Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Daily Journal
I saw this post over at Aesthetic Outburst, that shows an example of keeping a daily journal. I love how each card limits you to a few sentences to sum up the day. (It's perfect for the busy lady). You can get the main idea of days past on one single card......or set up the daily journal in whichever format that suits you. I'll probably set mine up in a plain notebook and keep it near my bedside.
Happy writing,
sc
Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday Fine (art)
I haven't done one of these in a while....
This painting catches my eye every time I see it. Although slightly dark in subject matter for late December (aka, happy holidays), Acupuncture Pitchfork Style uses repetition in a way I find pretty brilliant. Love the crows.
This painting catches my eye every time I see it. Although slightly dark in subject matter for late December (aka, happy holidays), Acupuncture Pitchfork Style uses repetition in a way I find pretty brilliant. Love the crows.
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| Acupuncture Pitchfork Style, about 1974 John William "Uncle Jack" Dey model airplane enamel on wood 23 x 36 in. (58.5 x 91.5 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment 1997.124.12 |
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Moleskine I love thee
Every time I go to Barnes & Noble I gravitate to the Moleskine section. If you're not familiar, Moleskines are high-quality, stylish notebooks for writers, artists, journalists, or people in need of awesome notepads. My moleskine collection grows monthly, and some may call it an addiction, but I like to think it's justified. The paper is perfect for my sharpie pens and the books are flexible enough to fit in any purse. best. sketchbook. ever.
Anywho, the Moleskine website is fantastic. Artists can share their artwork with a community of moleskine lovers and visitors to the site can buy one-of-a-kind moleskines designed by artists. You can also browse through the catalogue and choose a custom moleskine for your needs.
Did you know there is a free moleskine app? There is.
It's available for iphones and ipads. It was hard to figure out at first, but I have the hang of it now.
Moleskine is not paying me (I wish) to promote their products. I just love them on my own. :)
sc
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Flashback
I browsed Pinterest yesterday and found this lovely blast from the past. Who else remembers this crazy toy? Instead of "activity center" it should be called 'sensory attack.'
sc
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
oooo....give me sharpie....
This is a great idea for my studio or classroom because I actually have an extra wine rack. I imagine regular and fine point sharpies organized by color. I may reserve a cup for my mechanical pencils.
I heart writing utensils.
Have a great weekend,
sc
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Not a fake
I woke up to this special friend the other morning. I let him walk away - spiders catch mosquitoes.
sc
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
DC just got a lot cooler
Did you know there is a Darth Vader gargoyle on the National Cathedral??? YES, it's true. Back in the 80s, the Cathedral held a children's art contest (bonus points) and good ole Darth was the design chosen. You can find it on the northwest tower (click the link to find out exactly where......you need binoculars).
We went to the Cathedral last Christmas and I am insanely disappointed I did not know this piece of trivia. We'll look for it next time.
sc
Monday, October 10, 2011
Lovely weekend
We had a wonderful time in sunny California celebrating the marriage of Max & Melissa. Those two love birds win the award for most creative wedding. Every where I turned there were crafts to see (DIY overload- more pictures to come).
And what's better is that for every craft there were teams of people helping to set it up, clean it up, or organize it into an amazing piece of the evening. I can't stop thinking about the fantastic people we met over the course of 3 days. We're forcing M & M to get married every year so we can have a reunion.
Hope you all had a great weekend,
sc
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Apple Cider Season
True Story:
I went to our local grocery store and could not find apple cider. I asked, "Where's the cider, sir?" He said, "I'm not sure. What does apple cider look like?" Once I eventually explained the physical characteristics of apple cider, the man said that they (this huge grocery store) did not have any apple cider.
I continued to look and found some by the deli.
Lesson learned: Don't assume everyone knows about apple cider.
sc
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Great books for any classroom
Sometimes an art teacher needs activities that fill time. Let me explain: My first graders are in the middle of creating a self-portrait. That's 28 six year olds, painting 28 different portaits, finishing at 28 different times. What usually happens is this: MRS. C I'M DONE! I'M DONE! WHAT CAN I DO NOW? If I don't have something planned for the early finishers then all h. breaks loose. They ask if they can get a drink but they don't know where the water fountain is. Or they'll play with their paintbrush water. Or they'll ask for a band-aid for no apparent reason. Or, and this is a repeat offense, they'll start painting their hands. Sigh. There's absolutely nothing you can do to prevent this behavior UNLESS you have an easy activity for them to grab when they finish their project.
