The Mandala Unit has Begun...

I started the Mandala unit yesterday with my Year &'s, and they LOVE it. They're totally enthralled with the Buddhist ceremony of destroying the sand Mandala once it's been created, in order to give back to the earth and represent the circle of life. Scaffolding and using their prior knowledge of art elements has been a plus too, as they were able to analyze and discuss the pattern, shape, colour etc used in each Mandala shown. I have a feeling they're going to come up with some wonderful artworks.

I've attached the videos shown to my Year 7's in case anyone would like to know more...

More Bits and Pieces.

Well, my pelmet covering plans went by the wayside today, as we have to cover them outside (due to the spray adhesive) and it rained non stop. So, I put myself to good use and finished another job that had been on my list for a while- creating a photo wall.

The darkness of the timber works well and compliments the mirror in the lounge- everything is starting to tie together now.

Bits and Pieces.

What a beautiful weekend... it's finally rained again. Last night Deon and I listened to it fall softly on our roof. There's something very comforting about rainy weekends, with a movie playing and Mischa snuggled up on her pink blanket next to me. The only downside is not being able to continue working outside, but meh, that's a small price to pay for receiving MUCH needed rain.

Spent all day yesterday in a cleaning frenzy in the kitchen, and our pantry hasn't looked so neat and tidy since we moved in!! I was almost tempted to take a photo of it!

Deon and I are about to head into Bunnings to pick up some adhesive to finally start these pelmets- something I'm very excited about. I'll have to start posting some photos soon... and some updated ones of the canvases. I showed Dee some photos of them, and she loved them.

Speaking of Dee, I am SO proud of her. Last Thursday night, just after Deon and I went home Dee and Carlie were walking back to Dee's car, when she saw a guy beaten unconscious outside the ANZ bank. She yelled at the guys who were laying into him, and they ran off, so she started doing the CPR training we learned at the First Aid course last month. She kept him alive until the paramedics came.

What an amazing chick.

A Night Out.

Last night the lovely Ali organised a night out at the Indian Restaurant, followed by attending Jackson Firebird and the The Fume at the Sandbar. It was a fabulous night, and the food was absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend the butter chicken and coconut prawns!

Curry and Tandoor Indian Restaurant

Ritz, Deon, Gary and Dave

Us gorgeous girls!

Jackson Firebird

Another shot of the crew

Carlie and Dee

We think we'll do Kking's Palace next time... will be looking forward to it!!

Fabric Leaves

I thought these were fabulous, and a really inspired way of introducing fabric into interior design. I've downloaded the pattern from the Amy Butler website, and I'm thinking of using the fabric leaves to inject some much needed colour and texture into my living area, or maybe the bedroom.

I adore her fabric designs too, especially her Nigella range. Ah... I wish it was holidays again so I could get stuck into all my projects!!!

Marathon.

We have parent teacher interviews until 8pm tonight... ugh. And then, it begins again from 8am to 2:30pm. I'm going to treat it like a marathon. Will need plenty of snacks, drinks, etc... it's a long time when you're stuck in one chair interchanging parent after parent.

At least we get to finish early on Thursday. I'm thinking of heading to the Sandbar with the crew after.

And, on a totally unrelated not, I found the receipt for our faulty HD DVD recorder!!! Yes!!!

Now, that will be a priority after work tomorrow. It's doing my head in not being able to record.

Lil' Sis

I was hoping to drive to Melbourne with Keezy or Stacey this weekend and surprise Lan, but she's not going to be there unfortunately! So, this long weekend will once again be put to good use by working on the yard. Deon will be picking up some pavers this week, and then he's going to get me to help him start to pave (eek!).

Miss you heaps though Lan, I want to go to Village Cinemas with you and eat Trampoline Ice-Cream! OK, next long weekend xxoo

Just Because I Can.

Aaaaand... some more honeymoon ones! (Like the title says, just because I can!!)

PInk Ball

Some photos from the fabulous Pink Ball last year, which raised money for breast cancer. I'm hoping it will happen again this year! Loved it!

Keezy and the Pink Bag...

Us gorgeous girls!

Summer and I


Shane.. not sure what the number 21 is for though!

A slightly tipsy photo...

Deon and his lovely sister Summer

The boys....

Mandala

I'm going to start a Mandala unit with my Year 7's this week. Now, it's always interesting trialling a new unit, because you never know whether it's going to be a hit or miss. This unit will be a refreshed, revised take on the Kaleidescope one, which wasn't too bad, but didn't include any art history. By changing it to the Mandala, the kids will get to learn about the beautiful Buddhist sand Mandalas, and all about how art is linked to nature. The students will also make connections between Mandalas, and the art elements and principles they have been studying.

They will then design their own, and showcase them at the end of the unit. Ideally I would have liked them to do a research project, but I'm still working on that part of the unit, so hopefully that will debut next term.

Also, I adore creating these (I have to find the one I did at uni to show them as an example!) and it will give me an excuse to do one with them ;)

Thank You Notes

I've finally finished the wedding Thank Yous. I wanted to wait until we received our Peter Lik artwork, so I could show everyone how it looks in our house, and also to show them what we bought with their generous gifts. (It's just such a shame it took almost 3 months to deliver!)

I'm so glad we decided to buy an artistic piece with the wedding present money. Not only is it beautiful, but it's a perfect reminder of our honeymoon and our special day.

Quick Yard Update

No, this isn't my yard, but the plants will be similar!

Deon and I spent most of today working on the backyard. Let's just say I have a new appreciation of his job! We leveled quite a bit of the front, which we'll start paving next week, then begin to plant drought resistant plants such as succulents and natives.

He's taking me out for tea tonight, something I'm really looking forward to as it's been a while.

