….my grade 2s,3s and 4s loved this project
Even though we only have less than one week of school left, my students really wanted to finish their Picasso portraits. I love all of them. They are all so different and so very colourful. The ones that were started two weeks ago were painted with acrylic paint and the ones that were started only a few day s ago were completed with coloured sharpies.
…..until our guest speaker didn’t show up
Today was the day I was most stressed about. Since January I’ve been running a school wide book club, featuring children’s books written by Canadian authors. The club was open to all students in grades three to five. Initially over 80 students joined the club.
The program is called the Forest of Reading and there are books for all age groups from Kindergarten to high school and beyond. Each age category is named after a tree commonly found in Canada. The primary books are classified as Blue Spruce books, grade 3 to 6 are Silver Birch and the French books are named Tamarack and Poplar.
Every year new authors and books are featured and at the end of April students from all over Ontario vote for their favourite book in one category. There’s a big culminating event in Toronto that students are encouraged to attend to meet the authors and find out who the winners are. It’s like the Oscars of children’s books. A couple of years ago the entire school went downtown to attend this event. It was outside and it was a very cool day and because it took place right next to the lake it was even colder. There were thousands of children there and there were line-ups for everything.
Last year we decided as a staff to host our own special event with the students at our school. It was such a successful day that we wanted to do it again. Unfortunately with the political climate in all our schools this year it almost didn’t happen at all. Earlier in the school year the parents purchased the books for us and I really wanted to proceed with the program. Luckily enough teachers were willing to help out and be expert readers so the program started in earnest in January.
In order to participate in the year end celebration for the Forest of Reading the students had to read enough books to reach a goal of 10 credits. I’m happy to say that 34 boys and girls reached and surpassed the goal. One of my students read 38 books.
Today the successful participants were pulled from class and enjoyed two specially designed workshops. In one session the children worked with a professional actor and did drama activities around one of the books that was featured this year. In the second workshop they learned how to make an accordion book which they could personalize and take away with them. For lunch, we treated them to pizza, juice and popsicles.
After lunch I had arranged for one of the Forest of Reading authors to come to the school and speak to the boys and girls. We were all very excited about this special visit. Unfortunately this was the one feature of the day that did not take place. Our guest of honour had mixed up his dates and thought he was coming to the school tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m not at school so we arranged to do the presentation on Monday morning, so not all was lost.
At the end of the day my colleague and pottery teacher was excited to show me how her Father’s Day gift activity turned out. These wonderful clay trophies mounted on bits of scrap marble were created by D’s grade 1/2 class. I think they’re amazing. What Dad wouldn’t love these works of art?
….. just signed up for a 7 week course in art
Like I’m not busy enough as it is, I signed up for an intense course yesterday that involves reading, taking quizzes and painting. I’ve already done all the reading for last week and taken the quiz but I haven’t started the painting. It’s due tomorrow night. I still have to run a 5k tomorrow morning and I have to finish my report cards.
One of the problems is that the course started last week so I’m already a week behind. When I get this first painting assignment done I’ll be caught up. I’m actually very excited about doing this. The program is called Coursera and it offers hundreds of free courses that are taught by certified professors from dozens of universities, worldwide. Check out the courses here.
What did I learn this week? Well the program is designed for beginning artists so the basics taught this last week were a good refresher lesson for me. This week the focus is on Fantasy art and I learned a lot about Independent Fantasists, such as Rousseau and Chagall, Dadaism, Automatism and Abstract Expressionism. I was also introduced to some Fantasists that I was not familiar with, such as Giorgio de Chirico, Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray.
Marcel Duchamp http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Marcel_Duchamp_01.jpg/128px-Marcel_Duchamp_01.jpg
Giorgio de Chirico http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Giorgio_de_Chirico_%28portrait%29.jpg
My assignment this week is to come up with my own Fantasy painting using any medium and technique I’m comfortable with. I also have to create an artist statement. Wish me luck. Well I’d better get to those report cards. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.
Cheers!
…..my pottery that is
At my pottery class tonight I trimmed the bowl that I made two weeks ago. I did the trimming on the wheel. It was fun shaving off the excess clay and making the footing for my bowl. It probably doesn’t look much different.
The new project that I worked on was a tall vase. I rolled out a slab and rolled it around the a tube and then attached a bottom and decorated it with stamps. Now it sits and waits to be fired along with all my other projects.
My berry bowl and it’s saucer wait for their first firing and my plate and jar have been fired once and are now glazed and wait for the final firing. I’m most anxious to see how the glazed pieces will look.
Cheers!
…..I‘ve been nominated for yet another award
This is the first time I’ve seen this award. Many thanks to Maia Stefana Oprea.
THE RULES ARE:
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them.
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award requirements.
7 Things about myself :
1. I used to be a make-up artist and colour analyst.
2. I was held up at the age of 16 when I worked in my parent’s milk store.
3. I met my husband at university when he came up to visit his best friend who just happened to be my neighbour.
4. I’ve taught at 8 different schools as a full time teacher and at numerous more when I supply taught for three years.
5. My favourite late night snack is cereal with milk or yogurt.
6. I’m an expert on fixing and maintaining oil lamps.
7. I like most foods but I don’t like tripe.
15 Blogs I’m Nominating for the Shine-on Award.
4. Jeanne’s Blog…..a nola girl at heart
5. Rarasaur
7. Cast Light
8. My Art Blog
14. Claygrl’s Maniacal Musings
I hope you check out some or all of these nominations. Thanks again Maia. Love your artwork!
