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 my painting in Taos |
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| Click Here To See Where Woody's Watercolors Are On Exhibit in 2008 | |||||
| Order Woody's Quality Lessons on CD |
August
2008 Blog: I've been adding to this blog for over a year now. The subjects will vary with the changing interests of this old retired middle school art teacher. I hope you continue reading my blog and will send me any comments you have via e-mail to: woodyduncan@comcast.net |
Order Woody's Watercolors on Notecards |
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 .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Wonderful Years (8/31): Frani and I got married 45 years ago today. I often joke that it has only been about 15 years because we always worked separate shifts. When I worked nights at General Motors - she worked days at AT&T. After I finally finished college, I was teaching during the day while she worked evenings at AT&T. Now after retirement we moved from Kansas City to New Mexico and bought a house in Albuquerque. This is home now even if our family is way back in Kansas.   Thank You Frani - You Are The Best |
 Wedding 1963 |
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Splash Ink Demo (8/30): East meets West in Ming Franz's painting techniques. Last night I projected the splash ink demo given by my friend Ming. She did the demo for the New Mexico Art League. The league is almost 80 years old now and recently has been revitalized. They have spent many hours remodeling their studio spaces behind the Library on Juan Tabo. The opening and Ming's demo had a large crowd, so I was asked to use the Watercolor Society equipment to project her demo so everyone could see.  Ming
did a wonderful job of explaining and showing off her technique. She
then graciously allowed three of her paintings to be raffled off last
night. She now has a book and a DVD explaining Splash Ink. Ming teaches
Splash Ink as well as more traditional Chinese painting methods at the
Art League. She also holds workshops at Starlight Ranch in the East Mountains. Wonderful examples of Ming's finished work can be viewed on the web by clicking here.
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 Earlier Demo click on photos for a larger image |
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McCain's Choice - Why ? (8/29): Sarah Palin - Who ? Is this a bold move by John McCain or a huge mistake ? Governor Palin is social conservative, anti-abortion, pro guns, and female. The right wing should love her. She is even suing the federal government to not protect the polar bears. Did Senator McCain do this to win over disenchanted Hillary voters ? Of course he did. Will it work ? Only time will tell. But why should Senator Clinton's voters support this ticket ? Surely, not because they supported the issues Senator Clinton put forward. As Hillary said so well on Tuesday night: "I
want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or
were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in
it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you
in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you
in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?"
Ed Schultz,
on Air America today, called this a "Hail Mary" pass on McCain's part.
I agree, but as Frani reminds me, only a small portion of the public
listens to "Progressive Radio"
like I do. I listen to Air America and NPR all the time I'm in the car.
But, 38 million did watch Obama's speech last night - so the message is
getting out. Today the Obama organization issued a statement concerning
Sarah Palin. Basically they said that the issue of experience was now
off the table.
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Time for a Change (8/28): All the wonderful, powerful speeches aside and the vision of unity - the Democratic Party has it's work cut out between now and November. I believe we can carry the necessary swing states like Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Missouri, etc. But we need to do much more than just carry those swing states by slim margins. We must win each state by such a wide margin that political schenagins can not bring the results into question. Ballot boxes do come up missing, machines seem to break down in key areas, long time voters are often challenged at the polls, etc. etc. History is clear about the many, many problems with our past elections. We don't want another election decided by the courts. For sure, not by this court. Caging is illegal. Below is a short explanation how voter caging works. Blossom Loves the Sun >>>
Vote caging
is an illegal trick to suppress minority voters (who tend to vote
Democrat) by getting them knocked off the voter rolls if they fail to
answer registered mail sent to homes they aren't living at (because
they are, say, at college or at war). The Republican National Committee
reportedly stopped the practice following a consent decree in a 1986
case. It still continues.
