By: Lilly Babineau

The Host is the first book by popular author Stephenie Meyer that’s aimed specifically toward adult audiences.  With the new film adaptation of the book, it’s quickly shot through the ranks and is now one of the bestselling books on USA Today.

Much like her earlier work Twilight, The Host takes readers on a thrill ride dealing with inhuman creatures living in a human world and in this case, those creatures happen to be aliens.  The book has been described as a mix between a soap opera and something out of Star Trek as the opening scene in the book shows an alien being inserted into a human through the use of an open wound.

Though it’s marketed toward adults specifically, there aren’t any scenes of excessive gore, violence, sex, or language.  Even the aliens themselves seem pretty mellow compared to those you would normally see in horror movies.  It is fairly scary though depending on how you feel about aliens festering within your body and potentially taking you over.

Melanie is the main character of the book and she’s taken over by an alien known as Wanderer despite her aggressive attempts at ending her own life in the process.  She hurls herself down a long elevator shaft but she ends up surviving the fall.

Eventually Melanie is able to reason with the alien that’s hiding inside her and she ends up talking Wanderer into helping her find her brother and her boyfriend.  When they find them, the boys are collaborating with a bunch of rebels, much to the relief of Melanie.

The soap opera aspect of the book begins around this time because although Melanie is happy to see her boyfriend, Wanderer ends up falling in love with one of the other rebels and although they’re in the same body, both Melanie and Wanderer want very different things.

The Host is a good choice for fans of romance and don’t mind a bit of science fiction thrown into the mix as it’s much more of a soap opera than it is science fiction.  The characters are memorable and the story is quite compelling.

1st grade students read two books to get us ready for our rainy day collages: Rain Rain Rivers by Uri Shulevitz and vintage children’s book The Wet Walk by Carol Woodard. Students used their pattern skills to create designs for their U-shaped umbrellas using a black crayon. Bleeding tissue paper was placed over their umbrellas and painted over with water to create a watercolor effect. 

The next class, students cut out their umbrellas and made a handle. We assembled our umbrellas upside down to catch the rain! For the finishing touch, students painted raindrops using shiny, metallic paint. A great project for the start of spring!

My youngest students always find our color mixing unit so magical. My favorite book to introduce the concept is Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. They love guessing what colors the mice will mix up next and I find many of my students I had previously in PreK will actually remember the formula for creating new colors! They are amazed that you can create so many new colors out of the three primaries.

After talking about the primary colors, I showed them a Powerpoint of Mondrian paintings, where we noticed that he used lots of rectangles and squares as well as the primary colors. They made a collage with black paper strips, creating different sized rectangles and squares.

The next class we went over the color mixing formulas. I worked with the students in small groups, making sure to only keep two primary colors at each table. So, I had an orange table, a green table, and a purple table. This really helped to give them the full color mixing experience rather than ending up with brown paint all over their papers. They mixed the colors inside each square or rectangle. They all had such a blast and were thrilled to discover they really could make a new color just by mixing two primary colors. Success!

Inspired by this project found on Artsonia.

By: Lilly Babineau

Lisa Genova used to work in the medical field, specializing in neuroscience before she decided she’d rather try her hand at writing novels and so she keeps her books closely related to the things she’s trained in.  Most of what she writes about deals with medical conditions and how those conditions affect the patient as well as those around them.

In Love Anthony, Genova has chosen one of the toughest medical conditions facing people today, which is autism.  The story of the novel is about a young boy named Anthony who passes away before his tenth birthday and is diagnosed with autism.

Genova did an extensive amount of research for this book, seeking out stories and experiences from families, friends, and other medical professionals to ensure that she approached the subject carefully and with the most accurate information as possible.  It paid off quite well because the book depicts autism extremely accurately and the story of Anthony and his family are truly powerful.

Not only does it deal with the everyday happenings of Anthony and his family, but it goes into great detail about how the family deals with his condition, particularly on his birthdays when they have to accept the fact that he hasn’t progressed like he should have – he’s still much too far behind other kids his age.

Love Anthony is a heartbreaking account and anyone who has had a child afflicted with autism will surely enjoy the read just as much as everyone else.  Written almost entirely from the point of view of Anthony, it’s definitely going to bring some tears to readers’ eyes as they get immersed into a world that is foreign to many of us although we deal with it every day.

The ending of the book is probably the most powerful part as it’s a letter dedicated to his mom directly from Anthony, telling her just how much he’s always loved her.

