People Watching

People in the streets of NYC...

Old man playing the clarinet in Brooklyn Heights (smiled after the pic was taken)

Old woman searching through the newspapers near Union Square

Punk teens in the East Village

Playground Project - Success!

During student teaching I had students create a playground sculpture using paper...

StoryCorps... What a great idea!

As newspapers evolve and the news of what's happening is being communicated online more and more, storycorps is growing. It's an online archive of bits of life stories from people around the world.

The Human Voice from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

Paul's Uncle's Pens

Speaking Out Against Trafficking in India through Photography and Video

When Paul and I went to Arles International Photo show in 2008, we saw this video that stuck out in our minds... possibly forever. This photographer took photos of women who have been victims of trafficking and other aspects of women's oppression in India. Each woman dressed up to express her experience.... a character of protection.

Halloween Parade

I didn't know about all of these giant paper mache puppets that they have every year. Would be a great project to create one.

Shaun The Sheep

I am addicted to this animation by Nick Park, creator of Wallace and Grommit. However, I am sad to hear that the kids at school know Shaun the Sheep as a Disney cartoon.

Shaun The Sheep - Click here for funny video clips

Art Shows - Dumbo Arts Festival and MoMA's Rock Paper Scissors

I attended two art shows recently, the 2010 Dumbo Arts Festival and MoMA's abstract expressionism exhibit titled Rock Paper Scissors.

The Dumbo Arts Festival did not show anything that stuck out in my mind. All of the galleries showed art attempting to push the boundaries of what we consider art to be. I sat in the park by the water and did some people watching around the neighborhood in addition to seeing the art. The art on the streets was as interesting as the art in the galleries.

(2629 take out meals are consumed every second in the USA)

The Rock Paper Scissors exhibit was unexpectedly very good. I usually think of painting when I think of abstract expressionism, but I loved the sculptures in this show.

The Sensational Josephine Baker

Friday night I went to see an off-broadway show called The Sensational Josephine Baker. It's almost unknown because it has not been widely marketed and is only in the theater for a few weeks. For some reason, I usually love these types of performances.

The one woman show was written and performed by an emerging playwright, Cheryl Howard. She was really great! From her portrayal of Josephine Baker to her hilarious portrayal of a jealous show girl who knew Josephine Baker but was not as successful, all of her characters were full of emotion and the costumes fit well.

The play gave a summary of her biography and I thought that it highlighted the differences in the racial climates between America and France in the early-mid 1900s. Josephine Baker's reason for pursuing a career in France was largely due to the desire/need to escape racial oppression in America. It was well done.

Missing David LaChapelle

Keeping up with the artists and gallery shows throughout the city is not easy when you are not fully in the loop. However, when you are involved in the arts, you often hear about various shows. I recently found out about a gallery show by photographer David LaChapelle, but was unable to attend. I really don't like when I miss shows, but it happens.

David LaChapelle had a gallery show called American Jesus at the Paul Kasmin gallery. I can just look at his website to see glimpses of this show as well as the numerous works that comprise this prolific photographer's career. His dramatic/theatrical scenes often incorporate celebrities and rightfully so... If I could be in his photos, I would be so excited.

Some of the American Jesus photos included Michael Jackson - "Shown for the first time in New York is part of a series which began over a decade ago including three large-scale photographs depicting Michael Jackson as a modern day martyr. Of all of the subjects LaChapelle has portrayed, Jackson unquestionably lived one of the most epic and dramatic lives of our time. Such sentiment is shown with biblical connotations and is hauntingly represented in these images."

Storm King

As the summer came to an end, my husband and I decided to visit Storm King during a day trip to upstate New York. It was both of our first times being there. I did not realize that it is 500 acres! We stayed 2.5-3 hours and only saw a small part of it. However, it was enough.

We were able to see a variety of sculptures. There was one stone sculpture of a giant open peach pit by Noguchi that is a symbol for the famous Japanese fairy tale - Momotaro (Peach boy). It was fun to sit of it and the children around really loved it.

Other sculptures were more unknown and abstract. It was a sunny day and the shadows casted by the sculptures was a very interesting part of the day. Below are two photos of a white metal sculpture that offered lots of great shadows:

In general, it was fun to examine the textures of all the sculptures. The photos below show polished steel, bamboo, rubber tires and graphite covered wood:

This was my favorite sculpture because it kept us wondering how it was made:

Seeing and Listening

I recently started playing the doumbek drum. It's a middle eastern hand drum. I have always wanted to play african drums, but I never found a teacher. I now have a great teacher and my experiences overshadow my dreams of playing African drums (at least temporarily).

