I just finished teaching my art 1 kids figure drawing.  I usually teach two different methods, but with only 2 weeks left, I decided to only teach one.  I believe the kids did a great job.  I especially like the creative ones. 

They are now working on paper puppets, hopefully this project will take the rest of the school year to complete.  My adv. kids are still working on clay (we are cutting it pretty short)  and my art 2 kids are making books. 

I can't believe how quickly this school year has flown.  I just hope my summer doesn't go by so fast.  I am already preparing canvases for the summer and designing some new jewelry pieces to work on.  I am hoping to sell my jewelry at various art festivals during the summer.  Oh man, I'm already planning for summer, I can't wait!

just a peek

It has been a while since I last posted, I do apologize.  I have been hard at work, trying to play the "catch up" game.  Notice I said "trying". 
I thought I'd give you a peek at what my art 2 kids have been working on.  They should be done by this week and I will post new pics.  My adv are working on clay and my art 1 are learning to draw the body.  I have lots to share and promise to do so as soon as the kids finish this round of projects.

Congressional Award

I am thrilled out of my mind at the moment.  My student has been awarded the Congressional Art Award this past weekend!  His work will hang in the Nation's Capitol Gallery for a year.  We have been invited to Washington D.C. for a week in the summer where we will be taking part in several ceremonies and tours.  From what I've been told, we will receive a tour of the Capitol by our own Congressman, Mr. S. Reyes.
If I'm over the moon, you could just imagine how my student feels. 
I'm so glad he won, he is such a dedicated student and such a nice kid. 
He drew a portrait of his sister using a ball point pen.  It looks like a photograph.  If you are ever in the Nation's Capitol, stop by and take a look.

It has been a while since I last posted.  Directing our regional VASE event was a huge undertaking, there were over 300 art students competing to advance to state.  Now that regional is over, I just have the state event to worry about. 
My advanced kids are working on prints.  I love printing, carving the linoleum is so relaxing and therapeutic.  I think my kids are doing a great job.  I will post more images once we are completely done with the project.
Oh yeah, two more days for spring break!

My apologies, It has taken me a bit longer than usual to post.  I've been extremely busy at work, as I'm sure most of you are and I have also been busy with my small jewelry business.  I make jewelry and sell at a few local galleries and at the art market on Saturdays.  I am also the founder of an art collective and am the new VASE director for the region.  

I will do my best to post as often as possible, but my apologies if I don't do it as often.  The two images above are from a project that was done prior to Christmas vacations, but I had not gotten around to post.  They were created by my adv. kids using modified contour drawing and watercolors.  The original idea came from another TX. teacher that I saw in Galveston.  I tweaked it a bit, but tried not to deviate from the original idea. 

Have a good week.

I teach my art 1 kids how to shade, but I teach them how to do it with a pen.  I give them a quick pencil shading lesson, and then I show them how to shade with a pen.  The results always amaze them.  Pencil drawings done by kids are rarely done well because kids usually don't put enough contrast in their work.  I have only had one student in my years of teaching successfully create a good quality pencil drawing.  With pen, the contrast is automatic and the work looks sharp.

Middle School Art Exhibit

I am very fortunate to have an art gallery in my high school, unfortunately it is not used much as a gallery.  There is a system in my high school that allows teachers to use any of the facilities in our school as they see fit, kind of a first come first serve system.  The gallery has been used for a variety of things, it was once used for storage! I decided to take the gallery back and I have scheduled many activities this year.  It has kept me very busy but I hope the whole school will eventually keep their hands off the gallery. 
One activity I came up with this year was to host a middle school art exhibit.  I wrote letters and met with some middle school teachers around my area and invited them to exhibit. 
I also opened the art rooms and art lab and set up art work for a "tour" of our facilities.
I decided to make this a student led activity.  My students curated the whole thing, from hanging the work, judging and presenting the awards. 
We had a great turn out and I met some very talented young artists.  Perhaps they will be my students one day.
Enjoy your three day weekend.