I am grateful for colors and textures. Nature is home to so much beauty and I feel fortunate for the ability to savor it.
It is the little things
Driving this AM on a major highway crowded with automobiles, noise, congestion and fumes, I was startled by the crisp, open, clear morning sky. So much that I did not mind what surrounded me. This natural phenomenon has inspired me to keep a gratitude journal and today is Day One. And it must be a visual documentation because, I am an artist and an art lover and express myself through the help of colors, lines and shapes.
Today I am grateful for this vast open space via a view from the LIE. Thank you, Earth and Sun. I am grateful for you.
-MJ
Filed under Inspiration
Happy New {School} Year!
September marks the beginning of a new year for teachers, children and parents. It may be a tough transition for some, but for others it is an exciting time. I always did enjoy the Staples commercial that synced “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” with an overjoyed father taking his children shopping for supplies. Watch it on You Tube below. Classic.
For teachers, September means promise. It opens us up to an array of opportunities to make this year the most successful year yet. This year we will try out new classroom management tactics. We will re-design our studio space to make it exciting, user friendly and a comfortable work environment. Oh, and we will start report card narrative writing two whole months before they are due. Let’s make those last three statements into “I” statements because that is what I plan to do. What are you excited about this year? And if you are not excited, you can share those thoughts too…
Above is an image I found on Grey Matter. I plan on including it in my selection of inspirational phrases that hang in my art studio. I have shared a few of my favorites with you below:
Celebrate Differences
Feed Your Curiosity
Practice Making Creative Choices
Always Play First (shared by a fellow art teacher I met in grad school)
Practice Makes Better (a friend of mine heard this from their child’s teacher)
Take on a Creative Challenge Today!
Trust your Hands (shared by a fellow art teacher)
Creativity Takes Courage Henri Matisse
See. Think. Wonder. (Visible Thinking, Project Zero)
Today is a New Beginning
Feel free to use these in your classroom or studio to encourage awareness, openness and risk taking.
Have you tried anything new that has lead the year to a successful start? What are you most proud of in your space?
Happy New Beginnings! -MJ
Filed under Inspiration, Teaching Art to Children
Sun Porch Studio 