Every weekend I go to 107th Street and Central Park East. I walk along one of the most beautiful parts of central park and enter the building that Amir calls home. Meetings are held in his living room. The floor and parts of the walls are covered with persian and persian-like tapestries, while drums, string instruments, percussion instruments and other miscellaneous things to play fill the room. About 5-10 people gather each week for the music circle that he leads. Most of us are drummers and some people sing. Amir leads us with a lute and singing, occasionally adding a flute, drums and whatever else he is in the mood for. The music fills the room and everyone participates. Some of us go to see Amir for individual classes to formally learn how to join in, while others continue to do whatever feels right. He takes his most advanced students to concerts with him. So, if I keep this up, that's where I'm heading.

As I learn to play the drum, the atmosphere of his living room has been a large part of the experience. Looking at the different instruments and international tapestries make me feel comfortable, looking at the hands of more advanced students helps me to check myself, and the passionate expressions on participants faces, including Amir's, communicate to me each week.

Mary and Max

Claymation is so fascinating! To think that animation was created with clay and looks as professional as the animation that is drawn... I know how it's done, but how do they get it so such a level of professionalism?

Mary and Max was an example of amazing claymation and overall, a great movie!

The MET - Behind the Scenes

When I invited a friend to see what was going on at the Met, I completely forgot that her husband was working behind the scenes doing conservatory work. Even when she mentioned that he could get us in for free and show us his studio, the extent to what I would be shown did not sink in.

We got to the Met and started our night with a tour of his studio. He works in the offices/studios where visitors cannot see. His particular office is for himself and one other guy who specialize in painting on wood panel. They were restoring a few at a time. With his chemical engineering background he tends to work on the structural part of pieces and even had one small piece in a homemade incubator because they were working on getting creases out of the portrait. It was famous, but I forgot the name.

He then brought us to a painting studio where they focus on removing old varnish and repairing painting damage. The lighting was amazing and, like the studio he works in, the rooms are newly renovated and fully equipped. This studio included a Velasquez portrait. We also walked through the photo studio. They take infrared and ultraviolet shots to see what's behind the surface of the painting, revealing older layers and sketches. They can print these shots and hung a few on the wall. They could have made an exhibit on their own. We also saw the studio where people work on the frames of paintings. It was so fascinating that these people are working with art that's hundreds of years old and made in such mysterious ways. Looking so close up makes you really appreciate the quality of these works.

I've never been a big fan of old European paintings and this section of the Met has never been a place I made sure to check out when I visit. However, this day it all came alive. For me, it's always been the skill and craftsmanship that are impressive rather than the subjects or what they communicate.

We walked from Alan's studios into one of the galleries where the visitors were roaming. We saw the paintings that were not under construction hung, knowing it's Alan and the people who work with him maintaining them. He showed us one painting where the varnish was starting to discolor, but it wasn't that bad. It would probably need to go to the studio in about 75 years! He showed us where paintings have seems because they were sewn together from the painter not having big enough canvas or from an art dealer who cut them to make more money. There's now one painting up in the Met where the first layer of the painting was taken off to reveal an underlying image and then paint was further removed to reveal a sketched portrait in the middle. The revealed layers gave it an interesting collage feel. Looking so closely at all the paintings got us into a conversation about color and it is so amazing how vivid some of the colors are after being hung for hundreds of years.... one of the ones I pointed out had not even been restored at all!

Looking closely at all these paintings occasionally evoked curiosity about the subject matter. This was unusual for me. I noticed that some of these paintings show women beheading men. I remember that years ago I felt that these old European paintings were very oriented towards male domination. I'm not sure if there were different paintings, if I just missed a few, or if I just glanced over these without knowing. There was one painting near Bosch paintings that had the cutest creatures in the bottom right corner of the right panel.

After looking at these we strolled through Picasso. It felt ground breaking to have Picasso at the Met with all of these historical works. It was the first time Picasso was at the Met and my mother thought it was because they recently hired a new curator. I thought it was a statement of how times are changing and Picasso is seen as more classic than modern. The collection that they had was very impressive with hundreds of works of sketches, printmaking and painting. Alan knew that the Met had an impressive Picasso collection and said that they just didn't display it. The Met has a lot of work that they do not display.

