It's Been a While

Hey readers, it's been close to two years since I've posted on the blog, mostly due to the fact that my business, DragonWing Arts, where I taught an after-school art class for elementary kids, has been on an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.  I teach the class in a small classroom in a Jewish Temple where I am a member, and the Temple's current regulations for gatherings in the building, due to the infection rate in the local community, require social distancing, negative Covid tests, temperature/health checks, and of course masks. With the small classroom space, social distancing would make it impossible to fit a group of more than a couple of kids in a class.  And anyhow, I am not prepared to check temperatures or require Covid tests for my students.  I'm hoping that maybe, after the new year, with kids now eligible for vaccination, that the regulations will ease and I'll be able to re-start my business in some way and then of course have some new art projects to share here on the blog!  

 In the meantime, I've had to make one change to the blog.  In the past week, I've gotten hundreds of emails informing me that people have been trying to access some Google docs (lesson handouts and PowerPoint presentations and such) that I had provided links to on a blog page called "Document Weblinks".  While I'm flattered (and surprised!) that so many people are still using my blog as a resource and are finding stuff that is valuable to them, it has caused a problem.  Some sort of Google change/update made all the document links invalid, and in order to get these docs to the people requesting them, it appeared I'd have had to individually respond to all their document requests with the updated links, and frankly, I'm not willing to do that, just to give away content, that I developed, for free.  So instead I've taken the easy way out and removed the page with the documents.  Maybe I'll replace it again down the road, but currently I just don't have the time or will to individually deal with all these document requests.  So if you're one of the people who wanted one of these docs, I apologize, but... so it goes...  

So why is there a pic of a kayak and a peaceful lake on the top of this blog post?  No reason at all, except that's what I was doing on this beautiful November day, and I thought maybe the photo would intrigue you enough to entice you to read this post! 

The comment surprise!

It used to be common to find lots of comments on my blog (or on other blogs), especially in the days after a new post was written.  Nowadays, not so much.  I can look at my blog stats and know that I still have plenty of visitors, but many people no longer take the time to leave a comment.    I think there's a few reasons.

 

First, many people (but not me) do their blog reading on their phones.  Leaving a comment = a pain in the neck.

 

Second, there's the fact that people seem to like things to happen instantly.  Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, whatever you use - these things are so much more instant than taking the time to read through a sometimes long blog post, and then write a thoughtful response, and finally to copy the 'captcha' letters/numbers in order to post your comment.  Too much effort?

 

Sometimes the visitors to a blog have just hopped there by way of a Pinterest pin and do not even read the post.

But sometimes, a blog comment can really pay off.   Perhaps you'll get involved in an interesting discussion.  Perhaps you'll learn something new.  Perhaps you'll get a new idea.  Or, perhaps... just perhaps... you'll win a prize.  That's what happened to me recently!

Ironically, when I left a comment back in September on Art Room Blog, it was because I had something to say.  I knew there was a contest, but honestly, I think I would have left the comment anyhow, because, well, that's just me.  But last week the blogger contacted me and told me I had won a prize.  You can see in the photo above exactly what I won!!!  This blog hosts a contest EVERY MONTH.  That means if you leave a comment on the contest, the odds of winning sooner or later are pretty good.  This month she's giving away a set of awesome-looking pan pastels.  But you have to actually SAY something in your comment.  Each month she asks a question. - This month's question asks "What is your focus when writing lesson plans?"  (Follow the link; she goes into more detail than that in her question.) 

Meanwhile, maybe you are wondering what I'm going to do with my $50 gift card to Jerry's Artarama?  Well, it's already been spent, and I'm beyond excited waiting for the day my package shows up.  Because I decided to make an investment in something that will be useful to me for a LONG time.  

I added a little of my own money to the gift card, and have ordered this 18" paper cutter!! Hallelujah!  

