Atlanta with Angelia- Exploring the Arts Together

My granddaughter, Angelia and I went to see "Into the Woods" at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta yesterday.

She tried out my new camera and took some amazing photos about town. I love this one:

She especially wanted to get a photo of this Calder work, in front of the High Museum of Art. She didn't know he was one of my all time favorite artists. I was happy she was drawn to his art!

A Sample from a Week at Work

My Office

We had a productive week at school. I partnered with a teacher to reinforce her lessons on personality types (a vocational course for job readiness) by showing a slide show of artworks by famous artists. The students were to view a number of works by each artist and determine the personality type according to the True Colors theory. Of course this was speculative but the neat thing is that most students came to the same conclusions. It helped that I chose artists which I was familiar with so I could add some insight, but most could put it together from looking at the art.

I also worked on getting my room reorganized. This is the most wonderful addition to my arts program. It is an amazing cart/cabinet that holds a ton of supplies in an organized way!!! Why haven’t I found such a cart years ago?

The Other Side

The little drawers on each side hold a LOT of essentials!

 With a cart like this, I almost don't mind teaching off a cart. But ooooohhhhhh what would life be like with a real arts center? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The best thing that happened this week is the quilt donation. This is a quilt made from lap quilts of the Red Hills Club Ladies and finished by a dear friend and community minded quilter, who finished the quilt (and many others) as a promise to a dedicated member of the Red Hills Club who passed away last winter at age 100 years. These ladies built their lives around homemaking and serving their community. On a regular basis they would get together for charitable projects to raise funds for scholarships; donate monies from their crafts and bake sales to the needy; and have quilts ready if a home burned down to warm a family in heart and body. This quilt was donated to our Learning Center in Trust to keep with the Red Hills Club history book collection they donated to us about four years ago. As part of the on-going appreciation for the work these homemakers did for the Copper Basin community over the years, one of the things I try to do is develop programs to involve students in learning from their examples. More on our next project will be shared when the details are finalized.

Of course I also did other work but these were the fun parts- at least some of them. Next week, we have a garden project volunteer day (after school); and I have to get everything ready for our after school program starting the first week in October. Lots to do.... lots more fun!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Atlanta with my oldest Granddaughter, Angelia to see the play: Into the Woods at the Woodruff Arts Center.

A Day to Chill Out

Sunday, Nadine (4 yrs.) and Jesse (9 yrs.) discovered the joy of chilling out in Grandmama's new porch hammock, which Papa hung for her on Saturday. I did have some hammock time before and after their discovery of it.

The turtle discovered the hole under a stump in our yard.

He even looked like he was smiling when he turned to pose for the camera.

Turtles aren't the only ones that like to be inside a "shell".... the girls said they were caterpillars.

Paintings

My new camera came in this week and today I finally took my first photos with it. Some will go in the right side panel, but here I will show my two latest works in acrylic and mixed media.

detail

sitting in the natural environment- feeling at home

many layers make up the final look I was after

The painting above was painted in June of 2011 while "teaching" a summer camp. You can ask the kids- I was up and down, seeing to their needs but somehow finally after a little over a week, got it finished.


detail

also sitting in the natural environment

As you can see, much of my work involves layering. This is a mixed media. I started it during a Saturday workshop for the kids at the high school but it took weeks to finish. The Pileated Woodpecker has a special meaning for me. We always called them Indian Hen's. One time when I needed and extraordinary boost of faith and encouragement, not one, not two, but three appeared in our yard at one time. This is something we have never seen before or since. I don't know if that is usual or not, but for me it was a gift.

My Tiny Studio- which I LOVE!

"I don’t view art as my occupation, like a job. It is more than that. For me art is more like a life song that changes melodies according to circumstances, with the words coming in the form of the media chosen."- an excerpt from my "bio" page added today. See the tab at the top of the blog. More pages will come as I have time to add them.  I felt the blog needed a little introduction of the owner.

A little corner shelf nook in my studio.

The Garfield was made by my granddaughter, Takeshia. The bead doll by Celticat, a friend from the Arts Caboret, an artist forum I belonged to years ago. The two little boxes on top of the little ceramic drawer chest were gifts from my sister. The serenity candles was a gift from my grandson, Jonathan. There are colored pencils in the top drawer and markers in the bottom. There are beautiful yarn samples in the large jar. Behind Garfield, there are pencils held in a terra cotta vase I made while I was in high school, at Osborne in Marietta. Mr. Gary Selby was my art teacher- who didn't know just what he was starting when he inspired me into the world of art! All the boxes serve as decorative storage.

Journal pages from a journal I began in 2009 and finished last week.

I ordered a new camera yesterday and it is already on it's way! I just couldn't help myself after seeing what could be done with it during a workshop Friday. It is a Canon S95. So small it will be with me all the time.

Welcome Back- A New Day Awakens

A new day opens on new chapter in my life. You will be seeing changes as I become more adapt at working with the blog while making it a more consistent part of my daily journal. Funny thing that I have journals all over my house and write in one to three of them almost daily but this thing of blogging seems strange to me. Well that is going to change. The latter part anyway. You will see more of me and my adventures and I promise to make it a fun and interesting ride. Just hang on to your hats. You are about to visit the real world of Angie’s artistic journey, and believe me… there is a lot to share because art IS a process of living for me. It is who I am.