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 Caught in the Act |
Waiting on the Roll Call (8/27): While I'm waiting on the roll call vote at the Democratic Convention in Denver, Blossom has been having too much fun tearing up her toys. While I type the bits and pieces are going into the trash. It's her favorite toy, but she will have to wait till November to get a replacement. Frani bought it somewhere south of Kansas City. She has other toys she can play with in the mean time.  Who Me ? I Didn't Do Nothing |
 My friend, Judy in Parker, Colorado shot this pic of a recent tornado near her home |
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New Mexico Art Teachers (8/26): Today I updated the website for NMAEA (New Mexico Art Ed Association) by putting information about our Fall Conference. It will be in Glorieta this November 7th and 8th. Here is a link to the NMartED website. This will be my fifth year attending the conference in New Mexico. I have not decided what kind of workshop to present. Docent Duties: This morning we had a group of docents from the Harwood Museum in Taos drive down for a tour of the Blumenschein exhibit. It was a delight to take visitors around who had a good background on the artist. The exhibit is called "In Contemporary Rhythm: The Art of Ernest L. Blumenschein" will continue until September 7th. This is a major exhibit on Blumenschein (1874-1960). He was one of the founders of the Taos Society of Artists and perhaps the most accomplished of the group. Convention: Of course I watched a good bit of the Democratic Convention in Denver. Last night, Michelle Obama did a fantastic job. She will make a wonderful First Lady. Then tonight, Hillary made a wonderful plea for everyone to support Obama. As Frani said, if she had campaigned that way through out the primaries - she would be the nominee. Even after the passionate appeal for support for Obama, the pundits will still find lots to find fault with, they always do. I've given up on CNN - they just talk to each other. I watch it all on C-Span since they show the speakers uninterrupted. |
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Democrats and Unity (8/25): Will Rogers said: "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat." Usually I agree with that comment. But, this year more than ever, the Democratic Party needs to pull together. One problem is that the media and the pundits keep stirring the pot searching for any possible evidence of disunity. I guess they need to find a story. It's a shame that they don't pick an issue a week to explore where the candidates stand. We could hear about: Health Care on week, then Energy the next, then Iraq, then Education, etc. Wouldn't that be novel - the media could help educate the electorate rather than just focusing on the horse race. I would not expect total unity because as Robert Kennedy said, "One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time." Robert Kennedy is the reason I got involved in politics again. He even announced his run for president in Kansas. I stayed involved and even became a delegate in 1972. Sad that it took till now for us to get a candidate who is working toward real change. Let us not allow this opportunity to slip away. This election should be a slam dunk. Please - Democrats, don't mess this on up. Again RFK said "Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies." Are we the enemies of change ? |
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 a warm spot |
Blossom (8/24): I heard the Joke this morning: "We had to decide whether to have a child or get a dog. It was either mess up our carpets or destroy our life." Children are wonderful, but we've been there, done that. Now we have a dog and she is getting better about not messing on our carpets. And when it happens, our own wonderful kids bought us a "Little Green Machine" to clean up when Blossom messes up. This morning, I shot a pic of her resting in the warm morning sun, on the carpet, with the image of a stained glass hot air balloon cast over her body. Yes - she lost a lot of hair when she got her summer cut. But - she is getting used to her new haircut. Now, She even enjoys laying around outside on the cool concrete.  Blossom Posing for Her Photo |
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Obama Picks Biden (8/23): The Democratic party has it's pit bull now. Joe Biden is feisty and knowledgeable. He will make a good case for turning this country around. I was rooting for Kathleen Sebelius from Kansas and Frani was in hope that Evan Bayh would be Barack's choice. Either one would make an excellent VP, but neither one would fight with the fury of a Joe Biden.  Teamed Up Together for a New America |
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Indian Market: While the rest of the country watched politics unfold or the Olympics in China, Frani and I walked around Santa Fe looking a beautiful art. And proudly, we bought nothing. Watching your budget in this Bush economy has become extremely important. As usual, after 3 or 4 hours we stopped looking and came home to let Blossom out. There is just more than we can handle in one visit. We did cover over 50 percent of the artists booths. This market has grown quite large. Indian Market now includes over 1200 artists from about 100 nations. This is our fifth year to see the art. Retirement made it possible - the start of the school year always made a visit to New Mexico in late August impossible. We got to visit with friends like Sharon Dryflower of Taos and Jody Folwell of Santa Clara. People are still buying art because the quality is just so great at this market. With quality comes high prices. Sharon's prices have really shot up, which is very good. It's especially great that artists do well. Some artists make half of their annual income this weekend. Of course it may have taken most of last year to create their art -------- Jody tells us that an old friend (Harriet), from Kansas City, is now living in Chimayo. We will have to look her up. <<< Kathleen Wall Sculpture |
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click on my roses to see the bird bath
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 click on pic for a larger view  concepts used |
Here's a great way to incorporate math concepts into the art classroom. Have your students build the five Platonic Solids using tagboard. They learn to problem solve, measure, use a compass, and apply those abstract math concepts. I've found that math teachers seldom teach students to use tools like rulers or a compass. They don't give students the hands on experience they really need to internalize concepts. Here's a powerpoint of my eight graders building an icoshaderon from scratch.  Notice
at the end of the powerpoint, my students incorporated the vocabulary
(concepts) they encountered in the process of constructing their
icoshaderons. This is but one lesson of more than thirty which I have
in powerpoint format on my Quality Art Lessons CD.
