Michelle Brunner

Sketchbook Love

2011-07-11T15:16:00.000-04:00

How many sketchbooks do you have? I have probably 10 completely filled sketchbooks. Some of my sketches are finished drawings and some are complete doodles and random markings (kind of like what you see in the picture above!) I love looking through my old sketchbooks and seeing how my style has evolved and see what interested me (and still does in some cases) 5 or 6 years ago. Sketchbooks give you such a behind the scene look at what is going on in the artist's mind. If you get a chance check out these sites to see some cool sketchbooks:
sketchbooks.org
sketchbook project
design sponge

Meanwhile, here are some more of my sketchbook pages from over the years:

You might notice that almost all of them are done in mixed media. I love to experiment with lots of media while sketching. Collage, watercolor, ink and pencil are my favorite combos! What are your favorite materials to use in your sketchbook or while doodling?

New Art: Wave Series

2011-07-10T07:00:00.002-04:00

Hello! How is your Sunday going for you? Mine is going very well! I am off for a girl's day to see Jersey Boys! The husband is staying home all day with Little I...great bonding time!

I just wanted to share with you a new artwork I have been working on. It is the first in hopefully a series of 5 or 6 artworks. I don't know if I am finished with it yet but here it is:

Small detail picture:

They are kind of like cloud waves. I used acrylic and some painted paper collage elements. I love the color scheme so far. I can't wait to do more!

Hope you have a lovely and productive day:)

Creative Ideas to do at the Lake

2011-07-09T12:51:00.000-04:00

My parents' cottage is on one of the Lake Erie islands which is notorious for it's rocky beaches. I have to wear swim shoes when I go swimming!

The cool thing about it though is that it is a prime spot to find beach glass.
It is so exciting to find these gorgeous pieces of smoothed down glass. I could search all day long! Here are some of the pieces I found:

Another creative thing to do at the lake is look for interesting shaped-rocks. I began to look for heart-shaped rocks and found quite a few! I have a mini collection now:)

Another thing I collect are feathers:

They actually work well as paintbrushes:

I used a feather to create these interesting brushstrokes in my sketchbook with watercolors. Kind of reminds me of using a fan brush!

And lastly, my favorite thing to do is....

Paint on rocks! Using acrylic paint (very important...don't use anything else or it will come off!) I painted a funny little toad and some designs on some smaller rocks. So fun:) What is your favorite thing to do on vacation at the lake?

My Island Adventure

2011-07-08T22:12:00.001-04:00

Well I am back! I have been without an internet connection for 2 weeks! I was at my parents' cottage on one of the Lake Erie islands. They just built their cottage last October and it is our first summer there....so relaxing and fun!

Here is the husband and I driving to the ferry boat(you can't reach the island by car...it is a true island!)

Here is the view on the ferry boat

Once we got to the island we saw:


Gorgeous hollyhocks...my new favorite flower!

An awesome roadway with lots of shade.

A charming home off the road (very secluded!)


The old school house with amazing hydrangeas!

Finally we got to my parents' cottage. It is right on the lake. The cottage is small and modest but the view is AMAZING! My parents bought the lot 30 years ago and finally were able to build (college costs and a wedding kind of put the cottage on hold!) Our lot used to be called "Sunset Park." This is why:

Our "backyard":

I could live there forever! It is such a quaint island! There is only one store and two restaurants. The entire time I was there I looked for beach glass, rocks shaped like hearts and painted (I will post about that this week!) Little I and I went walking everyday and smiled and waved to everyone because everyone was super friendly. *sigh* I can't wait to go back!

Anyways I hope everyone is doing well! How was your 4th of July? I hope you are all well and enjoying your summer. I will post more about my little island adventure tomorrow!

Going on a Trip!

2011-06-24T14:31:00.001-04:00

Hope you have a lovely weekend! What are you up to? The family and I are going on a road trip! I will be unable to post for the next couple of days but I promise I will be back soon to tell you all about my trip! Have a fantastic weekend! Talk soon:)

Seashore Life

2011-06-23T12:42:00.000-04:00

Have I mentioned that I am totally in love with anything that has to do with the seashore? I have always loved the idea of living on a little cottage near the shore. I recently discovered the most amazing blog called A Beach Cottage. It is all about a woman named Sarah's life on the sea in her little cottage in Australia. Her decorating style is AMAZING! I am a huge fan of everything white, clean and cozy. Her cottage is my dream home:) Check her out if you get a chance!

While going through an old poem book of mine I came across this lovely little poem:

Shore

Play on the seashore
And gather up shells,
Kneel in the damp sands
Digging wells

Run on the rocks
Where the seaweed slips,
Watch the waves
And the beautiful ships.

-Mary Britton Miller

Conjures up wonderful thoughts of the beach, doesn't it?

Dr. Seuss on Love

2011-06-23T11:52:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! Hope your week is going well! Summer weeks seem to fly by for me. I can't believe it is almost the end of June already! Tomorrow is the husband and my 5 year anniversary! This quote by Dr. Suess pretty much sums up the husband and I:

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
— Dr. Seuss

Gotta love Dr. Seuss...he really knows his stuff:)

Here is the husband and I five years ago on our wedding day:

And here is us 5 years later at Christmas with Little "I"

Wow...I just realized that we have not taken a family photo since Christmas! I totally need to get on that!

So I hope you have a lovely day! It is rainy and gross outside here in Ohio. I am staying inside all day with the air conditioning and going to do some incredibly fun things such as laundry, dusting and organizing. Jealous?

Have a great one!

Hello Summer Solstice!

2011-06-21T09:03:00.000-04:00

Painting of a Michigan City Sunset completed in acrylic

Apparently today is the summer solstice for us here in the northern hemisphere. Hooray! The longest day of the year:) Don't you just love how it stays so light out until like 9:30 at night? Since little "I" gets up around 6 everyday it is equally as nice to have it so light out in the morning as well. So what are your plans for today to celebrate the summer solstice?

Here are my plans that I hope I can do:

1. Go for a run with Little "I".
2. PAINT.....anything. It is really hard doing artwork with a little 6 month year old. I have a feeling my painting will last about 10 minutes but that is ok as long as I get some painting done! I have a feeling I will be bringing back my 10 minute sketches which are super fun!
3. Organize art supplies and clothes. For some reason these are the two items that never seem to stay organized! I need my supplies and clothes to be organized like this!
4. Listen to Little "I"'s favorite singer Elizabeth Mitchell. Our favorite CD is You Are My Little Bird. Seriously awesome music for kids and grown ups:)

Well have a lovely summer solstice day!

Crazy Cool Creative Watercolor Self-Portraits

2011-06-20T08:45:00.001-04:00

Yes...crazy cool creative. Try saying that 5 times fast. So, since I have been gone so long from the blog world (3 whole months!), I thought I would post some projects from my painting classes. So here are their "crazy, cool and creative" self-portraits done in watercolor.

Some close up ones:

I love this one because it totally fits his personality.....

And this one turned out pretty well:

To complete this project I took a high contrast picture of each student with my digital camera and then played around with it in my iphoto program to get the best contrasts. I wanted the shadows to help define the students' faces. Students then gridded their photographs and drew their faces on watercolor paper using the grid as a guide. They then had to fracture their faces into different shapes and use at least 10 different watercolor techniques (rubbing alcohol, salt, wax resist, saran wrap, etc.) I will have to post the watercolor technique chart in another blog post! The students completed these portraits with my long-term sub while I was gone on maternity leave. I was so lucky to have such a wonderful sub!

Well I hope you have a fantastic day today! What are your plans? This morning I have to take Little "I" in for her 6 month dr. appointment. YUCK:( She has to get another round of vaccines today. Poor "I". Other than that I think I am going to try and get some art done today and of course play with Little "I".

Best Father Daughter Song....

2011-06-19T18:49:00.002-04:00

Sooooo...I have been taking a break from blogging for a wee bit. I am on summer vacation right now and am hoping to post a little more now that I have some time! Little "I" just turned 6 months yesterday...time sure is flying like crazy! She has developed quite the personality these past couple of months... it is amazing! She definitely understands the husband and my quirky sense of humor...so we got that going for us:) Above is a picture of "I" and the husband. So sweet!

So happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful fathers out there! Here is one of my favorite Paul Simon songs that always makes me a little weepy:)

Cleaning Day!

2011-03-05T07:48:00.002-05:00

Hello! I hope your weekend is going well so far:) The husband's parents are in town helping us get our house ready for showing (we have officially listed our house....scary but exciting!) Anyone could call at any moment to come and see it! So our house must look amazing! We spent Friday night playing with Little "I" (she giggles now!) and basically just hanging out and staying warm and dry. Today is "Cleaning Day" here at our household. Sounds like a great time right?!

Well I do not have any new art to post...all of my art stuff is pretty much packed up until I go back to work next week. So sad to take a break from it but we can't have any clutter anywhere!

