St. Martha Catholic School Artists

It's been busy the last few weeks! We've been working on our Rodeo Art entries, making Christmas trees, Journey, etc....... I will post more later - I just need to catch my breath and I will be back. Check back during the break and I will have pictures! Have a Blessed CHRISTmas break and I will see you in a bit!

......and our "Special Guest" was the one and only Spiderman!! Don't you just love him!!!!!!! We had a great time today in the art room! Painted a little, ate a little and laughed alot! The Clothespin Doll workshop was a success! Here are some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/Workshop1 # If you want to see more pictures, email me and I send them to you.

Via Colori was a success!! I even made it in the Houston Chronicle! http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid823433113/bctid2917199001 Hope you all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving break - Many blessings to you and your family!

For those of you that signed up for my Clothespin Doll Workshop at the Auction, I just wanted to let you know that we have a special guest attending. I am so excited and just can't wait!!!! shhhh -

My art classes are in need of old wooden picture frames. We will be using them to make our own canvases. If you have any 8 x 10 or larger that you are not using - we would love to have them! You can send me an email or drop them by the art room.

Just wanted to let you know about an art event that will be happening in downtown Houston on November 22 and 23. Via Colori is a street painting festival benefiting The Center for Hearing and Speech. I know you have probably seen some pictures floating around the internet on street painting - some of them are pretty amazing! If you are looking for something to do that weekend, I encourage you go down to the festival. I will be one of the artist drawing on the sidewalks. (I wasnt about to pass up a chance to be a kid again and draw on the side walk!). Also, this is something very near and dear to my heart, as I too have suffered from hearing loss and have had various surgeries due to a genetic condition, otosclerosis.

Here's more - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/CasinoNight2008 #

Just thought I would share this. Catholic Canvas on EWTN today and this week. It should be pretty awesome! CATHOLIC CANVAS 30 mins Professor of Christian art, Elisabeth Lev offers an in-depth exploration of the representation of angels in Catholic art in this EWTN original program filmed inside the Vatican Museums. Sun 11/2/08 5:30 PM ET & 2:30 PM PT Thu 11/6/08 3:00 AM ET & 12:00 AM PT Thu 11/6/08 6:30 PM ET & 3:30 PM PT Tue 11/11/2008 11:00 PM ET & 8:00 PM PT

Recently, I donated a retablo (Our Lady of Guadalupe) to the Lawndale Art Center for it's 21st annual Dia de los Muertos Silent Auction and Gala. The retablo exhibition will be on display until November 20th. If you're interested, the Lawndale Art Center has many activities planned for the whole family. You can check out their website for days and times. http://www.kingwoodnow.com/kingwood_entertainment/699.html

I couldn't wait! - I just had to give you a peek of our 5th grade auction projects. They are absolutely amazing! I promise you - you will not believe the quality of work! Look for them at our Casino Night Art Gallery on November 8th.

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not big on Halloween. Now don't get me wrong, my family does all the trick or treating on that often hot night here in our part of the world but I like to focus more on All Saint's Day and this year Dia de los Muertos (more on that in another post). Anyhow, here goes my Halloween story. I thought it was so cute - I just had to post it! A few weeks ago, when we were finishing up our self portraits, one of my precious little 1st graders comes to me and says, "Mrs. Payne, I'm done with mine." As she hands it to me, I noticed that her picture didn't have any hair on the top of her head. So I ask her to take it back to her desk to add a bit more hair. She looks at me a bit confused but she does just as I ask and returns to her seat. As she sits there a few minutes she begins to cut tiny strips of brown paper. After a while she returns to me with her picture in her hand. She hands it to me and says, "Mrs. Payne, my momm

Third grade made these recycled fish/bird creations from cereal boxes. They were originally suppose to be swordfish but we had a small design problem so some became birds while others became fish. They looked awesome hanging by the window! Here's more: http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/ThirdGradeBirdFish?authkey=6Cug52QQVZE #