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 In Progress |
Frani's Balloon Quilt (8/20): I stuck a couple of quick photos of Frani's balloon quilt in progress. It's going to be one of her best. She's been taking sections apart and correcting her little mistakes so it will be perfect. This quilt is a real celebration of New Mexico. In October the balloons will be landing right behind our house.
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 Quilt Detail |
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Obama in Albuquerque (8/19): Yesterday, Barack Obama was in Albuquerque. All the tickets were gone so we missed the event. This week he will announce his choice for vice president. There is a lot of buzz around here that it will be our governor Bill Richardson. My money is on Kathleen Sebelius, two term governor of Kansas. The Democratic Convention starts in Denver this weekend, but Frani and I will be in Santa Fe taking in the annual Indian Market.  .................. Obama in Albuquerque Kathleen Sebelius |
 New Mexico Super Delegate |
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Obama in New Mexico (8/17): After we arrived in Taos for the watercolor opening, we found out that Obama would be in Albuquerque on Monday (tomorrow). The Obama headquarters in Taos did not have any tickets for the event in Albuquerque. They were busy preparing for Hillary's campaign stop in Espanola on Sunday (today). By the time we returned to Albuquerque all the tickets were scooped up. Obama will be speaking at a Rio Grande High School at 11:00 am tomorrow. New Mexico's five electoral votes are up for grabs. The last two elections have been very close. We thought we moved to a blue state but it's really purple and could go either way. We've been here four years now. The first night we arrived (four years ago) we attended a Kerry/Edwards rally. I'll miss this event, but there will be others. |
 click on yard sign to find Obama Headquarters |
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| NMWS Brushstrokes: I'm taking a break from editing the newsletter for the New Mexico Watercolor Society. Mar trained me on how to use Adobe Pagemaker a few days ago. It's my new job - it will get easier as I get the hang of it.  I picked up my paintings today from our Alternate Spaces exhibit at the Four Hills Country Club. It was a fantastic exhibit. Several more Alternate Spaces locations are in the works. |
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Quality Exhibit in Taos (8/16): Frani and I just returned from driving up to Taos for the opening of the Taos National Watercolor Exhibition at the Millicent Rogers Museum. It's wonderful to be a small part of such a quality exhibit. I was very impressed by the diversity and exceptional quality of this exhibition. Troy Brown (president) and others who helped on this endeavor should be very proud of their work. The exhibition catalogue includes each of the fifty watercolors in the exhibition ( all in color). A very impressive publication.