As someone who prides herself in truly appreciating art, there are many pieces that I love and amongst them, could never pick a favorite. I didn’t always love art, however; I distinctly recall my high school art teacher sighing at me, flabbergasted because I didn’t mean my coloring. At the time I laughed at her and thought she was ridiculous. How can someone not mean their coloring? You take a crayon or pencil and shade inside the shapes. It took many years for me to look at the paintings of Van Gogh or Monet in comparison to my own coloring, to truly understand why she was right. I really didn’t mean my coloring.

Take the piece below for example:

This is the simplest picture, but is it really so simple? A tree amongst some hills, the sun or moon rising or setting in the background. It should be simple. Imagine the general drawing you would usually draw with this description. Green grass, blue sky, brown tree trunk with green leaves, a yellow sun with rays beaming down to the Earth. Does this mean something to you? Think about this painting. Look at the colors. The tree is black on a dark rainbow hill and this symbolizes something, at least to someone. The way the colors are bleeding into each other. To me, it’s a blue moon and the light radiating from it is creating a light in the darkness. How through someone’s darkest days there is always a light in the darkness and you can make it through.

This next painting is a vibrant brush of colors. The scene is a beautiful stroll in the park, the fresh flowers are blooming. I imagine it’s a warm August day just before sunset. Maybe you are walking through the park alone or with the love of your life. Everything feels perfect because it is. However, I don’t think you’d feel the same way if the colors were scribbled on the canvas. It just goes to show the importance of meaning your coloring.

]]> http://colorsofmyday.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/3rd-grade-color-emotion-monsters/ Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:36:35 +0000 ordinarymoment http://colorsofmyday.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/3rd-grade-color-emotion-monsters/

3rd grade students enjoyed exploring the relationship between color and emotion for this project. To introduce the lesson, I read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. The vibrant oil painted illustrations related beautifully to the emotions being described by color. Students then chose the emotion they wanted to represent and picked the color that went best with it. They learned how to create tints and shades of one color using white and black tempera paint. They were amazed to find how many different versions of their color they were able to mix.

The second class, we read Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberely. We noticed how each monster’s features were made up of simple shapes and different shades of a similar color. Students were challenged to create their emotion monster only using the colors found in their paintings completed the previous class. We talked about facial expressions and how you can tell how someone is feeling by observing their face. The students did a great job at representing their monsters’ emotions using color and facial features. To wrap up the lesson, each student filled out a bio sheet with their monster’s name, emotion, and a few fun facts about him or her. They loved it! Such personality…

Shortly into the letter, Twain lists in an awe-struck tone the feats of engineering that astonish him: “The steam press, the steamship, the steel ship, the railroad, the perfected cotton-gin, the telegraph, the phonograph, the photograph, photo-gravure, the electrotype, the gaslight, the electric light, the sewing machine, & the amazing, infinitely varied & innumerable products of coal tar!”

Every invention Twain lists above has either been improved until unrecognizable, or replaced by something even more inconceivable. It’s strange to think that despite that fact, Twain’s awe at progress still feels a little foreign from a modern vantage point.

But as refreshing as it is to read such a forthright love letter to progress, it’s hard not to cringe a little when you read: “Wait thirty years, and then look out over the earth! You shall see marvels upon marvels added to these whose nativity you have witnessed”. This letter was written in 1889 and “thirty years later” was the aftermath of World War I.

Then again, Twain himself admits that the greatest developments that took place in his and Whitman’s lifetimes weren’t mechanical but moral. Shortly after his list of inventions, he adds: “And you have seen even greater births than these; for you have seen the application of anesthesia to surgery-practice, whereby the ancient dominion of pain, which began with the first created life, came to an end in this earth forever; you have seen the slave set free, you have seen the monarchy banished from France, & reduced in England to a machine which makes an imposing show of diligence & attention to business, but isn’t connected with the works.”

So let’s not underestimate the causes for optimism, either.

By Raj Gopal

By: Lilly Babineau

The Enchanted Flute is a surrealistic painting by world-renowned artist Josephine Wall who is quite popular for both her paintings and her sculptures.

Most of the pieces that Wall creates tell a story throughout them and The Enchanted Flute is no exception.  In this particular painting, a beautiful woman is seen playing a small instrument from which the background of the painting is created.  A group of small children are seen coming toward her, brought forth her wonderful music as well as the fantasy world that her tunes are establishing as she plays.  The universe behind her is comprised of luscious garden, a deep blue sea, and an extraordinary galaxy.  Everything is demonstrated with extremely bright, vivid colors that blend with one another as the various areas of the world combine into one another, creating an entirely new world with each piece.

