Fairytales and Art

So- inspired by one of my favorite artists James Christensen (whose daughter is a fellow teacher and I just idolize her because she's amazing), I've decided that I want to paint a "Fairytale Series"... we'll see how far this actually gets but I decided to keep you all updated on the process. The first step was to collect 'scraps'.

Scraps: a collection of images, fabrics, color schemes and composition examples that an artist will combine in order to create a work of art.

And on my search for images I found these:

I'm sorry but I almost laughed out loud (which would have been awkward as my students were all taking a test)... Now I'm sure we all had wigs for Halloween costumes but I'm also sure that none of us looked this silly. Lets dress kids as kids and adults as adults shall we?

Anyway.... artists are usually A.D.D. (I'm not, it's just my work for liking to do lots of things) and can't just do one part of a project at a time, so I took a break from scrap searching and I started to demolish one of my paintings by sanding it. I hated the painting, didn't feel inclined to EVER finish it and the supports are expensive.

Supports: what a painter or artist works on, the surface of a painting, drawing, etc. Canvas, Masonite Board, Paper, etc.

So- anyway. It was a reproduction of this painting.


I brought it out and started to sand and MY STUDENTS FLIPPED! It was so funny! They were saying things like "Oh my gosh! She's sanding over the face!" "What are you doing?!" "Why are you doing that Mrs. Johnson?"

I just laughed and said it was awful and I didn't like it and that I didn't want to have to buy another canvas because they're expensive... ok so it wasn't canvas- it was framed masonite board covered with linen, rabbitskin glue and homemade gesso- Leonardo Da Vinci style... all very expensive stuff.... but they wouldn't have know what the heck I was talking about so for all intensive purposes it was a canvas... I did explain it further to my students who really seemed interested bnut anyway.... They tried to argue with me saying that it was a good painting and that I shouldn't ruin it. FUNNY.

So, the process is going very slow. I started to sand it down because I wanted to try painting in Acrylics (polymer based paint)... geesh, I feel like Elle Woods "Isn't it the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you are forbidded to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the ammonium thioglycolate?"... anywho, you can't paint acrylics on top of an oil painting because oil paintings never really dry, the paint is constantly moving on a molecular level....but then sanding was too much work, so instead of painting over the whole thing with acrylic gesso I decided to bag that idea and coat it with a Titanium White layer of oil paint... this layer provides an even base for painters. The problem with that idea is that in order to create an opaque, not transparent, layer you must do several layers of paint that has been thinnned with liquin... (liquin is what thins out oil paint and allows it to dry more quickly)

So that's where I'm at. I've collected most of my scraps and as I wait for my second layer of paint to dry I'm going to do several sketches of color experiments... trying different color combinations out to see what would look the best. I'm sure this is all very interesting to you :) thought it'd be fun for you to see the artist process :)

PS- no word on the house yet - In the words of my amazing husband...."FREAKIN A"

GROW UP

So-
I was listening to KSL this morning and they said there are going to be several protests in LA and on Temple Square today about Proposition 8. They think that because the Mormon Church spoke out for Prop 8 that this issue should be taken to them. Lets think about this in another way for just a second. Lets pretend that I'm a Vegan. I STRONGLY believe that eating meat is morally wrong right? Lets take it a step further- I'm Hindu- I cannot eat beef because I believe the cow is a sacred animal. Now. Maybe there are those of you who like to eat beef. Maybe you eat beef daily. However, maybe eating beef has only recently become legal in India (keep in mind, this is only a comparison). Then lets pretend that I get to vote that beef should once again become illegal. Now, if my religious philosophies are such that my conviction that a person should not eat beef is so strong that I feel that I should SUGGEST to other people in India that they vote with me instead of the beef eaters where is the problem with that? I did not force anyone to vote with me. I merely voiced my opinion. And if it's a strong belief that I hold OF COURSE I'm going to spend money to get my voice heard. Lets say it passed. Did I alone get the government to change that law? NO! There had to be MANY MANY MANY MANY people to agree with my beliefs, the majority of the people in India if you will. So, doesn't it seem absurd that all of the beef eaters would come and stand on my lawn until I apologized for standing up for what I believe in. Doesn't it seem absurd that they petition to get me to change my beliefs... something that I believe comes from GOD who is more responsible for my life than one or many people? Shouldn't the "beef eaters" be petitioning to get the law changed? Shouldn't they be knocking on the door of every voter? If they were really that passionate about eating beef couldn't they move to a country where eating beef was legal? Shouldn't they be petitioning the GOVERNMENT, the people WHO MAKE LAWS?

