Happy Holidays!

This will probably be my last update before the holidays, so with that in mind I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season! 

This is something I did in 2006. I really like the line work I created around the figure so I decided to revamp the idea! I was inspired after seeing Disney's latest movie, Frozen, and the character of Elsa. So this latest piece has an Elsa-esque look about her. It can't be helped! Elsa is a pretty rad character and, I can't lie, I had the song "Let it Go" that Elsa sang in the movie on repeat for most of this piece. 

Enjoy, everyone! Have very happy holidays!

<3 Kate

The Beauty of Snow Days

So remember that time, oh, a couple of days ago where I said I might turn a sketch into a more fully developed work? 'Might' was the operative word there. Well! Two snow days later and I did it! Yay! And I have to say I'm very, very pleased with how it turned out. First, observe the sketch again:

And now, the final piece:

Woohoo! So, I used a couple of references for a few of the images, particularly images of Nicole Kidman and Candice Accola. The entire work is a mixed media and I used Prismacolor illustration markers, watercolors, Prismaclor colored pencil, pencil, and Micron pens (my personal favorite). I also used a variety of techniques for some of the backgrounds such as salt on watercolor and sponging. The fire, which I'm particularly fond of, I just kind of rolled with. No images for a reference. I'd like to think I embraced an Impressionist style while creating it. The broken mirror I did use a reference for.

Enjoy!

<3 Kate

Let it Snow!

Being a teacher I can always appreciate a good snow day, or even a two hour delay! According to the weather channel, both could be possible! We're supposed to get a health mix of ice and snow throughout the day and I just couldn't be more thrilled! So, in celebration of the possible snow day here are some bulletin boards I've created at school. Spoiler alert: I love, love, love cutting snowflakes.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

<3 Kate

Mola, Mola, Molas!

Well, time for some student art! Below are paper molas my fourth graders made. The project aligns with the new curriculum for fourth grade for the first quarter. So, there is a bit of a delay in posting these! This was the first year I did this project with fourth grade and I really emphasized creating a unified work of art using line, basic shapes, pattern, repetition, and overlapping. This also really helped with fine motor skills because of all the cutting and gluing.

I love the quirky playfulness this piece has!

This mola is a bird soaring over a field and a pond.

Look at the sun! It's positively radiant with overlapping!

This student only wanted to use line and shape and I'd say they got awesome results!

Overall, I'd say the student's projects turned out well! There is an obvious use of pattern, repetition, and basic shapes. The struggle came with students who wanted to create animal molas. They had difficulty abstracting the animal down into simple, basic shapes. So, something to work on! Something else to strive towards is really getting the students to understand what a 'unified' work is. There's always room for improvement!

Until next time!

<3 Kate

Sketchy

Happy Belated Turkey Day, Everyone!

I hope the holiday season was deliciously awesome for all! Mine was busy, as per the norm, and life will only continue to get busier will all the holiday festivities approaching!

I don't have any new pictures of student work yet; my camera broke on me when I went to take more. However, I do have a sketch that I worked on!

Sometimes I struggle with what to draw. I re-create myths and legends, I interpret famous characters, but I always struggle to create something that is wholly, and uniquely mine. Then I realized that, duh, I have characters that are wholly mine. I've been developing them since my angst-y pre-teen years! Above are some of the character I play (or played) in my repeatedly mentioned RPG. They are characters I've created, given story arcs to, and written about for years so why not start drawing them? From left to right we have a mage, a mermaid, a Haunt, a gypsy, and a vampire.

Seemed like a no-brainer to me. So, this was something quick I did the other day. Nothing fancy, though I may turn it in to a more developed piece later.

Hopefully I'll have some more student work up soon as my 5th graders are making the most awesome clay projects ever!

Until next time!

<3 Kate