Element Tula

Element was born on June 23rd, 2012.  She weighed 8lbs 11 oz, 21 inches long, and was head up! It was pretty intense.  I did not get to have her in the birthing pool like I had thought I would, but I did labor in it, but it was still a great experience. We got to the birthing center at 12am....and she was born at 3:32 am.  I labored in the pool for the majority of the time, but when it came time for her to come out, since she was head up, OP, I got out and did the rest of the pushing on the bed. It was pretty amazing to be able to give birth to her without any pain medication. I have to admit I was TIRED mostly...so when it came time to really push her out, it was tough. But being able to control my body and to feel everything was amazing.

 She is so peaceful. She radiates this amazing loving energy. Everyone who has been in her presence has said the same thing. Definitely a beautiful being.

Her big brother was there. He came in and out of the room while I was in labor. He handled it very well. He's a little timid still when she cries...doesn't like to hold her too long. He'd rather be playing video games or something...boys.

 
I've been breastfeeding my lovely. Its going just as mother nature has planned it. Though I have to say....they are making A LOT of milk!! When the milk came in it hurt really bad, but now its starting to calm down a bit. I've already started pumping for work. Its a bit overwhelming to think about having to pump, having to go back to work...having to actually plan and do things.

This past week if I'm not feeding Element, I'm pumping, eating or watching a movie. Its been relaxing. I really needed it...my muscles were SO crazy sore. I actually have a few things this summer to do for work and those too are stressing me out already. Why do I always like to overbook myself? Keep myself busy!?

I am doing a week long workshop for integrating arts into the curriculum. It should be fun. It seems like a bit of work, and right now I'm just not feeling it...but I'm sure in a week I'll be feeling more up to it.

I also am teaching "private" classes at a studio down from my work.  Right now I only have one kid a week...so its more for experience and getting my name out there than it is to make money.  One student isn't very much...and I have to drive 40 mins there and back for a 2 hour class.

Also I've been asked to do another mural for a friends company.  I'm very excited about this! This is my July/August pay check. Then back to work August 21st.

Where did summer go already?!

Element, where are you!?

So I have been out of school since the last week of May.  The last two weeks of school I was home preparing for my little baby girl, Element, to arrive.  Her room is ready, her clothes are ready....and most of all we are all ready for her.  Yet it is now June 11th, and she is still not here!! I was sure she was going to be here on the 6th, but the 6th passed right by.  I had a false alarm on the 4th, but nothing came of it.

Her due date was all messed up from the beginning because I wasn't sure of my "dates". So based off of her first sonogram they said June 18th. Based off of me remembering my dates it was June 7th, and based off her recent last sonogram it was June 10th. So the doctor said because it wasn't that far off they wouldn't change it. So now it looks like shes from June 11th-18th some where....but this is not very fun news for me!! Especially when I was all excited about the 6th! We took a poll with our friends and 5 of them said tomorrow the 12th. I hope its tomorrow!! I'm so over waiting and anticipating. There is only so much a girl can take!!

So that is whats been on my mind for the past 2 weeks.

I've been trying to keep myself occupied with awesome art teacher links and articles and blogs! I'm ready for a new year to begin. If I have to wait for her to come out when she's ready...at least I have control over what, and when I do things for my classroom!!  Planning for a new year is always fun to me. I love thinking of new ways to organize my supplies, and new ideas for lessons. But it has been difficult to really get into it because being pregnant takes away a lot of your mental energy. Plus my loving little 4 year old son is staying home for the summer now, and he likes to keep me involved in all his play activities.

I've also been in the mood to make art...but when I go to start I don't have the energy for it. I don't have the motivation.  I just wish Element would come out now.

army of gnomes

so the 6th graders are done making their gnomes....now they have to glaze them. we had a couple blow up in the kiln. what fun that was.

2 1/2 weeks!?

This weekend was awesome, I went camping with my girl friends! NJ was cold and wet, but it was still a blast. Just a nice time relaxing and enjoying each others company.  We couldn't see the full super moon, but thats ok, we wouldn't have been able to see it in MD either because of all the clouds.

