Category Archives: art

meraki.

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painted rocks left on a tree stump in our courtyard

our science teacher

retiring after many years

has lovingly hand painted

180-ish unique and detailed rocks

one for each of the children in our early childhood  program

all having to do with science, nature, kindness, joy

our children were absolutely thrilled

with this lovely legacy.

meraki is doing something with total love, and pure soul.

it is leaving a little piece of yourself in your creative work.

(greek origin)

 

 

sailing off.

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mac does its part with loose parts: an earth day art show

the children have been learning for weeks

about recycling, reusing, and repurposing

many kinds of materials

in honor of tomorrow’s holiday (earth day)

 using the voice of art as expression

each child created an original sculpture

repurposing used items

finding new beauty in these discarded things 

putting them together in new ways

 inviting their families 

to their ‘gallery opening’

each child filled with pride in their work

and a realization that they are artists. 

“art is a form of exploration, of sailing off into the unknown alone, heading for those unmarked places on the map. if children are not permitted-not taught-to be adventurers and explorers as children, what will become of the world of adventure, of stories, of literature itself?

– michael chabon 

nests.

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robin’s nests created by the kinder using natural materials 

clay, twigs, pinecones, clippings

any robin would be happy to raise her babies in one of these beautiful homes

 

“wildness we might consider as the root of the authentic spontaneities of any being. it is that wellspring of creativity whence comes the instinctive activities that enable all living beings to obtain their food, to find shelter, to bring forth their young; to sing and dance and fly through the air and swim through the depths of the sea. this is the same inner tendency that evokes the insight of the poet, the skill of the artist, and the power of the shaman.”-  thomas berry

 

art-o-mat.

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“It is so much more than a vending machine. It’s an art experience, but it’s also an art object in and of itself,” Samantha Timm, the curator at Saint Kate The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said.

Since Saint Kate opened in 2019, the Art-o-mat has been a huge hit.

The first Art-o-mat was built by Clark Whittington in 1997. He refurbished an old cigarette vending machine after it became more or less illegal. He displayed it at an art exhibition, and it became a huge hit. Now, he leases them out to galleries, libraries, and hotels.

It’s not cheap to have one. It can cost $5,000 per year. Plus, it costs $2.50 plus shipping to stock the machine. However, it’s not about making a ton of money. These exhibits are designed to be a fun way to interact with art and the past. Furthermore, it makes art collecting accessible for buyers. All the art inside the machines is made by different artists from around the world.

Art-o-Mat

“It’s so unique. It’s so different. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Kami Strunsee, an artist and owner of Timber Lane Studio and Gallery in Wales said.

Strunsee also has an Art-o-mat in her gallery. She estimates more than 500 pieces of cigarette box-sized art has been purchased since she opened in April 2022. Strunsee also discovered that there is an entire community of people who collect pieces of art from these vending machines.

“I have several people from California come in. They came to Wisconsin, and they just drove east, and were trying to hit as many Art-o-mats as they could,” she said.

Strunsee has even hosted Art-o-mat nights. People come in with their friends, buy a few pieces of art, and then sit around a table looking at each other’s collectibles and making trades with each other just like one would with basketball or Pokemon cards. “It’s kind of random as to what you get but it’s always something really unique,” she said.

“i do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few.”
-william morris

under the rainbow.

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my classroom is chock full of

multi-age kinder (3s-young 5s)

who stay with us for two years.

one of the very best things

is watching the older kinder

who were the younger kinder

just one year before

as they quite naturally and organically grow

to become the leaders/teachers/helpers/mentors

to the new group of younger kinder

who were at home

just one year before.

what a joy it was to watch someone older

spend a very long time

finding all the special markers she needed

to create an easy to see linear rainbow

for someone younger

who wanted to create

her very own rainbow picture

in her very own style

using all the special colors.

judging by their faces

when she finished her very own rainbow

they were both equally proud of the results.

 

“nine tenths of education is encouragement.”

-anatole france

big breakfast.

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A Single Giant Froot Loop for $19?

A single serving of Kellog’s Froot Loops cereal clocks in at one and one-third cups, weighs 39 grams, and contains 150 calories, according to the nutrition facts printed on the side of the box. Though we’ve never actually counted how many loops are in that single serving, we assume it’s more than one. Oh, you only want one? OK then. Big Fruit Loop is here to deliver.

The Big Fruit Loop is just as the name implies: a single massive loop. It’s also a very much unauthorized version of the longtime breakfast cereal, and it’s the latest drop from Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF.

That one big loop contains 930 calories and weighs around half a pound, or the equivalent of about half a box of regular Froot Loops mashed into one bowl-filling monstrosity. There’s absolutely no reason for it to exist, which seems to be exactly why MSCHF decided to create it.

“With MSCHF, we are always looking at cultural readymades we can play with,” Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF’s co-founder, told Food & Wine via email. “Cereal is, of course, one of those things. When looking at the object and thinking about what we could do with it, enlarging it to fit the size of the box seemed too perfect to pass up.”

Greenberg declined to explain what the production process for the Big Fruit Loop was like, other than to admit that “it was not easy.” He also said that the company had to reverse-engineer its loop to match the flavor of the Kellogg’s originals. To Greenberg, the two kinds of cereal taste “almost identical.” You know, minus one being gigantic and all.

“you may not know this but it’s impossible to open a box of ‘fruit loops’ and just eat the fruit,

let someone else have the loops”

― neil leckman

 

credits: food and wine magazine, stacey leasca, photo credit: MSCHF

get messy!

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so, 

after working on

a few holiday projects last night

i noticed at breakfast

that i may still have a bit of collateral glitter around the house. 

“take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”

— Ms. Frizzle, “The Magic School Bus”