I will share some of the exciting preparations going on in and around our art room over the weeks ahead...
One of my most vivid memories of living in Paris from the ages of 10-12, was my father coming home from work in downtown Paris with bunches of tulips purchased from the flower market for my mother. Thus, for me, tulips have come to symbolize the deep love that my parents shared throughout their marriage, even during those difficult years for Paris, Europe and the world, of 1955 to 1958...
Imagine this, my mother Alice, lived her entire adult life in Florence, SC until she met my father Norman Ballard during WWII. They met when he was stationed in Florence in 1944 where I came along a year later. After a couple of moves stateside, I wonder how she was able manage with 2 children and life in the neighborhood of Saint Cloud on the outskirts of Paris. The Hungarian Revolt, the shut down of the Suez canal during the winter (this meant no heat one winter because there was no coal), the flooding of the Marne River where we lived, along with the unrest and bombings in the city of Paris due to the difficult relations between the French and the Algerians, were all events that happened during the years we lived in and loved Paris... Way to go MOM, is all I can say!
One of my tulips that has returned for a second year. Did I mention that tulips always remind me of Easter.
To be exact, it is the beginning of an elephant costume for our Middle School play, THE LION KING!
Part of our daily routine with Jaz and Rosie.
The newest work by emerging artist, Brandon Fellow, Glory Day Loflin
Could this be new found inspiration??????
Click on image to enjoy the slide show.
Lily and Charlie are here this weekend and it just does not get any better than this...
I assure you that this invitational exhibition along with a show of works by Palmetto Luna Arts, curated by Diana Farfan featuring Latino Arts & Culture will be well worth your time to visit them.
Some favorite images! Be sure and see these and many more excellent works by our regional artists!
Thank you for your help Beatrice and Glory!!!!
Click below to register for the "Clay Vessels for all Seasons" on the Bascom website.
4 VESSELS FOR 4 SEASONS - 2014
CLAY VESSELS FOR ALL SEASONS - This workshop was so popular, I am teaching a variation on this workshop but adding a some extras for those that want to take it again.
On Friday we all collected natural materials and created various arrangements that ranged from the formal to the wabi sabi. Some of my favorites were Corbin Tucker's moss gardens and containers for orchids.
- Mon, Jun 6, 2016 10:00 - 4:00pm Fri, Jun 10, 2016 10:00 until 5:00pm
- The Bascom Center for the Arts
Workshop description - If you love clay and you love nature, this is the class for you! We will be hand-building clay vessels for all that great "natural stuff" that many of us love to collect. The Bascom is surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountain environment of Highlands, NC. Paths along a nearby stream will be a great resource for collecting natural forms or texture for our clay forms... A trip to the local Botanical Gardens will be another fabulous source of inspiration. Containers will be hand-built for Ikebana style arranging or less formal arranging, for mini moss gardens or for dry arrangements of branches, grasses and pods. Paricipants may choose high or low fire methods of working. One day will be devoted to making Terra sigillata that can be used on low or high fire clay. Between the atmosphere of the barn studio and the natural beauty of the Highlands, especially in June, most certainly it will spur our creativity to a new high! I can hardly wait!
"Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide." D. W. Winnicott
On the subject of hiding... I took this sun face down outside my studio door recently to take to school. I wanted to use it as an example for the students since they are starting this project in clay. After removing it, I was startled to discover something on the wall that had been hidden by the sun face!
There attached to the cedar siding was this precious, tiny brown bat!!!! You can see his little ears at the bottom and his folded wings along side his inverted, furry, little body. I was so surprised and excited to see this tiny fellow up close, that I had to show him (or her) to my husband Roger. Then, I carefully replaced the protective sun face in a way that would not disturb this tiny sleeper.... I still sigh when I think about it. It seemed like such gift and a privilege to have such a lovely encounter.
The drawings my students did in class this week show that they are really developing outstanding drawing skills as they learn how to be careful observers. We started the project with a demonstration which they watched closely and with great patience I might add... Next they chose a fruit to draw and jumped right in! This was a 30 minute project and you can see the results! I am very proud of the effort each student put into their drawings. The best part was watching them as they left class with a newly found confidence in themselves. This is a unique kind of self confidence that can only come from learning how to draw what you see.
Did I mention that after 20 years, I have never grown tired of teaching middle school art! I continue to delight in the journey in art that the students and I take together every Thursday and Friday. A special part of working with this age is that we are constantly learning from each other. The discoveries we make, the risk taking we take together, along with the fun and the laughter still suck me right in to signing my contract for the next year...
5th Graders created these simple still-lives with one object. They learned how to take shape created with contour line and add value to create form.
They also learned how shadow and a "horizon line", like the edge of a table will keep their objects from floating...
6th graders, in order to build on what they learned in 5th grade, choose 3 fruits, create a still-life, then draw it. In addition, they divide the drawing. Half will be black and white, the other half will be colored pencil.
Drawings from my demonstration...