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| The original sketch for my costume |
scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/
Aaah, Halloween. The one day a year when anyone can dress as anything and totally get away with it. Of course as an art teacher, you tend to get a free pass for dressing a little oddly throughout the year. We like to call it creative, others may label it eccentric, but I digress.
My costume this year is nothing less than, well, a concentrated version of me. I was inspired by a few posts I saw online to transform myself into your very own Fairy Art Mother. Being the person I am, it was accompanied by a one-day lesson complete with powerpoint, because what teacher's costume is complete without a curricular tie-in?
What is a Fairy Art Mother? I'm so glad you asked! Accrding to Tanya Cole, a fairy art mother is a creature who will
'banish any unwelcome gremlin sitting on my shoulder whispering negative thoughts in my ear.' Basically, she's someone who gives you encouragement to keep going when you feel like giving up and trashing your own artwork. The idea originally came from Tamara Laporte’s Lifebook course (http://willowing.ning.com/), I drew inspiration and borrowed text from http://tanyaannecoleartist.com/2013/01/02/latest-creation-my-fairy-art-mother/.
I started each class by announcing that Ms. Van Allen was in a very messy and colorful accident involving quite a bit of paint and that I, her Fairy Art Mother, would be taking her place for the day. The Costume was a complete success. My principal couldn't look at me without laughing, my colleagues loved it, and the students actually started telling each other to call me fairy art mother instead of Ms. Van Allen. I'll always remember being swamped by students within 30 seconds of stepping out into the schoolyard. I'm not sure how I could possibly top this costume, but with only a year to plan I'd better get started!
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| A more refined sketch developed as I assembled the costume |
What is a Fairy Art Mother? I'm so glad you asked! Accrding to Tanya Cole, a fairy art mother is a creature who will
'banish any unwelcome gremlin sitting on my shoulder whispering negative thoughts in my ear.' Basically, she's someone who gives you encouragement to keep going when you feel like giving up and trashing your own artwork. The idea originally came from Tamara Laporte’s Lifebook course (http://willowing.ning.com/), I drew inspiration and borrowed text from http://tanyaannecoleartist.com/2013/01/02/latest-creation-my-fairy-art-mother/.
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| The Finished Costume |
I started each class by announcing that Ms. Van Allen was in a very messy and colorful accident involving quite a bit of paint and that I, her Fairy Art Mother, would be taking her place for the day. The Costume was a complete success. My principal couldn't look at me without laughing, my colleagues loved it, and the students actually started telling each other to call me fairy art mother instead of Ms. Van Allen. I'll always remember being swamped by students within 30 seconds of stepping out into the schoolyard. I'm not sure how I could possibly top this costume, but with only a year to plan I'd better get started!
What are some of the most memorable teacher costumes you've seen or worn?
UPDATE: According to Cassie Stephens, "Liz Van Allen's outfit has got to be the most clever thing ever." It is featured in the November 3rd post at http://cassiestephens.blogspot.com/ (which, by the way, is one of my favorite blogs to watch!)
ReplyDeleteWhile it isn't eligible for the SchoolArts magazine 'dress like a famous artist/artwork' contest discussed in the post, she did include my fairy art mother costume near the end as one of the featured Non-Artist/Artwork related entries. Thanks, Cassie!