Weekend Adventures - Part I - Laguna Sunset

Friday nite while Jimmy and I were driving in my new Mini with the top down, scarfing down oh so yummy $1 cheeseburgers and fries, we decided to take a drive down to Laguna Beach to watch the sun set and walk in the surf. We got there just in time and were able to get a good parking spot next to Main Beach where all the action is. We either went out into the water a little to far or the waves were bigger then we anticipated, but by the time the sun had set Jim was soaking wet LOL. He wasn't laughing though, just me. I think we may have followed those cheeseburgers and fries with some frozen yogurt, mum mum good!

7th Grade Wire Wrapped Pendants - Student Art

My new crop of 7th graders are starting this assignment today with a preliminary wire wrapped rock first, then tomorrow they will bring in something special to wrap like last year's 7th grader Teresa Yoon did above. She brought in 2 simple buttons and with a couple beads and some wire created a very unique piece of jewelry. My new 7th graders, if you haven't already done so, please click on 7th Grade Wire Pendants to see all the outstanding pieces that were done last year.

Lump Boxes - Student Art

One of my beginning clay kids favorite assignments are the Japanese inspired Lump Boxes. Made from a solid block of clay, the students form the outside first by paddling the clay. I ask them to try for a form that is somewhat asymmetrical. When satisfied they slice off the top portion then begin to carve out the insides. They also carve out the inside of the lid, and figure out a way to hinge it or lock it back onto the box either in the plastic stage or after glazing. The piece I'm featuring above by junior Michael Clark last year, went way beyond the minimum requirements. Not only did he make a very cool lump box but he suspended it with coils, so that he ended up with a very sculptural but functional work. Wow!!! A close up for you below. It's no surprise that Michael wants to be a structural engineer.

These next 6 pieces were beautifully made as well. Look at the variety of organic and geometric forms, along with their lid solutions, and of course the way they finished them off with either glaze, oxides or both. The top 3 belong to last years seniors Tricia Hanamoto, Bryant Min and Vanessa Mansilla, and the bottom 3 were created by seniors Justin Currlin, Chris Shishado, and Heidi Aguilar.

This next gorgeous box (above)belongs to junior Tiffany Wang (again these are students from last years class). Look at how cleverly she hid her locking lid. And the 3 below were handbuilt by seniors Jennifer Su, Erin Unson and Jason Lee.

These next 2 (above and below) were created 2 years ago and I'm sorry to say that I've lost track of who made them. But they are both great examples to share.

And this last little cutie was made by junior Typhena Liu, who I wish so badly would have been able to work me into her schedule this year. Everything she produced was wonderful last year.

Boysenberries on the Vine

This is my first attempt growing berries and so far so good. My son and I picked up this healthy plant last May at our favorite nursery in Newport called Rogers Gardens, and we put it against the upstairs railing where we were able to stake it, also a place that gets plenty of sun. You are seeing my first cluster ripen. I let Zach have the first berry and he said it was sweet and juicy. I had the next 2. Yummy! And the new puppy snagged the last one LOL. Gotta watch her like a hawk.

Aged Metal Booklets - Student Art

Almost done posting the artwork from last years students, just got a couple more to go before we start seeing what this year's crop is up to. These pieces were done last year in a jewelry unit on metal aging by my Intermediate 3-d class, and man oh man were they cool. The kids worked with a variety of aging techniques on copper sheeting like liver of sulfur, torching, hammering, ammonia, vinegar and sawdust, and etching to name a few. They also learned how to emboss the copper, pierce it and so much more. Then they took their favorite techniques and built a miniature booklet which included bringing in embellishments like beads, charms and metal brads. The top piece was made by senior Alma Gudino, and the piece below done by junior Olivia Hill.

As always, what I love is that all of them are so unique. The 2 above were created by senior Trisha Shah and junior Angeline Tran. You can view the ones made 2 years ago by clicking on Metal Aged Books. It's definitely worth a look see.

Extra Credit Winner

Congrats to 7th grade Art Wheel student Jason Yoon for not only doing the extra credit that was offered up on the blog Monday nite but for also having the cutest pup ever, little Butter.

