Op Art and Collage Landscapes

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….art produced in my grade 4/5 class

I don’t often post photos of my 4/5 class. They take longer to finish projects and some of their assignments involve many stages. The op art pieces were somewhat time consuming and the assignment is a good one to leave for a supply teacher because it uses only black and coloured markers, a pencil and a ruler. These were done on large pieces of paper and could be done on sheets of paper half the size.

For instructions on how to make these colourful pieces check out Artisan des Arts.

The watercolour landscapes using collage teaches children about foreground, background and the horizon line. The students were instructed to cut out magazine pictures and place them on the paper that they had painted ahead of time with watercolours. They simply had to paint in a foreground colour (land, beach, etc.) and then another for their background ( usually the sky). The largest magazine details where placed at the bottom edge of the paper and then smaller pieces were glued down further back giving the illusion of distance and depth.

Namaste

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. thank you Maureen Rae for your wonderful restorative yoga class

It was a calm yet productive day today. No early morning soccer practice, no meetings and no Girls on the Run. I had time this morning to work on my art lesson, clean up the stockroom, process some books, help students put some finishing touches on their art projects and take down some art work and return it to students and make room for new work.

It was treat day in the staffroom at first recess. Val makes great chocolate chip cookies and banana bread. I literally broke off a small piece of each just so I could have a taste. Sometimes that’s all I need and I’m satisfied.

The students in my art class were unusually attentive and engaged. I introduced my Picasso lesson to the entire class and then those students that were finished all their other projects started on their Picasso style portraits. The rest of them worked very hard to finish their stitching projects and/or the op art project they started last week. It’s amazing how much work they can produce when they’re focused and not socializing with their peers.

In the afternoon a shipment came in with all the skipping ropes and literature for our Jump Rope for Heart campaign. In past years I’ve always had my homeroom students help me organize and deliver the packages that get sent home. At the end of the day I sorted through all the boxes and bundled up the literature for each class and left it on the table in the staffroom for teachers to pick up and distribute to their students.

When I plan to go to yoga I always stay late at school on Wednesdays. After I organized the Jump Rope for Heart packages I spent some time organizing the library and my art supplies. When I finally left for yoga the skies opened wide and I got caught in a huge downpour on my way to the car. Of course today is the day that I parked in the last spot on the lot and I was soaked to the skin by the time I got to my car. My friend and colleague who goes to yoga with me left a minute after me and also got drenched.

We both go to Maureen Rae’s Yoga Studio on Dundas St. in west Toronto. I’ve been going to Maureen’s studio for about four years but V introduced me to restorative yoga two years ago. It’s so relaxing and every session focuses on different parts of your body. Maureen has a very soothing voice and talks you through and demonstrates every move. You are always encouraged to do what you can and to never push yourself beyond your comfort level.

: My attempt at a warrior’s pose.

Since I’ve lost over 30 pounds yoga has become even more enjoyable. Some of the moves, that I found difficult in the past because I couldn’t get my arms around my knees or I couldn’t bend because my stomach got in the way, are no longer a problem.

All in all, today was a great day. I stayed on track with my eating and I got back to yoga.

Cheers!

An Artsy Couple of Days

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….pottery and children’s Mother’s Day gifts

On Thursday I went to my pottery class and was delighted to find that my pot and platter had been fired and were ready to be glazed. Deciding on which glazes to use was probably the most difficult part of the process. It’s like deciding on what colour to paint a room. So many choices.

Before I tackled the glazing I cleaned up the berry bowl I started last week and it is now ready to be fired as well. Here is a photo of it upside down. I need to make a saucer to go underneath the bowl so that the water that drains from the berries has somewhere to go other than the table it is sitting on.

As most of you know I teach 110 students art at my school. This week I had many students trying to finish up projects that they could give their moms for Mother’s Day this Sunday. Most of these projects didn’t start off as gifts for mom but as the day got closer I may have suggested that they would make terrific presents. Unfortunately not all the students were able to finish their works of art and I encouraged them to give the project as is and then bring them back and finish them next week.