Well I hope you have a wonderful Saturday. I will leave you with this lovely song covered by Sondre Lerche. The husband is currently learning to play it to Little "I" on his ukulele. She LOVES to hear him sing and play to her! I wish I was musical but alas I just am not:)

Wish us luck on the cleaning!

Obstacles

2011-03-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

I have posted this quote before...but I just love it so I am posting again:)

My life is significantly changing. I am hoping for the good. The husband and I are moving back to our hometown which is VERY exciting and fun but stressful. I actually teach in our hometown and have an amazing job that I love. Since the birth of Little "I" we knew that we would have to change our living situation. With Little "I" around we decided to be back near our family and closer to where I work. So.....we are putting our house up for sale in this horrible market and I am going to give being a working mom a shot.

The point of me telling you all about my crazy life is that as human beings we are a lot stronger than we think we are. Everyone has obstacles and craziness that they have to work through. Some of our obstacles are not as big as others but all in all we have things to work through. I just came across this article (click here to view it) that talks about how we don't give ourselves enough credit when we do something well. We are quick to compliment others but never ourselves. It also talks about failures as being feedback. I thought this quote by Thomas A. Edison was fantastic: " I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward."

I think this quote is something we can apply to ourselves in everyday situations. Whether it is art, our jobs, parenting, etc. I have been kind of a quote junkie lately if you haven't noticed. I think when we go through stressful situations it is helpful to have some words of advice that kind of guide us and make us feel better:)

Ok...thank you for listening to me be all deep and stuff...I am not usually like this!

So enough about me! I hope your week is going well! What are you up to this evening? I can't wait to watch the Middle and Modern Family tonight! Wednesday is a good t.v. night for me:)

I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!

Authentic Self and Mother/Daughter Bonding

2011-03-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

I love this quote by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It really is reassuring especially when you feel lost creatively. I also like the idea of an "authentic self," or who your true self is. I like to think that there is some sort of plan that your "authentic self" knows about and will automatically guide you in the right direction. It is a nice thought right?!

So anyways...how was your weekend? My mom came Sunday and we had a fantastic Oscar party! My husband is a wonderful cook and made us an amazing dinner both Sunday and Monday night. I am not much of a cook but I love to watch cooking shows. Is that strange? My favorite is Jamie Oliver . He is such an amazing chef and most importantly....he has an adorable british accent:)

My mom and I also got to sneak away for some sushi yesterday! So fun! I had not had sashimi for almost a year because you are not allowed raw fish when you are pregnant. We also got to do some fun shopping....yay for mother/ daughter outings!

Well it is sunny outside here in Ohio...makes me feel happy! I am starting back to work on March 14th so I better start planning what I will be doing with my lovely students!

Have a gorgeous day!

Coffee Talk: Oscar Party

2011-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to my little kitchen! I hope you are in the mood for some coffee! If not I have this amazing ginger peach tea that is to die for!

I also bought us some sweet treats. Frozen dark chocolate Hershey Kisses! They melt in your mouth when you drink them with hot coffee or tea!

Yum!

So what are your plans for this weekend? The husband and I will continue with the enormous process of cleaning and organizing our Cleveland cottage so we can put it up for sale.

My lovely mom is coming on Sunday to help out. We are going to have an Oscar party!

Mom and me!

To be honest I have not seen all of the movies up for nominations. I loved Inception though! Black Swan looks cool but a little too freaky for me. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about The King's Speech and I have a special place in my heart for Mr. Colin Firth (I loved him as Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies!) The best part about the Oscars for me is the fashion and celebrities! I can't wait to see what everyone is wearing! Well I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Kite Flying Music

2011-02-24T05:00:00.003-05:00

Ivy's Guestroom is one of my all time favorite cds. It consists of lovely covers of such bands as The Cure and Steely Dan. This song in particular is a cover of Nick Heyward. I usually am not a fan of covers but this cd is amazing and summer-like! I have had this cd for 8 years now and never tire of it! The lead singer Dominique Durand has the most airy voice ever...totally reminds me of a warm spring day! So listen to this song, light a spring scented candle like one of these

baileydoesntbark

BazilEssentials

And think lovely warm thoughts! Have a fantastic day:)

Sketchbook Sparker: Collecting Quotes and Images that Inspire

2011-02-23T05:00:00.019-05:00

Hello! How are you today? Have I mentioned lately how OVER snow I am? We got hit with a large amount of snow Monday night and now they are predicting a possible storm on Friday here in Cleveland. Arg! Quick...click here for an instant pick me up that will make you feel warm!

So today we are going to be talking again about sketchbook sparkers. These sparkers are meant to give you ideas if you are ever in a creative rut. Today's sparker doesn't involve as much drawing as last week's sparker. It is meant more of as a brainstorming technique that could lead to more drawing and painting (I like to do both in my sketchbook!)

Have you ever heard a cool quote or seen one in a book or magazine? The kind of quote that really makes you think or just makes a lot of sense?! What about cool images that you are unexplainably attracted to while flipping through a magazine? Why not start collecting them in your sketchbook!

Here is a little peek into two of my sketchbook pages that incorporate quotes and images. I actually didn't even do much drawing on these sketchbook pages. Instead I let the images and words do the talking.

This quote is something I heard Carrie Bradshaw say on a Sex in the City episode. I can't remember for the life of me which episode or even which season she says this! I thought it was so true about growing and changing as a person.

Here it is in my sketchbook (top right.)

On the left is this quote I found in a magazine:

Sadly I always seem to buy the cheapest!

On these pages I also assembled pictures that inspired me and included my own little drawings and slabs of color with paint.

Here is another example:

A beautiful quote I found in a magazine

Here is how I incorporated it into my sketchbook page:

I also included some images that I liked along with a song lyric that was stuck in my head at the time.

So if you are ever stuck for an idea for a sketchbook, incorporate a quote or image that inspires you! It is a great way to get the creative juices flowing!

Tres Chic Nursery Finds for Girls

2011-02-22T05:00:00.002-05:00

Hello there! Today I would like to show you some very cool items I have found on etsy that would look excellent in any little girl's nursery.

Being a new mom I have become quite interested in adorable girl things. So here are some of my favorite finds on etsy this week. I don't know about you but right now in my life it seems that all of my friends are either pregnant or have children. These would make great gifts for new moms or they would be awesome gifts for your own children! Happy looking!

Sweet wall decals

These burp cloths

This beautiful quilt

This adorable print

This cork board...so sweet!

shabbyvintagemom

These cool butterflies

khamm75

And of course...I must shamelessly promote my own artwork...

michellebrunner

Have a lovely Tuesday!

Crazy Cool Art Technique: White Acrylic and Watercolor

2011-02-21T05:00:00.002-05:00

I hope your weekend was filled with relaxation and fun! My weekend involved getting our home organized for the big upcoming sale and playing with Little I. She is smiling and cooing like crazy which makes her so much fun! I definitely took a million pictures of her doing the same thing over and over. I am a little camera happy I think:)

Anyways....back to business! I wanted to show you a cool mixed media technique that you might enjoy trying. For those of you new to mixed media, it is basically when you use more than one type of art media. Today we will be using watercolors and white acrylic paint.

First gather your supplies:

1. Various watercolor media such as watercolor paints, watercolor colored pencils and watercolor crayons.

2. Find a picture to draw from or draw from your imagination!

3. White paper...does not have to be watercolor paper!

4. Paint brushes

5. White Acrylic paint

6. Pencil

Once you have gathered all of your supplies you should draw out your basic shapes of your artwork with a pencil on your white paper. Next begin to apply white acrylic paint to your sketch. Try not to paint over your pencil lines or else you won't be able to see your drawing!

Here is my huge container of white acrylic...notice all of the colors mixed inside?! Guess I am not so great about cleaning off my brush:)

Try these techniques using white acrylic:

1. Swirls of thick white paint

2. Scratch into the white paint to create textures ( I just used the tip of a mechanical pencil.)

Once your acrylic paint is dry you can start to add watercolor paint!

Just paint right on top of your dried white acrylic and be amazed at how the textures you created with the acrylic paint really pop out once color is added!

For finishing touches I like to add watercolor crayons or colored pencils.

And voila:

Coffee Talk: My Cleveland Cottage

2011-02-18T05:00:00.003-05:00

Hello! Happy Friday:) Hope you have had a lovely week. I just wanted to invite you to have a cup of coffee with me in my kitchen.

Here, I made you a latte!

I only wish that I had some sweet treats to share! I can't seem to keep any in the house longer than a couple of days! Anything with chocolate is a huge weakness for me!

So tell me about your weekend plans. The husband and I are trying to get our house ready to sell so we have some major organizing ahead of us. I am such a pack rat and keep anything with even a trace of being sentimental. Hopefully I can part with some of my belongings in order to contribute to the organization process!

I really am going to miss our Cleveland cottage. It is such a cute little place that fits the husband, little "I" and myself perfectly. We have lived here for almost 5 years and probably will not find anything like it again.

On the plus side we are moving back to our hometown where our family lives. So excited! Family is so important!

Well I hope you have a LOVELY weekend relaxing and enjoying your time off.