The children in the back are excited to come play as their boat moves toward the front of the canvas, large, colorful butterflies being the ones who are pulling them.

Wall has been practicing this type of art since the early 1970s when her artwork was displayed in personal exhibits in Swindon.  Later, in the very early 1990s, her artwork had its own personal special feature on a particular television station and three years later, she signed a contract to her many of her pieces featured in postcards and prints all around the world.

Many of the latest sculptures that she’s created recently have had quite a few characters in them from Lord of the Rings (by Tolkien) and a lot of these current pieces have been featured in a book detailing the historical dealing with a company named Poole Pottery where Wall had briefly worked as both a designer as well as a painter for Delphis Ware, an intricate set of beautifully crafted dishes.

Hey people!

I was recently sifting through the bookshelves at an artist friend’s place, and while I was working through his art books, I encountered a lot of names that are pretty well known, if not ubiquitous- Degas, Michelangelo, Matisse, Bonnard, and so on. But I also found an exciting new guy (well, new to me, he’s been dead for two centuries) by the name of Ito Jakuchu. While I’m guessing he’s well known and influential in Japan, he’s probably pretty obscure over here in the U.S and I’m grateful for the stroke of fortune since I likely wouldn’t have found him otherwise. Anyway, Ito Jakuchu was a weirdo and I love him now.

The internet sadly yields slim pickings in terms of quality-resolution images of his work, but this painting (called “Birds and Peonies”) was one of my favorites looking through the book. One of the things that really struck me about Jakuchu was that he flew in the face of a lot of what I believed about Japanese art. Most of the work I’ve seen by older Japanese painters tends to use a lot of negative space, conveying a sense of clear-headed serenity, but while the serenity is there in Jakuchu’s work, you have to dig deep for it. On the surface (not to mention several layers down), what you feel is a sense of being overwhelmed- by spiritual joy that’s somehow both rapturous and tranquil, and with natural beauty so vivid that it’s almost violent.

Like William Blake, Jakuchu was deeply religious- and I suspect he was deeply religious in a lot of the same ways Blake was, because his work has a lot of the same surreal semi-realistic and semi-allegorical quality that Blake has. Jakuchu’s painting is very Buddhist, but instead of quiet, it’s transcendent. This painting is beautiful enough at first glance, with the complex linework and sensual, vivid use of color. But then you see those little birds perched near the center of the painting, looking small, insignificant and even vulnerable in contrast with all the ferocious beauty around them, and it gives you a little bit of that night-sky feeling, that sense of how small we are in the scope of things but also how totally okay that is.

Then look just a little bit closer, to the bird on the right, and you see that his head is shifting- upside down and backwards, a sudden gesture, he didn’t even have time to turn around- to a little insect flitting between the flower stems and against the blank sheet of the print. And all of a sudden the vulnerable little birds look big, predatorial, and the sight of this smaller drama going on in the middle of the larger drama of flowers blooming vigorously makes you wonder how many more layers are involved here- what microscopic battles are being waged inside that little fly, and what epic tales are going on in the world beyond this little tree. All of a sudden, you’re mind is shifted outside the painting, to the grandeur and complexity of the world at large.

There’s also just something about the choices of colors here that makes the whole thing echo, to me, with a tenderness, with a love for the subject matter. There’s times- in my case, they’re usually in big cities and nature- where you’re overwhelmed by the life of the world as it goes about its business and you just want to give the whole interesting mess a big goddamn hug. It’s tempting to think Jakuchu was feeling the same way.

Another thing that really fascinated me about Jakuchu’s paintings was the way he anthropomorphizes his animals just a little bit, makes them seem kind of human but also alien and inscrutable in the way animals always do, with that distinctly non-human vibe they give off, that makes us feel like if cats could talk, they’d have broken grammar and use Z instead of S.

Take a look at this tiger. It’s fucking terrifying. Look at this motherfucker’s eyes. Those are the eyes of a tiger that just does not give a shit. Right this second, while off center, the message those eyes send is roughly: “Just chillin’, lickin’ my paw, you know”. But now imagine those eyes drifting just a little bit to the left, to look directly at you, the viewer. Terrifying, right? And yet weirdly innocent. There’s no malice in that tiger’s eyes. Just scary, uncontrollable, majestic, carnivorous power.

