Here are a few of the projects that my 6-8th graders just finished;

Yep, I said it.  CLASSROOM STUDIO.  This ain't just some art room folks, it is a studio.  We make ART in here.  One way that I keep my own artistic sanity is to maintain a working studio mind set.  Yeah, there are set rules and procedures...I have to give grades, blah, blah, blah...but ART happens here.  We take risks.  We mess up.  The kids make art, I make art- which is why I got into this gig in the first place.  So..take a look around my room.  Later I will post some organizational information and classroom tips, but for now...WELCOME! Have a look around : )

And...yes...I am LOVING this panoramic photo site that I found yesterday.  (http://www.dermandar.com)

So...this is something that I thought about doing a while back...I am going to try to maintain a teaching blog.  Mainly to show lesson ideas, maybe with a brief description...tips on classroom management, organization...anything that related to the amazing world of Art Education.  For my first post I just want to speak to the importance of art displays in the school.  Please repeat after me, 

Cover everything with art.  It creates a more visually pleasing and vibrant school environment, the kids like to see their work, parents and staff enjoy it and it is the single easiest way to advocate for your art program.  Let'em know that you are there!

This is a view from my doorway.  I am so lucky to have an unused cafeteria to share with the band director...it is the perfect space for artistic happenings...it is an art gallery, a practice space for the band students, a place for pieces to dry...it is awesome.  And there is still some blank space for me to fill up...(excited gasp)

Cool web site alert:  The site that I used to create the panoramic view is http://www.dermandar.com.  It was super easy, took me only a few minutes to figure out how to use the site, and seconds to post the html to my blog.