From the Sketchbook of Bridget Smith

barn owl, 8x10

2012-02-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

stockings

2011-12-06T10:07:00.001-07:00

I just finished what I think will be my last big sewing project of the year, but I am not making any promises. I am longing to paint again, so that means it is time.

But I have to say that I am really happy with how my stockings turned out. I took much of my inspiration from this tutorial. i can't wait for Santa to come and fill them up!

Each year as we add more stockings to our family, I thought it would be a nice addition to embroider the year on the back.

Just in case anyone's wondering what Lynlee is up to while I am working on these...

O is for Ostrich

2011-11-25T20:41:00.000-07:00

M is for moose

2011-11-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

quiet book

2011-11-22T13:19:00.001-07:00

About a year ago, I was in a quiet book exchange with my cousin and 10 other people. I just have to say that if you ever make a quiet book, they are so much work! And this is definitely the way to go. We each made one page 12 times and swapped. I was at my in-laws for Thanksgiving last year and used my mother-in-law's machine to make my pages. But with the lack of machine, I hadn't been able to finish the rest of the pages and book until now.

Needless to say I have been working on it almost non-stop for the last few weeks. There were a few pages that I made changes to, others that I re-did and some I didn't use, but all in all, the swap was great. To give the whole book a sense of continuity, I added the words that label each page. So without further adieu, here it is:

Here it is, all zipped up! I ended up making more of a case than a cover for the outside because I wanted to be able to zip it all up. This way hopefully we can reduce the number of missing pieces in the future.

The Family Tree is the only page that is not completely done. Those little apples are picture frames and need to have pictures of mom, dad and grandma(s) and grandpa(s) inserted.

The farm animals are little finger puppets!

Need to get a few more animals to put in Noah's ark...

(The lady bug puzzle is the one that I made for the swap.)

Can you see the little car on a string? This little guy can fit inside both houses!

Last but not lease, I had a blank space at the end, so I wanted to have something fun to put there. There isn't really an activity to go with this one, but The ribbons are pretty fun to run through your fingers!

Hope you enjoyed it!

I know, I know

2011-11-16T11:32:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been 3 whole weeks and I have posted nothing. So sorry. But I just wanted to let you know that, yes, I am still here, and YES! I am still creating wonderful things.

I have actually been quite a busy bee since my mother gave me my beloved sewing machine for my birthday. I have finished a highchair seat cover, a few new bibs for Lynlee and made her a few pair of skinny pants from big baggy ones that she was crawling out of.

But there is more. Something big. Something so big (for me) that it pretty much has been taking ALL of my time lately. I think my husband may feel a little neglected (I know my esty shop sure does), and I really, really need to catch up on cleaning my house. It is almost done! Pictures to come.

N is for newt

2011-10-28T10:00:00.000-06:00

R is for rabbit

2011-10-27T10:00:00.000-06:00

H is for horse

2011-10-26T10:00:00.000-06:00

Y is for yak

2011-10-25T10:00:00.000-06:00

E is for elephant

2011-10-24T22:58:00.002-06:00

P is for penguin

2011-10-02T09:10:00.000-06:00

H is for hippopotamus

2011-10-01T11:12:00.000-06:00

J is for jaguar

2011-09-30T12:04:00.001-06:00

Time for another Give-Away

2011-09-29T13:13:00.004-06:00

For the Grand Opening of my etsy shop, I will be having another give-away. Don't worry, there aren't really any hoops to jump through for this one. Simply, I will be giving away a free 8x10 print of any image in my shop to the first 5 customers! So spread the word to any and all that you think would be interested in this...or don't :).

android and me

2011-09-25T10:00:00.006-06:00

So, my brother is a real nerd. And I am pretty sure he is ok with that. He is a big fan of Android and everything associated with it, not apple. If you know anyone like that, then you get my brother. I am an apple girl, but we don't have to talk about that now. Anyway. He had a great idea for this contest. Where the winner will get an awesome android tablet, keyboard, wireless mouse, carrying case, and my favorite, a stylus. So, he had me draw up a sketch for his entree:

He told me that if we win, he will send me the prize pack 'cause he already has a tablet....Oh, I hope we win! (even if I am an apple girl.) P.s., for those interested in entering, the contest ends tonight at midnight.

D is for duck

2011-09-24T10:00:00.001-06:00

I is for iguana

2011-09-23T10:36:00.000-06:00

new on ETSY

2011-09-16T11:46:00.000-06:00

I have created a new shop on etsy. Never heard of the site before? Check it out! Now there is an easy way to get a hold of my watercolors! Enjoy, and make sure you keep checking back--I still have a lot of stuff to put up!

bridgetssketchbook.etsy.com

today's art class: different watercolor textures

2011-09-15T22:08:00.000-06:00

My class and I had a lot of fun tonight experimenting with different ways to add texture to our watercolor washes. We practiced 3 different techniques: crayon resist, salt crystals and bleach. After experimenting, everyone chose a technique to fill a page and then we painted rockets on another paper. Next, we cut out the rockets and glued them onto the background. I was so impressed by how they turned out and all looked so different. Way to go class!

Bleach method: dab a Q-tip in bleach and then make spots on a wet wash.

Salt method: sprinkle salt into a wet wash.

Crayon resist method: put something with texture under your paper and do a crayon rubbing, then paint a dark wash over the crayon.

