Retirement: Online Art Workshops

Two new pages I did last night:The one above is all cut papers (bird image is from Papaylicious catalog cover).
The above page is also papers, color copies (yes, that's a photo of a younger me drawing), hands are from Anahata's third spare parts book. Also doodles and writing from Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens (black and white). Oh! And bird sticker from Cavallini and Company.

Highly frustrated today. Went in yesterday to Tristan's school and had a great time teaching the kids how to make a "butterfly book". I love that class-they're so much fun-good kids, too! (Oh, a butterfly book-we used a butterfly template, the teacher made multiple copies on all sorts of different colored papers. The kids drew, painted, stamped and punched out (with the paper punches that my friend Lorraine gave me) to their hearts' content. We then "bound" the book with a big brad. I got the idea from Jason Thompson's blog post of Tracey Bush's artwork. Our butterflies were much MUCH bigger but the kids loved it.

So on to the frustrated part-I was talking to Tristan's teacher about a comment Tristan made the other day (which, sadly, I hadn't taken him seriously enough at the time) that his teacher would be "fired" (laid off-nice word for fired) at the end of this school year (June) along with two other teachers (one of which has been there 5 or 6 years now and was Tristan's kindergarten teacher). I went nuts. We fought to keep his teacher in Sept/October and we're gonna lose her after fighting for it? Supposedly the school is 60 kids short (of a full "deck") across the board. Supposedly there is something else too (I'm not "up to par" on the laws and this and that of the school district) about there are 3 classrooms with "English Only" teachers (as opposed to all of other teachers that have licenses to be bilingual classrooms that 3 teachers are exempt?). Supposedly there is "nothing we can do". B.S.! There's gotta be something. Is there a law that says the schools must have "X" amount of students??? Come next year there are going to be a lot of "split" classrooms-4/5th grade split, kindergarten/first grade split. Come on, that can't be good for the kids. My son is going to be a FIFTH grader. I don't want him (or any other child) in an OVER CROWDED classroom. It's not good for the kids, the teachers OR the parents.

I fell asleep last night thinking about this and was woken up (nightmare) at about 2:30 this morning and have been thinking about this ever since.

I don't think that most of the school knows about it (not everyone can go to the meetings and there hasn't been a flyer passed out about it). WHY? We should ALL know so we can figure out what the hell we can do. I am seriously SERIOUSLY thinking about pulling Tristan out of fifth grade to homeschool him. He has been begging me to do it (and it is something I have wanted to do BEFORE he was even in school. I've read many books about it but long story short, listened to my family and put him into the local school).

So this is my predicament and it's not just mine. Three teachers stand to lose their jobs (and they are damn DAMN good teachers!) A whole school stands to be shuffled around into overcrowded classrooms. Frustrated doesn't begin to describe how I feel.

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On a happy note-Happy 80th birthday to my friend, Mary Ellen!!

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From the Bookshelf: Pulled out my copy of Creating Artists' Books by Sarah Bodman last night. Your local bookstore probably has a copy in the Art Technique section. Good read-interesting ideas. Lots of eye candy too. Good balance between the two.

Finished Love That Bunch by Aline Kominsky Crumb the other night. Was up late reading it. Good read, again. I could identify with some of the things she was writing about (not the drug use, the drinking or the need for "boyfriends" outside of your marriage-ONE husband is enough! Though I wouldn't mind another spouse SOLELY for the purpose of CLEANING and LAUNDRY only. LOL!!!)

Am taking my dear sweet time with the 1000 Journals book and looking at it every now and then.

Am eagerly awaiting two books: 500 Handmade Books and Eddie Campbell's latest.


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Remembering Rachel Corrie on 4th year of her murder.

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Shaking my head at Chair of House Appropriations Committee Rep. David Obey's reaction to a Mother of an Iraq War Vet. Watch the youtube video here (if the link doesn't work, go to youtube and search for "Obey" it pops right up).

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"Support the Veterans" yup, the VA knows how to do that alright.

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Why the hell is this man in prison?

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