last visit of the series

today was the last visit of the series of visits in and near Utica. again a good and creative time. after leaving the last group, i realized i forgot to read from my book! can you believe that! nobody seemed to notice. we were all plenty busy with the drawing demos. and that class had a million of interesting questions! which shows good preparation. thank you to the artist in residence.

we had a tiger on a scooter wearing hula skirt and coconut bra. (no kidding!)



and a zebra shopping for ham, eying some potatoes and wearing expensive shoes.

school visits are wonderful but also very draining. it will feel good to concentrate again on a project.

watson williams

Lovely visit at Watson Williams Elementary in Utica. Again, well prepared students - a big thank you to the faculty- and great creative times for all.

We came up with an elephant in a cowboy hat, playing basketball but being distracted by some forgotten peanuts.


And a monkey on a skate board going a bit too fast and unaware of you-know-what!

visit with 5th graders

Same school as yesterday. But with the 5th grade. Just as well prepared, just as enjoyable, just as creative. And more time per group, which was nice.Thank you to all the teachers I met today, for your dedication. Your students are lucky ones!

Here are the drawing demos we came up with:
A cat lounging by a pool, in a tutu and a leprechaun hat and drinking soda,

a buffalo practicing her salsa steps with a broom,

an elephant juggling with pineapples,

and a bunny named Elvis, dancing disco, wearing a jump suit and converse, complete with carrot, hairspray and combs.

visit with 6th graders

I am not used to visiting with 6th graders. I was a bit worried. I ended up LOVING it! The students were so much fun: attentive, respectful, enthusiastic and creative. They obviously were surrounded by an excellent team of teachers. Thank you to all my new friends at Clinton Middle School. Near Utica.
We had to deal with tight time constraints but what fun pictures came out!
We started with a giraffe shopping for coats and wearing a bikini.

Then came a loony rabbit playing ice hockey and wearing sombrero, sweater vest and tutu.

Next, an angry shark playing football...

... and finally, a cat doing a back flip, wearing tuxedo and bunny slippers.

visit to FDR elementary

Reading from MISTER BEAR

The visit at FDR Elementary in Schenectady was a real pleasure. Thank you to Nikki for her enthusiasm and dedication as a "one woman PTO" in a grossly underfunded school. The children were wonderful, with tons of ideas for me to draw.
Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome. It was a treat for me too!

the drawing assigned by the children: an elephant with a hula-hoop and a tiger jumping rope.

getting ready for Schenectady

Decided to donate a reading/drawing visit to an inner city school with no funding in Schenectady. Looking forward to a different experience. Let's just hope I find the place and a few children show up!

Revising

FRITZ needs a better ending. Tough realization. As Pooh would say: "think, think!"