THINKING, thinking, thinking . . .

Well, my New Year's resolution to keep this blog up is not happening. I guess I need to make a January 19th, Martin Luther King resolution. I need to keep my blog up so much better than this!!!
I have lots of art to post, just can't seem to settle down to post it. I need to focus, and center, and breathe.

I am so full of ideas and struggles in teaching right now that when I get a day that is free, I just space out and relax and stress that all I am doing is relaxing. What good is relaxing and being lazy when you feel guilty about it?

I feel like I should be making art every day!!! Every day!! But I have a new puppy now and so I seem to have very little time.

Merry Christmas!

Well, today is my first day off of my two week break from school! My goal is to post a new youtube video and to get with it on my blog!!!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Art is about saying something with color, line, space, shape, form, etc. Something you can't say with words. Georgia Okeefe, said this in a quote. I love her pieces. I love to paint close up florals also.

I love to paint and experiment with color, paper, collage, etc. I don't know what I want to say yet. Is that strange? I don't know what to say. Do you really need a cause? Do you really have to say something with your art? Can you just paint for the pure pleasure of painting? I had this same question when I wanted to write books and articles. I had to read a book for work one year. It was an Ayn Rand book. To me, her books have such a statement of her philosophy, I was sure that she saw writing with that in mind. She wanted to pursuade others to her point of view through her art of writing. I loved her style, but not always what she believed it. I enjoyed her book for her style of writing. But "having" to read it for work turned me off to her ideas even.

I think in art that you should be able to paint for the pleasure of painting, like a child. Children paint and draw because it is fun. They want to succeed in drawing a picture. They LOVE to draw and paint. They have no motive or purpose. They have to theme unless you impose it on them.

I believe I paint as a child, just because it is pleasurable. I don't want to paint for any reason. I don't want to paint for a cause. I want to paint because it is fun and beautiful when I am finished. I don't want to have to think about saying something with my art.

What do you think? Should I try to say something with my art? It is such a great opportunity to do so.

Do you say things with your paintings? Do you have an agenda?

I don't want one. I want to paint because my art room calls out to me from the murky basement, beakoning me to leave the world of responsibility and to dive into the world of the unknown. How will this painting turn out? What will this one say? I do start out with a saying sometimes. Maybe that is painting around a meaning. Maybe I am all mixed up about this meaning thing.

Well, these are things to think about. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hahnakah, Nice Passover, or Happy Kwanza.

Once upon a time . . .

I tell the students stories about their artwork right before they leave class. The whole class is quiet and listening. I start with "What if . . ." and then tell the story, putting in random students as I go. It is so fun. Their artwork usually comes to life and hides in their desks or goes sailing around their room until their teacher comes in and tells all artwork that they must return to their respective places and counts down. The artwork is always obedient. Perhaps I will let one escape next week. The students are all quiet and ready to go when their teacher comes to get them. It is awesome.

Halloween was very fun . . .

The election is over (Yay!!!)

My great hope is that Obama getting elected will heal wounds we have had in our country for ever so long.

Helena tagged me

So, Helena tagged me and I've never done this before, but it looks like I have to list 6 things you normally wouldn't know about me.

So, here goes:

1 - I love watermelon

2 - I love to feel the air, wind, and breezes that float by to touch my face!

3 - I have an 88 year old grandmother who taught me how to make gnocchi (yum!)

4 - My son plays with my ear all the time - he has an ear fetish!

5 - I am a grandmother to one little baby and a step grandmother to another little baby and to two wonderful little ones.

6 - I wore casts on my legs when I was a baby, I believe it gave me ADD! But I completed a crawling program from the book Stopping ADHD and now I am more organized, remember things better, etc. But I still have a problem keeping my room organized!

I will list the blogs I tag in my next post because I must go tuck my son in bed! He is 11 and still loves me to tuck him in. I hope it lasts until he is 22! (Well, maybe not that long, but he is my baby!!!)

Teaching School

Well, this year has been bliss for me so far. I went from grading an eternity of papers to painting and drawing with kids! I went from teaching a class students really do not like - rarely do they like English - to teaching a class they choose to take and really want to learn! Why is it that people love to learn art? I don't see many English grammar classes offered online, but I see tons of art classes offered online. People want to resuscitate the right side of their brains to keep them from atrophy!

I have had a great time so far in art classes. I hope that my students feel the same way!