whatsup with owls?

by karen #1965 third grade teacher...what is up with the owls?...they are everywhere...i was a chi omega and the owl was our mascot...yeah, artsy people can be in a sorority and contribute artistic ideas and such...so i like the owl...picasso liked the owl...here is picasso's owl...

so the whole owl thing isn't new....one of my friends gave me this owl for teaching her daughter...check it out....

it was made out of a gourd...gourds are cool...you can find them at gourd farms......well, i found some for my dad for Christmas one year by looking in our state agriculture newspaper...Georgia Market Bulletin...your state may have a similar magazine...

this art was kinda cool, 2...

also, i went to this museum with my very dear friend and no one was looking and we took this picture inside the museum...we were both chi omegas...so the owl in the background was pretty cool...

there is even a band called owl city....yep...

owl city, 2008

Breathe and I'll carry you away into the velvet sky

And we'll stir the stars around and watch them fall away

Into the Hudson Bay and plummet out of sight and sound

The open summer breeze will sweep you through the hills

Where I live in the alpine heights

Below the northern lights I spend my coldest nights

Alone, awake and thinking of the weekend we were in love

(The weekend we were in love)

Home among these mountain tops can be so awfully dull

A thousand miles from the tide

But photos on the walls of New York shopping malls

Distract me so I stay inside

I wish the rocket stayed over the promenade 'cuz I would make a hook and eye

And fish them from the sky

My darling, she and I were hanging on so take us high

To sing the world goodbye

I am floating away

Lost in a silent ballet

I'm dreaming you're out in the blue and I am right beside you

Awake to take in the view

Late nights and early parades

Still photos and noisy arcades

My darling, we're both on the wing

 Look down and keep on singing and we can go anywhere

Are you there

(Are you there)

(Are you there)

(Are you there)

Are you there

(Are you there)

(Are you there)

Or are you just a decoy dream in my head?

Am I home or am I simply tumbling out alone?

I am floating away

(Floating away)

Lost in a silent ballet

(Silent ballet)

I'm dreaming you're out in the blue and I am right beside you

Awake to take in the view

Late nights and early parades

(Early parades)

Still photos and noisy arcades

(Noisy arcades)

My darling, we're both on the wing look down and keep on singing

And we can go anywhere

Are you there

(Are you there)

(Are you there)

(Are you there)

Check it out...Very relaxing...and Nature-like...

YouTube-Owl City-On the Wing

so...HOOT HOOT & have a happy January 25,2011!

p.s.  Soul Sister #1969 was a chi omega, too!

bottle caps

by karen #1965 third grade teacher so i was on facebook and Miz Thang the artist said something about liking or loving bottle caps...i mean look at them...they are a little nostalgic or retro or hip...

well, this jiggled my memory a bit...i remembered a friend of mine had given me a cool cross made of bottle caps...here is a few angles for you, just in case you feel the need to make this cross for yourself...

now...if u are artsy, u think that is cool....but, where do you get all those bottle caps...well you could 1-drink cokes, 2-drink beer, 3-get your friends that drink beer and cokes to save them for you, 4-find them on old playgrounds with a metal detector, 5-hang out at bars and beg the drinking folks for them, or 6-order them off ebay...ebay prolly your best bet because some of the other ideas really would be hazardous to your health and well-being...

check out these possibilities....

a picture frame?

magnets?

another cross....

a whistle necklace...you think it really works?...

earrings to match that whistle necklace?

and oh...the master...vincent van gogh's "starry night"

and what about these thingamagigs?

so...go get you a coke...and have a coke and a smile...and save the cap...cause there is so much art to be made with these little dudes...or just save them and sell them on ebay!....   :)

can't find a good song with the word "bottle cap" in it....i hope the word "bottle" works for ya instead!

the police, 1979

Just a castaway

An island lost at sea

Another lonely day

With no one here but me

More loneliness

Than any man could bear

Rescue me before I fall into despair

I'll send an SOS to the world

I'll send an SOS to the world

I hope that someone gets my

I hope that someone gets my

I hope that someone gets my

Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

A year has passed since I wrote my note

But I should have known this right from the start

Only hope can keep me together

Love can mend your life

But love can break your heart

I'll send an SOS to the world

I'll send an SOS to the world

I hope that someone gets my

I hope that someone gets my

I hope that someone gets my

Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

Oh, message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

Walked out this morning

Don't believe what I saw

A hundred billion bottles

Washed up on the shore

Seems I'm not alone at being alone

A hundred billion casatways

Looking for a home

I'll send an SOS to the world

I'll send an SOS to the world

I hope that someone gets my

I hope that someone gets my

I hope that someone gets my

Message in a bottle

YouTube-The Police

happy january 22, 2011!

andy warhol, frida kahlo, vincent, and a very long piece of string....

by karen #1965 third grade teacher so u see i have this friend that likes art and has learned some stuff about art cause she hangs out with me...and she went on a trip to disney world...and she brought me some art back...and i just thot it was so cool...so i thought...blog worthy!....

so i guess i will just show u what i got & go from there...

cute, huh?...well it gets cuter...these things are called "the original string doll gang"...my string doll is andy...check out the real andy below...

now don't u see the resemblance?...well, i do...here is another view of my string art andy...check out the campbell's soup can...

what folks?...you don't remember andy warhol's campbell's soup cans?

i started being curious about why andy warhol painted soup cans...so, i googled...there are so many opinions out there...i liked this one...

