Post 72 - Challenges for myself, a beloved art friend, and my students... And,... Sorry I have been sooooooooooo gone lately!

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 


Sorry I have been MIA lately... I miss my blog... The sharing, the posting, the virtual reaching out... But, work has been "intense" this year, to say the least... New administration, new classes, new students... But, I love teaching, and my kids, even on their most "challenging"days... LOL!... And, more-and-more, day-by-day, I realize that I am a very good teacher... That fact, gives me comfort, even in the face of possibly losing my job, solely due to lack of funding in our district/city/state. I have to trust that what happens is meant to happen. I must trust the Universe...

Anyhow... I have been pushing and prodding my students in the direction of "independence, problem-solving, and reflection" with an on-going exam visual art journal "project", which runs simultaneously with our classwork projects.

The assignments get added to a folder, which all of the students can access any time they are caught up or I am absent. Each new assignment gets a "quick and dirty" explanation and visual example from me, a day to "get the juices flowing" for my students, and then my students are responsible for keeping up the momentum, as they have time. (The assignments have a few very broad requirements, and the ongoing requirement that every assignment be an expression of "the artist" as well. My kids MUST put themselves, their style, and their approach INTO every assignment BEFORE it is considered successful and complete.)

I have been excited, inspired, and thoroughly amazed by my students engagement and creativity! They LOVE the days they can be in the "drivers seat" of their work... It's the coolest thing to be able to witness! I am lucky!

Because this project is off to a wonderful start, I have decided to post the assignments here, and to INVITE YOUR PARTICIPATION... I will be doing the assignments myself, posting them, and posting some of my students work, as they get more assignments finished... I promise, you will be inspired too!

Tomorrow, I will post the first assignment... Then, in a couple of days, I will add my result... Please feel free to try the assignment challenges too, and link to the post with the assignment introduction. I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 71 - Rachel is at it again... Generous heart, that lady!... Follow the Prima link below and win the Growth kit, for yourself!

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 


Drop on over by Monday, and post... That's all you have to do... You could be the lucky winner of the beautiful "Growth" kit, from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out... 


Just follow this link... Good luck! 


Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 70 - It sure is nice to hear the good stuff... Eat your heart out OPRAH!

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 


Read and enjoy... Wow... I guess I really do a job that matters, and wow... I might just be SUPER, in the end!... Read and share... Thanks!


Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 69 - Check out the "Growth" challenge at Club CK!

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 


Follow link and play along... The "long" challenge is still "on" until this Monday... So, zip on over to Club CK, and get your scrap on!

Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 68 - New pages - Lovin' the August "Growth" kit from Scrapbooking from the Inside Out...

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 

"Rising Above" - 12" x 12" 

"Rising Above" - 12" x 12" - Detail of sanded chipboard lettering, 

doodled frame, painted wooden dragonfly

"Gaining Appreciation" - 12" x 12"

"Gaining Appreciation" - 12" x 12" - Detail of mist stained ribbon, 

mist dyed flower, mist stamped border, and inked cardstock sticker

            The pages I created with this kit, based on the theme of "Growth", were all titled and focused on synonyms for the word "growth", such as "gain", "become", and "develop". I also worked very hard to emphasize the flexible qualities of the kit, including color focus.
            The pages above are the only two monochromatically blue pages. The blue details, such as the texture "waves" on the "Rising Above" page and the stained ribbon, dyed flower, and stamped dot border on the "Gaining Appreciation" page, were all created with the blue mist included in the kit (which I LOVED working with).         
            The journaling and photo focus for these two pages revolved around my lack of trust issues, with people, and my increasing respect for my beloved Aunt Mary Kay. I worked very hard with this kit to include more than one photo (which is my usual style), and to journal more authentically.
            Check out my blog later this week for another page created from the August "Growth" kit from SFTIO...


Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 67 - Win the FABULOUS August SFTIO "Growth" kit... Simply visit the wonderful Ali Edwards, on her blog... But, do it NOW!

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 


Follow the LINK, for your chance to WIN IT!... Good Luck!


PS... I will be sharing my creations here SOON... (My new computer is being set up AWS... Yippee!!)


Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 66 - Three more pages I created with the incredible INDEPENDENCE kit from SFTIO...

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 

Baby Steps - 12" x 12"

Baby Steps - Detail of page layering and depth

Baby Steps - Detail of page layering and depth

Baby Steps - Detail of hidden journaling (side one)

Baby Steps - Detail of hidden journaling (side two)

           The theme of "independence", in this case, brought to mind my relationship with my daughter, and so I focused on the small ways she has displayed independence and how I need to just be OK with it, through my journaling.

