![]() This post is long overdue...I want to just take a moment and blog a little about a place that I has been a part of my life for the past four years...that place is Indiantown Middle School. When I was looking for jobs in Florida...it was such a stressful time. John had found out he got into some PhD programs and after talking about it we chose Florida. I ended my school year at Wintergreen and pretty much left for Japan for a month with John's sister and a group of teachers on a Fulbright Study Abroad. We would tour Japan all day, visit shrines, schools...walk, walk, WALK...and then, every night...I would look for jobs. And then I saw the posting for IMS, and I applied. I was able to schedule the interview while in Japan. I think I was back in the US maybe two days before we headed down to Florida. I interviewed and got the job...and I have been there for the past four years. I taught art, wrote a bunch of grants, coached cheerleading, some good friends...and was even lucky enough to be the Teacher of the Year there...good times indeed. Probably so much I could say...but instead I just want to post a few panoramic views...so I can take a peek back at my time at IMS when I miss my students and friends..if I ever doubt myself when faced with a new challenge... I will look back at these to remind myself that I made a difference, and I will try to do that wherever I go, regardless of the demographic of the school. First view...my classroom. A very lively place...with lot's of...well...EVERYTHING. I think I really found that our when I was leaving because I had to get the entire room packed up and moved across the way into a temporary location. They are going to tear down almost the entire building that I taught in my fours years at IMS...so in addition to packing up my own personal items in the classroom...everything else had to be packed up. And I did it- WE did it. My students not only finished their projects and helped me sort and distribute them to each class, but collectively we boxed up that entire room. I can only hope that it will be a little easier for the new teacher to set up the art room next year...I am so OCD I couldn't just box it up...I had to do color-coded labels..sigh. Life would be easier if I wasn't so set on organization! And then...of course...the art. We made SO MUCH ART. Seriously. I covered any wall that the tape would stick to. They thing that was unique to IMS was the amount of space that I had, especially the past couple of years. We opened up a new building which left the old cafeteria open for...art. It became a gigantic gallery, we even used it for creating/storing sculpture. Then, when they moved even more teachers tot he new spaces I had a room for 'resources' (basically, recycled materials)...a room for cheerleading...and a room I set up just for drawing and printmaking. I definitely had space...and we filled it with art and art-making. ![]() And now...well, now I am looking to the future. My future includes moving farther south and leaving the public school system to teach private school. I will be teaching digital photography, drawing, painting and survey classes to middle school and high school students. Nervous? Yeah, a little. Excited? Alot. (sorry, Mrs. Aldridge, I know that isn't really a word) Yes, I am. I am so excited I don't know what to do! But first...I will just spend some time relaxing and enjoying my summer...but I will always have my memories of IMS to take with me wherever I go.
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...and I thought to myself...maybe I can be an artist one day. Something that I have started doing thanks to Instagram is the 'throw back Thursday' pic. I have been trying to revisit art-related pictures- old works that I made, spaces that I have worked in, artist friends, inspirations...I look forward to taking a minute to reflect each week about my journey to where I am right now as an artist and a teacher. Today's pics reflect me as a teaching artist, which is something I take pride in. The first picture is from the North Caroline Art Education Association conference, back when I was in the Art Education Guild at East Carolina University. Sally, Jason and I came up with the skit for the 'Art History on Parade' event that was a big tradition at conference (I hope that they still do it!) For this skit each one of us painted our own piece from art history, adding cutouts so that we could 'become' the piece. I was the Mona Lisa, Sally was Picasso's 'Girl Before a Mirror' and Jason was Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus'. The whole concept was that Jason and I were realistic paintings hanging in the gallery and when the curator 'hung' Sally next to us we were like, 'Girl please. You are NOT art.' Cue silliness. It was fun. I really do love some art history! Another pictured I posted was from the summer of 1998 (I think that was the year), back at ECU. I was taking a painting class over the summer and it was one of the best times of my life. Really. That was really my only real painting class, and as I think back on the experience I think I wouldn't mind taking more painting classes. Most of what I do is self-taught when it comes to painting...I think I could really benefit from more 'official' painting classes, or at least some self-study. Hmmmm...another summer project for me? You betcha. Back to the painting class...a-ma-zing. It was a combination of the whole studio setting...having the time during the summer to just focus...my newly rediscovered passion for painting (I had been so heavily engulfed in weaving and surface design since I had taken my textiles survey class)...or maybe it was the fact that I was taking the class with Mr. Elmore. Sigh. A little teary-eyed. I could devote a hundred blog posts to Mr. Elmore. He was one of my toughest professors at ECU...and one of the best teachers I ever had. Taking his class my first semester as a freshman really had an impact. Folks, he knows his stuff. What he says matters. If ever there was a professor that I wanted to approve of what I created of as an artist...it was him. When Mr. Elmore said it was crap, yeah, it was. If he said it was good- it was. When he picked out one minuscule line in my drawing that was 'working'...I took a mental picture of that moment so I could revisit it any time I ever doubted myself as an artist. He told