R is for rooster

2011-09-13T14:03:00.000-06:00

B is for bison

2011-09-12T13:34:00.000-06:00

A is for armadillo

2011-09-09T21:49:00.003-06:00

I am still here. And I have found new inspiration and new motivation. Thanks in part to this little guy.

I was obsessed with this book when I was little. Has anyone else ever read it?

And the winner is...

2011-09-05T22:52:00.000-06:00

So I made this really great video of myself sifting through a bowl filled with little folded peices of paper with everyone's names on them, just to show you how legit my drawing was. And after 4 failed attempts of uploading the video onto my blog, you will just have to take my word for it. Oh, and sorry it took me so long to post this, but I was hiking with my wonderful family for much of the day.

So, without further ado, the lucky winner of the give-away is:

Heather!

Congratulations! I know that you said you liked the elephant, but please let me know which watercolor you would like an 8x10" of! I have your address so, it will be in the mail as soon as you let me know which one you would like!

Only 2 more days left to enter the give-away!

2011-09-03T17:40:00.001-06:00

It's Give-A-Way Time!

2011-08-30T11:26:00.001-06:00

I know, I know. This is the moment that everyone has been waiting for, right? So, here is what we are going to do. I am excited. Are you excited?

I will send the winner of this give-away a free high-quality 8x10" print ($15 value) of their choice from any of the watercolor paintings that I did this summer. Want to know what your choices are? Just click the link on the right hand column of my blog that says "painting-a-day". Any of the entrees that have the label "watercolor" at the bottom are fair game.

So, here's how it works. You may enter your name into the drawing up to 6 times:

1. Post a link to this give-a-way on your blog
2. Post a link to this give-a-way on your facebook account
3. Post a link on goggle+
4. Post a link on twitter
5. Put this blog on your RSS subscriber (like google reader)
6. Leave a comment on this post telling me 2 things: first which painting from this summer has been your favorite and why, and second, how many of the things above you have done (on your honor here)

I will put your name into a hat for every one of the entries above completed before 12:00 am (midnight) MDT, Sunday Aug 4. That gives you almost a week! No excuses.

Ready, set go!

2 Fall Art Classes Starting!

2011-08-29T13:08:00.002-06:00

For those of you interested, I will be starting two new art classes this fall. They are filling up. So, reserve your spot while you can!

Adult Classes:
Thrusdays 8:00-9:00 pm
$10/week
Starts Sept. 1
(2 spots left)

We welcome all skill levels! For this class we will start with basic drawing and painting skills (watercolor, acrylic, oil...student's choice!), after which each student can expect individual guidance on a larger project of choice.

Childrens' Classes:
Ages 2-4, yeah, you read that right :)
$5/week
Tusedays 11:00-11:30
Starts Sept. 6
(3 spots left)

This class is specifically intended for pre-school age children. They will have a wide variety of experiences in different mediums including, painting, paper-mache and other sculpture.

To sign up or for more info please email me: bridgetlsmith@gmail.com

farewell summer

2011-08-27T20:07:00.003-06:00

It is with out much warning that I have to say this will be my last "painting-a-day" for the summer. I have had an ongoing discussion in my mind trying to decide when the "end of summer" will be for me. There are a lot of possibilities and I didn't realize when I started this how open ended I had left it. So, I have made up my mind, and for lots of reasons, this is a really good time.

Don't worry, though. I will still be adding updates regularly, including: lots more new paintings, information about upcoming art classes, as well as my first give-a-way. Get excited and stay tuned.

black bear

mountain goat

2011-08-26T21:23:00.001-06:00

the great gallery

2011-08-25T21:56:00.001-06:00

I know, I know. No post yesterday. Well, to make a long story short, we drove home from Washington and had an unexpected 3 hour stop in Boise to fix our a/c, putting us home really late. Too late to post. So, today I have one for today and some extras to make up for yesterday.

These are a few sketches I did a few years ago in southern Utah in 9-mile Canyon studying the cave art. These figures come from a series of figures on a wall called the Great Gallery. They stand larger than life size. Majestic. To this day, no one really knows what they mean or even how they were stained on the wall.

charlotte and thomas (rough)

2011-08-23T11:46:00.000-06:00

what do you think, stu?

go by bike

2011-08-22T21:54:00.000-06:00

family tree

2011-08-20T09:16:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we had a family reunion in Park City with some of my in-law's family. My sister-in-law (it was her idea) and I put this family tree together as a gift for Grandpa Hamblin...he is where it all began! I painted the tree and everyone who attended the reunion left their finger print and signed the tree.

beluga whale

2011-08-19T21:40:00.002-06:00

I finished this little guy tonight...(if you look close, the paint is still wet in the image.) and then put them all together below. I have had an interesting time learning about some of the different kinds of whales. They are very fascinating creatures.

