Art Girl

More Critters

2010-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Flying Fish?

Some are going to be tree ornaments. The cardinal, hiding behind the rabbit in the front, was too small to work on easily. More to come...

Needle Felting

2010-12-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

Ted says that I have become a Felting Fool. I admit it. I've been making a felt critter almost daily since I took the workshop and bought a grocery bag of wool. Several have gone to live at someone else's house, but I still have a menagerie. And visions of more are dancing in my head!

The first brown bear.

And the new wool from Judy Shuros!

October!

2010-10-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

These women are just a few examples of the superior art teachers in the state of Iowa. I spent last weekend with them at the AEI Fall Conference in Sioux City.

What happened to September? I think it got washed away in the flood of the Mississippi! We had to take our boats out of the water and off of the lift and the beach because the Mississippi flooded our docks and the sailing club. It is slowly going down, but now it doesn't seem smart to put a dry boat back into the water. The temperatures have been summery, but we know that that could change over night.

I haven't had time to quilt recently. But this Friday, I will deliver my quilts to the Northeast Iowa Quilters' Guild Quilt Show for judging.

Summer Quilt Project

2010-08-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

I've just finished a Grandmother's Flowergarden wallhanging. I began with pieces pre-cut and grouped by Dana Jackson's great aunt. Dana inherited a grocery bag of pieces and gave them to me after realizing that she was not interested in using them. I've had great fun coming up with ways to use hundreds of hexagons.

This quilt is destined for the NE Iowa Quilter's Guild show in October. I'm planning to enter it in "Name That Tune." The name of the quilt must be the name of a song. I have several candidates for the name of this quilt. I was looking or songs from the 30's since the pieces are sugarsack prints from the 30's and 40's. Here are my suggestions, so far:

"Love in Bloom" by Bing Crosby 1934
"The Music Goes Round and Round" 1935
"Thanks for the Memories," Bob Hope 1939
"Sugar, Sugar," sung by Wilson Picket, #1 single in 1969

I'm open to other possibilities.

The border is made from several 30's fabrics I purchased. The binding is 1960's bias tape that I bought at a store that was going out of business several years ago. It matched the color of the flower centers perfectly.

Spring Quilt is finished...

2010-06-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

This is my Malanaphy Springs quilt. It frames six flowers that we saw on the Malanaphy Springs trail this spring. Later, my friend Karen and I walked there following her first chemo treatment. It is a healing place!

Second Graders

2010-04-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've been helping Lower Elementary teachers at North Winn. learn how to use Blogger to share news from their classrooms with parents and patrons. This is a slideshow of second graders this year. Their teacher, Mary Glock, is taking her well-earned retirement at the end of this school year.

Cancer College and Wailin' Jennys

2010-02-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

I went to two wonderful performances this weekend. I began with the opening night of Lessons from Cancer College, Nancy Barry's play about her experience as a college professor diagnosed with breast cancer. Nancy's cancer was a little different from mine, but her thoughts through the diagnosis and treatment paralleled mine. I am so glad that she is such a talented writer who can share our thoughts and emotions so well. Her work is being shared through this one-woman play and Kristen Underwood is the one woman. I recommend this play to everyone. I know that Ted could not go for fear of facing his fears again. I'm hoping that he will go later because Nancy's words and Kristen's actions are good for releasing those fears.

The second performance was the Wailin' Jennys at Luther. The music was crystal, and the mood was intimate, even with the CFL full of people. The Jennys are three young women with terrificly blended voices and professional polish plus a male fiddle player who backs them up impeccably. They are going to be playing in Winona on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at St. Mary's College, if you missed the Decorah performance. Their music is joyous and warm.

Another Quilt

2010-02-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

Between skiing and blood testing, I have managed to finish another wallhanging. This one is for Katey, Charlie's girl friend, to hang in her office. I'm putting it in the mail today. Katey is a social worker, who works with moms and kids in a program for women who have been in trouble with the law in Cedar Rapids. This should brighten up her office!

Infarction, INfarction, InFarction

2010-02-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

Last night on the radio, I heard someone mention a "cardiac infarction" or a heart attack. It made me think: "I had a kidney attack." Not something that you hear very often. I've always thought that the word "infarction" is the kind that middle school kids would like to say over and over, real fast. And it might turn into a word that you usually don't get to say in polite company.

I'm still adjusting medication to control blood clotting. And I'm still shooting myself in the belly twice a day with Lovenox, the high priced stuff. I can't quit taking it until the warfarin has everything under control by testing at a #2-3 level. So far it is 1.6, so I'm getting there. It is taking longer than I expected.