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 click on cap to visit store |
Poor Blossom (8/14): I took her to the doctor this morning. She was crying yesterday and scratching at her ear. Turns out that she has an ear infection. We have medicine now to put in her ear twice a day. Now she just lays around and rests - but that's good for her. New Mexico for Obama: The Land of Enchantment is organizing state wide for Barack Obama. You can go on the web to http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nmtraining/ and find out where to volunteer this weekend. I'm sure every other state has a similar interactive map. Perhaps you want to show your support with a bumper sticker, cap, shirt, etc. Just go to http://store.barackobama.com/ and place an order online. |
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Trip to Taos: Tomorrow we head to Taos. I have a watercolor on display in the Taos National Watercolor Exhibition at the Millicent Rogers Museum. The reception is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm tomorrow, Friday, August 15th, 2008. This is the second time I've been accepted into this exhibit. Both times it has been a watercolor of my grand daughter Tiffanie. This time it's a painting of her at Whitesands National Monument in Southern New Mexico.  |
Watercolor of Tiffanie |
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Lazy Day (8/13): Today I was suppose to learn how to edit and publish our NMWS Brushstrokes (newsletter) but Mar can't locate the Pagemaker software to install on my computer. Artists are organized differently than most, so while she searches Mar may find other things she forgot she ever had. So, instead of working on the newsletter - I went shopping with Frani. While we were out we looked for Green Chili. The cookers are outside Walmart to roast them but the chili wasn't in yet. Perhaps, early next week we can peel and freeze up our supply. While I watch the Olympics, Frani works on her balloon quilt. It's going to be a good one as you can tell by checking out the fun section I posted today. Who says quilt making isn't creative. <<< up, up and away in my beautiful balloon |
 Roasting Fresh Green Chili |
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Ten Lessons the Arts Teach: By Elliot Eisner >>> The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail. >>> The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. >>> The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world. >>> The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving, purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds. >>> The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition. >>> The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties. >>> The arts teach students to think through and within a material. All art forms employ some means through which images become real. >>> The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job. >>> The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source. and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling. >>> The arts’ position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important. *SOURCE: Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows. (pp. 70-92). Yale University Press. Available from NAEA Publications. NAEA grants reprint permission for this excerpt from Ten Lessons with proper acknowledgment of its source and NAEA. |
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 Bust of Socrates |
Watercolors in State Fair (8/12): My notice came today saying that all three of my watercolors were accepted for the state fair. The three paintings are as follows: one of my grandkids at whitesands, another of poppies in our back yard, plus one of a pot of flowers casting a shadow on our patio. My paintings will be on display in the Fine Arts building from Friday, September 7th, through Sunday, September 23rd. I keep updating my exhibitions on my 2008 watercolor page. New Charter School: Our tour today, at the museum, consisted of teachers at a new school. The Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School is a new charter school starting up this fall. Today's visit was part of an in-service program for their staff. They plan to bring students back to our museum later in the month. Today was a way to explore community resources to teach with. The school will be using the Socratic method with groups of students to stimulate rational thinking and illuminate ideas. The school also will employ an approach called the Paideia Method where teachers use didactic instruction and intellectual coaching. I was impressed that a school is this broad minded about using a real world approach to education. They will have about 125 students in grades from 6th through 10th. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I will forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn." I know they will succeed. |
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Docent Tea (8/11): This morning, at the Albuquerque Museum, the docents were treated to a "Welcome Back Tea". Welcome back from a summer free of training. It was a nice time to sit and talk to old friends. My job this year is to document the year in photographs - so I began today. I should have taken my camera yesterday to the house party Rona threw for the docents. She had lots of good food and drinks as well as a wonderful Jazz group. Frani went with me to the party. Of course I made her a name tag which read "Woody's Wife". So lots of folks got to meet Frani and find out that she is not just a figment of my imagination. I sat on the patio drinking beer with the "guys" (mostly husbands of docents) as we enjoyed the music. It's good to be able to discuss the problems of the world with other "guys" for a change. Not that women's opinions don't count. Tomorrow our docent team has a group of teachers scheduled to tour. They are coming to discover what the museum has to offer so they can better prepare their students. |
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| Olympic Photos: Perhaps I'll get in trouble posting all these Olympic photos, but since no one pays to look at my site I'll assume it's sorta OK. I'm really enjoying the coverage from Beijing especially in HDTV. When I was teaching I'd use photos and videos of athletes from the Olympics as motivation in the classroom. We used them to do drawings, paintings and prints that captured the figure in motion. It's easier using the winter games because they are happening while the kids are in school. Frani and I love to watch the swimming competition and especially the diving. We were impressed with the synchronized diving yesterday. I don't remember seeing that before. It's truly an art form. I'm including a unbelievable photo of womens backstroke. They are more like flying fish than anything. I remember now - that the first award a student of mine won at National Scholastics was a painting of swimmers in motion.
