I'm Ba-ack!

Here I am. There you are. Here we are, back at the blog.  First and foremost, I'd like to give a hearty "Welcome back!" to those who've read my posts before, and a grateful "Nice to meet you!" to those who are first timers.

Since I haven't posted in a while, I feel obliged to offer an explanation (or maybe excuse is a better word) as to where I've been all this time.  In a word: teaching.  In a few more words: I was teaching art to a couple of hundred amazing and talented 6th, 7th, and 8th grade kids for the last six months or so.  Now that I've given you the words to explain where I was, I'll give you a sampling of the art of that the aforementioned artists-in-training have produced.

I gave all of the seventh and eighth graders the opportunity to pick out a work (or in a few cases works) that they were most proud of.  The following are the results of their choosing. So without further ado, on with the mini art show!

First up is the seventh graders' work.

Jacob Wynn - Untitled Surrealism Project, colored pencil

Alea Wheelhouse - Untitled Surrealism Project, colored pencil

Blake McGahan - Will Smith caricature, pencil

Chris Stansell - Christian Laettner caricature, colored pencil

Courtney Young - Untitled Surrealism Project, colored pencil

Emily Gray - Song Bird Sketch, pencil

Grayson Logan - Horseshoe Hotel expressive color project, colored pencil

Michael Randall - Personal Logo Design, pencil

Patrick Heard - Drew Brees caricature, colored pencil

Sam First - Justin Bieber caricature, pencil

Sara Procell - Taylor Swift (with Past Boyfriends) caricature, colored pencil 

Taylor-Brianne Patrick - Fish of Wonder, marker and pencil

Victoria Baylis - Automobile grid drawing, pencil

Now for the eighth graders' works:

Alden Anderson - Bird of Fire, colored pencil

Caroline Manning - Language of Art, colored pencil

Caitlyn Stroughter - Blinded, oil pastel

Erin Borseth - Fiery Rage, oil pastel

James A. Hagan, III - The Ferryman, oil pastel

James A. Hagan, III - Hagan Motors Experimental Logo Design, colored pencil

Mac Anderson - Melting Rubik's Cube grid drawing, colored pencil

Natalie Carroll - Colorful Fish with patterns and textures, marker and pencil

Ryan Himes - Asase Ya, oil pastel

Ryan Himes - Baby Self-Portrait, pencil

Shy'Miracle Ball - Music Love, colored pencil

Steven Holman - Pair of Aces, colored pencil

Sara Hutto - Untitled Surrealism Project, colored pencil

Tori Beaudion - Baby T, pencil

Tori Beaudion - Baby T (facial detail), pencil

So there you have it, a small cross-section of my students' art. In case the fact that I devoted an entire post to them didn't clue you in, I'm VERY proud of those kids.  They started out as my students, and by the end of the semester, I had a couple of hundred new family members. I hope you've enjoyed looking at these as much as I enjoyed watching them being created.  On a related note: if you know a child (or adult) who is interested in any art form (be it visual arts, performance arts, literary arts, etc.,) be sure to encourage them soon and encourage them often. You could easily be nurturing the imagination of someone who will one day change the world.

Make the world a better place through creativity and as always...
Stay creative,
AH!