I have to say I owe much of my inspiration to this lovely artist.

bowhead whale

2011-08-18T12:02:00.000-06:00

blue whale

2011-08-15T08:34:00.001-06:00

I am going camping tonight for a few days at Mt. Rainier National Park, so no post tomorrow, or the next day. Last time this summer, I promise!

sperm whale

2011-08-13T22:28:00.000-06:00

After 12 hours of driving today, I wasn't sure if I would make it in time, but here you all go!

humpback whale

2011-08-12T09:47:00.000-06:00

black turtle

2011-08-11T10:05:00.001-06:00

For some reason this little guy reminds me of Lynlee. Maybe it is his head reaching up and his inquisitive look.

panda

2011-08-10T19:49:00.002-06:00

I have been experimenting with a few different styles and this time wanted to do something simple. I hope my friend doesn't mind me trying something along the same lines as her paintings. (Thanks Ashley!) Anyway, I think I like this one.

encaustic on wood

2011-08-09T16:35:00.001-06:00

So, I have been doing a little investigation on google+ these days. It is basically facebook, but that is where I am so confused. I know that google is awesome and everything google does is also usually awesome. SO, the question in my mind is why would they attempt to create a social network to rival facebook unless it is completely better? I still don't feel like I have found the answer to that question as of yet. I still wonder if people will actually ever make the switch from facebook to google+...

One feature, however, that I did find somewhat interesting as I was browsing today was the photo albums that I apparently already have on my account. You see, google is connected to everything I do, including blogger, so all of the photos that I have EVER posted on blogger appear in different albums. I put ever in all caps for a reason. I found photos that I remember uploading to posts and then deleting for whatever reason, old bog headers, and other things that I have even removed from my blogs. I am not quite sure how I feel about this, but I was able to find this little gem that I had completely forgotten:

It is an encaustic painting that I did at BYU. (I guess there can technically be a debate about whether or not this is a new painting, but since I make the rules, it will function as my painting for today.) Encaustic paintings are made of wax.

I painted this with beeswax using melted crayons for the pigment. It was an interesting process which included working very quickly, a muffin tin, cookie sheet and stove top.

I painted this for an art history class as an end of the year project. We were supposed to learn about a technique that early artisans used and recreate it. This is a technique that was used by the Egyptians to create death masks for burial. (Not exactly like King, Tut, but more for the common man and middle-upper class...those who couldn't afford gem encrusted caskets...so basically everyone.)

The neat thing about encaustic, and the reason that the Egyptians used it for this purpose, is that it lasts forever. So long as the wax is not damaged.

****

So, I know that now, this image will appear twice on my google+ photo album under my art blog section, but this will be the first official time that the image has actually be published on my blog. I still can't figure out why this image made it on there, but I am glad to have it now!

cup cake plate

2011-08-08T18:53:00.000-06:00

This is the art project that I finished while I was at a family reunion for a week at the end of last month. It is a ceramic plate that we glazed and then they fired them for us at the camp. My sisters and I spent quite a bit of time in the arts and crafts area of Aspen Grove, glazing these plates. They also painted a cupcake, but we did different patterns.

I am excited to have this cute plate to take goodies to my neighbors and friends.

family reunion

2011-08-06T19:28:00.000-06:00

It seems that my family and my in-laws are on the same wave length as far as family reunions go. Two years ago they fell back to back, and the same thing happened this year. So, this weekend I am in Park City with my in-laws--which explains why Abbie has been in town and why we have been doing painting lessons together. You see we did a swap. She took some family portraits for us in exchange for art lessons.

This is a picture of her with her first 2 watercolor paintings ever! I am so proud of her! and think they turned out wonderfully. So, these are going to be my painting/sketch for today because once again, I am on vacation!

blossoming almond tree (after monet)

2011-08-05T11:05:00.001-06:00

So I have been in love with this painting for a long long time. And it has also been a long time since I have painted any shoes, so with that combo, these were bound to happen

oh, and p.s. so sorry to all of you who couldn't see the picture from yesterday. The problem is now fixed, and I know that I can't really successfully make a post from the ipad. Sad day.

Paintings for Lynlee

2011-08-04T17:37:00.001-06:00

I finished these paintings a while ago...a few months before Lynlee was born. I am not sure why I nevr put them up...I guess life got busy with a baby:).

So I painted the 4 block paintings that say "baby". I also made the airplane mobile. Her name below is a vinyl cut out from my cricut and the animal picture is a gift from my cousin. I felt a little silly when i showed these paintings to my sister and she wasn't that impressed. You see she thought that I had taped off the background and used some sort of stencil for the letters. That would have saved me a ton of time, to be honest. And when she mentioned that, I felt very foolish because I had drawn and painted each of the paintings and all of the lines by hand. So needless to say, these paintings took me quite a bit more time to do than they should have.

zebra

2011-08-03T21:48:00.001-06:00

For tonight's painting session with Abbie, she decided to make cookies instead. I had no complaints. I finished a painting that I have been waiting to do for a while and partook of some delicious morsels. It was a good day.

nemo fish (clown fish)

2011-08-02T21:59:00.001-06:00

Another painting lesson with Abbie. I guess I didn't really clarify yesterday. I am posting the paintings that I finished while we painted together, not her's.

veuve clicquot

2011-08-01T15:56:00.000-06:00

My sister-in-law is in town for a family reunion and she is a wonderful photographer. She and I are making an exchange, family portraits for art lessons. So for our first lesson last night, we sat down and decided to start with some basic watercolor and drawing lessons. This is apparently a pretty fancy-shmancy kind of champagne and she wanted to draw it. Not one of my favorite paintings, didn't finish the box, but it was fun.

the last post of July

2011-07-30T19:37:00.000-06:00

I promise that I had very good intentions of painting beautiful scenery and landscapes while I spent the last week with my family in the mountains, but like I said before, I was in vacation mode and making no promises. So, as much as I sort of wish that I could now thrill you with a series of from-life paintings that I completed from the last week, I didn't even so much as pick up a paintbrush. I did take several sets of watercolors, brushes and paper up so that I could give my family priceless lessons taught by none other than yours truely, but that didn't even happen. Actually, scratch that. I DID paint. Nothing breathtaking, but something, and that will be coming soon...