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 China's Children |
Artistic Olympics (8/10): I'm finding the best photos from the Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies to be posted on http://www.boston.com/ . If you missed the opening ceremonies - you missed an amazing artistic achievement. The entire history of this great culture was compacted into a single hour of time.  As spectacular as the opening was - I was instead most impressed by those 56 children representing the 56 ethnic groups of china.
I did find one photo of the children singing as the flag of their
nation was raised. I hope no one missed the image of Yao Ming walking
hand in hand with the nine year old earthquake survivor. This young man
had the courage to go back into the rubble of his school to save two of
his classmates. When ask why ? He replied, "It was my duty, I was a
hall monitor."
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 China's Future |
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 Dean Mitchell |
Dean Mitchell on Sale: The Bryant Gallery in New Orleans is having their annual summer sale with 20% off everything in August. I'd love to purchase a Dean Mitchell watercolor but I've yet to win the lottery. I'll renew my Powerball numbers tomorrow and perhaps I'll be lucky. Recognized as one of the finest painters in America, Mitchell has been awarded almost every major painting award in the country. His images "retain the essence of time and the true meaning of life." Mitchell has been called a "Virtual modern-day Vermeer," by New York Times art critic, Michael Kimmelman. He has also been named a "Best Bet" for collectors in ARTnews by R. Crosby Kemper Jr., founder of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. Recently Mitchell moved, from the Kansas City area, back to his boyhood home in Florida <<< want to buy reproductions ? click on Dean's photo |
 "Bookstore" watercolor by Dean Mitchell |
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click above to help out Obama Office in the north valley Opening Soon 6344 4th St NW Los Ranchos de Albuquerque |
Door to Door for Obama (8/9): This was my first day walking the nearby neighborhoods for Obama. I was given a walking list of registered democrats who are infrequent voters. Apparently, New Mexico does not cull their voter registration lists very often. Also, the area I was working was a poorer neighborhood with trailer parks where people move often. In a couple of hours I was able to identify 12 positive votes even with most people not home or having moved away. |
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 Bird's Nest |
Wow !! Did You See China's Show: It just shows what you get when you put an artist in charge and give him an unlimited budget. The ceremony was directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and featured a cast of over 15,000 performers, and lived up to it's hype as "the most spectacular Olympics Opening Ceremony ever produced". Here is an interview with the artist himself. Bird's Nest Design: The National Stadium (Birds Nest) was Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, the stadium has a revolutionary design, which was chosen at the end of a six month long international competition. It comprises an outer skeleton of 42,000 tons of steel, making it three times as heavy as the proposed London 2012 stadium, and an inner 'skin’ of double-layered plastic which keeps out wind and rain and filters out UVA light. It is designed to last for 100 years and withstand a force eight magnitude earthquake. Bird’s Nest Designer Ai Weiwei comments on his design for Beijing’s stadium which was based on a ‘Pretend Smile’. Ai Weiwei also does do self-criticism in another article about his design. |
 Acrobats perform Bird's Nest at Opening Ceremony |
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 to listen to "Red Willow Way" CLICK HERE |
Red Willow Way: Last nights concert introduced me to a new song titled "Red Willow Way". It's on Michael Hearne's newest CD called "On The High Road To Taos". It is pure poetry and full of images that remind me of why I keep returning to Taos, New Mexico. The lyrics are below: Red Willow Way (lyrics)
from “The High Road to Taos” by Michael Hearne Turquoise Summers, Cold Winter Snows Some will stay here, some will go Some are born here, some are drawn To these mountains that I call home Painters Light, Poets Sky Mystery and Magic right before my eyes On that High Road to Taos, Along the Red Willow Way Old trails, New beginnings that I have found along the way Where the Four Winds dance on the mesa And the Spirits come out to play On that High Road to Taos, Along the Red Willow Way Buffalo Dances, Kiva Lights, Barn Dance Fires, Sagebrush Nights Full moon silver, On the rise, Ancient footprints above the timberline On that High Road to Taos, Along the Red Willow Way Old trails, New beginnings that I have found along the way Where the Four Winds dance on the mesa And the Spirits come out to play On that High Road to Taos, Along the Red Willow Way On that High Road to Taos, Along the Red Willow Way Along the Red Willow Way you can purchase the Michael Hearne's newest CD on "CD BABY" |
