GOLD MEDAL WEEKEND

Satruday My wonderful High School Art Students attended the Regional Visual Arts Scholastic Event in North Houston. 20 students brought their amazing art which they worked diligently on and created detailed intricate pieces of fine art.
Last year we had 3 golds and 6 silver awards, This year we busted the roof- with 14 GOLD MEDALS and 6 silvers!
Two of my students WON 2 GOLDS each!! This is accomplished with students that have only half a year or a year and a half of ART, unlike 90 percent of the schools competing where the students have been taking art since Elementary school. That fact makes it seem so unlikely that we could accomplish such amazing results! Those kids are hard working and have developed an intense love of creating ART.
I am so proud of their dedication to their ART and also to those that work just as hard in our tiny little ART CLUB at HGA. This ink work here is by a freshman, Elizabeth Rodriguez

New Acrylic Painting

This is my new Acrylic Painting, called, "San Jacinto" titled after the song of the same name by Peter Gabriel. This painting is the front piece to my new Altered Book which illustrates the song, San Jacinto. Each designed page portrays one line of the lyrics in the song.

The song is about Native Americans and the impact of their lives today. The theme is "hold the line" which I understand to mean how the Native Americans "HOLD" onto their customs and culture as the modern American culture changes their land and their environment around them.

"I hold the line...the line of strength that pulls me through the fear..."

This Altered Book is my favorite of the four Altered Books I have created and I hope when I finish it to have Mr. Peter Gabriel look upon its pages with pride and admiration!!

ART ASYLUM CLASSES SUCCESS!

Sunday morning and I reflect upon the rainy Saturday and the Art Classes I taught at The Texas Art Asylum. The first class was and ink art class and we produced a few stunning amazing seashell and butterfly-dragonfly compositions while listening to relaxing music and the patter of rain on the roof.

The second class was larger and we had a variety of banter and conversation around the table as we created fun and beautiful realistic collage landscapes.

This morning the solitary great white egret is back at his post alongside the bayou and I am getting ready for errands I couldn't get done yesterday. The sun is out again and it gives new life to my soul as the wetness fades from the trees and ground.

(picture is the collage demo from class yesterday)

Art CLasses

Tomorrow, Saturday Feb 18th, I will be teaching an INK and a COLLAGE class at The Texas Art Asylum. The Texas Art Asylum is a unique venue for all sorts of artists and art teachers. They have everything from doll heads and parts, to leather strips, to varieties of beads, odd bits and pieces of all kinds of assemblage goodies, tons of old magazines, silk flowers, old paper, metal, wire, string, and other endless stuff you can use in your art class or creating your own new art from recycled stuff!

ART CAMP

Today, Saturday Feb 11th was the first HGA Art Camp. The student Art Campers accomplished 4 projects today. The metal mask design, the trophy fish project, abstract acrylic painting using footprints, and the "hand elephants."
We had a fun day of learning and creating art. Donuts for breakfast and pizza for lunchtime.