What a Difference a Day Can Make

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. temperatures were holding steady around the 0 degree (freezing) mark

It was a lovely balmy day and the ice and snow on the sidewalks and roads are now melting away at an alarming rate. By tomorrow we should have a slushy mesh as the temperatures rise to six degrees (well above freezing).

The good thing about the warmer temperatures today was that the roads had cleared enough to make driving doable and bearable. I drove downtown to meet up with my daughter, A and her partner, J to check out the Junction Flea Market. We’re not quite sure why it was held in the Queen West area when the Junction is north and further west but the Great Hall housed the affair and the turn out was good.

After a coffee, a few Asian dumplings and purchasing a couple of old record albums, some flowers and a vase we headed north to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). The girls wanted to see the Evan Penny show and today was the last day.

While we were there I discovered a great lookout from the fourth floor and took a few shots of the city from an angle I’ve never seen before.

To the left is OCAD, the university of art and design and in the middle is the CN Tower.

Woodland Creatures – Children’s Art

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. remember the large sheets of texture rubbings and paintings we did in my grade 2/3 class?

Well last week we took those sheets and designed and cut out Canadian woodland animals and birds and then placed them all together on a large background to create a wilderness mural. We included trees, grasses, flowers, a pond, rocks and logs. The children had a wonderful time putting it all together and were very excited to display it in the hallway outside their classroom. We need to add a few more finishing touches but I was also very excited about sharing it with you and couldn’t wait.

January 2013 Photo a Day – Stripes

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. look for stripes in your everyday. They could be in the zebra crossing on the road, or in your outfit or somewhere else

I’m a little behind with these challenges and I’m trying to catch up this weekend. As for the theme stripes I seem to have a wardrobe full of them. Apparently teachers wear a lot of stripes. It has something to do with being organized or was it being conservative. Well I don’t really fit into either category but I do like stripes.

For more January 2013 Photo a Day check out http://www.nolagirlatheart.wordpress.com

January 2013 Photo a Day – What You Do

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. do you go to school? Train elephants at the circus? Write at home? Play mum to your kids? Act as CEO to a big business? Paint in your spare time? Dance when no one is looking? Take a photo of what you do {something that makes you ‘you’} and share

In my professional life I teach library and art in a junior school.

In my personal life I love to read, paint, walk, shop, craft, can and take photographs.

Taking photographs while walking with my husband and dog

For more photographs of what other people do check out http://www.nolagirlatheart.wordpress.com

January 2013 Photo a Day – Round

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. I thought this one was going to be easy

January 2013 Photo a Day Challenge – Mine

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. I found this subject particularly challenging

My whole life growing up I heard my mother and father say that what’s mine is yours. When I married, my husband and I had a similar philosophy but I did notice that he (my husband) did have some things that he considered exclusively his. As I got older I realized that if anything happened to my husband I could be in trouble because I owned nothing in my own name. We bought the house together, our cars were in both names, the insurance was in his name, and all the credit cards were in his name. I had no line of credit to speak of and if I needed to get my own car insurance I wouldn’t be insurable because I’ve never had my own.

All that has changed. I have my own line of credit, my own credit cards and my car is in my name. Apart from photographing my credit cards, I wasn’t sure what else I could take pictures of that were exclusively mine. My husband of 37 years? After thinking long and hard I decided to share some of my art with you. It’s what I love to do. I am very much an amateur but my students consider me an artist. Enjoy!

Abstract monoprint 5×7

Opposites Attract – mixed media, on paper, 16 x 20

If you want to take part in this challenge check out Jeanne’s blog….a nola girl at heart.

A Few New Art Pieces to Share

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….before I send them home with the kids

In grades 4 and 5 we’ve been studying positive and negative space. We started with a Japanese art form called notan where you cut away a positive image and flip it so that the negative space becomes the mirror image and part of the design. I posted some of the students’ creations in an earlier post.

In the next class we studied winter trees and how the branches create Y shapes. On black paper the students had to draw a tree shape using white pencil or oil pastel and then extend the branches onto to a sheet of white paper and fill in the branches with black. This creates an interesting black and white, positive and negative image. The idea came from

http://en.paperblog.com/positive-negative-scratch-tree-335521/

It’s always a challenge to find something that can be started and finished in one art class, especially before Christmas. Field trips, science presentations and assemblies often cut into someone’s art period. When I found this project using ornaments as the focus of the lesson I was excited. It held the students’ interest and most of them finished it in the one class.

In this lesson the students learned how to create reflection of light using watercolour and how to paint, on wet on wet and blend analagous colours to create depth. I think the students in my grade 3/4 class did a great job.

The idea for this project came from http://www.artsonia.com/museum/art.asp?id=16233632&exhibit=465172&gallery=y

Painting at 91

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. Ray Cattell

Ray with his granddaughter and daughter.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of going to Ray Cattell’s opening for his latest group of paintings at the Moore Gallery in Toronto. I’ve known Ray for over 20 years and he never ceases to amaze me with his beautiful collection of paintings. He’s been displaying his work since the 1960’s.

We were all surprised that he wanted to do one more show. Most of the paintings are smaller than what he’s produced in years past but with his recent health issues it’s not surprising. He also recently won an award at a juried art show to add to his list of numerous awards granted to him in his lifetime. Some of his work can be found in the Vatican LIbrary, Windsor Castle and in the private collections of The Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth and Henry Ford II.

If you’re in Toronto between Dec 1 and Dec. 22 you can catch the show at the Moore Gallery on 80 Spadina Ave. For more details you can go to the website: Moore Gallery Ltd.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Green

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Mama Cormier

Looking back through my photographs I knew that green would be a major theme. The challenge was picking just two or three.

Peace Banners

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. created by students at my school for Remembrance Day

This is the first year I’ve missed the Remembrance Day assembly at school. I was off recovering from my surgery. Before I left I was able to collect most of the banners and a group of us picked some of the best from different grades within the school. We asked 5 students to talk about their banners at the assembly.

I took photos of the banners that were chosen and of the ones we were considering. One of my colleagues, K, agreed to create a slide show that would play while the students and our guests came into the gym. I also requested that someone take pictures of the gym after it was decorated with the banners. I think the children did a great job. Enjoy!

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