 Michael Hearne is accompanied by Robert Miralal on "Red Willow Way" Taos means Red Willow in the Tiwa language spoken in the Taos Pueblo |
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Concert Tonight (8/7): Michael Hearne and South by Southwest play at Albuquerque's Bio Park tonight. Frani and I will be there taking in the wonderful sounds. If you are not familiar with the music check out this sample on YouTube. Many of his songs are about New Mexico and especially Taos where he lives now. One of his best songs is "New Mexico Rain". Michael Hearne and South by Southwest often play at the Sagebrush Inn in Taos where I go to play with watercolors every June. Here's another kind of New Mexico Rain that we get in July and August. <<< Michael Hearne from YouTube |
 Bio Park Art |
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| Bio Park Art: Like every city facility in Albuquerque, the Bio park (where tonights concert is) is chocked full of art. Art purchased with taxpayer monies. You can view a slide show of art at the Bio Park by clicking here. Sunport Art Greets Visitors: If you fly into Albuquerque you will land at the Sunport. Our city makes sure there is plenty of art to greet you. It tells visitors that our city and our state is a place that supports the art. Just look around you.  click on the ribbon for a larger image |
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Ming's Book |
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 Melissa Elderle Serbia |
Blogs
You Should Know (8/6): There are untold numbers of blogs out there in Cyberspace. Finding the important ones is happenstance at best. One "Googles" (it's a verb now) this team or that and something interesting pops up. It's a quixotic pursuit at best but it does reap rich rewards. When you find a jewel - it should be shared. Below are some interesting "Blogs" you should check out. Melissa Elderle maintains a site called Enderle Travelblog. She has taught in schools in various exotic locals around the world. You can follow her travels through Mali, Tunisia, Serbia, Eastern Europe and most recently India. Originally, Melissa is from Wisconsin. She has been living overseas as a Tech Facilitator for 9 years, her current adventure being in Chennai, India. Do try to follow her life on her blog: http://melissaenderle.blogspot.com/ She fills her blog with her professional photos as she writes about her daily walks through places most of us only see on CNN. Melissa also includes her own art based on her experiences. Melissa is a regular contributor to ArtsEdNet or (TeacherArtExchange) . It's well worth your time to visit her from time to time. Chris Ashley creates abstract drawings using html. His blog displays a different creation each day. Check out his unique combination of technology and art on his blog at http://looksee.chrisashley.net/. Chris also posts and comments about art created by his friends and other artists he admires. If you are interested in abstraction this site is one you should check out. "Ashley's current abstract work could easy be found at the end of an imaginary continuum that begins with the color experiments of Josef Albers, weaves through the Op-artistry of Richard Anuszkiewicz, touching a bit on the vibrating striped delights of Gene Davis, and eventually cycling to the network-influenced digital era paintings of Peter Halley." from an article about Chris Ashley by Timothy Buckwalter on KQED Arts. Is digital painting real painting ? - you need to check out this site to decide. J K Drummond paints in transparent watercolor. Jae is perhaps the most accomplished young artist I have met since coming to New Mexico. Keep an eye on Jae and her work. She is going to accomplish much. Jae has mastered the art of the lost edge in watercolor. Her father (and teacher) is David Drummond known for his mastery of reflections on Lake Powell. Jae's most recent work is named James Noel Gentry born on April 11, 2008. You can see all of Jae's work in progress (including James Noel) on her blog called "Value Added Paper". Drummond recently had a show at Weems Gallery here in Albuquerque. Both Jae and her father were written up in the recent March 2008 issue of "American Artist" magazine. |
 Chris Ashley html drawing  J K Drummond |
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Art
Lessons on Cd's: I mailed out a couple more of my Middle School Art Lessons on CD this week. I guess a new school year must be about to start. I've been retired five years now but, I suspect that good ideas never get old even if the powerpoints on my CD go back several years. I would have thought the market would be saturated by now but then new teachers are entering the field every year. Also, other teachers are transfering into middle school to try thier hand at this challenging age. A list of the lessons on my CD are listed at http://www.taospaint.com/QualityLessons.html you can order them by snail mail at PO Box 91703 Albuquerque, NM 87199-1703. $17 includes postage and handeling - no paypal or credit cards - a personal check is best. |
