I dressed for comfort last week. Separates featuring leather and T-shirts. Four classes finished a clay project, two are using colored pencil and two are painting. I found my denim apron in the big cupboard by my desk while looking for something else. Yessssssss – because things are about to start getting messy.
Most of the boxes on the back counter are filled with the new glazes I’d ordered. Many of the items I purchased for this year are on back order though. I can’t remember what I have planned for tomorrow, lol. When I planned ahead, like, you know, in August, it was with the notion that the supplies would be available – but no biggie. It will all work itself out.
P.S. My clothes reflect the art – Sugar Skulls are a theme. Also: Butterflies. <3
There is still time to visit the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York. The Keith Haring exhibit will be on display until October 11, 2021. Meanwhile, on the walls of Chittenango Middle School, my students’ artwork is currently on display. It took a lot of heavy-duty stickies to get them to stay up – the tile was not particularly cooperative.
So, I was trying out a thing – theme weeks for my work attire. Last week it was black. This week I wore silk every day. Themes are challenging because they limit what you can and cannot wear. This can be a good thing when you have so many clothes in your closet that it makes you focus only on a few key items. And on the flip side, the limitations are frustrating because sometimes you just want to reach for a cotton T–shirt or whatever. I know that when they tell us we are having a jeans day on a Friday – I don’t always feel like wearing jeans.
It really all depends on the weather. And with teaching art, it also depends on what materials we are using – how messy they are. It was very warm in the classroom. I had several moments of overheating, which looked like a menopausal freak show, but was really just a lot of people in a room with no air conditioning wearing masks that make your face sweat and then whoooosh – your whole body, lol. It was happening to the thirteen-year-old boys and girls too.
Wearing silk helped with that. Thank you, Rachel Zoe for your beautiful light weight creations. I cut off the off-shoulder top’s sleeves on the embroidered silk/cotton top (above) and tried it as a layered tube top thingy, which I loved.
#kesnyc #tashkovski #ullajohnson #bcbgmaxazria
A thank you also goes out to Ulla Johnson for this magnificent lightweight slip and dress combo, all silk, that I wore for the first time backwards. When I bought the dress, it was featured as a high neck tunic with a bow at the back of the neck, but I wore it with the bow in front as more of a V-neck and loved it. The other way, the neckline sort of flopped in a funny way, like it was too big and so, this dress had been relegated to the back of my closet. Now you may see it in a heavier rotation.
I know it isn’t as flattering to go with the moo-moo look, as my colleague Katy calls it, but we both love the comfort of dresses like this for work. The dress isn’t particularly editorial but in real life, it is really beautiful with a delicate embroidery throughout the sheer fabric.
I completed silk week with this Halston one-shouldered top that I wore with an Allsaints T-shirt underneath. I paid full price when I bought this top from Neiman Marcus. It has this fabulous drape that I love so muchy-much. I am wearing it in my Facebook profile picture. It’s one of my favorite pieces!
Because I blog my outfits, I feel like I need to wear everything in my closet and have something different on all the time, like the characters do on the new incarnation of Dynasty on the CW. And I guess that has to be fine with me. Clothes are an obsession. Clothes? Fashion, really, and knowing my own style. I will spend every penny on my wardrobe. Eating and paying bills – that stuff is overrated, lol. #whatwillshewearnext? <3
This is the state of my classroom. Last year, the teachers traveled from room to room instead of the students moving about the building. We are somewhat back to normal this year. It’s good to be back.
So far, I checked in some supplies and pulled a bunch of posters out of the back room. I’m in the process of creating new lessons and deciding which classes will do which lessons.
School starts for students on September 7th.
I have a lot of work to do and there is no air conditioning in the classroom. Other challenges will include the social distancing stuff and the masks. I’ll try to find a way to make it fun.
Keith Haring – Radiant Vision is a must-see. It is a complete immersion into the history and legacy of artist Keith Haring (1958-1990). The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York did a phenomenal job presenting this traveling exhibition of artwork from the Cassenelli Preston Collection organized by PAN Art Connections, Inc.
Haring was an advocate for healthcare, happiness and children. His work lives on courtesy of The Keith Haring Foundation. If you have never heard of him, you will have seen his imagery in magazines, on billboards and in coloring books.
This is a life history of an artist’s trajectory, tragically shortened by an Aids related death. His career spanned only ten years but it left an indelible mark. The exhibition resonates with emotion. It is incredibly beautiful and powerful.
There is a participation section, as well as an activity book for children to enjoy. Merchandise in the gift shop includes a Haring diary, which I will read this summer.
The exhibition continues through September 6, 2021.
The Public Has a Right to Art: Keith Haring’s Art & Activism Tuesday, July 27, 7:00–8:00pm EST A live Zoom lecture about Keith Haring’s art and activism, led by Dr. Leesa Rittelmann. More info…
Keith Haring 3-Day ‘Funshop’ for Kids (ages 6-8) Mon-Wed, July 19-21, 9:30–11:30am Young artists will explore the colorful and expressive art of Keith Haring. More info…
Keith Haring 3-Day Illustration Workshop for Kids (ages 9-12) Mon-Wed, July 19-21, 1:30–4:00pm A series of projects inspired by the bold, expressive artwork of Keith Haring and the artists and illustrators who inspired him. More info…
Here are some of the celebrity portraits my 8th grade Studio in Art students (from Chittenango Middle School) finished back in March. I didn’t display them because I was saving them for the school fair, which never happened.
