art wasabi

What I’m Listening To

KMB — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:17:30 +0000

Here are some good tunes for you…

Gotye- Somebody That I Used to Know

The Knife – Heartbeats

Of Monster and Men- Little Talks

Friends – Friend Crush

Adele – Set Fire to the Rain

Hunx and His Punx – Lovers Lane

Hub Sneak Peek

KMB — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:03:29 +0000

Here’s a sneak peak at my hubcap for the Landfill Art Project….

30×30 UPDATE

KMB — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:41:08 +0000

UPDATE - 181 days to go…..

Kris’ 30×30

~~Get rid of things crowding my life that I no longer need, want, or like~~ –
Get over my fear of talking on the phone…anyone want to give me call lol
Force my husband and myself to meet with a realtor and go house hunting … contacted one, not feeling like that got us much further either
Buy a house we love… does it have to be on the mainlnd???
Start exhibiting my paintings again…working on this
Meet deadlines for art exhibits…like i said above, working on this
Get to work on the children’s books my sister and I always talk about that are inspired by our Grandmother’s storytelling… lol, one needs to actually be able to be in communiction with the other person to do this. may have to go the solo route on this, i’m more reliable anyway.
~~Get over my fear of pale skin, stubble, and fat legs and just wear a pair of shorts when it is hot out~~
Complete another 12 graduate credits in the Arts…3 credits left to do, found a great course on art and different cultures with the amazing Cat Cullen… if you are a teacher in NEPA and want to take a grad course, here’s the info
Start work an another maters degree or graduate certificate
~~Get all my cabinets, closets and drawers in my classroom organized; the room looks great, but behind those doors lurk….well lots of unorganized paper, glue and glitter really~~
~~Finish my assigned and chosen readings before my Abraham Lincoln Fellowship starts in July~~–
~~Go on holiday to Hawaii~~
Get my tattoo finished
Write a blog post atleast twice a month…December is an oops with 0 posts
Volunteer more…yikes, there has been no time, can i count all of the extra stuff i do at work with my kiddos!
~~See Savage Beauty, the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art~~
~~Enter the ticket lottery to see a SNL taping~~
Attend a Colbert Report taping
Take my adorable nephew Alex to the Philly Zoo
Dance more often
Get back to doing yoga regularly
Find a place where I can take water aerobics, I know it is a little lame but I loved it in college
Learn to make my mother’s red sauce
~~Take a long-distance road trip with my hubby~~
Finish all the unread books on my bookshelves
Get my passport…it’s so lame that I don’t have one but I didn’t need it when I went to the Bahamas and Canada before the laws changed
Learn to drive stick shift
~~Go to Eataly~~
~~Draw in my sketchbook more frequently~~

#13 Done!!! (and #30)

Me in Kauai, Hawaii 12/2011

my hubby

Color pencil sketch of the view of Hanalei Bay from our room

Quick pen and color pencil sketch done from the light house at Kilauea Point

Watercolor of the view from our room in Kauai

Sketchbook watercolor of Bali Hai

Local Landfill Art Over My Head

KMB — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:44:12 +0000

Did you ever have something happening almost on top of you and not be aware of it? This happened to me recently. The Landfill Art Project is a worldwide art project that is the brainchild of Ken Marquis. The socially minded art project addresses suitability in a novel way. Marquis has asked artists to transform a tossed aside hunk of metal, the hubcap, into a work of art.

Hundreds of artists have participated from all over the world, creating some truly inspiring original works. Did I mention Marquis is a local gallery owner and the Landfill Art installation is 10 minutes from my home?

Anyway, I contacted Marquis and picked up my hubcap. I soon hope to follow this post with some great hubcap art of my own. I have so many ideas and am so inspired by the work I have already seen.

If you want to see the exhibit, and find yourself in northeast Pennsylvania, follow this link for more info on the Wilkes-Barre, Pa location. You can also visit the other Marquis Gallery location in Scranton, Pa and have a good cup of coffee at the in-house café.

Cat People

KMB — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:36:41 +0000

I was pulling together some facts about visual artists for my students this weekend and I came across a similarity; the love of felines. I have three cats myself; Coal, Angelo and Cooper. It seems many of my favorite creative types (artists, writers, musicians, etc.) share my pension for fuzzy pals.

My Ang

Coal & Cooper

“If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” -Mark Twain

Turning Obstacles into Inspiration

KMB — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:33:24 +0000

This October my art kids and I looked at the work of several artists for National Disability Awareness Month. We talked about turning obstacles into inspiration and that all people are equal and have value. A goal in sharing this series on artists with disabilities with my students was to improve their ability to relate to individuals with various disabilities. I hope these artists will be as inspirational to the kids as they have been to me.

Here are some of my favorite artists from the series:

For more inspiring stories, check out the Creative Growth Center that works with individuals who are differently abled and create art.

Stompin’ Out Bullying, One Blue Shirt at a Time

KMB — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:01:00 +0000

October is National Bullying Prevention month. To kick off the movement my school participated in Stomp Out Bullying by wearing blue shirts on 10/3. We have a long way to go in addressing this issue, but it is better to take a stand than to sit idly by. Check out the Stomp Out Bullying Celebrity Auction.

My Stomp Out Bullying montage.

A (Soggy) Peace Day

KMB — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:51:07 +0000

Our International Peace Day celebration on 9/21 went great. The kids seemed to really respond to the message and the pinwheels made for the Pinwheels for Peace Project by the entire school building looked amazing when we installed them the previous day. We have had a very wet year in northeastern Pennsylvania, record breaking in fact, so it was no surprise when it rained on Peace Day and our pinwheels were a soggy tie-dyed jumble. Admits the waterlogged pinwheels was one lone work of art that persevered and spun through the rain. I think that solitary pinwheel could be symbol …hope…it only takes one…etc. Regardless it was a encouraging sign.

Peace, Peace, Peace & Trail Mix

KMB — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:52:27 +0000

Wednesday is International Peace Day and I spent the evening putting together a collection of peace themed songs for our upcoming celebration. My students have busily been creating works of art for our art and social justice unit. They’e made monuments for the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, folding paper cranes, decorating pinwheels for peace, and creating graphic designs that express messages of harmony, tranquility and freedom. The kids had to write statements to share at our peace fest that could be in the form of a poem, rap, song, essay….one of my favorites is a rap that throws in a reference to snacking on trail mix, another is from a young girl who suggests that we lock up the world’s weapons and toss the key in a volcano. I LOVE these kids!

This is my first attempt at stop motion; I made it for a promo about Pinwheels for Peace for our morning announcements.

Enjoy…. (some songs from our peace fest playlist)

Goghdarte

KMB — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:52:52 +0000

Where is my Modernism note book, hoodie and pencil? The Rodarte Spring 2012 RTW line takes several pages (some quite literally) out of a van Gogh text. Other prints are more subtle, as If they were an impression or a memory you had of a van Gogh painting from the MoMA the Philly Museum of Art. With Vincent popping up in Season 5 of Doctor Who and in the Art Barbie series, it seems he might be giving Andy Warhol a run for his money in the pop culture arena.

Click to view slideshow.