You can see it in the picture up top, too. The bird on the right is struck with sudden curiosity and temptation, looking at the fly that could be its meal. The bird on the left… almost seems like it’s wondering what his/her companion is looking at, like, “yo, dude, what’s up? What you looking at?” But of course, they’re birds, and the painting doesn’t quite anthropomorphize them- it just invites you to do so, captures that weird human temptation to do so.

One last thing about Jakuchu- A lot of writers and artists who convey a dreamlike quality tend to do so with the use of impressionistic flourishes and blurry, fluid boundaries (narratively as well as visually- Neil Gaiman’s writing, for example, is rife with talk about how the boundaries between this world and others, between myth and fact, are porous). But Jakuchu came out of a tradition that made use of precise, fluid linework and tended to fill spaces with solid blocks of fairly uniform color. So I think it’s cool how he can manage to capture that blurry, hallucinatory, dream-like feeling, but while still conveying the precision, solidity and elegance characteristic of Japanese painting.

Also, there’s another painting of Jakuchu’s that I really like, with two ducks, and one has its head underwater, and it’s great. And another one, with like a shitload of frogs all looking the same way. They’re super good but hard to find online, sorry.

Global FashionFlare Magazine

By Mischa Temaul

36 pages, published 3/14/2013

Global FashionFlare Magazine is more than another typical fashion magazine. It doesn’t pertain to just fashion solely, but other sections and features such as music, art & literature, global spotlight, and many more. Global FashionFlare Magazine aims to bring the latest global trends happening across the world.

It’s finally here! Global FashionFlare’s 1st magazine issue! Wow..this is absolutely insane–knowing what started as an idea in my mind back in May 2010 has FINALLY happened. I couldn’t have done this without the love and support from my amazing best friends and my staff. Thank you guys so much<3 Also, thank you to our contributors! I do hope everyone enjoys the first issue of Global FashionFlare Magazine. I promise to make the second issue even more amazing, but I shall worry about that AFTER my thesis This feels surreal right now..seeing this magazine come to life has finally happened. One goal for 2013 completed! Now, just to meet and have that photo shoot with Kwon Jiyong

Mischa
xoxoxo

By: Lilly Babineau

Not long ago, 50 Shades of Grey took the erotica market by storm, selling many more copies than anyone expected and even began becoming a standard name in households, colleges, and work places.  There are quite a few reasons that 50 Shades of Grey became so popular so quickly and swept women off their feet.

The relationship in 50 Shades of Grey revolves around that of a couple involved in the BDSM scene, particularly Christian Grey who convinces Anastasia Steele to join him.  The erotica written in the book is pretty standard for what someone would find in the drugstore, but that’s part of what makes this book so appealing.  It’s hardcore enough to be classified as BDSM erotica, but it’s tame enough that almost everyone can read it without blushing too much – it’s even being sold at most supermarkets now.  The sex is hot but it’s not too scorching that novice erotica readers will be put off of the genre.

The second reason that 50 Shades of Grey has become the phenomenon that it is revolves around the modern fairytale fiction trope.  Taking place in Seattle between a dom and a sub, fairytale probably wouldn’t be the first word that comes to most people’s minds when they think of Christian and Anastasia, but deep down, that’s what it is.  Christian is the tall, dark, and handsome billionaire who grabs Anastasia in his clutches and doesn’t let go until she’s his.  He brings her into his world and shows her things she probably would have never seen otherwise.

Generally, most people will probably find 50 Shades of Grey to be a favorable tale of erotica and romance with plenty of steamy sex scenes woven throughout a compelling plot that should leave readers hooked until the end.  50 Shades of Grey also has a sequel called 50 Shades Darker.

By: Lilly Babineau

The book Beautiful Creatures revolves around a young teenage boy named Ethan who is plagued by dreams of girl he’s never met before.  The girl in his dreams turns out to be Lena, a new girl who comes to town and is quite different than those living there.  He’s automatically drawn to her for reasons he doesn’t understand, but he can’t help but love her charismatic personality and her outspoken ways.  Eventually, Ethan finds out that Lena is a Caster (a witch) and is about to turn sixteen, which is when she’ll find out if she’s a light witch or a dark witch.