Things I'd Like to Do this Weekend..

As the week is winding down and approaching 3.31pm, I though I'd just make a quick list of what I'm hoping to do over the weekend...

• Finally start working on the yard. This is my current main frustration. Hopefully Deon and I can finalise a plan, and begin to act on it. It has to be this weekend, because next weekend he's helping Summer move.

• Continue painting. The little canvases are beginning to take shape, and are starting to look like what I've been picturing in my head the last couple of weeks.

• Buy a new bed for Nikita. I think I'll get her one of those large dog hammocks, as she seems to hate things over her head. I'm guessing that's why she avoids her kennel!

• Finish the Mandala unit that I'd like to start with my Year 7 Art class soon.

• Buy the new Jodie Picoult novel.

• Just chill out.
  

Update

Once again, the colours haven't shown up well at all in the photos (might have to start using my SLR camera instead of the compact) but it's just a little update to show what I was working on last night. Fabric has been added to the bottom canvas.

Turn it Around.

I thought I'd post a few positive things about my job to get me in the right frame of mind to tackle the rest of the week, so I'm not completely focused on the negatives:

• The Year 9 girl asking me if I knew how many students loved me, and how much they look forward to having me teach them.
• Some challenging Year 9 boys telling me that photography is 'wicked'.
• My adorable Year 7's telling me that art is their favourite class.
• The Year 7 boy telling me how he hated art in primary school, but since coming to high school he loves it because I encourage him and I make it 'fun'.
• The Year 10 girl asking me if I can be a co-ordinator because I listen really well, and obviously care about people.
• My form giving me a card that said I was the 'Maddest teacher in the land, and they were lucky to have me'.
• The little year 7 girl I don't even teach, but who keeps coming up to me in the yard and hugging me saying that she wants me to be her 'big sister'.
• Seeing all my wonderful work mates and friends every day, and constantly laughing with each other.
  

OK. That will do. Not a bad start to the day.

Making It Lovely #2 Post

Some more gorgeous images from the incredibly inspiring Making It Lovely site.

A Special Song

Our wedding song.. and one of my favourites.

Chunky Scarf

A knitting project I'd like to try for this Winter. It's been a while since I've picked up the needles, but I'm pretty sure I remember how to do it.

Mapplethorpe.

Just felt like posting my favourite Mapplethorpe images.

All Together

All of my little canvases in a row.. the colours are starting to come along nicely. Still need to play with the layout and the incorporation of fabric.

SYTYCD

Absolutely fabulous. One of my favourites so far.

Ponderings.

Right now I should be writing reports in my spare time, but I've completed half of them today, so I'll finish the other half tomorrow.

I'm hanging out for this week to be over. I'm hanging out, because we swap over timetables for term two, and I'm crossing every finger and toe that the yard duty roster will change, and I'll be back on the normal ONE a week instead of three, which is torture, and doesn't make for a good workplace environment.

All I feel like doing right now is escaping out of here, running home and working on my paintings. Yesterday was a write-off. Even though I had a fabulous time Saturday night, I had to spend all Sunday recovering.

I think I need a change of pace. As soon as a position at the Senior opens up, I'll be applying for it. I think I've had enough of 7-10. Starting to feel burnt out already and it's only my fourth year. This worries me slightly. However, the good thing about being here is that I'm ongoing, which will help quite a bit when we decide to start a family.

Hmm. Things to think about.

Wall Decals.

At the moment, I am in love with wall decals. I think they look absolutely beautiful, and add a certain artistic element to a room. I would love to do some in our place, but as we're looking to sell very soon, I might wait until the next place. A fabulous website to look at is http://secure.wonderfulgraffiti.com/ Have a browse through the gallery- I'm sure you'll become inspired.

Lovely Things

I've just been browsing the Interior Design website, and stumbled across a link that took me to these exquisite objects:

Mapplethorpe Limited Edition Set

Now, I am a HUGE Mapplethorpe fan. My last works, the Red series, were inspired by Mapplethorpe and his likening of the lily to a female form. Just gorgeous. And now.. there is a table art set of his works! Unfortunately they're quite expensive, but still lovely to look at. The website is www.tartontheweb.com

Here's a few more lovely unusual things from their site:

Niagra Chandelier (No.. I don't have a spare $45,000 for this!!!)

Canvas Vase Flowers Tapestry

Progression...

Update on the canvases from last night:


Completed another coat on the fifth canvas (more neutral tones- coffees, lattes and creams).

I worked more on the detail of this canvas, trying to get the reds to 'pop' and then blend with the creamier colours. I've also started adding silk, and silk threads. It's a shame that the photos really don't bring up the texture of the canvases, but I hope this gives people an idea of what I'm doing!

Another on the Wish List

I WISH that we had an IKEA or Freedom Furniture. I spend so much time in vain browsing their website and online catalogues, only to find something I love, but can't get because I'm 7 hours from the closest one! I guess the good thing is that Lan lives in Melbourne,so she can pick me up something if I really need it but really, it's not the same as being able just to drop in and browse for hours, which is what I LOVE to do. Sob!

And yes, I can justify all my posting during work hours.. I'm monitoring Time Out at the moment ;P

Movie Night

Tomorrow the crew are coming around so we can have a bit of a movie night, we're going to watch both Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino, and Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez. Yay!


And, of course, we'll be adding the combination of pizza and alcohol... why not?

More Progression.

I finished the third coat of two more canvases last night, but I felt exhausted after a long day at work (and a not-so-great thing happening to one of my dearest friends, but more about that later) so I'm not totally happy with them.. I think after the fourth layer they will start to look more promising.



And, of course, Mischa was a wonderful help as always ;)