Happy Music

2011-02-17T08:29:00.001-05:00

Good morning! At least it is morning as I write this. Right now I am drinking my second cup of coffee. It is delicious. Coffee is my absolute favorite! It is so warm, wakes me up and tastes excellent with chocolate! Too bad I have already finished off all of my dark chocolate supply or else I might be having chocolate for breakfast (again!)

Today it is going to be 62 degrees here in Ohio! I am soooo excited! I am planning on running outside as soon as the husband gets up and can watch little "I.". One song that I constantly play on my ipod as I run that puts me in the best of moods is "What I Wouldn't Do" by A Fine Frenzy. It is just the happiest song ever! Give it a listen and see how your mood lifts! What songs make you happy whenever you hear them?

Well I hope you have a fantastic day! I am off to get the husband up!

Sketchbook Sparker: Draw from a Magazine

2011-02-16T19:55:00.000-05:00

If you are ever stuck for ideas on what to draw, try this brainstorming technique:

Supplies:

1. At least 1 magazine with LOTS of pictures ( Old Domino magazines, Elle Decor, Lucky, Smithsonian, Good Housekeeping, Martha Stewart are some of my favs)

2. A sketchbook or pieces of paper

3. A pen (I like a black ball point pen)

4. Colored pencils, markers, watercolors, ink, etc.

Next complete these easy steps:

1. Flip through the magazine.

2. As you flip through, look for ANY images, fonts, colors that appeal to you.

3. Using your pen begin to draw them on your sketchbook page. Remember you are brainstorming so it doesn't matter how amazing your drawings are.

4. Begin to form a composition with your drawings. You can do this by making the images interact, overlap, combining, etc. There are no rules! You will be amazed by what ideas come to you:)

5. When you have filled your sketchbook page, begin to add color or shade with your pen.

6. When you are finished you will find that you have created a very interesting sketch!

7. You can extend this idea by creating an artwork such as a finished painting or drawing from a section of your sketch.

Here is my magazine sketch from February's Good Housekeeping Magazine:

I used a black pen, watercolor colored pencils and chart pak markers.

Sometimes I just don't know what to draw and I find that images from magazines can be helpful:) I hope this inspires you if you ever hit a creative block!

Well have a lovely day! It was 50 here today in Ohio! Yay! It was so sunny and beautiful and really made me happy!

Spring Inspired Sketches

2011-02-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today it is sunny and almost 40 degrees here in Ohio! Really gets me excited for SPRING! So I decided to do some sketches that are spring-related.

I want to do a series with kites I think...they are so cool. I am not the best kite flyer though:(

Here are some spring-inspired doodles...I love to doodle:)

Don't you just love to doodle? It is so therapeutic and it really doesn't matter what the end result looks like. Sometimes when I am stuck for an idea I like to doodle and see what comes out on the paper:)

Well I am off to enjoy the sunshine even if it is still pretty cold out. I think I will go on a run outside or maybe just make some more coffee and sit in my sunny kitchen and doodle some more:)

Happy Love Day

2011-02-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone is able to spend time with the people you love today:) Little "I"'s Valentine present to me was sleeping until 6:30! A whole night of sleeping! Hooray!

It is a little warmer here today but we still have lots of snow on the ground.

We are supposed to get 50 degree temperatures by the end of the week! Yay! I can FINALLY take Little "I" out on a walk! I have been dreaming about doing that for a while. I definitely have some cabin fever! Well I am off to celebrate the day, hope you have a lovely one!

Art Pen Pal Gift

2011-02-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

Two days ago I received a package in the mail from my art pen pal. It was by far the funniest thing she has ever sent me.

It is a packing tape sculpture of a bunny with peeps inside! Packing tape sculptures are super easy to make. Click here for a great step- by- step tutorial. I really want my art club at school to make a bunch of packing tape sculptures for our spring art show. The only thing is packing tape can be kind of pricey.

Anyways...how are you doing? I am doing pretty well. Right now "I" is napping so I am trying to write a quick blog post! I have slowly gotten her on a schedule so that is good:)

I have been trying to get some art done but it is a slow process. Here are two backgrounds I have created. I still don't know what I will be putting on them yet.

I have been looking around my house lately for things that inspire me (especially since I cannot go outside...it is like 16 degrees out!)

Here are two things that have inspired me lately that I am going to try and incorporate into an artwork.

These two pears in my kitchen

These lovely silver twigs in my kitchen.

I think it is important to surround yourself with inspirational items. I was thinking of doing a pear series...we shall see! Well have a lovely weekend!

Alfresco-Inspired Art

2011-02-07T19:12:00.000-05:00

I am obsessed with cafe scenes. Eating alfresco is such a fun summertime treat! Since it is super cold and snowy here in Ohio, I figured a nice alfresco scene would make me feel a little happier. Here is my latest artwork. I was able to do this while little "I" took naps this past week.

This artwork is about 8 x 10 and was done with acrylic and hand-painted paper on a wooden panel. I hope to add it to my etsy store soon!

Being a Mom and Artist

2011-02-07T12:53:00.000-05:00

I always took art for granted. I always knew I could do it whenever I wanted. Even if I didn't do something creative for myself, I was an art teacher so I helped my students with their art everyday. When I had a baby, things changed. I was not able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It helped me become less selfish. However, I started to go into withdrawal without my daily art fixes. Whenever "I" would sleep I would do a quick sketch (hence the revival of my 10 minute sketches which I still have trouble getting done!) I finally figured out a way to get in an extra hour of art a day. It is short and sometimes gets interrupted, but at least it is better than nothing!
There is this great interview with one of my favorite bloggers and artists, Rosa Murillo in which she talks about having children and working art into her life. I loved how in the interview she says she is a mother first and then an artist. She says that she is the most important teacher for her kids and I couldn't agree more! I am so excited to share with little "I" all of my experiences I have had with art and to do creative projects together with her! Rosa talks about how her and her children do lots of art together and it just made me so excited for when "I" is old enough to do art:)
For all of you artists and mothers out there, how did you fit art into your lives again after having a baby? What tricks and techniques did you do?

Birthday Cake

2011-02-06T19:19:00.000-05:00

Today is the husband's birthday. He is turning the big 3-0. We are EXACTLY 6 months apart so I am halfway to the big birthday. To celebrate, I got a lovely ice cream cake. Of course I took pictures because it was so pretty....and delicious!

Turning 30 means he is officially a grown up. This means that I am almost a grown up! I don't know how I feel about that! The husband didn't want to do anything too crazy for his birthday. We hung out with little I and ate cake all day long:) Right now I am "watching" the Super Bowl. Actually I am just watching the commercials. So far I am not too impressed but the night is young!

By the way, notice that I am blogging again?! The husband fixed my computer however everything was still lost:( At least I can get online, I thought I was going to go crazy without internet access. It is amazing how much I have come to rely on the internet. Craziness. I will continue with my 10 minute sketches but in reality I might only be able to do only 1 every other day or so. Little I requires all of my attention:)

Have a great Sunday!

Computer Problems...ahhhh!

2011-01-29T16:05:00.000-05:00

Hello all! I just wanted to quickly post that I will not be able to post very much until my computer is repaired! My entire hard drive somehow broke....I didn't know that could happen! My laptop is only 4 years old...I guess that is ancient in computer years! I am so SAD...I think I might have lost 4 years worth of lesson plans, all of my itunes library (so so sad!) and all of my documents. Luckily the husband just backed up all of my pictures so I have those at least. So please learn from my mistake and back up any information you have now if you haven't already!!! Hopefully I will be back up and blogging soon! Have a lovely day!

xoxo

Best Workout=Dance Party

2011-01-26T19:29:00.000-05:00

Ok so I don't think I will be able to post a 10 minute sketch today because honestly I was not able to do one! "You couldn't find 10 minutes to do one little sketch" you might be saying....well not today. My roommate from college came to visit me and baby Isla which was fantastic! I love catching up with old friends! I also went out today to the local art store to buy some more paint and panel boards. Going out is a huge deal now...I used to take it for granted but now it is a production! I have to make sure Isla is fed and that the husband is not busy and can watch her.

So what I am posting today is a new favorite song of mine. It is not new but it is new to me. I am obsessed with Pandora, especially the Feist channel. One song that comes up a lot is this song by Miike Snow called Animal. Isla and I LOVE to dance to it. Dance parties are the best:) I've decided that I will lose all of my pregnancy weight by having lots of dance parties...sounds fun, huh? So here is Isla and my new favorite dance song. Enjoy:) I will try to do 2 10 minute sketches for tomorrow!

10 Minute Sketch: Coffee Cup and New Background

2011-01-25T21:18:00.001-05:00

Today I did my 10 minute sketch around the quote one of my favorite people had on their facebook page..."There is nothing like your first cup of coffee in the morning." I totally agree! It is the best tasting thing ever!

For my sketch I used pen, acrylic paint and watercolor pencils. The pen kind of smeared a little...I must get myself a pen that is waterproof! Just another thing to add to the list:)

I was also able to play around with some stamps today that I had made from an eraser and to create a fun background for a new piece. I can't wait to work on it more!