Next year I’m going to have to either plan earlier for a simple project that I can start with the students and then let the teacher finish it in class or leave the gift making entirely up to the homeroom teacher. It’s too difficult to organize that many projects when you only see students once a week for an hour and twenty minutes. Someone is always away or doesn’t use their class time well and then has nothing for me to evaluate or doesn’t finish special projects that are intended to be gifts.

Here are a few of the successful projects that are making their way home for Mom this weekend.

The top two projects were made by boys in grade 3. These quilt squares were completely hand stitched and then decorated with embroidery stitches and buttons. The third project was made by a girl in grade 4. In this class the students had to design a coat of arms and then they transfered the design onto a foam plate and rolled printer’s ink onto it and transferred it onto fabric. When the ink dried they attached a piece of batting to the underside and then stitched the lines with coloured threads (embroidery floss or crochet cotton). The student for this project wanted her piece attached to a bag which we purchased from a dollar store.

Here’s another quilted square made by a girl in grade 3. She decided to frame her piece. The stitching in her piece is outstanding.

Note the tiny cross-stitich that she added on the right side.

The student who completed the following piece took everything that I taught her about pioneer quilts to heart and included fabric from some of her clothes that she had outgrown. The pink ruffled fabric is from her pyjamas and the studded fabric in the middle came from a pair of socks. She liked the idea of making a frame from twigs to give it a rustic feel and made it completely on her own after I showed her how to attach the branches with a God’s Eye pattern. I was very surprised that she pulled it off because it was quite an awkward process. The only thing I helped her with was attaching the square to the inside of her frame. What do you think? Pretty amazing for an 8 year old.

Next week I should have a few more photos of finished projects. Have a wonderful weekend. I need to get outside before it starts raining again.

Cheers!

I’m Okay, Crayon Prints on Fabric and Sure Signs of Spring

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….maybe I should have broken these topics into separate posts

After yesterdays post I’ve had people ask me all day if I was okay. I’m fine. I was literally, just tired. I need to get more sleep and it was after all an exceptionally busy day yesterday. The headache I complained about hasn’t returned and I feel much less stressed today. Now, the kids, on the other hand were more exhausting than usual and I wasn’t the only one complaining. Is there a full moon looming? I think it’s partially due to spring fever. We’ve had a couple of warm days and it is Friday as well.

I hope everyone enjoyed the those warm moments because the temperature is about to go down again. When I got home tonight my daffodils were in full bloom so I took a few pictures before the winds started. When I went out later I noticed that some of the flowers have already been knocked off the plant.

Yesterday I told you about a new project that I started with my grade 2 students. I had these fabric crayons given to me many years ago and I wasn’t quite sure how I would use them. I knew that there were quite a few students in my grade 2/3 class that had finished the last project and the rest weren’t far behind. I packed up all the fabric I had along with the iron and ironing board and hoped for the best. I hadn’t even made a sample or tried out the crayons to see if they worked…..not always a wise move.

We took the rough copy paper we had used on the last project and on the unused side I instructed the students to make a drawing using the fabric crayons. I gave the dimensions they were to work in but I gave them free reign as far as the subject for their design went. I demonstrated how much crayon they needed to use in order to get a nice print and I suggested that if they didn’t want to draw something realistic they could draw a doodle design and fill in the spaces with lots of different colours. Away they went. Creativity at it’s best.

When people looked at what the grade 2s had done, many thought that I had drawn the design and they coloured it in. Not so. From start to finish the entire piece was their own creation. Through trial and error we discovered that we had to use quite a bit of pressure with the iron and if we went over the piece several times the print would become more intense. The other thing that we learned was that synthetic fabrics produce a more vibrant print compared to the cotton fabrics. I liked both. Each had it’s own special quality. When you see the examples, I included the original crayon drawing and then displayed the one or two prints next to it. Enjoy!

I’m Physically Exhausted

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..arrived at school at 7:40 and left at 5:15

It wasn’t the long hours that made me tired, because I often stay later but more importantly is was what I did in that time. I arrived early for the girls’ soccer team tryouts. At lunch I played floor hockey in the teachers vs students game. I scored the turn around goal. The noise from the fans watching the game was incredible. My ears were ringing for awhile.