Anyway, enough of that. I do have something that I painted today :). It is the last of my fruit/veggie series and it may be my favorite.

pears, 6"x6", oil on board:

The completed set

cascade mountain, 5"x7", watercolor

2011-07-23T12:48:00.000-06:00

A very dear friend of mine is moving to Singapore for at least the next 5 years. I will really miss her and wanted to do something for her before she left. There aren't many mountains, actually no mountains, as well as no snow there, so I painted this for her so that she could take a little bit of UT with her. We will miss you, Naomi!

In other news, I am heading to a family reunion today for a week. I am taking my paints and my computer. But I am entering vacation mode. So, does if it makes me lame that I cannot promise a painting everyday this week, so be it. But I will do what I can and paint as much as time allow me. And never fear, I will be back officially with a guaranteed painting-a-day a week from today!

Happy Birtday Fabio

2011-07-22T12:59:00.000-06:00

My sister in law just had a baby a few weeks ago. Her husband's birthday is today and so she asked me to paint him this image for her gift to him. He is getting it today, hope he liked it!

birthday card, 3.75"x9"

2011-07-21T08:52:00.001-06:00

Inside reads: my hippo got all prettied up and wanted to wish you a happy birthday

owl

2011-07-20T14:48:00.000-06:00

elephant

2011-07-19T10:58:00.002-06:00

peppers, 6"x6", oil on board

2011-07-18T13:08:00.000-06:00

So I think that I am getting looser and looser with these vegitable paintings...They are all supposed to go together in a set of 5. We'll see if it works.

Eiffel Tower, 12"x9", watercolor

2011-07-16T12:51:00.003-06:00

para request of Abbie :)

So, it was with slight hesitation that I posted this painting. It is not one that I particularly love. However, I realize that people all have different preferences. And that's ok. I have been learning and re-learning a lot about myself through this process. And with this painting it was good to remember that I don't have to love everything I do. And sometimes I go too far. And that sometimes, my first try is often just the beginning, and that's why I need to keep trying.

apples, 6"x6", oil

2011-07-15T10:26:00.001-06:00

asparagus, 6"x6", oil

2011-07-14T18:09:00.002-06:00

I know that this might look familiar, but don't worry, this is technically a new painting...because I just finished it. It has been waiting for me for about a year, but now I can finally say that it's done.

giraffe, 9"x12", watercolor

2011-07-13T08:48:00.001-06:00

This has been one of my favorites so far.

today's art class: basic watercolor skills & today's painting

2011-07-12T16:33:00.004-06:00

I have been having a lot of fun with watercolor lately and so I was really excited when my students were able to come to class for 2 hours today instead of just for one hour. This meant we had plenty of time to do a basic introduction to watercolor skills AND then do a few paintings together. We spent the first hour talking about and practicing basic watercolor techniques like, washes, grated washes, wet on wet and "saving your whites".

After practicing, we painted a rhino together using just flat washes and grated washes.

Next, we painted our red bowl using washes, grated washes, and then adding wet on wet and saved some whites for the reflections. I wish that I would have taken picture of their drawings, but I forgot, so you will just have to settle for mine.

lobster, 9"x12", watercolor

2011-07-11T08:54:00.001-06:00

Do you know how many legs a lobster has? That was a very important question that came up between Dane and I when I painted this. He was convinced that my painting looked a few legs too short and that lobsters were arachnids. But that was hard for me to accept because I drew exactly how many legs that I saw in my image I was using. So I looked it up. They actually have 10 walking legs! I was so surprised. The front 6 have chompers (and that's primarily why you see them) but the front 2 chompers are the largest. The other 4 legs in the back a pretty little and often hidden.

So there you go. Bet ya didn't think you would have a science lesson on lobsters when you woke up today, huh?

a day of rest

2011-07-10T11:05:00.000-06:00

So, I forgot to add an appendage to my painting-a-day. I won't be posting anything on Sundays. I can't commit to painting on Sunday because I think that I will be resting. So enjoy this post, because it's all you're gonna get on a Sunday :).

shark, 9"x12", watercolor

2011-07-09T12:34:00.001-06:00

So, just to preface this, I am not really into sharks. When I started this painting, I had no idea what the outcome would be.

Sometimes looking at a blank white sheet of paper isn't all that inspiring, so I started by creating an abstract mess on the paper just to get me going. Then, when I looked at the colors and the page a little more, for some reason all I could think about was sharks. Weird, I know, but it was an interesting process. Enjoy today's painting.

a painting a day

2011-07-08T18:12:00.002-06:00

I would just like to start out saying, remember 2009? When I had 6 posts the entire year? Well, it is only July 8th and this will be my 6th post for the month. And I think I should also point out that this will be the 4th day in a row that I have posted.

The other thing that I have done for the last 4 days in a row is also pretty exciting as well: I have not only painted, but completed a painting each day.

