grade 3s and 4s I showed them some examples of work I had done to demonstrate an art technique that they might want to use in their first art project. The children oohed and awed over my examples and insisted that I was this amazing artist.

I showed them how easy the technique was and with practise they could produce their own amazing pieces. I feel all children have artistic ability. Some of them just need more encouragement than others.

I believe that children should be given a certain amount of artistic freedom but I also believe that it’s okay to show them how they could improve on what they’ve done. I give them suggestions and demonstrate techniques that they can choose to use or not. Often they come up with even better ideas.

Today I wanted to make the lesson about them and what they could do and were capable of. I didn’t want it to be about me. I think that I provided some inspiration for many of them today and much of the work that they produced was exceptional for 8 and 9 year olds.

The children used photographs of themselves in their art work today so I am unable to post them on the internet. The theme was “I’m a star because…..” and the children posed in positions that demonstrated what they were good at. They wrote, in a pre-made star, why they were a star and then filled it in with colour. The star and the photograph (trimmed around the student’s body) were glued onto a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white card stock. The last step was to create a scene around the pictures. Some of the scenes included performing a dance on stage, meditating while sitting on the floor, slaying a dragon. doing the splits at a gymnastic competition and playing golf on a putting green.

Am I an artist? My students think so. My colleagues and friends think I am. Aren’t we all artists at some level? Here are a few of my pieces. I will try to capture some work done by my students without revealing their identity for another post.

16 x 16 acrylic, “Fern”

8 x 10 acrylic monoprint, “Autumn Grass”

5 x 7 acrylic on yupo paper, “Abstract Landscape”

8 x 10 mono print, acrylic, “untitled”

The Piece of Art I Was Gifted

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. a while back I told you about a piece of art a friend took off the gallery wall and gave to me to keep.

Sam’s gift to us. It was completely spontaneous on his part and very unexpected on ours.

The medium is acrylic paint done on a 12 x 16 canvas. Thank you, Sam!

My Computer is Sick

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. we have an appointment to see the computer doctor tomorrow morning

Today was K’s last chemo treatment. The girls and I decided to surprise him and join him for lunch at a nice restaurant on Roncesvales. He was really pleased to see us walk through the door. While we were in the restaurant an old friend of ours walked through the door. I don’t think he recognized us right away but we invited him to join us. It was nice to catch up with him. He told us that he had an art show next to the restaurant and invited us to look at his paintings.

In the coffee shop, next door, there were about a dozen small colourful abstract paintings done by Sam. After admiring his work the strangest thing happened. He asked us which ones were our favourites and then he pulled them off the wall and gave them to us. I tried to pay for them but he wouldn’t take any money. When I get back on my own computer I will post a picture of the painting he gifted me.

I might have to take a break from posting stories for a few days until I get my computer problems sorted. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. I also need my computer to work on my report cards. I miss it already. Stay tuned.

10 Pounds Down!!

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. hooray!!!!!!

After my last post I did go for a nap and slept for 2 1/2 hours. I guess I was really tired.

On Saturday I got out for a walk with the dog. It was shorter than normal because they’re doing work on the rugby pitch and two laps of that is at least 1 km. I’ll have to find a new route for awhile.

I also got to the farmers’ market at the Brick Works and I was really looking forward to taking some great shots of fresh produce and anything else that might present itself. It was very busy but there was very little there in the way of produce. I really wanted to buy some rhubarb but there was none to be found. There were vendors there selling baked goods, gardening supplies, juices, honey, sausages and prepared foods but very little in the way of greens. I guess it’s still a little early in the season in Ontario.

My daughter and I also stopped at a cute little flower shop on Dundas St. West, near Trinity Bellwoods, called Sweet Woodruff. She had great “air-plants” that don’t need soil or water to survive. Well actually you do have to soak them about once a week but you can put them anywhere. I bought 3 and gave one away to my oldest daughter because she has always wanted one.

Sweet Woodruff

Air-plants

When I got back home I also got some gardening done but I have a lot left to do and when I finish here I’ll be out there pulling more weeds and planting a few flowers.

So everything that I set out to do on Saturday happened, plus I got some more school work done.

I haven’t shared the readings on my scale with you in almost a week. I knew that being away for 3 days would have a somewhat negative effect on my weight, even though I was incredibly active and I avoided all the desserts, bread, and fries. Thursday morning I was up 1/2 a pound and on Friday, another 1/2 pound. Today I lost that weight plus an additional 1/2 so that my total loss to date is an even 10 pounds.

This morning, my husband and I met up with two of our life long friends at the AGO and saw the Picasso show. If you’re in Toronto you should really check it out. It’s quite amazing and awe inspiring. Afterwards we went to the member’s lounge, had a nice lunch and then went our separate ways.

Picasso at the AGO

TTFN

When it Rains, it Pours

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… I’m talking about the never ending list of things to be done

The week I’ve been dreading most has just ended. Every year I tell myself that I’m not going to let myself get burdened down with too many extracurricular activities. “Let someone else do it.” However in a moment of weakness I volunteer my services. Don’t get me wrong, I actually enjoy most of the activities I get involved with but “why do they all have to occur at the same time?” With Girls on the Run, early morning soccer practices, organizing the Jump Rope for Heart assembly, filling in pages and pages of paperwork for our 3 day stay at Mono Cliffs with 56 students, preparing for the activity day for the Forest of Reading program and staying after school for 5 hours to create next year’s timetable, I was physically and mentally exhausted. All of this took place in the space of 5 days.