So I only have 2 1/2 weeks of work left before my last day!! Wow.
I'm starting the clay gnomes with my 6th graders tomorrow. I'm crazy for doing clay with only about 5 more days with each group! Pinch pot, and slab...then fire and paint! I am totally going to "steal" the gnome drawing project from Mini Matisse. I think it will be a perfect sub lesson for the last 4 classes when I'll be out on maternity leave. I'm also going to have them make some Artist Trading Cards based on the things they've learned this year.  My 7th grade and 8th grade GT are doing simple collage/mixed media self portraits to finish up the year, so theres not so much stress there.  Though my regular 8th grade class just started making their plaster hand casts today....which didn't take long at all, and it went really smoothly.

I've already started cleaning and organizing my room for my last day for summer...but I still have a few things left to do.  I also have to get this yearbook distribution in order!! I am the yearbook sponsor and the yearbooks usually come out the last week of school...but since I wont be there, I need to make sure things are in order for an easy distribution for the administration because I normally handle EVERYTHING, they have no idea what to do. The plant that is printing the yearbooks has said they will be delivered the week of May 21st....so I'm really crossing my fingers that they are in before that Friday!! We ordered 700 books, so I have to organize them by homerooms, based off who purchased what, and how many! The end of the year with yearbooks is always the most hectic! I also have to get the back to school mailing ready for next year yearbook sales. I like to have them started the first of August, so that I know how many yearbooks we should print. We have about 1100 students in my school...so with only 700 being printed not every student gets one...but not every parent buys one for their students. The numbers have definitely went up since I've started sponsoring it though. Maybe cause the yearbooks are SO awesome now that an Art teacher is doing it! lol. 

Tomorrow is my last class for Art Forms in my Arts Integration Cohort!! It was fun, but I'm ready for a little break from being up at 5am and out till 8:30pm on Wednesdays!!

Thursday is the Very Special Arts Festival for all of the special education students in the county. I am going with my 8th grade GT student to volunteer at a make and take art station where they will be creating Alien Invasion Masks. The theme is "Out of this world".  So I've been busy prepping about 500 card stock masks. They need to be completed by the end of the day tomorrow!! I'm half way through!!  But at least Thursday will be a fun day, I will be outside at a beautiful park making fun art! Oh we also have our last doctors appointment for baby girl Element...we're switching from the hospital doctors to midwives! We are going to have a water birth....super excited!

Needless to say, things are CRAZY, and I'm nesting!! I want to organize and set up the baby stuff but I have no time or energy! Where is the time to write this post coming from!? haha. And I was having some strong contractions last night that woke me up! So maybe she'll be early...who knows. My first born was early but he was induced so I'm not sure exactly what to expect.

Well I hope everyone has had a great past couple of days!
Love & Light

the heART exchange...

There are so many wonderful things out there that I had no idea about! I'm super excited to find such an awesome community of creators!!

I recently found :
 


I've signed up and am SUPER excited!!!
I did the Pay it forward as well, but I still have no one to send art to!

So today is FRIDAY. How happy I am about that...I am going camping with my 4 bestest girl friends this weekend to Cape May. I have never been there and we are camping at Seashore Campsites which is near the beach. I'm ready for a nice little vacation. Lucky for me we have a blow-up mattress because my 8 month pregnant body can't handle sleeping on the ground!! We're leaving early tomorrow morning.

This weekend is the SUPER moon! So it will be awesome to see from the beach!

Yesterday my department chair was named Teacher of the Year for our county!! Pretty exciting day for her and for our department! I've been working with her for 4 years, and she's shown me a lot and has helped me grow a lot too. Its pretty neat having someone you know win such a big award.

So my students self-portrait drawings are almost complete. Once they are finished they will begin their final part to their last projects of the year. With May 25th being my last day, it makes for only 6 more meetings with each class, we see them every other day. I cant believe the year is almost over! I am actually already starting to get excited about next school year. Its weird...it seems like at the end of every school year I'm awaiting the start of the next! I guess that means I really enjoy what I do.

