PROSPER ISD: Folsom Elementary Teacher of the Year and PISD Elementary Teacher of the Year

     I started teaching in 1992 and have enjoyed the journey so much. Teaching, to me, is helping my students use their capabilities to find their abilities.  Recently I received the Teacher of the Year Award for my campus, and then the Elementary Teacher of the Year for my school district. I share this because it meant to very much to me; not to be recognized by my peers and the selection committee, but because I have dedicated myself to my profession and students since the day I stepped foot in the classroom.  I see this award as verification that I'm on the right track and it gives me inspiration for the future. I'm at a point in my career where I'm not only teaching children and young people, but also teachers. My desire is to have my art teaching transcend the four walls of the art room and leave a legacy for the future.

MY SCHOOL: My fashion designer friend!

Every morning I stand outside, rain...sleet....shine....freezing temperatures....., and do 30 minutes of car line.  Every morning my little 2nd grade friend walks across the street from her home looking like a fashion model. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up and I tell her stories of when I was a fashion designer.  She brought me this with a big smile right after the Christmas break! It's six pages, stapled together into a card, but these are the two most special pages...aside, of course, from the wonderful peacock she drew on the centerfold. But anyway....I have a treasure box full of these precious notes. I save them all. I now have three huge tubs of notes and artwork students have made for me. I make a point to bend down, eye to eye, and hug them and tell them how much I love it. And, I tell them that someday when I'm an old lady I'm going to get each one out and look at them because they are priceless treasures!

GLOBAL: Friday Flower Pots!

Fridays in my art room are over the top creative and colorful! Last Friday my students made these collabortive flower pots. They are modeled after Van Gogh's famous sunflower painting, but my students added their own personality to the flowers! I took the snowmen down (thank goodness) and put up the bright, cheery flower pots! They are making our hallway at school smile. It's a simple project and one we were able to do during a quick 30 minute art class. Student use oil pastels to color their own flower. I made the pots. Then, they are assembled on the bulletin board as one complete pot of flowers. My older students drew and cut out their own flowers. I drew and cut out the flowers for Kinder and my first graders cut out the flowers that I had drawn. This allowed us to complete the project in 30 minutes. I keep a box of hand wipes by the door and every student got a hand wipe to clean up their hands while lining up. 30 minute masterpiece!

FRIENDS ARE FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN OF LIFE!

A GLOBAL YEAR: Art keeps me busy!

The last year and a half have proved to be very busy for this art teacher! I've been absorbed in my own position as an elementary art teacher in a busy school district AND attending graduate school obtaining my Masters in Art Education Degree. There hasn't been time to blink! But, there has been time to fill in the gaps with committee work and leading sessions and workshops at the Texas Art Education Association Conference and the National Art Education Convention, going to Cuba with the National Art Education Association, having my students win art contests-even international contests, and I even spent the summer in Italy in the Tuscany region for summer art studio painting outside in the Tuscan sun every day as part of Boston University's degree program I'm participating in. Aside from a couple Alleve every other day to take care of the arthritis and remind myself that my knee is not 86 years old, this 51 year old art teacher is beginning an adventure that will lead who knows where. A couple of years ago I taught school short team in Uganda and Ecuador and loved every single second of it. I'm passionate about glocalization. Yes, I spelled that right. I'm passionate about teaching my art students to learn and exist in their own culture while at the same time realizing there is a huge world out there that is getting smaller each and every day. There are a lot of "things" in the works. One of which is this Blog. Peacocks and Rainbows is getting ready to fan out and many surprises are in store. But first, I have got to finish my thesis which I'll be doing this spring, but one thing is for sure. This Blog is stepping up a notch and will become a watershed, or should I say a water tray, of information for art teachers and art enthusiasts. There is a lot of energy left in this ole' gal and a lot of painting and creating left to do. My first priority will continue to be my students and teaching art which I am passionate about and being as involved in possible in the fine arts in my school district. However, be watching this Blog because it is about to be packed full of great tips, tools, news, and information about everything ART!

"An artist is not paid for his labor, but for his vision." -James Whistler

Grad School Oil Painting and Art History Courses in Italy

(This Blog post was migrated here from another Blog I maintained.)
This summer I was in Italy for a little more than seven weeks as part of Boston University's Masters in Art Education Program. I painted outside in the Tuscan countryside for more than eight hours a day, took an Italian Renaissance Art History course, and toured many cultural, artistic, and religious sites in the Florence area and around Tuscany. I learned so much and was eager to bring this newly gained painting skill back to share with my students.  Each spring my art students participate in a unit of art inspired by another region, country, or continent. This coming spring students will focus on art inspired by Italy and my trip! When students learn about the greater globe and life outside of their own living area, their world of knowledge is expanded! Art is a language that everyone, regardless of their country of residence, speaks!

Above: This was the view on three sides of the country estate where I went to school this summer in Italy. I walked this path many times a day going from the classroom to my room and also to the painting studio. What a view! And, I'm wearing my painting clothes! I wore them every day! Honestly, they are now some of my prize possessions! Oil painting is messy!

All of the paintings you see surrounding me in the above photo are some of the more than 27 paintings I did while in Italy. This photo was at our last critique where we presented our best paintings and told about them. Later that night we had a gallery show where some of the neighbors and friends of the owners of Capitignano came to view our work. 

In the above photo I am in the process of painting the villa (house) you see behind me. The left side of this villa was most likely a 2-3rd century B.C.Roman look out tower which many hundred years later was made into a house. The bottom door, second from the right, was where I stayed for the whole summer while I was going to school in Italy. I enjoyed painting the house because it is a part of my great memories from the trip! Art making is such a good way to preserve your memories.