Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Anticipation


My students can't wait for the day to end. Not because they are ready to be out of school. They are waiting for the results of an art show. We put 49 pieces of art up for jury into the 2009 Vigo County Art Show and find out this afternoon if any of them made it. There were 365 entries and they on select 65 for the show. This is the first year we have entered work, so even one piece would be great. I will let you know tomorrow how we do!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Glitz and Glam 2009


This year we had our first annual Glitz and Glam fundraiser for Prom. The Junior and Senior girls volunteered their Valentine's Morning to paint nails, do hair, make lip gloss, and give makeovers to the elementary students in the Paris area. For a donation, the elementary students were able to participate in the event. It was a great time and a complete success for prom. We are excited for next year. I am not sure who had more fun, the little girls or the big girls!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Round Two


My Advanced Art Kids suprised me with a fantastic party this afternoon. I am pretty sure that I am the luckiest teacher in the world!

BIRTH-DAY


Today Jordan and I are celebrating our birthdays with a little cookie party in class and matching shirts! Fabulous!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Art 1- wire sculpture


This week I am going to try to get images up that show what is going on in our classroom. We have a lot of projects in the works. Art one is currently working on a free form wire sculpture.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Priorities

Yesterday morning I was lying in bed thinking about my priorities, for the day, the week, the rest of the month. As kids, we have a schedule we follow. Life is pretty simple, breakfast, school, practice, homework, bed, repeat. But after we graduate and get jobs, it is a whole new ballgame. We begin to find ourselves juggling, our husbands and wives, work, our kids, our friends, our hobbies, and our rest. There are times when I simply feel overwhelmed and I look at other people and wonder if they are in the same boat as I am. As a teacher, there is one more struggle that presents itself and that is how to not let our work overlap in to our personal lives. And that is a tough one. We worry. We worry about our lesson plans, our observations, getting through to students, about that one student who doesn't seem to care, or the student who came to class crying the day before, or the student who has suddenly stopped coming to class at all. I laugh sometimes because I will ask my husband how his day was at work and he will say, the same as everyday. And I think about that and realize how very lucky I am. Everyday at work is different for me. Each day provides me with new knowledge, new approaches, new empathy, and a new love of what I do. If being overwhelmed every once in a while and adjusting my priorities from time to time are the only downfalls in my life, it must not be so bad at all. So the worry comes naturally and I am slowly learning how all of these small parts impact my life and make me the person I am and I don't think that I want to change a single one.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Second Semester


OK, so apparently high school students are crawling out of the woodwork and into art! Yeah us! We have four new classes this semester so that makes a total of four Art 1 style classes. My mental count for the year, makes over 100 new students taking an art class for the first time...how exciting is that. Not bad for a high school with around 600 students. That isn't even counting my repeats in the advanced classes and specialty classes. I am so proud of where our art program is going and the levels of achievement taking place. For a small school we are doing our best to create new and exciting coursework. I believe that one of our strongest features is offering individualized classes rather than grouping Art 1, Art 2, Art 3, etc. Instead our curriculum consists of classes such as Painting and Drawing, Photography and Graphic Design, Sculpture and Ceramics, Hand Arts, Advanced Art, Art Survey, and Art 1. I hope we can maintain these numbers for the years to come.