Our Owl Mascot

Otis symbolizes many good memories of our kid’s elementary school.  It was then, a small neighborhood school which was warm, diverse and caring, under the leadership of a terrific principal who greeted each child and parent every morning and at dismissal by name. An owl is still the school mascot.  My husband  carved this one …

Sketchbook Page Prep

I love to pre-prepare my sketchbook with various media to kick-start a creative page.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with sketching directly onto a blank page, but a wet into wet watercolor wash is every so much more exciting to play with.  The above face rendered in blues, is the result of a wet …

KiDs aRT:sTiLl LiFE

Any memories of  a pear, a Chianti bottle, and a bicycle wheel propped, draped, lit, and placed  in front of you on a rainy Monday morning?  Ring any bells?  Art class and the mandatory still life. What I think makes this time-honored and very useful drawing exercise somewhat more interesting, is the freedom to choose …

Creative Kids

Were you the kid who  got lost in your paint, glue, and other art materials?   I mean it literally.   Maybe you know a child who sees her own body as an extension of her paper or canvas or sculpture.  While her peers are relatively neat and disciplined about their creative work, this child jumps …

KIds aRT

The title of Callie’s piece is “Tortured Fruit”.   A really fine acrylic painting that beautifully depicts the actual unfortunate fruit.  Callie achieved the realistic effects in this work through a series of acrylic washes.  This is a time-honored technique of the “Old Masters” tweaked for the materials we use in 2011.   I think …

Back To School:How’s it going?

Most students are back at school. The September phase that I like to call “transition” is in place.  It’s the settling in period- for parents, college students, and K-12’s alike.  Teachers must experience this too.  It’s about becoming comfortable with new terrain.  In my experience, “transition” seems to last approximately  two weeks. I’ve  played with a couple …