Robert Indiana said : "I knew Andy very well. The reason he painted soup cans is that he liked soup."

check the tag out...

the tag below is where my brain flipped and the string doll gang entered the cool zone...don't you love it..?

"andy teaches you that anything can be art"

one more thing...this little gold bell is so cool...cause if you can't find ur keys in ur purse...u just move ur purse and hear the jingle bell jingling...

so...what is the story of the original string doll gang?

well, here is the website...

Kamibashi String Doll Gang website

to sum it up in a few lines...

these handcrafted, itty-bitty backpack buddies and cell phone charms are super cool. The Original String Doll Gang, a line of 100-plus characters, are each made from a continuous piece of string and possess a special power (the ability to help kids fly through homework, for example)...now these folks in asheville, north carolina actually own the company...a husband and wife team...they have 2 groups of string doll artists that make the dolls...and they proudly said that they maintain fair trade practices...here are the gals from thailand at work...looks pretty chillaxing to me...

so...

here is vincent...

and frida...

so...these girls in thailand...just doing their art...and so...these artists got their world on a string...

Frank Sinatra, 1953

I've got the world on a string

Sitting on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger
What a world what a life
Ooh I am in love

I've got this song that I sing
I can make the rain go
Anytime I move my finger
Lucky me can't you see
I am in love


Life is a beautiful thing
As long as I've got a hold of that string
I'd be a silly so-and-so
If I should ever let go


I got the world on a string
Sitting on a rainbow
Got the string around my finger
Lucky me can't you see
I am in love!

YouTube Frank Sinatra

happy january 20, 2011!

concrete patch and ma winnie's stuff and cell phones and the grateful dead and eddie munster

by karen #1965 third grade teacher now i did this cell phone a few years ago...i decided that i would do this project specifically for the local fair that rolls around every october...so...here is what i did...

first...what about those ugly numbers on this picture...8/10/2006...they are UGLY!...here is how the cement cell phone came to be...you see, i was doing the art at vacation Bible school...and we were using concrete patch to make stepping stones...and i was a mess...had cement all over me...so i was squirting myself off and squirted my shorts...and my cell phone...and i killed it...so i said...hmmm...i think i will make a cell phone of cement in memory of the phone...and that is what i did...

this cell phone art was an ordeal...i tell u it was...i got styrofoam that florists use and cut it into small squares...then, i covered it with concrete patch and put thingies on it...and then i drew off the cell phone and put concrete patch on it and attached the small thingies...and then i painted the thing...it was like a forever project...see...

here is a one & a 2...the one is an old penny...and the 2 is a cloth tape measure that is from my mama winnie's sewing kit...

 here is the 3 which is a domino and a 6...a die of course...

here is the asterisk thing made of nails and a 0 which was cut off a car tag...

i set an old watch on four o'clock...and the 7 is a 7 off an old keyboard...old keyboards are cool...

i tore up some charm bracelets to do this part of the keyboard...

here are some close ups of the comments...i hope they make u think...

so...i entered it into the fair...and it hung there for a week and didn't get one single award or ribbon...and it was stuck in a corner so no one could see it...so i decided if the fair judges didn't like my art then i wouldn't put my art in the fair anymore...and i didn't...after all, it wasn't a flower...and if it ain't a flower, well it ain't got power to win at the georgia national fair in perry, georgia!...i mean i guess the judges are some kinda botanical gardens freaks that love magnolias...i haven't got anything against painting magnolias, but
art ain't all about magnolias...unless ur the grateful dead singing a song about magnolias...and paint a bus and name it "Sugar Magnolia"...cause that is SWEET ART!...here is Grateful Dead's tour bus called "Sugar Magnolia."..

guess who bought the tour bus a couple of years ago for $200,000+...Eddie Munster...Remember him?

weird...how i could start out this post with thots of Bible School and art activities with concrete patch and end up with eddie munster...?

Grateful Dead, 1970

Sugar magnolia, blossoms blooming, head's all empty and I don't care,

Saw my baby down by the river, knew she'd have to come up soon for air.


Sweet blossom come on, under the willow, we can have high times if you'll abide,
We can discover the wonders of nature, rolling in the rushes down by the riverside.