…..a very spontaneous day
My husband and I rarely plan our weekends in advance. This morning when we woke up we decided to get an early start for our daily walk/run to the park. It was sunny but quite cool this morning so we layered up and put on cotton gloves. When we got about half a kilometre from the house we realized that we forgot to bring the poop bags so my husband headed back to the house and I tried to continue the walk with Frances. She would have none of it. She kept pulling back on the leash so I finally gave in and started walking back until we met up with K.
When we finally got to the rugby pitch there were people on the field, setting up for a game so we decided not to do our run and changed our route. Frances is great off leash when we run around the pitch because she just runs back and forth between the two of us. When we’re on the path she’s better on the leash which makes it more difficult for running so we both walked today.
Just before the pitch we came across this beautiful flowering tree in the middle of this very green patch of land. I loved the contrast of the mauve blossoms with the bright spring greens.
The route was a little longer and different from the one we normally take when we head out to the point. Today we had an unexpected surprise because a Spring Bird Festival was taking place along the route. There were dozens of bird watchers and numerous displays under canopies. One of the displays featured raptor birds prominently perched on the arms of their handlers. They were absolutely beautiful.
Once we were far away from the Bird Festival we let Frances off the leash so that she could go for a swim in the lake. After retrieving her tennis ball out of the lake several times she ran and ran and ran. She must have checked out every last little path along the route and went back into the water at different points for more swims.
On the way home our noses were assaulted by a very bad odour coming from Frances. We realized that somewhere on the walk she must have rolled in something disgusting. Once we got to the house K took her immediately to the backyard while I went inside and prepared buckets of warm water with doggy shampoo. She let us rub her down with the sudsy water and then stood perfectly still while we rinsed her with warm clear water. She was cooperative but you could tell she wasn’t happy.
Our walk covered 6k.
Today was also the first day for the Junction Farmers’ Market. We were debating whether to ride our bikes or drive the car. After our walk K made us a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs and by the time we finished eating we didn’t have a lot of time left before the market was scheduled to close. Consequently we drove but we parked a fair distance from the market and we managed to add another kilometre to our walking distance.
The market was small but the vendors were very friendly and we picked up some fresh baby greens, honey, radishes and more plants for the garden. We’ve already lost one tomato plant. It was dug up and destroyed. We’re thinking it was a racoon. We’re replacing it with a zebra tomato plant and we’ve bought a couple of Jerusalem artichoke plants. A couple of vendors suggested spraying the plants with pepper. We’ll have to give it a try.
Later in the afternoon I went to Curry’s Art Store to buy a Gelli plate to try a new type of mono printing. I had checked out two different art stores when we were in the Junction this morning but neither store had heard of them. I’m looking forward to trying this technique and sharing my results with you.
Cheers!
….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.
…. 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.
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!
…..experimenting with new art forms
For the last five weeks I’ve been going to a pottery class. I started with simple pinch pots and then moved on to rolling out slabs of clay and cutting and shaping this clay into platters and bowls. Yesterday I had my first experience on a potter’s wheel and throwing the clay.
I was a little intimidated by the process but the wheel was there for the using so I went for it. I have an excellent and patient teacher. She gave clear instructions and let me manoeuvre the clay on my own. Feeling the clay spin between my hands was very relaxing and therapeutic.
Centering the clay is very tricky and takes a lot of practice to master. After playing with the clay for a while my instructor took over for a few minutes and finished centering the piece for me. Once properly centered I continued to work with the clay and started to form my bowl. I hadn’t really decided on the shape that I wanted to create. The shape was decided for me as the wheel turned and I pushed against the clay. I ended up with this bowl. What do you think?
Earlier this week I decided to teach my students some lettering techniques and I came across a great blog that focused on graffiti art. Create Art With Me displayed some wonderful examples of finished pieces done by students in grades 2 to 7. I know that my students will love this activity.
Before I teach a new technique I like to do it first. This activity had me totally immersed in the process. I added my own twist and added a layer of ‘Zentangling’.
I introduced this lesson to one class so far and they’re very excited. I will post some of their finished work in the next couple of weeks.
Cheers!
…..and I’m still shy 2 new followers to reach my goal of 300
April has been an interesting month. I reached 10 000 views and in fact this month I set a record for the most views in one month since I started blogging one year ago. I also had my best day for views yesterday.
Recently I mentioned that I’ve met some wonderful people since I started blogging. We comment back and forth so often that I feel we’ve really made a connection. Thank you for all your kind words and your support.
This weekend I experienced a first for me. Someone I’ve never met before came across my blog while she was helping her daughter with a homework project. They were researching watercolour painters and they saw my post Painting at 91. The mom realized that she knew the family in the photo. In fact she’d been looking for my friend L for years. They met during high school when L was studying in France. They lost touch with each other about 18 years ago. Now they’re about to reconnect, despite living an ocean apart. Isn’t the internet wonderful?
Love hearing from you? What was the most interesting experience you’ve had since you first started blogging?
Cheers!
Mama Cormier 
