Too Much Glue!

Came across this book at the Elmer's Glue booth at the NAEA conference in San Diego this past March.

How cool would it be to read this book to my students to encourage them to use LESS glue. That is just NOT how the book goes........ Matty, the little boy in the book loves making things with glue. In the book he pours all the glue from several bottles onto the table and jumps in, covering himself with glue. This all while the art teacher is hyperventilating in the corner. It just gets worst as his friends try to help him.

Well, I was reading this to my students one day when all of a sudden I got an epiphany! I could be Matty for Halloween!!!!

After a trip to Lowes and I had the perfect Tyvek suit in which to build my costume. Courtesy of Pacon I had the perfect yarn.

Now to pull it all together. First I tacked on the yarn to give a lasso effect. Then I curled the ends of the yarn with a watered down glue.

 

   

Then I added Smart Fab squares in different colors along with Legos and googly eyes.

Check it out!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween! And DON'T use too much glue!
What was the inspiration for your costume this year?
Thanks for reading.

Grateful for Grants

Over 20 years ago a friend of mine, who taught art, complained to me that she only got $1 per student to spend. I get less then that per student and as I pointed out IT IS 20 years later.

The very first time I asked for a grant was from the School Advisory Committee or SAC. I wanted to do something a little different with my students and requested supplies to do a leather craft project with them.

 

Students in all grades had the opportunity to learn about leather and make a key chain. Since that was  several years ago, I recently did the project again. This time funding came from a district art festival.

Target gives grants for field trips and I was able to get funded through them twice. What better place to take students then an art museum?

 Last year I received a grant for sketchbooks. When I told my students at the end of the year that they could take them home, they were beyond thrilled!

There are opportunities all over the place for getting grants. Sometimes, missed opportunities if I can't think of what I need at that moment in time. Soooo, I blew many chances to apply for a grant. Soooo, I thought it would be prudent of me to keep a wish list available for when an opportunity falls in my lap. And this past January was that CHANCE OF A LIFETIME I had been waiting for. Farmers Insurance had decided to thank a million teachers by giving away $1,000,000. They broke the country down into regions and the 6 people with the highest votes would each get $2,500. The first photo is me with the real check and the second photo is the check I received at a special presentation with representatives from Farmers Insurance. Members of the staff, PTO and district people all participated in the event. Who doesn't want a photo op with a BIG check!

 

I found out about the grant on Facebook thru Nancy Walkup, editor of School Arts Magazine. She is always posting the most inspiring articles and up to date information for art teachers.

By now, you must be wondering what I did with all that money? PARTY! PARTY! Noooo... not me!
Actually I managed to add another $1,000 from SAC .......... AND......... GOT............ iPADS!!!!
 YEAH!!!!! Not one ipad, no, not two ipads BUT EIGHT! 8! iPADS!!!! AND CASES!!!!

 

And I even let the students use them............

Here the student is searching for backgrounds, for a selfie project, I promise to share soon.
Have you applied for a grant lately?   Thanks for reading!

All Things Potato

With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I would blog about my addiction, no wait, I mean my collection of Potato Heads. Why you ask? Because that was what inspired last year's costume.

Not to brag, but I made the costume in under 3 hours. It was easy to enlarge the facial features and cut them out from felt. Sewing felt is easy as there are no rough edges. I inserted cardboard into the ears to make them stand out. With leggings, a long sleeve shirt, and gloves I was set to go. The hat was one of those cheap visors you find in a craft store that I glued flowers onto with my hot glue gun.

My collection started about 10 years ago on a trip to Disney's Marketplace in Orlando with my sister. Did you know you can fill a box up with assorted potato head parts? I filled up 2 boxes and found out there was a store in New York City that had accessories special to NY and got those sent to me. I mean really, how could I resist Statue of Liberty parts?

    

I continued to return to Disney to filled up one or two more boxes. And HAD to have a photo with Mr. Potato Head.

With a new camera that I received one year for my birthday I decided to DO a photo shoot.

 

And I GAVE them a 60th birthday party. (Signs were leftovers from hubby's birthday.)

My fascination for potato heads did make it into the art room. Students mixed red dirt and green paint to make brown. I had some tracers for students to use for the parts that they cut out of construction paper.

   

 

When I started my collection I justified it by saying that my grandchildren will have something to play with when they visit. AND sometimes I EVEN let them play with them.

Have any of your addictions, I mean collections, shown up in your art room?
Thanks for reading!

United We Roar?

Occasionally, I get into the whole community thing. You know, creating art as a community. Okay, in reality- I once decided, after reading an article about making students all feel part of a community, I did this really GREAT project. I incorporated our mascot with the Elements of Design. Each grade level was assigned an element. After cutting out a giant lion for each classroom teacher, I then cut up enough pieces from each lion for every student in the class to use. Then I assembled them all together and displayed them. In time for our Meet the Teacher Night.
Kindergarten started the rainbow using texture on their pieces, which was then glued onto red bulletin paper.  1st grade learned about lines and was glued down to orange paper.

   

       2nd grade did color on yellow paper.                  3rd grade was shapes on green paper

 

       4th grade did value on blue paper.           5th grade did space and form on purple paper.

 

I believe I had 4 sections of each grade level that year. They were displayed in the hall on the way to art and in the art hallway.

 

 

 

Yes, I had them paired off and facing each other. Classroom teacher's names were written on the tails. It was fun listening to children showing them off to their families as they talked about the Elements of Design.

 To make the mascot, I used a die cut of a lion, placed it on the overhead and traced it onto bulletin board paper. Then onto poster board that was taped together to make it big enough.
You all gotta know, I just took that last photo of the tracer, tonight, on my carpet to be able to show to all of you. Yes, I still have it. Yes, I save just about everything. It's under the definition of art teacher, isn't it?
What's some of the crazy stuff you have saved?   Thanks for reading!

Showing Off Our Stuff

I've always read about the art teachers and the music teachers doing a joint effort to showcase student talent. You know, the whole concert/art exhibit thingy. And it seemed liked a really good plan. Soooo when I finally settled in, to my first full time position, in one school, with my very own art room......... I decided to connect with the music teacher to pull this off. I was so EXCITED! I could promote my art program! YEA!  Until I found out that the music teacher decided to change the venue. The concert was being moved down the block, to the middle school, to accommodate all the students and their families. 
Now fast forward a few years-AND I find out we are ALL moving to the middle school while our building is being renovated. AND I could finally have my first official ART SHOW!! YEA!!

   

 So last year, our first year in the school, our music teacher choose to do three concerts. The first concert with 2nd and 3rd graders, the next one with kindergarten and 1st grade, then the last one with 4th and 5th graders.

The mascot at the middle school is a ship and we are all Raiders! Soooo to get into the spirit of our new home school I decided we would do paintings of pirate ships.

In my drawing center I have the series of easy step by step drawing books and the  How to Draw 101 Things That Go had the perfect 17th Century Ship. This was also the perfect way to introduce the drawing center to new students and to show them how to follow the step by step directions.

I presented the lesson using a power point as I modeled the directions. I included instructions for painting and clean up. They were also told that they could include their own details and that they were not required to make it look like mine or the drawing sheet.

   

And they didn't!! It actually amazed me that they were all so completely different. We did talk a little about Romero Britto and I showed them some examples of how colorful his work is and they took it from there.  Here are a few of the sections displayed.

   

  

 

I received really good feedback from admin and parents. And I continued to exhibit along with the other music performances. What was your first art exhibit like?

Thanks for reading!