This is pretty huge for me (I have never had this kind of time on my hands before), and I am really liking the momentum and excitement I am feeling; so, I have been inspired. I am going to start a PAD. I know of a lot of photographers who have PADs, or Photo-A-Day blogs. But this one will be different. I am challenging myself to a Painting-A-Day. I know. That's a big commitment. And I think I will just have to see how long I can do it. My goal is the end of the summer, but now that I am home everyday, summer life is pretty much becoming the norm. So we shall see.

So, the rules will be simple. I will post a new painting (a sketch or drawing can also count) every day on this blog. I am only saying this to confirm it to myself--that doesn't mean I have to complete a painting everyday, but to stay caught up I will pretty much need to do that. I have about 3-4 that I can post right now, but I will hold onto that lead to give myself a little wiggle room.

I can't make any promises to anyone but myself. So self, wish me luck!

I hope you enjoy today's painting: Lupine, 12"x9", watercolor

Japanese cherry blossoms and a river, 6"x10", oil on paper

2011-07-07T16:15:00.007-06:00

Here's the finished product of my most recent commission.

new blog header

2011-07-06T08:23:00.001-06:00

I have wanted to change my blog header for a while. To be honest, I think the title "Bridget's art world" is a little dorky, I am in the process of changing the title of my blog as well, and possibly the URL address...we'll see.

But for now, I hope you enjoy the new header. I have been using watercolor a lot more lately and I am starting to figure it out. The image was inspired by this photo taken by my dear friend, Kristy.

After Monet, again

2011-07-05T14:19:00.001-06:00

A while ago, I painted these shoes for a dear friend, Kristy. For some reason, I never took a picture of the finished product, so I snagged a few pictures from her blogs. She gave me 3 different Monet paintings that she liked, and asked me to combine them on the shoes. Here's some pics:

Snowboard shoes

2011-07-05T14:08:00.003-06:00

Once upon a time I started painting shoes because Dane wanted a pair. These were the first ones I ever did. He loved them so much, he wore them out and we no longer have them, but I am glad to have pictures.

it feels good to be painting again

2011-07-02T23:23:00.002-06:00

I finally set up my easel in a semi-permanent place in our house. This way, I feel like I will actually be more motivated to work on things. Anyway, my latest adventure has been painting a commissioned landscape. A scene from Japan. It feels good. And, I love the smell of mineral spirits in the air.

Today is the last day to come see the art show!

2011-06-28T13:45:00.000-06:00

today's art class: still life and shading

2011-06-28T13:42:00.002-06:00

Today, with my class we combined the skills we have been practicing like drawing what we see, blocking in basic shapes, and careful observation and took it to the next level to add shading. We started with simple objects on the table, turned off the lights, and let the window provide some simple, beautiful one-directional light for us. We spent about 10 min on each drawing, so not enough time to finish a massive amount of details, but enough time to really slow down and observe carefully.

We came up with drawings like these ones: (vitamin C bottle, and a bowl of fruit)

Art Lessons

2011-06-25T21:09:00.001-06:00

Private Art Lessons

with Bridget Smith

Who can take classes? Anyone ages 3-99

Are the lessons private or in class sessions? Lessons can be taught on an individual basis or in groups. Group lessons will be at a discounted price.

Location: Classes can be taught in your home or in Bridget Smith’s home studio in Provo.

Some skills you can expect to develop are drawing, painting, sculpting, creative thinking and much more.

For additional information and prices,

please contact Bridget Smith:

bridgetlsmith@gmail.com

Above is the info that I have been spreading around on fliers. I am teaching a few group sessions right now, one of which will be starting the first week of July, once a week, for the rest of the summer for 3-5 year olds. Right now, I only have a few spots left. The classes will be $10/week. Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to join.

What is art?

2011-06-20T16:18:00.002-06:00

Have you ever wondered how to put a definition to art? Well, this video has some great insights into what some of the creatures in our world would say. I think it is a hoot and worth the 7 min to sit and watch.

Chevron Painting, 24"x36", acrylic

2011-06-17T16:03:00.001-06:00

It has been a while since I have made a piece of art just for the sake of art, just for me. I was inspired by this blog. She has a really great demonstration for how to make this kind of painting on this post as well.

Anyway, I put it up in my room and the more I look at it, the more in I am in love.

today's art class: gesture drawings

2011-06-16T12:49:00.002-06:00

I have started teaching private art classes for the summer and I am having so much fun. (So, if any of you are interested in taking classes--any age welcome--or know anyone who would be interested send me an email! BridgetLSmith@gmail.com)

In my class that came today, I have students ages 9-12. We have been talking about breaking figures of animals and people down into simple shapes. Today we added to the shapes with gesture drawings. The idea of a gesture drawing is to make a very quick impression of the figure you are drawing that captures their movement and the overall gesture their body is making. This is most easily accomplished by drawing one smooth, continuous line that mimics the shape of their spine from the head all the way down their body, and then to the grounding foot. So something like the figure on the left.

Figure drawing has always been one of my favorite types of drawing. Ah. I love it.

Here are some drawings from the things that we did today:

Arts Express and conifer painting

2011-06-16T12:35:00.003-06:00

This week I had a great opportunity to attend an art conference put on for elementary educators all over the state called Arts Express. It is a conference that they put on every year with great keynote speakers and workshops all focused on using all of the arts (visual, drama, dance, music) to teach children more effectively. This year, we had a great representation from Edgemont Elementary including 14 people! Myself, next year's art specialist 3 parents, our principle, and 8 other grade level teachers. I think it was a really good way to get everyone connected and excited about using the arts more.

