Makeover or Breakdown?

I’ve been moonlighting. Curious about my gig? A hint: I’m covered from head to toe in scratches. Have I been training alligators? Good guess, but no.

Okay, I’ll tell you. For thirty-one days, my moonlighting gig was in our front yard, making over the planter I built years ago. I’m posting about it because I like encouraging others who are considering changing their space on a budget. If you are a renter and don’t have outdoor space or can’t dig up a yard, you can brighten your world with a few potted plants. A cheerful splash of color does not need to break the bank.

The story starts on Saturday, February 21. I woke up and decided it was time for a change, so I marched to our front yard and started hacking away towers of Sticks of Fire, the orange pencil cactus. Some were almost as tall as I am. Thirty-one sweaty days later, I finished.

Sticks of Fire require almost no water, and their color is beautiful. But let me save you some trouble: if you get them, put them in a pot—not the ground. My Sticks of Fire forest started with a few small plants in the ground--which multiplied. Taking it down almost took me down.

Perhaps the story really starts seventeen years ago, when I designed our front planter. I measured a half-circle, bought concrete blocks, and created a semi-circular planter in our yard. I did multiple drives to get free dirt to fill my new planter and added succulents. Some were free, from Craigslist. It was a lot of work but satisfying. 

This is our front yard a few hours into demolition. The Sticks of Fire were five feet tall. The "before" was not bad, but things had become a bit too wild and I was ready for a change.

Fast forward to now, and the Sticks of Fire have multiplied and become trees, so I’m hacking away at them. I put out cuttings of the cactus and other succulents for people to take. It feels good to share these with others, since so many people shared cuttings with me.

Each day, my neighbors walk by, some with dogs. They ask about what the new look will be. “Top Secret,” I reply. (I love things that are Top Secret.) “Check back soon,” I say.

We broke heat records for February and March, but I kept digging. Some days I did an hour or two after working at preschool. A few days I wrestled stumps out of the ground for many hours. At times, I wondered if this was a breakdown of the stumps—or of me. (Maybe both.) 

My new garden plan involves mimicking the existing half-circle wall with two more half-circles inside. Here is the sketch I did, thinking the effect would be like a fountain. My final effect does not look exactly like this but I may add more plants. Who knows? Right now, I’m enjoying the change. 

On the hottest day, my kind neighbor Kat made me laugh when she walked her dog by our dirt installation. Her humor prevented a complete meltdown on my part (thanks, Kat). One neighbor offered help, and a few days later, another attempted to give help. I thanked them but explained that this is my mountain to climb. My sweet hubby definitely would have helped but I was determined to do it on my own.

Once the Sticks of Fire were down to stumps, it was time to remove them. The last two stumps were at least eight inches across, deep and stubborn. I used the electric saw, clippers, Japanese pull saw, and a shovel to loosen them. Mostly, I dug under the stumps to pry them out. I slipped on mud and tripped on slippery rocks. I fell into the 18-inch-deep hole I dug around the huge stump. There were tears and curses. Blisters and cuts. The preschool kids were impressed by my Band-Aid count (one day it was seven). I lift weights twice a week, but this yard work was a true workout. For all the upper body work I’ve done on this makeover, I expected my arms to look like Ronda Rousey’s by now. (They don’t.)

Day fifteen: I finally got the biggest Sticks of Fire stump out of the ground. The roots had formed twisty knots and wrestling them out was not fun. After a long labor, my bundle of agony was finally out of the ground. I'm exhausted but victorious!

Here I am, sitting in the hole that the stump was in.
It's 18" deep and almost as long as a bathtub!

.

The second big stump, Sir Stumps A Lot, came out next. 

Notice the weed cloth that did not prevent weeds. Instead, 
the roots grew through it, making the extraction...extra fun.

After that victory, I leveled the dirt and started building my walls. I’m using concrete blocks that I already had, repurposing them. I replanted succulents that I took out of our planter, as well as some I’ve had in pots. I'm putting down cardboard onto the dirt as a weed barrier (Sam, thanks for the tip!). Weed barrier fabric has not worked for me, so we will see if cardboard does. Next, I will add succulents, which I've been growing for years. They multiply, so this is great for my Small Budget/Big Impact plan. 

Progress shot...

I spent almost nothing on this project. I bought a bag of soil and nine extra concrete blocks from Craigslist. A lot of my materials we repurposed from my other projects. Back yard plants were moved into the front yard. I shoveled rocks we already had in the front yard into my new planter. Reusing is satisfying.

These wall planters were ones I moved from the back.
I already had mini disco balls and beads,
 so creating this area was free.

I enjoy the variety of colors and textures.
Don't be afraid to experiment...

This is a mosaic pot I made years ago.
Painting the rim with turquoise paint I already had
makes the orange flowers pop. I love contrast!

The flamingos were moved into their own area

so they can be a flamboyance of flamingos.