The Rockits & Highlites at St. Martins Oktoberfest

Had way too much fun this last Friday night dancing and singing along to all my favorite songs with the boys and girls in the band. St. Martins was packed with both old and young with lots to do from the carnival rides and games to the food booths, silent auction and of course the reason I was there, Jimmy's band The Rockits. Above Jim and Dan (best friends and in this band together for the past 30 years) are clowning around, leaning all over each other, cuz they had to play 4 full sets from 7 till 11, and they were getting tired and it was a hot, humid evening!

I love the shot above cuz I was able to catch Jimmy blowing me a kiss. :)

And here is a rare shot of Jim actually singing (he doesn't usually sing only cuz he can never remember the words LOL) with 2 of the Highlites, Richie and his wife Donna, a Doo Wop group that drives in from Vegas to sing with the Rockits. Not sure when their next show is, but I'll keep you posted in case you want to join me next time.

Our New Arrival

Wanted to show off the 2 girls in my life, little Princess Sophia Agrums Sposa and my daughter Danielle. Sophie arrived 2 Saturdays ago after we got her from a rescue at Pet Co in Anaheim Hills (she brought with her the name Princess) Here she is above on her first day with us. She is a soft coat Wheaten Terrier mix, about 7 months old or so the vet tells us. She is affectionate and so happy and loving. She follows us all over the house and we can take her outside without a leash and she comes right back after she does her business. Jim has taught her to sit and she will go up the stairs for me if I ask her to so she doesn't get out when I pull the car out in the morning. A very smart young one. Danielle and I had a photo shoot with her Saturday night after she went to the groomers to get a bath and trim.

She loves to play fetch with her new favorite chew rope and will bring it right back after you throw it and she releases so you can throw it again. Did I already tell you how smart she is. LOL

So welcome to your new home Sophie. For EXTRA CREDIT bring me a pix of your pup to share. Put your name and period on the back side.

And The Band Plays On

Come join Jimmy and I, and his band The Rockits with The Highlites play this Friday nite, Sept. 24, at St. Martins Catholic Church's Annual Carnival/Oktoberfest in Yorba Linda from 7 till 11 (cross streets are Fairmont and Yorba Linda Blvd). It's gonna get wild. Lots of dancing and singing to the music from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's with a lot of Doo Wop from the Highlites. The food is great there with lots of beer and wine going on for us older folk. So look for me and let's dance! Extra Credit: If I see you there you will get a whooping 5 extra credit points. :) Note to Harry: I'll be watching for you LOL. Note to Carol in Essex, OMG! Your landscape is gorgeous, saw it today, you've got to finish it so I can see the whole thing, and look at you go with the machine embrodiery and the fused organza. Hurry up and finish them will ya???!!!

Realistic Head Rattles - Student Work

My last years Ceramics I students outdid themselves with these realistic heads, that when shaken are also rattles. Making them highly expressive and realistic as possible were their goals. And then the finishing off was critical to their success as well. This top one was done by junior Tryphena Liu, and the 3 bottom ones were made by seniors Justin Currlin, Brian Jin and junior Chareena Eleazar.

These last 3 were done by seniors Julie Chong, Bryant Min and Erin Unson. Before the kids started on these I went thru the placement of the facial features to better acquaint them with the human head, both profile as well as frontal. The students were fairly intimidated by the assignment but ended up having a lot of fun with it once they got going.

Solar Printed Cards - Student Work

These sweet little cards were made by my Beginning 3-d class as their end of the year final last school year. I gave them each a piece of photo sensitive fabric that they laid out their design onto and then exposed the fabric to the sun. Wherever their design touched stayed white but the rest that was exposed turned a lovely shade of blue. Then I asked them to cut the fabric into strips and use it as weft to weave onto a thick piece of white board that they had warped with multi-colored sewing string. Then they mounted that into a card format. They results were all very unique and the kids really enjoyed the assignment. The shots above and below were the work of senior Ashley Chang. She also brought in some very cool embellishing with pearle cottons and some stamping with pencil eraser heads. I also like what she did with the inside.

Another piece that was really fun belonged to senior Kevin Ni (below). He also embellished with some stamping, and with a few of his polymer clay beads that he had made earlier in the year. It was my first time to use solar fabric in this card assignment, usually we sew it into pillows, so it was a nice change for me.