Right after the game I went straight to my art class with my grade 2/3 class. It was a very busy class. I introduced transferring a design from paper onto fabric using fabric crayons and a hot iron. Of course I did the ironing. The resulting prints were beautiful and I will photograph them tomorrow and share them with you in the next couple of days. This project was so popular that students wanted to stay in class through recess so that I would iron their print onto a piece of fabric of their choice.

After recess I headed down to my grade 2/3 class that I usually take to the library but today they had a special dance workshop with an artist from Arts Express. For the next 40 minutes I participated with the students and did the warm up activities and learned a few hip hop steps. At this point I’m really starting to feel the exhaustion set in and I still have to do ‘Girls on the Run’ from 3:00 to 4:30.

After the dance workshop I headed back to the previous class and ironed one more print and then went back to the library to read up what I had to do for tonights ‘Girls on the Run’ activities. The girls were particularly excited tonight and it was difficult keeping them focused on the lesson.

After dinner I headed off to my pottery class. Despite a wicked headache I worked on my jar for over two hours, carving a design onto the lid. I took some pictures so that you could see my progress. I’m going to cut it short tonight so that I can get to bed and do it all again tomorrow.

Cheers!

The Pure Joy of Discovery

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…the expression on his face and the surprise in his voice made it all worthwhile

For the last week, and more I’ve been pulling prints with the grade 4s and 5s. Today all the 3s and 4s in the school were away on field trips and I had the luxury of working with the 12 grade 5 students that were left behind in one of the classes. This class has been particularly challenging just because of the shear size when combined with the grade 4s and because they are very social and chatty.

I decided to work with the chattiest of the bunch and those that were the furthest behind with their printmaking. Not surprising most of the six that I worked with were boys. I set up a printing station in the hallway and while I worked with small groups of 3 the remaining students were working on a drawing activity that required quite a bit of concentration.

This is the activity that kept the other half of the class busy while I worked with the printers.

This set up worked fairly well. The students that I worked with in the printing area were very excited about the whole printing process. My only regret is that I didn’t take pictures while they worked but I found I was very involved with the students and needed to keep a close eye on the their progress. The temptation to cover the walls, floor and each other with hand prints was too great. Luckily none of that happened.

My greatest joy came when I heard the oohs and aahs of the students as they pulled the plates away from the paper or their fabric. One boy in particular was especially surprised at how well his print turned out. It was probably the most focused he’s ever been in art class and it paid off. All the students today loved this activity so much that they gladly stayed behind to help me clean up and there is a lot of washing up when it comes to printing.

Sometimes, when an activity is messy and time consuming, teachers are reluctant to attempt it. The finished products, however, and the pride of accomplishment that the students feel make it all worthwhile.

Next week I’ll take some photographs of the finished projects and post them for your enjoyment.

These are similar projects, done by the grade 4s earlier in the week. The grade 5s designed Greek urns for their prints.

Coming up on my One Year Anniversary

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging for a whole year

When I started on this new journey I didn’t know exactly where I was going with this blog. It’s taken me in many directions. It’s been a weight loss journey,

My official ‘before’ picture taken in March 2012 just before I started my weight loss journey.

In February, 2013, 33 pounds lighter.

a site for reflecting on my past, an experiment with writing stories and prose, a place to share my new hobby of photography, a gallery for my art work and the work of my students, a cookbook of recipes and a journal to experience and share what makes me happy.

: Grade 3

: Grade 3

: Grade 2

: Grade 5

Blogging has kept me on track with my new fitness and eating journey. I’ve never felt better (not counting this cold I’m battling) and I think I look better. I’ve never been happier with myself than I am now. I feel that life has so much more to offer and for me to experience. I look forward to each new day and can’t wait to see where it takes me.

: Trillium

: Seed Heads

: Sunset at Christian Island

: August: Niagara Falls, ON

I’ve met the nicest people from all over the world. Thank you to all of you who have liked and commented on my posts. You have no idea how much joy I get from hearing from you. You lift me up when I’m not feeling well or when I’m down in the dumps and you honour me with your compliments and awards. I hope some day to be able to meet some of you when I start to travel more after I retire and I hope if you come to Toronto you’ll look me up and we can meet for coffee or share a meal.

