Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Hello folks! If you couldn't tell from the title of this post I'm going to let you in on the secret...

I've decided to discontinue this blog.

This was my baby. My first step into the world of blogging as an art educator and it has brought me such joy over the last four years. I've enjoyed every moment and will cherish this time of learning forever. Don't worry, this blog will remain online as a resource for those of you who find it either from Pinterest or just searching on the interwebs. Thank you all for your support over the years, it really has meant a lot to me.

In other news...

I've decided to start a NEW blog!

Head on over to www.becausetheycreated.com to see my latest project! Super excited to see what the next four years(or more) has in store for me and this new journey. See ya'll around!

New Room Before & After

Here are a few before pictures!

It's already been a few weeks, into school and a lot has already changed, but here are a few before and after pictures!

Have you moved into a new room recently? Share some pictures below!

Summer Slow Down: The Art Institute of Chicago

After my AP Art History class a few weeks ago, I decided to travel up to Chicago and visit some family since I had a break between classes. I am so glad that I did! Several things happened while I was there:

1. I GOT A NEW JOB! (click here for that story)

2. I went into town to visit the Art Institute of Chicago and it was awesome!

This particular piece is one of the 250 artworks I'll be teaching next year in AP Art History! #180 Veranda Post of Enthroned King and Senior Wife (Opo Ogoga)

This is almost five feet tall!

Sculpture garden!

I love being able to visit different museums in the summer, restarts my wonder and amazement of art. Which are your favorite museums?

Summer Slow Down: Frank Lloyd Wright House and Studio

I have been a busy gal this summer!  In between my AP classes I went to visit family in Chicago and we toured the Frank Lloyd Wright house! Here are a few pictures from my tour!

This is the front of Frank Lloyd  Wrights first house and studio. It is surrounded by a beautiful cluster of trees and landscaping.

One of my favorite parts of the house are the murals in his master bedroom and the children study/playroom.

Throughout the tour, our guide talked about Wright using his house as a way to experiment and figure out how to achieve certain things when building. Like leaving a tree growing through the wall.

Some images from his studio, where he would have clients and show off some of his amazing designs.

My family and I had lunch at Hemingway Bistro, which was a few blocks away and right across from the Hemingway museum.

This was such a great experience, I really enjoyed learning more about Wright and his work and I feel like I could use this information in my AP Art History class!

Are there any great places that you might want to take your students on a field trip? I'd love to know!

Summer Slow Down: The Story of How I got my New Job

While I was in the AP Art History class this summer, the professor got a call from someone asking if there might be anyone who wanted to teach Art History. He gave me the number of an art teacher at the high school and I spoke with her about the position. From there I applied and waited for a phone call.

A few days before I was leaving for Chicago I received a phone call asking to interview on Monday, since I was going to be out of town if we could do the interview over Skype or Google hangout and they agreed.

The night before the interview I was testing everything to make sure it would work. At first my tablet wouldn't let me use Google hangout. I found out that its not really compatible with Google, and so I borrowed my Aunts iPad and I couldn't get the sound to work. Then it did work. Then the day of the interview I received a link and had to download a completely different app and pray that it would work, which it did. The interview was great, like having a conversation which made me feel less nervous. They told me they were interviewing 4 others and would let me know their decision soon.

Later that day I received a call and BAM! New job!

Now I am able to share with all of you that after three years, I've decided to move up to the high school level to yet again challenge myself as an educator! I will be teaching Daring/Painting, Art I and AP Art History in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD at Colleyville Heritage High School. My goal is to help this campus grow their Art History program, and I am nervous, but excited to do my best.

So, I turned in my laptop, key card and room key at Lady Bird Johnson and it was bitter sweet. I am so thankful for all the wonderful teachers I met and all the great opportunities that Irving has given me the last 8 years, I am the teacher I am today because of such a wonderful district.

Some differences that I've noticed already:

1. This school is HUGE. WOAH.

2. Hybrid block schedule means 6 classes per day and more time! WOAH.

3. I'm teaching an AP class. A TESTED ART CLASS. WOAH.

4. I have 3 preps, and I'll be doing VASE this year. WOAH.

5. My room is HUGE and I have computers! WOAH.

That is a lot of WOAH!

It can be scary, but I am excited to begin this next journey in my teaching career I am ready to gain new experiences not only at a different level, but within a new district.

Are you doing something new and exciting next year? Share below!

Summer Slow Down: AP Studio Art Day 4

This is my final watercolor/ink reduction. Not very clean, and I got some suggestions to better the piece like enclosing the sides and maybe adding lights.

This is my transfer piece, I went back in with Acrylic paint to pop my face a bit more. Still feel like there is more I could do with this.

To

A couple of 3D piece from a fellow classmate! One of my favorites this week!

Do you have any projects to share from your AP Studio classes this summer? Share a link to your blog or Instagram below!

Summer Slow Down: AP Studio Art Day 3

This is an image transfer! First you need to make sure that the printed image you use is from a Laser printer. Then you henge the image with a piece of tape so that it doesn't move too much. Take some finger nail polish remover and brush it one in little quarter sized spaces at a time and burnish it until it evaporates. Then lift up the image and then repeat. If you don't lift the image then it will get stuck.

You can transfer to almost any surface, I used tracing paper so that I could layer it. Apparently you can even do this on Bisque ware!

This was my second try, I transferred to the front AND back of the tracing paper.

Layered into my box!

This is the image from when we used photoshop, the printers didn't print in the correct size so I just went with it and did this.

This is what it looks like at the end. "Me in a Box" was a pretty cool assignment, one that I'll definitely use in my classroom next year.

What types of self exploration projects do you do in your class? Share!