10.16.11 ... memory art

i continued my sorting this afternoon and came upon these get well wishes and bill clinton. i know. these things really go together, right? plus, there are bon bons and ghosts involved. so pay attention and give yourself a chance to smile. i taught second grade many moons ago. for just four short years. during my second year, i was engaged to evan and this was a topic of great interest to the class. in the spring, i was ill and missed school for a stretch of time and the substitute was kind enough to allow the children a few minutes of time to compose a get well book. but first, you should know that i referred to an alternate universe quite often. as in: if you all knew everything already there'd be no need for me. i'd be sittin' on the beach eatin' bon bons and watching soap operas. now what kind of life is that? hence, the bon bon art above. and now for a page from the well wishes book...

yes, there i am in bed miserable as all get out while evan waits on me hand and foot. i am sure at some point he might have indeed uttered: hurry up and get rid of that cold. I am tired of taking care of you and i want to get wed! (that was in 1993 and i still marvel that he went ahead with the wedding after that unfortunate period of time in our history.) at any rate, this is the first time i have looked through these and i did not recall the ghosts or bon bons but this page came back to me like a flash. i loved it then and i love it now. and i realize that bill clinton has nothing to do with the get well book. yes, this is random, but scout got such a kick out of the fact that a second grader was drawing bill clinton that i had to include it.

who knows what i will come across tomorrow. sending you all wishes for a beautiful monday and a heavenly week ahead. i love fall.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

1.23.11 ... exploding art collage

i was introduced to this project when i returned to college the first time. it was 1987-ish and i was working on an elementary education degree. one of my classes was about the art of teaching art from K-8 and we made these wonderful notebooks - scrapbook style - with 100 art projects inside {if you wanted an A} so we'd have it as a resource. at the time, i thought it was a crazy idea and insane amount of busy work {i did have three young boys to mother} but that scrapbook is one of my favorite things and i love looking through it for inspiration. over the years i have made excellent use of it both when i taught and for myself and my family. it brings back many fond memories and i find the old fashioned look of the lesson copies - they're all typewritten with simple hand drawn illustrations - charming.

i used two of my favorite discarded children's books to create this piece. the scene slices were in my stash. i had cut up the book in a variety of ways, mostly different sized strips. today i happened to locate a couple that matched up and that inspired me to do an exploding scene if i could find enough that went together. i spent a very long time locating them, but enjoyed myself. we listened to pandora windham hill. quite pleasant. the background piece is from another book. i love how well they compliment one another. the serendipity factor is very high. and i love that.

the background is also collaged a bit, the end slices are not in synch with the main scene on purpose and i used the sticker glue since i had it handy. i made another small batch of stickers but they weren't done drying by the time i had to run outside for my usual catch-the-twilight, freeze-and-cross-my-fingers-that-a-few-photos-will-work. i hope you enjoy today's creation. have you ever done one of these? i think you'd like it. i know i will do more throughout the year. they are always so individually unique there's no way you could tire of the process or results. let me know if you try it. i'd like to see what you do.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

MeRrY ChRiStMaS!

A Memory as I Recall It

While searching in my recipe box for
holiday cookie favorites, I came upon this old
photo which graced our fridge for years.
I switched it to the safer
environment of the box as
I felt it had garnered enough
kitchen character.
It wasn't taken at Christmas, but somehow
the sticker frame and the photo became
a duo.

The great memory this picture encapsulates:
I was teaching second grade. It was year three
of my great four year career.
{said the housewife}
During that year, when my students and I
shared all the excitement of little Scout's
impending arrival,
one of the precious side effects was a ritual
that Evan and I fell into.

One day I mentioned in class how we liked to go
to Long John Silvers on Whatever Day ~
I can't recall which weekday or what the special was ~
and one of my students piped up that her family
liked going there, too. And I casually said how we could
meet there one day. Lo and behold, she came to class
with a note from mom and, long story short,
we made plans to meet there.

That first week started a sweet time capsule custom.
In the photo
above, which Mrs. Callihan asked us to pose for
and then generously shared a copy with me,
you see Evan, our Jon Cody, yours truly with Scout
cozily growing and awaiting her debut,
my adorable student, Courtney and her younger brother,
whose name is on the tip of my tongue, but
eluding me at the moment. Isn't he a cutie?
{Michael?}


Some things I especially treasure about this photo,
apart from the obvious happenstance of how special
this impromptu chatter turned into a delightful
extension of my 'career'
and, therefore, defines much about my
short foray into teaching,
and, thanks in large part to this spontaneous photo,
a forever happy memory, are:

Jon Cody's groovy flat top, Courtney's awesome bow
and dress, little brother's Churchville Bumblebee sweatshirt,
the tennis shoe on the car roof ~ what is that? ~
my wedding ring on a ball chain, not because my
hands were swollen but because the pregnancy
immediately caused a strange gold allergic reaction
and,
last but not least,
16 years later I am still wearing that chambray shirt
on a regular basis. I have patched it endlessly.
It still makes me feel as happy as I was when I
first borrowed it from Evan's side of the closet.
And this is the only photo that
serves as the memory of when
that came to be.
Thank you, Mrs. Callihan.

Merry Christmas Everyone.
May all your memories come true.

ox
joon