Oh, yeah, side note-- did I mention before that they were able to hire someone for next year? I know that I posted before about how the district had decided to no longer support the grant position in the school, but they changed their mind!

Anyway, I wanted to share a little project that I completed yesterday in a wonderful workshop. This is a little accordion-style book designed to fit into the 4th grade core of teaching about local habitats in Utah, one of which is forests.

This is the closed book. The woman who taught the workshop had put the books together for us ahead of time so that we would have time to paint the pages. She used this crazy "eyelash" ribbon to tie them closed. Not quite sure how I feel about it...


This is how the book opens "accordion" style. there are paintings on each of the pages. This type of book is great to make for kids because it is easy to put together and you can add info one one side of the pages like I did here, but then put more information on the other side. If I were to teach this to students in an elementary class, we would use the other side to display our writing about our pictures. This style of books is also really easy to display because it can stand up!

Believe it or not, 4th graders can totally do this type of paintings. Our teacher taught us some great skills, like how to paint: realistic looking conifer trees, mountains, a sky with clouds, trees in the distance, trees with snow on them and other things.

This is definitely a lesson that I would love to teach to my students at home as well!

Springville Children's Art Festival

2011-06-13T13:13:00.001-06:00

Last weekend as part of the Art City Days of Springville, they had a children's art festival on Friday. There were about 25 different artists who set up booths and had short art projects for kids to do. And one of the greatest things about it, thanks to the city of Springville, it is all FREE for the public.

I had the chance to have a booth and teach the children how to Zentangle! Dane came and helped for a few hours and it was a good thing he did because we tangled with literally hundreds of children.

Setting up the booth

It was a pretty good project for all ages. I had instructions taped to the tables so that the parents could guild their children along if I was busy with someone else. Overall, I think the parents might have liked it more than the kids. There were a few children who really got into it and hung out at my booth for a long time so that they could finish their project. It was fun to see how careful they were with their work.

tape wad

2011-05-13T15:10:00.001-06:00

Alas, we took down the art show today. It was a lot of work! I have to say a big thank you to the 4th graders who helped me! Thanks to them, we had it all down before lunch. I received comment after comment from pass-er-by-ers saying how sad the hallways look now without any artwork. It is true. The school looks really empty now and we will all miss the beautiful artwork that lined the walls. We all put a lot of work into that show.

So, as we took the work down, we started wadding together the masking tape rolls that we took off the backs of the artwork, and ended up with this:

quite the sculpture, wouldn't you say? (no wonder I don't have any tape left...) I have never seen anything quite like it. I guess it sort of represents all of the work that went into hanging this show. I think I will let this giant wad of tape hang out on my desk for a little while.

Kindergarten Farm Pigs

2011-05-10T15:15:00.001-06:00

Remember the roosters? and the rabbits? This is the last drawing we did from the farm:

2nd Grade Georgia O'Keefe Flowers

2011-05-10T14:10:00.002-06:00

I wish that I could somehow put these up here life size so that you could all see how impressive they are. They are about 12x18". We used large brushes and liquid tempera paint to create large flowers in the style of Georgia O'Keefe, an American painter who painted large close-ups of flowers. The trick to getting the students to draw the flowers large is to encourage them to have the petals touch the edge of the page, or even run off the pages. The paintings started out as monochromatic paintings: each student mixed a color to paint in between the petals of their flower and then filled in the flower with white paint, using the same brush so it created a lighter version of the color in the flower. The next day, we added details in the center of the flowers and other finishing touches. This was one of my favorite projects so far. Maybe it was the big brushes.

2nd Grade Watercolor Landscapes

2011-05-10T14:02:00.001-06:00

Here is another reason I love my second grade classes. I only did this project with one of the 2nd grade classes. They had had some rough days in art and lost painting privilages, so once they had earned a chance to paint again, they were on a different lesson than the other classes, so here was a 2 day catch-up project. Some things we focused on were taping the edges with masking tape to create a nice border and painting the mountains purple to make them appear far away.

I would hang these in my home. I think that's a good sign, eh? Way to go guys!

6th Grade Country Reports/Art Project

2011-05-10T13:58:00.001-06:00

At the end of the year, the 6th graders all were assigned a country to write a report about, so we thought we would give them a chance to learn a little about the well known artwork/architecture/culture from that country. They were allowed to chose whatever subject matter they wanted, it just needed to represent their country. Then for the art medium, we reviewed the techniques that I had taught them throughout the year and they were allowed to chose to do one of those techniques again. The choices were, tinfoil and sharpies, scraffito (not pictured here), colored pencil, pencil drawing, or painting.

I was pleased with some of them, and others, not so much. Self guided work is always a little bit of a challage for students. For once they get to make their own deisions, and it is amazing how difficult how that can be for some. Interesting, and unfortunately we are all a little like that, I think. Anyway, here are a few that turned out well.

3rd Grade Tessellations

2011-05-10T13:51:00.001-06:00

For some wonderful reason, 3rd grade talks about tessellations in their math core, so this was a no-brainer. After a very fun discussion where we looked at the art of M. C. Escher, we made our own tessellations using some heavy cardstock and then traced them on a large sheet of drawing paper. Then they outlined them with sharpie and created an image out of the shape using colored pencil.

