Thoughts on co-teaching

I've noticed that, with public schools at least, the idea is to get one teacher and a group of students. Once we Art Ed students get past these team-taught student lessons we will probably never co-teach again. On the one hand it's probably a good thing, since there's never any disagreements between the teachers about what to teach. Also this keeps down the number of students per class. On the other hand, it's a shame because so many great ideas come from your peers, and two teachers teaching together can feed off and fire up one another. Indeed, having a co-teacher would also allow both teachers to get feedback on how to improve their teaching and what they're doing well.

(As an explicatory aside, a co-teacher is not the same as a TA; co-teachers are both equal, whereas a TA is an assistant to the teacher)

Drop Forged (1)

I recently started a project in artistic papermaking. I'm making a series of 100 sheets of 8x10 paper, each with a unique color pattern forged from a selection of various types of paper and drops of colored ink and paint. As the pulp settles into a sheet, the colors converge and create a single paper like no other. Though they all share the same mold, each uses slightly different materials, and the results are never the same.

The series takes its name from a method of metal forging wherein a red-hot ingot is pounded into a series of molds to form it into its final shape. The result is much stronger than a simple metal casting, which is why you'll often see it on tools like wrenches.

I've added a gallery page for it (but haven't added it to the site officially yet) which you can reach here. I'll add more as I produce them - and I can make 5 in a single batch - so keep checking back.

Provo Temple and Ring of Fire oil paintings

I painted both of these quite a while ago, but never really got around to posting them online. I painted this one of the LDS Provo Temple primarily so that I'd have a picture of the temple for my own home. I'm now offering prints of it if anyone is interested. One of my favorite details is where it says "Holiness to the Lord - The House of the Lord", because that embodies what a temple is.
The second painting added today is an abstract painting I did around the middle of 2009, playing with color and trying out thickly applied oil paints. I recall commenting to one of my family shortly after finishing it that abstract art like this can be way too easy. Looking back now I can see better how abstract art usually has some meaning or value behind it beyond just a splattering of colors.

Sketchbook - 2 March 2010

I recently acquired a set of gouache paints and have started trying them out. Here are a couple birds of paradise and some test strips using gouache in my sketchbook. I have some observations:

1. Gouache can be re-worked after it dries by adding water
2. Gouache acts a lot like watercolor
3. It's a really good idea to use quality paper. My sketchbook pages are thin, so they crinkle heavily when they get wet.

I'm currently working on a painting using them on a vinyl record, inspired by some of Lawrence Yang's paintings on vinyl records. I'll post pictures when I finish.

Hand-made Journal and Sketchbook

I finished these books quite a while ago, but I've been away from my blog for an extended period and haven't taken time to post anything new until today. I've been busy with school, and have wasted a load of time on computer games when I wasn't busy with homework and work. Here's a little bit about these two books: This first one is a sketchbook bound in denim and embellished with a keyhole plate and rivets. My Figure Drawing class had a requirement to fill up a sketchbook during the course of the class. About two weeks in I lost my sketchbook. I wasn't keen of having to start over, but even more I didn't want to have to buy another sketchbook. So I bound together a bunch of pages, had them trimmed, and made a cover with the denim from a ruined pair of jeans. I also ran across a 90% off sale at the local bookstore, and they had a few scrapbooking-type items, including this cool keyhole door-plate, which I thought would go great as a book cover detail. So I included it in the design.

This other one is a journal bound in real leather. I made a similar journal for a friend in 2009, and printed off far too many pages for the job. I had enough left over to make a second, slightly smaller journal. I put the pages together but neglected to have the edges trimmed for several months. Finally I got around to taking the book block to a print shop and having them cut a clean edge. Once that was done, I cut the leather, assembled the case, and finished constructing the book within a day. I would like to note that when making book covers you should always try to find a thin, pliable leather. The thicker and stiffer your leather, the harder it is to work with.