And of course I totally forgot some things...

Parents:
As I showed on back to school night (btsn), I take many photos in class as the students are working. It's more difficult here at the beginning of the year and becomes easier after a few skills are built and there is more independent work time.

If you want to see some mostly up to date images you can follow my on instagram  as "misterthad"and/or look up the hashtags #lghsart and/or #studio502 (the later of which is only the adv Art classes, sorry Art 1 folks)

As a big fan of Casey Neistat's films and vlog I am also using his newly released (this past summer) app Beme with a username of "thadsmith", so feel free to watch some video on there as well.

Again, thanks for tuning in.

Some Administrative Stuff

As we are reaching the end of the fourth week of the semester you will begin to notice some things are beginning to fall in place.

For example, there are a number of grades in the grade book in Canvas for each of the Art levels. Many people have a 100% thus far, but...

• if you are a student you should make sure to be up to date on the current project so you don't fall behind
• if you are a parent, asking questions about what is happening in class is good because there are definitely a few kids in Art 1 and Art 3 that are a little behind the eight ball on the current project (for example, all Art 1 students should be shading on their final still life objects in class tomorrow, and I know of at least three people that have not used tutorial time to catch up to that point - I would say they are two days behind at this point)

If you see a zero in the grade book that means that you either haven't turned in the assignment, there was a problem (I know this is the case with one female Art 2 at a minimum), or you were absent on the due date. If you were absent on a due date you need to make sure that I get that assignment from you asap. I will not be reminding you of this as I expect you to be proactive on this front as we move forward in the year.

If you have been absent, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE DAILY AGENDA IN CANVAS.

All Art levels have covered the Sept. Artist of the Month (AOTM) in the last two days and you need to make sure you are up to speed on that. I reserve the right to randomly check any sketchbook at any time to make sure that worksheet is filled out and taped in the correct place at any time.


For any students - but especially those in Art 4, you may be interested in the NUMU (formerly the Los Gatos Art Museum) page on their upcoming high school juried art show.

You will have ample opportunities to make work in class for this, but thinking about the topic and brainstorming soon will expedite the process as we get closer to having that as an option.

I won't be updating this blog as often as in the past (I don't think), but you might want to bookmark this anyway, and give it a quick glance every week or so just to see any new announcements.

Have a great day!

My Biggest Failure - Casey Neistat

For the last nearly five weeks (since his birthday) Casey Neistat has been creating a daily vlog.
They are awesome. Great images and editing alike.

The below issue from today is particularly interesting I think.
In terms of life and education it talks about always "fighting" to get better and not become complacent. I would use a different set of wording were it me, but I think the sentiment is spot on.

Whether in our educational experiences or in life, getting lazy and not using our full ability and potential isn't good. Watch today's vlog and see what you think.

Hatch in an Eye

This hatch work does not suck. Check it out.

Logo Opportunity from the District

As you know, I was contacted by the district office for a reboot of our logo - which they rightly feel is a little out of date.
What ideas do you have?
Put them down on paper (don't worry about any text needing to be perfect) and get them to be by the middle of May and we'll see if your design gets chosen to be used by the district for the next however many years.

Here is a copy of our current logo. Time to make it better.
Oh, it doesn't have to include mountains and all of the same text. Think different.

Univ Art U Create Day

I don't really know the details, but I'm sure there are some you can read HERE.

Annual Student Art Exhibit

For the 4th year the Los Gatos Art Museum has held their county wide juried student art show.
Ivy was the only one from LG selected this year and I am super proud of her.
Below you can see two images from the catalog that was produced (cover and her image/statement). The show is on view through May 10th, and more info can be found HERE.

California Proud Stickers Available!

Some of you have been asking, and the answer is yes, the California Proud stickers I made are available. Come see me if interested.

University Art Open Contest

8th Annual UArt Open Emerging Artist Art Show Information HERE.

Art 4 Daily Drawing for 4/1 AND 4/3

We are near the end of our "daily drawing" routine so I would like to take some time near the end of our journey by mostly ending how we mostly began.
So figure drawing it is - for at least a little bit.

Meet up in the corner of the room near the screen and I will put an image up on the screen for us to all spend some time with. And...go!

For the one of you who was absent on 4/1, here is the image we used.

For our last day before spring break, Friday 4/3, here we go...