           The strongest design choice I made to emphasize my focus included, choosing a photo of my daughter wearing the wrong shoe on the wrong foot (to concretely show her trying to do things for herself). The various papers and details I further added to this page were used to show the variety of uses for the kit components, and how they can be used to create visual depth, interest, and fun... to any page, with any theme!

From the Start - 12" x 12"

From the Start - Detail of page layering and depth 

From the Start - Detail of page layering and depth 

           The theme of "independence", in this case, brought to mind how I see myself, and so I focused on the ways I had displayed independence as a small child, through my journaling.

           The strongest design choice I made to emphasize my focus included, choosing a photo of myself looking "independent" (to help the viewer get to know me, in respect to this month's theme). The various papers and details I further added to this page were used to show the variety of uses for the kit components, and how they can be used to create visual depth, interest, and fun... to any page, with any theme!

Stop - 12" x 12"

Stop - Detail of page layering and depth

Stop - Detail of page layering and depth

           The theme of "independence", in this case, brought to mind how I feel in regards to a recent interaction with my father, in respect to my freedom. So, I wrote fairly candidly about this recent interaction, in an almost "poetic" fashion (as observed by my husband).  

           The strongest design choice I made to emphasize my focus included, choosing a photo of my hand, in an open palm position (to show the open, bare emotions expressed). I further used the kit contents to repeatedly encircle the title, (expressing my base reaction to the threat of loosing my freedom, through the strong title). Also, I decided to use black gesso to take out the background, so I had a "clean" surface to write out all of my journaling, (emphasizing my desire to have a clean slate, with my father). Plus, I decided to do some random doodling on the patterned paper, just because I could and I wanted to, (which is the antithesis of the result of loosing one's freedom).

Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 65 - Follow the link below, for a chance to win an Independence kit from SFTIO...

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 


Get there quick, and leave a comment, by tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.... Good luck!


Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 64 - Scrapbooking from the Inside Out on the Creating Keepsakes blog, and my Exclusive Content offering...

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 
             Follow this LINK, and you could win an "Independence" kit, from Rachel and SFTIO!!! Woo-hoo!!! Check it out...
            Also... I was the first Scrapbooking from the Inside Out Design Team member to offer Exclusive Content on the site... I created three Scrap Graphs for the July kit, "Independence", and for the third graph, I created a sixth, and new page... 

I Admire - 12" x 12"

I Admire - Detail of typography and hand-stitching

I Admire - Detail of hand-cut and punched embellishment,  with Stickles

            The above page was based on the following SCRAP GRAPH...

            The other two SCRAP GRAPHS are included in the following THREAD at SFTIO... Just follow the LINK, and check them out!

Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam

Post 63 - It's Blog Hop Day!... Welcome to SFTIO's 3rd Birthday Blog Hop... 7 a.m. (today) - 5 p.m. (Thursday)PST...

Blogging my evolution as an artistic art educator - An art-based experience... 
             First thing's first... Make sure you are arriving here at my blog from Shaina's, and that you started at the beginning with Melissa's blog... If you are, great! (If not make sure you backtrack, and start at the beginning, so you don't miss anybody's blog, and don't miss out on the prizes... the winners will have their choice of the last three Scrapbooking from the Inside Out's beautiful kits - Independence, Optimism or Friendship, including the subscriber bonuses.)
             For my stop on the Hop, I'd like to share another one of the pages I created with this month's kit, Independence, and what my processes were for creating it.

You Have Always - 12" x 12"

You Have Always - Detail of machine stitching

You Have Always - Detail of hand-cut embellishment 

  

           The theme of "independence" very easily brings to mind my relationship with my husband, and so I focused on the ways he has always encouraged and supported my need to be free, through my journaling.

           The design processes I used to strengthen my focus included, using layers of torn and stacked pattern paper (to emphasize the variety of ways I am encouraged), adding machine stitching around the page perimeter and around my husband's head (to draw attention to who I was journaling about),  adding a hand-cut figure (to symbolize freedom), using soft fibers and a flower (to indicate sensitivity), and adding wax pastel color throughout the whole page (to tie elements and colors together). 

           Thanks for visiting my blog today!... Remember, to be eligible for a prize, please leave a comment on this post below, before "hopping" on over to Diana's blog...       

           Have fun today, and come back for a visit sometime!            

Safety, health, happiness, and peace... Pam