I have always liked big paper - but sometimes I do need to cut it (for example, cutting 18"x24" paper into an 18" squares, or cutting strips for a project, or whatever).  Since I retired two years ago, having access to the paper cutter is the thing I have missed most (besides the kids).  Sometimes, when I need to cut a lot of paper for a workshop I'm teaching, or my private students, I have driven the 30 miles to my old classroom to 'borrow' the cutter for an hour.  But obviously, this is a distraction to the teacher in the classroom, and it makes a simple project into a whole day effort.  Putting the stuff I want to cut into the car, driving the 30 miles, lugging the giant paper through a crowded parking lot, down hallways and up stairs, trying to find a place to work in a busy crowded classroom, and then repeating the whole process in reverse.  UGH.  Sometimes, I have tried cutting the paper using a sewing tool, my rotary cutter (the singularly most dangerous piece of equipment that I own).  But the paper always slips, and I end up wasting more than I cut, plus I am waiting for the day that this evil tool decides to slice off the top of one of my fingers and I have to rush to the ER cradling the missing part of my finger.  It terrifies me.

So the package has shipped, and in a few days, on my doorstep, I will have my VERY OWN 18" paper cutter!  I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Mrs. Darter at Art Room Blog.  And while I don't want to appear greedy, I'm sure you will see me writing more comments in the future! 

I'm sure that some of you readers have stuck with me to the end of this post hoping that I am offering a prize drawing too, but... not this time.  But stick with me, readers, because I've done it before and it will certainly happen again!  Until then, happy commenting! 

A little bloggy giveaway!

 

A while back, I expressed my desire for my blog to hit the big round number of 1000 followers.  In response, my readers reminded me that Google Friend Connect is sort of passé, and that many people are now following me through Blogloving or some other reader, and that I probably have a lot more readers than I know.  And I suppose that's true, so I decided not to fret over the almost-round number.  But few days ago I discovered that, while I wasn't paying attention, my numbers had been slowly, quietly creeping up, and I actually had passed my goal of 1000 followers on Google without even noticing!  Right now have reached the grand total of 1002.

So to say thank you to my loyal followers, I'm going to have little giveaway.  If you read my blog a lot, you know that I love to make jewelry, way more than I ever, ever, ever could or would wear.  So I'm going to give away a necklace, possible a necklace/earring set, or maybe even two, and maybe a couple of pairs of earrings as well.  Don't get too excited - I'm not giving away my PMC (precious metal clay) jewelry - that stuff is ridiculously expensive to make and is all MINE.  This stuff is more colorful and fun, but does not include precious metals.  The photos on this post are a sampling of what I have.  While the only earrings pictured here are parts of sets, my collection also consists of many fun individual pairs of earrings, particularly right for someone who likes a dash of color.

Here's what you need to do if you want to take a chance on this giveaway:

• First of all, if you don't already follow this blog, become a follower.  
• Then, once you are a follower (or if you already were one in the first place) leave a comment.  In the comment you need to tell me the following:
• An email address to contact you if you win.  (Please feel free to write out the 'dot' and 'at' to avoid spam.  I'll figure it out.)
• Favorite color schemes/color families for jewelry, including metal preferences (silver, gold, copper toned, etc)
• Size and style preferences, such as big and chunky or light and delicate?  Prefer longer or shorter or any length? Ears pierced?  Funky or conservative?

• Also: If there is any piece pictured on this post that particularly suits your taste, please point it out, as it is possible that something pictured here might be what is sent, and if you win, I definitely want you to like and wear what you receive!

• Leave your comment no later than midnight one week from today, Thursday, June 5th.  A name (or maybe even  two or three) will be selected at random and the winner will be announced on the blog and also contacted via email for mailing information.  If you do not leave an email contact, you are not eligible to win.

 

 Thank you for being loyal readers of my admittedly sometimes quite random blog!  You are the best!

UPDATED! New Question!! and a big thanks and blogger advice needed

FYI, the new question has been added at the bottom of this post, in dark red font. 

Today I discovered that I now have 888 followers.  WOW!  What a cool number!  That's a lot of people taking a peek now and then to see what I am up to.  I am very appreciative of all of you, more than I can say.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

And now, since I have your attention (maybe) I need your help.  Let me explain: I've been doing my best to ignore the changes (doom and gloom) that are coming down the pike, in relation to using Blogger.  Avoidance has been easy, but I know I can't avoid much longer.  In fact, I have discovered that perhaps I've waited too long.

