Sunday, April 24, 2011

Noah's Ark Watercolor





At most of the schools where I work, there is rare opportunity to actually demonstrate and work on my own pieces. Fortunately, at this last school I was able to accomplish this piece. I was asked not to speak about God if asked by any of the students about the piece. For me, this piece really just is about that fact we are all part of this earth.....small and insignificant....but also whimsical and fun!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Residency at West Hempfield Elementary School

After firing about 1200 clay tile pieces, I am finally finishing up my residency at West Hempfield Elementary School. This twenty day residency, having been split into 10 day sections allowed me to single fire the clay works, work quickly with a core group of 5th graders and include the works of most of the school on the final pieces. Each child will also eventually take home a personal tile piece as a reminder of getting to work with real clay. Like many schools, this one does not have a kiln and the student body has only worked with model magic clay. I personally bought 150 pounds of porcelain clay, worked with all the students including Kindergarden through 5th grade and watched the true joy and curiousity of kids at work. Rick and I single fired the works to save about 6 loads in our kiln and I brought everything back this time around. While working on the mosaics, we also created a school alphabet that will be used in the library area. All the students got to learn a little bit about color mixing using primary colors and there was a ton of brain storming. Long days evolved and we even got to spend some time with working some creative writing into the mix. I hope to have photos tomorrow of all the pieces to post....in the meantime, enjoy the start of the writing!

From A to Z


Artwork of the West Hempfield Elementary School


Residency March/April 2011




Art


Creative, color


Painting, drawing, imagining


World without art is dull


Paint



Bunny


Furry, brown


Gazing, hopping, eating


Long eared friend of ours


Rabbit



Cat


Clever, curious


Creeping, sneaking, purring


Sly eyes looking for mice


Feline



Dolphin


Green, blue


Searching, swimming, breathing


A beautiful sight in the sea


Mammal



Egg


White, rainbow


Rolling, resting, being


Who does not love eggnog?


Chicken



Fox


Red, quiet


Hunting, seeking, running


A red tail in the woods


Animal



Giraffe


Long, spotted


Gawking, stretching, eating


Green leaves out of reach


Africa


Horse


Sleek, friendly


Galloping, trotting, walking


A friend for life


Equine



Igloo


White, cold


Snowing, freezing, sleeting


Eskimo dwelling on ice


Snow



Jungle


Green, humid


Humming, singing, moving


A place of green and life


Tropical



Kangaroo


Grey, brown


Kicking, hopping, seeking


Baby in a secret place


Marsupial



Lion


Yellow, tawny


Growling, hunting, sleeping


King of the jungle


Predator



Mouse


Quiet, grey


Hiding, digging, scaring


Radar ears hearing the cat


Mice


Friday, April 1, 2011

Waking Bear Studio is Back to Work



We are so happy to be back to work although most of our work is really happening on the weekends. My schedule is wonderfully busy with residencies scheduled until the end of May. We are both working on some new designs both for Waking Bear Studio and also for Gross Brothers Welding and Fabricating. I am not at all certain when Rick sleeps much but for now we will both keep pushing forward with our work.



I will post our upcoming show schedule and want to remind people about our Spring Arts Show at Glades Pike Winery on Sunday, April 10th from noon-4pm.....Public Welcome as always...


When I count my blessings...I count you twice...

So much more





More, More






More






Paintings galore






Latrobe Student Paintings

After editing these images, it occurred to me how many students chose trees to paint...I guess everyong is subconsciously looking forward to Spring!