A bit of Catching Up to do...

So what can I say??? Things have been busy these last couple of weeks. My students were seriously busy with their 100 items projects (which you can see above). The goal is to creatively use a LOT of one item or similar items and manipulate it into something new. 

The last picture featured is just me messing around with good ol' tape. And wouldn't ya know? The boys in the class just REALLY wanted to try on this dress! It must've been the bow in the back :)

xo

Blue

Far away in a Distant Land of 9 to 5...

In a distant land... far far away... Blueberry Deluxe has a 9 to 5 job. And although that job is absolutely fabulous, it can take me away from my personal hobbies every once in awhile. 

I thought it'd be nice to share some of the life with you a bit more. These are what my brave new kiddos have been working on in the last couple of weeks. A little bit ago I had shared some images of their progress on the cardboard mansion. The bottom image is it at its almost final moment. They'll have to do a little more to the outside (it still seems a little more like a box than a house) but all-in-all I couldn't really be prouder. My little guys did a good job :)

The top two images are the new project they've started. Tracing each other through plexi glass and transferring them to paper as a mono print. Life is good.

3rd in the lineup is a 7th grade project. Non-objective watercolors. Boy those kids are always surprised when I'm not expecting them to make things look "real". I feel it really empowers them. 

And now onto some business...

 

I was featured in the newspaper! The Arizona Republic to be exact.... and for those of you who don't live here that's a mighty popular newspaper! So thrilling to be featured. I can't thank my customers enough for all the support they've given me and the store!

xo

Blue

A Cardboard Paradise

Obviously the school year is back in session if I'm sharing art images!!!

The first project my 8th graders are working on is a recycled sculpture for the Grand Avenue Arts Festival. First I had them come up with some ideas, brainstorm and narrow down a material to use. 

This class is doing REALLY well with their idea. They're creating a mansion out of CARDBOARD! :)

This is just a little piece of what they've done so far. Movie theatre, double bed, and even the kitchen sink! 

xo

Blue

The Darkside

I know that everyone out there likes to dress up there dog and all, but I just couldn't resist taking this picture when Mr. Blueberry was playing around. Has your dog ever gone to the dark side?

xo

Blue

I'm Digging This...

I'm really into these prints by Leaves and Feathers on Etsy. The combination of bright hues, the juxtaposition of real and unreal. Its fill in fantasy. There's room for mystery and make believe.

You can visit here to see more.

xo

Blue

Something to Strive For

I love the combination of rich and creamy in these rooms. I'm constantly looking at images in order to better think through my color palette and overall look for the store. These images inspire me to change it up a little. May I never have a stale store!

xo

Blue

Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Handmade Pasties

For those of you who do NOT know yet. the store has been offering a most yummy selection of handmade pasties in the store! These are so incredible. They're selling like crazy. For anywhere from $20 to $35 you will get yourself a lovely pair of these pasties, a one of a kind container (vintage purse or case) as well as instructions and adhesive for multiple uses! Talk about a perfect bachelorette gift!

Come by and check them out :)

xo

Blue

MOBILES!

I took some pictures (finally) of some of the lovely mobiles I've received for the shop!

They are sooooo dreamy. Below are pictures during the night and day. The colors are just fanTAStic.

Swing by the shop to have one at your house! They're priced $14-$38.

xo

Blue

i donut know

Just try and tell me you don't like this picture. I mean, what's not to like?

Let's just say this is another one of my kiddos photo projects {alternative portrait}.

Some possible titles?

"I told you stop playing with your food"

"You are what you eat"

"In your face!"

Come up with your own folks!

xo

Blue

Houdini Part Two

Where'd the glue go?!? Can you find the glue? This is another photo project that was turned in similar to the bench photo series I posted earlier. I think this one is just so adorable.

It was done by one of my autistic kids and I think it's genius. The object was to camouflage something and this is what he came up with!

xo

Blue

Out of Sight Out of Mind

This is Part Deux of the photography experience, Junior High style. This student had decided on the "camouflage" option where you were to hide something in the picture. I find this HILARIOUS because he's not REALLY hidden at all. However I love the use of the benches and the different poses he chose. Simply wonderful.

xo

Blue

turn your back on me.