Unlike many of you, at the time I didn't really care much about the loss of the Google reader, or whatever the name of it is/was, (it's gone already; it left when I wasn't paying attention) because honestly, I only used it when I wanted to hunt for something.  Otherwise, I pretty much use the Dashboard to see what's been newly posted, and if there's something I want to find my way back to, I pin it on my Pinterest page.  However there are some things from way back that I wish I could still find, but... oh well.   And I am pretty clueless about some of the stuff you guys were recommending as a replacement (Bloglovin? etc) and of course, since I  no longer have the Google reader to search for what you were saying, I can't find your advice and recommendations any more.  Dumb of me to wait so long...  I have just spent an hour scrolling through old posts on the Dashboard to try to find what everyone was saying, and with no way to filter the posts, I never found what I was looking for.  So I need some solid advice, written in a way that someone (me) with absolutely NO comprehension about downloading and other technical whoop-de-doo will understand.

And aside from the need to find a new reader so that I can do searches, there was something else happening / changing  (when?) having to do with blogs that are not Blogger blogs.  Will they all be gone from my Dashboard at some point?  How do I prevent that?  (I have some that I don't want to lose track of.)  And what the heck is Google + and do I want it?  Why? What will it do differently than what I've been doing these past three years?  HELP!  I'm feeling very dumb right now, and I will very much appreciate your help.  I'm feeling a bit alone here in my technophobia.

Here's the update: 
So, friends,  I now am signed on to Bloglovin', but am already a little flummoxed.  The Google reader had a search option, where you searched through the blogs you follow for a specific word/topic - for example "Chihuly" or  "color wheel" etc.  Then you could highlight them and get back to them easily.  Bloglovin' has a nice clean format, but as far as I can see, the search option on Bloglovin' searches every damn blog it can find (not just what I follow), thus making it impossible to find that post you are looking for.  I couldn't figure out how to search as I did on Google reader.  Any advice?  Do I need to try Feedly instead?  And what does it mean to 'claim' your blog?  Why would I want to/need to do that?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I've been fooling around with my blog tonight. (These photos have nothing to do with this post; I just like posting photos of pretty bugs and flowers.) Hopefully you will let me know what you think. I was getting pretty tired of those polka dots. But I get terrified of screwing it up (I've done that before) so I'm doing my transformation in baby steps.

I know I have to change the header eventually, since, after all, I no longer have an art room and therefore my dragon is NOT in my art room, or any art room for that manner. She's in the bunk room at our lakeside cabin, just hanging out, waiting to be given some attention. But to change the header I need to figure out how to do it without my son here to help me like he did last time around.

And I need to change my tabs. I added those pages ages ago and never really did much with them. Hopefully I can update and change them this summer. Stick with me, please? And feel free to express your opinions openly. I need help!

quickie post

I have removed my email address from my profile. Today my husband and I dealt with credit card fraud. We had two of those very pricey fancy coffee makers charged to our account, which is pretty funny, since I don't drink coffee at all and have never even used a coffee maker, and my husband usually has just one cup in the morning.

So I realize it doesn't necessarily have ANYTHING to do with the blog, but I know that with over 600 people following me I need to maintain a little privacy I guess. I have had some "off blog" email conversations with some of you and I'm still willing to do that, but if you want to reach me via email, you will have to leave a comment on my post with YOUR email address. You can type it out, spelling "dot" and leaving spaces, so that you are not so open for spamming. Does that make sense?

Thanks, friends.

By the way, the lilacs are in my backyard and I am hopeful they won't all die off before Friday when we do our annual 1st grade lilac paintings.

Thank you! You're the best!

I went to bed last night at 599 followers, and tonight have 601. WOW. I'm humbled and grateful, and hope you will continue to stop in and visit my little blog. I enjoy the dialogue and exchange of ideas, and even with looming retirement, don't worry, I have lots left to share!

