Cardboard relief portraits

This project could be done from age 10 and up with most groups. We will be teaching this following a basic lesson on self portraits and proportions of the face.

Explain the way that a face is 3-dimensional and discuss what features stick out the most(such as the nose). Have students sketch out their face, then sketch out what shapes they need to make to build up their face. They may make each shape smaller and smaller to build it up. Here's an example;

Next, give the students slightly wet corrugated carboard, old boxes work great. Wetting the cardboard just makes it much easier to cut. Have the students use their sketch as a pattern and cut out each shape out of cardboard, and glue onto another square of cardboard. It should look something like this. 

After that, have students paint them! Voila! Cardboard relief self portrait!

-Meg

Fear on Friday the 13th

    (That's my cat George Jones exploring in the background)

I want to start by stating that it's nice to be posting this from my hammock on a Friday afternoon! I am currently interning at the middle school to be an art teacher, and one thing I have noticed is this state of fear students face. When does this occur? Every child usually loves art, and makes things with pride, but there is a point where they start to think their work isn't good,(when a lot of times it is) and they also think they aren't able or skilled enough to do certain things. How do we keep this moment from happening? In our adult lives we suffer from this also; like I'm scared to talk to that person, cause what if I say sounds dumb? We fear so much, and it's a beautiful thing to throw it to the wind and start doing things without fear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting we all just jump off a cliff or dress like lady Gaga, but loose fear that keeps us from learning and figuring things out. After all, wasn't that the best part of being a child? 

-Meg

      This weekend, use some crayons...

Dead Squirrel Morning

So, woke up to check on the squirrel this morning, only to find him dead. Apparently the heating pad has an auto cut off and he got too cold. Made me sad but I had to quickly get over it, to keep from letting my emotions get the best of me. Moving on, I have been working on new things for our local farmer's market, and decided to take a shot at these concrete planters you see tons of tutorials on all over the place. They are actually quite easy, and turn out really great. This has now stirred another idea, that as soon as I create I will be posting on here. 

Think anyone would buy these? I oddly find digging this moss out of the ditch in front of my house super fun. It's crazy I was thinking about this student in art class that is really good at drawing, yet he has cut a pasted images in no rhyme or reason to put in his theme book for 2 weeks now. At first it frustrated me to see him wasting his time and skill on this. But then I thought; don't we all want to to just cut and paste sometimes? As an artist I always feel like I need to be making super fantastic works. When sometimes I just want to make simple things, that require little thought. Cutting and pasting is necessary at times. Goodnight. 

-Meg

Another Creature

So today something rare happened; I actually had some free time so I decided to spend it in my hammock. After lying there for a while I hear what I think is a bird chirping in the bushes, and my cat Elvis is trying to attack it. As I get closer to try and save the pitiful bird I realize it is a tiny baby squirrel. I finally get him after smacking my cat with a stick, and then trying to get my dog Levi to spit the tiny squirrel out(he likes to keep tiny furry animals in his mouth, he never hurts them, just hold them in there) eventually I received him. He is the cutest!!! 

I realize he has a few scrapes so I call the vet to see what to do. I go to the local tractor supply and buy him some formula. I realize while I'm in the store that I have an animal problem. I can't go knowing that some little animal is suffering or alone. I need help. So now I'm stuck with this tiny little squirrel(he really is sooo cute) until otherwise. So now he is resting on a heating pad , getting syringe fed, and just livin' it up. 

Maybe I can find someone to take him in...if I can give him up. I feel like Snow White or some other dang animal lovin' Disney character. Ugh, what an uneventful, unglamorous life I live.  

Any squirrel raising advice is welcome.

-Meg

Here we go.

Well, I am new to blogging, so I figured if everyone else can do it, why not me? I only have a million things going on in my life, why not blog also? I enjoy viewing other's blogs, and I have so much to share as far as things I make, emotions I have, opinions, diy's, and lots of other crap I can share with this World Wide Web thingy. So a little about me, I am a 26 year old woman in the smack dab middle of the Deep South. I live in Southern Alabama and love it. I am an artist and currently working on my internship and hope to soon find a job as an art teacher. I am married with 4 cats, a dog, and a turtle named Myrtle. (No children, maybe I'm trying to make up for that with so many animals). I love music, wine, and anything to help me escape reality most days. My new favorite spot is a hammock my husband hung in my back yard this summer. I am not a mom, surrounded by friends that are moms, that can have it's positives and negatives. My husband is an artist too and part of me starting a blog is his fault, in that he has put this "I am do everything" mentality in my head. It's super annoying. I joke that sometimes I feel like Jen Anniston's character in Wanderlust where she can't commit to one thing and does random things such as writing a save the penguins children's book. So, I want to keep this decently short, so you don't get bored, not even sure if anyone is out there reading (crickets)....but trust me there is more to come!
-Meg

    This was taken at my In-Law's farm today. It is truly beautiful there.