Color Embosssments - Student Art

This grouping is the work of last school years Beginning 2-d class, and part of a printmaking unit I do with them at the end of the year. They start with a dense piece of cardboard (above left) that they glue shapes, lines and textures to. They are able to choose their own subject matter and may work realistically, abstract or non-objectively. I give them a nice piece of printmaking paper and off they go to the printing press after the glue has dryed on their printing plate. Because it's the end of the year they are familiar with many types of color media so they are able to choose whichever one they want to use to color the piece in with when it comes off the press. The plate and the finished piece above belongs to senior Sarah Lee. Sarah used watercolor, jute and shells to embellish her piece with.

One of my favorite students from last year, junior Shirley Sun, did the impressive Elvis' above. I'm pretty sure she used oil pastels to color her pieces with. What's really amazing is that she was able to do 4 of them in the time it took the others to just get one done. Way to go woman!! And look at senior Sonya Liu's beauty below. She watercolored hers in as well as added the wire. Great touch Sonya!

And junior Michael Jo made this beautiful thank you piece which he collaged and pasteled, added the yarn bow, and then mounted on top of some painted paper. What a sweet piece Michael, and thank you for making it for me. :) What a lovely gift. Below, senior Alan Tsim did the Asian inspired work. I'm pretty sure he colored it with pastels.

And we end with a very strong design by junior Paul Kim. I believe he used oil pastels in his work. Great job to all of you!

Lidded Containers - Student Work

These containers were handbuilt by my 2nd year Ceramics students last school year using a slab/pinch/paddle technique that's really fun to build with. They were supposed to also incorporate texture and have a tight fitting lid, with knobs and handles so it could be really functional. The results were wonderful. The fabulous piece above was built by senior Steven Ebalobar.

Senior Ekta Doshi's piece was so varied I had to take 3 different shots so you could truly appreciate all that she did with this assignment. What a creative designer she is! Both kids used a staining technique to finish off their pieces. Steven stained with red iron oxide and Ekta dipped her whole piece in our black glaze, left it alone on the inside , but wiped it off on the outside, so that her piece has a slight sheen to it, plus the glaze remained in all the crevices to highlight her details.

Burnished Whistles - Student Work

These closed pinch forms were so challenging because the kids had to make their pieces whistle. I think all of them were able to do it after much coaching from me as well as each other. But sadly there are always a few who can't make it happen. There are so many new techniques learned in this assignment, it's about working in a non-objective subject matter, putting 2 pinch bowls together and then paddling out a pleasing form, as well as getting it to whistle. As the clay become leather hard and bone dry, the kids rub the forms with a stone or spoon until they have a high gloss finish which is the burnishing process. Then they are bisqued and put into a sawdust firing where the carbon gets into the clay surface and leaves cool markings. After coming out of this firing they wash off the ashes and rub the surface with metallic compounds, creating highly interesting surfaces. See the close-up below that was made by senior Esther Lee. The 3 above were made by seniors Vanessa Mansilla, Nicholas Fernando and Eugene Kim, all graduates of 2010.

Watercolor/Charcoal from Students in 2010

Look at my Beginning 2-d Art kids go last year. They had just completed a watercolor and a charcoal/shading unit and in these sweet little pieces I asked them to combine the 2 media in whatever order they wanted. In other of words, do they watercolor first and then add the charcoal when the water was dry or visa versa. I think many of them watercolored first. They were able to choose whatever subject they wanted. The really wonderful piece above was made by junior Paul Kim and below him was senior Alan Tsim in an equally sensitive work.

The gorgeous landscape above was done by senior Jeremy Chung and the woman below was created by senior Brain Choi.

And I love the timely message that senior Heather Shim is trying to convey in her piece above, and then look at the spontaneous, lovely and sensitive stylings of junior Kevin Aquilo below.

Eighth grader Heather Warner liked the unit so much that she did hers at home cuz she didn't want to wait for the next day to get going on it. I think Heather's dad may have said something to the effect that he wished she put this kind of energy into her other homework LOL. Then we end with junior Michael Jo's work which I felt was sooo cool. Love the text he brought into his negative space background. I am so proud of all of you!