I am excited about this summer. I will have my baby girl Element...and some free time to relax with her and create. When I had my son I was student teaching, so I didn't have a nice break when he was born. I went right back to school about 2 weeks after so that I could finish on time and graduate, and then I had to apply and go to interviews and worry about if I'd find a job in the fall. So this will be like a new experience. First girl, first summer with a newborn, first chance to relax and just make art and not have to worry. Super excited. Not to mention my partner is super amazing and I cant wait to see him as a new daddy in action with his first little girl.

So I've been creating a layout a day in my journal, Its been nice...a little nerve racking beause I can never decide what to do...but I'm letting that go. I have small issues with deciding on things. Choosing what medium, what topic, theme, how, where, when....those things create anxiety in me. So I'm just letting go and doing what comes out. I think I'll take some pictures of my layouts and post them.

Well I hope everyone has a beautiful Friday!!

Love & Light

First day of May...Self Portraits

So my students are working on their self-portraits. I decided to try doing smiliar skill sets with 6th, 7th and 8th grade all at the same time. We just finished value, and observational drawing, now we are all on to self-portraits. It seems to be working well. The only down fall was that I had 300 observational value drawings to grade at once. But no biggie. Here are some pictures of their work...

 


6th grade observational block drawings

 

 


7th grade observational plant drawings

 




8th grade personal still life observational drawings









8th grade GT personal still life observational drawings





So now we're using those skills to observe our facial features, and apply some value (depending on grade) to our self portraits. 6th grade will be doing just contour drawings, but have the option to apply value they see if they feel comfortable with it. 7th grade will apply some values to their self portraits near the features such as the eyes, nose, mouth and under the chin to give a sense of form. 8th grade will be required to apply full value to their self portraits.

From here the 6th grade is going to be making garden gnomes from clay. I am going to shrink their contour drawings of their self portraits so that they can trace them onto the faces of the gnomes.

7th grade will be creating a background to their self portraits based off of who they are.

8th grade will be creating an identy "poster" which will need to include their final self portrait, along with a plaster cast of their hand....words, and images that represent who they are.

8th grade GT will need to create a final work of art that represents them as an artist and what art means to them, which must also incorporate their final self portrait some how.

Hopefully I will get all of this done by May 25th!!  Wish me luck!



A new year almost gone!

Wow! Its been a while since I've actually wrote something in here!!

I have been very busy!
My classes are great, and have produced some awesome work.
I'm now almost 8 months pregnant!
Having a little girl.
Her name is Element Nuit (so far).
I started a cohort for teachers in my county to get a post bacc. certificate in Arts Integration.
Its been a great joy so far!
The school year is almost over!!!!
My last day will be May 25th!
The last day of school for us is June 8th, so I wont miss that much.

I think I'm going to start writing in here more often!
I took this awesome workshop last weekend by The Journal Junkies
It was awesome.
I started doing stream of concious writing today..and Im going to do one a day...at least.

Pay it Forward 2012

Join the Fun: Pay It Forward 2012

Do you like to receive cool handmade gifts?  Do you like to give handmade gifts and bring joy through those gifts?  Do you want to join a project and BRING JOY EXPONENTIALLY through handmade gifts?

PAY IT FORWARD 2012

 

the fun begins

1

If you would like to participate, please leave a comment below.

The first three people to respond and show commitment

to the project will receive a handmade gift from me!!!

2

Post this project on your own blog--feel free to cut n' paste.

Gather three new participants and be willing / prepared

to follow through with the "Pay It Forward" part!!!

Please link back to this original post:

("JOIN THE FUN!  Pay It Foward 2012")

and I, in turn, will include a link to your post

so that we can follow the project from its origin.

3

I will give you a (small, simple, heartfelt) handmade gift.

Make sure to email me your full name and address.

In turn, give (small, simple, heartfelt) handmade gifts

to your participants, and let the joy grow exponentially!!!

(please only enter under one blog... give more than you receive!)

******
My participants and their "Pay It Forward" blog links:

1. ?

2. ?

3. ?

If you are interested in participating but missed the cut-off, click on one of the above links and sign up under them (or if they are full, click on their links etc etc etc until you find one)!