No packing but new ART...

No I did NOT pack...

But I did start packing my Art Journal....

And somehow I made these instead of packing...don't know how that happened. :)

Going to Laguna Beach....

My husband and I are going to Laguna Beach on Thursday for 4 days. I just can't wait to get away for a few days just the two of us. I will try not to pack all my ART supplies (only my ART journal, sketchbook and some pens and pencils... and some erasers and perhaps the new oil pastels and the colored pencils and water color paper.... :)

The plan is to do nothing!!! but I have found that there is an ART walk the day we arrive :) so I just have to participate in that. I am bringing the camera and all lenses to catch some nice pics to post later. We are leaving PCs and laptops at home, only my i phone will come with and only be used if necessary. Sunscreen, hat and my Art journal is really all I need.

Art challenge entry

I just love the Art challenges on one of the blogs I follow
Awfully Big Art Adventure is a place for you who love to be challenged in some fun and inspiring ways when it comes to art. I would never have thought to use a spoon...to make a butterfly... Anyways here is my entry to this weeks challenge.

Art Lesson for grades 3-5

This is one of my most asked for Art Lessons...

I call it "FALLING" and it can really contain just about any one of the Art Elements...

Just look at the pattern on the tennis shoes....the lines, color and space...

I tell the kids to look scared out their minds...they are falling....expressions on their faces...

This is how you do it :

• Large white paper
• pencils
• media of your choice, here we used crayons

• Sample of you own "falling" person, the kids love this

I start the class by showing my ART... we discuss how and why it looks like the person is falling or standing on glass. We then partner up with the person to your right. If I let the kids find their own partner it will be lunchtime and dinner before it happens.

We gather in a circle with me in the middle on the floor using one student as the "guinea pig" tracing his/her feet first. I then trace the hands slightly overlapping the feet. I go on by showing the kids how to draw the head and body telling them this is NOT a lesson in figure drawing and that we do NOT have to worry about proportion.

The "guinea pig" is asked to look super scared like he/she is falling from
an airplane...and I tell them to look at what the eye brows do when you look scared etc. We look at the lines on the palms of our hands and try to trace them as accurately as we can.
The soles of our shoes have the best patterns and repetition.... just look at your own. I tell the kids if their pattern is "boring" just design your own.

The students will take it from here... and the results are amazing every single time.

Let me know if you try this and how you like it....

Saturday night ART

Saturday night... My back is feeling so much better and I found some red polka dot, turquise and white ribbon the other day so happiness is all around.

Thought I would share some ART I made :)

The pictures are blurry (sorry) used my "little" camera.

Makes me want to paint and glue and rip paper....perhaps I can put in an hour or so in the studio tonight.

Other than that.... I have been running around a little too much the last couple of days and can feel my back is a little tight and that scares the heck out of me. After over one week on the floor with back pain the last thing I want to do is do too much and end up there again.
Work again on Monday and I have no clue what I am doing with the kids. Think I need to run over to school and pick up my lesson planner tomorrow so I know what is going on. Since I create most of my own ART Lessons I need to plan at least a few weeks ahead.
OH...forgot... The new STUDIO magazine is in my hands and there are some wonderful inspirational studios in there...

And I found these birds...the cutest salt and pepper shakers you have ever seen (yes the blue one is polka dot) for $2. :)

The fabric underneath is a kitchen towel from Anthropologie
and let me tell you...they have the cutest things.

Cloth Paper Scissors Magazines

They arrived in my mail this morning...some back ordered magazines

Cloth Paper Scissors

I am still waiting for the brand NEW "studios" that will be out any day now.

Wednesday today and already half way done with spring break. Wow is time flying by!!! My back is so much better. I can drive again but not really walk too much... just enough to visit Michaels for some fun rub ons I saw on someones fabulous blog. While I am there I might as well look for some nice new paper and stamps of course and oh...I really "need" some ink and new paint brushes and look for polka dots for this months theme on A Year of Color.... When I come back home I have to rest my back and read the new magazines in my favorite chair with a latte and after that if it is not 2 am I might watch Grey's Anatomy if it is on tonight.

Spring Break Monday Morning Bliss

Spring Break Monday Morning Bliss...the coffee is perfect and my studio is full of sun...

This is my favorite chair located in my studio... covered in old fabric and full of my special "Swedish" pillows... I can sit here for hours reading my magazines or just look outside and the old oak tree and all the birds...

I look at my shelves and feel fortunate about the mess... :)

All the magazines in the world to read....and get motivated...still waiting for the NEW "STUDIO" magazine by Cloth Paper and Scissors to arrive in the mail...

Kids are still fast asleep...even the cat... Just me and the sun...the perfect Spring Break Monday Morning.