Obviously I realize that gay rights are not the same thing as eating beef. BUT if a church or even a group of people have a conviction that something is morally wrong, they are going to fight to keep it illegal, just as those who want it legal are going to fight to make it legal. However, lets be adults. Lets us agree to disagree. We are not going to change each other's views- that is obvious. Let us simply voice our opinion and let the people of this country decide. Then when they do- let us be adults about the decision. Let us be kind to each other. Let us be neighborly. Let us respect each other. If proposition 8 had not passed I would, as a strong conservative, have been disappointed. I would not go stand on my neighbor's lawn holding signs about how evil they were. This is not being a good Christian or even a good American. America was set up to be the land of the free, where we each may have our own thoughts and beliefs. However, there are laws here to. Laws that were set up to maintain peace in society. If I believed murder was ok it doesn't mean that I can go out and commit murder. That is not the definition of a free country. We are free to speak our minds. We are privileged to live in a country where we pretty much can live how we choose so long as it doesn't effect someone else in a negative way. We are free to be neighborly to those who do not share our views. That doesn't mean that we have to agree. If I wanted a different outcome, I would try again by petitioning the Government. Not by whining about the outcome. One news article stated that "It all came down to a difference of about 504,500 votes."That's still a half a million people who believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. The news tries to downplay that by saying it's only 3% of the population. That's A HALF A MILLION PEOPLE! There were only 102 passengers aboard the Mayflower. 102. And yet they started a country. I say lets share some of that tolerance that people keep shouting for. The Mormon church is not the only one who urged its members to vote yes. Yet, for some reason, they're getting all of the attention. If prop 8 hadn't passed I would be petitioning the government, not my neighbor, not the gay rights activists, not LGBT... the government. Anyway. I'm frustrated with people right now. I am also frustrated with people I know to be church members who are unkind to those who do believe that gay marriage should be passed. Again- I say to even people who share my conservative views, grow up and be kind. Don't forget, some of the best things you learned were in kindergarten...

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

I realize that my blog today doesn't apply to any of you guys- my regular readers who just want to keep up with what I'm up to. I'm just tired of the way the world is. Too many people want handouts and freebies. Too many people are looking to blame someone else for their problems. I believe if you don't like the way something is, work to change it. If you're going to do nothing then shut up. Getting angry doesn't solve the problem.

It's really frustrating seeing it get worse. I see it everyday in the attitudes of my students, and adults that I see. Lets grow up.

BOOYA!

Hurray! My blog now has amazing Halloween decoration, music, AND I transferred it to my new email! I love technology when it works! Thanks Ang for the cute background place!

So, today is Monday which means early out! Wonder what kinds of crazy meetings I'll be in.

I'm reading Brisingr right now, The third book in the Eragon series. Like it- not as good as Harry Potter but I do enjoy Christopher Paolini's books. In fact, I'm going to eat my homemade chicken noodle soup and read it since it's my prep period right now. Hurray! I love A days!

