I've Been Called Lots of Things, But

--never "disorganized".  Now, my organizational process and procedures have been know to drive people nuts (talking to you, Mom), but I have a system! I have a plan! (even though the plan/system may be 'leave it right here on the table/desk until I need it four months from now').  All that said because I'm thinking about my goals and plans for the upcoming school year. This year, I will once again be in two buildings, which means I need to know EXACTLY which day we're on of the rotation so I'll show up to the correct building.  And for the first time ever, my budget was cut.  By A LOT--almost in half.  I have been incredibly lucky for the past 16 years to be able to order pretty much anything I've needed/wanted, so this reduction was stunning.  Like, STUNNING, how do people have quality programs on so little? Which (of course) means I have to shift my mindset about what I'm doing this year.  No screen printing in sixth grade.  No botanical cuts for our rainforest project in second grade. No new Playcolor tempera paint sticks. It's rough, and I'm feeling a wee bit discouraged.  But have no fear, my perpetual optimism always wins, and we'll do some amazing things this school year no matter what.
There's so many things to think about and plan for:
I'm toying with a few ideas for my new outside my room poster this year.  The interactive poster from last year was a big hit, and I'd like something as positive/popular this year, so look for a post about that soon(ish).
My daughter starts kindergarten (at my school!) this year, and that's going to be totally awesome. I do have a bit of fear about the pace of the day--getting the kids ready and planning for my classes, which is ridiculous because we have only one drop off now (our youngest to the babysitter's right by school).  It really will be fine, but when we've had such a relaxing summer, the idea of planning for eight classes a day seems impossible.
And finally, guess who's the new elementary department chair in my district? That's correct, it IS yours truly! It's been a while (nearly 10 years) since I last did held this title (in my last district) but it'll be good. I'm looking forward to reading some books on effective leadership and education in the 21st century (I just started FutureWise, Educating Our Children for a Changing World) to be the best leader I can be for our elementary art department--they deserve no less.

I Really Need This Book

Note the thrown rain boot in the background.
Never a dull moment around here.

Found at my local library (see previous post about our twice weekly visits): What Elephant? by Geneviève Côté.  I'd like to lie to you and say it just came out, but it's been around for ten years apparently.  That library! Always a place to make new book friends!
It's a sweet little tale about a boy (George) who comes home to find an elephant in his house but none of his friends believe him so he thinks he must be losing his marbles. ("Elephants don't read newspapers!")
I. Need. This. Book. For kindergarten! I don't know exactly how I'll use it yet, but I've got a few ideas.  Beautiful illustrations and wonderfully written, what's not to love??? Kindergarten lives for possibilities and secrets (like an elephant hidden in your bedroom closet).  
I'm so excited! A quick internet search and it could be mine for as low as . . . $3.99.  Worth every penny.
Oh, and it has a bit of a lesson about believing yourself and your own eyes (and all the ignoring-the-elephant-in-the-room bit that only the adult will get). So many directions I could go with this--I can't wait!

Frozen in the Summer

Aaahhhh, SUMMER! Glorious, glorious summer!  So much free time! Beautiful weather (it's been miserably hot and humid here), time for household projects, artwork and reading . . . except lately I've been frozen.  Like, unable to finish anything.  Case in point, the almost finished medicine cabinet doors hanging out in my garage, ready for a smidge more sanding and wood filling and a final coat of paint.  I just walk around them.  Or the front porch light fixture I was planning to take apart, spray paint and reassemble.  I cleaned it with TSP on the HOTTEST, HUMID-ist day of the year, and thought 'ugh, too much work!'
Or the patio chairs I got from the side of the road to refinish--they're sitting in the backyard, holding up the new sprinkler, and every time I see them I get a sinking feeling.  Do I really want to tackle this project?  How much sanding a spray painting can one person handle?
Does the downstairs bathroom really need painting? Who really goes in there anyway (and do they even notice the color of the wall?)?
With all that home improving I planned to do, I decided to (of course) make a quick rag quilt for my daughter, and she LOVES it, but don't look too closely or you'll see many mistakes.  It was my first rag quilt, so of course I have to make one for my youngest, but then my sewing machine started acting up . . . I just walked away from that, for everyone's safety (an angry mom throwing a sewing machine isn't good for ANYONE).
I've got piles and piles of Gelli prints ready for photographing and listing in my Etsy shop, but somehow I never get around to it.
I've spent a couple of days reading all day (like ALL DAY, ain't no one got time for lunch around here) and I've taken my kids places (really by places I mean the library 2x a week, but it counts). I also forced myself to buy a swimsuit and that took DAYS of preparation because swimsuit shopping at my age is BRUTAL (and WHY can't stores have better lighting in their dressing rooms?!).
These are the moments where I wonder, what WILL retirement be like for me? Will I wander aimlessly from project to project, never finishing anything?  Will I have a sense of direction, or will I feel unfulfilled? Will I be 'that crazy retired art teacher'? (Come on, you know her, we all do.) Will someone tell me if I cross over into crazy territory? And (the bigger question) will I care?
Enjoy your aimless, relaxing, fun (or reading filled) summer, friends, it goes way too fast.

