Post 9 - Father's Day art with the kiddo...

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

OK... Is there anything better than getting down on the floor with a box of crayons, and coloring with a child?

Inspiration takes on many forms. Sometimes I need to realize all I have to do to move creatively forward is get into the moment. Whether it be drawing and coloring with my daughter, or cleaning and organizing my studio, or just putting something down on paper or canvas for no real reason at all.

Start and the art will follow. My new mantra.

Out of 1440 minutes in the day, I will make time to make creative progress. I will get off the computer, turn off the television, procrastinate less. I do not have to have all the answers to just start. No fear.

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

Post 8 - Photo experiments...

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

Because I love photography and I am in a position where I need to fill up my photo project bag-o-tricks, I played with an interesting concept from one of the terrific new books I purchased for school called Caffeine for the Creative Mind, by S. Mumaw & W. Oldfield.

One of the curious assignments they offer for picture takers is to try photographing one's self in reflective surfaces, other than mirrors.

So, I tried some shots, and these are the results... Interesting and some I had to push a bit further in Photoshop, because I couldn't help myself. (The last one is just playing around with silouettes, and I finally got to use the "threshold" control in PS!)

Plexiglass case - See my hand in the left side of the photo. (All I did here was to crank up the contrast and drop the brightness.)

Glass case - Faint, but you can see my shoulders and necklace, if you look closely. (I played with desaturating the photo and adding a rendering filter.)

Television screen - Liked the dynamics of putting my hand over my head. (I desaturated again, because I didn't like the yellowish tint of the original, and I cranked the contrast with the addition of a film grain filter.)

Fireplace screen - Thought this was a very cool one, with the Firestart log logo showing up in the picture. (I desaturated again and added an ink outlines filter. It emphasizes the screen pattern and makes me look ghost-like.)

Glass across an artwork - Very ghostly result! (I left the color in here, because I needed it for the contrast, since you could hardly see me over the busy black and white print, by Jay Bolotin. I really forced the contrast up here, so you could see me. Weird how it affected the color, more than the blacks and whites.)

Yes... That's a flamingo in the photo! (We had an Alice in Wonderland party for my daughter recently, and we left the pink yard flamingos stuck in our plant pots. It made for a very cool silouette and decent use of the threshold control on PS!)

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

Post 7 - A quote for inspiration...

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

"You must find a creative outlet for yourself.

You see, where people go wrong when they set out in life is not exploring that part of themselves that feeds their spirit.

Without that food, the spirit dies, and it's a large part of our responsibility to ourselves not to allow that to happen.

In fact, consider how few psychiatric problems there might be if every individual actually knew what to do to keep alive in himself something that could affirm the very essence of who he is.

That's what the creative act does."

--- Elizabeth George, Author

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

Post 6 - ATCs and tag art...

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

Hey all... Part of me feels like I am yacking at myself here. (Tap, tap, tap... Is this "thing" on?)

But, I suppose all great artists are mad and speak to themselves. Just kidding.

Anyhow, I am working on ATCs, some big tags (which were meant for a swap, but I didn't read the fine print, and they were due by the 12th, not to be mailed by the 12th. But, I am finishing them for myself anyhow.), and I will be taking the DAAPworks display down on Sunday, so hopefully I will have more than two ATCs to show you from my display prompt to people visiting DAAPworks. [I know I have two, at least, besides my daughter's, because as you can see from the photo above, my colleague and her hubby (in the picture) made and left me their ATC masterpieces.]

I am so excited to empty my ATC drop box, and view the goodies... It's like Art Christmas!

Just a head's up - I will be working with some ART SISTERS over the next couple of months, doing all types of art, collaborative and such. I am lucky to be surrounded by a boatload of talented ladies, who don't mind spending some quality art-making time with me. Go figure?!

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

Post 5 - Pictures of my display from DAAPworks...

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

I won't be able to go to the DAAPworks opening tonight, because my school's graduation is tonight and I am going there. Can't be in two places at once, even though I wish I could be. And, I have to admit it... I want to know who, of my MA in Art Ed classmates, got judged Best of Show for our discipline yesterday. Can't tell a lie, I want it to be me! We'll see...

Anyhow, I have several pictures of the display. Some that show the over-all set-up, and some that highlight details, like the stand I created to hold my blog invitation cards, the supplies tote and boxes, and close-ups of each panel. Let me know what you think!

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

Post 4 - Zombie momma'...

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

OK... Four and one half hours of sleep before waking to a 5:30 a.m. alarm for a 7:10 a.m. start to the third to last school day, does not a wakeful person make. Uggggg! Tired. So tired...

The short version for now... Got the display up and it is wonderful! I am very pleased with myself, and I have several good pictures of the display to share with you. I moved them to my hard-drive, Photoshop'd them, and will post them for my next post.