(That is what a group of them is. Seriously!)

Moving things around (indoors or outdoors) can give your space a refresh, often without spending a dime.

I love sharing these triumphs to encourage others not to fear DIY projects. This post is not about bragging—it’s about sharing tips and a few laughs. You can make your space beautiful without spending a lot.

To be honest, I’m a little conflicted about posting this essay. We have a lot of terrible things happening in the world right now, and I don’t want to be insensitive by posting a lighthearted essay on plants. Still, I’m going to post, and I hope that my readers get a boost from it. I won’t deny that our country and our world are struggling hard. But we also need breaks from our stress--moments of joy.

It’s Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. Some friends will celebrate Passover this week. Whether you celebrate Easter or Passover or something else—I wish you a happy spring. I hope that you find beautiful moments each day and the sun warms your face. Until next time, be safe and shine on! 

Love Thy Neighbor

 

Hello again! I’m back with more adventures at preschool, along with some kiddo art and some of my own art. Blog posts often bring out my reflective moods, with my looking back at recent events, funny moments and life lessons. A Thanksgiving blog post makes me extra reflective, because it’s a time to think about how fortunate we are.

Sweaty Summer:

Before we talk Thanksgiving, let’s back up a few months.  The summer went quickly, as every teacher has said since the beginning of time. July arrived and a friend hired me to paint a mural in her back yard. The temperature suddenly skyrocketed, and I found myself sweating before even starting to paint. But four toasty days later, I finished the mural and my friend was delighted with the result. She wanted a lush tropical scene on the fence in her yard, with a glimpse of the ocean in the distance. My friend knew exactly which flowers she wanted and we chose the paint colors together. I loved how the mural turned out and was grateful that our timing meshed. It’s been a long time since I regularly painted murals, and most of them were indoors, so this experience reminded me what an endurance sport mural painting really is. 

More Art:

I make art every week. Lately I’ve been into collage, painting over junk mail, ripping it into pieces to glue together. I like it when the original text peeks through. Here are a few of my recent paintings and mixed media art pieces:

I made this zipper capelet, from mostly thrifted zippers. Wearable art!

Back to School:

At the end of summer, I felt a certain degree of dread. Although I was excited to see the preschool kids again, it’s always hard for me to give up the more flexible pace of summer. But when the preschoolers came back to school, their happy faces, questions and enthusiasm made me smile. I noticed how they’d grown, and who had different haircuts. A few of them threw their arms around me when they first saw me, and honestly, this is one of the best feelings in the world.

Lots of our kids from the three-year-old class are no longer at school this year. In our area, public schools now offer free T-K (Transitional Kindergarten) for kids as young as three. I can’t blame the parents for choosing the free option, but it’s bittersweet that the school population is smaller than it was in the spring. In related news, despite having fewer kids at school, the noise level is just as high. But at times, a joyful kid is a loud kid. It’s okay! 

We started up our preschool art studio the second week of school. I do art with each class twice a week and if the weather is cooperative, we create outdoors. Most of the kids love experimenting with paint, shaving cream, finger paint, dot markers, play dough, and paper for collage projects. After the kids helped paint fall leaves, I decorated the pergola over our art area. I wanted it to look like the colorful leaves were falling from the trees above.

 

Halloween: 

Halloween is always fun when you work with kids. They start planning their costumes weeks ahead of time, and their choices are a window into their personalities. One little girl with tons of energy said she wanted to be a ninja. We had princesses, Spider man, Lightning McQueen, and a child dressed as a yellow crayon, among other costumes. The kids did spooky artwork leading up to Halloween. We painted pumpkins and ghosts, bats and cats, which I displayed on our playground wall. 

 I made two haunted houses from cardboard and hot glue, and they had fun painting the houses. I taught the four-year-olds how to make spooky trees from pipe cleaners. You twist pipe cleaners to form branches, which should be gnarled and twisty, full of haunted energy. The kids also cut gravestones, which I glued to form a haunted graveyard. 

Yes, a festive season, indeed. 

Learning our ABCs:

Every preschool teaches the alphabet, colors and numbers. I can almost see the kids’ brains developing, right in front of me. But this fall, I’ve had an interesting experience with one of our new students. She is four, and I will call her M. M speaks Japanese at home, and when she started, her mom said that M does not speak English. I knew she would learn quickly, as kids do. The first week she was in school, I noticed that M does have many English words. True—she doesn’t have as many as her classmates, but M spoke plenty of words. I see her language develop each week. M fascinates me. She is fearless on the playground and full of joy and confidence. She gets her point across, even with gaps in her vocabulary. “I lunch you,” was M’s way of saying she was giving me lunch (a toy plate filled with sand from our sandbox). One day, she noticed two friends fighting over a toy and she ran to me, pointed and said, “Angry!” I hurried over to referee the problem. I love that M is not self-conscious about her developing language skills. She is full of smiles, questions and observations. It’s a good reminder for me: don’t aim for perfection. Aim for happiness. 

