I added a new page to my blog titled Artwork. This is the beginning of my attempt to add a gallery, I’m still trying to figure out how to add a slide show. I could do it in my old blog but not in this blog. I’ll eventually get it worked out, and in the mean time you can still enjoy my artwork.
Last Wednesday I took down my show that was apart of my Master’s degree. I was satisfied with the opening that was on April 11th, selling a painting and one of my black and white photography. After the opening the guest book showed that people came to the show throughout the remainder of the month which was encouraging to see. I am thankful for everyone at the Gallery who helped me prepare this exhibition which is an important milestone in my graduate experience. I am also thankful for all my friends/family who were able make it to the show. I am now one step closer to getting my degree.
If you are like me, a person with a passion for art and a desire to teach others through art, then you must know how the law NCLB (No Child Left Behind) is threatening our profession. The more important issue is not the educator but the students who will suffer the most from the undesirable consequence of this law, the arts getting cut.
For those of you who have recently seen my presentation at Marywood University, I promised you to make my powerpoint available. Included in this post are my notes for each slide. There may come a time when you are in the position of having an Administrator who is not supportive of the arts.
This presentation is designed to defend the arts place in our schools. Take advantage of the work that I’ve put into this presentation and share it with whoever should see it and with anyone who wants to see it.
The buttons I used when I presented were made by my friend, www.merchbuttons.com
This was a project that I started last summer and completed just before Christmas. They are in chronological-birth order; Maryrose, Tina, Michael, Edward, Kate, Eva, Tommy and myself. These pictures will be frame and apart of my show this April.
This is how I save on postage. Come and see what I’ve been working on during my Master’s degree.
Picture of down town Atlanta
Three weeks ago, Earl heard from Emory University, Candler School of Theology and he’s been accepted! I’m very proud of my husband who will be starting his Graduate degree this fall and I’m excited to be moving south (I’ve had my fill of NY weather). Emory is located in Atlanta Georgia, and I’ll be there sometime in December, as soon as I finish my student teaching in PA.
Both of our computers have become practically unusable. But in my computers defense it’s 7 years old, and I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did. But I am happy to say that today Earl and I purchased a new laptop. It my first laptop and I love it. I can wait to bring it with me to school so I don’t have to use the campus computers.
For my Master’s degree I am required to have a show. I am required to include the pieces that I’ve been working on during the time that I’ve been working on my Master’s. So the show will include artwork that I’m selling as well as the artwork that I need to keep for my Master’s candidacy. This will be a great time for me to show the public my talent outside of my preferred medium, and to show the projects that I’ve been working on outside of school.
The opening of the show will be at Gallery 41 (41 Lake St, Owego) on April 11th, the second Friday in April. My artwork will be up the entire month of April, but the opening will be a lot of fun with appitizers and beverages. The other artists at the Gallery will still have their work up in the front room so their will be plenty to see and possible purchases.
I need to design my invitations and have them sent out to by made by the end of this week and get some more information about the ‘Good Times,’ in our local newspaper. I will keep you updated on the progression and details of the show.
This past semester I observed an art teacher at Maine-Endwell High School. I chose M.E. because I was curious how it had changed in the past seven years-since I was still in High School. It’s definitely different than I remember, smaller of course but that could just be because there are more students now. The school is preparing to undergo some major architectural changes that are needed. I am interested in seeing the new renovations which will not be complete for another couple of years.
I observed Mrs. Smith for three months and managed to get 64 of my 100 hours required. I would have to say that the highlight of this experience was the opportunity that she gave me to do a demonstration for her more advanced classes. The demonstration included making an oil painting of a sitting figure which I was able to do twice. For the first demonstration I painted Mrs. Smith and the second painting was of a student who volunteered. There weren’t a lot of questions asked during the demonstrations but Mrs. Smith later reassured me that they were intently observing, and that is was relaxing to watch me paint.
The painting of Mrs. Smith, I brought home with me on my last day there. I took a picture of her and finished the painting over break, as well as framed it. I intend on returning the painting to Maine-Endwell as a gift. I will post a picture of the painting at a later time.
The student’s at Maine-Endwell are fortunate to have Kellie Smith as well as Diane and Roz for their art eduction.
Last month (November) I had the opportunity to draw my interpretation of a play. It was Fifth Annual Playwrights & Artists Festival in association with Know Theater (http://www.knowtheater.org), where artists of all mediums were invited to choose one of three plays to interpret. I chose the play that’s called The Trilogy and written by Jan Quackenbush. The play takes place at a stonewall in a Vermont, and the two main characters include a newly divorce novelist and a female alien. The play (by my interpretation) had to do with humanity/neighbors and the role of walls in our lives. If I have more time I would have made a painting instead of a drawing, but I only had two weeks to read the plays and draw. So I drew a broken stonewall in a field, and in the foreground a faint shadow of a man standing. I titled it, “Man Made.”
I went to the opening night of this play and enjoyed watching the play and seeing the directors/actors interpretation. After the play there was a Q&A with everyone who was involved in the play which included myself. Not only did I not know this before hand I was definitely unprepared and was hoping to avoid getting any question. Unfortunately the questions began with myself because I was the newest participant. I am definitely not talented when it comes to public speaking but I believe I handled myself well. Earl assured me afterwards that you could hear and understand what I was saying.
Looking back, I was glad I volunteered. It was a unique experience and I gained a different perspective on my artwork. The main charater in the play mention that when he was on stage, he was picturing my drawing as the setting. The author of the play seemed pleased with the drawing by saying that he was relieved to find it exactly how he imagined the setting.
