One month in...

So far, this school year has been better then I had anticipated. I love having another art teacher, and she is doing great, although sometimes I believe she doubts herself. The kids really like her, and her ideas are so creative and fun, I've even stolen a few :) It just makes such a difference to have someone to talk to on a daily basis that understands the content of your subject. I feel like I've been more reflective on my own practice, and even in a month, have grown professionally from this experience.

My Fundamentals students have been great for the most part, and are currently drawing some rather amazing cities in two point perspective. I'll have to post some when they're finished. My drawing students just finishing some beautiful still life drawings. I'm very optimistic about what I can accomplish with them - they are very motivated and thirsty to learn. Love it!!

And I'm excited about starting a 'Quilting Club' second quarter. Right now we have a 'wasted period' where students really don't do anything. It's supposed to be dedicated to College Bound activities, but we haven't received any materials for that in the past couple of weeks, so I turned it into art club. But really it's just babysitting until the HSA Mastery students take the HSA's next week. After that this wasted period will turn into clubs that students will sign up for in accordance to interests they have. My club will be Quilting!

I'm on a hunt for materials right now. I submitted a Donorschoose proposal, and I posted for donations on Craigslist for material. So far I've gotten 4 people wanting to donate fabric, but I none have actually come through yet. We'll see. My principal says she will reimburse me for buying some materials, but, learning from the past - I don't expect that to happen.

Tomorrow I am reading the modified HSA to students. Question by question. Yay. The most boring thing you can imagine. But I overall, I'm optimistic for the year and for my students.

Walking Flash Backs

Many of my old students have stopped by to say hi this week. Of course, you have the ones that graduated last year, and just can't seem to leave. These are usually the same ones who proclaimed last year the "I ain't never comin' back to this place!" They do. They always do.

I also have a student that graduated in 2007, that comes back every year to say hi and give me an update. He's studying Architecture at Morgan, and showed me his amazing drawings. Another student who graduated in 2005 came and visited - he's studying to be a nurse. And, dare I say, my all time *favorite* former student (who visits me a few times a year) stopped by today. He's a Baltimore City Police officer - he likes to visit in full uniform - which is awesome...it really freaks out the kids until I tell them that he's a former graduate.

I reflect on this because it's one of the best things about being a high school teacher. When former students go out in the world , and take the time to come back to tell you how they 'miss your class', or you. Giving you updates on their lives. Reminiscing about what they learned or did - or how they've been keeping up with their painting or how they miss it. I love it. I truly do. I am so proud of them - almost like they are my own children. The fact that I can have an effect on someone for the rest of their lives is a powerful and humbling feeling.

Summer School

I just realized that I've neglected my blog - poor thing. Since I've been teaching summer school, my own painting has been pretty much ignored. and it seems like every weekend is so busy doing things with Ashton, as I'm sure every summer will be. It's hard because I'm feeling some very strong urges to paint - but have no time to actually do it. I need to force myself to MAKE time to do it. I really do. I think that I'll be inspired by Artscape - seeing all of the artists that DO make the time and create truely amazing work. I'm working the City Schools art booth on Sunday - and looking forward to it. Much love for Artscape. It's similar to the big art festival in Portland, but on steriods. http://www.artscape.org/

Summer school has been great though. I only have 10 students (5 in each class). They are a great group of kids, hard working and creative. It amazes me that even though they've have negative art experiences in the past, they are very willing to try it all again and give it thier best.

This weekend will find the family in DC at the air and space museum with the in laws. I know Ashton will love it.

Wow - three days in a row of painting. Such a rarity, but so wonderful. Since experimenting more with my style of painting last summer, I have felt so much more inspired to continue and improve. Every session I learn something new about my techniques and it's invigorating. I don't suspect that I'll have many chances to paint soon, as summer school training/registration starts next week, and the kids come the week after - so I'm basking in the moment just a little bit.

I've made some progress on the Fenic painting - still not done - but well on it's way

This is another new painting - it's in the second 'dead layer' (underpainting) phase.....