me one time that my drawing had 'feeling lines'...I...died. I snatched that moment up, kept it in my pocket to keep me going. I took three classes with Mr. Elmore, two drawing classes and the painting class. I feel that I really experienced growth and success in the painting course...my only regret is that I didn't keep painting after that. I mean, I did paint some...I do paint some...but I feel like if I would have kept going... Well, you never know. And I can still pick up a brush, can't I? So, anyway...Mr. Elmore...wherever you are...you are one of the greats. Thank you for being my teacher and an inspiration. I am back in Florida. The past 7-8 days have really been a whirlwind, but somehow I managed to get it all done. My students finished their artwork and took it all home...I packed up my personal classroom items and also the whole art room and moved it to the storage area for the new art teacher and new art room for next year (that will be addressed in a future blog post...lot's of changes!)...we made it to NC safely, stopping in Jacksonville to visit John's friend Sean, 'the world's most interesting man'...I made some 'live art' at Raffaele Italian Restaurant...got my favorite item off the menu for dinner (chicken parm...yum!)...I made it to Eastern NC for my sister-in-law's bridal shower and then back to West End NC for a wedding (same day, folks...same...day!)...I visited with my family...my sunglasses were hijacked by my granny at the nursing home (see previous post)...we celebrated Vito and Frank's birthdays...I went angel bombing with Amy's mom...we visited with one of my closest friends from high school in Charleston SC and I met her son Maylon for the first time... and we made it back to Florida safely. Whew! Did I update the final pics from my May series or the new pieces in the June series? Naw. But I did make art...every single day, and I am proud of myself for making the commitment to do my art, no matter how crazy life gets.
Very, very eventful times. Teaching, arting, packing up my classroom, getting ready for my sister's wedding...hectic is the best word to describe it all. And I would like to post more specfics later, and I will...but for now, a few...ummmm...advertisements...zzzzzzzzz... ![]() So on the way home I was thinking about my blog post that I wanted to write, and it was really positive and upbeat...about my students and a really amazing day I had at school today... And then I got home...and I saw all the news about Oklahoma. Not to take anything away from my own students (I will write that blog post at some point), but all I can think about is those lost today in that tornado...especially the students at Plaza Towers Elementary. And there are no words. So I made my daily art, and I dedicate it to those lost today, to the families impacted, homes destroyed. A quiet drawing today, somber. I included a calla lily, which for me is definitely a personal symbol of beauty and of death. Sending love to Oklahoma. We can't know why ![]() It has been kind of an eventful past few days here at casa de Gironda. My good friend Mike, 'Fish', and his wife were in from Minneapolis and it was so great to see them both. I can't believe it has been almost two years- way too long, but definitely the type of friend that I can pick up with where I left off. Time? Distance? Not relevant. (...but I do hope I see them again before another two years pass!) The last time John and I saw them was when I attended the Surface Design Association Confluence...which lit a fire in me to start CREATING (thank you Anna Carlson!) ...which led to the beginning of this here blog (Click here to read my first post) ...which led me to come home and commit to making thirty tree drawings...which led to me seeking out opportunities to display my work and be around creative types...which brought Jessie Prugh into my life (and all of her wonderful friends and family)...which led me to start making art every single day...and so on and so forth. Let's just say that the trip to MN really impacted me. So having my college friend in town, another creative type by the way, just really brought it full circle. ...and since they left I started thinking about all the awesome people in my life, near and far, that have special meaning in my life. Nostalgic- that would describe my current mood for the remainder of the weekend. Let's just say that I made many plans today to visit with various friends and I am want to make more of an effort to stay in touch. I feel very fortunate to have some awesome people in my life! I love you guys, you know who you are!
...and then it was time for the my favorite Sunday ritual...'wake and draw'...starting at the beach. ![]() This is kind of my Sunday routine. Wake up at 6:30...regardless of how late I stayed up the night before...have a few failed attempts to go back to sleep (grrrrrrr)...quietly getting up, getting ready and heading out to the beach with my art bag. Today I worked on my CED for the day, completing most of it, but it was kind of windy, and I also wanted to add some yellow colored pencil, which I didn't have on me...so I eventually put the art away and spent some time reading my recently bedazzled 'Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible' Side note...today's flower reference was plumeria...I was thinking about a flower clip I bought in Hawaii when I added those to the drawing. I have been wanting to take the cut out of Tim from the book sleeve I removed and have it laminated...so on the way to my next creative destination I made a pit stop to laminate the cutout and even add a caption bubble. What did it say? 'Make it work', of course! ...next stop? Yep, Barnes and Noble... ...my Sunday morning ritual includes a trip to Barnes and Noble for an iced coffee and alone time with the latest Harper's, Vogue and anything that inspires me. I always pick 3-4 magazines and then become so immersed in one that I don't even open the others. Today I was looking at the Summer Fashion and Beauty Issue...and this article on Valentino caught my eye....the clothing...the styling...the props...the poses...I just kept turning back to that article, so I selected one of the models to draw...then drew her twice.
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AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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