Today I am doing catch-up. I promised shots of the ATC bases I provided for DAAPworks viewers, and possible blog participants. Plus, I have two perfect examples by my sweet favorite artist, Josie. So, here is the shot of the bases and a scan of the examples... Enjoy!

How I did it: In essence, I took an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of white drawing paper and made lots of geometric, organic, planned and random marks all over it, with charcoal, pencil, Sharpie marker and china marker. Then, I used a copier to copy the ATC identification information onto the back of cardstock,

which I in turn ran back through the copier to get the base designs on the opposite side. I did positives

and negatives of my original marks, to create black-on-white and white-on-black ATC options. 

Finally, the ATCs were cut apart with a papercutter. 

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

Post 3 - Display day...

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

Crazy here!! Thank goodness for my Blackberry, and my continuing investigations into what it can do for my life... YES, I discovered "memos" under the apps section, and I have been making lists. ("I love check lists!," Bowler Hat Guy, from Meet the Robinsons.) So, I have been efficiently moving my way towards getting my display up at UC for DAAPworks, and today I take it in, once I finish a few minor things, if the husband will take over being the clown/caregiver for the cat and kiddo. Maybe? Please.

Once it's up, I will take pictures to share here, and finally show you all what the ATC bases looked like and how I did them, plus I have two examples of finished ones to show you!... And, they were created by my number one artist, Josie (daughter, 8). Kids are the best artists. We all know it!

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

Post 2 - More about the process...

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

Sorry I missed yesterday. The year is coming to a close, and it always feels like a symphony that builds and builds, coming to a crashing thunderous crescendo, right over my head... Paper and cardboard scraps, paint, trash, glue everywhere, students who need me (all at the same moment), last minute projects, grades, paperwork, planning for the next year, and so forth. Add no air conditioning to that mix and muggy weather for the past three weeks, and yes, I frequently have a headache and feel deflated at the day's end... Just recently, anyhow.

Consequently, I feel energized when I am working on this project. Excited to make some art, fail at it miserably at times, and succeed deliciously at others. Play with materials I have forgotten about, or have never used, all of which I will be chomping at the bit to share with my kids in August. Set goals for myself, push my creative comfort zone, and write everything down I learn, so I don't let my experience disappear into the the whirlwind of my life. I want to learn from it, teach with it, and pass it on.

At present I am finishing up my display for DAAPworks, which is the University of Cincinnati's DAAP school-wide art show featuring all of the disciplines throughout the art college. Art Education creates a space with displays that illustrate the focus of our individual culminating projects. Since my project and paper will not be complete until December, my display is from a work-in-progress perspective.

I am also actively working on building an audience for my blogging experiment, so I am leaving blog-cards for those visiting DAAPworks, and I am challenging the viewers of my display to participate in art-making and in the progress of my blog.

So, I have created a supply box and directions to entice viewers to be participants by making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), and leaving it for me to scan and post on my blog. (I will return the ATCs by mail, once scanned.)

I am really pumped to see, if and how people go from being passive viewers at DAAPworks to active art-making blog-supporting participants... Will they be brave and jump in? Will I get work from kids? How will they manipulate the materials available? How will they make the base designs, I am supplying, into their own little masterpiece? Will they prove themselves inventive individuals?

Well... That brings me to my first task... I will be photographing the card base designs for you all to see, and posting them later this evening, because I want you all to know from where everyone started, as well as myself.

For my second task, I will be creating a set of 20 ATCs using limited supplies, as I am asking the participants to do. (I have to limit supplies at DAAPworks for cleanliness purposes, and for cost purposes, since I will not be able to be there to wrangle and oversee supply usage.)

As I get ATCs finished, I will post them here...

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

Post 1 - Explaining the experiment...

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

This is me... Pamela Ann Palmarini. I am an artist and an art teacher. I am finishing up my MA in Art Education 12 years after I started. I've been teaching this whole time, and it's time to finally finish what I started, mostly because I have to. Job security, of course. But, in the end, this is for me.

Currently, I am working on my culminating project, and now that the majority of the research is complete, I can get down to the fun stuff. The art and reflection part of my art-based project.

So, what's the blog have to do with my culminating project? Let's just say, I was influenced by the movie premise from Julie and Julia of blogging one's creative progress. The good and the bad. Successes and failures. I wanted to put my learning and growth process "out there", so maybe another art educator might gain something from my experience. And, of course, my pedagogy will get a good, healthy "shot in the arm"...

But alas, after a very long day of school and college, and home-life, my brain is struggling for clarity. So, I will add some more tomorrow about the basic goals, activities, and fun stuff I intend to accomplish here, hopefully with the end result of encouraging your comments and participation as well...

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