Kindergarten - 2nd Grade has been busy this week learning about the life and art of one of my favorite artist, Vincent Van Gogh. We are creating our own artwork titled "STORMY Night" which was inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night. Take a look at some our masterpieces!! Mrs. Jones - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/MrsJonesVanGogh # Mrs. Kaden - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/MrsKadenVanGogh # Mrs. Woener - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/MrsWoenerVanGogh?authkey=zmG_skmeUIE # Mrs. Jordy - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/MrsJordyVanGogh #

Here are the links to some of our self portraits - 1st grade (Woener) - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/MrsWoenerSelfPortraits?uthkey=5Bzfsmpqhkk 4th grade (Quinn) - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/MrsQuinnSelfPortraits?authkey=xfZQDBDXVa8  

This was a common question this week as we started school after almost two very long weeks. I hope all is well with you. After talking with my students, we all seemed to pulled through this amazingly well. You all have been in my prayers. I just ask that we continue to pray for all those who are still suffering from the effects of Hurricane Ike because only God's power can pull us through hardships such as this. As for Art class, we will continue to work on our self portraits this week. Look for them in the hallway and see all the amazing work that our SMCS artists are known for!

I'm suppose to be the teacher around here but sometimes it just doesnt always work out that way! During a classroom discussion last week I noticed a little fellow crying. I didnt exactly hear what had happened so I went over to make sure that he was okay. It turned out that a few of the students had laughed at him. I took the opportunity to explain to them that they should never laugh at their friends or hurt them in any way. I told them that they should show him throughout the day how important he is to them. At this point, I was feeling pretty proud of myself for "fixing" the situation....just then a little boy in the back of the room raises his hand and says "Mrs. Payne, I think we need to say a prayer for him so that he can feel better." As he finished his sentence - the entire class stands up and recites a "Hail Mary" for our little friend......and my heart just melted. Did I fail to tell you that these were Kindergarteners! May God Bless us

Just trying to work out some issues with the blog....be back soon!! "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh (my favorite!!)

Last year, I collected plastic water bottles for our "faux" crystal creations! This year I need your junk mail! You know the kind - the large postcards from places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Gymboree, Pizza Hut, etc. Please save them and send them to me. I promise we will put them to good use and at the same time do our part to save the planet!!! I hope you all are having a great week!

Okay, I know it's just my first week back but I was reminded this week why I do what I do....we watched the rain fall - twice this week (Mrs. Kaden and Mrs. Koenig). During our discussion on Right Choice and Safety in the Art room the rain was hitting and sliding down the windows. The children were so intrigued by it that we sat silently and watched. It was awesome! I want them to be aware of the beauty in their world. God blesses us each day, we just have to be still and look for it. Thank you for sharing your children with us, I feel truly blessed!

I hope you all had a great summer. It was so good to see some of you at the Meet and Greet this morning!  I can't wait to get started. Next week will be our first full week so we will begin with Safety in the Art room. We will also be discussing our Right Choice Rules and how they apply in the Art room. As most of my students know, we always begin each class in prayer. So if you have any special intentions that you would like for us to include, please do not hesitate to send me an email and we will be more than happy to include them. May God Bless our school year at SMCS!!!

KINGWOOD NOW! - http://www.kingwoodnow.com/news/kingwood_news/419.html KINGWOOD OBSERVER - http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2008/08/17/kingwood_observer/features/34koartist.txt

What a mess! Thank goodness I have a week before school starts!!

Kindergarten painted these posters for the hallway. Take a look at the work of our talented artists at SMCS! http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/BorskiHallway2007

Here's more....... http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/Classroom

Two of my paintings were selected for the Texas Art Educators Show at San Jacinto College. The show runs from 8/1/08 through 8/29/08. The Gallery opening is on 8/1/08 from 6 - 8pm. All are invited!!!

Grades 3rd - 5th made these flowers out of water bottles. Here is a link to some of our beautiful "faux" crystal creations!! http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/FauxCrystalCreations02 Curious on how we made them?? Here it is - http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/CreatingAFlower

This is just a sample of our work during the 2007-2008 school year. Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/ArtClasses20072008

Our annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Art Winners were fantastic this year. Here is a link to our 16 winners from SMCS. http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/RodeoArtWinners20072008

Here is a link to projects from our 2006 - 2007 school year. http://picasaweb.google.com/smcsart/ArtClasses200607