And, yesterday I felt a strong pull to start a portrait. Recently I received a box of really old pictures (spanning back 200 years) from my fathers side of the family. This picture really stood out to me. It's a high school graduation picture of my great-grandmothers' sister, Ruth. This is still just the preliminary sketch painting. Much, much more to be done. I keep getting strange feelings that I need to incorporate animals, but I'm trying to fight that urge for this one :)

A week of painting on the wall

So far I have immensely enjoyed my week off before summer school starts up next week. I've painted a mural in Ashtons bedroom! When he first saw it, he stomped around the room roaring, pretending to be a T-rex. Dinosaurs are his absolute obsession at the moment. We have to watch The Land Before Time almost every day now. Gotta love the repetitiveness of the 2's. I really enjoy muraling and am considering trying to start a little side business doing them. We'll see. I say that now. But summer school will take away all my focus, I'm sure. All of the little darlings that failed art. I really do love teaching them though - I consider them my greatest 'challenge' :)

Yesterday I was at North Ave. most of the day trying to brainstorm and plan events for city schools arts programs next year. I must say I'm rather excited. We have many student shows and fundraisers planned, as well as a possible teacher show - which there hasn't been for 5 years.

Weirdly enough I ended up in the elevator with a colleague of mine and Dr.Alonso. We talked about how awesome Artscape is for a total of 49 seconds. Exhilarating...

Here's Ashton new dino-bedroom

Winding Down

I'm looking forward to a summer filled with painting and playing. I put in applications for summer school, but have not heard anything back yet. This is not strange for Baltimore City Public Schools. I may not find out until the day before I'm expected to report. I really need the money - it'll help with the trip back to Oregon in the next couple months.

I've pretty much been administering finals, packing up my room, and making tentative plans for next year. I am hoping to start a 'Comic Club'. I'm excited to work with the new art teacher. I think it'll be good for me professionally to have a colleague that I can talk to, plan with and bounce ideas off of that understands and teaches the same subject. I hoping it can reignite some of my spark that I feel like I lost a bit this year with all the stress. I'm also hopeful that my principal will hold up her promise of giving me extra planning time to work on murals and school-wide projects. I love doing that stuff - but I never have time!

Out of the classroom - I've painted a little, but not much. This summer, my goal is to create at least 3 larger, new paintings, and 5 new paintings total. Since it takes me at least a month to complete one piece, thanks to my process, I think this will be an attainable goal as long as I manage my time well. I would love to create a body of work with at least 15 pieces, so that I can start pursuing little 'mini-shows' at coffee shops or the like. I don't care much about selling my work, but I would like to get it out there so others can enjoy it (at least I *hope* they'd enjoy it)

This ones my newest 'finished' painting:

'Vacant', Oil on Wood, 9"x12"





And here's my newest unfinished painting:

It's a fenic, among other things. I'm still trying to figure out what innately draws me to paint birds and snakes.... many times I find that the pull to paint specific animals becomes clearer later in the process.

It's that time of year...

Finals, projects, proms, farewells, bad attendance, yes it's that time of year again. We'll be having a wonderful graduation rate again this year, because all seniors that were failing classes as of last week were withdrawn from their courses and plopped in front of a computer to complete their class in 'twilight' (on online class/program) in less then a week. This makes me wonder why we even need teachers - if all administration is going to do is pull them out of classes and give them on online *education*. I don't get it. Is it fair that a kid who never came to class, and has a 17%, is given the opportunity to pull out at the last minute and complete an entire course in a matter of days on a computer screen? Ugh.

It just doesn't seem fair to those who work hard and come to classes to EARN their diplomas.

Anyway...I digress....

It's pretty much official that my principal is hiring another art teacher next year. I have met her, and she seems very nice, very creative, motivated and capable. So in many ways I'm excited. But wait...there's a catch! (Of course)

She will be teaching 1/2 time with Pre-K and 1/2 time with high school.....and.....

We have to share my room. Meaning that I will have no planning/prep time in my own room, at all. I've tried to suggest multiple ways that we can use the room that is attached to mine as an art room for the new teacher. It is currently a math computer lab (that is used about once a week). It has a sink, it's connected to my storeroom, it's close to me....it's perfect!

Problem:

It would cost too much money to wire another room to be a computer lab, and we don't have many rooms available to move to. 1)We DO have rooms - I made a list of possibilities and, 2) I've heard from multiple people that it really wouldn't cost *that* much or be that much work to wire another room. I feel like perhaps the administrators don't want to take the time to accommodate me or the new teacher. They would rather save money and have two miserable teachers that will most likely quit at the end of next year.

On the happier front...I had 15 kids in my room at LUNCH working diligently on their final project. And the student art show at the Baltimore Museum of Art is this Saturday - which is always fun. My husband and I have decided to travel out to Oregon this summer. I haven't been home in 3 years, and my son has never been there (and he's 1/2 Oregonian!), so I'm ecstatic about that!

So all is not terrible :)