UNI Faculty Show

 

Here is a quick picture of the piece I submitted to the Faculty Art Show.  My piece is called Post- Traditional. It is made of envelopes sewn together and four wax encaustic boxes collaged with ephemera. It focuses on nostalgia and is about the lost traditions in personal communication. The show will be up from November 2-30th in the UNI art gallery on campus.

Happy Halloween!

Here are some Zombies from last weekend's festivities in Baraboo.  Great costumes! 
Tonight Jeremy and I and 11 friends are going out for drinks and pizza at a swanky lounge in Cedar Rapids before we head off to the Frightmare Forest for some fun.... We have never been there before but it's some sort of a haunted attraction with a trail that winds through over 5 acres of forest. We are excited!!


Thought I'd share our pumpkin carving skills again this year. Jeremy really outdid me this year with his saggy drunken pumpkin face.  Is it is a self-portrait of  his future-self as we begin our big night of festivities???

Zombies in Wisconsin????

Jeremy and I stumbled upon a fun event this weekend! Thrill The World is an annual worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson's “Thriller.” The event is held every year (since 2006) to raise money for local charities. We were in Baraboo, WI shopping while staying at my parent’s lake house when we saw the advertisement. We decided not to participate since we had not packed our zombie gear for the weekend trip. Here is a link to it to check out. The folks in Baraboo were working hard to help break the Guinness Book of World Records on the number of zombies simultaneously dancing. They were raising money for their local food pantry. Rumor has it that Opah will feature this event so the crowd was buzzing!
We had a great time seeing whole families dressed up as zombies, dogs dressed up and tiny little 3-year-old zombie princesses and zombie brides. The whole event took place in the downtown square in front of the courthouse, which had a great atmosphere! Way to go Baraboo! Not only does this place have a circus museum, great shopping, and a good Frisbee golf course, but also a whole crowd of cool zombies too! Here is a video of the zombies in Baraboo to check out if you want! I will post pictures later when I have more time!
Happy Halloween!!!

A new farm in town...

Bass Farms opened up outside of Mount Vernon this summer and Jeremy and I finally got around to checking it out. It's a fabulous place to visit. Right now they have the most beautiful pumpkins!  They seemed extra bright and round this year.  We had a terrible time deciding on which two to take home.  Bass farms is run by a former Prairie graduate and sells fresh organic fruits and vegetables, pumpkins, and crafty cute items.  Check it out!

Art Educators of Iowa Conference

UNI is hosting the annual Art Educators of Iowa conference next weekend.  I am presenting at it with a former student teacher. Our presentation is called "Smiling Skulls and Marigolds." Sarah and I worked together to create a presentation about our teaching of the Mexican Holiday  Dia de los Muertos in the elementary art room.  We are then going to do a little workshop making mini-alters with teachers. It should be fun!
Kirsten and Helen are coming from Preucil Preschool (where I was formerly employed) to share the wonderful art making experiences that preschooler can have but often don't get to!  It will be wonderful for all the art teachers to learn about Preucil.
Tim Rollins will be the guest speaker that night. Rollins works with at-risk kids in the Bronx making collaborative art often based on classic literature. The kids named themsleves, "Kids of Survival".  So you may see him referred to as Tim Rollins + K.O.S.  I will get the honor of taking him out to dinner afterward. Jeremy is coming up too so he can share in the dinner and dazzle Rollins with his own at-risk adventures at his alternative school. 
This week will be busy getting ready for everything so if no one hears from me... you will know why. Here is a picture of a Rollins +KOS work I really love!

Animal Farm
Tim Rollins and K.O.S.

A Dog's Life...

My sister and I took my mom to Riverside Theater today to see A Dog's Life. It is a musical about a dog adopted from the animal shelter. I admit I was a bit nervous about it being any good, but it was really worth going to see.  The singing was excellent and I really enjoyed the humor throughout it.  The way they depict the events through a dog's view- like getting neutered, being dressed up by their owners, and being tricked into taking pills.  It was a hoot!

Friday night my nephew played football in Mount Vernon and my whole family came to see him play. Afterward, we had a birthday party for my step-dad who turned 63!  Lots of goodies and gifts!  Here is a great picture that Sophie drew of her with Grandpa Mike. It really looks like him!

Roosevelt Eugene's many positions

My cat Roosevelt lays around all the time.  He's a bit plump, I prefer to call him big boned. (it runs in our family) He relaxes in very interesting places and is really the sweetest cat I have ever owned.  I wished all my life for a lap cat, and believe me... this cat could lay on my lap all day.