My entry to the birdhouse challenge on www.artadventure.blogspot.com

I am being lazy today trying to let my back rest as much as possible. I did wake up this morning and the back feels so much better. After whining yesterday about being alone with my family gone to the beach my very best friend texted me and told me she was in SFO at some sort of knowledge camp for smart people :). When she was done she came over for a spur of the moment sleepover with pizza, chocolate ice cram and the movie "Australia". I forgot about being lonely and in pain...the company was wonderful and the movie a hit. Thanks J :)

Here is a banner I am working on...it is soooo hard and I have no clue what I am doing. I use paint.net so if there is anyone out there that knows of some sort of tutorial WITH PICTURES (I am a very visual person and DO NOT understand the language of HTML), please let me know.

HAVE A WONDERFUL SUNDAY

Just some fun doodling I was doing yesterday...

When I was supposed to do something else...

I just had to add another "funny" girl to my art journal. I love to find these sentences in old romance novels and create the ART from there. "I couldn't say that Josh's party idea didn't excited me", how can you go wrong with that. Some nasty fat free cake and a dorky party hat is all you need. I keep a little metal tin filled with "heads" and it is fun to find the perfect expression to the sentence.

Today is Saturday and I am home alone...except for Max the cat. My back is still a mess and I am missing out on a trip to the beach with my whole family. Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, cousins and all 3 of my kids... I am stuck at home. At least Max is happy to have me home.

I snapped this picture yesterday when I caught him sniffing around my desk in the studio. He knows he is NOT allowed there...

Art Journal pages

Here are some of my latest pages in my Art Journal....

It is hard to stop once you get started. The fun thing with an Art Journal is that you never know what it is going to look like...

I am unfortunately some what predictable...with my houses and girls with their pets...

The lady bug are new though...never thought of those little guys before and they add a nice touch...funny how the kitty does not seem to have a clue that there are bugs crawling around his paws. Wish you could see the sparkle in this page...the flowers in the background are made with Versamark stamp pad and glitter powder...

This one is a fave... made the pages just after I received Claudine Hellmuth's paints in the mail...just look how vibrant they are.


Seems like my back is recovering after all. I can now walk down the stairs without crawling and I even sat outside in the sun for a little while listening to the birds. Spring has arrived for sure.

Art mosaic

My ART
Originally uploaded by JeanetteCarlstrom

Turquoise and red together is for sure a "yummy" color combination. I still love red and white polka dots but today I think red and turquoise takes the price.

These are some random "things" and photos I have created in the past few years and thought I would share. I is time to post some new art and I will do so later today when I have downloaded some new pictures from my camera.

After hurting my back over the weekend everything I do takes forever.... and I am so sick and tired of spending half my time laying on the floor trying to get comfortable, seems to be the only place I can get comfortable at. The dust bunnies and my cat Max seems happy though :)

Art lesson for Elementary school

"MOLA"
Elementary School Art Lesson Grade 1-5

Another super ART lesson that can be done with kids of all ages. I did not know of these patterns but what I do know is how the kids all loved it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mola_(art_form)

SUPPLIES:
Black construction paper
Construction paper of all colors
Glue stick
Markers
White construction paper
Scissors

1. Tell the kids about these patterns... read up on Wikipedia

2. Have the kids draw an animal on the white construction paper making sure to leave enough room to draw around the animal 2 times.

3. Time to color with markers and lots and lots of the Mola patterns.

4. Cut out the Mola and glue it on the black construction paper, find some colored construction paper to match the Mola, cut strips and glue on the black construction paper.

Let the kids share their ART...

You will be amazed at what they will say and you will learn so much from the way they create ART...with no rules and no hesitation...

Most of these are from my 4th grade class, they loved the lesson and they learned about "Molas". The lesson will take just over 1 hr. for the older kids and less for 1st - 3rd grade. The 5th graders take the whole hour to think of the pattern, sketch it with pencil before "daring" to go over it with a marker. They will then sit and agonize about what color to use and make sure all colors match. The lower grades have no hesitation and will be done in 45 min. or less. They will make up patterns as they go and not use a pencil to start with. This is what I see in my ART classes every day... not something I have read in a book. My personal opinion is that children loose the ability to created ART without that hesitation sometime in 3rd grade. Just as an adult.... we sit and wonder and think what we are going to create instead of going with the flow and just make ART.... I wish I could create like a first grader :)

Back pain....

Today is a pain in the neck...or should I say a pain in the back. Holy cow!!! it HURTS. I was doing some spring cleaning yesterday ( this will tell you NOT to spring clean) and did something to my lower back. I could hardly get out of bed this morning and had to call in sick to work. Spending most of my day on the floor with my legs on a chair, seems like that is the only position that does not make me want to scream in pain. I can't do any ART, not teach, try being a Mom :( blah, blah...just a miserable day. At least I have my laptop on my belly and no migraine (for 10 days now) so things could be worse. Anyone have a good idea as how to make this go away??? I would love to know.

Art Journal page

Art Journal page
Originally uploaded by JeanetteCarlstrom

Here is a little girl I created a few months back. Seems like I am too busy to make ART lately so this will have to do for now.