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Map: My counter on my web page says I had 45 visitors yesterday. I love that little map with it's red dots showing where my visitors are coming from. I notice that Melissa Elderle also has the same counter on her site. If you would like to install one on your blog or web site go to http://clustrmaps.com/index.htm It's fun to see a dot pop up in some far off part of the globe.  click on map for a larger view |
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Barack finds this Funny |
See more funny videos at Funny or Die
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<<< Sometimes those silly political ads can turn around and bite you in the butt |
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Blossom
Movie (8/5): How many times will Blossom continue to retrieve a ball ? Or, how long will my arm hold out before I quit ? Blossom loves to retrieve, and I would never buy that automatic ball tosser. There's a special bond between a man and his dog that should not be broken. The question is - who is having the most fun here ? Man or Dog ?  click on above pic to download blossom movie 12.9 MG |
 new creature crawling up our wall |
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 Betty Sabo |
Docent
Tour (8/4): Yesterday morning - I took a group from Drake University (Des Moines, Iowa) through the museum. They were on an organized tour of the various cultures in New Mexico. They had already toured Jemez Pueblo, as well as the Pueblo Cultural Center here in Albuquerque. Later in the day they would be touring the Hispanic Cultural Center. Then, later this week they plan a visit to Acoma (Sky City). It was refreshing to take adults through the museum. Mostly they were interested in history and culture so we started in Four Centuries. But I did not leave out the art. We spent some time in Common Ground and of course we stopped in the Blumenshine exhibit. I made a point of culminating the tour outside at the massive bronze sculptures named "La Jornada" - the Juan de Onate sculpture. The project was to be a collaboration by artists from three cultures but the Native American portion became somewhat seperate. In contrast to the imposing bronze sculptures depicting the Spanish colonization of New Mexico is this simple, elegant earthwork by a native artist. Nora Naranjo-Morse created "Numbe Whageh" showing a very different view of life in New Mexico 400 years ago. Her creation provides a quiet spot of meditation to reflect upon the changes that have occured along the Rio Grande since the Spanish began moving North. There remains, after 400 years, a lasting conflict about this (conquest or salvation) of New Mexico by Europeans. |
 Nora Naranjo-Morse |
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Painted
Shoes: On Arts Ed Net or (TeacherArtExchange) an art teacher named Cindy says her latest fetish is creating art teacher shoes. Here's what she does. She will buy plain shoes that fit well at the Thrift store or at Walmart. Then she uses acrylic paints and sharpie markers to decorate them with wild patterns and abstract paintings. Voila! Art Teacher Shoes! That's great for the "Crazy Art Teacher" - which she calls herself. The shoes sound cool and will no doub't get her students attention. It's just not something that fits me. As my doctor says - there are two types of people who buy shoes. One kind buys for comfort the other kind for looks. In short the two types are men and women. One exception was Dale Chihuly - when he gave workshops for children in Kansas City he painted his shoes. But - I bet they were comfortable shoes. TeacherArtExchange
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 painted shoes |
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Frani started on her balloon quilt yesterday. Each set of balloons will be in a different color combination. There will be a total of 18 balloons on the quilt. We bought some fabric with hundreds of hot air balloons on it to use for the back of this quilt. Here is the schedule for this years Balloon Fiesta. Of course - we don't need to go far to watch the balloons because they fly right over our house. Here are pics from our house two years ago. This year balloons fly from October 3rd through the 12th. <<< click on balloons for a larger image |
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  a must read |
Artistic
