Student Art Part 1: Art for a Poster - 700 pieces to choose from.

I'm a Volunteer Chair for the Art Committee at our local Elementary school.
The next few weeks will be quite busy as I help get ready for the Annual Student Show. The entire process is a lot of work, but incredibly creative too. I'd like to share what goes on behind the scenes of hosting an art show for over 450 families and the community at large.

Of all the tasks to do, there are two that are particularly fun for me.

1) Creating bulletin boards for the School.
2) Designing the Art Show Poster.

IT ALL BEGINS THE YEAR BEFORE...
Each year during Duniway's Annual Student Art Exhibit, several pieces of student work are selected as possible poster candidates for the next year. It's a tough decision, since there are usually 700 pieces of student work to choose from. Selections are based on personal impressions, and some general guidelines:

a) Will it look good in a poster format - 11X17" vertical?
b) Is it a good representation of the art lesson it was based upon?
c) Is it visually bold enough to draw viewers attention from 3 feet away?
d) Is it interesting to look at? Good use of color, balance and proportion?
e) Will it serve as a good showcase piece for the Duniway Art Program?

Once the initial set of poster candidates are selected, a bulletin board is created to display them in the main hallway of the school. Everyday, students, faculty and Duniway parents can see them.


Each piece is given a number, and all the students of the school are invited to vote for their favorite.


Votes are collected in a box during library time.


After two weeks, votes are tallied, and the winner is announced.

In this case, the winning piece was created by a 4th grade student who painted in the style of Pablo Picasso.




This is Michelle Smit. She's the mom who wrote the lesson plan about Pablo Picasso. She has written a lot of lessons for our Art Program at Duniway.


(this photo was taken by Christine Claringbold of www.EyePopArt.com).

To learn more about Duniway, click here Duniway Website

Christine Claringbold, a past Duniway parent, wrote an excellent article on how to start your own art program at your school. To read more:
click here

Is she related to Imelda Marcos?

There's an obsession going on in my house...


It involves a girl and shoes...

I walk around the house and see this sort of thing everywhere...


Or this...


And when she goes to sleep, it's usually something like this.


The girl's got it bad.


Occasionally I'll catch her in the act.


But how can I get mad at a face like this?


Could Prada and Christian Louboutin be in her future?

How To Shred Your Blue Jeans

These are just your ordinary kitchen graters.
You grate cheese. Carrots, lemons, chocolate and whole nutmeg too. Occasionally you might push play dough through them to get imitation spaghetti, or mermaid hair. Any way that's what I've always used them for.


But the other day, I learned a completely new way to use a kitchen grater.
Oh gee golly miss molly. Hold onto your britches now.


You can shred your blue jeans with them too!
Didn't you always wonder how to do that? I know I've been dying to find out.


According to the most fashion savvy teen in my life, a grater works wonders to remove the outer layer of blue threads, leaving only the white threads to show through. You pay big bucks in the retail stores for jeans that look like this.

Hmmmm, can't you just see all those little worker bees in the bluejeans factory rubbing their cheese graters in perfect rhythm back and forth across the yards of denim?

You can take things a step further...rip the holes bigger


or write words with a permenant sharpie marker.

Then you'll have a real valuable pair of jeans like this.


Oh, and lest you judge my parenting skills too harshly, leggings are worn under those jeans SO NO SKIN SHOWS THROUGH!

Can you smell this?

Ohhhhh. It is a heavenly smell.
If you have never smelled a Hyacinth flower, put it on your "To Do List" before you die. I plucked this lovely specimen from my garden.

Before Photoshop


After Photoshop



What I did:
MCP High Deffinition Sharpening
MCP Color Magic
Adjusted color balances again.

I experimented some more: First turning the photo to Black and white.


Then, with a soft brush, I brought color back to the purple flower only.


I also boosted the contrast and sharpened the image several times.

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.

- Moslih Eddin (Muslih-un-Din) Saadi (Sadi),
Gulistan (Garden of Roses)

And the winner is...

First things first...
The temperature in my neck of the woods (Oregon, USA) is 52 degrees Fahrenheit and rainy.
Chances are I am cold and wearing 3 layers of fleece as you are reading this.

The chosen winner, randomly selected, and not by the content of their comment, (though I did like hers):

Anonymous (aka Becky) from Fruitport Mi.
You have won a glass pendant with sterling silver plated snake chain. Congratulations!

Email me and it will be on it's way to you.

A beautifully sad story...

I mentioned in a previous post about taking a trip to Canada where I was frantically snapping pictures of the scenery from our moving car. We were traveling along the aptly named "Sea to Sky Highway." At one point, I seriously needed the car to stop so that I could be sure of getting at least ONE good photo of what I was seeing out the window.

My husband pulled the car over, but not with a photographer's eye in mind. He picked a spot directly behind a large mountain of rocks and dirt that completely blocked the view.

I got out of the car anyway and began to walk back along the roadside, hoping to find a clearing. I saw a gravel road leading away from the main highway and decided to follow it. What I discovered next was something beautifully sad and mysterious.

Follow me as I take you there.

See that rock pile? And those steps? Look closer.


They lead to a well tended memorial of a beautiful 20 year old girl.


Shannon Archer. Born October 24 1985. Died October 5, 2005


There were flowers everywhere. A vase of wilted pink roses hung from the center of the cross. Cans of flowers sat at the bottom. Hyacinths and Tulips were emerging from the warmed spring soil.
I saw Gardening tools and a watering can, a candle and lighter.
Someone had fabricated a table from a piece of granite and welded steel in the shape of the letter "S".



