Last week there was a day I forgot to bring a mask. I had to wear a standard issue one from the stash the school gave me. Ugh! It is crazy how different school is these days with the masks and the social distancing – the integration of the on-line technology and all the paperwork/organization/mayhem. But it hasn’t put a damper on the fun.

My students are happy to be back in school. I only actually have classes twice a week and students are there one day and at home the other day. My colleague and instagram photographer, Katy, and I, have been working together to recreate our art courses to align with the new safety protocols and to allow students to access the courses on-line. No clay, paint or collage work this year – the focus is more on formal principals of art, illustration and design.

We purchased sketchbooks for everyone, as well as dry media including markers and colored pencils. We are still working with the local Lions Club (awesome!) to create peace posters for their international contest. Some of my students may become professional artists by the end of the month.

I know I haven’t blogged much since the onset of these “Covid-19 months”. I plan to improve my on-line store on this site – I’ve upgraded the website to the bells and whistles one, but I haven’t really gotten around to uploading more than a few bracelets for sale. I have a new email address – artist@karentash.com. And I did go to a museum today. I’ll be writing a couple of blog posts about that soon.

I’m happy to be back to school too. I love fashion sooo much – love getting dressed to go someplace. I’m having fun incorporating the mask into the mix – the ones from Kes are phenomenal because I can wear them around the neck during mask breaks. My other favorite ones are by Jonathan Simkhai and, yes, my own, available on www.redbubble.com.

Oh, and, of course, I am a blonde now so I look a lot different than I did in March.

Change is good. <3