A few of you out there have asked me...are you printing?!  The Jamestown Art Center has been a great place for me.  I love teaching kid and adult classes.  But it's one down fall is that the press is a bit small.  And if you know anything about my prints or paintings...I like to work BIG!

Part of the reason I chose printmaking in graduate school was because I knew once I was out of school finding presses of that size would be difficult, so I took advantage of my surrounds while I was at UND.

I am finally feeling a bit more settled in my new adventure--Jamestown.  I found my paints and book making supply box.  And just in time...this month my after school students are creating books of all kinds.  I have been creating a book example everyday.  It has been a great creative exercise for me.  Along with making books I have found my watercolors.  The above watercolor painting is one I created.  I know, I know...it doesn't really look like my work, but it is mine.  This is a project that I teach to my third grade students on space and perspective. 

The painting above was my "no white paper!"  My students know this phrase because when  they are nervous or haven't been pushed to cover the whole page I help them become more comfortable by using different sizes of paper, mediums, and often saying "NO WHITE PAPER!"  I needed that same push!  It has been a few years since I have created a whole body of work...with this painting I have started my newest series.  I am creating every project I ask my students in school to create using the same mediums but on a larger scale.  All of the projects are based on the elements of art (line, shape, color, space, texture, form,  & value).  I am excited to see where these projects lead both in my teaching and artwork.

This class started with the color wheel.  The sun project worked with warm and cool colors.  The blue night paintings are the study of tints (any color plus white) and shades (any color plus black).  The next project the students chose their subjects and media (paint or oil pastels).  The students then had a choice of six color theories (warm colors, cool colors, Tints & Shades with any color, or a set of complementary colors (red/green, yellow/purple, blue/orange).  Our last project for this class was a group painting.  Each student had a piece of the painting. They made a grid on both their image and their paper.  They mapped the image out on the paper and then painted it.  The last day we put all the images together.    I wasn't sure we were going to get the painting done.  The students did a great job.