I Need About a Million Dollars

Because, you guys, I have a blue toilet.  Baby blue, not royal or dark blue.  Circa 1989.  See, when school's in session, I'm busy and don't have time be distracted with stuff around the house, but when summer comes I'm all about the home front (alternate titles for this post include: What Can't Paint Do? or Curse You, HGTV!) and all those things from my 1989 house bug me.  Last summer I worked on my kitchen and then in the fall I painted the main bathroom (the one with the powder blue toilet).  This summer I decided I'd use up some paint leftover from those projects in our basement half bath (read: not spend any more money).  This includes painting a gold light fixture with Rust-Oleum oil rubbed bronze spray paint that I'm using for everything these days. But I want NEW stuff--new [white] toilet, new garage doors, new dishwasher (to replace the original-to-the-house-one), new countertops . . .the list goes on.  SIGH, I do not have $ for all these things.  Hence, the need for about a million dollars.
Or blinders or an appreciation for 1989.
To distract me from such problems this week: an upcoming council meeting for my new-ish elementary division position, gardening, lots of fun summer fiction reading, playtime with my own children (they're SO FUN this summer),sewing and art making.  In short, lots of relaxation and whatever I feel like doing whenever I feel like doing it.
Enjoy your summer, friends, it goes by too quickly!

Summer Gelli Printing Fun

Hello, my name is Aimee and I'm a Gelli printing addict.  Seriously.  It's probably one of the fastest rising new disorders among art teachers and artists today.  Here's my new Gelli printed project:

My aforementioned disorder has me awake at night thinking 'what the heck am I going to do with ALL THESE GELLI PRINTS?'  Even though I opened a second Etsy shop for all my printing, they're not exactly flying off the shelves AND there are some prints that just aren't very good. So, one Sunday night when I'd napped too long and couldn't sleep and oh-my-gosh-why-am-I-still-awake-I-have-to-work-tomorrow I decided I needed to do more printing (of course, more Gelli printing is the solution!), but this time with my new circle Gelli plate (bought at NAEA in Chicago) and on the back of my not-favorite prints.  Because it seems way to hard to explain that with typed words, I made a video of my paper flower printing with a document camera I'm trying to get used to:

After I made several flowers (when I should have been sleeping to prepare for a full day of elementary art teaching) I decided to make them into a necklace.  And it worked! And I wore it all around and basked in the compliments! Then I continued making more and more flowers and making different things (like broach/pins, which I haven't worn yet) and toyed with the idea of putting them into my Etsy shop, but I just haven't done it yet.  So if you're interested in A) learning how to make these flowers into a necklace, or B) would maybe purchase one from me on Etsy, could you let me know?  Then I'll get more document camera practice and/or get more Etsy sales.  
Happy and restful summer for all of you who [like me] are soaking up every minute of rest and relaxation and I FEEL YOU for those trying to make it to the bitter end (you've totally GOT THIS, you can DO IT 'cause art teachers are AWESOME).

Squeezing in a Clay Project at the Last Minute

Oh MY, I barely got this one worked in! My third graders made architectural columns out of clay.  This lesson came from the February 2010 Arts & Activities issue, and the lesson was originally by Robin Leenhouts.  It's a perfect fit for my third graders who spend their year learning the basics of art history.  I had a handout on doric, ionic and corinthian columns for students to reference.  Here are a few bisque fired pieces:

The beauty of these is that they work either way, open side up as a pencil/pen holders, or base side up as pedestals for favorite toys. (I'm obviously not a real stickler for accuracy--note the placement of the ionic swirls)
Students painted them with metallic tempera blocks and then sealed the paint with Mod Podge:

The final painting/sealing day was so crazy that I didn't get many photos, but they really did turn out nicely.  
Speaking of, look at this first grade portrait from my Jewelry Portraits lesson:

He wasn't here the last day to finish and add his necklace. OH MY GOODNESS! Have you EVER seen anything more adorable?  It looks just like him! I love it and plan on keeping it FOREVER!
And also this from first grade:

This is how it went down:
"Mrs. Fresia, I'm making bacon and eggs!"
"That sounds perfect!"
"Well, I decided to make them for you!"
They're amazing.  And I wish I would've photographed the paper heart I got from the same class that looks more like marshmallows smooshed together.
No better job in the world (and if you don't think it is, it's probably not the job for you, because really, the only people who need to spend all day everyday with kids are the ones who really want to be there).
For those of you still in school, summer is really, really REALLY close.  For those already on vacation: enjoy every single minute, YOU DESERVE IT!

Never Enough Kindergarten Lessons

Oh, KINDERGARTEN! I know some elementary art educators dislike kindergarten, and while I do really enjoy them, I feel like I never have enough lessons to [adequately] fill the year for them. The last lesson I did with them this year was really the mushing together of two old lessons, line printing (and this lesson):

Note the blue fingers in this photo.

Doesn't that look like some fabulous messy kindergarten fun? It's a simple line review.  I gave each student 3-4 tagboard strips measuring 1" x 18" and had them bend, fold and roll them into different lines then use the EDGE to print on 9 x 12 white paper with tempera paint. Always fun.  Always messy.
Next time, we read Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and drew monsters on the back of our [now dry] line printing/paintings:

We drew with pencil, traced with extra fine point Sharpie.  Then we were ready to draw backgrounds/homes for our monsters/wild things:

Students were allowed to choose marker, crayon and/or Sharpie.  Finally, we cut out our monsters, flipped them over so the paint side was showing (to be line-y fur) and added details with marker before gluing them to the backgrounds:

Not totally sure what's going on here, but I love how sculptural his became.

As always, some understood the directions better than others, but even if they didn't/wouldn't glue it so the paint printing showed, they were all still adorable:

Although, maybe a bit violent?!

And bloody????

Have a great end of the year for those of you who are still in the thick of it, and enjoy a relaxing day or two after your school year ends (no hair combing or dressing around here today--it's my first rainy day of summer!) You all deserve a good rest, art teachers work HARD, friends!