Playing in My Studio

Wow! My summer vacation is almost over. We fabulous teachers report back to school on August 6th. It will be two weeks before the kiddos come back. There is much to be done and learned before that happens. I am excited and looking forward to another group of wonderful second graders. Yay!

I have had an interesting and most productive vacation. First, I managed to take and pass the Praxis II test which allowed me to apply and receive my Level 2 teaching license. Thank goodness that is over.

Second, I started exercising again. I see a tiny bit of improvement. What I figure is if I do the exercises every day then sooner or later something will happen. That is it on that.

Another bit I did was go on some mini vacations. One to a resort town and the other camping. Both were fun.

Finally, maybe not finally because there were other activities that I did, but I just want to get to the art. I started a fun project using 3x5 index cards. The plan is to draw, paint, collage, etc., on one card daily. At first, it was difficult for me to figure out what to create on them. Those beginning cards are not so great, but hey they do show my progress. I have used a lot of my pens and paints so far on these little cards. Yes, the paper is horrible for some techniques, but still exciting to see what happens. I also write what material was used in the creating of the art piece on the back of the card. That way when I come back to them and wonder what was used to create it the information will be on the back of the card. The project was started on June 18th and as of today, there are 44 cards. Some of the cards I have used in my art journal that was also started this summer. That journal is fun and unique, but that is for another post. Probably when I get more done in it.

Another art project I did was to create in an art journal that I have had for a couple years now. It is a journal that I play in, so it does not matter if there are mistakes. There is no such thing as a mistake if you learn from it and yes, I learned from the mess-ups.

To help jump-start my art heart I watched some artists on YouTube. One such artist is James Burke. He creates wonderful non-realistic drawings of women (mostly). One of his videos shows what he does when he gets new art materials such as paint and markers. He makes swatch dolls or buildings. I loved the idea and because my studio contains so many markers, paints and various types of pens, I decided to create swatch dolls and buildings. Wow! What fun it has been and very freeing. I have discovered fun pens that have been hiding in my stash. Creating these swatches has helped me so much. I can feel the artist child in me screaming with a joyful noise.

The ladies in the picture above were created one day just for fun similar to Mr. Burke. I added my own twist. They are done with artist markers and other pens in the above-mentioned art journal. The journal is filling up with some fun and very colorful drawings. Yay!

Okay, these are just some of the activities I have done during my vacation. It is so nice having a studio again. I have missed it and my artist child is extremely happy.

Be well, Be happy, my friends.

Where Have I been?

I have been working on getting my Level II teaching license. Still not quite done yet. The first thing that I wanted to get done was my portfolio. I had several ideas going and was stalled by my choices.

When it came to why I was having a problem is the perfectionist in me. The one who thought that my portfolio had to be so good that it would get an "A". This is totally silly because I was not going to be graded on it. The portfolio was simply a way to show others that I am progressing as a teacher. This helped me to choose the method of how I wished to present my portfolio. What I ended up doing is revamping my website.

At first, I thought that it would be a simple thing to do. It was simple but very time-consuming. Okay, I could have just added some bits and pieces and called it good, but there again, the perfectionist in me had to have the website nearly perfect. Argh! Why do I do that to myself!? Not sure, perhaps it is how I grew up or how I was taught. I do not know, but trying to be perfect is annoying. It sometimes causes me to not do anything. My thinking is that if I can't be perfect at such and such then why do it. There are times when it is so bad that I am paralyzed by that thinking I have to be perfect. It has caused panic attacks and other illnesses. I have lost days from all this nonsense. I can't get those days back. However, I can start each day with the knowledge that no matter what I am perfect just the way I am. That mistakes are learning moments.

I have to move forward in my thinking. Move towards the best that I can be and not judge myself by what others think. Be grateful for the knowledge that if my feet touch the floor every morning when I am blessed with another day. Another day to do what I am meant to do and what I wish to do. I will be perfect when I leave this world and go to the next. For now, I must not let that perfectionist demon ruin another day.

Be well, be happy, my friends!

Dunbar - A Book Review

St. Aubyn's reimagining of Shakespeare's infamous play, King Lear is just a gritty as the original. Lear is a man who is greedy with power and pride. Dunbar is a modern version of the original. A man driven by power and pride that eventually ends in the destruction of his empire and the one daughter that truly loved her father. Her love was for the man, not money or prestige. She only wanted the love and acceptance of her hard-hearted father. His other daughters are the female version of their father. Hard-hearted and cruel doing whatever it takes to get the power of the corporation.

I enjoyed reading St. Aubyn's version of King Lear. It was gritty and tragic. There was a couple of problems that I personally had. One is that I really do not know completely how the business world works. Not sure how stocks bought and sold can affect the bottom line of a corporation. Even so, I was able to follow the story and enjoy the up and down emotions of the characters. The other problem that might bother some is the profanity and sexual scenes. That being said, to me they added to those characters whom said and did the actions. Without those scenes and profanity, the character's evilness would have fallen flat. So if you don't like it then do not read this book. However, if it does not bother you and you are a fan of Shakespeare then I highly recommend St. Aubyn's Dunbar.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”