The most unique part of this book is that it’s written entirely from Ethan’s point of view, which something that isn’t seen much these days.  Another great aspect about Beautiful Creatures is that the story is not only compelling, but it’s realistic.  The relationship between Ethan and Lena doesn’t begin just because they’ve met one another – it takes some time and it’s a slow burn for the both of them,

Besides Ethan and Lena, who are loveable characters, there are quite a few other memorable people that show up within the book.  Lena’s uncle and Ethan’s step-grandmother are incredibly well-rounded and provide somewhat of mentors in the teens’ lives while Ethan’s best friend is a breath of fresh air with plenty of funny moments.

The strange connection between Ethan and Lena after finding out they’ve been having the same dreams is surprisingly realistic even though it’s paranormal and the characters are written very well.  Too often in these types of books, the characters are written to offset each other whereas in Beautiful Creatures, Ethan and Lena have their own personalities and lives and they merge them together rather than living for one another.

There is plenty of wonderfully descriptive writing and imagery woven throughout the entirety of Beautiful Creatures that not only serves the supernatural aspect of the story, but helps the reader really gain intimate knowledge of what’s going on.  The realism of the characters and the story are what really set this book apart from others in its genre and anyone who is a fan of paranormal romances will definitely enjoy Beautiful Creatures.

By: Lilly Babineau

I pride myself in having a passion for paintings and art. I love how they often speak to me, telling their tale of tragedy, woe or love and peace. This piece in particular, called Love is in the Air by Josephine Wall, spoke to me and inspired this article. Look at the way the colors blend into each other; how every brush stroke is done so delicately. However, it’s neither of those things that drew me into this piece. It’s the fact that it reminds me of my first kiss.

You know what I’m talking about. The feeling of your very first kiss. Whether you are on a date or at a school dance (which mine was), you get the same feeling. He’s lightly swaying side to side; your bodies’ movements are completely aligned. You are cheek to cheek, and you begin to feel the magnetic force drawing your lips to his. As if in slow motion, he moves his mouth closer to yours, his lips brushing against your cheek. When your lips touch, everything around you disappears. It’s like you are floating amongst the clouds, with the moonlight beaming into the disco ball and the pattern dancing on the sky.

That’s exactly what this painting says to me. The pure beauty of it has the ability to take your breath away. While I’m sure not everyone’s first kiss is exactly like that, it’s safe to say it felt as powerful. Your first brush of love, and I believe this painting captures the essence of that perfectly. If anyone is interested in seeing more of Josephine’s masterpieces, you can click HERE to visit her site. I know I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more wondrous images from this very talented artist.

My PreK students were learning about the different types of shapes. To introduce circles, we read The Dot by Peter Reynolds and students used their cutting skills to trim multi-colored squares into small, medium, and large circle shapes. After pasting the circles down, recycled paper tubes and corks were used to print large and small circles or dots all around their papers. I like how some of the kids figured out they could print a small dot inside a large one.

This simple project gave my preschoolers a chance to continue to hone their fine motor skills while also creating a bright, bold work of art!

Inspired by this art project on Art is Basic.

By: Lilly Babineau

Set in a not-so-distant future, The Hunger Games, is the story of how the world could potentially end up if we stay on the path we currently live on. It speaks to politics and human decency, and through its brutality, shows the readers how lucky they currently are. This story takes place in a post-revolutionary America where many years prior, a great uprising took place and destroyed the world we currently know (hmm..sounds familiar already…). It’s now separated into Districts 1 through 12, with a possible but unknown 13.

The story follows Katniss Everdeen; the dirt poor daughter of a local healer and deceased miner, and older sister of Primrose Everdeen. As it happens, the one in charge of the whole country of Panem is President Snow. After the uprising it was decreed that as punishment, each district would send one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12-18, into a battleground to fight to the death. Last one standing would be the victor, and have wealth showered over them and their family for the rest of their lives. This event is called the Hunger Games.

When Katniss’s sister’s name gets called to go to the games, Katniss steps up immediately to take her place—much to the dismay of her best friend Gale, her mother and her sister. Even more to the dismay of her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta Mallark.

Katniss is lead on the journey of a lifetime with Peeta, and with the help of a sweet but overbearing Effie Trinket and drunken ex-winner Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss rises to the challenge and is determined to keep her promise to try and win.

This book is an amazing example of how cruel humankind can be. To get to a point where we watch children kill each other on television just for our amusement is sickening. What is the Hunger Games, really? An intense version of the show we all know called Survivor. Are we really that far off?

