Let it Snow…

Here in San Diego there will not be a white Christmas. But it’s cold by my standards and I’m wearing layers and a knit hat as I type. Brrrrr…

My art students have been working on Winter Wonderland art pieces, and I thought I’d share a few pieces of their art.

I have photos of art from only three of the nine grades I teach. This is because after teaching this week I was grading and returning hundreds of pieces of art. Photos were not on the top of my mind. But I hope you enjoy the small collection you’ll see.

My youngest students did mixed-media Christmas trees. They colored the tree, and then decorated it. Each tree was supposed to have seven or eight plastic beads as ornaments. However…certain first graders were very excited about the beads and some students used far more than their allotted share. (I can’t really blame them—and I’m glad they were enthusiastic about the project.) But when I realized we had a bead shortage, I needed a Plan B because my next class (Kindergarten) would get a measly two beads per kiddo. And that would not do. Even Charlie Brown’s minimalist Christmas tree had more cheer than that. So I announced to the kids that we were going to use small pieces of Origami paper as ornaments. As everyone knows, Plan B can be even better than the original plan. (Just ask Santa. Rudolph was his Plan B, and hey, the rest is history.) I really like the colors and patterns of the origami paper on the trees.

My older students made mixed-media winter scenes using paint and paper collage techniques. We started out by flattening paper cupcake liners and folding them so that the kids could cut symmetrical snowflakes. 

4th grade artist

4th grade artist

4th grade artist

4th grade artist

We needed a relatively quick project as this quarter is very choppy, with Thanksgiving and Winter breaks. All the snowflakes are unique and I think the kids did a terrific job. The eighth graders’ work was more finessed, but I like all the snowy scenes the kids created.

8th grade artist

8th grade artist

8th grade artist

8th grade artist

Wherever you are, whatever you’re celebrating this month, be merry and bright.

Wacky Wednesday #97: Loma Theater Bookstar

This is a painting I did of the Loma Theater twelve years ago.

This week’s costume is especially interesting if you live in San Diego and you know the building I’m channeling. (If not, sit tight and read on. I think you’ll find it cool, even if you don’t have a connection with this theater or San Diego.) I’m dressed as the Loma Theater Bookstar, a book store housed within a beautiful former theater built in the 1940s. I think I first saw this building in the late ‘90s, while driving to a mural-painting job. The theater was closed in the 1987 and eventually the book store moved into the space. The marquee was preserved and the inside of the theater retains some original elements. From my very first glimpse of this building, I was intrigued.  

My husband saw the film E.T. at this theater in 1982. This kind of theater evokes memories for my generation because when I was a child in the 80s, there were still big movie theaters around. The last time I saw a movie in a big theater was in 1996 or ‘97. I still remember what I saw and where. That was about the time that multiplexes were being developed. The multiplexes of today are practical—I can’t deny that. But allow me to indulge in some memories of where I saw movies as a child and teen: cavernous theaters with red velvet drapes and an Old Hollywood flair. As a child I didn’t go to movies often but the memories from those experiences are stamped into my brain. Can you imagine how huge a 1000-seat theater seemed to a six-year-old? I was so small and the screen was gigantic. The sound swirled through the huge room and enveloped you. Seeing a movie in that kind of theater was dramatic. 

A dozen years ago I stopped outside the Loma Theater Bookstar and took photos of the façade. I love old theater marquees. I dig the neon and the majesty of these buildings. From my photos I started painting a series of old theaters. I’m embarrassed to say that I did not finish some of the paintings I started. But here on my blog I do not pretend that I’m perfect and it’s refreshing when we share our human moments. When I couldn’t get the effect I wanted I put the painting aside (for years!). But these days I’m motivated by attempting something intriguing and finishing it. I accept that my art and I don’t have to be perfect. So I’m going to finish the paintings I started years ago. My costume and my painting are going to work together to celebrate this beautiful building.

This costume was made entirely from supplies I already had at home—fabric, paint, cardboard, pipe cleaners, hot glue sticks—so my total cost was $0.

The theater marquee and my marquee.

Would you like to know a little bit of history about the Loma? The theater was built in 1945 and according to two different accounts, it had either 1188 seats or nearly 1000. It was the creation of architect S. Charles Lee, who designed many motion picture theaters on America’s west coast. The theater has an Art Deco design, a style popular in the 1920-1940s, that used industrial imagery along with geometric shapes, repetition, detailed decoration and vivid colors. The beautiful ceiling murals inside the theater still remain (touched up, but in the original design). The last movie shown at The Loma was in 1987. These days, reading books printed on paper rather than a tablet is less common than it once was, so it feels especially fitting that a classic past time like reading can be nurtured within a classic building.