By the way - the HUGE flowers above (the bloom is 18" in diameter and you can see how tall they are when you compare with the stool to the left) were made by my kindergartners! We spent one class making painted paper; another class painting paper bowl centers, and cardboard tube stems, and paper for leaves; and in today's class we traced the bowl and a petal template (yes, a template again) and cut the flowers out. Final step was to bring the parts to a hot glue station for me to ZAP it together! POOF! They are as almost as big as the kids!

And if that isn't enough - (remember my plan is to 'go out in a blaze of glory') - today - with just two weeks until my student art show, my 6th graders (who are already making GIANT seed packages to plant on stakes in the 'garden') with only 4 art class periods before the art show, dove into other big stuff for the garden: a ladybug, a caterpillar, a snake, a giant pea pod with peas inside, and ...? Speed art, anyone? Papier-mache! - YAHOO!

Thank you, readers!

Helloooo out there!!!

Jeesh. Wow.
501 followers! Holy smokes!

Thanks!
(By the way, do you like Art Teacher Barbie's new dress?)

Whew!! 400 Followers!

Whew. 400 followers?! WOW!

Where did you all come from?! Thanks, readers, for keeping me on my toes. But now I want to pick YOUR brains for an idea I'm working on.

I love making papier-mache cats and plan to make them (soon) with my 5th graders. We use a plastic grocery bag for the body, stuffed and taped to shape it. In the past I've used a simple ball of newspaper for the head, of course with ears added etc. Often we've used bottlecaps or styrofoam balls for goofy bugged-out eyes. BUT. This year, my last, I want to combine making papier-mache cats and introducing a favorite commercial artist: Laurel Burch.
I have been a HUGE fan of her work since the 70's, when I got my first pair of her enameled cat earrings. Nowadays you are more likely to see her work as a scarf or a purse. Her fantastic felines are just gorgeous, and we are going to make them 3-dimensional in papier-mache. But I'm trying to sort out some glitches. The faces have a very distinctive shape and I plan to use it. No goofy eyeballs this time!

Today I built a prototype with a shaped piece of cereal box cardboard over the newspaper ball, and it looks pretty good but I used up a LOT of tape just on the head and am worried I will use up all the tape in my room just building heads. If anyone has any other idea for a material to use for the head armature, please let me know.

Updating the blog

Boredom? Not me, EVER! Today as I waited for my hubby (who was taking longer than expected when we were supposed to be going somewhere), instead of drumming my fingers and whining, I decided "Hey! Let's use this time to mess with the blog!"
So I did...

So yes, I've been making changes to the blog. Hopefully you'll bear with me and let me know what you think. BE HONEST. It seemed to me that I have such a long blogroll, plus long lists of labels and archives, that a reader would have to scroll WAY down to see them. So I've done a few things:

• I've moved "this is me" (info about me and my blog) to a separate page, since it took up a lot of room. I figure that if you've been reading my blog for a while, it wasn't really necessary at the top of the blog. I've also made sure that my photo, still on the main page, links to my profile.
• Then I changed the single column on the right to 2 columns, so I can have my blogroll on one, but also the labels and archives more accessible, since I know I find these things useful when reading other blogs. I've looked at a lot of other blogs, and some people don't post the labels, but I know I use them a lot when looking for something specific. So the labels and also the archives will stay.
• I am experimenting with the sizes of the columns, but it is a problem because I cannot seem to change the size of my dragon. Hence filling in extra space with black.
  
• And finally, I'm experimenting with the ability to add pages. I thought, along with my "this is me" page, I'd also post a page about my art room. The page is now there, but honestly, it is kind of awful. Blogger is fighting me on this page and it is not at all what I intended.

Meanwhile, I realize that we art teachers are often easily distracted. I know I seem to be spending a good deal of time playing with Pinterest, and so are many of you, but I want to make my blog something you'll want to continue to read. ( I think, even though it's a whole lot of fun, that Pinterest might end up more of a passing fancy.)