Finally we relaxed on the rooftop with a drink under the bamboo structure of Doug and Mike Stam. This work seemed so modern and interesting, but not as complicated as what Alan has been restoring. I originally wanted to go because of the bamboo structure on the rooftop. However, the unexpected storm that gave Manhattan a purple sky filled with lightning contrasting against the buildings which made them look white was the highlight of the rooftop. I did enjoy the bamboo structure, but the rest of the night had been just too amazing.

SVA Art Education Gallery Show

I was walking down 6th Avenue and remembered that if I turn left on 21st street I might be able to catch the gallery show by the SVA art education graduate students. I was right and the show was great. The SVA professor had his students come up with art and/or lesson plans using a ball. It gave me inspiration and ideas for projects.

Karl Blossfeldt and Ellsworth Kelly

I went to observe a Principal Retreat with Studio in a School (SIAS). My professor at Bklyn College pointed out that SIAS is focused on the end product and that they are selling a product. This is unlike her philosophies of children becoming artists naturally with the right guidance and facilitation, letting the work speak for itself as their expression is interesting enough. I was also agitated by the awe that SIAS inspires after I saw the amount of PD that SIAS artists get compared with art teachers in school. However, at this retreat we were given PD by being placed in the role of the student during their imaginary plant lesson. Surprisingly I was in awe as much as I was when I was an art teacher receiving PD from SIAS. I really think that their way of teaching is great and I would like to incorporate some of that style into my own teaching along with Bklyn College philosophies.

The lesson that I observed introduced me to two artists and I fell in love with their work, particularly Karl Blossfeldt.

The first part of the lesson was to draw plants from observations. The artist puts flowers on the tables, one for each child. She then models drawing from observation, using shapes and/or contour lines. After showing the students the way she draws with contour lines, she shows them the plant drawings of Ellsworth Kelly.

At home I looked online to see who she was and I fell in love with her minimalist painting. I think that I really love minimalism.

The second part of the lesson was to draw from photographs and notice the unusual shapes and lines in the plants photographed by Karl Blossfeldt. The students also think about how the parts of the plant help the plant to function.

The artist working at SIAS said that he was a craftsman who made iron fences and to train his workers he took photographs of unique plants for design inspirations. She said that he didn't even consider himself an artist. However, when I looked online it said that he was an apprentice at an art foundry, but later went to art school and taught sculpture. These photographs were made from a homemade camera and used to inspire sculpture students. I guess more investigation needs to be done to know more about him.

The unit goes on and students draw imaginary plants and paint them using watercolors. Their plants end up having imaginative functions. They then write persuasive essays about why their plants should exist in the world.

Daniel Merriam

Very often I see an artist and I think about what a good idea he/she had. I get envious and wish I could spend money and time on an MFA, wishfully thinking that I could also create something beautiful. However, when I look at the work of Daniel Merriam I am just in awe of his talent and mysterious abilities. There are so few people who can create anything like this. I went to the Animazing Gallery in Soho and really enjoyed looking at his work. I thought that if I had 2000 to spare, I'd definitely get a reproduction. It was also fun to see reproductions of Dr. Seuss, Tim Burton and some beautiful glass sculptures by a new up and coming artist. I hope to get Daniel Merriam's new book.

http://www.danielmerriam.com/index.php?option=com_ponygallery&Itemid=0&func=viewcategory&catid=1

Fireworks on the Hudson

I never get excited about fireworks, but last year when we were in Jersey City with a great view, it was really nice. Last year they said that the fireworks were on the Hudson side because of the 100 year anniversary of Henry Hudson's arrival in NYC or something like that. This year, they fooled us and had it on the Jersey side once more. If only I read the article that was in my bag before we went chasing the fireworks. The article said how many people in Bklyn and Queens will be disappointed because the buildings will block their views. Instead we watched bits of fireworks rise above the shorter buildings of the skyline from the promenade after leaving a rooftop party in Bushwick that had no view of Manhattan at all.

Kaleidescope

I went to Kaleidoscope because I had fun at warehouse parties in the past. Kaleidoscope is a parade where people dress up and party during the day as they do in the warehouses late at night. It's run by the same people who throw warehouse parties. However, I actually didn't have that much fun.

It was fun to see the costumes people wore, but I some people frequent these parties and begin to make friends. I am not one of those people and although I was with three people, I felt like an outsider. I'm not sure I'd like to make that much of an effort to have fun, party and make friends. We'll see...

