Becky Caldwell...Creative Coach! (The Gritty Bird)

It 'tis me, #1969, I have to take staff development classes to keep my teaching certificate up to date. I have taken an assortment of classes over the years. This year I looked online and found The Gritty Bird. I will be taking staff development classes from my home in my PJs (if I want too) with a kindred spirit named Becky Caldwell! Wahooo....I can't wait. Check out her site....way cool! I was surfing the net and ran across some really cool things on her site.

I loved her goals / aspirations for 2010...(they so remind me of me and my sis #1965)...plans to grow, to share knowledge, to be better at living, to take better care of myself, to be more connected, to stay simple, to stay grounded, to explore, to be brave, to let go and hold on! Wow, can anyone reading this relate to that? I did and that my dear is why I signed up for her class online! My favorite one was....to stay grounded! LOVE that line -

Hope you all had a great weekend! Here is to a fabulous week ahead of us all! x0x0x #1969

tie dye...an "unproject" art project

by karen #1965 3rd grade teacher my kids know that i like tie dye.our classroom is a 60s theme.we have 6 lava lamps cooking in it everyday.we even have a helper in charge of just turning the lava lamps on and off.so, in the beginning of the year (august 2009), they started getting baby wipes and paper towels and making their own tie dye.the kids have to read in free time during monday-thursday, but on friday...oh my...friday is free art day.the kids do art all day during free time...friday has a specialness about it...i love friday muchly.i love art muchly.so, i put them together to day full of muchliness happiness!sure, lots of teachers would not like the up and down...or the noise...but, i do not mind............on the day i was giving a spelling test, i said, "18. process.there is a process to making cheese." (now that i think of it, it was a stupid sentence)...and one of my spunky little girls said, "there is a process of making tie dye."........................in a classroom, there are always connections being made.i liked this connection that my spunky little girl made....we don't need no education.we don't need no thought control.no dark sarcasm in the classroom.teachers, leave those kids alone!(pink floyd, 1979)happy january 31 1/2!

Muer Folk Artist...(aka my sis #1965)

Ok, this was a painting that my sis #1965 did for me in 2001 for my birthday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I have it hanging in my art studio. Since we both live in different places it is comforting to be able to have a piece of her around me as I create in my studio. When we were younger....we got to see Elvis in concert 2x. Yep, 2x! Our family likes music and art. We all love a good concert! Our mom can play the piano like Beethoven...and our dad...he loves to dance like George Jefferson or Elvis Presley

I am very blessed to have her on this create journey with me! Who knows where it will take us. All I know is that so far - it is making us think about art and want to take time to use our God given talents to create it.

Along with some of our goals for 2010...we have adopted K.I.S.S. That stands for KEEP IT SIMPLE SILLY! We are going to focus on the things in life that are important. (God, Family, Friends...and of course~ ART!)

I can't wait to show you all the jean jacket that #1965 painted for another birthday! So very cool! See ya just never know what you might find when you visit out blog....we have a little of this and a little of that.

I want to leave you with the quote that I found on Sisters on this Happy Friday - Baby Sis #1969 "Having a sister is like having a best friend that you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do they will still be there!" Amy Li

sticks and stones can break my bones and words can hurt like heck!