Photo courtesy of Shelley Hospitality.

A photo of the Loma Theater in 1957.

                              

                     

Ceiling murals inside the book store.

                             

Detail of the ceiling murals.

                            

The details on the Loma’s facade appealed to me from the very moment I first saw it. I love architecture (older buildings as well as new designs). As a teenager I began taking photos (using film!) of buildings I liked. Now I can indulge my interest without having to buy film, and I have hundreds of photos of beautiful old buildings in San Diego as well as other cities. Creating a costume inspired by a gorgeous old theater brings together several of my interests and it is a pleasure to pay homage to this building, to the theaters of my childhood, and to San Diego history.

                  

Plenty to Appreciate

1st grade

Somehow it’s already November, which means that my art students have been creating cornucopia drawings for Thanksgiving. I explained to them about the symbolism of this curved horn: that it represents bounty in America. All of my students did this project, from Kindergarten through eighth grade, and that’s more than three hundred students. I had the youngest two grades color in shapes I drew, and they cut and glued the fruits and vegetables into their scene. 

1st grade

I won’t include three hundred drawings in this post but I thought it would be fun to show the variety in these drawings. I’m always amazed at how many interpretations of an idea the students have. They all used a photo as reference, but they were not required to copy the photo. I told them just to use it as a reference for layout or shading or ideas. Allow me to brag for a minute—aren’t these kids talented?! 

2nd grade--I like the playful feel this piece has

Younger kids don’t have the fine motor skills that older students do, and you can’t expect a first grader to draw like an eighth grader. But the younger kids have a charming style of their own. They aren’t inhibited and they sometimes feel more comfortable experimenting with color and scale than the older kids do. I think there’s something to appreciate in each piece of artwork.

3rd grade

3rd grade

4th grade

4th grade--I love this student's free use of color

4th grade

5th grade--the continuous "spill" of color delights me

6th grade

6th grade

7th grade

 

7th grade--such a beautifully-drawn scene

7th--I like how this student filled so much of the page

8th grade--wonderful use of shading

Our country isn’t perfect—no place, no person and nothing is—but I’m so grateful to live here. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone…

8th grade

Halloween in a Can

Happy Halloween, y’all!

Oops—I mean, “Hah! There’s nothing happy about it. It’s a waste of energy.”

That’s right: I’m grouchy today. Specifically, Oscar the Grouch, from Sesame Street.

For a while now I’ve toyed with being Oscar for Halloween. He’s an unforgettable character—negative and surly—but funny, too! I remember watching him on tv when I was a kid. Like most kids, I loved Sesame Street. I didn’t even know I was learning because the show was so delightful and fun. I loved the voices of the characters, and how unique each of them were. It’s such a feel-good memory.

Anyway, it’s been a few years since I made a Halloween costume for myself and I thought I’d give it a whirl again. I always challenge myself to see how much creative magic I can make for as little cash as possible and I’m happy to say that this costume cost only $20 to create. Some of the materials I already had, and some were repurposed (Oscar’s eyeballs are made from a cereal box, which I cut and painted). At Yardage Town I bought some green faux fur. Since the store is closing, the fur was 50% off and they actually gave me extra fabric because it was the end of the bolt and they are trying to reduce inventory. I’m using cardboard for Oscar’s can, plus some paint and felt. I’m making my own trash, which will be falling out of the can. Life gives you garbage? Make compost! (Or however the famous phrase goes…)

Making this banana peel was perhaps my favorite part of this project.

You may remember some of Oscar’s favorite phrases: Scram! Go away!

In an interview Oscar was asked why he lives in a trash can. He had two reasons:

1) I love trash! And 2) the rent is cheap. 

I had forgotten that Oscar has a pet, Slimey the Worm. But once I Googled photos of Oscar and saw Slimey, it all came back to me. (In related news: although my short term memory is shot, my long-term memory still works!)

When researching this project I discovered that one of the creative contributors to Sesame Street, Jim Henson, modeled Oscar after a real man named Oscar, who owned a restaurant where Henson often dined. The actual Oscar was gruff and unfriendly. And so, art modeled life. I love the irony that a crabby, unsmiling man named Oscar inspired a character who has brought so many laughs to kids and adults alike.

According to Wikipedia, Oscar's can is somehow large enough to house a bowling alley, swimming pool, farm, spiral staircase and a piano.

Creativity is not always glamorous.
There is green fur EVERYWHERE. It's in my contact lenses and in my mouth. 

In closing I'd like to thank a few people. Thank you to the creators of Sesame Street for dreaming up the wonderful characters that put so much joy into my childhood.

And thank you to our neighbors. Our kids are excited to come relieve you of your candy tonight!