They took some time, but were well worth the work. My favorite part of this project is to see what the students turn their pictures into. Here are a few snap-shots of the tessellations hanging in the art show.

5th Grade Presidential Portraits

2011-05-10T13:45:00.001-06:00

William H. Taft

For our last project this year with 5th grade, we put everything we had learned about observational drawing, shading and facial proportions together to create what turned out to be some beautiful portraits. I gave each student a black and white picture of a different president of the United States and did a step by step review of how to draw the proportions of a face. Our big focus was on drawing the shapes that they saw in the lights and darks instead of lines to create the features. Here are a few of the more recognizable presidents:

Zentangle

2011-05-10T13:35:00.001-06:00

I have found a new love. Mindless, fun, art, that looks beautiful. I have found that this has been a great project for the end of the year when most of my students are pretty much brain dead from all of their end-of-the-year test. (To give you an idea of the craziness, the first graders have 6 different tests that they need to take! ick.) So I have found this has been a great way to help everyone calm down, focus but still have fun and express creativity. So, I have done this so far with 4th, 5th, 6th and 1st grades. Tomorrow with be my chance to tackle it with the 2nd graders.

Check out zentangle.com or tanglepatterns.com to learn more about this awesome art form!

Kindergarten Farm Roosters

2011-05-10T13:28:00.001-06:00

I love the individuality that my kindergartners always put into their drawings. So, like the rabbits, we did this one step by step and then I showed them how to add colors. But this time, we used oil pastels instead of chalk.

This little boy was sad to learn that roosters do not lay eggs, but I still am in love with his drawing.

Snowman series, part 2

2011-05-10T13:24:00.001-06:00

So, I know it has been a long time since this post, but here is the second part of our snowman series for the 1st graders. First, we gave the students blue paper and taught them how to draw a snowman to fill the page. I found it worked really well to give them a roll of masking tape to trace for the bottom section of the snowman and then let them free-hand the rest. Next, we drew a vertical line down the middle of the snowman and a horizontal across the page and traced the whole drawing with white glue (one of my favorite techniques.)

The next day, we talked about posative and negative shapes and colored our snowmen in the following checkerboard pattern in oil pastel. The students needed to chose a cool color and white. Sort of an interesting process, but turned out nicely.

4th Grade Stained Glass Windows

2011-05-10T13:15:00.001-06:00

Our school has a courtyard in the middle of the 4th, 5th and 6th grade hallways and we felt like the windows to the courtyard could use a little bit of color. So here we went. This was a great lesson to talk about the difference between geometric and organic shapes. To make a window, trace a border with the width of a ruler on black paper, then draw some large geometric shapes in the middle. Next, break up the rest of the space with organic lines that will make organic shapes.

Then, we cut out the shapes, making sure to leave a black border about 1/2" thick between the shapes to make a black frame. Last, fill the shapes with colored tissue paper.

We felt like these windows mad a de-LIGHT-ful addition to our art show. Cheesy, I know, but I have to be, it's elementary school, right?

A day outside with Andy Goldsworthy

2011-05-10T13:09:00.001-06:00

Last week we had perfect weather for earth art. Second grade was finishing a unit on rocks so rather than do the typical-glue-rocks-together-project, we got outside and did something with nature that real artists like Andy Goldsworthy do. First we looked at some of his work and talked about what makes his designs successful like simple shapes and color, like in these:

We split the class into groups of 4-5 and set them loose for about 15-20 min. This project could not have come with better timing. The weather was great, the dandilions were all in full bloom, and the students are taking so many end-of-year tests that they needed to get their wiggles out. Enjoy:

Edgmont 5k Poster Contest

2011-05-10T12:12:00.001-06:00

Last week, we had our school 5K, which is amazing in and of itself--1st through 6th grade student ALL complete it--and we had a great poster contest to advertise the race as well as help get kids excited to run. All in all, I think we had over 30 individual entries. The theme was "I think I can..." Students were to complete the phrase however they wanted. They we so wonderful, I thought I would show you some of the winners:

This one is great because our school mascot is an eagle.

May 2-May 12

2011-05-05T22:13:00.001-06:00

Come one, come all to the

Edgemont Elementary

Art Show!

On display now, until May 12th in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade hallways, as well as in the library.

More Taco Fish!

2011-05-05T22:10:00.001-06:00

Leave it to my 5th graders to come up with something crazy like this! Taco fish are the greatest thing since sliced-bread, I decided. So easy and so fun. I am a big fan of simple projects that make kids feel successful. And this is definitely one of those projects.

We gave each student a small ball of clay and had them roll it out into a 1/4" thick pancake with rolling pins. Then, they placed a wad of newspaper in the middle and folded the sides around it like a taco. They squished the top together to make the fin and flattened one side for the tail. Next, we added eyes, fins and other things as well as texture.

Kindergarten Farm Rabbits

2011-05-05T22:04:00.001-06:00

Last week, the kindergarten students went to visit a farm, so we talked about different animals that they would see there and learned how to draw a few. This is the first of the bunch: rabbits. Drawn in pencil and then chalk pastel. I love how much character each one has!

