Art Camp, Day 1: Self Portraits

This week I am teaching after-school drawing and painting classes to 3rd - 5th graders for a camp that the DIY Lounge is running at Buckman Arts Focus School, along with the fab Cathy Pitters who is teaching fiber arts to the younger kids (they are making the cutest little monster dolls!).

For the first day, I set up a table in the school's Dance Studio (formerly known as a gym) so that the kids could face the mirrored walls and create self portraits which were colored with oil pastels. It turned out great and I am looking forward to the rest of the week.

Food is Love - a cooking feature - with Deconstructed Early Fall Soup

I'm starting a new weekly feature here on my blog - it's a cooking feature with recipes and photos of yummy things that my husband Charles, the chef, makes at home. Yay!

This feature is to be called "Food is Love." It comes from a slogan that was once painted on the windows of our favorite little Italian restaurant in Great Falls, Montana, where Chuck and I lived for a while once upon a time. We have always loved that saying so here it is, Food is Love.

Today's recipe is inspired by a trip to the Lents Farmers Market, which happens on Sundays at SE 92nd and Foster (right behind Trillium Artisans) in Portland. We've been enjoying going there and filling our reusable grocery bag with fresh, organic, local produce (and always a delicious Honey Cake from Ararat Bakery).

We are making: Deconstructed Early Fall Soup

Chuck tells me that deconstructed foods are all the rage now. In this case, the vegetables are boiled in stock and then removed and served separately from the broth. The tender potatoes and carrots are wonderful this way, and the cup of rich broth is hot and hearty on a cool fall day. This recipe is just an incredibly simple way to bring out the best in those fresh farmers market veggies and roots.

Here are the ingredients (we are feeding a family of four):

• 6 medium size organic potatoes (we used a mixture of white and red)
• One whole medium red onion, chopped
  
• One bunch of baby carrots
• 1.5 quarts of beef stock (you can use beef base and follow the instructions, or make your own from 1.5 quarts of water, 2 T. salt, stew bones, and mir poix - a mixture of diced celery, carrots, and onions which is simmered for four hours and then strained)
• 1/2 t. white pepper
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. anise
• 1 pinch of red pepper flake
• 1/2 t. ground ginger of 1 T. finely minced fresh ginger
• Fresh cilantro
• Fresh Thai basil
  

What to do:

• Simmer the carrots, potatoes, and onion in the beef stock over medium heat for 30 minutes until tender.

• Remove vegetables from stock and set aside. Return stock to heat and add your spices. Do not boil.

• Serve the broth hot with fresh chopped cilantro and Thai basil, and a squeeze of lemon or lime, with the vegetables on the side. The potatoes are great smashed up with some butter, salt and pepper. Garnish with cherry and pear tomatoes if you like.

Chuck also made some broiled lemon pepper chicken fingers to go with the deconstructed soup. Delicious!



The leftover broth can be used for a hot drink when you have a cold, as a base for gravy, or to make any kind of beef soup such as an Asian-style beef noodle soup.

Check back next Monday for our next cooking adventure, and remember - Food is Love!

A September Sale in the Eye Pop Shop

There is a SALE going on now in the Eye Pop Art shop! Selected items have been marked down.

Take a look at my sale section for great deals. Here are some of the items that are on sale -

Peachy Keen Jelly Bean record cuff ($18):
Mod Mandalas Coloring Book ($8):

Basic Black Roman cuff ($12):

Garden Paintings ($32):


"The Jungle" Popsicle Clock ($58):
Zanzibar, an Eye Candy Cuff ($18):

...and lots more! Click on over and check it out!

Parents Teach Art - Part 2

The following article, written by me, was published today in the Storque.

In my recent article Parents Teach Art I shared information about Duniway Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, and its award-winning, parent-led art program. Now I'll go into more detail about how to make a program like this work at your child's school.