Process: There has been a thread of conversation running on Arts Ed Net or (TeacherArtExchange) concerning how artists think. Several teachers have responded to the question posed. Kathy asks: "What are the art making habits of our students? How do we make them more aware and encourage them to leverage their very personal habits for successful art making? How do we support multiple approaches to art making in busy school life? I responded today with quotes from a booklet named Art & Fear. It's been so long since I thought about my own process in making art - I think I'm on auto pilot by now. But when I need to refresh my thinking - I get out my copy of "Art & Fear" by David Bates and Ted Orland. You can get a copy of the booklet on Amazon.com. On confronting a disappointing piece of work an artist might be heard to say: "That's not what I meant to do; I should have made it larger, or maybe smaller; If only I'd had more time or........." From, Art & Fear That reminds me of a story Jae Drummond (a local artist) tells often: "Do you know the difference between an Artist and a Puppy ? Well - eventually the Puppy stops whining." "What counts, in making art, is the actual fit between the contents of your head and the qualities of your materials. The knowledge you need to make that fit comes from noticing what really happens as you work - the way the materials respond, and the way that response (and resistance) suggest new ideas to you." From, Art & Fear As a watercolor artist - I know the above statement to be especially true. Give me a good sheet of Arches, a decent brush and quality pigments and magic begins to happen. One learns over time how damp the surface must be to create certain effects. One also learns to take advantage of those happy little accidents which occur as you proceed. |
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 Acquiring New Skills |
Visual
Note Taking (8/2): Yesterday on Arts Ed Net or (TeacherArtExchange), one teacher, in her post, referred to drawing during in-service programs to relive boredom. That got me thinking about the drawings I use to do while sitting in long meetings. For years - I sketched continually during inservice and education conference lectures. Actually my drawings were an attempt to translate the concepts being presented into some sort of visual format. It was a very effective way of getting many concepts into my brain. It was also a method which kept me awake during those long boring sessions. So - I posted two examples of my "Visual Note Taking" here on my blog. One shows the stages we go through as we are acquiring new skills. The other shows the various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. I drew both of them in my sketchbook as I sat through some very long training sessions. I find the method of remembering things quite helpful. |
 Bloom's Taxonomy |
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 Paolo Soleri Santa Fe |
Bummer: We just got a phone call that Emmy Lou Harris has canceled her stop in Santa Fe. Apparently all her August dates have been canceled due to a death in the family. Stuff happens so there is nothing to do. EmmyLou is on her way to Nashville to make funeral arrangements and take care of other business. Perhaps she will be in the area at some later date. This was to be our first concert at Paolo Soleri Amphitheater in Santa Fe. The concert was also my birthday present - bummer !! <<< Paolo Soleri Amphitheater in Santa Fe |
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State
Fair Art (8/1): I dropped off three watercolors at the Fine Arts Building on the New Mexico State Fair grounds today. They juror the art from the actual work for the state fair. This is my first attempt at entering art in the state fair here in New Mexico. I use to enter a painting each year back in Kansas. The Kansas State Fair was in Hutchinson - a couple hundred miles from Kansas City. I choose one painting of my grandkids at whitesands, another of poppies in our back yard, plus one of a pot of flowers casting a shadow on our patio. Now I simply sit back and await the rejection notices. Framing Paintings: I'm also framing the three watercolors I entered into the NMWS Fall exhibition. Of course it's in the jurors hands now. I entered that exhibit by submitting digital pics via e-mail. If the juror could only see the painting of my grand daughters "as angels" framed on our wall - I'd be a winner for sure. It really looks good framed. The frame is a bit ornate - but I find it fits with the subject. I also submitted the watercolor of the gate at Mable Dodge Lujan's house in Taos. Another is of early morning shadows cast by a fence in Taos. So I'll look in the mail for more rejection notices. Source of Plexiglass: Today, I found out that I was running short of plexiglass - so I placed a new order with American Frame. I really think they are the best source of acrylic sheets for glazing watercolors. I was very disappointed with my local source - often the glass was cut too large or it had specks of material embedded in the glass. Of course I only found that out as I peeled the paper off. But every shipment from American Frame has been perfect. |
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know what you think woodyduncan@comcast.net |
| <<< back to july | on to september >>> |
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