Hope you had a nice day...Isla napped a lot today so I was able to play with my art supplies a little longer than usual:) I hope this doesn't mean she will be up all night though!

Love this song

2011-01-25T14:13:00.000-05:00

I know this song by The Temper Trap is probably in a ton of romantic comedy movies...but I just love it:) I can't wait to run outside to this song...I don't know why it just seems like an awesome spring weather running song! So take a listen to Sweet Disposition and stop back because I will be posting another 10 minute sketch later today:)

10 Minute Sketch: Chair

2011-01-24T18:27:00.000-05:00

This sketch was done in colored pencils, illustration markers and a lovely black pen! This was of a chair in my living room... i changed some of the colors and added my own patterns:) Hope you are having a nice day. I personally have been living off of dark chocolate Hershey Kisses and hot chocolate and have been trying to keep warm because it is FREEZING out! Being on maternity leave means I don't have to go out if I don't want to:) Today I also have been brainstorming different ideas for this lil' ole blog so look out for some much needed updates on here!

Have a fantastic day!

10 Minute Sketch Tea Kettle

2011-01-23T19:38:00.000-05:00

Here is today's 10 minute sketch of my tea kettle. I used my colored pencils for this sketch. I decided to keep it simple today:)

Here is the real tea kettle with a cut out drawing of a cup

Kind of weird right? I was going to collage this drawing of a cup into my sketchbook but I thought it looked kind of funny next to a real tea kettle.

Here is my studio space. I worked in my kitchen today because there was tons of natural sunlight today:) Sunny but cold....I am so ready for warm weather!

Well enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

10 Minute Sketch: Favorite Nail Polish

2011-01-22T14:31:00.002-05:00

Here is my 10 minute sketch...actually it took a little longer because I used acrylic paint and had to wait for some areas to dry...but it was still fairly quick! This is a sketch of my favorite nail polish called " Pedal to the Metal" by Sally Hansen. You can see it on my nails in the picture! It is a silvery/purple color and I love it so much! The sketch was completed with a mixture of black pen, watercolor pencils and acrylic paint. I love working in mixed media:)

So what is in store for you this Saturday? Today the husband watched the baby while I was able to run on the treadmill for the very first time in 2 months! I am starting to feel more like myself again:) I can't wait until it is warm outside again so I can run outside (one of my FAVORITE things to do!) Hope you are keeping warm wherever you are...this morning it said it was 2 degrees outside! YUCK!

Have a fantastic Saturday!

Salt Shaker 10 minute Sketch and New Art

2011-01-21T13:38:00.000-05:00

Here is my 10 Minute Sketch for the day....a salt shaker. I used a blue ball point pen and some illustration markers (that smelled very strongly like chemicals by the way...must be careful using them around baby girl!)

I also finished the artwork " Water Bird" which I will be posting in my etsy shop today. It is actually sunny here in Ohio so I took advantage of the natural light by photographing my artwork.

Have a lovely Friday!

Books that Inspire

2011-01-20T10:29:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to quickly post about 2 amazing books I just purchased through Amazon. I bought these because I felt like I needed some more inspiration in my life and these books totally did the trick!

The first book I bought is Print and Pattern by Bowie Style. Bowie Style has a sweet blog as well called..of course...Print and Pattern. I am obsessed with patterns right now and find them so inspiring! This book is FILLED with tons of pattern ideas and awesome color combinations.

The second book I got is called Drawing Lab for Mixed- Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun by Carla Sonheim. There are some amazing ideas in here for people of all ages. As a high school art teacher I am totally going to use some of these ideas! I have been neglecting my drawings recently because I have not had time to make them as "perfect" as I want them to be. This book is more about being creative and really coming up with interesting and innovative drawing ideas...not about making something look totally realistic. It is SO what I need right now!

So if you get a chance check out these books and the authors' blogs, it will totally inspire you!

Also I have decided to start my 10 minute sketches again. I am hoping to stick with it a little better this time...I stopped last time as soon as I started my masters class...blah...I will do better this time I promise! I really miss creating and find that I am not as happy when I don't do art...do you know what I mean?!

So here is my NEW sketchbook that will hold my 10 minute sketches...it is pretty small..perfect for this type of project!

Look at all of these blank pages!

I have started doing some doodles in here though...so inspired by the Print and Pattern Book!

Can't wait to add more color with some watercolors and watercolor pencils:)

Well here is my 10 minute sketch for today:

It is of my sneaker! I used a black ball point pen and my watercolor pencils. For all of my 10 minute sketches I am allowed to use any medium BESIDES a pencil! If you would like to play along and do the 10 minute sketch everyday with me let me know and I would LOVE to check yours out! Just let me know in the comments section:)

Well I am off to get ready for the day! Have a lovely one:)

xoxo

Trying to Fit Art Back In My Life...

2011-01-19T19:32:00.000-05:00

The one thing I really have missed since having my daughter has been being able to work on my artwork...I really took the time I used to have for granted. My little Isla is one month old (wow time has flown!) She pretty much likes to eat, sleep and have me change her diapers. The only thing is that when she sleeps she usually likes to sleep on me:) I LOVE this, however it makes doing other things kind of hard if you know what I mean:)

Today my husband had the brilliant idea to put her in her car seat when she was sleeping because she actually LOVES to sleep in there. Very strange daughter I have! So I was actually able to take her into my studio and get some work done. It was marvelous and lasted about an hour...better than nothing!

Here is a little tour of my studio:

My crazy messy work area and most important item: my mug of green tea! Normally this would be coffee but I am trying to watch my caffeine intake especially with nursing Isla.

I even did a quick sketch about my tea...I didn't get finished though!

Here are some of my finished artworks that can be found in my etsy shop.

And finally here is my latest artwork that I am currently working on:

There is still so much to work on but I am hoping to get some more time this week!

I hope everyone is doing well and I am going to try a lot harder to blog more! I will write more soon:)

xoxo

Favorite New Art Toys

2010-12-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

Did I mention that I have been interested in papercutting? I bought myself some essential new art toys to use for cutting paper better: A self-healing mat and new x-acto blades for precise cuts!

The self-healing mat is amazing! A recommend one for anyone who uses an x-acto knife!

I have been playing around with my new toys and here is a project that I am currently working on:

Nothing is glued down yet...I am still trying to figure out where I want to place my designs. I am in LOVE right now with the combination of white and Paynes gray. It is so winter-like:)

Well I am off to paint some more white paper (sounds kind of weird but yes even my white paper is painted!) I am trying to get everything done soon because I have a feeling the little one MIGHT make an appearance this weekend...fingers crossed!

Have a lovely day:)

Handmade Christmas Presents

2010-12-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

Hello! I just wanted to post my newest artwork that I made for my best friend's twin boys! They are about 8 weeks old and as precious as can be! They are half Kenyan so I wanted to incorporate some of their African heritage into this artwork:

This is how I started the artwork. I hand- painted all of my papers and my canvas and then began to cut out my shapes and patterns.

Here is my end result:

"Harambee" is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events and literally in Swahili means "all pull together." It is the official motto of Kenya and is also located on their coat of arms.

I am going to give this to my friend today and hope she likes it! She doesn't have time to go online anymore so I know she won't see this blogpost:)

I am STILL waiting for this little lady to come! It is almost hilarious all of the things I am trying to do to get her to come. I ate almost a can of pineapple yesterday, a really spicy pepper, Mexican food, tons of raspberry tea and I have been walking on the treadmill everyday! Any other suggestions to get this little lady to come?! Well have a great day! I will post soon:)

More White!

2010-12-13T23:35:00.000-05:00

I am thinking of doing a whole series with mostly white cutouts and a bit of color...what do you think? I am also really into learning more about the process of paper cutting. I have found some awesome pictures here for inspiration! I am going to tweak this process to fit my own style somehow...we shall see how that goes.

The snow finally has stopped for now here in Ohio but it is bitterly cold out! All I want to do is snuggle under the covers with a book or watch a movie! What do you do to stay warm during the winter?

Winter Trees

2010-12-13T12:46:00.000-05:00

I am kind of obsessed with this white and gold paper I made a while ago and have been using it for almost everything. I love the simplicity of white and the cleanliness of it. Anytime I go to an estate or garage sale and purchase furniture I always paint it white...it just goes with everything!

I am STILL waiting for the little one to make her appearance. You will know when she comes because I might not post for a couple of days! Meanwhile I am going to continue making art while I am not so busy and the husband and I are trying to stay warm in Ohio by making cheese dip and watching Christmas movies! Weird combination...yes but fun:) Hope you have a lovely Monday!

Momma and Baby Bird

2010-12-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

Last night while watching It's a Wonderful Life (one of my favorite holiday classics!), I created this little artwork called Momma and Baby Bird. I am currently waiting (ever so patiently) for my own little "baby bird" to come this week. I will keep you updated!