[Second grade "Paint and Poetry" lesson]

The Art Committee
If you are lucky enough to have your school's support, and you have a strong force of willing parent volunteers, form an Art Committee. At Duniway, we found that the program runs smoothly with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, such as:

• Chairperson or Co-Chairs – Runs committee meetings, assigns tasks, follows up on action items, liaison to school administration and PTA.
• Art Room "Mom" (or Dad!) – If you have a designated art room, this person keeps it clean and organized.
• Art Show Coordinator – Manages volunteer crew for set-up and take-down of student art show.
• Curriculum Master – Develops lessons, leads training sessions, maintains overall art curriculum.
• Kiln Master – Maintains clay and kiln-related supplies, develops kiln use schedule, provides kiln support.
• Publicity Coordinator – Creates and distributes promotional materials for art show, writes press releases, etc.
• Scheduling Coordinator – Develops master schedule for art room and individual schedules for each class based on classroom teachers' input.
• Supply Master/Treasurer – Orders and maintains supplies, responsible for budgeting and cash flow, seeks donations.
• Web Master – Maintains a website or blog to post lesson plans, showcase student art, and keep parents informed.
• Volunteer Coordinator – Maintains volunteer database, recruits Classroom Art Coordinators, makes phone calls, etc. to enlist help!

It's also great to have at-large committee members who can assist where needed. Of course, you might not need to fill all of these positions — remember to start small!



[Kindergarten "Basic Bugs" lesson]

Getting Ready
Now that you have a framework in place, it's time to start making it happen!

Develop an "art year calendar" outlining deadlines and important dates. At Duniway, art is a twelve-week program that begins in January and ends in April, with a student art show in May. (But the art committee works all year long.) You can expect to put in 1-3 hours a week volunteering, so be sure you have the time before making the commitment.

Come up with a theme. Duniway holds a poster contest and incorporates the theme at the art show: for "Art Rocks," we held a silent auction of kid-decorated musical instruments; for "Art á La Mode," we sold pie and ice cream, etc.


[Guitars decorated by kids for the "Art Rocks" silent auction]

In the fall, work on developing curriculum, creating schedules, soliciting donations, recruiting volunteers and inventorying supplies. Try to get all your supplies in stock by mid-December. Hold information and training sessions for parents so they'll be ready to start teaching in January. Provide copies of lesson plans, show samples and demonstrate techniques.

Build a library of prints, posters, slides, books and music to help enhance the kids' art experience. Slide presentations are amazing, but even walking around showing pictures from a book will be inspiring. An alternative is to go digital and project images from the web; try Artcyclopedia for a vast library of masterpieces.

Appoint a Classroom Art Coordinator for each classroom who will make sure parents sign up to teach and assist with every class. The Coordinator also creates portfolios for storing finished work and meets with each child at the end of the program to select and title pieces for the art show.



[Young designer at work in one of my mandala classes]

Teaching Art
You're standing at the front of the class with 24 pairs of bright eyes expectantly fixed on you. Don't panic! Here are some tips to help you out:

• Allow adequate time for set-up and clean-up.
• Set ground rules, like: raise your hand, keep a positive attitude and turn mistakes into "happy accidents" by finding a way to make it work instead of erasing or starting over.
• Be prepared. Study the lesson plan and check supplies in advance.
• Explain that examples are for inspiration, not copying.
• Demonstrate the technique, but keep it short and sweet! Kids will grasp the concept quickly, and you don't want to bore them. Explain the lesson, then get out of the way!
• Have free-drawing materials available for those who finish early.
• To get kids' attention, clap your hands and have them put down their materials and clap back in the same rhythm, such as "clap, clap, clap-clap-clap." Dimming the lights also helps.
• Never, ever tell them they've done it "wrong." Encourage free expression — each child's artwork is unique and special.

Do you have more teaching tips? Post them in the comments below!


[Second graders' abstract paintings, based on the work of Joan Miro, hanging at the Duniway Student Art Show]

Putting on a Student Art Show
Just one 2-D piece and one 3-D piece from each child provides enough art to transform two gyms and two hallways into an incredible art gallery.


[A parent volunteer arranges mounted artwork to hang]

At Duniway, we made banners of black vinyl which are attached to long poles. The selected artwork is mounted, labeled, laid out and attached to the banners with removable putty. Then, with the help of tall ladders, the poles are suspended from the metal window screens and basketball backboards in the gym using chains with hooks.


[Hanging art is fun!]

A student art show is a wonderful time to celebrate art with the community. Duniway makes it exciting with student musicians, student portrait artists, a pizza dinner and a hands-on art station for little ones.We've even had a mini-tattoo parlor featuring temporary tattoos made from children's artwork! Silent auctions of classroom art projects, raffle prizes, and the sale of children's art note cards and custom t-shirts can also help raise funds for the program.

