Category Archives: art

Jan13

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.

 

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“nine tenths of education is encouragement.”

-anatole france

Dec18

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.

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“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

 

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

Dec17

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”

Nov12

from the heart.

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  a child in my class made this drawing

and there is something about 

 the honest simplicity of it 

 eyes wide open to the world

that i absolutely love

 

—

“if i create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.”

– marc chagall

Oct26

tiny tree tour.

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bonsai in the autumn
  add the bonsai and penjing garden to your list of color tours this fall.
they may be small, but these little trees have a big impact.
the outdoor garden closes for the season on October 30th.
matthei botanical gardens, ann arbor, michigan, usa – autumn 2022
—
“the world of bonsai is miniature, but the natural world that it evokes is boundless.”.
-arthur joura, bonsai curator
Oct18

my message is love.

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Refugee Who Paints With a Toothbrush Nominated for Prestigious Art Prize: “My Message Is Love”

Mostafa Azimitabar stands next to the art he created with a toothbrush and coffee

For artist Mostafa “Moz” Azimitabar, no paintbrush is as special as the humble toothbrush

Facing persecution in his birth country of Iran, the Kurdish artist and musician fled to Australia in 2013. Once there, he was entered into the immigration system and would spend the next eight years in detention centers. At his first stop, an offshore camp on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, Azimitabar turned to art to cope with his emotions.

“I asked one of the officers on Manus: ‘Can I have some paint?’… I would like to do some artwork because I don’t want to give up’,” he recalled. The guard refused his request, citing safety concerns. Azimitabar returned to his shared room, frustrated, but refusing to let it go. The reality of his situation forced him to get even more creative. He decided to work with what he had — in this case, coffee and a toothbrush.

“I don’t know what happened … that moment was so special for me. I grabbed the toothbrush and I put it in the coffee and I just dragged it (on some paper),” he said, calling it a “moment of victory.” He continued to experiment with the technique throughout his detainment. “Art and painting helped me to be strong, to continue. Because when I paint, I don’t feel any trauma.”

Then, another moment of victory came over a year after his release in 2021: He was named a finalist for the Archibald Prize, one of Australia’s most prestigious art awards, worth over $70,000. His painting, one of 52 chosen from over 800 submissions, was created using a toothbrush, coffee, and acrylics on canvas. It’s titled “KNS088,” the number the Australian government issued him during his years in detention.

Azimitabar wrote, “I made this self-portrait to share my story. My face looks outwards, showing the suffering I have experienced, but also my strength and determination.”
—

“The message of my painting is love. We are all one family, connected by our humanity.”

-Mostafa Azimitabar

 

 

—

credits: Rebekah Brandes, Saeed Kahn/AFP, NSW

Oct13

cheetle.

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Giant roadside Cheeto

The Cheetos brand erected the statue of a hand holding a massive Cheeto, immortalizing the sticky orange residue that Cheetos leave on your fingertips, in Cheadle, Alberta. The community was chosen because of its name’s similarity to “cheetle,” the company’s official name for Cheeto dust.

“Cheetos fans have always known that the delicious, cheesy dust on their fingertips is an unmistakably delicious part of the Cheetos experience, but now it officially has a name: Cheetle,” said Lisa Allie, the senior marketing director at PepsiCo Foods Canada, which distributes Cheetos in the country.

“We’re excited to be celebrating Cheetle and Canadians’ cheesy, Cheetle-dusted fingertips on such a grand scale, (17-feet tall), and in such a uniquely mischievous way.”

The unique piece of art won’t stay in Cheadle forever, however, according to Cheetos’ news release. Cheadle residents and visitors can check out the big, cheesy fingers until Nov. 4. Then, the monument will embark on a tour of other locations in Canada.

Cheadle is a hamlet located in Alberta’s Wheatland County. Its population is tiny: Just 83 people lived there in 2021, according to the Canadian census.

*note – as a huge fan of ‘flamin’ hot cheetos,’ i fully endorse this artistic endeavor

—

“I love Cheetos, those hot, spicy kind. And chocolate.
Every time I’m in the airport I’m buying Cheetos and eating them on the airplane.”
-Alessandra Amrbrosio
—

credits: zoe sottile, cnn, cheetos

 

Oct1

not whistler’s mother.

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*This work, which is a depiction of a fireworks display in London’s Cremorne Gardens, is probably Whistler’s most infamous painting. It was the central issue of a libel suit that involved the art critic John Ruskin and the artist. Ruskin had publicly slandered the work by making the statement, “I have seen, and heard, much of cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” Whistler won the libel suit; however, he was awarded only the token damages of one farthing. This is one of Whistler’s many “Nocturnes,” which are characterized by a moody atmosphere, a subtle palette, and overall tonalist qualities. 

—

“there is only one way to avoid criticism, do nothing, be nothing, say nothing.”

-aristotle 

—

*art: James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket,

1875, oil on panel. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Dexter M. Ferry, Jr.

Jul23

“photography is telling stories.” – jim spillane

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attending the annual ann arbor art fair

i had great luck and the honor of meeting

photographer/human rights advocate, jim spillane.

i happened by his stall

drawn in by the beauty and subjects of his photographs

especially taken with his pictures of children

after much thought

finally decided on one

a young tibetan child

tiny hands held together in hello.

i asked jim his story

how he had come to take these stunning pictures all over the world.

once a criminal defense attorney in the gerald ford white house

representing vietnam war draft resisters seeking amnesty

he got sick, had a horrible experience

 changed his life

trained with an ansel adams associate

began traveling the world

taking photographs of people

his subject is the human condition and the connections and responsibilities we have for each other.

using his pictures as a way to create interest, open discussion, communicate, call attention to a cause

he has worked taking photographs of workers at a nepalese brick factory for many years

created a photo book of the workers

to speak out and to tell their stories with his photographs

still seeking to help those in need and to be an effective advocate for them.

he is a natural artist, storyteller, teacher, advocate, and man.

—

“in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”

-thurgood marshall, former justice of supreme court of the united states

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link to his website: jimspillane.com

link to his book, ‘the face of bricks’: https://www.blurb.com/b/9897011-the-face-of-bricks

Jul19

resa.

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happy happy birthday to resa

https://artgowns.com/author/resamcconaghy/

costumer and designer extraordinaire

you are an amazing talent

telling stories with your styles

  making real life connections

between people in the realm of blogs

may you never stop creating art gowns, finding meaningful art in murals,

and being an incredibly creative and inspiring part of our story.

—

hello too from our whimsical blog circle who keep crossing paths:

gigi, dale, and holly –

art, poetry, nature, animals, peace, kindness, love, humor, style, stories –

compassionate creatives all.

—

“creative expression is not just a means of getting attention, although some have approached art that way. think of art as a way of connecting, of sharing your insights with others.”

-nita leland

 

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