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.

Creatures: Great and Small...the first class of the new year!  The class started with the blue dog paintings, just to get working again.  The students then chose an animal they would study and work on the next few weeks.  The pictures below show the Blue dog paintings, animal collage, and the working with clay.    A big THANK YOU to Bill Nybo for helping us with the clay animals.  I am not sure they would have gotten done without you!  The final week the students created their own animal creations.  Some took characteristics from other animals and combined them.  Other students created their version of fictional animals. They used oil pastels to create these drawings.

Here are the final pictures for 2013.  It has been great year.  I am loving my job and enjoying being in a new place.  I feel very fortunate!  The kids worked very hard in the printmaking class.  We did a variety of prints (relief with safety-cut, relief with foam, and intaglio with a plexiglass plate).  One project we did was a postage stamp for the upcoming 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.  Each student chose a winter sport and then created a stamp.  In the images you will also see the relief print created with foam sheets and matte board.  The student took one characteristic from three different animals and created a single critter.   This is the first time I have taught kids how to print intaglio plates on an actual press.  They did a great job!  They designed holiday cards.  They impressed me with their plate wiping abilities.  It is not an easy process to learn. I am sorry they are not in the order I have talked about them.  The first images are the intaglio Christmas Cards, second are the Olympic postage stamps, third are the Critters and the final prints are the students' choice prints. (The blue drawing is what I found on my white board.  It was a drawing done by a student to show the manger scene)

The second set of photos are projects I have been teaching in the schools.  I am teaching the Elements of Art (Line, Shape, Color, Space, Form, Value, and Texture) to Kindergarten through 4th Grade.  The first project is based on the drawings of Eric Carle.  The fourth graders have to find real texture and do rubbings.  They then create animals from those different rubbings.  The next drawings are 3rd grade self-portrait.  They are working on showing space.  The colored lines are the Kindergarteners example of Paul Klee's lines.  The night trees are the second graders work with shades, tints, and colors.  The final watercolors are another project by the third graders showing space. 

I hope you enjoy the pictures.   Happy New Year!

I am having a hard time believing Christmas break is just around the corner.  I am sorry I have been slacking when comes to the posting of projects.  Don't worry we have all been working very hard.  I love the school I currently teach.  The students and teachers are very excited and energetic about art.  It makes my job so much fun!  Currently in Arts After School we are working on printmaking.  (Photos to come)  These photos below document our Painting through History (Arts After School) class.  It was four weeks.  The students painted with watercolor, tempera, and acrylic.  The Picasso Faces and the hot air balloons were their favorite projects. The students and I were very proud of the paintings.  It was a fun group of kids.  Enjoy!

I can't believe I am at the end of another session of Arts After School.  I am also finishing my first school.  I move to my 2nd school on Wednesday.  Where have those two months gone?!   The pictures below are from Arts After School (AAS)--Drawing.  The students worked on large individual drawings.  The first ones they needed texture and the second drawing they had to pick one object, make it large and add color.  The next week we worked on large collaborative drawings in groups of three or four.    The last pictures are of Friday when they had to show the class and talk about their large drawings.  I think they had fun!

It has been a busy week at the Art Center.  We are in our 2nd week of Arts After School--Drawing.  The first picture is a warm-up exercise I like to call Lines and Dots.  The lines and dots drawn in black are the ones I draw on the board.  The students copy them and then have 3 minutes to create.  It is very interesting watching the students create such different images and most of the time they are things I would never thought of.  The green drawings were a student's interpretation of the lines and dots for that day.  The kids seem to really like this warm-up we do four 3 minutes drawings.  It is a great focusing activity as you can see from the pictures.

The drawings are things I have found around the classroom.  One is a student's sketchbook.  We start with these everyday.  We draw in silence for 5 minutes to start our day.  The students can draw whatever they want.  They write stories or draw creatures/characters.   

Week one of drawing we started with animals.  I think I have mentioned before, my student's love to draw on the white board, so I used this as a teaching tool.  The student's had to teach the class how to draw an animal.  We had birds, a cat, dog, sharks, and then creatures with animal features.  It was fun.  I got to draw with the class.  I believe it is important for students to see their teachers participating and working along side them.

The last drawing/painting this week was a one-point perspective drawing.  It was a very interesting project for me to observe my students’ thought process.  My students range from 3rd grade to 6th grade.  If you look at the paintings some still see buildings as being flat and others were starting to explore creating

3-dimensional buildings on a 2-dimensional surface.    This is a highlight of my job.  I love seeing the light bulb go off, whether it be in a physical reaction (like a smile or wanting to show me) or seeing it in the artwork itself.

We finished Arts After School--Sculpture with Paper Mache creatures.  Here are the results.  I think they are wonderful and I am very proud of my students. 

With my change in jobs I have restored my ability to travel and spend time with friends and family.  Before I started in Jamestown I spent time at the farm working outside and visiting family.  It was a great way for me to prepare for the Jamestown move.  This past weekend I traveled back up north.  I went to Grand Forks, stopping first in Park River to see some very important individuals.  It was a perfect fall day for a horseback ride checking the cows.  I think the horses had fun too.

After Park River I made my way to Grand Forks.  I got there in time to surprise Lisa York (www.lisayorkarts.com) at her opening of her ceramics show at Muddy Waters Clay Center (www.muddywatersclay.org).  It was  great night with friends.

One last stop before going back to Jamestown...Matt & Heather's farm.  Matt is another grad school friend who recently became the newest staff member at the North Dakota Museum of Art.  There is lot of change happening in the art world of North Dakota:)  Matt and Heather just bought a house in the country.  Heather and the girls are busy at home with the gardens and the animals (chickens, cats, and of course Myles the dog).    Heather is also very busy creating different types of soap for her business, Dakota Soap Works.  If you are looking for wonderful soap, check Heather's website (www.dakotasoapworks.com)

My weekend ended with a car ride through the middle of North Dakota.  It is still strange for me to be the one leaving and journeying back to south central ND.  It was a beautiful day for a drive!

This past weekend I spent time with some grad school friends in Minot, ND.  You need to remember I am from Northeast ND.  I can count on one hand the trips I have made to Minot.  My route included taking interstate 94 to Bismarck and then North on ND Hwy 83.  I have never been on Hwy 83 North.  I really enjoyed it.   It was a different landscape for me and the oil has changed it even more so.  On the eastern side of the state we aren't seeing the effects like the western side of the state.  Traffic is...well...there is traffic and traffic jams, you can't find a house to rent or  buy in a reasonable price range, and get ready to wait in line any where you go. If you are looking to start a business you should consider a Starbucks in Minot.  We waited for our coffee for over an hour and the drive-thru had cars around the block.

I got to experience Notstock for the first time.  It is a week long event, in which the university brings artist of all kinds to Minot, ND.  The main event are the printmakers.   This year the featured printers were a group of three that call themselves "Adventures in Design" and Jessica Christy.  Adventures in Design also did a live podcast.  (You will be able to find it on itunes lat Most of the photos are from the closing reception on Saturday night.  The show in the gallery were silk screen prints done by Jessica Christy and Adventures in Design.  Then event was held at the Gallery 62 Doors in downtown Minot.  This gallery is an artist coop.  It had a gallery space, artist studios, and a community room.  It was great excuse to go see old friends in their new spaces.