Art lessons for children

Oh boy... we are working hard around here to get Kids Art Classroom's website up and running...

You can find us both on TWITTER and FACEBOOK

The event at the CHN Family Expo is locked in ...

This is their website

There will be a blog on this website, for Kids Art Clasroom's thoughts only, I will still be here at My Art Gallery to share my own thoughts and art...

Hope all of you will enjoy the long weekend, I sure am.

California Homeschool Network Expo 2010 and Kids Art Classroom

I am so excited to tell you all that I am having a workshop at the California Homeschool Network FAMILY EXPO in Ontario, California in August!!!

I did a workshop at the CAEA conference down in LA in November 2009 but this will be very different. The workshop is still the same but.... I will launch "Kids ART Classroom" at the Ontario event... 

For those of you that "visit" my blog on a regular basis you know this is my big passion right now and I am so very excited that it is actually happening.

Kids Art Classroom is my little company with art lessons for children in Elementary School. Being an artist and art teacher, illustrator and child at heart I have found that there is next to nothing out there when it comes to good, educational and fun art lessons. 

With the budget cuts in most school districts here in California the art teachers are the first to go. This is terrible and means that the classroom teachers are left on their own to teach art. The classroom teachers already have a jam packed schedule and a curriculum to follow that you would be amazed to see. On top of this they have to teach art and most of my teacher friends have no background or education in art.

This is where big mistakes are made. Most books and websites today do not give you real art lessons, they are more  like crafts. There is a huge difference. You want your child to learn art history and the elements and principles of art, not how to create a pinwheel out of pipe cleaners.

Kids Art Classroom is amazing. I have worked on and taught these lessons in class for 2 years now. They are all educational, inexpensive, fun, follow curriculum and easy for the teacher to follow. 

At the CHN Family Expo I will be teaching one of these lessons and also launch Kids Art Classroom at the vendor fair. There will be 6-8 lessons per magazine and also individual lessons on our website

www.kidsartclassroom.com

The website is still under construction but the email is up and running so please feel free to ask any questions about what we can do for you as a teacher, homeschooler, parent or student....

admin@kidsartclassroom.com

If you homeschool in California this is the event to go to...

Have a splendid rest of the week... I am celebrating a much more flexible neck today than the last two days and hope I can paint again this weekend.

OH NO!!! I have a pinched nerve in the neck...

This is what happens when you paint non stop, teach art to little kids and bend over those tiny desks, use the computer way too much and sleep with too many pillows.... you end up with a pinched nerve in the neck and you can do next to NOTHING...

Woke up at 4 am yesterday morning not able to move and after hours of agonizing pain I saw my Doctor who told me it is a pinched nerve between some vertebra's and it can take weeks to heal. I now rely on my neck pillow, heat and husbands healing hands. I have still to find a position that is comfortable. 

This is a mess.... my Ebay store is empty, I can't sketch on my illustrations, no driving the car or just about anything else you do on a daily basis. 

Oh well... when times are tough I always think how much worse it could be. On a positive note I am done with teaching for the summer so I will not miss work, I have a few more weeks before my illustration deadline, my assistant is working on the website for my business and I have the best family out there for support.

Guess I will survive ;)

The Mother of a College Graduate....

This weekend was my oldest daughters College Graduation..... I don't know what was more emotional, her wedding or graduation...

It was wonderful to meet with family and friends and I am so very proud of my daughter who now holds a degree in Studio Art and marketing.

My EBay store is empty :(

I have not painted in over a week :(

My migraines are taking over again:(

But today was my last day teaching (only have one more art class Thursday am) so that is one thing off my plate. I will work hard on my illustrations in the next few weeks and get Kids Art Classroom ready to launch...

The migraines I don't have time for ;) they have to wait until I have painted some more, stocked my EBay store and shipped off my illustrations. 

~*~*~*~*~*~Have a Happy Week~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Collage Art is fun...

Created some fun collage art ...

Painting the day away...

Some days are better than others.... guess we all know that...

Today was one of the better ones! No migraine (a huge step these days since they seem to come on every other day), sun is shining, talked to my Dad on the phone for 30 min and I got some painting done.

My son helped me figure out (finally) how to add pictures to my EBay listings. What a headache this has been.  EBay and Mac do not have a very good relationship so in the end  (short of spending $40 on a third party listing software) my son downloaded Firefox and I joined Photobucket again, like in the old PC days.

Don't ask why I did not do this before???? I somehow thought that Safari was the way to go when you have a MAC. Now my listings look beautiful and I am learning some HTML on the way.

Chocolate and banana cake baked, pork loin with roasted veggies in the oven, talk about being orgainzed....    hahahahah.... that will happen again in 2012...

Have a good evening

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

 To all Mothers out there today... enjoy your day... I am...

Adding pictures to EBay listings with a MAC...

I have spend hours and hours these last few weeks since opening my EBay store trying to find out how to get the pictures of my art into the descriptions. 


I have followed fellow artists directions, right clicked and left clicked and clicked off the darn computer in pure frustration... Just now I found out that EBay is not MAC friendly ( I could have told you that) and that you pretty much need a third party site for templates and picture downloads... They all seem to charge for this :(  


I will keep looking tonight and hope to have this problem solved this weekend. My listings look so naked when I can't have the picture of the art in the description.

 It is Friday thought.... aahhhh... and I am having a hubby free one as well. Our youngest daughter has soccer games both Saturday and Sunday but I always love to watch her play. This will be a mini Mother and Daughter weekend. We are celebrating Mothers Day on the 30th (Swedish Mothers Day).... 

A big Thank You to all my ART Collectors

Tonight I want to send out a BIG Thank You to all my ART Collectors who has supported me and my art for some time now. After Collect Artwork closed it's doors with no prior notice I was in a panic, wondering how I would connect with all  of my "fans"on my own. 

I opened "Jeanette's Folk Art" and I am doing pretty darn good. I want to share my art!!! That is more important that the $$$$

I took the picture above a few months ago when I visited the MOMA in NYC. I stood face to face with Frida Kahlo... I was blown away by Monet't water lillys.... I laughed at Miro and I almost brought the guards out when I saw Warhol's work and stepped over the yellow tape.

ART NERD, and proud to admit it =)

Not much painting done...

This is an unusual piece for me.... some canvas board, green paint and scrapbook paper...black acrylic painted weeds and everything covered with acrylic gel. The picture is poor (sorry)

My EBay store is pretty empty and I don't like that at all =(

The reason for this is usually migraines invading my life and routine.

Only 2 more weeks left of work, then I have the summer off...

I need some time off...