Flowers

Here is a sampling of the finished products from my Francoise Gilot- inspired still life drawing project. Gilot passed away this year – she was 101. I am in awe of her talent as an artist. She was mother to two of Pablo Picasso’s children and later married Dr. Jonas Salk.

Her floral paintings are a combo of real and abstract, which is a perfect fit for my Art-8 students. Some could simplify their imagery and others could go more realistic depending on talent and interest levels.

I gave them a step-by-step instruction “manual” and the majority of students welcomed that.

At the beginning of the school year, I brought in six aloe vera plants and added fake flowers and peacock feathers to them to create the arrangements. I had a variety of tablecloths to choose from for added visual texture. All of my planters are from Lowes. In fact, the aloe started out as two tiny plants I found on the clearance rack for $1.00 each two years ago and I only recently transplanted them.

I am very pleased with the results! Students used Prismacolor colored pencils on Canton paper. The artwork is currently displayed on the wall across from my classroom at Chittenango Middle School.

Lions Den

My Studio in Art 8th graders created these illustrations for the annual Lions Club Peace Poster contest. The theme this year is “Dare to Dream”. I added a component – lions. I wanted lions somewhere in the posters. And I got lions. Beautiful lions! I am amazed at the quality of this artwork. This represents six or seven weeks of work from idea to rendering, to colored pencil application.

Posters will be on display at the Sullivan Library Community Room, Chittenango, New York during November and December 2023. The winning entry will move on to the Regional competition, followed by a State contest and the chance to win the $5,000 International prize.

Can you guess which poster is our winner?

Central Perk Halloween

Yes, Dad, believe it or not. I am pretending to be a waitress today. You can call me Rachel.

I’m actually kind of loving this apron. It is so handy. Today it’s filled with Central Perk straws, napkins and an order pad, but I could easily shove art supplies into it.

I love when an accessory can turn clothes I already own into a Halloween costume for work. (Banana Republic T-shirt, Trina Turk skirt, Rebecca Minkoff boots, Via Spiga tights)

I also love sharing the experience with my colleague, Mrs. C. So fun!

#artteachers #twinning #thetworachels #centralperk #friends

Happy Halloween!

One Dollar’s Worth

Found this seventy cent spill at the bank this morning! Lucky-lucky! I also received a $20 bill with 777 in the serial number and saw a license plate with 777 on it. Nothing else needs to happen to make this rainy day any more amazing, but I will welcome more amazing things/experiences with open arms. Thank you, universe! I am up to $3.62 in found money for 2023!

Bears Craft Lions

My Studio in Art students spent three days drawing lions in anticipation of the annual Lions Club peace poster contest. They will be incorporating lions in their posters, which they will begin working on next week.

These lions are pencil only on 8″ x 8″ white tagboard. Students are 8th graders at Chittenango Middle School, Chittenango, New York.

ISO Fish Fry – Red Robin

Mom was in the mood for a hamburger, so we decided to head to Red Robin for lunch. I noticed they had fish on the menu. Cod, not haddock.

Presentation – The fish fry came with steak fries and coleslaw. A knife stabbed into the brioche roll helped to create one of the best presentations of all of my ISO Fish Fry hunts. Doesn’t it look amazing?

Taste – I enjoyed the meal. The sandwich was filled with breaded and fried cod, lettuce, tomato, pickles and tartar sauce. The coleslaw tasted a bit cabbage-y, but good.

The fries were over-seasoned – very salty. We mentioned this to the waitress when she asked how everything was, but not in a complaining way, as we were eating them. She said she could bring us another serving of fries without salt, as they were “bottomless”, which I took to mean you could have an unlimited amount of fries for free? Not sure, but we did get the extra fries, most of which I am saving for tomorrow. They tasted great! I especially loved the non-salted ones because they reminded me of fries Dad would make for us when we were little. Yum!

Restaurant Experience – This restaurant is filled with ambient lighting, fun sports-related artwork on the walls and gorgeous color (mostly red) upholstery. The hostess and waitresses were so pleasant! It is a great place to have lunch. It wasn’t crowded – they have a lot of seating and customers were spread out throughout the space.

Location – This Red Robin is located at 610 Towne Drive, Fayetteville, New York 13066. It is a Bonefish Grill-adjacent building in the Towne Center Plaza. Connect to their web-site for hours of operation and to view the menu.

Parking – There are plenty of spaces in the parking lot, spots very close to the building and additionally, parking for curbside pickup and handicapped spots. Very convenient!

Classroom & the Still-Life

My classroom looks so pretty! I put up posters and created six still-lifes: potted aloe vera plants with silk flowers, peacock feathers and American flags sitting on fabric and patterned paper placemats.

I am planning to do a Francoise Gilot inspired lesson with my Art-8 students. I’m thinking colored pencil on Canton paper.

It all starts today at 7:33 AM.