I was asked to go to the Track and Field meet but I actually declined the offer and suggested that a younger teacher on staff take on that responsibility. I love going to these meets but I needed to be at school to prepare for the open house.

On top of all of this I still had to prepare lessons for my grade 5s, finish the class project for the Education Week open house and at least try to maintain and keep 2 classrooms organized (not very well I might add).

… not everything was bad

A lot of positive things happened this week as well. The Jump Rope for Heart assembly took place, the timetable for next year is finished, the paperwork for the Mono Cliffs field trip is finished and all the details have been organized, and the activity day and open house were hugely successful. We also had a Teacher Appreciation Lunch served to us, compliments of the parents and my sister from Chatham came for a visit on Wednesday evening.

The Forest of Reading

Our Forest of Reading program came to an end this week with a culminating activity that every class took part in. I wrote about this in an earlier post. We combined this activity with Education Week and invited the parents to an Open House on Friday. The book club also had their activity day on the same day and the parents were invited to come into the classroom and observe some of the activities that were taking place.

I’m pleased that 30 students met the goal of reading a minimum of 10 Forest of Reading books and were able to participate in the planned activities for the day. Arts Express came in and did 2 drama/literacy workshops for the students and I ran a book making class. My only regret is that I didn’t get any pictures of the final projects. They were quite amazing. After treating the students to a pizza lunch we spent another hour together and made thank-you cards for the staff that were ‘expert readers’, honoured 3 students who read more than anyone else and had a draw for prizes (books of course). We also started painting a large banner that will be displayed permanently in the hall. Each student placed a painted hand on the tree and will later sign their names right on the tree.

The following pictures are some of the presentations that classes displayed around the school. I think they’re very creative. I only wish that I had been able to take pictures of all the great work but because I was so busy with the book club activities I didn’t get to some of the displays before they were taken down.

Enjoy!

“Wordle” pictures of Rm. 14’s favourite books.

Room 13’s essays on how they made the “moose” out of life.

Room 8’s giraffe paintings from the the book “Giraffe and Bird”.

Room 11’s favourite pizza toppings written in French.

Room 11’s book flags of their favourite books.

: The frog from the book “Kiss Me!”

Our “Forest of Reading” wall.

Book Flags Created by Some of My Students

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Mama Cormier

At my school we are participating in a province wide reading program called The Forest of Reading. Every child in the school has had 10 stories read to them from the Blue Spruce collection and the older boys and girls were also given the opportunity to join an in school book club where they were encouraged to read books from the Silver Birch collection and/or the Tamarac collection (French books).

Students in grades 3,4, and 5 were given the goal of reading at least 10 books from the above mentioned collections. Next week those students who have met the goal will participate in an activity day centered around literacy. Workshops around drama, book making and art banners, lunch and draws for prizes are some of the fun activities planned for the day.

The activity day also happens to coincide with Education Week. Every class in the school is presenting projects that they’ve created to highlight The Forest of Reading program. Some classes picked one book to focus on and others selected a number of different ones.

In my class, each student was asked to choose their favourite book and create a book flag depicting aspects of the book. They were given the freedom to use a number of different techniques (painting, collage, stamping, sewing) and choose whatever materials I had on hand.

I think they are all beautiful and even though some of them are still works in progress I wanted to share them with you. Tell me what you think.

Cheers

I Love to Create

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. today I needed to make art.

Whether it’s photography, painting or stitching, I find comfort and solace

in the act of creating something beautiful. I needed that today and found it while teaching my grade five students how to make unique flags that depicted their favourite books from the Forest of Reading program. They were encouraged to think outside the box, be creative, experiment and love what they were making. Their creations are wonderful.

Some took my lead and tried some of the new techniques that I demonstrated and others were more thoughtful and careful in their approach. Children who are normally cautious and uncertain about their artistic ability created some of their best art today. It turned out to be a great stress reliever for me. I only wish it could have lasted the entire day.

I’ve brought the projects home for the weekend to stitch the casing on the sewing machine. I will take pictures of the ones that are finished or close to it and post them later.

….. advised to take it easy this weekend

My knee continues to give me grief. It’s definitely on the mend but it has been suggested that I give it a good rest before I start my walking/running again.

In my last post I wrote about how stress affects my weight. Despite walking a fair bit, going to yoga for 1 1/2 hours and eating well (1250 calories) I was up 1 1/2 pounds the next day. I’ve learned not to give in when this happens and I continued to make good food choices (even when I went out for dinner). This morning when I got on the scale I dropped 1 of those pounds.

It’s the start of the weekend and I want to do so much. My garden needs a little TLC, a few books are calling to be read and I’d love to find some new recipes to test out. Those are some of the fun things. Maybe getting on my bike won’t aggravate the knee. I’m already anxious about NOT exercising. Do you think I can forgo some of the ‘not so fun’ things, like housework and school work?

I’d love to do some painting and I don’t mean house painting (although some of that should be done as well).

Any words of advice are always greatly appreciated. TTFN