by karen #1965 3rd grade teacher hey folks.we painted these sticks last year at church camp.here is the history of the project.me and my daddy (that is a cool potter) walked around their lake in middle georgia and picked up a buncha sticks.sticks enough for 50 kids.i went to walmart and bought those big mesh bags that you put your dirty clothes in when you go to camp.then, i put these things on the bus and hauled them to highlands, north carolina.well, my dear old friend that is really a young friend, preached to the kids about something.i cannot remember what...but, anyway, she did tie the scripture in with these sticks somehow.(but for those who may need a mini blog sermon, i will get to that in a minute)...so anyway, the kids painted these sticks with acrylic paint.they loved this project.even the teenagers got into this project.EVEN THE NON-ARTSY KIDS GOT INTO IT.i have some really cool pics of kids painting these sticks but i am not gonna publish them because posting kids pics to a blog...i don't know...gotta be careful with that...but you who are reading this..u have imaginations.use ur mind's eye and picture kids at tables with big brushes, big sticks...and big hopes in life...................oh yeah...now i am getting to the blog sermon...u saw it coming didn't you?...sticks and stones can break my bones and words will never hurt me.well that is a crock.(i got a little side story for you.it was Christmas eve and i was cooking a few things for Christmas day.the way my kitchen is arranged, my spices are above my stove.well, i got in a chair to get the cinnamon and lost my balance and fell on my stove top.my ceramic stove top cracked wide open.yeah.i wish some of me had cracked so i could have at least gotten a little sympathy.well, mr. o husband was not real happy.i understand.i accidentally break stuff all the time.so it is january 29 and i still do not have a stove top to cook on.so u know what i am using?think.the CROCK POT!)okay, back to the main story....words hurt so bad.they especially hurt kids.if you love jesus and kids, here is a passage for you...matthew 12:33-37...and it was in red in the Bible and that means that Jesus said it...and that is a big deal..."make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.you brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.but i tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.for by your words you will be acquitted, and by our words you will be condemned."all i gotta say is eek!..........so watch what you say to kids (or anyone for that matter).they have new little hearts.their little hearts are pretty and red...and when we say unkind words, you make those little hearts blue....i always have liked red better than blue...de doo doo doo, de da da da, is all i want to say to you!happy january 29, 2010!

p.s.we left the sticks outside to dry.it rained while we were gone off on a day trip.so, the paint washed off the sticks.and so, we left the sticks in highlands.we thought maybe another group could use the sticks for an art project.recyclable art project?

Cornbread....YUMO! (John "Cornbread" Anderson)

Hey, There! Ok, it is Kim #1969- bloggin' for a bit! Yes, my grandma "Ma Wini" sure did have a good Cornbread recipe! I kid you not. It was sooooo good to eat and even better to smell it hot in the oven as we were kids. Sis #1965 and I so luv us some cornbread! I am no Martha Stewart...but I can tell ya how to make cornbread...Butler, GA southern style.

Ma Wini's Cornbread

1 cup corn meal

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup of canola oil (Ok...she used CRISCO!)

* Mix all together. Pre-heat oven to like 350 or 400 and cook for 20 to 30 minutes depending on your oven.

Now, the real Cornbread I am going to blog about in the post is a man named John Cornbread Anderson. We were eating at a restaurant here in Tallahassee called The Red Elephant

I looked around and saw all of this funky folk art on the walls and I could not wait to learn more about him and figure out a good way to teach it to my students. I researched him online at different places. One place was Matila's Cottage . If you click the link and check it out, then you will see Cornbread's work and a little biography about him. You see art is everywhere! I found a teachable moment on a whim one night out with family and friends.

Creative thoughts to you all on this 1-28-10...bye bye #1969

stressed out? get string, not strung out!

by karen #1965 3rd grade teacher so here is something i do when i am stressed out or when i want some color on my arm to match the sharpie on my hand.i usually have at least 3 of these things wrapped around my wrist.they are great.when i am doing teacher stuff, they just don't get in the way.a platinum bracelet (platinum is the metal for the week...did you know that platinum is used in catalytic converters in automobiles?) gets in the way banging on your desk when you are checking papers.so, anyway.i make these bracelets.when i am done, i cut them off and use some of them as bookmarks in my Bible (yeah, i write, take notes, draw pictures in my Bible and God doesn't care) or in some other book like The Help...now that was a good book to me...enjoyed reading it...reminded me of a lady that helped us growing up named nettie.i couldn't help but wonder what nettie thought about us after reading that book.so back to the bracelets.EASY.i get some string from my organized basket (mr. o husband would like that basket).i usually get 5 different colors.i tie the string together in a knot.i tape it down with duck tape (don't go cheap on me here.pay a little extra...don't be skimping...skip on mayonaise, buy publix brand instead of hellman's).then, you wrap one string around the other 4.i do that a while.then, i stop.i put that string back in the group and grab another color.you will have to push up the string every 5 or six times you wrap it around or the bracelet will be soooo ugly fugly.when you get to the end, just tie it off.there is a pretty good picture of how the ends look.you can get fancy and do the knot or just tie it up.i usually just tie it up.then, you have a beautiful one-of-a-kind bracelet.not tiffany's but whatever.....................what i like about you?...u like art....happy january 27, 2010.

"Clay", you say.....