My students just finished a short photography project today. They had 4 options to choose from and I'd like to show some more of their work in the future.

This particular option was the "alternative portrait" in which they could take the idea of a traditional portrait and tweak it per say. I thought this idea was one of the best in the class.

All I hope is that you enjoy the fact that some kiddos are still going strong in the creativity department.

xo

Blue

Photos on the Mind

I'm starting this photography project tomorrow and my head is spinning as to how I want to do this. I taught a photo class a couple of years ago and the projects turned out nicely. Now I just have to tweak the lesson to suit stubborn 8th grade personalities.

xo

Blue

O.M.G. Student Work

Yes... this is student work. YES this is a BEADED BIKINI and YES my students ROCK MY SOCKS!

xo

Blue

"The Dinner Party" via Judy Chicago

For those of you who are not familiar with The Dinner Party, it's an incredibly thoughtful and amazing piece by Judy Chicago. I used her piece as an influence for my 8th graders in a ceramic project. And although they were unable to make theirs as professional as Miss Chicago, I felt they learned a lot about the process of a large scale project such as this.

So the idea was that they made a dinner set (although all you will see are the plates) dedicated for a specific person, whether they be family, friend, foe or fictional.

I think we all know who this little guy is.

I love the technical and classic hearts mixed in this one.

We seem to have a Sesame Street thing going on here...

I LOVE this one (made by one of my special ed kiddos for his mom who loves frogs).

This was made for the Grim Reaper. It's hard to see, but it's a gold painted skull with brain included as well as a silver goblet to boot! (Also made by another one of my special ed kiddos)




May we all continue to "make" things, whether for ourselves or other people :)

xo

Blue

Hare Dryer

This weekend mother Blueberry and myself discovered the fun involved in going to auctions. This particular one was an art auction fundraiser for my school district. There was student, teacher, and local art up for grabs. I had three students' work involved in the show. But my prized possession is this oil painting shown above. Mother Blueberry managed to snag it for a MORE than decent price. For those of you paying close attention you may have noticed the name is quite hilarious. FINALLY, I have a piece of artwork to put up in the house. I'm more than excited. Now Mr. Blueberry and I have to agree on where to put said artwork.

Cheers!

xo

Blue

Stephen Wiltshire - A Supernatural Artist

I introduced my students to this man today. For those of you who haven't already heard, he was flown around New York in a helicopter for 20 minutes and upon landing drew up this amazing (and completely accurate)  landscape of NY itself. When I say accurate I mean the scale, dimensions and locations of ALL things are exactly correct. This all created from memory.

I had my students write in their sketchbooks about what supernatural art talent they would love to have it they could (explaining of course that Steven's talent is real, but almost appears magical). They came up with the most wonderful things. Bringing drawings to life, taking pictures with your mind and even the ability to sneeze out a painting. I love my job.

P.S. They're also working on some deliciously artsy new projects which I will be sharing very soon.

xo

Blue

Flex Your Lens

My kiddos at school earned some outside free time. So I sent them on a "compositional" photography scavenger hunt. They had a lot of fun with it. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day. Considering I spent maybe 5 minutes going over these composition techniques, I'm blown away at how good they actually turned out.

xo

Blue

Mead + Collage = Uber Cool Note-Taking

A couple of weeks ago I was able (thanks to my cool principal) to attend an annual art teacher conference. It is ALWAYS refreshing to take some workshops and make some things. And it always takes me a second to really sink in the fact that I AM GOING to make something. It is GOING to happen. And once I let go its just a beautiful thing. It really is.

Pictured here is my new "lesson plan" journal. I will be gluing articles and jotting down ideas for things to use in the classroom. The key to good note-taking is this.... being consistent about the literature. I have many-a-journal and the object is to maintain the consistency of them by categorizing them.

So far these are my journal categories:

*Future Brick and Mortar Store Notes*

*Handmade Art Book Ideas and Sketches*

*Poetry and Randominity*

*Emotional Ventage*

*House Decor Lovin'*

Specific? why yes... but by making them specific (whether dull notebook looking or fabulously flourished) I make them IMPORTANT and that is what makes me write/doodle/note/draw in them.

xo

Blue