Was visited by an art angel (ANDREA!) who brought three huge boxes of mixed media materials over for my students. Let there be text in my classroom -- multiple alphabets of stamps and stencils of lettering, watercolor paper, inks, and more! Even a lot of white cotton embroidery thread -- we will have to dye it and use it in a project for sure! Seriously I can not thank her enough for such a generous donation. Add to it the beautiful bookcases she also contributed for my new closet space. Thank you, Andrea, thank you! I want my classroom to feel like a studio with lots of mixed media choices...it is happening! I was planning on buying a range of stencils this week to beef up the sorry collection I currently have at school. Another fine example of asking the universe and having it answer. I am floored at my friend’s generosity and am so grateful!
The quakers have taken to collecting glasses again and are building something new. I’ve noticed that the stock of sunglasses and reading glasses I keep clipped to a letter holder in my kitchen has thinned out considerably and that there is a forest of plastic surrounding the boys’ love-perch. Instead of bringing them inside their cage, they’ve brought them to the top of the cage and placed them flat so that the two side pieces extend downwards through the bars. A dozen or so of the plastic things are now in there. I need to go to the dollar store and get them a few more pairs before they resort to taking them off my head. I tried to help by putting a few pairs in their cage, but they quickly flew them out and arranged them purposefully on the top. Very particular designers, I have here!
On the art front, I am so excited about starting the first large piece that I printed at Mass Art. The whole concept is coming together -- how each one can be different yet related to the others. I was re-reading some of my favorite Ancient Egyptian literature last night and selecting text pieces that may work their way in. It is amazing to reach back to ancient times and see the same human concerns. How to live well. How to love. How to be kind and good. How to be safe. The human soul hasn’t changed all that much over time, despite what we intellectually think.
For an art link today, here is a fun site that came across Facebook last night. It is called Artsology, and contains a load of art themed games! My students will love them, but so might any experimental adult. I love that they use artist’s styles as visual themes. I can’t wait to let my kids at the site to find out what ones are best - they will LOVE IT! Enjoy!