Have a wonderful Sunday...we are getting MORE snow today! I love freshly fallen snow as long as I don't have to drive or go out in it:)

Sketchbooks: Strange Drawings/Collages

2010-12-11T09:25:00.000-05:00

I have a massive collection of sketchbooks that I have drawn, written and collaged in for the past 8 years. These sketchbooks are like little diaries because I notice that I draw from my surroundings and also because I write whatever is running through my mind next to my drawings (even if it completely does not relate to my drawing!) Recently my husband looked in one of my sketchbooks for the first time ( I usually don't let people look through them...I am very self conscious!) and he couldn't believe all of the weird things he found in just one little book! So anyways I thought I would share with you some of my quick little sketches and collages from one of my books.

A quick sketch of my tea

Collage/Painting with the helpful reminder: Draw everyday for 20-30 minutes...I TRY to do this every morning before I go to work.

Totally random assortment of coffee cups, a cake, bird and flowers...my mind is crazy sometimes:)

The garden hose from observation. My husband saw this drawing and asked if any of our neighbors saw me drawing this because they must have thought I was strange!

So those are some snippets from one of my sketchbook. I find that I enjoy adding paint and collage to my sketchbooks best. What kind of sketchbooks do you keep? What are your favorite things to draw?

Gift Ideas for the Ladies that Give Back

2010-12-09T08:11:00.000-05:00

Kerry and Myself (I am wearing one of her necklaces!)

Hello! I just wanted to promote my lovely cousin Kerry's etsy shop called Sweet Charity Designs. It is an amazing jewelry shop where ALL of the proceeds go to Maria High School in Chicago, Illinois. Kerry was an art teacher at Maria High school for a couple of years and wanted to find a way to financially help the students.

From her profile on etsy:

"I am a former art teacher from a Catholic high school on the southwest side of Chicago. I am now a stay-at-home mom, yet I still want to do something to help support the education of young inner-city women.

I teamed up with one of the Sisters I taught with to form "Sweet Charity Designs". We work together on creating the merchandise. I handle internet sales, and Sister Clement goes to craft shows.

100% of our profits go directly into the Maria High School scholarship fund to give underprivileged and exceptional young women the chance for an excellent education.

Maria is a Catholic secondary high school for young women located on the southwest side of Chicago across from Marquette Park in the Chicago Lawn community."

Here are some of her awesome pieces from her store:

I personally have bought a bunch of gifts for people from Kerry this Christmas and I am planning on buying some more for myself later also! So if you get a chance, check out her site!

Up in the Trees

2010-12-08T09:10:00.001-05:00

Here is one of my newest artworks called Up in the Trees. I will be placing it in my etsy shop hopefully later today!

Hope you are having a good week so far! It has been snowing here all week and SO cold! All I can do is drink lots of hot chocolate to keep myself warm:)

Have a great day!

Winter is Here...Officially

2010-12-06T10:31:00.000-05:00

View from my kitchen window

Our backyard (my summer studio is on the right...too cold to be out there now!)

Well it has been snowing pretty hard this morning in Northeast Ohio. It is definitely starting to feel like Christmas:)

The husband and I are complete Christmas dorks. We LOVE Christmas and go all out this time of year! Check out our decorations so far:

Our tree

Going up into our loft

The loft landing

Kitchen centerpiece

I hope you are enjoying the season wherever you may be! I have just started my maternity leave per my doctor. She thought it would be a good idea for me to rest and relax before the baby comes...I would have to agree! I am loving this whole concept of relaxing:)

Today I think I am going to do some artwork and probably some cleaning...so much has to be done before she comes!

I will leave you with a great song that my little brother introduced me to called Bridge to Nowhere by The Sam Roberts Band

Have a great day:)

Free Shipping until December 4th!

2010-11-27T13:35:00.001-05:00

Once in a Blue Moon

Red Deer in Evergreen Forest

I am offering FREE SHIPPING this week in my etsy store until December 4th! So check out some of my holiday favorites shown above:) Simply convo me "Freeship16" and I will take the shipping charges off your order! Happy shopping!

Artwork for Nursery

2010-11-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

I finally finished the artwork for my daughter's nursery! I have been having major issues with sleeping (I read this is common during pregnancy!) and woke up at 4 am this morning and decided to finish the little girl's art! I am in the homestretch now with this pregnancy and cannot wait to meet the little one:)

So here are the finished pieces! We will be framing them in a white mat and white frame and displaying them horizontally across the wall.

The top and bottom artwork are 5 x 7 inches and the middle artwork is 8 x 10. I hope it looks good!

Anyways...I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! So many things to be thankful for this year! I definitely ate my share of stuffing, turkey and green bean casserole(my favorite!) Now it is time to move on to the Christmas season! Happy Holidays!

Scenes from a Baby Shower...

2010-11-18T19:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I am all showered out! Saturday my family and friends had a lovely shower for me at a Hunt and Polo club located in town (pictured above!) and today some of my lovely friends at work put on a shower for me. I am so spoiled!

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

My two lovely Grandmothers!

Fall-inspired Centerpieces...I totally did not go with the baby shower theme...not my style!

My bestie Jen (we have been bffs since 2nd grade!)

Another bestie of mine, Tiffany!

My adorable Mom:)

The husband holding "Baby's first soccer ball"...his new pride and joy!

The most adorable handmade card ever! Don't you love handmade cards:)

Well my due date is getting closer and closer, I hope the husband and I are prepared:)

50 Year Anniversary Commission

2010-11-12T20:20:00.000-05:00

Wow! 2 posts in 2 days...I am on a roll:) I just wanted to post a commissioned piece I just completed for a 50th wedding anniversary. There still might be some tweaking to do but for the most part I think it is kind of fun and festive:) It was only supposed to be in black and white which was super hard for me because I am a lover of all colors! This is what I came up with:

It is 8 x 10 and will go in a white mat and black frame.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! My family and friends are throwing me a shower tomorrow and I am pretty excited to see all of the fun stuff the little one will get:) It is getting very close now!

A Little Pumpkin Carving....

2010-11-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

Why hello! I have been a horrible blogger as of lately...so sorry! I hope all is well with you! What have you been up to? I have been getting ready for our new little addition and also have been busy with teaching and our art club. Recently my school's art club carved 150 pumpkins to display in our downtown! It was so fun and I felt like I was in Star's Hollow (the fictional town in my FAVORITE show the Gilmore Girls.) It was just so quaint!

Here are some of the pictures:

Just some of the pumpkins we carved.

Yay for Art Club!

Robot Pumpkin: The masterpiece that my husband and brother created together. It won 3rd place.

Hope you all had a lovely Halloween...I can't believe Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks! I am so excited to eat LOTS of delicious food...yum! I am already dreaming of green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and STUFFING! What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?

Have a lovely evening and I will post soon!

Winter Wonderland- Original Artwork

2010-10-19T21:07:00.000-04:00

Here is my newest artwork that will be in my etsy store soon! I am enjoying the beautiful fall colors here in Ohio but am already excited for Christmas! Is it too early to listen to Christmas music? Probably! Meanwhile the husband and I are getting ready for Little Lady's arrival which will be in 2 months! Craziness! Busy, busy, busy! Well have a great day!

Watercolor Twigs

2010-10-05T20:43:00.000-04:00

Hi there! Just wanted to post some of my students' beautiful watercolor studies of twigs. They just came out so organic and interesting, I just had to share! Who knew a simple twig could be so elegant and beautiful!?

Have a great day!

Fall Weekend

2010-10-03T08:19:00.002-04:00

Two Pumpkins reminds me of a perfect fall day:)

Did you have a good weekend so far? I did for the most part except it was so rainy and cold here in Cleveland. The husband and I did some cleaning and organizing and I worked on a new painting and some ideas for a new artwork. I also ran on my treadmill for the first time since April. Yuck! I love running outside a million times better than the treadmill! It was so rainy and cold though that I had no choice:(

Anyways, I am off to work out and possibly work on some Christmas card ideas...yes, Christmas already! I am hoping to have some cards in my etsy shop by November. Here are some of my cards from last year that I will be offering again:

Well have a great Sunday! I will leave you with this relaxing song that I am currently listening to by Colin Hay. Yes, he is the lead singer from Men at Work! I just love his mellow voice though...perfect for a rainy Sunday morning. Have a good one:)

Grisaille Update

2010-10-02T09:15:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hope you are enjoying the weekend already! I just love Saturdays! I got to sleep in until almost 8 today! I am enjoying this now because I know when our little lady arrives I will not get to enjoy sleep as much:)

So, how are you? Things with me are pretty busy especially with school. I am having a pretty good year so far and have the best students! I just posted some of their artwork on my classroom blog, PHS ARTROOM if you would like to check it out.

A couple of weeks ago (yes it has been that long!) I posted about a technique called grisaille. The technique involves in creating a complete black and white value underpainting and then glazing color on top. Here is my painting that I started with color added to it now. It is not done by any means but i wanted to show you how the value underpainting really comes through underneath the applications of color.
Here are the two paintings:
Before: Black and White Underpainting

After: With Acrylic Color On Top

I still need to add a ton to this painting but I sometimes like to leave it looking unfinished when i show my students so they can kind of get an idea of my process.