My 1st grade students began this lesson by reading Good-Night, Owl! by Pat Hutchins. We zoomed in on my document camera to take a closer look at the patterns Hutchins uses to illustrate her owl. Students were eager to share some of their own pattern ideas as they had been learning about patterns in their classroom. They practiced drawing their owls using a step-by-step drawing sheet I had created.

Sidenote: The use of these drawing sheets have worked wonders in helping my kiddos find success in art. Previously during drawing lessons, my students would become frustrated when it came time for them to draw on their own. I would clearly demonstrate beforehand, but many students would forgot by the time they started drawing. Since most of my students have not had any art experience outside of school, they need extra encouragement and guidance. I was amazed the first time I used these how confident my students became while drawing. The best part is that each student’s drawing always has its own unique look even though they had the same directions.

Back to the project–after drawing their owls with a black crayon, they filled them in with different patterns and painted over them with brown, earthy owl colors. The next class, students drew stars on their blue papers for nighttime and made a bright, collage full moon for the sky. They also created a texture rubbing on brown paper and cut it into a branch shape. Lastly, their owls were cut out and glued onto the branch. They sure loved making their owls!

Last year my 3rd graders created winter landscapes inspired by Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon. This quiet, simple story filled with descriptive language and metaphors, as well as the muted watercolor illustrations, alludes to the stillness of a winter’s night and the magical feeling a child gets when going on a special adventure for the first time. The story always gives me goosebumps. We watched the video version of the book as an introduction for the lesson.

Afterwards, students created a watercolor wash for the background, using the cool winter colors found in the story. After painting, salt was sprinkled over the paper to create additional texture. The next class, students viewed photos of winter tree silhouettes and used recycled cardboard to print a winter tree and snow. Q-tips were used to create falling snow and the owls sitting on the branches. We used white tempera paint but I would recommend acrylic if available as it would be more opaque. Each student’s winter landscape looked as quiet and peaceful as the story.

Inspired by this project found on Kids Artists.

This Kindergarten project from last year went along the same lines as my PreK’s winter mural. Again we read the book Little Tree by e.e. cummings, which has lovely watercolor illustrations. Students used soft, cool colors to paint a winter sky using a watercolor wash technique. Everyone was so quiet and focused as they painted their papers. Their favorite part was sprinkling on a little salt to give it a sparkly, unique texture. The next class students learned how to cut two triangles from one square shape. After they had a pile of triangles going, they glued on rectangle trunks to their watercolor paintings and built their trees on top. They ripped some white tissue paper pieces for a snowy texture. The last class, we read Snow by Cinthia Rylant, a book with descriptive, poetic verses of all the different types of snow. Students printed snow flakes using a q-tip onto their turquoise papers, the perfect frame for their peaceful winter landscapes. Notice the tiny, cozy cabin one of my kiddos added to hers.

Last winter my preK students worked on these fabulous snowy day tree collages to use their cutting, gluing, printing, and listening skills. We read three great winter books throughout this project to inspire our artworks: It’s Winter by Linda Glaser, Winter Trees by Carole Gerber, and Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams & Jean Stoick.

Students first used pine branches to stamp snowflakes onto their blue papers using white paint. The next class, we studied pictures of evergreen trees in the books and noticed how they had sharp, pointy edges similar to a zig zag. They used green and white crayons to give texture to their two green paper squares, then were amazed to find you can create two triangle shapes just by cutting a square on the diagonal! This part was a little tricky for some of the kids, but their assistant and I helped them to draw a line for a cutting guide if they needed. Lastly they glued down a brown rectangle for the trunk and arranged their snowy green triangles on top of each other to create their evergreen trees. Beautiful!

By: Elise Fougere

Jonathan Madzinga is an amazing artist with a wonderful soul. He was born on January 15^th, 1985 in the Math South region of Zimbabwe. While his five siblings would go play, he’d stay in and draw on whatever paper he could find at home. His father (who was also a painter) noticed his talent early on and encouraged him to follow his heart. At the age of six, Jonathan met what would grow to be a dear and beloved friend and ally; his paintbrush. He was lucky enough to receive training in the field by means of schooling at the Mzilikazi Art and Craft Centre and by the many other artists he met growing up.

When he was 11 years old, he participated in exhibitions and fund raisers, raising awareness and money for HIV and AIDS research charities in Africa. Since then, he’s worked with children and the less fortunate to bring smiles and joy to those who need it most. He’s told me himself that his wish is to leave his art’s viewers with a sense of joy and peace through his pieces.

