Check out this must read list!

janieschroer — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:33:50 +0000

Here are some of the finished books from my illustration workshop! Although no one quite finished, all of the kids worked really hard binding and illustrating their pages. I am so proud of them!

Beat this Betty Crocker!

janieschroer — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:27:51 +0000

I’m very to excited to share with you the results of my quest to make fake cupcakes! I am working on several commissions for 8th Wonder Cupcakes, the new bakery opening next door to ARThouse, one of which is ever-lasting treats for display. Its amazing what a few simple materials from the craft and hobby store can end up as. I can’t wait to make more fake foods!

These are replicas of signature 8th Wonder flavors: Chocolate-Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla Rainbow, Red Velvet, Orange, and Root Beer. I finished them off with silver liners not shown.

I made most of the toppings with Sculpey clay and glass beads.

Lightweight joint compound is amazing! It can easily be tinted with craft paint and piped on like real frosting!

Book Illustration extravaganza!

janieschroer — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:44:25 +0000

Today I held the first of three workshops dedicated to illustrating children’s books at ARThouse. I have been extremely excited to share this little passion of mine with my students and I am so lucky to have a group of kids that seem just as excited as I am (they also happen to be pretty talented but I’m a little bias). They focused on their manuscripts and storyboards and will start their illustrations and a little bookbinding next week. I cannot wait to see their progress over the next few weeks.

I brought some of my favorite books for inspiration.

My example dummy book. There are polka-dot endpages that you cannot see in the image--super cute.

I ♥ ART

janieschroer — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:24:41 +0000

Last night ARThouse held an I ♥ ART show reception in honor of our students amazing artistic efforts. What a great night! Although the show was put together somewhat last minute (I learned how hard it can be for fliers and postcards to make it in the hands of parents) we had an impressive collection of work from current and past semesters. I really enjoyed having the chance to chat with parents about their students successes. I could not believe the turnout! For quite some time it was difficult to maneuver around in our small space but I think everyone enjoyed themselves . The best part was seeing how excited and proud the kids were to have their art on display. Having the rare occasion to see some of them dressed up with slicked over hair was also pretty enjoyable.

So far so good with the Softies…

janieschroer — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:16:11 +0000

Friday was the first day of the stuffed animal Clay & Sculpture project and it went amazingly well! Granted, there was no actually sewing to be had–that comes next week. To get things started the kiddos drew three views of a stuffed animal in a little sketchbook before savagely taking them apart to draw the shape of each fabric piece. When I first told them about the impending “dissection” they all looked sick. If only I had found stuffed frogs! Once they got started they really enjoyed themselves. I have been very lucky to have students in this class that are super excited about the projects. Then again giving them water and pretzels during their snack break makes their day; but hearing their amazement at how a two-hour class flies by is pretty cool!

A sampling of the patterns I created.

Urgh. Argh. I made this.

janieschroer — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:25:27 +0000

Check it out! In preparation for a new project for my Clay & Sculpture class, I sewed my very first stuffed animal–or rather “soft sculpture” I should say. This is something I have wanted to do for a while now and I whipped this puppy out in a mere six to seven hours (I spent an hour today making a stuffed banana for the little guy). Yep, there is nothing like an exciting craft project to keep a diligent artist up till two in the morning. Of course, I did have some help from my eager assistant, Linkin. If you’re looking for a challenge, try working a sewing machine with a 15 pound dog in your lap. I am super excited to see what my students come up with for their softies! I’m expecting at least one pig, a couple of cats or dogs, and one car. I will keep you posted.

Besides finding inspiration from other artists on Etsy.com, I found the Cute Dolls/Fun Dolls books by Aranzi Aronzo extremely helpful. I love these books! They broke down the process of each doll in easy steps with fun illustrations and patterns to follow. Very cute stuff. This monkey doll, a version of a character I created many moons ago called Bruce, is my own design.

A New House to Call Home

janieschroer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 06:34:42 +0000

First of all, I would like to apologize for the rather long delay in updating this blog. Christmas passed a couple of days ago (a white Christmas in Texas no less) and I finally feel I have an opportunity to catch my breath. After a stressful summer of job-hunting, I was very fortunate to get my first official teaching job at a place called Studio ARThouse. Despite being part-time I have found that teaching in general is a very time-consuming profession, although I am not complaining. I teach the majority of the Studio Artist classes, all of the Homeschool and Clay & Sculpture workshops, camps, and the occasional birthday party–busy, busy, busy.

One semester in and I can easily say that I love my job! I love the people I work with, I love my students, and I still love coming to work everyday. Following graduation, I thought I knew everything I needed to know to take on the responsibilities of having my own classroom but boy was I wrong! I have learned so much already at ARThouse about teaching art and myself–you can never prep too much, always have high expectations of yourself and your students (you‘d be amazed at what a three or five year old can do), and Scrubbing Bubbles can clean anything. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year holds. I will try my best to keep you abreast of the goings-on in the Spring semester. I really do learn something new everyday.

My ARThouse apron. It did not stay red for long.

The Real Deal

janieschroer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:39:44 +0000

Here are a couple of photos from my recent trip to Chicago. By far my favorite thing to do was spend the day at the Art Institute of Chicago. I was absolutely amazed at how much there was to see! This is an incredible place and I wish I could have spent more time there. One of my favorite exhibits was one featuring art from Caldecott Award winning picture books. Big surprise, huh? It was amazing to see work by Kadir Nelson, David Weisner, and others in person. Many illustrations glistened under the lights and it was a magical moment for me. The Thorne miniature room exhibit was also very impressive. We could have spent the entire day just looking at the sixty-eight incredibly detailed little rooms. But nothing beats being able to see some of my favorite paintings up close including Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, Grant Wood’s American Gothic, and the ginormous A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Seurat.

Before coming to the Art Institute, we spent the morning at the Museum of Contemporary Art (for free!) and were able to see Olafur Eliasson’s Take your time exhibit which I had missed when it came to Dallas. That show rocks! My favorite piece was Room for one colour, 1997, a hallway filled with yellow light from monochromatic bulbs which makes everyone look black and white as they walk through it. So cool!! If you get a chance, you should definitely check out this exhibit–and definitely spend a couple of days at the Art Institute.

Me next to Grant Wood's American Gothic

Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

A trip to the museum is always better…

janieschroer — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:28:54 +0000

Erik and I just returned from watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and we really enjoyed it! The original was great but I had a lot of fun seeing the vast world of the Smithsonian come alive, especially the fine art in the museum. It was very cool to see Jeff Koon’s Balloon Dog bounce around, Degas’ Little Dancer twirl, and the old folks in American Gothic join in on all the chaos in the museum. I think this movie would be a treat for my future classes! Where else (besides an actual museum) can you see works of art as more than static objects?

Hello world!

janieschroer — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:21:30 +0000

I cannot say how excited I am to have started this new blog dedicated not only to my art but my experiences as an art educator as well! This is a great space for me to share my ideas and get feedback for my creative thoughts both in and out of the classroom. Please check back for new posts, lessons, and artwork soon!