Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Chinese dragon as painted by a 5 year old. I like the oriental brush technique this student achieved! I'll look forward to future classes with this K-1 bunch - they were so careful with their materials and it will be interesting to see how they develop.

We were at Haisla Community school today. The drive out was treacherous, even with travelling no faster than 35 km an hour over rain slicked pot-holey ice. Fortunately it was much smoother later in the day. Had fun in all 3 sessions too.

Inhale - Exhale...chill

TwinA noticed that TwinB's two main prescriptions were sitting empty on the bathroom counter.
I had made a point of inquiring re: the state of her med supply a few days earlier ; (
TwinB also managed to lose her cell phone (for the second time & probably for good) This essentially meant that she's been wandering around Calgary unmedicated, without her leash.
TwinA and the Big Brother drove her to a walk-in clinic on Monday so she could get everything rolling when she returned yesterday.
She told me it took most of the evening but she now has a really cool doctor and that little magic piece of paper with the scribblies on it. Now all she has to do is get her ass to a pharmacy so she can get those little magic pills in her system again.

Maybe I can breathe. At least till the next time.

Collaboration

Found this painting - by my very own TwinB - after having lost track of it for over 5 years. She painted it for our exhibit 'round about the time she turned 17. After she drew this and another similar creature I suggested that she paint it in the manner of a Russian icon.
Rather than tackle any of my own projects, I've opted to punch up the highlights and shadows, then smooth out the background on this piece.

This is way more fun than working on my own paintings!

Snow. Still

This photo was actually taken a few weeks ago. The District has since carted off dumptruck loads of it to make way for the inevevitable...which would be of course, more snow. The snow on the ground at present is level with a backyard trampoline.

Superlatives

Affirmation that will most likely remain unsurpassed in this lifetime:

"...you must be the most fascinating person in the universe."
Jordan, Grade 2, Roy Wilcox Elementary


(that would be me, Mrs. Hutson)

Art in the Classroom started 2 weeks ago. I descend upon every elementary class from K-7 up to 3 times throughout the season which runs from January to the end of April. The very first lesson was with the kindergarten students at Nechako school - we explored a very basic landscape with pastels. They were able to grasp the concept of perspective however fully formed bodies were still beyond many of them. (that particular wiring will not be budged or even nudged before its time.)
One little fellow was carefully sorting through his box to select the smallest nubs of pastel then placing them in his hand - "I'm picking out the babies!". Throughout the lesson he kept re-locating his 'babies' to a kleenex he'd placed on the teachers desk.
(aaaaw!)

Snow Management

I feel as though I need to justify my lack of posting and painting. Or painting and posting.

And here it is - snow management. Takes up alot of time pushing, flinging and trying to figure out just where on earth am I going to put the stuff?? We've received 373 centimeters of snow in the last 2 months...which is a bit over 12 feet, and even though it tends to melt back from time to time it's still 3 feet deep on the ground -and the piles are amazing!

So maybe we'll get a little break; maybe my tendonitis will clear up....ahhhh....just looked out the window; maybe pigs will fly.