Fungi

This has been a strange summer for weather.  We had almost no rain for a month, mid June-mid July.  Then 2 weeks of very wet and cool temps.  Yesterday, all of a sudden, there were mushooms.  Everywhere on our .5 acre lot.  Mold on mushrooms.  Yuck.  So this morning I got down and really looked.  There are at least 7 kinds of mushrooms that I could easily discern from each other, and I'm sure others that I couldn't distinguish.  This one looked  the most like a " regular" mushroom.

Several of them are lovely shades of red, orange, and pink.

Creatures have been eating some of them, and some are covered in fuzzy mold. Some are growing together like a family, others single.

Lakewood Cemetery

 

Some of the most beautiful sculpture can be found in cemeteries.  

 

I love the small bits of fungus and organic debris that clings to the stone surface.

 

This angel was looking right at me.

color wheel

Since I didn't go to art school, I only had a rudimentary understanding of the color wheel and it's importance regarding the science of color.  For this last school residency of the 2013-14 school year, I wanted to create a large color wheel with Middle School students, emphasizing and isolating colors, while concentrating on shape and andamento of the pieces within each color wedge.

These 7th grade advanced art students were able to learn to safely use a wheeled nipper (with eye protection) and cut glass tile to the shape and size they wanted to use for their patterned section of color.

They worked swiftly and carefully, in small groups, having fun while making wonderful mosaics.  When grouted and hung, the four panels will complete the color wheel.

Fox In The Pines

BUSY with getting a few school projects finished up in the next couple weeks... this one was at Forest Pines Elementary School in N. Raleigh.  Each panel is 2x2' and depicts their school mascot, a fox, with faces and paw prints, with pine trees (our state tree).  Foxes have 5 toes on their front paws (one is a dew claw), and 4 toes on their hind paws.  Some classes of students worked with graphed designs and square tiles individually or in pairs, others worked in small groups to render the tree in a "free form" style with tumbled stained glass.  These panels are freshly grouted, and laid out in my driveway to photograph before packing them up and delivering back to school for hanging.

Good Shepherd Catholic School, Frankfort KY

 

It was a great week in Frankfort, Kentucky at Good Shepherd Catholic School!  This mosaic was made with Pre K-8th graders, all working together on different sections and different skills, collaborating in this fantastic rendering of their school logo design ( original logo by the principal's brother/sister in law).  It was a pleasure to see some old friends (Ida and Anne Taylor + family) and make lots of new ones (Jody, Sharon, Steve, and about 165 students)!  Thank you all for your hospitality, trust in my work, and willingness to rearrange schedules and classrooms to make it happen!

grouting in the driveway

I've been playing catch up this week with several school projects.  Instead of one large work screwed into the wall, these schools will have smaller hangable panels.  So, I was able to bring them home to grout (in the driveway) and will return them this week.

 

This one was created with 5th graders at Baileywick Elementary in Raleigh.  Students worked with art teacher, Carly Savage, to develop patterns that were inspired by flags.  They looked at color, shape and pattern as well as the symbolism and meaning behind each design.  Students were able to take their design on paper and with some modification, translate each section  into glass mosaic, then worked one on one with me to adhere their section in place.  It is four 2x2' sections that can be hung in this configuration to highlight the flag of The United States.

This project was also done with 5th grade students, at another N. Raleigh Elementary, Harris Creek.  Each of these panels are 3x2,' and teachers expressed a desire to combine both of my making techniques: squares on the grid and free form mosaics.  Some students had a graphed letter pattern to create the phrase borders and worked individually, other students worked in small groups to create the NC state icons; bird, tree, fish, and flower.  Learning about NC is part of the standard curriculum for 4th grade, so all of these students were able to render these icons very nicely with tumbled stained glass.

things beyond my control

 

Be prepared.  Have a plan.  Be flexible.  There are things that happen beyond my control.  Weather.  Interruptions in the chain of communication.  Technical difficulties.  This fabulous project was actually done in October, but due to circumstances beyond my (or the school's) control, it was not ready to grout until late last week, and my schedule wasn't open until yesterday.  Many pieces had been picked off of the stark white mastic, and needed replacement. The small blobs of mastic that needed to be scraped off  had been solidifying and curing to rock hard for 4 months (which took twice as long to scrape).  The "trim" is still not quite adequate, not sure why the trim I provided was not used (and probably will never know).  But, the salamanders are now grouted.  And they look pretty great crawling up and down the wall.  The students who made them had gotten used to seeing the mosaic with the white mastic only... what a difference the brown grout made yesterday!  Thanks for your patience and understanding that sometimes the wait is worth it after all.