Monday, December 22, 2014

Almost Christmas [Plus a playlist]

I can't believe it's almost Christmas!  I'm usually super stressed out by now, but this year I got a small extension on my yearbook deadline for school [and it has made such a huge difference in my state of mind].  I also got quite a bit done for the yearbook on Saturday.  But I digress...
There are so many gatherings to attend, gifts to exchange, foods to overeat, and babies to kiss, and I can't wait!  For now though, I only have one more gift to buy, 2 more to wrap, and a mug full of hot chocolate to drink.  Ah...I love it.
 

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Girls being girls being girls being girls...

The Arts Council in my county displays art all around the area, and they often ask art teachers to display their work.  An art teacher in the area was supposed to display her work in a local restaurant, but she ended up not being able to, so they asked me if I would.  That lead me to actually make a little body of work!  I usually make custom art for clients, so it was fun to make some art "for art's sake." I asked my husband if I made too many girls, and he told me "You can never have too many girls" while he was holding our little girl kitty and watching our little girl puppy.  So here you go...my "girls."
I take a lot of inspiration from Picasso, Matisse, and songs I'm listening to at the moment.  I enjoy bright colors, patterns, and [obviously] portraiture.  I consider watercolors to be my strength, but it was fun to dabble in acrylics and mixed media.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

fall ramblings

My love for fall runs deep. I can remember being little and going to the harvest festival in my town to do a dance recital or a band performance.  I remember the smells, sounds, and crisp fall air.  I remember going to the fair, or trick-or-treating, and the excitement for the coming holidays.  I lost that excitement for a while, but I'm pretty sure it's back.  I think part of losing it was getting older, but the main thing was stress.  I feel like I'm in a good place right now.  I gave myself weekends off to relax, spend time with family, catch up on work things, or do whatever I want.  Right now that means going out for coffee, dog walks, and spontaneous friend dates!
Our little house in the woods might have a few icky bugs and WAY too many leaves to rake, but I'm so excited to spend our second fall here.  I'm reminded to take cool, deep breaths, enjoy every moment, appreciate the long, summer days [even if they are hot], and that boots are the ultimate shoes [always].
I'm so excited to spend time with friends and family in the coming weeks.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Monday, October 6, 2014

Free Printable: Warm and Cool Color Hidden Picture [Pumpkin]


Happy Fall!  I am currently doing a warm and cool color project with second grade and I wanted a review type of activity for my early finishers.  I could not find a warm/cool color printable to my liking, so I made one!  Happy printing and reviewing!

Saturday, September 27, 2014

just some saturday morning freelensing...


This is my second attempt [ever] at freelensing.  I'm excited to keep trying it out, and maybe incorporate it into my photo shoots soon.  Happy Saturday!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

One Day Elementary Art Lesson | First Grade Still Life Painting, Cezanne

I just had to share this tonight.  It couldn't wait.  First grade has been learning about still lifes as part of our curriculum this year, and today I completed my first round of Cezanne apple still lifes.

Fresh From the Art Room

It's time for my first classroom update of the year!

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Saturday Painting | Ready for Fall


 Oh, it's Saturday again already?!  I feel like last week flew by really fast, and I can't believe it's almost Sunday. [?!] I have 8 photo sessions next weekend, so I spent today doing some relaxing painting!  I'm obsessed with yellow and red right now [and always], but I've been really feeling drawn to making fall-y art.  The first graders at school even made red and yellow flower paintings. [coincidence?]
I decided to try painting on wood this week, and it went pretty well.  I'm selling this "hello fall" sign [it will be listed on Etsy soon], and I'm going to start offering custom portraits soon!
^I wish I could find more of these tiny wooden signs!
Have a great rest of your weekend!

Friday, September 5, 2014

Happy Friday | Elementary Art Reflections

This week was pretty crazy.  It started on Tuesday, which of course kind of throws everyone off, and then I found out I had strep after feeling pretty gross for a few days.  Today though, things mellowed out and I really felt great about what was going on in the art room.   
We finished our procedures and seating charts, and we moved on to the good stuff!  I was SO impressed with my 5th graders today.  I am really going to push them to think and talk about art this year, and we had a great discussion about abstract [abstract expressionism to be ridiculous] vs impressionism today.  We compared Henri Rousseau's work to Franz Marc's and they were really getting it!  By the end of our discussion they were identifying which artist made what paintings from some very tricky choices [I couldn't just give it away ;) ], and even if their answer was wrong, the reasoning behind each answer was awesome. "I think Franz Marc painted that one because he used jagged and curved lines to break up the animals." "I think Rousseau painted this one because it has more realistic subjects." I did not help them describe the art AT ALL.  I asked probing questions and they were so good at deconstructing and analyzing the work today.  My bar raised even higher than I expected for them, and it's only the second week!
I can't wait to see how our first projects turn out.  I am really letting the kids free this year.  I feel like I have taught my little birdies how to fly, and now I'm watching them jump out of the nest.  They are ready.  They proved it today, and I feel so excited for the year!  I will try to post tutorials on my lessons with them, but we'll see how many I can tackle.  I also had a first grader completely ace the first pre-assessment for our statewide ASW's.  Pretty awesome.


Overall, this week was not too bad [minus the strep].  I also got to meet our little kinder babies, and they are so stinking cute.  I'm ready to start with them next week too!  I hope you have a great weekend, and I'd love to hear about your week in the comments below!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Share the Love | Free Elementary Art Lesson Plans [Round One]

On my Instagram a few people expressed interest in my lesson plans.  I am all about sharing resources & collaborating, so here ya go!  Disclaimer-I am NO expert. And a fun fact- when you type in all caps, the spell check doesn't work [note to self].  Feel free to leave constructive criticism, and also feel free to snag these!  I will be posting the resulting student work as soon as possible.  I've done a lot of these lessons before, and some of the student work images are mine [I will link to the others].  Obviously none of the art history examples are mine ;). 
[click the image to see the full size for printing]

 The bottom examples are mine. [The primary robot example is from HERE.]
 Student drawing example found HERE. Adorable animal prints HERE.  In the past I've always done paintings with this lesson, but I'm leaning towards colored pencils this time.
[All student examples are mine :).] This is ALWAYS a huge hit and usually my favorite project.
 Van Gogh example HERE, Cezanne example HERE.
[All student examples are mine!]
What do your lessons look like?  As I said before, I am NOT an expert.  The learning goals are strands from the North Carolina Essential Standards.  I just decided to arrange my lessons this way to allow more room for visual examples [which are very helpful to me].  I'd love to see your lessons, and I'd really love if you used these lessons and shared the results!  Have a great week! :)

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Happy Saturday | Week One & Done

What a week!  Getting back to work whooped me a little bit, but it's SO good to be back.  There were lots of hugs and "Mrs. Blevins!!!" from across the parking lot.  I thought I was pretty prepared, but I have lots of work to do for this coming week. [So I'm really glad it's a long weekend.]  The weather has been beautiful, so dog walks and flea market shopping were in order.  I hope you're having a great weekend so far!
Happy Saturday!