My New Mat Cutter!

This is a quickie post to share about my brand new 'toy' - a Logan Compact Mat Cutter.  I was gifting a doodle drawing to my stepdaughter, and I had purchased a frame but needed a mat.  I couldn't find the right size/color mat anywhere locally, I didn't have time to have a mat professionally cut, and anyhow after buying the frame, I really didn't want to pay for a custom mat. 

So instead, I purchased myself a Logan Mat Cutter.  I had one in my classroom before I retired, but it wasn't mine so I had to leave it behind.  But I was adept at using it.

 My favorite framer retired, and gave me a bunch of mat board scraps when she closed her shop, in particular, metallic mat board scraps.  The metallic was going to be perfect for the artwork I was matting.  I cut the mat, put it in the frame, and then proceeded to cut another 29 mats before the afternoon was over.  So in one day, I think I used the mat cutter enough to make the investment totally worthwhile!  I'll be cutting more mats whenever I need one, rather than spending money to have someone else do the cutting for me.  Yay!

By the way, here she is with the gift!  She loved it!

 And while I was into making gifts, I also sewed together random scraps of fleece to make goofy hats and a scarf for my step-grandchildren!

I'm on a podcast!!!

This is a quickie post, to share my exciting news.  Back in the early fall, I was interviewed by Cindy Ingram of the Art Class Curator, for her podcast series.  In the whirlwind of my son's September wedding, Thanksgiving, and various other events, time whizzed by and I totally forgot about it.  Well, it turns out the podcast went live about a month ago!  Whoops!  How did I miss that???? 

Anyhow, if you want to hear my squeaky little voice talk about all things art education, here's a link to the podcast.  It's episode # 27, and I hope you'll give it a listen!  We focused quite a bit on art teacher longevity, which, after a public school career of 36 years (and another 6 with my private business) is something I guess I know a little about.  The namesake of this blog, my dragon Lucy (in the sky with diamonds) is mentioned early in our discussion, so above you can see a photo of Lucy and her baby Sparkle on a table in my former art room.  She is not wearing her wings in this photo (they are removable), because, with a 5' wingspan, she takes up a LOT of space.  So her wings were neatly stored on top of a cabinet until she had cause to wear them. 

Late in the episode, you'll hear Cindy ask me about an artwork that was pivotal in my life.  I respond by talking about a drawing done by my late grandfather Harry Levine, who I've blogged about on several occasions, here, here, here, here, and here.  I unfortunately never met my grandfather; he died before I was born.  You can't see a drawing when you are listening to a podcast, so here it is, below.  The drawing currently hangs in my nephew's home.  In the corner of the framed drawing is a photo of my nephew's father, who is my oldest brother, sitting under the drawing as a little boy.  If you listen to the podcast, you'll hear me try to explain why it is important to me.

Weirdly, while we discussed my preference for doing hands-on, tactile art projects with kids, there's so much we didn't discuss.  I didn't talk about toothpaste batik, or building papier-mache masks or cats or whatever, or painting procedures, or any other specifics about my teaching methods or projects.  But I suppose that's all stuff you can find here on the blog, right?

Anyhow, I hope you'll take some time to listen to the podcast, and hopefully get something out of it!