Archive for May, 2012
Memorial Day just brought in what is sure to be one of the most appreciated summer vacations of my life. I wish everyone could have time off like this and still make a living wage. As much as teaching kicks my butt I thank my hard earned and lucky stars I can operate under the traditional summer break of the education world.
The other day I found out my daughter had never had a root beer float before. I thought it an appropriate summer kick off to take her out for her very first one. That is one of the perks of being and adoptive parent to an “older” child; things like this pop up and you get to have milestone celebrations you never imagined.
Vacations, root beer floats, swimming, sleeping in like you’re 14 years old….this is the good life I haven’t appreciated in years. What would make your summer the best it could be?
PS: I’m offering a great summer deal in my Etsy store. Use this coupon for the entire month of June on anything you want!
-Emma Goldman
For Mother’s day I picked out some roses from the supermarket for my mother. When I brought them to her she commented that she really loves bright colored roses and prefers them to the standard red she usually receives. I was not humoring her when I agreed with the same preference. My favorite roses are the light pink ones that were in my wedding bouquet. Roses are inescapably beautiful. They have a complicated shape and when they smell good they hypnotize.
The colorful roses I painted above were inspired by a picture I took of those mother’s day roses. This is the second painting I have done larger as 9″x12″. It’s a little different than what I normally do. My husband’s quote upon seeing it, “I know what this painting needs….put a bird on it!”
He can always make me smile.
Updated to add you can purchase a print of this painting here.
Just a quick shop announcement. All my limited edition prints will now come with a Certificate of Authenticity. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time but with over two hundred prints in my old store I would have never been able to sort it all out and keep good records. Now that I am starting over in my new store it feels much more manageable to provide this service. Now you can be assured that if you buy an art print from me that it is the real deal. I like a little extra security, don’t you?
Also, sad news. The day has finally come when I closed up the original Lauren Alexander Art shop. Started in 2006, I spent 6 years polishing that shop and although I thought about keeping it open for my digital collage sheets I decided to close that door too and focus on just one shop with high quality hand made art.
Lastly, I’ts SUMMMERRRRRRR time. Sorry for yelling in your ear, but I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be kicking back, sleeping in, traveling, painting, doing as I please for approximately 10 weeks.
Needless to say, I plan on making a whole lot of ME time.
It’s so hard to put into words how you paint. But I think it’s important to have an idea about the work that goes into the products that you make. I always like to see how things are made. That’s why I watch the cooking channel. They really need a painting a channel don’t they? It’s also why I thought I’d share the evolution of my latest painting, a whopping 9×12 watercolor of a tree, some owls, and flowers yet to be titled. Here’s a better look at the finished piece.
There you have it. I’d love to hear what you think.
This post is for anyone out there thinking of being a teacher. I am here to tell you that you ought to be prepared for a licking. It’s not in the lesson planning or the evaluating, or the meetings, or the professional development. Those things are easy compared to the toll that teaching will take on your mental state. Where you were once all rosey for youth you may soon become a slightly more hardened individual on the subject.
I love my job and I love what I do. But the thing I never saw coming was that kids can be really hard on you. That is, if you’re like me, and have even the slightest sensitivity towards criticism.
Children are huge unfiltered critics. I have no idea why it bothers me when a five year old criticizes my shoes. But it does. So I buy new shoes. See, this is the kind of crazy I am talking about.
Not only do they freely tear apart your appearance but they also enjoy picking apart every detail of your lesson. “Why? Do we HAVE to? Can I be done now?”
You’ll be spewing out responses like “Because I asked you to.” and “You’re not done till I say it’s time to clean up…” and then you go home a little annoyed at yourself for letting it all get to you.
Even though I have yet to master the art of deflecting child scrutiny I will take working with kids over grown ups any day. For all their brutal honesty there comes moments of true creativity, love, and joy that you don’t see in other jobs. I’m biased because I know I have the best gig in the world. And perhaps the lamest choice in shoes.
With everything that went on last week it is as if this week has gone on without my permission. It’s May? It’s Wednesday? I’m 31 now? Oh dear gawd.
Well, 31 has a nice ring. I guess I can get used to it. I can’t help but be reflective and thankful for the people in my life. You know who you are 
And now for something completely UN-sentimental and self promoting: Go to my facebook page to get special celebratory offers on artwork I make.