Before the end of the month I hope to reach 10 000 views. The month has started off slowly but that is my own fault. I haven’t had much energy or interesting things to blog about because of my cold but starting today I’m going to try to publish every day. There are 23 days left so that means I need about 30 views a day to reach my goal. Last month I averaged 42 views a day so 30 I think is very doable.

I’m delighted with how many people are following me on mamacormier. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that so many people would want to read what I have to say. Just before the New Year I put out a plea to reach 200 followers and a few kind people made that dream come true. Since then I’ve been steadily getting new followers and am currently sitting at 281. Before the end of the month I’d love to reach 300. Any takers?

So where do I go from here? Well, I’m definitely going to continue with my weight loss and fitness journey. One thing that I’ve learned is that this journey is and will be a life long commitment. I want to live a long and healthy life. I don’t want to live my last 10 years as a statistic and be a burden on society. I have too much I want to do and accomplish in life.

: Abstract monoprint 5×7

: Abstract monoprint

: Three of my 6 prints, plus the wood block. I started with the orange but wasn’t happy with the colour so I switched to the blue.

: Frances guarding the tomatoes for Sunday’s sauce.

: August: Celebrating my 60th birthday.

I love the challenges that wordpress and other bloggers put out there so I know that I will continue to participate in some of them, especially the photography ones. I’ll also continue to share the art that my students create and hopefully I’ll find more time to create more of my own art. Who knows, maybe something new will cross my path and I’ll share that with you as well. I can’t seem to focus on any one thing so I tend to do it all. That’s just the way I am. I wouldn’t be happy any other way.

Cheers!

Grade Two Masterpieces

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..children’s art always puts me in a happy mood

Happiness File – Day 10

Today in my grade 2/3 art class we critiqued the art work done by the grade 2s. You may recall seeing some of the finished monochromatic abstract art pieces that I posted a couple of weeks ago. We discussed what worked and where some of the pieces could use some tweaking to make them better. Many of the students took their pieces back and added some more detail and then signed their work. Here are some more of their masterpieces.

Two of my happy moments happened today in my art class. The first was how willingly my students listened to the critiques and then actually took some of the suggestions to heart. The second moment was watching my students tackle the drawing assignment I assigned. Some found it difficult but after showing them some simple techniques they started to create some very beautiful designs. I’m really looking forward to their finished still life paintings.

Tonight I had book club and we discussed the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I love the time spent with good friends. We don’t always agree on how much we enjoy a book but the discussions are always lively and friendly as we defend our positions. I enjoy the circus and I really liked the book so I tended to give it a higher rating than some of my fellow book club members who don’t like the circus and weren’t as enamoured with the book as I was.

If you like fantasy and magic, I recommend this book. Reading a good book can increase your happiness quotient.

Cheers!

Print Making With Grade 4

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. each student designed a personal coat of arms

It took awhille to get it right but eventually each student in grade 4 finally experienced success designing their coat of arms, transferring the design onto a plate, inking the plate and pulling a print or two or three.

We applied colour to the plates using two different techniques. The first method involved colouring the plate with water based markers and then applying it to damp watercolour paper. The trick is to make sure that the paper isn’t too wet. The second technique involved rolling water soluble printing ink directly onto the plate and then pressing it onto paper. We used a variety of different papers.

I think they turned out really well. Our next step is to transfer the print onto fabric and then add some embroidery stitches and sew on some embellishments, such as buttons, beads, sequins and ribbon. Stay tuned.

A Sneak Preview

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. our pioneer quilt blocks are coming along

I look forward to the art classes where we are working on sewing our quilt blocks. The boys and girls in grade 3 are enjoying the project but everyone is at a different stage. A few students only have one square sewn in place and a few more are almost finished sewing all their fabric pieces together and are almost ready to start their fancy stitching and adding embellishments.

I decided to take a few pictures of the partially finished blocks so that you could see how well eight year olds can sew.