I was surprised to learn that I wouldn't quit taking the Lovenox when I started taking the warfarin. Can you imagine taking two medications for the same problem and not being over-medicated? The nurse in the lab explained to me that the two medications control clotting in different ways, so it is okay to take them both at the same time. The Lovenox is my safety net until the warfarin is in control. At least the blood tests are a stick in the finger, rather than a draw from the arm.

I noted this morning when I took the injection that I am almost through my second box of alcohol wipes. That means that pretty soon I will have taken 200 shots of Lovenox. That is a lot of pokes in a relatively small area of the body. Good thing it isn't into my arm. My belly is several shades of purple, black and green. Sometimes the injection doesn't leave a mark, but other times it makes a bruised streak that looks like I've been punched. Beautiful in some ways, but not all. I'm still amazed at the knowledge of the medical profession.

Playground

2010-02-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

These were not taken at North Winn., but the same kinds of activities were happening there. These are the St. Benedict's School students at noon recess. I took the two photos 7 seconds apart and look at how much movement there was between the two! Whew! It makes me feel like I might need a nap!

Simon: Cat-man-do

2010-02-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

Quilts for Kids

2010-02-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

I have finished a quilt for a very special project. Quilts for Kids is a website that allows quilters to receive fabric that is precut to make a crib-sized quilt that will be given to a hospitalized child. The quilter provides the batting and thread and puts the quilt together, then returns it to Quilt for Kids. They will make sure that it goes to a child who is hospitalized.

I was really thrilled with the fabric: neon colored prints on black backgrounds. The pattern provided was a four-patch. Jazzy diagonal stripes make a border around the four patch panels. Very fun. It took me an afternoon and an evening to finish the whole quilt, including machine quilting. I am not usually a machine quilter. I much prefer slow, but controlled, hand quilting.

The large squares are printed with tools: drills, nail guns, and saws. As I was working on the patchwork, I was thinking of the name for the quilt. Tool Man? I just registered the name of the quilt as Tool Four-patch. I'm hoping that some boy or girl who loves playing with tools will get this quilt.

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T05:33:00.000-08:00

I have had so many positive comments about the CaringBridge blog that I am thinking that I should start writing here more regularly. There are plenty of things to write about, other than health and medical issues!

I am doing the Project 366-1 (2010). It involves posting a photo every day of the year on Flickr. I did the project in 2009 and only missed a few days when I was hospitalized. On New Year's Eve, I realized that I like taking a photo a day and don't really want to give it up. I carry my little Canon with me in my pocket almost everywhere I go. Ted has become so accustomed to me having the camera, when I leave it at home, he cannot believe it.

Health Break

2009-10-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

I may be taking a little break from computer time for a few days. I have been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be undergoing surgery on Wednesday, November 4. For an update on the treatment, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nancysojka . You will need to set up a log in with your email address.

Thanks for all of the good wishes. I feel like I have a very strong group of friends and family behind me!

Mrs. Sojka Receives Distinguished Service Award

2009-10-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

On October 3, the Art Educators of Iowa presented an award for Distiguished Service in the Profession to Nancy Sojka. Mrs. Sojka was honored for her work with the AEI organization as their webmaster since 1994 and a member of their board of directors since 1986, as well as her years as an art teacher at North Winneshiek.
Five other people were honored with awards at the ceremony at the University of Northern Iowa, during the AEI Fall Conference. Also attending the Conference for her first time was North Winn. art teacher, Susan Heier. The annual Fall Conference is a chance for art teachers from across the state to take part in workshops, learn new techniques, and network with art teachers and artists from across the state.

Branching Out Grant

2009-08-21T17:17:00.001-07:00

Branching Out Grant

As members of the Decorah Tree Board, Bob and I accepted a check for $2000 from Alliant Energy's rep. Lori, in front of the Berenstein Bears' Treehouse. Albert looks on approvingly!
Originally uploaded by Smooth Sailing Nancy

Mustang on the Roof Close-up

2009-08-21T16:28:00.001-07:00

The Last Mustang I painted this summer. Can you guess where it is?

How to get Blogs fed directly to your Mail program.

2009-08-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

When I loaded the new Mail 3.6 with the new OS X, I began getting the RSS feeds from Apple again. I had deleted that from my mailboxes a long time ago. It made me start to think about RSS feeds from Blogger. I figured it out!

First, you go to the blog that you want to have fed to your computer and copy the URL. Then in the Mail program, under the File menu, go to Add RSS Feeds...

Select Specify a custom feed URL and paste in the URL. Click Add.

The title of the blog will show up in your RSS Mailbox. The first time you get the feed, you will get all of the postings that the blogger has posted, but it is easy to delete down through them and see what you might have missed earlier!

Several teachers at North Winn. updated their blogs today. I'll be around to help anyone who would like on Monday morning.

Decorah ArtWalk 2009

2009-06-24T06:31:00.000-07:00

I've participated in past years, but this year has started out well. I got a call from a former student, asking to buy a couple of quilted items that I have on display in the windows of Elaine's.