So, this week in art class....we have had a little CLAY THERAPY! Our hands are messy and our imaginations are soaring! I taught the students about African American Clay Face Jugs. Did you know that a Lanier Meaders' face jug can be worth up to $30,000 or more! Yep, that is allot of MOOLA $$$$. Mr. Meaders has his work in the Smithsonian. The South Carolina face jug artists are predominantly around Edgefield, S.C. If anyone has any pottery with Dave on it, it can be worth $140,000. He was a slave and his mark is on his work. This my friends is pretty amazing!

Though there are many gaps in historical data regarding the making, use and meaning of the face vessel pottery, there is no doubt that the vessels were original, functional artistic expressions of the African slave culture of the time. This all adds to the mystery of possible deeper meaning of the Face Vessels in the slave culture. Few of the skilled potters who made Face Vessels have been identified by name and their inspiration for making face vessels is really unknown. Researchers speculate that the vessels may have had religious or burial significance, or that they reflect the complex responses of people attempting to live and maintain their personal identities under cruel and often difficult conditions. Face Vessels have been found along the routes of the Underground Railroad and on grave sites, both indicating how highly they were valued and how closely connected they were with the enslaved African American’s own culture. I must admit one of my favorite stories about these vessels is that if the face was CREEPY and scary that usually meant that the adult had hidden moonshine in it! Yep, the thought was if the kids were scared of the jug / pot then they wouldn't want to play with it!
We are in week one of the lesson....check back soon and we will have them fired and glazed! Woop Woop...can't wait to see how they all turn out!

This quote below pretty much sums up my day...."Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams

let it snowman, let it snowman, let it snowman

by karen #1965 3rd grade teacher i live right smack dab in the middle of georgia.i am telling you, snow is something more precious than platinum.if the kids get wind of snow, the excitement level rises so that it is virtually impossible to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic.in my 4+ decades, i have only seen one major snow...and that was only 8 inches.but, we make snowmen and hang them up with high hopes of "this being the year".i wanna say, "kids, save your money and go to beaver creek, colorado, when you grow up."but, i don't....because they are kids and kids need hope...and eventually their snow will come in one way or another......................................

as dave says, "funny the way it is, if you think about it"....happy january 27, 2010.

Why is teaching ART the best GIG in town?

By Kim #1969, Lower School Art Teacher

Why is teaching ART the best GIG in town? I don't know how other folks feel but it is a great job to have. Hummmm, let me think of a few reasons; my students remember the elements of art- WOW! Students remember the artist you taught them about & the silly song that you made up for them to remember the artist you taught them about. Parents tell you their kids think YOU are the ONLY adult that has imagination! (You gotta luv this one) You are MAGIC when it comes to crayon batiks and art tricks with clay. Knowing all the kids and parents in car duty line and being able to laugh out loud with them about something silly that happened in art class! Seeing all the student art work, HOW REFRESHING! Having homemade art treasures brought to you at school! (I have had 18+ years of treasures brought to me in my classroom...hee hee) Kids showing you how to fold paper envelopes & make those paper fortune tellers! Overflowing hugs and big smiles. Hearing kids say, "Yes, I have art today!" Artwork all over your desk. Paint on your clothes and a big ole' messy floor. On a more serious methodological note, all children need a variety of experiences to assist them in exploring their environment. Through art, children learn to value their own uniqueness and to appreciate the individuality of others. The teacher needs to choose art activities of variety which will contribute to all aspects of a child's development. Yep, that is my job. Like I said, follow us or check back....we have lots to say about art! Creative thoughts to you on 1-26-10...IT IS WHAT IT IS, so ya might as well make the best of it!

The Rainbow Fish-Children's Literature and Art Activity

Who doesn't love The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister?  It is a great book and it is really great for the art teachers out there!

How did this go down?

Prep Work:  Draw and print off Rainbow Fish on white construction paper

We read The Rainbow Fish

Kids painted the fish

Kids glue a piece of aluminum foil on the fish to make it pop!

L👀K!

💚1965

Fun With Fused Glass

These are the fused glasses pieces that I was playing around with last week. I thought I would post them and let you all get a sneaky peaky at them. I, by no means have mastered this trade, but I sure am having loads of fun trying!
Happy 1-25-10! Baby Sis #1969