The REAL life of an art teacher!

No joke,
This is the real life of an art teacher.... cleaning!!!

ok, not a great pic, but anyway...
 
It's 9:30 pm and the kids are finally tucked in and I'm still what? What's that I see? Yes, my dishpan hands once again after cooking a gourmet meal for my family. As a sweep the countertops for the 3rd time and  reflect on my day... how many times have I wiped a table, floor, chairs, countertops, sinks and yes, a kids face with paint on it?

 And instead of sitting down to relax, here I am again, cleaning.

Good thing I'm a little bit of a clean freak or I would never make it as an art teacher!

First thing this morning, a kindergartener dumps paint and water all over the place. I have several kids tip toeing around with buckets of water as I plead with them... "please be careful" "walk slowly" "no, not there" "leave the water" "put it down"  "beside the sink" "yes there" (as I feverishly slosh water around with the cheap brown towels the school supplies. No bounty here! I feel the stress closing in on me as I'm all alone with up to 26 of them each class period.   "help me.."

Next, I have my fifth graders walking in with no time in between (due to spillage) to draw on nice clean tables... right..

Later that day, yet again during a clay lesson, and then an oil pastel lesson, I'm wiping tables!
When I get home, no wonder I get a little testy with the fam.

Life is busy. I love the satisfaction of seeing a clean room. A clean space. And yes, a clean counter.

But reflecting on my day, I also see, life gets messy, just like art gets messy sometimes. If not, you're not living!

What are your cleaning tips for balancing work and family? I'd love to hear your ideas.


For now,
Keep Calm, just paint..... 
my cleaners are coming this week!! Yippeeeee


-Dana

Computer paint fun

Fun with painting on the computer

 

Well, I didn't break out the paints exactly today as planned, but managed to pull off some fun painting for the first time on my computer. Just playing around with colors. What do you think? I have to admit it is quite addicting!

 

 

 

Abstract marshlands

 

 

Pink marshes

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!

 

 

Keep calm and paint! Without the mess this time.

 

 

Dana

Winter Olympic Fun!

Hi everyone!
I'm back! I have had so much fun with my students on the days we are in school with creating Olympic inspired artwork! My first grade classes are drawing winter animals such as snow leopards, arctic foxes, penguins, polar bears and arctic hares. We read the book ,Where Snowflakes Fall, by Claire Freedman and Tina Macnaughton and discussed winter animals and their habitats. The illustrations are just gorgeous in this book!
Next, we studied olympic sporting events and drew an animal in action. I love the way the students dressed their animals with scarves, hats, mittens, ice skates and snow skies. Too funny! Next, I cut on the animals and attached them to the scenic mural in the main hallway of our school in their various poses.

My fourth graders had the opportunity to create their own  pictogram for the winter olympics in art. First we practice gesture drawing and each student modeled a "pose" or gesture of a sporting event.  After getting the feel of how to show action with our gesture lines, students created their pictogram with the quilt patterns seen in the Russian folk quilts.  We looked at the Sochi 2014 designs and how the random patterns and bright colors enhanced the pictograms this year. Students used the patchwork designs inside their pictograms and cut them out and mounted them on a color that would "pop".

The rest of the related arts team at Rock Rest is currently working on reports, music and olympic games in their special areas. I think the students are getting a great cultural experience by studying Russia and there are many Olympic hopefuls among us at the elementary level.

Enjoy the Snow! I'm making snow cream with my kiddies!
Happy painting!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new blog!

This blog is about life as an elementary art teacher, mom, and the aspiring artist I'm striving to be. So far, I've reached my goals except for the artist one. I'm currently working on establishing myself as an emerging artist and entering local art shows. My art show was this past weekend in an art auction called "Art with Heart", held in founder's hall here in Charlotte, NC. Unfortunately, I came down with the flu this weekend and was unable to attend the event. Seriously! But, that's life right? It was donated to a silent auction and I'm dying to know how much it went for.

 (Hopefully details to come soon)

 

Little background on me though. After moving to Charlotte and marrying my husband Jason, I've been a muralist on the side for the past 16 years. Teaching art has always been my fulltime job, but I chose to take some time off for the kiddos after they were born.

This past summer, I took a studio painting class to refresh my skills as a painter and recently got the guts to put a piece in a show.

 

 

 

Me and my latest mural at Matthews Presbyterian Church

"God's Creation"

 

Here is the piece donated to Art with Heart Auction 2014

 16x20 entitled "Abstract Trees"

Acrylics

 

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed my first post!

 

Remember,

Keep calm, just paint:)

 

 

Dana