friday wisdom... and mr. nowak.

this one goes out to mr. nowak... 

as do so many of these friday wisdoms. 

he often put quotes like this on the board in sociology and eastern religion class - and lived them - setting an example for all of us. 

the book SIDDHARTHA made a huge impact on me when i read it in his class, and i have not forgotten its lessons.

if i can make half the impact on the lives of my students that this man has - i'll consider my career a success.

the story behind the name

for many of you, the name of this website means nothing... it's symbol just an abstract shape...

read about "45" records here.

for me, it dates back to listening to my mom's records (both 45s and LPs) when i was growing up. i loved the size and personality of the 45. small record, big hole. we had an old jukebox in our basement.

i began working at Fantastic Records (who's store space is now some ritzy pittsford home furnishings store...) in high school and my love for and appreciation of music only continued to grow during this period, and on into adulthood.

i chose the 45rpm insert (see below, bottom right) as my logo - to represent my deep connection to and passion for music. over time i have stuck with the name in part because of the music connection, but also because i liked the idea of the multiple meanings for the word REVOLUTION.

45 revolutions per minute.

there it is. the story behind the name.

artist of the week :: alyssa monks

want to know how to paint figures in water? 

just check out the paintings of alyssa monk.

large scale paintings of figures floating in or immersed in water, emerging from fog, pressed against shower plate glass, and abstracted against the forms of the moving water.

visit her website for more info and a vast amount of paintings.

artroom playlist for this week

curious what you heard this week in the artroom?

"amélie" soundtrack

birdy - birdy

the civil wars - barton hollow

disable planets - blowout comb

dr. john - locked down

efterklang - magic chairs

iron & wine - our endless numbered days

norah jones - come away with me

mozart - violin sonatas (andrew manze, richard egarr)

the postal service - give up

rubblebucket - mix

sam cooke - the rhythm and the blues

thievery corporation - "babylon central" soundtrack

zero 7 - simple things

zero 7 - when it falls

my 'be present' mix

my 'solitude' mix

my 'focus' mix

my 'wait, snow?' mix

my 'old windows let the cold in' mix

friday wisdom... UBUNTU.

where are YOUR friday wisdoms?

i need your help!
i recently realized that i just passed friday wisdom #100 and it got me thinking...

do you have your friday wisdom flyers posted somewhere?...
are they collaged on your bedroom wall? did you take a few favorites to college and put them up in your dorm? are there a couple glued into your sketchbook? do you have them all on the wall of your classroom?

i would love to see pictures of where friday wisdom resides in your life. email them to me and i'll post them here!

my classroom doorway

binder of old friday wisdom flyers

chelsey's room at college

chelsey's room at home, packed for a big move

cokie's portfolio

jocelyn's dorm

mrs. leahy's classroom

mr. mitchell's classroom

mrs. schoenweitz's office

scott's desk

scott's house

present from scott - june 2011

michelle's dorm

ms. byrne's classroom

jessi's portfolio

julia's room

jess' laptop background

miss schotthoefer's classroom

the chandler's fridge

mr. johnville's classroom

lauren's creative collage

patrice's dorm room

amber's room

sarah's room

johanna's room

beth's dorm room 1

beth's dorm room 2

kaitlyn's dorm room

artroom playlist for this week

wondering what you heard this week? here it is:

the civil wars - barton hollow
digable planets - reachin'
digable planets - blowout comb
efterklang - magic chairs
great lake swimmers - lost channels
haydn - symphonies #45, 94, 101, & 104
mazzy star - so tonight that i might see
mozart - violin concertos #1-5
the postal service - give up
ryan adams & the cardinals - cold roses
the shins - my classroom mix
the xx - s/t

zero 7 - another late night (dj compilation)

zero 7 - simple things

'the hunger games' soundtrack
my 'focus' mix
my 'wait, snow?' mix

friday wisdom.

i found this to be quite true as i have been working on the surreal collage drawing for the last few weeks. while working on it, i find myself deep in thought about the meaning of the piece and all that it entails in my life.

thanks to cokie bee for the heads up on this one.

artroom playlist for this week

curious what you've been hearing in class this week?

dawes - nothing is wrong
the delkany string quartet - haydn's string quartet in c major
the head and the heart - s/t
jose gonzalez - in our nature
junip - fields
moby - play
tuatara - breaking the ethers
the wooden birds - magnolia
zero 7 - simple things
zero 7 - when it falls
the hunger games soundtrack
my 'wayfarers' mix
my 'first sun again' mix

drawing 2 :: surrealist collage drawing

drawing 2 is currently doing a figurative surrealist collage drawing based on the work of the szekely sisters and rené magritte.

our art department goal this year deals with the intentional use of color. i am using this artwork to fulfill the goal. in class, we are talking about the value and intensity of colors and how they influence how a viewer sees a work. we are using different magazines from different eras to give a variety of values, intensities, and color ranges.

here is the example that i am working on, along with one piece each from the szekelys and magritte.

friday wisdom.

the artroom needed this message this week.

artist of the week :: rené magritte

currently in drawing 2 we are doing a surrealist drawing based on the work of the szekely sisters (see the previous post about them here) and this week's artist of the week, rené magritte.

magritte's work takes surrealism in a very playful, dada-inspired direction rather than the seriously dramatic work of his contemporary, salvador dalí.

his use of silhouettes and surreal textural elements play with the viewers perception of reality and create a definite dream-like world.

you can find a great deal more work by magritte at wikipaintings.org

the black keys x shepard fairey

sometimes great things happen... the collision of two of my favorite artistic entities. shepard fairey designed two posters commemorating the black keys first headlining dates at madison square garden.

super sweet.

new mix.

sun and summer weather in spring inspired this new mix. let me know if you want a copy.

friday wisdom.

thanks, john hughes.