Northside Arts Festival

The animation shorts that included the film from the last post was part of an arts festival in Williamsburg. I googled a few musicians and found Au Revoir Simone and also saw another showing of shorts. I actually did not pay attention to the gallery art!

Cool Short Film

Louise Bourgeois, Influential Sculptor, Dies at 98

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/arts/design/01bourgeois.html?ref=design

Exit through the gift shop

Great documentary!! How could anyone who is interested in the arts (myself) have not known about the success of these street artists?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

Sculpture - Paper Dolls

For my sculpture project I chose to create paper mache dolls. I hope to continue and refine my craft. As for now, these images show 2 of the 5 dolls I made and my statement is as follows:

When I was growing up, it was always cool to be somewhat of a tomboy. Many feminine things were labeled “girlie” and had unspoken connotations of being frivolous, weak and/or annoying. I grew up with a single father and that further enhanced my distance from typical “girlie” things. The only dolls I ever liked were Cabbage Patch Kids and stuffed animals. I think I had 2 Barbie dolls that I never played with. I didn’t know what to do with them. I would have rather played kickball or with shrinky dinks.

As an adult I have more of an affinity towards dolls. I am not interested in dolls for entertainment media or traditional collectible dolls, but I am really drawn to “art dolls”. I particularly like the work of Virginie Ropars, a doll artist in France who went from being a graphic artist to becoming a 3D modeler and illustrator. She shows her work regularly in Europe and America. Dolls are loaded with gender concepts as in the work of Greer Lankton, who was born a man but led his life as a woman and used dolls to express his perceptions of gender in his installation art. Both of these artists have inspired me. (http://vropars.free.fr/ARCHIVESGALLERY_1.htm and http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/morton/morton1-26-07.asp)

This work celebrates the doll and the defining feminine side of women that is different from men and that we should celebrate in this post-modern world that aims for equality. They also represent the dolls I never had.

Krzysztof Wodiczko

I'd like to blog about numerous artists that we discussed in class. I'm happy to have my resources expanded and to learn about many new artists. I decided to choose one of the last artists that we looked at in class to discuss - Krzysztof Wodiczko. His work is really amazing and the examples that the documentary showed really related to some of my personal knowledge.

When Wodiczko showed the women in Tijuana I thought of a friend who went down there, ignorant to the world of sex tourism and trafficking. I knew it was horrible when he went, but after learning about trafficking, as mentioned in a previous post, I realize that it's probably much worse than I thought over there. His work shed light on some of the atrocities. I hope that his work reaches people like the guys I have come in contact with that support dysfunctional sex tourism, and inadvertently support trafficking, without thinking of the women involved.

Living in Japan, I visited the building that is still standing after the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Going to Hiroshima was an intense experience. We visited that building, went to the museum and saw the exhibit of the cranes... one origami crane for each child that died. The museum showed how people were walking down the street melting. It looked like a fictitious horror movie. When people were talking about their experiences I thought of one of my first students in Japan, who is now a facebook friend, Itchitaro Suzuki. He was one of my oldest students and a retired teacher. One day we were doing a lesson on past tense and one of the prompts had students tell the group about kindergarten. He burst into tears. I didn't understand what was going on. Finally, he said that's when the bombs came. He survived the bombings in Tokyo. I had no idea Tokyo was bombed during WWII, but actually Kyoto was the only place that was not bombed. We set off two atomic bombs, but dropped regular bombs over the rest of the country.

I think that Wodiczko's work moved all of us in class that night and must have reached so many people with each of his shows. He lets people explain why these aspects of our societies should not exist. It's really amazing.

Head Games: Engaging Popular Visual Culture - Reflection on Reading

The article "Head Games: Engaging Popular Visual Culture" really interested me. I wish there were pictures to go along with the article so that we could see the project. The article is by a doctoral student, David Darts, who conducted his research with his high school students. David's research was focused on students' visual literacy and awareness of visual popular culture. They analyzed well known artists from history, as well as contemporary artists, who are socially engaged. They then created sculptures using donated mannequin heads from a hairdressing school with found object and cultural artifacts. They used collage and assemblage. The sculptures communicated social issues that were important to the individual student. Through the process the doctoral student tried to show them that they are active participants in their world, rather than passive, and quoted another article, "that they have a role in the making of their world and that they need not accept positions as passive spectators or consumers" (Trend, 1992 via Darts, 2006 inside Duncam, 2006).