Anyways! Hope you have a lovely October weekend! The husband and I are going out to buy some wonderful fall-inspired decorations today. I am all about mums, pumpkins and decorative squash and berries. So excited to pretend to be Martha Stewart today:) Have a great day!

Leaves of Change

2010-09-26T13:08:00.000-04:00

Hello! Here is my newest artwork in my etsy shop. It is called Leaves of Change and reflects my LOVE of this time of year! It really is starting to feel like fall here in Ohio.

Hope everyone is doing well! I have been very busy with the school year and also with getting things ready for our newest addition coming in December! The husband and I are so excited and can't believe in 3 months we will be parents! Wow!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Grisaille or Grissaille painting

2010-09-13T18:09:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend:) I had a wonderful relaxed one with the husband! I just wanted to pop in and show you a little grisaille painting I am working on. Grisaille or Grissaille...I have seen it spelled both ways! A grisaille is basically a value underpainting that can be glazed over with color. I love this technique and am currently having my painting classes do this for their first "real" project this year. So here is the beginning of my grisaille:

Once I finish it I will post the end results:) I am so excited to glaze color over it though!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-09-08T18:26:00.000-04:00

Well I have been neglecting this blog haven't I? It always seems to happen at the beginning of the school year! I have been very busy with my classes and have been feeling incredibly exhausted! The little girl has been sucking the life out of me I guess!

I hope you are doing well and enjoying the changing of the seasons. I am so excited for fall...I just love cooler temperatures, honeycrisp apples (I bought some already!) and pumpkin spice lattes! YUM!

I just wanted to stop in and say hello and that I have not disappeared off of the face of this earth! I will be posting more soon, I just need to get myself organized!

I will leave you with this wonderful, oldie but goodie song that I have loved for years. I just found my Mazzy Star cd and was so excited to hear Fade Into You again! Makes me think of my high school years:)

Well I am off to do some school work, talk to you soon!

Nursery Artwork

2010-08-29T21:26:00.000-04:00

Right now I am working on some artwork for the nursery. I am going to stick with light purple, light yellow, white and green. I don't have much progress done but I am hoping to work on it this week. I will post the finished results!

We got our crib bedding from Land of Nod and we just love it! Her room is pretty simple so far but I am sure we will find more things to fill it up!

Hope you had a great weekend! It went so fast didn't it? The husband and I just relaxed and went out to dinner and grilled out. It was beautiful weather in Ohio and I can't believe that in 3 months it will be almost December! I can't even think of snow right now!

Jack Henry also had a great weekend. He hung out with us and sometimes I found him looking very pensive.

I wonder what he was thinking about?!

Candy Corn and High School Art Projects

2010-08-28T19:04:00.000-04:00

That's right..I caved. I bought some candy corn even though it is still August and candy corn is more of a fall thing. Oh well, it was delicious!

Well I hope you have had a great week! Sorry I have not written on here in an entire week but I was crazy busy with the first week of school and our open house on Thursday night. I was at school until 9 pm Thursday! I think I am going to have some wonderful classes though so I am excited for that!

I have been working on getting my students ready to start their first project on Monday. My intro to art students will be doing a project that kind of resembles a patchwork quilt. Here are some examples from previous years:

Basically students divide an 18 x 24 piece of tagboard into a 3 x 3 inch square grid and draw whatever they want on top for their subject matter. I then have them use at least five different art media (paint, cut paper, colored pencils, marker, pen, etc.) to create an artwork that shows contrast between their subject matter (positive shape) and the background (negative shape). We just learned ALL about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design so they will also have to make their artwork balanced, unified, show movement, pattern, etc!

Sorry to bore you with lesson ideas! I am officially in school mode! I have not done any art for myself this whole week and I am starting to miss it! Hopefully next week/weekend will be a little calmer!

Meanwhile I am keeping myself sane with music (as usual) such as this lovely song by Ray LaMontagne.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I will try to write more next week:)

Art Bulletin Board Ideas

2010-08-23T22:24:00.001-04:00

Wow...very exciting title to my post. Sorry! Since school is almost back in session I have pretty much been living in my classroom. Today I spent the majority of my time working on the bulletin boards in my classroom. Since my school (and every school it seems!) is on a tight budget, I had to purchase my own bulletin board paper! My favorite thing to use is colored wrapping paper. I love Hobby Lobby's huge rolls of fun patterns. However for my bulletin boards I stuck with white and blue as my main colors.

Here is the start of one board:

Elements of Art Board:

I painted the entire border with gold, silver, white and turquoise tempera paint. It took forever but gives the border some depth I think! The elements are all made from some lovely stamps I bought. Luckily I had a student stamp out the elements for me last year so I didn't have to do them again!

Here is my Principles of Design board. It is hard to see but I listed each principle and put an artwork next to the principle that illustrates it. I am going to be adding definitions next to each principle as I go over them with students in class.


Notice the Romero Britto artworks I have hanging above the board?! Kids LOVE his art!

Here is where I keep most of my supplies. This bulletin board was kind of a pain to do because I had to stand on the counter and staple the paper onto the board. Keep in mind I am 6 months pregnant!


Check out all of the NEW labels on my supplies! So fresh and clean to start the year:)

Lastly here is my Old Guitarist by Picasso bulletin board. I just got this poster from amazon and wanted to make it a focal point in my classroom.

Well that is about it for today. I better get to sleep because I have meetings all day tomorrow, a dentist appointment and dinner with a lovely friend! School officially starts Wednesday. I hope I am ready:) Meanwhile, I am listening to this song by David Gray constantly on my ipod. I am in love with his voice and he is one of my favorite artists to listen to especially around the fall. Also check out this song by Florence and the Machine. You might recognize it from the Eat, Pray, Love commercial. The video is definitely creative and interesting:)

Well have a great evening! I hope to write soon. The next couple of days are going to be a bit crazy!

UPDATE: Hello! I just wanted to post some more bulletin board ideas for anyone interested! Looking at my blog statistics I have found this post to be one of my most popular:) For all of you teachers out there here are a couple more ideas:

Animals in Art Bulletin Board

This bulletin board is made up of past student artwork and color printouts of animal art. I have found that borders are super important in the overall aesthetic of a bulletin board. I use construction paper and usually paint on top of it to make it more interesting. For the zebra pattern I just made copies of a zebra printed folder I had and placed it around the bulletin board to unify everything with the sign.

Color Theory Bulletin Board

For this bulletin board I hung up some of the creative color wheels left over from previous years and included vocabulary such as the primary, secondary, intermediate and complementary colors. I also used the space above the bulletin board to display a poster by Kandinsky and paintings that display the use of complementary colors.

Other bulletin boards from previous years:

Black and white pattern is actually tissue paper I bought at Target! Cheap and easy way to cover space!

A more simplified approach...Matisse inspired also!

And if you really have time....

I hand painted this bulletin board and had students create cool leaves if they finished their project early.

I hope some of these ideas were helpful...I will continue to post more as the year goes on! If you would like to see my class blog click here for project ideas.

Back to School

2010-08-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Do you like my wall of faces? This is from my classroom at school. I have these horrible steel doors in the back of my room and decided decorating it with crazy, fun art portraits would be a nice way to cover up the blandness of the doors. (Do you notice the little red face in the bottom right? This is from my red cup drawings from last year. One kid didn't want to draw so this is what was turned in to me...oh my...)

Yesterday was the first day I went back to my classroom all summer. It felt like I had never left! Oh summer how I miss you already! I got some work done but still need to do a ton! One of my main projects is to make my bulletin boards look fun and cool. I think I am going to buy some colorful wrapping paper and tissue paper to dress my boards up a bit. With all of the budget cuts my school is facing, they seemed to have gotten rid of the large rolls of paper I used to use for my bulletin boards:(

I will be sure to post my fun and cool new bulletin board ideas on Monday:) If you have any ideas I would love to hear them!

Have a great Saturday:)

Organization

2010-08-19T16:11:00.000-04:00

Today I am going crazy organizing my closet, my desk, school stuff, etc! It is wearing me out! I finally went through my closet and figured out what pants, skirts and dresses will no longer fit me since being pregnant...so depressing! There is a small amount of clothes that will still fit...so of course I must go shopping! Most of my shirts are pretty flowy and loose so I at least have a bunch of tops to wear once school starts. Today I had a doctor's appointment and I got on the scale and almost gasped! Wow..this baby girl is growing! Everything else was fine at the doctor's which was awesome because I tend to be a worrier!

Anyways here is my semi-organized desk space....I have this overwhelming desire to throw away anything that I have not used in awhile. Maybe I am nesting already?!

Mr. Jack Henry stayed by my side as I organized and cleaned.

I don't know how he feels about getting his picture taken..he looks a little wary of the camera!

Well I am off to relax after a day of organizing! Tomorrow I am going to my classroom for the first time all summer! I must mentally prepare myself on going back:) My new W magazine came so I am going to lose myself in some fall fashion!