[The South Gym is transformed into the South Gallery for the evening]

Do What You Can
I hope these articles have been inspiring. If you can't find a way to work art into the school day, consider after-school classes such as those offered by Portland's SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) program. Even if you just teach one class, you will have touched young lives in a way that will make a difference. Keep asking for more art, and don't be afraid to do it yourself.

Further Resources:
Duniway Art Lesson Plans: Duniwayart.org
Artcyclopedia — Art image library and search engine: Artcyclopedia.com

Please see Part One of this article for more resources.

About the author: Christine Claringbold, aka EyePopArt, has been in business since 2003. She is also a mom, an art teacher and a back-up singer in a punk rock band. Her designs have been published in Tattoo Flash Magazine, and her record products have been reviewed by Venus Zine, National Geographic Traveler, Brainstorm Northwest magazine, and blogs including Great Green Goods and Wickedly Chic. She is a proud member of Trillium Artisans, Etsy Trashion, PDX Etsy and Eco Etsy. Check out her blog at eyepopart.blogspot.com.

Wrapping up the summer

Well, my silly kids are back to school and how weird it is to have a daughter in high school! Julius is now in 7th grade and I'm pretty excited about the awesome visual arts classes he is taking at his arts-magnet middle school. But we're all still pretty bummed that summer is over already.

We had a fairly quiet, uneventful Labor Day weekend. My parents bought new mattresses for our kids, and that spawned a big day of cleaning and rearranging our entire house.

Chuck played a show with Advisory. It was at Audio Cinema during their annual art collective show. I had never been there before, and while it seemed pretty cool, I can see why it would not be the best venue for a craft show. But it was fine for a rock show, art show, and fashion show! Here are some of the tattooed bathing beauties who pranced around in fancy hipster swimsuits, parasols, and go-go boots:

The art was great, and what better place to pose than in front of the Habermans (I swear that guy is everywhere) - here's Justin and Chuck, aren't they sweet?
They played up in the balcony - can you see them up there?
Here's a view from above, before I got kicked out of the balcony:
In other news, I am waiting to receive the order from Viva Terra. They liked the Muted Green bowl (this one):

...but they also requested to see it with the colors in reverse, so I sent them this one:
I have joined PDX Indie, the new co-op that spun out of the PDX Etsy team - check out the new website, it's quite nice: www.pdxindie.com. I am also in the process of joining the new Portland Craft Mafia.

I'm trying to decide whether to apply for the big Crafty Wonderland holiday show. It's at the Convention Center this year - wow! If I do, it will probably be the only holiday show I do this year - well, I might do more, I just don't know. I am trying to be conservative, knowing that I am most likely going to be getting a big wholesale order which will be due in December.

It would be a dream to not have the stress of doing one or two shows every weekend throughout November and December - I can just stay home, work on my green-and-cream bowls, and maybe even make cookies! It would be great, BUT I also worry about all the missed sales and opportunities that could come from NOT doing all the shows...oh well, we'll see what happens if and when I get the order, right?

I love my friends. Here's a picture of Suzie, me, and Melle from the last Dartgun show:

And finally, here's what I'll be doing next week (teaching another art camp at Buckman for the DIY Lounge):
Eye Pop Art has recently been featured on Eco Craftiness, Simply Sentimental, KB Squared, Etsy Trashion, Outsapop, The Coma Girl, and Packrat Mag's "Catch the Green Fever" issue.

...and that's the news! See you next time!

My own Friday Vintage Finds

I love, love, love vintage housewares, and getting the Etsy Friday Vintage Finds in my in-box always makes my day. Today's theme really knocked me out, and I was so inspired by the discovery of ModishVintage's shop that I had to post my own Friday Vintage Finds! Seriously, this has got to be my favorite vintage shop yet, you have to check it out!

These bird mugs - what can I say? I love them.
I think I have this trivet already...but I want it anyway!
My heart actually skipped a beat when I saw these adorable glasses:
And I nearly cried when I came across this Acapulco plate in the SOLD section - why, oh why, couldn't it be mine? I have a large casserole dish and a square tile with the same pattern!

So there you have it! Some of the most wonderful items on Etsy are in the vintage category.

See Chuck Drum

Chuck is still "filling in" as the drummer for Advisory, and they are playing at Audio Cinema's multimedia art event this Saturday evening. Come out, PDX!