back on the perverbial horse...

It has been a while.... and I must admit that I've been off my creative track a bit more than I'd like. Living the creative life hasn't been working out as well as I had hoped. BUT-- today, today, I took a few hours to draw, spent a bit of time really thinking about the direction I want my paintings to go, where I want to go next creatively, really.

I've been struggling a little bit with how to really speak about the visual life that makes up my daily ritual because things are much more complex and I haven't studied enough to be ableto really speak about my surroundings from memory yet. So-- I've set out to work a bit more on studying.

The thing that I love about being here in Boulder is the overabundance of wonderful residential architecture. Because there is an ordinance that prevents expansion, this city is crammed, jammed full of wonderful old houses that have each been individually transformed into personal works of art. There are so many unique houses and each set against this fabulous backdrop of the flatirons and the foothills-- it is about to make my artistic heart burst. Every time I even make the .2 mile drive from work back home, I can hardly believe my incredible luck at being given the gift of such a beautiful home. Truth be told, every time I find myself being called back to the northern or eastern side of the state, a little part of me grieves as I look over my shoulder before getting in the car. I am becoming quite spoiled and snobbish, I must openly admit.

All this to say, being so close to the mountains and being bombarded with so many wonderful houses to look at, creating a painting that really captures it all without more careful observation and study seems impossible. So, as the weather is getting to be so wonderfully beautiful and plants are popping up everywhere, my goal is to get out more and draw-- maybe even just for an hour or two a week. One or two drawings a week would be a great accomplishment for me now. In the meantime, as the Colorado weather is in the process of making up its mind, I have taken a few hundred photographs that ought to serve as some great resource material. I know, I know, this is breaking two cardinal rules-- drawing from observation and from a photograph, but hopefully it will provide me with a bit more visual insight into what we are dealing with here in order to really speak clearly and beautifully about the environment with all of its homey neighborhoods and wonderful wildlife from a more emotional or intellectual perspective soon!

I've posted a few of my favorite images from the day.

How to read a book you don't want to read

Although I imagine this video might not be quite as applicable to the art classroom, this could be a great literacy resource. This could be a great way of teaching literacy skills or might just be a good way of introducing a learning activity that may involve the daunting task of reading a book.

NZ Book Council - Going West

Another great video. It is my hope that i can use resources like this in my classroom on a daily basis to help students see all of the creative possibilities that are out there. As you might have noticed, I Tend to use this blog as a way of collecting these resources so that eventually, when I do have my classroom, I'll have a ready and easy store to refer to. I think that videos like this and other current media might be good ways to start the day-- students can watch the video, look at a work of art, ect and then write a response in their sketchbook, talk to a friend about it, or contribute to a class disucssion.

Eleanor McCain

I am loving these quilts by Eleanor McCain. I've been saving up old scraps of fabric and old clothes-- I would love to begin working on some things like this... oh how I love fiber arts!

My new favorite

I am in absolute love with these paintings from John Baird. I love his incorporation of pattern, textures, and textiles in these beautiful still lives. My heart is aflutter at his beautiful use of color and abstraction of ideas.

Wailin' Jennys

The music of these women makes me hungry for beauty. hhmmm. I've been thinking a lot about the quality of holding desire without the need to grasp or possess. This music brings about in me a sense of need to simply hold the beauty, to breath it in without needing to do anything else. enjoy!

TaaaaDAAAA!

The day has finally arrived for all of you who have been coveting a peice of artwork all of your own! Now that I've graduated and lived through student teaching, my lack of posting here is beyond excuse, but we could just say I've been busy setting up my shop ;). Anywho-- I have been very busy collecting old and new artwork for your financial enjoyment. Here is a little sneak peak at a few of the array of goods available at my etsy shop, Headed West. It is a bit primitive at the moment, but I hope to develop things as time goes on!