Have a great day!

Blue, Green and Yellow Tree

2010-08-18T14:55:00.000-04:00

Newest artwork in my etsy store!

So how are you today? I am pretty good. Just a little stressed out because school starts a WEEK from today! Ahhh! I really don't mind teaching, I actually love it at times! I am just not looking forward to waking up at 5 am! Oh well, at least I have a job where I get to help kids make art all day! That reminds me, I need to work on my classroom blog. I have been such a slacker all summer! Well, I am off to get some work done for school! Have a lovely day:)

Butterfly Mobile/Chandelier for Nursery

2010-08-17T09:42:00.000-04:00

The husband and I have been working on our little nursery a lot lately. Even though our daughter does not arrive until December we are just too excited not to work on it! We are trying not to be too girly and frilly with the nursery, that is just not our styles. However, one very girly thing I found was this awesome mobile/chandelier from Potterybarn Kids.

It is discontinued though! So the husband and I decided to make our own version for the nursery.

Now ours does not look exactly like the Potterybarn one, but we love it just the same:) Here is a close up view of it:

And here it is over our crib:

We got the lovely butterfly decals from NouWall, an AWESOME etsy shop!

If you would like to make your own butterfly mobile/chandelier this is how we did it:

Materials:

* 2 packs of silk thread (we used Jewelry Essentials brand)

*1 pack of small glass beads (once again we used Jewelry Essentials brand)

*1 needle

*A circular hoop for the base of the mobile. (We used the top ring of a lampshade and just cut away all of the fabric-you could also use an embroidery hoop.)

*White sturdy craft paper (I used white scrap paper and painted it white to make it even sturdier)

*A jumbo punch of a butterfly or whatever animal/design you wish to make for your mobile (sadly I could not find a jumbo butterfly punch in the size I wanted so I hand cut every butterfly!!!)

*1 swag hook and anchor to drill into the ceiling (we got ours at Home Depot in the nuts and bolts/hardware section)
*1 S hook to hang the mobile to the swag hook

Procedure:

*To begin I painted my craft paper with designs in white paint. You could use any color you wanted or you don't even have to paint your paper. Your choice!

*Next I cut a stencil of a butterfly and began tracing onto the back of my painted papers. I seriously cut out about 90 butterflies! If you can find a craft punch to do this that was about 2 inches both ways that would be awesome!


My little butterflies!

*Once the butterflies were cut out, it was time to assemble them.

*First figure out how long you want the strands of your outer ring of your mobile to be. Cut the silk thread to the length of your choice. The amount of strands will vary depending on how big your mobile will be. We spaced our strands 2 inches apart and ended up with 16 strands for our outer ring.

* Once we knew how long our strands would be (ours were about 12-14 inches depending on how many butterflies were on each strand) we began to string our butterflies onto each strand. To do this you need a needle to poke a hole in each butterfly.

*We rotated stringing 3 and 4 butterflies on every other outer strand and made them 2 inches apart. A stopper knot was tied to keep the butterflies in place on the strand.

*At the very end of the last butterfly on each strand we placed a small clear bead to give it a finished look.

*Once the outer ring is complete begin on the inner rings. Our base let us only have two inner rings. So our second ring had 5 butterflies and our most inner ring had 6 with 1 strand of 7 hanging down in the middle.

*Once all of your butterflies are strung and hung, it is time to hang your mobile/chandelier.

The husband did this for me..I am not the best at hanging things! He first took 3 strings and tied them into a point at the top of the mobile. He then knotted it to the S hook. Finally he drilled the swag hook and anchor into the ceiling. Finally! We were done!

So there you have it! I hope this tutorial was kind of helpful!

Well I am off to work on some artwork for this nursery! Have a great day:)

Weekend Fun

2010-08-15T20:22:00.000-04:00

My grandma had her 90th birthday party this weekend. It was a blast! My cousin Kate took this picture and I just think it completely captures the moment.

Hope you had a fun and exciting weekend! The husband and I just got back to Cleveland this evening to find almost all of the nursery furniture we had ordered had arrived! He spent most of the evening putting the crib and bookshelf together. It looks great! Tomorrow our bedding and changing table are supposed to come. When we get it all together I will post some photos:)

Rainbow Tree

2010-08-14T07:36:00.000-04:00

Hello! Here is my latest artwork that I am working on! It is called Rainbow Tree (because of all of the colorful leaves!) I still have to paint the sides and apply a gloss varnish and then it will be in my etsy store:) School starts in about a week for me so I am trying to get as much done art-wise as possible. Once school starts I am swamped!

I hope you have some lovely plans for today! My family is having a huge celebration for my Grandma's 90th birthday! My whole family will be in town! I am so excited to see everyone:) Well I am off to start my day! Have a good one!

Fall Tree Artwork

2010-08-12T20:42:00.001-04:00

Here is my latest artwork that I will be placing in my etsy store (hopefully) tomorrow.

I mentioned before how much I love fall and today when I went to the grocery store I saw candy corn out already! I almost bought some but I decided to wait until September or October. I probably did not need all of that sugar anyways:)

I hope you had a great day today. I was working in my summer studio like crazy..it was so much fun:) I lose track of time so easily out there. I put my ipod on shuffle and just paint and collage away!

One new project I am working on is a mixed media artwork. Here is a sneak peak of it:

I just love this quote and am going to let it show through in my artwork. When I decide where I am going with this artwork I will post more pictures. Right now I just have the background.

Well I am off to go and relax with the husband. We have a busy weekend ahead of us so tonight is our night to chill out:) Have a great day!

Sunflowers And Copper Sky

2010-08-11T09:26:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I just wanted to share with you a new artwork I just put into my etsy store:

I am getting quite excited for fall. I love summer but fall just seems like the beginning of a whole new year. I can't wait to buy pumpkin scented candles and eat candy corn! I have already started listening to some of my "fall" music such as David Gray, Damien Rice and Colin Hay. Do you have certain songs you listen to that make you think of a particular season? What is your fall music?

Well I am off to go running...I have not ran in 2 days and am starting to feel like a slacker. It just has been soooooo muggy here in Ohio. Yuck. Bring on the cool Fall weather! Have a great day!

In the Art Studio

2010-08-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hope your Monday is going well! Mine has been pretty busy! We were without power for most of the morning today which also meant....no air conditioning!!! Ahhh! On a day like today (about 90 degrees here in Ohio) I was not so happy!

Anyways...somehow I survived! I worked in my studio for most of the day. Here are some scenes from today:

Progress photo of two paintings

Two Little Pumpkins!

I also was able to pick a pretty little bouquet from my garden!

Well I am going to take a teeny break and then I am going back to work! Have a great Monday!

Fall already?

2010-08-08T09:21:00.001-04:00

Red Bird Original Artwork

What a beautiful morning it is here in Ohio! It is so hard to imagine that in 3 months it will be November and cold out! However, I am very excited about the fall. It really is my favorite time of the year! Today I think I will create some "fall" inspired artwork. Here are some fall artworks I have done in the past:

Fall is so inspiring!

Hopefully I will be able to post something later today to show you! I recently purchased some wonderful artist panel boards and I am so excited to start working on them:)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Saturday Surprise:)

2010-08-07T09:15:00.004-04:00

Cafe (is bliss)

Good Morning Lovelies! Hope everything is going well with you! I had a fantastic Friday night celebrating my birthday with my family. I even got to have peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream as my birthday "cake". I have been craving peach cobbler for a while now so it was very exciting for me:)

Today I am off to a cookout with some wonderful friends. Love summer cookouts! Actually, I love cookouts anytime of the year:)

I actually also have some fun news to share...it is kind of big news.....

It involves a room we are working on:

Here are some things I would like to put in this room:

Land of Nod

Restoration Hardware

Pottery Barn Butterfly Mobile

The husband and I are having a baby girl! She is due December 18th and we are super excited:) I am on my 22nd week and feel very good so far! I am still running every day (at a much slower pace of course!) and have had major cravings for fruit and vanilla ice cream! I just wanted to share this exciting news with you!

Well I am off to look for more fun baby items:) I am so excited to plan her nursery!

Have a great Saturday

Favorite things

2010-08-05T15:31:00.000-04:00

Some of my favorite things are....

Summer strawberries on this adorable green and white napkin

This beachy art print that hangs near my bed

This sign, gray pears and fun coffee mug:)

I think it is so important to surround yourself with things that you love and inspire you. What are some of your favorite things?

Etsy Treasuries, Fondue, Birthdays and a Giveaway!

2010-08-04T08:44:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Just wanted to share with you this lovely treasury I am in on etsy! So exciting! If you get a chance I would love it if you could check it out:)

So what are your plans for today? I will be driving back to my small lil' hometown in Northwest, Ohio today. It is my birthday on Friday and I will be celebrating it with my family and some wonderful friends. The husband will be sailing in a regatta all weekend in Put-In-Bay. We celebrated my birthday early by going to the Melting Pot for a 4 course fondue meal on Monday. Oh my...heaven:) I could eat fondue every day!