I allow students to pick almost anyone – meaning anyone “appropriate”, and this year you will see a variety from sports, performing arts, the art world and social media (and one grand-dad). Two Steve Harveys, lol. He wins as most popular this time.
I seem to get more work done if I am dressed – that is, out of pajamas and into real clothes, as though I am actually going somewhere. Today after an amazing hike at Green Lakes and some sunbathing on my deck (what a beautiful day!), I bathed and donned my Equipment leather dress then set out to organize paperwork for my Schoology platform.
I also scheduled some Zoom meetings and emailed students about them and about other stuff. It wasn’t technically supposed to be a workday, but I like to have things ready – email on Sunday nights so that students can work on their artwork on Wednesdays and Fridays.
It is a weird new normal.
Saks Fifth Avenue cashmere beanie, Theory cashmere sweater, Free People leather skirt, Joie boots
The Erie Canal Museum (318 Erie Blvd. East, Syracuse, New York 13202) is host to a ceramics exhibition, one installed in February 2020. The museum is currently closed due to the world-wide health crisis – that makes interacting with the clay vessels (created as site-specific art) nearly impossible.
photo cred – Jocelyn Reynolds
This is an irony because the idea behind the work envelopes the scope of human life, as it interacts with the forces of nature, the forces of water and the history of the man-made canal. The humans in question are every socio-economic level of local and regional society. All races of people who, in some way, have interacted with, associated with or had some understanding of what the Erie Canal has meant in our history, as well as those who have no idea but in fact, have been, inadvertently, affected by the legendary waterway.
photo cred – Shane Lavelette
Artist Linda Zhang was the 2017-2018 Boghosian Fellow in the School of Architecture at Syracuse University. She came to Syracuse from Europe and knowing no one, she spent time meditating (think deep thought) on designing the curriculum for this relatively new fellowship. She proceeded to think about and create strategies for the design of her position, ideas that would ultimately catapult her educational journey to include making art and teaching electives at the college, which led to philosophical-infused artwork and the idea of making meaning in terms of one’s personal vortex. This path included an interdisciplinary union with Errol Willet, Associate Professor of Art (ceramics) and Biko Mandela Gray, Assistant Professor of American Religion.
graphic design – Im Burrow
Although Zhang is currently a professor at Ryerson University in Toronto, The Story of Water pairs the artist with her SU educational cohorts. The clay vessels in this exhibition were slip cast and formatted utilizing water from the canal. There is a transformation – water crafts and the art is manipulated to create a phenomenological transcendence – art as symbolism.
Taking an idea and moving it through time, so that the result is present while encompassing a larger whole – this is incredibly interesting on so many levels. Fortunately for all, nothing is truly impossible. This exhibition can be viewed remotely. Zhang will be offering a lecture on her process via an on-line Zoom meeting. This event takes place on Saturday, April 18, 2020 at 1:00 PM. Click on the link above to join the party or check out the same link by way of the event’s Facebook page.
The event is free, however; donations to the museum are welcome. <3
*from the Erie Canal Museum web-site
Weighlock Gallery
February 3-April 16, 2020:The Story of Water: The Erie Canal as a Site of Untold Stories
“The Story of Water” is a collaborative project between Linda Zhang, Assistant Professor of Architecture at Ryerson University, and Biko Gray, Assistant Professor of Religion at Syracuse University. This exhibit features clay vessels based on 3-D drone scans of Erie Canal structures, transformed by the introduction of Canal water before the firing process. The resulting clay models symbolize the transformative effects, positive and negative, that the Erie Canal had on the lives of those who built it, used it, and lived near it.
Join artist Linda Zhang and Syracuse University Professor Biko Gray at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 18 for a live, online talk about ‘The Story of Water,” an exhibit of abstract art that is at the Erie Canal Museum. It will be hosted on the Zoom meeting app. Click on this link to register and you will receive an email confirmation: .https://ryerson.zoom.us/meeting/register/u50vcuGsqTwsjUGXxhFl1-DgYZPFHN2lzA.
Zhang will discuss the artwork, her creative process, and what inspired her and collaborator Biko Gray to develop this exhibit. “The Story of Water” features clay vessels based on 3-D drone scans of Erie Canal structures in Central New York. The artist introduced Canal water to the pieces before the firing process, creating models that symbolize the transformative character of water and the Erie Canal.
The Museum is currently closed to the public to protect visitors, volunteers, and staff from Covid-19. We’re working diligently to serve you by offering programs by alternative means, and greatly appreciate your help. You can make a donation to the Museum through the link in the “Get Tickets” box below,
We look forward to seeing you on April 18 for this thought-provoking talk!
I am loving this project. Here is another amazing art activity that brings a community together. We are Chittenango! We are Bears. #BearCountryStrong
I would love to see these saturating social media. Show me your paw. Make it using this template with markers, crayons, colored pencil or make it sculptural, with rocks, sea shells, buttons, or create a multi-media collage using magazine images, ink stamps or even thread.
We may be social distancing, isolating, but we can stand together artistically. How totally cool!!!!! <3
