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The Journey

This post is copied from my other blog that I started years ago when I began teaching art classes at the community center. I thought I would also share it here. If you’d like to check out that blog its:

http://preschoolpicasso.blogspot.com/2019/11/teaching-art.html

Hey Guys,

It seems like it has been just about a million years since I updated this blog….I guess I just got busy being a mom, painting and teaching that I stopped posting eventually.  But for some reason I thought today would be a good day to start again.

I have been teaching art classes at my local community center since my kids were babies.  It was a great way to keep teaching and still stay home with my kids.  I do camps for preschoolers and school agers in the summer and classes during the school year for toddlers and preschoolers. And occasionally I’ve done extra painting classes for school age kids.  Both of my kiddos are in elementary school now and I am finding myself with more time to paint and invest in my own artwork.  I spend most of last year working on a website and etsy shop. I also starting selling my work in local shops. You can check out my work at www.purplejoyart.com

 It was great to have time more to explore my own artistic expression, I painted more paintings than I will ever know what to do with!!  Hopefully sell:)  But I found myself missing the classroom and so I decided to start substitute teaching this year. And it has been great, I have been rotating around subbing for many of the elementary art teachers, even at my own kids school, a couple times a week.  And it still leaves me some days to be home to do the laundry and my own art.

And being in the classroom again is reminding me why I went to school to be an art teacher in the first place.  There was a time before I had my kids that all I wanted was a teaching job, all I thought about and meant everything to me.  Then I became a mom, and over the last 10 years I have poured my heart and soul into motherhood and would not have traded the time at home with my babies for anything. I feel so tremendously blessed to have been able to stay home with them.  It was hard as any mother knows (going to the bathroom by myself was a treat lol).  But, then last year my baby girl started kindergarten, and all I could think about was having another baby.  I would cry, feeling so lost and at times felt like I was grieving the time that went by too fast and for a child I would never have, and then I’d think I was crazy because I have two beautiful babies.  But I couldn’t figure out what I was suppose to be doing with my days.There wasn’t the same sense of purpose and satisfaction I had before.  No story time at the library, no mom’s club or play dates. I lost all the mommy connections I had during the day.  So I painted alot, and volunteered at a nursing home.  But this year I feel like all the saddness is gone and I am happy to be where we are now.  My kids go to school and I get to “work” again, without having to write all the lesson plans and attend all the meetings!!

And yesterday I found a copy of a teaching philosphy that I had written in grad school that I would like to share a piece of:

Art Education is imperitive to the holistic development of a child.  The growth of one’s creative thinking abilities is influenced by visual expression.  Art education meets student needs for problem solving, analysis and evaluation skills, while fostering discovery, aesthetic appreciation, communication, and appreciation of self and others.  Art education should offer experiences that meet developmental levels and learning styles.  It should also combine student-centered, studio, art history, and community culture based learning.  It is important that art education includes diversity in instruction method to meed various learning styles and engages student interest.  An art educator should be enthusiastic, knowledgable, skilled and passionate about their subject matter.  They should also stay up to date on current developments in art and education through continuing professional development and teaching to state and national standards. 
Art draws connections to children’s lives and the cultures of the world, granting deeper understanding of a global society.  Cognitive thinking is strengthened when connected with interdisciplinary studies to broaden the spectrum of understanding.  Art education provides opportunites to comprehend a concept, an object, an image or an event in a deeper way.  Making art allows the mind to organize re-organize, construct, search and regenerate ideas.   The goal of an art educator should be to see children thrive and develop into healthy adults in body, mind and spirit.  And art education plays a key role in this holistic learning.  I believe art is a language and art class provides students with the skills and tools to speak in that language, A language which is a powerful learning and expressive medium for students. 

Ok, so this blog is where I share projects that I do with my community center students, whom are mostly 2-4 year olds.  Much of my philosophy is maybe beyond them.  But I just found it and wanted to share some of my thoughts on art education.  And my hope is by sharing I can inspire you to do some fun creative things with your kids, either in school, preschool or at home!

For preschoolers, art is still a powerful way to engage the development of young children. But just on a much more simplified, basics way.  I focus on very process based projects, lots of sensory experiences, cutting skills, and looking at artwork.

Last week we did some leaf printing.  I gave the kids a big piece of paper a bunch of leaves I collected, a couple different paintbrushes and little plastic cups (from k  cups :D) and they printed and painted their hearts out! We even ended up painting with forks too:) I had intended to read the book Leaf Man but forgot it at home! Woops! Next time.

Well, thats all for now I guess, and I will work on continuing to updated and add more of the fun thing my kiddos are creating:) Until next time.

Cheers,
Lindsey

Expectant Waiting and Preparation

The Season of Advent the time of expectant waiting and preparation. I don’t know about you but we do alot of preparing in my house. We cut down a Christmas tree, move furniture, test all the lights, buy more lights and replacement bulbs. We pull out all the boxes of ornaments and snow globes, we dress up the outside of the house with lights and garland and wreaths. The excitement and anticipation builds as we prepare. But what are we preparing for? And what are we expectantly waiting for? The word advent is a version of the Latin word for “coming”. So what really is coming? Santa? Presents? Family time? Cookies and Feasts? Sure. That’s all part of the celebrating right?