Thanksgiving:

In case you haven’t seen all the Christmas and Hannukah decorations in stores, it’s true—it’s Thanksgiving season. The preschool kids made hats for our Friendsgiving party at school. Each child brought a piece of fruit to add to our Friendship fruit salad, a colorful collaboration. The kids sat outdoors together and shared some food and friendship. It was adorable and a wonderful way to talk about Thanksgiving and what we appreciate. The kids helped paint giant pieces of fruit to spill out of the cornucopia I made, and they colored the letters to spell “Thanksgiving.”  

This Thanksgiving, I feel grateful for many people and things. We all have our worries but I’m focusing on the good. I want to share something inspiring that I witnessed this month.

My fellow San Diegans have such big hearts. There are donation bins around town, including in grocery stores, where people can donate food to those who need it. This is something that happens every fall around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it feels extra meaningful this year. When many people’s SNAP food benefits were cut on November first, San Diegans stepped up to help their neighbors. The school our youngest attends immediately sent out an email, asking for donations of non-perishable food. The email listed ideas for donations and assured everyone that the kids could come get what they needed and bring some home to their families. I bought some items and put them in a bag by our front door. A few days passed and before I could bring our bag in, another email came from the principal. The message was this: don’t bring any more food for now. We are at capacity! In a matter of a few days, they received hundreds of items. A plan was suggested to bag up items and leave them for students to pick up at the building next door, so their privacy would be protected. My heart swelled with happiness, seeing how quickly people jumped in to help their neighbors. It’s hard enough being a teenager, without worrying about how your family is going to manage. 

Since I hadn’t donated my bag to school yet, I donated it to the bins inside the grocery store, knowing that people in need will benefit. In case you haven’t been inside the store recently, the bins are already quite full. 

This really warmed my heart. It shows how kind most people are. I love these moments when people’s differences fade away, and we are united by a common goal to help others. The act of sharing is one of the most fundamental parts of being human. San Diego, you really showed your kindness during the Thanksgiving season.

If anyone needs an extra boost, I would like to share a website called Tank's Good News. Here is the link: Tanks Good News.

This site posts only positive stories about inspiring people and animals. It’s an especially happy place to land when you need a break from negative news. 

So, on this Thanksgiving week, when the sun sets earlier and the night seems darker, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Let’s shine a bright light out to our neighbors, and our fellow human beings. Let’s keep sharing and keep shining, too… 

To Infinity...And Beyond!

Welcome to a new year of fun-filled art blog posts, hosted by…moi! How has your 2022 started off? I didn’t stay up til midnight on New Year’s Eve. This tired teacher needs her sleep.

My super students have been hard at work/play with different materials. We started our new year with a trip to outer space and fun was had by kids big and small. (It seems outer space is a guaranteed hit with kids. Is it because of the mystery of space? The unknown? Star wars? Who knows, but the kids have enjoyed this project, and who am I to question good fortune?)

Kindergarten practiced coloring, cutting and gluing planets and rockets to their outer space scene. 

First grade made portholes, as though they were in a spaceship, looking out at the galaxy. 

Fourth grade did outer space scenes with a 3-d Styrofoam planet for some spatial depth. 

See how these half spheres make our scenes 3-D?

Sixth grade also did outer space scenes with Styrofoam planets. I love how these imaginative kids added so many individual touches.  

Seventh grades made scenes with 3-d planets, too. Lots of seventh graders were missing from class because they were quarantining. But fear not—the remaining students did their best to make even more noise than usual, thereby filling in any gaps in the noise department. The noise-o-meter was at 100%!

 

Of course, I wore my outer space dress to teach, along with planet earrings I made and a head dress I also made from Styrofoam and wire. I like a good theme…

Second grade took a journey back in time to the age of the dinosaur. The kids colored dinosaurs and added backgrounds to round out the scene. I gave them a choice to color printables with realistic dinosaurs or friendly ones. After all, they are young, and I didn't want to give anyone nightmares...

 

 

Third grade is hard at work on art projects but you’ll have to wait a month to see theirs.

Fifth grade experimented with solar paper. Are you familiar? Solar paper undergoes a change when it is in sunlight, so the kids put objects on it and brought it into the sun for two minutes. You get an impression of your items on the paper. We added colorful borders to complete our project. Who says science and art aren’t friends? Not I. 

And 8^th grade did watercolor paintings with a theme of their choice. This was a quick project I threw in at the last minute as I didn’t have all the materials I needed for our next project. Sometimes pulling something out of a hat at the last second works pretty well. 

As February tiptoes closer, we’re starting new projects in the art room. Let’s meet back here in a month so you can be dazzled by my students’ imaginations.

And in other happy news, have you noticed that the days are getting just a tiny bit longer? Spring is coming!