The students chose the location for the installation, offering students the opportunity to actively participate in their everyday visual culture. They chose a gathering space that often held public rallies and protests and, inspired by artists included in their studies, they chose not to inform city officials that they would display their art. Some chose to stand next to their sculptures and engage in conversation with people passing by and others chose to blend in with the crowds or sit far enough away to photo document the experience. Students expressed their positive experiences later on and felt pride from having people interact with their sculptures. Some even expressed appreciation for the opportunity to engage in conversation with strangers about their work and about social issues.

When I read this it felt like a story of a teacher who had a very successful unit, more than doctoral research. Then again, I guess that's what some doctoral research is. I would love to do something like this with my students and put the book that the article seems to come from, Visual Culture in the Art Class Case Studies by Paul Duncam, on my Amazon queue. I also googled David Darts and he seems pretty amazing. I'd love to take his class at NYU. Even more so, I'm just jealous. I wish I was that successful doing something related to what he's doing. He even seems to have had most of his schooling paid for - http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty_bios/view/David_Darts.

Thinking of my own path, I'm looking forward to teaching and hope I am very successful. I'd love to master my job and keep up my own work. I look forward to finding what is possible. I hope that it works!

Visual Culture Friends - Behind the Scenes

Perhaps it's my own personal choices and interests that draw people of like minds, but many of my friends have chosen to focus their careers on some aspect of visual culture. My two closest friends both have careers in visual culture fields (graphic design and film). Most, or all, of us started with a desire to create and to have a decent paycheck at the same time. I'd like to talk about the career paths of three of these people who are going through some changes that offer insight into the lives of people in these fields.

My friend Eddie went to SVA for illustration and taught himself to be a web/graphic designer for extra income. He currently has two websites - www.ashworld.com and artcharger.ashworld.com After 10 years of freelancing odd jobs, getting by, but not very comfortably, he is thinking of going to teach in Japan. I helped him write his essay today, which explained the influence Japanese visual media has had on his life. It was cartoons, anime and video games that sparked his interest to begin drawing at a young age. He never stopped and devoted his life to drawing and art. Unlike artists of traditional media, he decided to go towards technology. Still, without being a corporate office worker, he has struggled for many years.

In America, it's more often American visual culture/media that draws people in and offers dreams that may never be fulfilled. My friend Yaniv, from high school, wanted to be an actor. He stuck to it for many years, acted in movies like Toxic Avenger IV and then got a job with Desperate Housewives in the production department - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788979/ - He kept his dream that one day he'd be able to be an extra on the show, but it never happened. Last month he called me and told me that he got fired for speaking inappropriately. A woman on set had a baby girl and he jokingly said, "When she's 18, I'll date her." Inappropriate yes, but worth being fired... I can't agree. He thinks that corporate America is getting more conservative and notes that he has been working in corporate America.

Like Yaniv, my friend Pam also loves American visual culture and gets lured in by celebrities and film. Pam wanted to be writer, but has also always wanted to work in film. In addition to her short stories and a novel, she wrote a screenplay, but nobody with power ever looked at it. Instead she worked her way up the film hierarchy from a production assistant to a production coordinator, with a few jobs in the art department. If she keeps moving up she may one day be a producer. She actually got fired from her last job. It was the first time she got fired and it was mostly due to personality clashes and unrealistic expectations. Pam described this last job as working in the movie Devil Wears Prada, but it was film instead of fashion and the Devil Wore New Balance.In between jobs she spends her time making cards and small polymer sculptures.- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1061975/

The list can go on... The last roomate I had before living with my husband was a movie editor and made a few of his own movies (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0596392/). He freelanced and worked all the time. All he did was work on his movies, but finally had one show on HBO last year. He might be the most content of all of these people that I mention. Then again, he comes from Connecticut (privilege), has a mom who was an art teacher and a sister who is a somewhat successful actress (Gretchen Mol - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001543/) A friend from college who is a photo retoucher who started out by working for a porn magazine, retouching breasts to take away scars. I remember when he was living in a one bedroom apartment with two roomates in his living room. Now he works office jobs as n art director and is fine with that, but he's still does his own photoshop work on the side. I can also talk about my close friend who is a graphic designer for Library of America and does fine art on the side, and a friend I met in jury duty who is a photo editor for Fortune magazine and hates her boss... the list goes on.