I used to, every time I got a new follower, click on that person to see their profile and check out any blogs they might have, because I am interested in who is reading my nonsense. With 272 followers currently (yikes) that has gotten difficult to keep up with, and it makes me kind of sad. I like the friendships that develop with blogger colleagues, even though we may never meet face-to-face, and I don't want to lose that personal feeling with blogging.

So let me know what you think - and if there's anything I could/should do differently to keep the sense of collegiality that I so enjoy. Thanks!

We have a winner!

Congratulations!

The winner of my Picasso puzzle give-away is Paper Pear, at http://projectpaperpear.blogspot.com/

She wrote: "The blogging world has saved me from pulling my hair out of my head my first 2 years of teaching!" Now hopefully you won't be pulling out your hair trying to put together a deceivingly challenging Picasso puzzle, because you are the give-away winner!

Thanks to those of you who entered the drawing. I'm amazed at having now 202 followers. I almost hope it doesn't keep growing quite so fast, because I relish the friendly conversations that we've been having, and I don't want to get to the point where I can't keep up with it all. Happy Blogging everyone!

200 Followers!! Time for another give-away!

I started my blog early last May. Here I am, one year and 216 posts later, and today I opened my laptop to see that 200 people are now reading what I write!! Huh???!!! WOW!!!
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I'm amazed by the power of the blog. For many of us, particularly those of us who teach in small or geographically isolated districts, we do most of our planning independently, rarely getting the chance to share ideas with others in similar positions. Blogging has changed that. We share ideas back and forth, we make suggestions, we find ways to change up or improve our lessons, we offer pats on the back (that often don't happen in our home district), and I believe we find some true friends. It takes away the isolation, and I believe makes us better as teachers! Yeah blogging!!!
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So back to the give-away - the photo above is the cover of a Picasso painting puzzle, which I am sending to one lucky follower! The puzzle was purchased used, from Piece Time Puzzles in Northwood, NH, but we recently assembled it and therefore I can guarantee that no pieces are missing. (They sell a lot of used puzzles and they are always just like new, nice and clean, and I've never gotten one with a piece missing. Great store!) Anyhow, it's a 500 piece puzzle and more challenging than I predicted.
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So - if you want to be entered in a drawing for this puzzle, leave a comment to this post, with an email address so that I can contact you if you win. Please leave your comment by midnight on Wednesday April 20th; a winner will be selected by random drawing on Thursday the 21st.

And a big thank you to all of YOU, my readers, who put up with my brags about my kid and my occasional rants!

Earrings, a thank you and blogger woes

I made these earrings for a colleague, to go with the SMILE necklace (that I showed you last month). I really love the earrings, so now I want to make a similar pair for myself.

Meanwhile...

This picture below rotated when I entered it - blogger annoyance. But I wanted to show you and say thanks! I received this awesome package in the mail from Lamamomma/Art Project Girl/Erica today -she called it a "zenvelope"- or maybe it's an envedoodle? Anyhow, thanks Erica, for your awesome doodle!!! (and the contents of the package too!!) What fun to get something in the mail that looks just like what I might have done. I'm definitely saving it!

But really, what's the deal with blogger? In an attempt to fix my recent spacing problems, I tried changing my settings to "updated editor". After about 10 minutes of my photos jumping all over the place and blogger not wanting me to type in between, I deleted the post, switched back to the old editor, and wrote this post, and now my paragraphs won't separate, and I'm getting annoyed. I'm a bit of a control freak, I guess, and I'm a perfectionist about editing, and I don't like this weird entity "blogger" having control over my ability to space appropriately. Frustrated.