There are two books that solve this problem. Both books are open-ended, meaning they exercise creativity rather than limit it, and they can be xeroxed into easy hand-outs for the little ones.
642 Things to Draw was a gift from my good friend Jessica. It's a blank journal filled with 642 ideas of things to sketch. Things like bugs, people, cars, food, or you know, luminescent plankton. Just photocopy a few pages and the kids are set.
The other is called Lets make some great art by Marion Deuchars. I don't own this book (yet) but it seems very similar. It also looks pretty and pretty things are just the best.
Know of any others?
sc
Monday, October 3, 2011
brrr Fall?
It was 48 degrees with a constant cold drizzle this weekend. We were pretty frozen inside the house but it seemed nutso to turn the heat on so early in the season. Our resolution? FIRE.
sc
Sunday, October 2, 2011
iPhone photo books!
When was the last time you took a picture? OK, Was it with your phone? I take a decent amount of pictures with my iPhone and am always a little sad when I realize they're not in photo albums. Sure you can upload them to facebook or your flickr accounts, but it's not the same as a hardcopy. I'm a huge fan of having albums in my home (how very 90s of me).
Finally, a company has made the process of uploading our phone images easy. Blurb and Instagram partnered together to make our album dreams come true! You first need an Instagram account. Then, Blurb will "Bookify" your Instagram pictures and voila....instant phone albums at a very affordable cost. I can't wait to do it.
The bad news is, you have to have an iPhone for this to work. Maybe there is a similar program for non-iPhone users? Sorry about that. Anyone out there want to share what they do instead?
sc
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
the Silk Rainforest
The Silk Rainforest by Sheila Hicks
This is displayed at the Renwick Gallery in DC and it's a really cool piece to see in person. When reading the history of the art you will see that it was originally commissioned for AT&T headquarters in 1975 and that's where it stayed until 2002. After being restored by Hicks, the SAAM acquired it in 2009.
Great job AT&T for appreciating contemporary textiles.
sc
Sunday, September 25, 2011
New adventures
In addition to teaching Art, I found the perfect thing to do to fill up my week. I'm interning at the Smithsonian American Art's Luce Foundation Center (pictured above in hipster instagram editing) and it has been ridiculously cool so far. There is always an artist talk to listen to, or an exhibit ready to view....the Luce Center is especially unique in that it displays over 3000 art objects and hosts events such as "Art and Coffee," "Luce Unplugged," and "Draw and Discover," to name a few.
One bonus is that I'll be able to share with you things I experience and events you could potentially go to (if you're in the area). If you're not in the area, you'll at least be able to learn about exhibiting artists, performing musicians, and news from the museum. I'm hoping that interests you as much as it does me :).
sc
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Leesburg Winery
We discovered a small town in Virginia that is home to a string of family owned wineries. Ever been wine hopping? We attempted to wine hop from one winery to the next but had such a great time at the first vineyard that we ran out of time for the others- we need to remember how to pace ourselves.
The winery we went to on a Sunday afternoon was called Casanel Vineyards in Leesburg, VA. They have a friendly staff and a large patio where you can sit and enjoy a bottle. If you're hungry -which we were- you can order a homemade, wood-oven pizza from their resident chef (yum).
I can't wait to go again, and if you visit us, we're totally going.
sc
Monday, September 19, 2011
Day trip- Mount Vernon
Anyone in the northern Va. and/or DC area looking for a cool day trip? Check out Mount Vernon, George Washington's birthplace. It's not only a beautiful park with loads to do, but you will get goosebumps as you tour his home and see his actual bed, chair, desk.....it's crazy what the historians were able to gather and restore. One of our favorite parts of the trip was watching a Washington invention come to life. Did you know he invented a system to separate grain from straw using horses? The last two images show the 16 sided barn where the horses would trot and the grain falling down the cracks of the barn floor.
Sweep up that grain,
sc
Sweep up that grain,
sc
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Last days of summer
The weather is turning.....better get your fill of the remaining summer days...or daze. Have a great Sunday, sc
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| Shenandoah overlook |
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| Mom at Shenandoah National Park |
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