Apollonian Gaskets

2011-05-05T22:01:00.001-06:00

This was a project that my substitute started with my students right before I got back. It was so much fun. She introduced the lesson by showing them the video on this link, (TOTALLY worth watching!!) and then set them loose. When I got back, we fine tuned the drawings and then learned how to shade spheres to add a little more interest to their drawings. They we so great at shading the spheres. I never remember being able to do it this well when I was that old. Way to go kids!

This is the example I showed them to make sure they understood that each sphere needed to be shaded using the same light source.

6th Grade 1-point Perspective Names

2011-05-05T21:54:00.001-06:00

As the 6th graders learned about the Renaissance, I felt it was important for them to learn that it is thanks to the Renaissance that artists have perspective as we now know it. We looked at drawings of buildings pre and post Renaissance and compared them to photographs. It was easy to see the vanishing point in the photographs and clear that the post-Renaissance artwork had figured it out. So, because puberty-age children are totally into themselves we drew our names! What could be better?

Recycled Book Landscapes

2011-05-05T21:45:00.001-06:00

This is one of my favorite project that we have done so far this year. Once again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it came from my 2nd graders. We talked a lot about communities this year and they just loved learning about landscapes. So, we needed to get creative to make something nice. Remember the city-scapes? We took that idea one step further and painted pages from books first. it was sort of a fun discussion to talk to the students about recycling, tearing up old books and drawing on the pages and when it is ok. and when it isn't.

So, first we textured the paper with crayon rubbings, then painted watercolor washes and let the paper dry. Then we used that paper to make our landscapes. Last, they outlined the shapes with sharpie. I think the thing that helped make them so successful was talking about background, middle-ground and foreground. Then we told the students to start with the background and work down the page. The never cease to amaze me with what they come up with.

Butterfly Life Cycle Mobile

2011-04-26T21:44:00.001-06:00

Who doesn't love the life cycle of butterflies? They are a great topic to study in elementary, and always have seemed so magical to me. As my first graders have been wrapping up the year, everything has been all about life cycles. So, we made mobiles. We started out talking about Henri Matisse and his wonderful use of color, and applied what we leanred to the mobiles. Each student colored all 4 stages front and back, cut them out, designed the spiral and cut it out, and assembled them. There is something wonderful to me in the spiral, spinning idea of the mobile. Their art is about life, and so we made mobile art. I'll be honest though, after making almost 90 of these things, we were all ready to move on. :)

This is a great shot of the mural in the background:

Butterfly mural

2011-04-26T21:39:00.004-06:00

So this was one of those happy accidents. Well, actually it wasn't an accident, but I had no idea that it would turn out as well as it did. My first graders were finishing up their butterfly life cycle mobiles and I needed a "fast finisher". So, I found a simple drawing of a butterfly and used an old fashioned grid to draw an enlarged version of it it at about 1000%. So, I told my students that the papers that they were puzzle pieces and they would not know what the puzzle was until we put them all together. They were so excited! I think group projects are always a really good way to teach how your efforts don't just affect you, but those around you. Here is the finished piece. Beautiful, huh? Each piece is an 8 1/2x11" page.

A year of gratitude

2011-04-01T11:49:00.002-06:00

The school year is not quite up yet, but as I have looked at my calender today, I realized that I will only be teaching-teaching for another 5 weeks of school. I say teaching-teaching because there are another 2 weeks after that, but the last week of school there will be no art classes and the week before that, I will spend with my classes making portfolios and passing back work. If we have extra time, I would like to spend it talking about their artwork and giving them a chance to share their favorite piece with the class. So, I guess teaching-teaching means days that we will be making art.

This has been a wonderful year for me for so many reasons. I have truly loved this job. Everything about it. The students, the faculty and staff, the school, my schedule, subject matter, everything. I have learned so much about myself and what it feels like to be happy in what you do. Quite the contrast to my old job. I loved the people and environment at my old job, and was well compensated, but it didn't matter. I hated what I did. SO, I am extremely grateful for the last year because of that.

On a more serious note, I will not be returning to Edgemont next year. It was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. Not difficult because I couldn't decide what to do, but difficult to actually go through the motions of making the decision and making everything final. It's hard to explain. I feel like I am leaving a piece of who I am at this school. It is not being taken from me, but I have given it to them.

The timing of this job could not have been more perfect. We had good benefits and pay while I had a baby. I am going to have this summer off to spend time with Lynlee. And just when we had decided to not return next year, I found out that with budget cuts and other priorities in mind, the superintendent of Provo School District has decided not to continue subsidizing the program that makes my current position available. I am devastated for my school (especially because if I had decided to stay, there may have been continued funding, as the super didn't want to cut someone's job....ahhhg....wish I never knew that), but I know that they will be alright. I feel confident that I have left them with a good start for a strong program and hopefully the momentum then need to keep going without an art teacher.

I am, and always will be, so grateful that I was able to have this experience at this time in my life.

Coat of Arms

2011-04-01T11:32:00.001-06:00

My substitute started this lesson with the 3rd grade classes while I was gone and I finished it up after I got back.
She first taught them a lesson about color where each student made a color wheel and then learned about different color schemes: triadic, complementary, warm/cool colors and monochromatic. Next each student needed to come up with 5 symbols that represented things about themselves they wanted to share. They drew their symbols on the coat of arms template and then chose one color scheme to paint their coat of arms. This is just another great example of how color is so powerful!