Admittance

Ok, I'll admit it. I don't know much about the economy. I don't know much about investing. And I don't know much about how the market works. But I am frustrated. I make 30,000 a year. I work more than 40 hours a week. Last night I worked 13 hours because of parent teacher conferences. I get a "compensation" day but it's about 5 hours short when you count in the other two parent teacher conferences I am REQUIRED to do. My salary does not go up for spending more hours on the job. So where does the government come off thinking it can pass some idiot millionaire investor's iodot choices onto MY paycheck? You know that taxes are going to be raised eventually for the American people to pay off the debt the investors are benefitting from. I'm sorry but why do they deserve 10 milllion? They invested poorly, they should suffer the consequences. What happened to "if I do something wrong, I have to pay for it"? I understand forgiveness and all that but lets not be ridiculous. I see this attitude in my students. Parents or friends or counselors bail kids out on a daily basis. Make them suffer the consequences and then they'll learn not to do it again. It's harsh but I've seen too many lazy people expecting someone to bail them out because they didn't do anything in the first place. Anyway. There's my schpeel.

Dancing

Among my many hobbies, one that I miss the most is dancing! I am too old to sign up for a dance class and I'm graduated so opportunities to even find a good class are minimal. I used to do ballet, hip hop, jazz and country swing. I'm actually looking forward to going back to Provo in the fall because maybe I can coerce Evan into going Country Dancing once in awhile...YES? :)

My good friend Shauna is in the same predicament. We both used to be on dance teams when we were younger. Also unfortunately for her she has a husband who doesn't like going to dance parties. Anyway, to help curb our addiction we started watching "So You Think You Can Dance" together. I had to post this dance because I LOVE it! They "POP" like you're supposed to when you do hip hop, and they have great facial expressions. Plus, I love the song!

Enjoy!




Short blog today but I gotta get busy on work! :)

Thursday is the first day of the rest of your life...

So, today I decided to write a blog to keep up with all of my non-facebooking friends... that, and my work blocked anyone from accessing facebook.... I am in school today and tomorrow and then I have about two months of "freedom" cough, cough. Anyone who says "Well at least teachers have the summer off, that's gotta make up for the crappy pay" should be flogged. Teachers work WAY over 40 hours a week, many work 12-15 hour days, and then also work on the weekends grading assignments. I spent most of my Christmas "vacation" writing curriculum (lesson plans, rubrics, assignment documents, handouts, powerpoints...etc). This summer will consist of sleeping in (that means waking up at 7:30 instead of 6:00) and writing curriculum. I am taking a few of my students on a study abroad, which means keeping them in-line :) in a foreign country. This will not be a vacation for me as I also work as a part-time photographer. Teachers are not only the 'experts' in their field, but they are maids, police officers, therapists, computer geniuses...etc. You see where I'm going with this? Teaching=WORKING HARD. So why do we do it? Why all the work for very little pay? I've concluded that teachers are generally people who are happiest when they are busy. The best teachers I know have at least six or seven things to do on top of their normal daily activities. I have a very hard time relaxing because I'm usually thinking of the 50 other things I should be doing.

So reason # 1 to become a teacher: Glutten for punishment.

Reason # 2: Look what I can do. :) I get to go to a job everyday that I love. I do not have a day where I wake up and think "Ugh, I have to go to work today." I may think "Ugh, I don't want to be up at this ungodly hour." But once I think of what I'm teaching my students, I'm out of bed and ready for the day.

Reason # 3: I think most teachers are people who love to be the student. As a teacher, you are constantly working on curriculum ideas. Let me explain... what I mean by constantly, I mean every second of every day (especially if you teach art) you come across ideas you can use in your classroom. Or someone will say something that triggers and idea. Or you see something you absolutely have to have because it's perfect for that one lesson you want to teach next semester... Anyway, teaching is a continual learning process. You have to be up on the most current technology, social events, and teaching methods or you are out of the loop. Thus, I say I am a perpetual student as a teacher.

Anyway, enough of why I love my job.

This last weekend I went to St. George with two of my favorite people Evan, and my mom. The weather was perfect. The company was "brilliant" :) and the activities were fantastic. We went boating with my cousin, her hubby and some of their friends at Sand Hollow. I tried wake-surfing for the first time and I was able to get up and stay up!



Evan also tried it and he got a bloody nose! but he was much, much better at staying up than I was.

I found out my cousin has a wake-boarding tower, a kayak and a wave-runner so we'll have to try that next time.