150 Followers! WOW!

Here I am, home on a snow day, having gotten the call at 4:20 this morning. I just came in from my first shoveling session of the day (about 1/2 foot of fresh heavy snow so far, and probably another 1/2 foot left to come). They say the snow will stop by 7:00am tomorrow, so maybe we'll have a delay tomorrow. Unlike those of you in other regions, this snow won't stop us for long. Some of our high school students were talking yesterday about using the snow day (which was strongly anticipated) to ski at Gore Mountain, a nice ski center about 1/2 hour away from the school. So try to understand this parent philosophy: the weather isn't safe to run the buses, but what the heck, give the teen the car and let him drive (with a few friends) 1/2 hour on hilly lonely country roads to go skiing!
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Anyhow, I figured I'd take a computer break, and I clicked on my blogger dashboard and voila! 150 followers!! I can't believe that 150 people actually think that what I say is worth reading. Thanks! I'd like to do something special to thank you -a random give-a-way or something, but I need a few days to figure it out. I hope you'll check back and see what I come up with.
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Here's my worry though - I feel like I've gotten to know some of you pretty well after almost a year of blogging, and I worry that I can't keep up. I read/follow a lot of blogs, love them all, and also like to take the time to comment and to respond to comments left on my blog. So bear with me if I don't get back to you right away. I have to remember my primary responsibilities are to my family and my job (and today, to my sidewalk!).
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A word about the sidewalks, family, and human nature. I used to love my cozy neighborhood, but over the years a number of houses have become rentals and the tenants are a disappointment. Today shoveling was hard work; I was trying to toss shovelsful (or is it shovelfuls?) of snow onto banks that reaching toward my 5' height. And a neighbor across the street was snowblowing (we don't own a blower; my husband refuses), and had his blower aimed... you guessed it; over a snowbank right onto me and my newly shoveled sidewalk, as well as my husband's car. I stood there and stared at him as my sidewalk filled in and he kept right at it. I didn't realize my husband, who was shoveling in the back, had seen this, until he told me he called the police when he saw the snow hitting ME (I was so bundled with hat/scarf/hood that I didn't realize it was landing on me at first). We've been on the street about 25 years, and this was a first. We used to help shovel each OTHER's driveways.
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I've noticed this change elsewhere too; you stop when driving your car and wave to let someone cross a street and they amble across without nary a hand up to say thanks. Or a kid talks back to you in school the way you wouldn't have DREAMED of speaking to an adult when you were a kid. I'm sure you know what I mean. I hope my 22 year old son, as he makes his way in the world, remembers that he was brought up to be respectful and kind. Hopefully he and his friends can counteract the wave of disrespect that I seem to see in society these days.
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OK, didn't mean to seem so grumpy. It's beautiful outside, and I have a lot I want to accomplish today with my extra time. Meanwhile, my next post, I promise, is finally going to be about Lucy, my dragon. Enjoy the weather, whatever yours is like!

Sleighbells ring, are you listening?

I've actually posted this photo before, but what the heck, my sweet Subaru deserves the recognition. Because today's ride home reminded me why she is mine forever. I drove my 30 miles home from school around 5:30pm in, what the radio announcer nicely called, a "wintry mix". The temperature hovered around 32 degrees and the mix included freezing rain, hail, sleet, and wet gloppy thick snow. It was flying so hard and furious that the dotted lines had all but disappeared, and the view of flying snow out my windshield reminded me of going into warp drive on Star Trek. Saw a truck stopped on the side of the highway on a hill, saw some flashing police car lights further down the road, but me, I made it home just fine (OK instead of going my usual 10 mph ABOVE the speed limit I drove about 10 mph BELOW it). But not a problem. Winter has arrived and I love my stick shift, love my car.

On a more serious note, I just read a very thought-provoking post over at Artful Artsy Amy's blog, and I'll include the link here for you. http://http//artfulartsyamy.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-do-you-do-with-problem-like-maria.html
And while you're there, take a look at what else she posted today. There's interesting stuff there, and different than what's in other art blogs.

Whoo -eee!!! 100 Followers!!!

WOW. The blog now has 100 followers, and just over 100 posts. WOW. When I turned off the computer last night my blog had 97 followers. Where did 3 more people come from overnight?! I find it truly amazing that there are 100 people that are actually interested in what I have to share. Thank you, blogger-friends! I hope I don't let you down!

So, since it is Sunday evening, I don't really have any new student art to share, so here's some of my own work: jewelry and painting.

I've got to figure out how to take pictures of my jewelry with a simple digital camera and avoid the flash burn.