Karen Tashkovski is an artist and teacher from Syracuse, NY. She is a graduate of Syracuse University (BFA-Fashion Design & Studio Arts, MS-Art Education)
I invent all of my own lessons. This is one of my favorites! They are so pretty – I love them. I did the project with my 9th period A day class.
Materials:
Illustration board
Metallic acrylic paint
Fine and extra fine Sharpies
Prismacolor colored pencils
Origami paper
Instructions:
Trace the fan stencil to the center of the illustration board
Choose a metallic paint color and paint the background using a flat brush.
Select three or more resource pictures from the Japanese file – these are 18th century woodblock prints, drawings and paintings (of landscapes, portraits, still-lifes) AND contemporary artworks from Takashi Murakami and other artists. Use Scholastic Art magazines, Dover books, old calendars, etc.)
Draw a composition using a mash-up technique to create a new work of art that looks seamless.
Outline with Sharpie markers using thick and thin lines.
Color with colored pencils.
Add a piece of origami paper to the bottom of the fan. Use a glue stick to attach it.
The V-neck cashmere sweater paired with a leather skirt is a marriage made in fashion heaven! Worn with a bootie and one of my handmade bracelets, this look was my uniform last week. It was a theme I will revisit again and again. <3
Students are working on papier-mache sculptures (donuts, owls) and colored pencil drawings. The Studio in Art students just finished glazing their clay projects and now they are about to do still life paintings with acrylics. We are having a lot of fun making art!
Scenic Root is my new favorite restaurant. I loved everything about it. The ambiance, the food, the people and of course, the people I dined with, as I had invited them to join me for my annual Friendsgiving dinner party.
Presentation – I ordered the special, which was broiled haddock, asparagus and wild rice. I was able to substitute the rice for french fries. I was drinking champagne and I never drink alcohol (well, obviously, VERY rarely to never). The fries helped as “sogging” to use Graham Norton’s Irish friend’s phrase about food consumption as it relates to spirits.
They brought ketchup for the fries, and salt and pepper to the table in case I needed it – I didn’t ask for them so I delighted in that anticipatory set. It all looked amazing. My friends had calamari, the eggplant, a salad, shrimp tacos and I can’t remember the rest. Scenic Root has a great menu.
Taste – I ate everything and when the singularity of vision dissipated, I noticed that everyone else in my dinner party had eaten only half their meals and packed them up for a second portion for later. In my defense, it was soooo delicious. Fish was fresh – watery, buttery, lemony goodness. The fries were not at all greasy.
Restaurant Experience – This was my first time at Scenic Root. My work colleague suggested it as a place to hold my Friendsgiving event this year. Friendsgiving is always the Friday before Thanksgiving. I have been doing this for several years. Last year, Friendsgiving was a party of two because only one person wasn’t afraid to go out to dinner with me during what was the 8th month of the pandemic. Previous years’ Friendsgivings had gotten really out of control with friends of friends showing up. Searching for a venue that can offer space for that many people without taking a deposit is the stuff of nightmares, especially for a person (me) who doesn’t even eat that much/is lazy when it comes to planning anything or doing anything that requires responsibility. I decided to downsize this year – twenty became twelve and finally, there were eight of us and it was totally blissful.
The bar area is tight and so, we did not linger there as I had planned. We arrived a half hour before the table was reserved and luckily, within fifteen minutes it was ready. The staff at Scenic Root is amazing – so helpful, kind and enthusiastic about our event. All of the food came out at the same time even though everyone ordered something different. There were no complaints. Just gratitude and thanks in abundance. I love my friends.
Location – Scenic Root is next to the swan pond in Manlius, NY. It is located at 301 Fayette Street, Manlius, NY 13104. They are open Tuesday through Saturday from 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Call (315) 682-3000 for reservations.
Parking – The parking lot is rather small because it is shared with other businesses in a small plaza. However, there is more parking across the street and also next door because there is a huge parking lot on Arkie Albanese by the other plaza, the library and the ice cream stand. Manlius rocks!
Oh, and P.S., I can always manifest a parking space. It’s all about timing and expectation. There was exactly one space available when I pulled in to park (yes!!!).
#bcbgmaxazria romper #ragandbone boots
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the universe for supporting me and guiding me on the journey to everything I desire in this life. I am grateful for this wonderful restaurant and for my amazing friendships. Thank you, Katy, Meghan, Penny, Jimmy, Bob, Marie and Kim. <3
I wore turtlenecks this week. I have four and there were four days of school, but I didn’t feel like wearing one on Friday. Sticking to a theme is the plan but plans don’t always seem to go as planned.
I’m in the process of planning an event and I spent half the day crying because it doesn’t feel like things will work out. Things are always working out, lol, but not necessarily the way you want them to work out. I’m waiting for the universe to surprise and delight me. I mean, I am allowing the universe to do that because I know how it works – no buts about it. I’ll stop crying now. Thanks, Bobbi. <3 🙂
I did a maxi skirt thing this week. Love a long dress as daywear. So fun! Today was the end of the marking period. First ten weeks under our belts. Clay projects all done for the semester and now we are on to drawings and papier-mache sculptures. Time to get messy….
3rd place – Chittenango Lions Club Peace Poster contest 2021 – “We Are All Connected”
My 8th grade accelerated Studio in Art students completed an intense nine weeks of creating these peace posters for the Chittenango Lions Club. The Lions sponsor an international peace poster competition for middle school aged children with a grand prize of $5,000.
It is an illustration lesson/editorial design project with some limitations – no words or characters of any kind, no trademarked items or advertisements. We used 16″ x 20″ white tagboard and Prismacolor colored pencils. The Lions Club generously donated enough sets so that my students could each have their own 48 color set. Thirty-eight students competed this year.
Students spent additional hours on these posters at home on the weekends to complete them in time for the contest deadline. The winning poster will go on to the regional competition and possibly the state one as well. The theme for this year is “We Are All Connected”. Now that we are all back in school full-time, this sentiment is truly apropos. <3
2nd place – Chittenango Lions Club Peace Poster contest 2021- “We Are All Connected”1st place – Chittenango Lions Club Peace Poster contest 2021 – “We Are All Connected”
My Art-8 students created these fabulous Sugar Skulls. They came out of the kiln yesterday just in time for a Day of the Dead celebration. We used the slab technique over a plastic head mold. They added and subtracted clay. I helped them remove the sculpture from the form replacing it with paper towels, slashed the cheekbones to create the skeleton shape and added holes to weave a wire through them.
Projects were bisque fired then glazed with these great confetti style glazes. Now they can hang on a wall to be enjoyed for many years to come! <3
I was a devil and an angel for Halloween this year. Here are the pictures along with others from Halloween past. Costumes are the best – it is so much fun, so creative. It should be a once a month thing instead of once a year. <3
I wore jeans all week – my Joe’s Jeans leather pants and several pairs of 7 for All Mankind jeans. I have to say it was my most comfortable week. The challenge was to do Halloween looks with the clothing in my closet. And hats. It started with the striped top and beret because Monday was Pablo Picasso’s birthday. What followed was a Michael Nesmith (Monkees) look, a Justin Bieber thing (you HAVE to watch his latest documentary on Amazon Prime!) and a Parisian, culminating in the angel outfit with my new wings purchased on Amazon (second Amazon plug – you’re welcome, neighbor).