She's got everything delightful, she's got everything I need,
Takes the wheel when I'm seeing double, pays my ticket when I speed.


Well, she comes skimmin' through rays of violet, she can wade in a drop of dew,
She don't come and I don't follow, waits backstage while I sing to you.


Well, she can dance a Cajun rhythm, jump like a Willy's in four wheel drive.
She's a summer love in the spring, fall and winter. She can make happy any man alive.


Sugar magnolia, ringing that bluebell, caught up in sunlight, come on out singing,
I'll walk you in the sunshine, come on honey, come along with me.


Sometimes when the cuckoo's crying, when the moon is half way down,
Sometimes when the night is dying, I take me out and I wander around, I wander 'round.


Sunshine, daydream, walking in the tall trees, going where the wind goes
Blooming like a red rose, breathing more freely,
Light out singin', I'll walk you in the morning sunshine
Sunshine, daydream. Sunshine, daydream. Walking in the sunshine.She's got everything delightful, she's got everything I need,

YouTube Grateful Dead "Sugar Magnolia"

Happy January 18, 2011!

it iced in georgia last week...hey it looked like snow, tho...so we made snowmen!

by karen #1965 third grade teacher so you see we got some ice last week and missed 2 days of school...folks in the north like to make fun of us when we totally shut down because of the weather...but hey folks...let me tell u something...we are not used to this weather...we do not have the big machines that de-ice and clear the roads...there is no need for them...we don't get snow and ice but every few years...so why would we spend money on these big machines.?.and people working the big machines don't know what they are doing so that doesn't help either...and then we sure don't know how to drive in snowy and icy weather...we just don't get practice with snow and ice driving much around here...and u all know that practice makes perfect...so if u live in the south and u get wind that snow and ice are coming, u go to the grocery store and stock up...cause u know that if it snows u will be stuck at ur house for at least a day and u will need a weeks worth of groceries for that one day...funny...to southerners snow is like free disney world falling from the sky..........................get this...if snow is forecast, there is one teacher than i know that will tell her kids to sleep with their pajamas inside out so it will snow...i don't understand the reasoning behind this, but i do understand that it actually worked last week....

so...we get back on wednesday...and the week is shot...so we had to make some snowmen to celebrate...so i gave them the basic pattern...cause i just didn't wanna deal with having 2 inch snowmen and 18 inch snowmen...have u folks that do art with kids ever noticed this...???...if u give some kids a piece of 11x17 paper, they will use only 2 inches of it...and a 2 inch snowman was not going to look good hanging from the ceiling...so i gave them a basic pattern...and they did the rest...also, i just gotta say...i HATE this saying when i hear it...i turn lime green when i hear it...i feel veins popping outta my toes when i hear it...know what it is...?...as soon as i say it teachers reading this are gonna say....YEAH...I KNOW...when these 2 words enter the ears of a teacher they cause rage that cannot be controlled by medication...so what are the words???....they are I'M DONE!...and they are always said by the kid that needs to be not done because when he or she gets done they are an immediate behavior problem and go around and cause confusion all over the room wreaking havoc...and they always say I'M DONE so proudly...aghhh...so anyway........................

the snowmen...here they are...cute...cute...cute...

here we go...drawing our hats...

here they are coming together...

here is my room when this is going on and the principal came in and admired the mess....what the heck else is she gonna do...?



here is _ _ _ _ _ _'_ version of bob marley snowman...how does _ _ _ _ _ _ even know about bob marley?...do i have cool mama and daddy parents or what?

and here is a creative kid's superhero version...even has a cape...lol!

and what about this...???...cracks me up....here is what i see...

so i see these 2 snowmen coming my way with these 2 bffs and i say to them..."what the heck is that?"...and one of the little girls speak up and say u said they were going to be hanging from the ceiling so i decided if mine was going to be hanging from the ceiling it should have wings and fly...so i just about thot that was the coolest thing ever cause i just love little brains thinking and making things that have twisted and pushed the activity to the sky (i would say out of the box but out of the box is so overused it is just not a creative way of saying it and i don't like the saying since everybody else says it)...it makes me just smile inside when kids impress me with their creativity...and they all got it...but they won't all find it...and some that find it won't keep it...cause they won't use it and if u don't use it...u can't grow it...

so here is another cutie...this child wanted to know if she had to have legs like everybody else...i said certainly not....

so this is how it went...we had ice...it looked like snow...so we made snowmen...or i guess i should say "icemen"...

Vanilla Ice, 1990

Ice ice baby vanilla

Ice ice baby (oh-oh) vanilla

Ice ice baby vanilla

Ice ice baby vanilla ice

Yo man let's get out of here

Word to your mother

Ice ice baby too cold

Ice ice baby too cold too cold 

Ice ice baby too cold too cold

Ice ice baby

YouTube Vanilla Ice singing Ice Ice Baby...

happy january 16, 2011!