I truly love all of these preparations. I love sending Christmas cards and baking cookies and listening to Christmas music. But one of my most favorite is our advent dinners. In my house we light and advent wreath and do a Christmastime devotional at the beginning of our meal . My kids love lighting all the candles and turning down the lights. And each week as we add another candle we reflect on the reason for all our preparations and waitings. All this prepare us to receive the peace, joy, hope and love that this season brings with it.

These are some paintings I have done to reflect the spirit of the advent season

We Must Never Forget

It is our right won with a battle of immense sacrifice, suffering, death, determination, courage and bravery.

“It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. … Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.”
―Susan B. Anthony

I starting a new painting series based on influential women in history.

The first features the suffragette women who fought for women’s right to vote. These brave women stood up and made their voices be heard. Many went to jail and suffered much torture. Their voices and actions paved the way for the rights that we now have and must never take for granted!

This piece is a combination for paint (acrylic) and collage. The woman in the middle is painted and around her are hidden bits of text and collaged images of other suffragette women. In the top right corner is a woman being force fed with a tube after being arrested from a hunger strike. There is a woman in the bottom left corner holding a sign that says “To Ask For Freedom for Women is not a Crime and Suffragettes should not be treated as Criminals” Another image in the Bottom Right shows a women being dragged away by police. Women who were not suppose to be allowed to vote. Women who’s voices were not equal to men’s and women who wanted that the change. I cannot imaging living in a world where I don’t have the same basic rights as men. I get chills thinking about what these women endured.

100 years ago, on June 4, 1919 congress passed the amendment to grant women the right to vote in America. Ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment was passed. The battle began in 1848 when women like Susan B. Anthony and Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Staton stood up and started the fight. It took a lot longer for men and women of color to be granted this right, and there are still groups fighting today with voting laws that are discriminatory.

I wanted this piece to be a voice from these brave women to us today to never, ever forget their courageous actions that gave us the rights we have today. I wanted to be a message to all people to never take for grated those rights and proudly, exercise them by always voting!

We must never ever forget.

New Landscapes

In the last few weeks I have been working on some new landscape paintings. I just painted this vineyard last week. It’s done with acrylic paint, a palette knife and paintbrush.

And I also did these two sunflower paintings after our trip to one of our local farms for their sunflower festival.

And some progress photos of the vineyard.

These paintings are for sale. If you are interested in any of them please let me know! And don’t forget to follow me on instagram lindsey0827

Country Church

Usually when I paint I work from a photo, but recently I have been trying some paintings with no reference. For this one I had an idea in my head of a simple white church in the country surrounded by a field of wildflowers. Here is what I did first… While it was ok, it still wasn’t quite what I was invisioning. I thought it needed more flowers, so I added more some in the front.

Close up of the church
Here’s what it looks like all framed. I am happy with the way it came out and it was sort of freeing to make it up and not be tied to a photo or any other reference. What do you think?

What’s your style?

When I tell someone that I am an artist, and they ask me what kind of art I do, I never really know what to say. It has taken me a long time to even consider myself a “true” artist and still it is hard to swallow. I still doubt it all the time. So I usually just say something like “oh, I like to paint.”

So many artists have a style, something distinct to identify themselves in their work and they paint very similiar things. Maybe I just haven’t found mine yet because I don’t always paint the same way or choose one medium. Part of what I like about art is that each work is a new fresh yet familiar experience. I love trying new things, and working in many different mediums. I can’t say that I have mastered any one of them..and if I ever do I think I might feel done with creating! Of course my skills have developed over the years but it is always fun to experiment, to challenge myself and to see how much more I can do.

My comfort zone has been in more realistic traditional styles, like pretty still-life paintings and that sort of thing. But I love to test colors and have found that I like texture and rich surface application.

This week I decided to try stepping a bit further outside of my comfort zone and try some abstract landscapes. One things I know for sure is that I love landscapes because I love nature, hiking and generally being outside. It always gives me perspective and peace. So I painted two oil landscapes in a newer much looser style. It was sort of freeing and scary at the same time.

Who knows maybe this will become “my thing” and when someone asks me what I do I will say “I am an abstract landscape painter” But I have a feeling I will never be able to stick to just one genre or style!! Stay tuned to see what I try next! Below are pictures of the two lanscapes.

Hiking in the Park

My family and I took a hike a few weeks ago at one of our favorite spots, the beautiful Webster Park. We always enjoy hikes together. It is one of my favorite things to do with my kids. At this park there is a creek that leads to the lake, and my kids were having a blast skipping stones and playing with sticks. Over the creek there was a canopy of these sparkling green trees that danced in the warm breeze and sunshine. It was the end of May and everything smelled fresh, clean and new. I of course, had to take a few pictures that I knew would be perfect to paint. So I choose one of the photos and got to work on this oil painting. Below are some photos of the progress and details.

Aslan

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Last week I started a painting for a client, of the Lion, Aslan, from the Chronicals of Narnia. Aslan is the beloved lion character in the children’s books written by C.S. Lewis. Aslan is very popular in my home, my children are currently reading the book and we all love the movie. My son even has a special lion that was given to him as a baby, whose name is Aslan. So when I was asked to do this painting I was thrilled.

Here are a few photos of the process of depicting this mighty lion

I started with a black canvas and worked it up with layers of paint until he was finished. I am very happy with the final product and I hope the client is too!!