DAY 9, YEAR 16

Day 8 of year 16:  Looking longingly at my studio and the portrait I began a while ago.  To teach art or to do art...not much of a question but I always seem to ask it.

So THIS is what I'm supposed to
look like after 60 days...

Day 7 of year 16 :  My big plans to post every day have already gone astray...I have so many ideas in my head and then my mom's phone stopped functioning - that was a three hour fix across town that I had not anticipated.  I am not an organizer.  I, after all these years of making lists and posting calendars, printing cool looking projects and bookmarking sites I will "definitely" use, am back to being surrounded by all those things I want to do and then deciding it's time to start "Insanity" again.  (I know, I know, you don't know what that is and always ask, "Oh, that's like P90,  right?" - yes, it is.).  I think I was crying during the middle of it, by the way...

I did accomplish one thing, though.  I have the torturous deadline schedule for my AP Studio kids for next year.  I have set exact dates for EACH of their pieces - NO EXCEPTIONS.  Ha.  The best intentions.

I'm hoping by blogging long enough I can avoid Insanity...good teacher or great-looking teacher...that is the question.

Just look at thst face...

Day 5 of Year 16:  Getting ready for summer school...trying to compact a semester's worth of learning and projects into 14 days - seriously?!  14 days, 4 hours a day making art.  This should be interesting.  I think I need to make examples ahead of time in anticipation of all the questions ("What did you say to do next, Mrs. Kuntz?"  "How much paint do we need?"  "Oh, I thought you said TO cut it there...oops...").  All of this going through my brain that really wishes I would have decided to have the summer off and play with the horses and dogs instead.

Day 4 of the 16th year:  I spend more time on creating PowerPoints than ever.  I am addicted...actually called the PowerPoint Queen because I create so many of them.  I feel centered when I'm focused on a direction and can simply research and get the "essence" out of an idea or subject and then translate to students.  So this is how I spend my summers - fitting in the PowerPoint around everything else.  Interesting.  Who says teachers get summers off?

I love art history.  Me and my friend the Seated Scribe in Paris 2011.

 I still get excited looking for those projects and ideas that will make a student turn her head...like a cute boy walking by...

Day 3 of 16:  Appropriation on top of appropriation.  Seems fitting.

Day two of year 16.  Interviewing for the positions that have been vacated by EVERYONE in the art department.  I did this five years ago and remember the spark I saw in the person I KNEW I wanted to hire - I went into the AP's office after spending 45 minutes talking to Amber and literally threw myself across his desk and told him to hire her before someone else did.

The second person I saw today made me feel a bit like that so perhaps there really is someone out there who will make the program grow the way I want it to.

Interviewing is like trying to find a husband in 45 minutes.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning the studio and finally, finally threw out a lot of old student work...like watching your children go off to school...

Art 1 student "Masterpiece" painting.  Pretty impressive...

Summer school is starting next week.  I've heard my supplies are in and they consist of index cards and masking tape.  Hmmm...