“I’m inspired by the movements and shapes of people interacting with each other and objects in their daily lives.” he tells me, “It’s about life and living it.”

“What I like best about what I do is making people happy and sharing my culture. At the end of the day, when someone is looking at my paintings, I would like to leave them with a positive feeling.”

Guys, you have to see his paintings. If bringing a smile to your face is what he wants, I guarantee you at least one of his paintings will reach you and get it. He also sells some of his pieces on his website at http://www.jonathanmadzinga.com/gallery.htm and also takes commissions.

His contact information is also on his site if you’d like to drop in a good word or an order. No pressure, but at least look at the beauty and the love he puts out on canvas, you’ll thank him.

My 4th and 5th grade students created a freedom quilt square for their class quilts last year during Black History Month. We started out the project by reading The Patchwork Path: A Quilt Map to Freedom by Bettye Stroud, a powerful story of a girl and her father escaping slavery to freedom on the Underground Railroad. The designs on the freedom quilts were said to have secret messages, helping to guide and protect the slaves on their way to freedom. I gave each student a printout with some of the designs and their meanings and they chose their favorite to recreate as a paper collage. We discovered that the designs were very precise, using mostly squares and triangles that had to be laid out just right. It was a good way for the students to incorporate some of their math skills into the art room.

After they completed their quilt squares, each student wrote a poem or short descriptive story imagining what it would be like escaping to freedom. I wish I would have made some copies because some students truly had some thoughtful, beautiful words to share.

For my Kindergarten students’ quilt for Black History Month, they created a word quilt with the first letter of their names and an object or two that started with the same letter. We read Cassie’s Word Quilt by Faith Ringgold and the students had to be “word hunters”, finding as many words as they could that started with the same letter as their name. We noticed how the pages were bordered with different patterned quilt squares, so my K students also used the recycled book jacket covers to create their quilt borders.

Some of my students struggled coming up with objects that started with the first letter of their names, but once I gave them some ideas their imaginations took over. Some of their creativity really astounded me–If you look closely at the projects above, you’ll see the monster with a mohawk and a mummy for “M”, and the best one of all (and I didn’t even help him with this!!) a YETI for “Y”.

If I did this project again, I would have them create their letter and pictures on a smaller square, then glue that to the middle of the quilt square border. Some of their pictures ended up getting covered by the squares. Other than that, it was a great project that really got them thinking about their letters.

Continuing our school celebration of Black History Month last year, my 1st grade students created Faith Ringgold story quilts. We started off the lesson by watching a Reading Rainbow video of Tar Beach which also showed and explained a real “tar beach” in New York City to help my students better understand. We searched for shapes in the buildings and determined they were mostly made up of rectangles and squares. We noticed how the pages in the book were outlined with quilt squares as well, which we learned are created from fabric that have stories of their own to tell. Our school librarian was getting rid of boxes of colorful book jacket covers, so I cut those into squares for our story quilt border. After creating the border, students made a cityscape collage. Lastly, they imagined themselves flying and soaring on an adventure, then drew themselves to add to their collage. All individual collages were added together to create one large quilt for each class. I love the cape and bumblebee below.

One of my favorite quotes about Tar Beach by a student (after looking curiously at the board games pictured on a table on the roof in the story): “What are those for??”

Me: “Those are games to play for fun when the families hang out up there.”

Student: “What?! How do they get their tv up there?!”

Inspired by this Artsonia project.

To celebrate Black History Month last year at school, I wanted each grade level to create a collective class quilt, made up of individual squares created by the students. They were displayed during our schoolwide program and really made a statement.

For the 2nd and 3rd grade classes, we studied the colorful, graphic quilts of Gee’s Bend. I created a powerpoint showing examples of these unique quilts, focusing on the many different lines and colors found in each design, as well as their history. My students found it interesting that a lot of the quilts were sewn together using old scraps of clothing, which the artists felt helped to bring the spirits of their loved ones into their creations. We also read Stitchin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt, by Patricia McKissack. It’s a beautiful, poetic story of the tradition of the Gee’s Bend quilters through the eyes of a little girl, her family’s and community’s stories, as well as her ancestors’ struggle for freedom. My students were also amazed to hear how these talented women’s quilts were displayed in art museums around the world. Using this inspiration, they planned and designed a quilt square using different types of line patterns and bold colors. I taped each student’s quilt square into one large quilt to display. They all came together so well!