It's All About the Art!

2009-06-24T06:28:00.001-07:00

Obama Administration Working To Revamp Image Of "No Child Left Behind."
The Washington Post (6/23, Glod) reports, "Seven years ago, a rally at the Department of Education promoted one of then-President George W. Bush's most significant domestic achievements -- the No Child Left Behind law. The backdrop: a red schoolhouse." Now, as the Obama administration seeks to put "its own stamp on education reform," officials are considering "a new name and image for" the law, which "has grown unpopular with many teachers and suburban parents, even though it was enacted with bipartisan support in Congress." Currently, "No Child logos on the Education Department elevators are being stripped." In addition, "official correspondence to states now refers to the law's original name, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965." And "on Saturday...construction workers pulled down the schoolhouse and its No Child Left Behind sign. Instead, photos of students, from preschool to college age, are going up on 44 ground-floor windows, forming an exhibit that can be seen from outside."

New Bloggers: Everyone starts somewhere!

2009-01-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

Welcome to all of the North Winn. teachers who are beginning their Blogging Careers! We are planning an in-service on Monday, January 12 to get everyone going!

I'm Back...

2008-09-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

In case you have been wondering about me, I have not abandoned this site. It just took a while to get back to it. Now that I am retired, I have to chose the projects. And working part-time at NWinn has been pretty full-time the last couple of weeks. And before that I was Porch Painting.
I have photos online of the Porch Painting Project. Stop by for a visit. I'm looking forward to having a cup of tea on this porch one day with a new owner!

Willow Trellis/Fence Class

2006-06-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

For many years, I have been sad to find that I have missed taking willow classes
offered each summer at Willowglen Nursery
This year I managed to register early and had a wonderful learning how to "build" with willow saplings. There were eleven of us in the class on a beautiful Saturday morning.
Some of the students used pre-harvested willow. I joined those who cut our own. I even left the leaves at the top of the three panel screen that I made.
I had so much fun that I hope to go back for the Willow Basket class in August.

Spring in the Garden

2006-06-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

The Spring came so quickly that I had to scramble to keep up! Here are photos of the season in the North Winn. Garden.
Mary Glock received a McElroy grant to purchase butterfly-attracting plants. The first and second graders also received a personalized trowl to make the planting even more fun! Mary recorded the planting with a new camera from the grant. See more photos.

"Kindergardeners"

2006-04-28T18:57:00.000-07:00

The garden has had many workers this week. And maybe the most enthusiastic are the shortest ones, who helped on Friday! They are excited by wearing work gloves and using garden tools. I love teaching a student how to use a shovel, a hoe, or a broom! If you're looking for a meaningful gift for a child, take note!

And the tulips are in bloom! Tori was one of the fifth graders who came out to help spread out the mulch on Tuesday. Check out the newly planted Starburst Magnolia among the red tulips.

Campbell's Labels Pay Off

2006-04-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Logan is one of the many students using the new sewing machine in the art room. Mr. Wilson's sixth graders have been great volunteers to bundle Campbell's labels to send in to the company. So it makes sense that they be the first to try out the new Brother machine.

We have an old machine in the art room that we inherited from the Home Ec. department. But the old one is kind of finicky and has hard to remember, complex threading. We had "banked" about 13,000 Campbell's labels. I knew that there was something that we would need some time when we had a large number of labels banked. One day when I had rethreaded the old machine about 15 times in an hour, it dawned on me that we could get a sewing machine with the labels. I ordered it online and two days later it was on the sewing table in the art room.
Thanks, Past and Present Sixth Graders!

Stained Glass in School

2006-04-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Middle School students made these stained glass designs and placed them in the lobby windows.

Mustang Gardens Sprouting

2006-04-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

The first flowers of spring are blooming in the Mustang Gardens. Delicate blue scillia are blooming right in front of our copper sign. We've put up some temporary fencing to keep little feet from trampling the new tulips that are coming up. There should be many blooms appearing next week!
It looks like many of the perennials that we planted last year have made it. We can still use some more. If anyone has pampas or other decorative grasses, we have a place to plant them.
We have a recent donation by Logan McConnell's grandmother, Cindy, who works at Gemini. The Gemini organization donates $250 to a charity of the employee's choice. We will soon be receiving a red bud tree to plant in the east flower bed. This tree will be planted in memory of Brady Stortz, our original inspiration for planting the Mustang Gardens.
We will also be receiving new lettering "North Winneshiek" to be mounted on the east wall of the building. You will be able to identify us in the dark! We'll plant that decorative grass below the sign. The lettering is being made by Brian Peterson at Letterwerks, a corporate Friend of North Winneshiek at a very reasonable rate.

