OMG...I am still alive and kicking ...promise!

OMG its November and I haven't posted anything in the last two months!!!!! Just a huge sign that this school year has completely taken over my life! Yeah, this really needs to get a grip on what it is that I do and am! New Principal in town and a course I haven't taught for a while, and huge class sizes are really starting to get to me! I promise I am making in my sweatshop, just don't have the time or energy to post anything about it. I will make a promise right now, to make this change in the immediate future! Especially since I just found out what a huge impact I have on the economic status of our fair city. Check out this video from Baltimore ignite...you may see a familiar group in her pics. OK...I promise to post new product pics and this holiday show schedule as it currently stands!

"Would of, Should of, Could of"

Tomorrow is our Professional Development Day for Baltimore County Teachers , in which all us art teachers get to get together , this one day of the year. We get the whole run down of important new information, the introduction of the newbies and then a variety of teachers present workshops that teachers sign up for in advance…And yours truly gets to present my unit : "The Art of Making Evidence...A journal problem that asks how do you prove that you exist? An experiment in brain storming and thought provoking through the exploration of contemporary Art". Using the Art 21 series I've created a unit, or I like the word progressive series, for my students to learn about what is going on in art today. To find some new artist mentors that are contemporary artist. Asking Essential Questions as the catalyst to creative thought! As well as showing artist that use film, video, installation, photography and performance to make impressive statements! The more I show my students contemporary art, the more receptive they are to it. Point Blank, it is what we see when we go on our field trips and then its so amazing to see this instant click of open mindedness to the work that use to be very different before I started to teach my students abut contemporary art! Not to also mention that we are dealing with post-modern themes and content...and we are teaching and raising post modern children. Here is a little preview from one for the artist I'm highlighting for discussing the subject of romance and regret! Laurie Simmons has been one of my up most favorites for such a long time and this short segment of her work is so beautiful!

Watch the full episode. See more ART:21.

And then there was summer camp!

After I taught my painting class at MICA I moved on to Baltimore County's Summer Enrichment Camp to the Drawing portfolio class that was also high school kids...in this case for more than half the class...kids going on to Carver that will be in the 9th. grade this coming school year. So we're talking 12 high school kids drawing every day from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon! Could you do that? Lunch got a little longer everyday. But I have to tell you. this group was amazing too! We would do drawing from observation in the morning. GO to lunch. Watch an Art 21 segment on a contemporary Artist. Then start another drawing assignment that had more thinking..creative thought involve. Again my mission these days is to get my students to THINK! So we ended up building paper forts! What a great idea! The entire room turned into one huge installation. Jelling the group together and making some pretty good darn drawings. Here is our installation! If you go onto the Baltimore County Public School site you can catch a video about the whole school. I make a very brief showing!

Summer in Review

I've been meaning to post these pics for some time now. I have to say this...this painting class that I taught this summer at MICA was amazing! Not only did they simply rule in the risk taking department they were the best little critique group I have ever had...well...maybe second to my AP class of 2009...What am I saying all of my classes rule! Well, here are most...some had to leave erly and I didn't get their pics.

My Awesome YPS Class

YPS stands for the Young Peoples Studio at MICA. And this is my 3rd. summer teaching a beginning oil painting class. It keeps growing with a whooping 16 kids and its been great this summer. We are ending our first week today and I've been busy making my power point of portrait mentors that include the likes of Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, Elizabeth Payton, Shawn Barber and Kerry James Marshall to name a few of my favorites. Here are some pics from this week.

THis is my office that I call the cage..

I call it my cage, because it is exactly that...a cage..i'm hoping this helps to explain why I go crazy some days when I am in here for hours on end on my "B" days...

Bragging Rights...What my Ap kids are Up To

It's that mid-year time and my Advance Placement kids have been plugging away on their portfolios. I thought I would post one piece from each. Every year is so different form the next. That's the part of my job that I truly love. These guys have grown so much this year. I can't wait ti see what May will bring!

one reason why I teach

today I woke up not feeling too well...the old ear ache and porcupine in the throat syndrome...and yet, I had to admit, I am so lucky to get to do what I do everyday. I love my job. I absolutely love teaching. And yes today was my day teaching three classes in a row starting with my Fundamentals of art class of 33 , which goes right into my studio class who are painting with oil paint and full of messy Marvin's and then we get a hint of a break with, if I'm lucky, a 20 minute lunch with my buddy Tricia and then another fundamentals of art class which is a talkative GT group of only 22.....but I am so lucky to make a mark in this world. I am childless but I have many children out there...and i love them all. They always come through when I need them and they always, and I mean always make me smile! I had this song in my head with the wonderful memory of the first time I saw this movie at my grand parents house on a Saturday afternoon in the mid 70's. My sister had to watch it for a class she had in either junior or senior high...I'll have to ask her...but it made a very strong impression on me. My favorite movie and song to date!

More from Art CAmp!

I wanted to post our last drawings of the week. Self Portraits! This group is quite amazing! I get a new batch this week.

My New Group of Awesome Artists!

I started to teach another group of kiddies for the Summer Enrichment Camp for Baltimore County . This group consists of students going into 9-12 grades. Most are working on portfolio's for future applications and AP tests. Most of this group are going into 9th grade and have been going to this camp since going into the third grade! I have truly loved watching these budding artists grow. I hung up the laundry for them to draw today...and see for yourself..some pretty remarkable drawings!