Art jobs are sexy... so sexy, many people go for an MFA and end up without work. Still, this option is not open to everyone. I remember when I first got my BFA. I wanted to go for an MFA, but I did not have enough money, even with a loan. So, I moved on. For many people who can do it, it's worth the gamble when you see the way of life when you are successful creating you're own work... what a great life that would be... to just do art and nothing else. It's like you're not working. However, many people end up compromising, going for commercial art jobs and/or forgetting about it all. Some people have more drive, more artistic talent or more of a need for stable living conditions. People are also starting from different places in terms of social support, knowledge, skills and financial support. I think that there are many, many factors that go into the career choices of people who are interested in the arts and many many factors that go into the result. This post is just a glimpse of the paths that a few creative people decided to take.

Children's Imagination

I was walking down the street when I saw a little girl. She was at a distance from the adult she was with, so you could imagine her being alone on the street. She was turning around and saying, "I'm a pixie." She had a pink tool on which resembled that of a faerie. She seemed so comfortable in her element. She was able to freely speak her imagination on the corner of the street in the Upper West Side of NYC. She was adorable.

This experience reminded me of why I want to go back to teaching. I love the imagination little kids have. Just like when I went to see Leah and those kids were able to enjoy the idea that their paintbrush was named Beverly and to paint you made her hair dance. How cool is that? When I taught elementary school I worked with kids who had a hard time using scissors. I would tell them to think of the scissors as the scissor monster whose most favorite treat in life is to eat the line. Then I'd make eating noises as it chomped the line and the scissors cut on the line. The kids would love this and they would ask me what flavor it was. We were able to talk within the world of imagination. It's a really fun place! :)

ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL - CHILDREN OBSERVATION**

I walked into the building and it felt like a regular public school. I walked towards the office it was very quiet with large posters in the hallway and I noticed a room with couches. I went to the main office which was much more informal than a regular public school. there was just a few desks and not that large counter separating the staff from the visitors. Finally, I was escorted to the art room.

Leah's art room is very large and everything looks brand new. It looks like it has been renovated. Two walls are filled with windows which gives a view down an East Village street and a view of a rooftop next door. All the furniture is new and the chairs and tables are wooden, not like regular public school furniture. The room is arranged nicely. She has drying racks, cabinets, a white board and a small stereo to play music. Below one big window is a cushioned bench and below the bench are cubby holes for storage; which is all part of a larger cabinet unit. I am in a charter school.

Leah explained to me that the charter school was created to model a school in the

Hamptons that infuses culture into all subjects and is very supportive of the arts.. The school in the Hamptons is funded by some owners of Time Warner, or something similar to that idea. So, the school in the East Village has a very large budget to work with. On the website it says that they were developed in collaboration with NYU. I went to observe a first grade class.

I came early and helped Leah set up. There wasn't too much to do. I helped her cut paper and she showed me around the room. She contemplated what lesson to do and decided to continue with what she was doing with the other students. She had them draw a spiral and then paint inside the lines.

The kids came in and sat down. They seemed happy to be there. They were eager to know who I was and Leah had me introduce myself. We told them exactly what was going on. Leah goes to school to be an even better teacher than she is now and I am in her class. I will also be an art teacher. They were surprised that she went all the way to Brooklyn to go to school. One boy said that he went to Queens College in the summer for a program. They were adorable.

She elicited what the spiral was called. The kids had lots of names, but needed help remembering the word spiral. They spelled it out, drew a spiral in the air and got started. Once the kids were painting, they seemed to get calm; at least initially. Towards the middle of the period Leah asked for quite for 5 minutes and put some music on. It was nice.

I helped give out the paint and went along with Leah's explanation that the brush is called Beverly and she dances on the paint with her hair. The kids like that. One group later discussed the different colors of her hair and laughed. They all painted their spiral in different ways and as they were finished they were able to get a new paper and "free draw".

As they finished, the few closest to me were showing me their work. I'd ask a question and/or comment. I'd ask how they got a certain color, tell them that I see LOTS of colors. One girl painted her spiral with the same colors as her shirt so I pointed out how it matched. I think they enjoyed talking to me because as they finished they kept coming to me showing me their work. I had to start cutting paper to give them new ones of the same size and they were the same size and at this point they were just coming for another paper. I sat for a little while and then it was time to clean up. I helped the kids who were lagging behind to clean up their tables. I didn't do much as there was not much to clean up. The paints were paint cakes and each child had a cup of water with a brush or two.

Soon it was time to go and they lined up and left with their teacher (who was a sub for the day). They were able to take their work with them or leave it behind. Most took it home. Leah complimented one girl and told her how much she loved the painting, "I love it so much I almost stole it from you." After a minute or two the girl gave Leah the painting and said, "It's for you."