Fifth Graders at the Sewing Machine

2006-04-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

In the past two days, more than 22 pillows have been sewn in the art room. Fifth graders began a couple weeks ago, making drawings on fabric. We cut strips of printed fabrics to frame the drawings.
Yesterday Marty Kirk, grandma of Tory, a fifth grader, brought her sewing machine to the art room. With her patient help, we taught all of the fifth graders how to do a straight stitch on the sewing machine.
Macayla and Lexie finished the last two pillows this morning.
Happy dreams, Fifth Grade Seamsters!

First Grade Fashion Models

2006-04-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

First Dyed

2006-04-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the results of the first graders' tye dying project. All of the students brought clothing or fabric to dye. We used the plastic bag method. Each student folded, twisted, or rolled their cloth. Then they wrapped rubber bands tightly around the cloth and placed it in a zip lock bag. Then using red, yellow, and/or blue dye in squeeze bottles, each student applied color to the cloth. The bags were zipped shut and kept overnight. The next day students rinsed their dyed cloth and removed the rubber bands.
When the clothing and cloths were dried and put on displayed in the cafeteria.

Pre-K Choices

2006-04-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here are some art made by PreK students today. The little dish is white earthenware clay, painted in spring colors with tempera paints. It is hard to get that first dish to have sides that go up. Caleb did a great job. Two other choices today included Dot Markers and painting. There were egg patterns to trace around or students could draw or paint the subjects of their choice. All of the colors looked great.
You can see that there are many levels of involvement in their art-making. Some make the same thing over and over. Some make one thing and some make many things to take home. Some never want to take anything home. I always wonder why they don't want to share their art.

Dye for Art

2006-04-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Some students have tie dyed t-shirts or decorated them with fabric markers. The dye is powdered dye that can be mixed up with water to add to a plastic bag, where the tied shirt is safely keeping the dye off of hands and clothing. The dye stays on the fabric for 24-48 hours. Then the shirt is rinsed and dried. On Friday, we will be doing this with all of the First Graders!

More Middle School

2006-04-06T08:09:00.000-07:00

Drawing from life or from a photo of a real object are skills that take practice. Using the Right Side of the Brain is attained with much concentration and overcoming the left side of the brain.

Working like artists....

2006-04-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

These middle school students have chosen a variety of media and subjects for their latest art projects. The tissue paper stained glass project is the last of the assigned projects for middle school artists.
We have limited room and tools for working with wood in the art room. If anyone has scrap wood from a building or remodelling projects, we could use it. We have a wood burning tool, carving tools, hammers and nails. There isn't room for the table saw or a large jig saw, but wouldn't it be nice!

Cats in Hats

2006-04-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday and the success of our students during Read Across America week at North Winn, every student from kindergarten through fifth grade made a hat. The simplist were decorated headbands. The most complex were hats very similar to Mr. Dugger's. Every student was proud to wear a hat that he or she had made. Here are a few!

2006-04-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

No Artist Left Behind

2006-04-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

My first note to Parents and Friends:
Last week at this time, I was sitting in a beautiful room in the Chicago Hilton with about 30 other art teachers from around the country. I was at the National Art Education Convention. Mona in her blue aviator glasses was in the window of one of the stores I walked by each day on Michigan Ave. Can you find me in my sunglasses reflected in the window?
The session was about the Choice-based Art Classroom --something I had heard of, but never investigated. The session was led by two teachers from different parts of the country who have adopted the arrangement for their kindergarten through eight classrooms. The room is divided into Studios. Each day after the teacher makes a brief (5 minute) presentation about the subject of the day or an artist in the news or a review of how to do a certain process, students go to the studio of their choice to begin working on the project of their choice! Students have been instructed in the appropriate use of all of the tools and materials in each studio. Some students may work on an art project for many weeks; others will work in 3 to 4 studios per class period.
Aha! Something I could do to get more authentic art work from my students and provide them with more true artistic behavior. The jiggle for the group of teachers is "Teaching for Artistic Behavior." I have always wished that my students would not wait for me to tell them how to make their art. But I have been enabling them to depend on me for their artisitic decisions. It is time to give them the opportunity to make good and bad decisions.
We are beginning to move things around in the art room this week. We already have quite a few of the cabinets and boxes rearranged to get all of the Fibers in one corner of the room. We are also beginning to organize a Research area with books, filing cabinets and art prints. Next week we will be getting all of the painting and drawing materials arranged into two distinct studio areas. After those, there will be a Clay/Sculpture area. We will also try to find room for meeting to discuss at the beginning of our classes and to view work at the end of classes.
We may have piles of boxes and draws around the art room for a few weeks. I have a HEAP of things to learn about how to do this. Isn't it amazing that after teaching for more than 29 years, I have something new to learn?