Clearly, this was a place visited frequently by people who cared deeply and still mourn the loss 4 years later.

To my left, I noticed a moss covered trail leading away. I followed it to the top of a bluff.


Resting quietly at the top was an inviting wooden bench and a magnificent view.


I sat down and took in the moment.

The sense of loss was palpable.


My heart weighed heavy as I felt what others before me must have felt as they sat on the same bench.


When I returned home, I googled Shannon Archer to learn the story of her life and death. I couldn't find anything about her.

Her marker lies next to the road between Vancouver and Whistler Mountain. Whistler is the location of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Thousands of tourists will be traveling that road next year.

One thing I know for sure, on this Easter Sunday...
Shannon Archer, whoever she was, will not be forgotten.

April 13th Update:
Thanks to an anonymous reader who left a comment on this post, I now know the cause of Shannon's death. It was a deadly car accident on the turn known as Doodsons Corner. Read the comments below.
Please see the link below if you would like to read more.
http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=1234500&sponsor=http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=1234500&sponsor=

The Pendant Giveaway has closed.

Please Check back Monday for the winner!

A Reason to Ground your Teenager.

I've said it before. Parenting is hard work. Throw in a teenager and the work doubles. Welcome to thecraftjunkieblog.

I love my teenage daughter more than life itself, so as a consequence for poor behavior I recently grounded her from her cel phone FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK! That sounds like a contradiction I know.

A couple days went by. She was angry with me for cutting her off from her friends. Apparently she thought they would forget her existence. Apparently she also forgot how to use a traditional land line phone (but I wasn't about to show her).

She hated me (in a teenager sort of way), and I felt sick (in a mothering sort of way). When I spoke with her, she would only reply in one syllable grunts.

My children think I relish passing out punishments. I really don't.

Then...something miraculous happened. She began to create artwork during all the free time she had.

This is what she made:



That skull? I think it represents my head.

Those missiles? I think she wanted to toss some my way.

Those peace signs...maybe she felt bad for what she'd done.

Yeah right.


When I asked her about it, she told me it represented what was going on politically in the world.
(secretly I think she was just being polite).


None the less, I love this piece of artwork. For me, it represents so much on many levels. I want a T-shirt with it plastered on the front.

I feel validated for grounding her- knowing that if I hadn't done my job, the world would be less one amazing piece of art.
for other art related stories, visit thecraftjunkieblog.

Photoshop Before and After

Before Photoshop...

After Photoshop...



Photoshop Actions:
MCP High Deffinition Sharpening
MCP Color Magic

A great craft for boys...

I'm always on the hunt for something fun I can do with my 9 year old son. Something that holds his interest as well as mine.
I recently found an exciting project: Blinky Bugs! These clever little guys are made of simple componants and when you bop their antenae, their eyes blink.


Everything comes in a kit you can purchase online for $14.00


Pipe cleaners, battery, wire, and simple electrode eyes.


The only things you have to provide are scissors, needle nose pliers and scotch tape.


My son thought they were totally cool. We spent a good hour working side by side on this project and I thought THAT was totally cool.

About the junkie

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Please check back again soon.

Crummy Camera, Amazing Photos!

My family took a trip to Canada over Spring Vacation. The scenery was stunning.

I snapped pictures along the way - mostly from the back seat of our moving car, (with a broken point and shoot camera). Really. I had to hold the bottom together to keep the battery in place.

With scenery this beautiful, it's hard to take a "bad" picture. Even with a broken camera.


My kids kept yelling at me "stop rolling down the car window" - it was cold.

I duck taped their mouths shut and kept on snapping pictures (just kidding).


I took some of the photos through the glass of the car window, then ran them through photoshop to eliminate window glare. I boosted the color and cropped out the guardrail.

This photo is Before Photoshop...


After...


Before...


After...

It's a lesson that you can get beautiful photos with a crummy camera while zipping along in a car.

The important thing is to take the photos while you have the chance.

I still want a new camera. Is anyone having a camera give away?

Thankyou Kim!

A warm thankyou to Kim Demmon of "Today's Creative Blog" for featuring me on her blog yesterday. Kim, these are for you.

My teeny weeny blog has never had so many visitors and it's been exciting for me to watch. It went from less than 10 visitors per day to over 150. And thanks to all of you for taking the time to wander over to my little corner of the universe. I hope you'll come again soon.

Plastic Charm Card Cuties

Welcome to The Craft Junkie Blog. This is a class I teach at a local Scrapbook supply store.
It would seem I'm addicted to shrink plastic. It's just so much fun, so easy, and something I can do with my kids in a short amount of time. The results are always great. If you haven't tried it, you should.
Please see below for class details, and watch my blog for future templates!.






Class description:

Did you think Shrink Plastic was only for kids? NO WAY! In this class we'll design multi layered charms (from shrink plastic) that move and shimmer with the slightest touch. We'll hand emboss a gift card for our charms and write a clever sentiment. The recipient of your card can leave the charm on the card, or choose to remove it for a handmade pendant. How awesome is that? The possibilities are simply endless and you'll go away from this class with ideas galore and enough inspiration to last for days. I'll even bet you have more fun with shrink plastic than any kid you know – or I'll buy you a latte.

To learn more about this class or to register:
http://www.diylounge.com/

Class title: Plastic Charm Card Cuties