I am also thinking of having a giveaway soon with one of my artworks....the question is what should I give away? If you get a chance please check out my etsy store and let me know what you think would be a cool thing to give away. Would you like a mini 5 x 5 painting, a Vino reproduction print, hmm... I just don't know!?

Well I am off to go running and then pack for my trip! Have a wonderful day!

Rainy Day in Northeast Ohio

2010-08-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

Hope you are enjoying your Tuesday! It is pretty rainy and humid here in Northeast Ohio but I don't mind!

Here is my view out my back window:

Kind of cloudy out still!

On days like this I LOVE to listen to songs like this:

l
Anyways I have been trapped inside for most of the day and was able to finish up two big projects for my masters class! Yay! I think I am done for the summer:)

I also was able to add some reproduction prints to my etsy store! I will be adding a couple more later today or tomorrow:) Here are some of the prints going into my store:

These are some of my favorite paintings that I have done. I am only doing a limited edition printing of only 20! They look great in a 5 x 7 frame or mat and are fun gifts:)

Oh and here is another artwork that I recently finished:

Well I am off to do some more paintings! I am trying to enjoy my free time as much as possible before school starts August 23rd. Ahhh! Summer went by too fast! Have a lovely, lovely day:)

Dandelion Days

2010-08-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

Newest artwork! I will be adding this to my etsy shop soon!

Enjoy your Sunday! The husband and I are recovering today from a wedding we attended yesterday. We LOVE to dance and definitely wore ourselves out busting a move last night:) Tomorrow I am hoping to be a little more productive! I love lazy Sundays:)

Fashion Collage Sketchbook

2010-07-31T13:01:00.001-04:00

Here is a little sketchbook I did using some found papers (for the background) and blue paper with pencil for the illustrations of the lovely ladies. I love playing around with mixed media in my sketchbook:)

Fuji Apple Sketchbook

2010-07-30T08:34:00.001-04:00

I think it is important to draw what you love. Writers write what they know, artists should draw/paint what they know and love.

So today I drew part of my breakfast! A lovely Fuji apple:) They are my favorite except of course for Honeycrisp apples. I cannot wait until the fall when those come out:)

I used pen and my favorite Prisma colored pencils. I am a very messy and sketchy drawer if you cannot tell:) Patience is something I am still trying to master!

Have a fabulous Friday!

Summer Days

2010-07-29T07:55:00.001-04:00

The one thing I LOVE about summer vacation is that I get to sleep in as late as I want and there is usually no hurry to get up and go! I get to relax and drink my latte while watching the news. That is what I am doing right now:) Sleeping in late means 7/ 7:30 am though because Mr. Jack Henry likes to get me up early to go outside. Today he got me up at 6:30...ahhh!

This is how Mr. Jack Henry usually spends his time.

I hope you are enjoying your summer as well! Today I am going to continue working on my projects for my online masters class. I cannot wait to be done with it! I also hope to work on some more artwork and to finally list some new artwork in my etsy shop. I actually have some prints to sell in my shop and I am excited to post them!

Well here is another little artwork I worked on yesterday in my summer studio.

This 5 x 5 original painting is part of my Head in the Clouds series. I am obsessed with clouds right now. They can be so happy sometimes:)

Well I am off to start my day! Have a great one!

Bloggity Blog on a Wednesday

2010-07-28T15:20:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hope everyone is having a great week so far! I have been crazy busy trying to finish some school work for one of my summer classes. I cannot wait to be done with it! I just thought I would post a new mini painting I just completed.

This mini painting is called "Afternoon Tea" and will be in my etsy shop as soon as I get a chance to post it!

Meanwhile, I also have fall on my mind already! Here is a little fall tree painting/collage:

I hope to put this in my shop soon also! Oh lots to do, lots to do indeed! Well back to work I go! Have a great day:)

Collage of artwork

2010-07-22T21:12:00.001-04:00

Here is a little photo collage of some of my artwork. I think it is fun to see a group of artwork done by one artist all together. It really shows the feeling and style of the artist.

Little Red Bird

2010-07-20T20:28:00.000-04:00

I just finished this little painting/collage tonight! Planning on adding it to my etsy store soon:)

Purple Bird in Garden/Mini Painting

2010-07-18T22:09:00.001-04:00

New artwork that can be found in my etsy store!

This is a little mini 5 x 5 inch painting. I think it would look so cute in a little white or black frame:)

Hope you all had a great weekend. I have been reading and painting a ton! Just what summer is for, right?! Time for me to work on my summer class tomorrow though:( Boo!

Garden Scene

2010-07-17T08:45:00.001-04:00

Here is a little summer garden scene I just completed. I would just love to have a little bistro table and chairs out in my garden. There are some adorable bistro sets available to purchase I might just have to splurge and get one for myself:) Until then I have this little painting:

Have a great Saturday!

Mini Garden Painting

2010-07-15T10:02:00.000-04:00

Well, the week is almost over! Wow..it is really flying by! Hope all is well with you, I have just been painting away in my little studio! Here is a mini painting inspired by my garden that I just completed:

Up close:

I just love summer...I feel like everywhere you look there is some sort of inspiration:) Well I am off, I have LOTS of errands to do but hopefully I will get some painting time in today:)

Bistro Scene

2010-07-14T19:06:00.000-04:00

I have been busy working away in my studio!

Here is one of my newest paintings:

Up close:

Have a great Wednesday:)

Set Sail

2010-07-12T17:36:00.001-04:00

Another collage:)

This collage was inspired by my husband's love for sailing. He wants to buy a sailboat in the worst way! Maybe someday:)

Have a great Monday!

Sunday Painting and Collage Techniques

2010-07-11T20:43:00.003-04:00

Hello! Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend:) Today the husband spent most of the day watching the final World Cup soccer match so I was able to paint out in my studio ALL day long! *Lovely*

First I made myself a lovely and refreshing drink to keep me going:

This little drink is made up of cranberry juice and club soda with a squeeze of lime! I am obsessed with club soda right now. It makes everything fizzy:) Also it is KEY to have a fun straw..straws make everything better:)

In my studio I decided to work on some collages.

I am using found papers from magazines, old envelopes, and basically anything pretty that catches my eye:)

Here is the matte medium I use to glue down my papers. I use a paint brush to apply the medium to the back of my papers and also apply this on top of the papers to give a nice hold. I also use the back of my paintbrush to burnish the top of the papers so they stick down. Matte medium dries clear so it is a wonderful material to use for collage:)

After I have my collage pieces down, I use acrylic paint to paint over parts of my collage. Here are some finished painted collages:

Once I have my painted collages, I begin to paint my subject matter on a separate piece of paper with acrylics or watercolors.

For this piece I chose to paint a coffee mug and saucer.

I also LOVE to use Golden fluid acrylics. They are amazing for fine detail!

When my coffee cup was dry, I used an x-acto blade to cut it out and then I glued it to one of my finished collages with matte medium:

I also added some writing to my little painting with white fluid acrylic paint:

So that is what I did today:)

Scenes from my backyard...

2010-07-10T22:29:00.000-04:00

What a lovely day I had in my backyard! It was sunny and warm and I was able to finish a book. Love sunny Saturdays:) Hope you had a great day!

Floral Still Lifes

2010-07-09T10:57:00.000-04:00

Hello! Happy Friday to you! Hope you had a lovely week! I have been busy in the studio creating many little floral still life paintings. Most of these are not in my "usual" collage style. I love to paint with acrylics and was just playing around with some different pictures I found in some of my old Martha Stewart magazines. Her magazines always have such wonderful photo references:)

Here is a still life more in my usual collage/abstract style:

Still Life 1

The rest are just some fun practice paintings I did using acrylic paint:

Still Life 2

Still Life 3

Still Life 4 (copied from a vintage painting I found in a magazine)

Well I wish you a wonderful weekend! I am off to work on some more paintings:)

Another Alfresco Scene

2010-07-05T13:19:00.000-04:00

Today I have been working in my studio and wanted to post an artwork that I just finished and a couple of pieces that I just started:)

Here is my newest painting: Wine Cafe Alfresco (I am obsessed with dining alfresco...especially in a quaint little forest!)

Here is a little series of 6 that I am working on. These are just the backgrounds, I will be adding something fun on top when they dry:)

Well I am off to work some more in my studio! I will post pictures later after I work on my series a little more! Have a great day!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T20:44:00.001-04:00

Hope you have a lovely and relaxing 4th of July! This flag was actually used as a postcard promotion for my school's annual spring art show. Our theme was the "Great All-American Art Show." I thought it would be fitting to post on this special holiday!

Now go and enjoy some fireworks!

Working in the studio...

2010-07-02T19:36:00.000-04:00

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day to be working in my summer studio!

Here are some of the mini paintings I worked on:

I also picked some lavender from my garden....I am in LOVE with lavender! So fragrant!

Well I am off to start my weekend, have a HAPPY 4th of July!