here are some photos of the photography lesson that I taught back in May. We used Sunprint paper to make prints out in the sculpture garden. First, they used leaves and flowers and found objects; then they drew their own designs onto transparencies; and finally, they cut out used negatives from the Fresno Bee to add photos and words. They taped them onto transparencies and created their own collages, which were printed out in the sun. So basically, we did photography without cameras, film, chemicals, or a darkroom. My students did so great!

as of today, our executive director is no longer executive director. he resigned, and plans to "work from home" until his contract is up in a few months. there are going to be more cuts soon, which makes me worried. it's bad enough that the person who does absolutely no work and has a bad attitude about her job will most likely stay because of her title, while the rest of us who work hard and care about our jobs might have to look for something else. not sure what the future holds.

but, we've started summer camp, and so far, our returning animation camp students are having a really good time filming and using the computer lab at F.C.O.E. to edit their movies and add sound effects. we were really fortunate to be able to use their computers and teach our students editing, transitions, and recording sound. the last day is thursday, and i can't wait to see their finished movies!

next camp is printmaking, and after that is experimental portraiture. i have some really awesome lessons for those classes, definitely. so i'm excited but still kinda nervous...

we've already had 4 successful Saturday classes (photos will come soon) in photography, collage, pop-up journals, and comic books. This weekend will be a fashion class, which i'm still researching. i'm also planning advanced animation, printmaking, and the final class we came up with is experimental portraiture. i'll be teaching every day for 6 weeks straight this summer! note to self: next year, don't schedule 2-week sessions back to back. try one week per subject, dummy! actually, i'll be gone for 3 days cuz *this girl* is going to COMIC-CON this year!! ooow ow ow!

at one point, i was teaching at 4 schools per week, and now i'm down to one, and it will be over by next wednesday. the classes at that school started out as my favorites, but they've turned on me and now i'm ready to give it a rest. strangely, the classes at a different school that gave me the most trouble in the beginning are now really cool. go figure! my first graders gave me thank-you letters on their last day. they were so sweet!

i'm learning to let certain grudges go and i'm making an effort to stop nursing bad thoughts. i have so much to enjoy at my job, and it's not worth ruining because of something so L-to-the-A-M-E.

e and i saw mad sin a couple weeks ago at a club within walking distance. how perfect! they were super flippin awesome! i miss going to shows often, like i did in san jose. it's always been one of my favorite things to do, especially when i know a majority of the songs.

i'm watching the fashion show, but i'm not impressed with the designers. the one person i was looking forward to seeing isn't on anymore. i thought she looked like rainbow bright.

last night was our one and only art show for our art students. it was really fun to see the kids walk through the library where their art was hanging and show their parents what they made. one of the teachers came up to me and gave me some flowers and told me how much her students loved their lessons. how sweet!

this is why you're fat.

i was editing my animation camp rock video, and i couldn't help but LOVE this clip. i was soooooo tempted to include it in the rock video, but ultimately, my conscience said i better not. ok, not really my conscience. more like the guy's mom in the back of my mind.

i finally took the steps needed to get my knee taken care of. in retrospect, i should have had my first specialist do the procedure before quitting my job at the bee, but noooooo. i waited on it and now i have to deal with kaiser doctors. blech. i spent the afternoon in a hospital gown getting my knee x-rayed again and starting from scratch. i suppose i just gotta do what i gotta do.

last week was a bitter-sweet one at work, starting with horrible news that one of our staff has been diagnosed with breast cancer. within 3 weeks of learning this, she will need a mastectomy. she has a very positive attitude toward the situation, which i admire. it's difficult to make sure she knows i care about her but at the same time, i want her to have some normalcy at work.

after learning about that, we got the message that we are going to receive a very large grant to implement cell phone and headset tours at the museum. this is definitely a huge improvement, since a lot of our visitors are spanish-speaking or hmong-speaking. of course, it will be A LOT of work getting it up and running. one more thing to add to the ever-expanding list.

now with a certain individual who i have expressed my, ahem, distaste for, is getting under my skin once again. i mentioned before that i was in trouble, and yes, i did get a talking-to about that. but it also brought up even more problems with the program that i am disgusted with. this certain person thinks it would be a good thing for our students to get bad scores on their tests so that she can show school officials that there is still more for us to teach them. her logic is that if the kids all score 100% then our jobs will be done, we would have taught them everything they needed to know, and won't be needed the following year. so the solution is to rig the tests? ask them questions that don't relate to the lessons we taught? are you kidding me? i couldn't let that go and now i'm in the middle of getting her to change that.

this weekend marked the beginning of SUMMER! we don't have spring here in central california, so we jumped from having 4 blankets on our bed one night, to only a sheet the next night. yesterday i slathered on sunscreen, hosed off the patio furniture, dusted off the grill, we had a couple of brewskies, and barbequed last night. here we go...

we had a pot luck yesterday, so i brought in 7-layer dip. when i handed it to one of the little old members of the museum's women's league, she said it was a pot luck for THEM to bring an assortment of food to US, the staff. oh, is that why there was every type of salad on the table? tossed salad, pasta salad, ambrosia salad, 40-bean salad... every flavorless type of tossed food possible. i thought i was in a relief society meeting.

they were so sweet, and actually requested to see the movies that our winter camp students made last january. i set up the t.v. and showed the animations and talked about our programs that we're working on.

kim and i ran ourselves to the ground last week with another round of animation camp. we had two classes every day last week, back to back. we saw a lot of creativity but we also had a lot of crybabies. every day someone's feelings were hurt and we had to give them a pep talk. i've never been so drained in my life! but i'm glad i'm a part of the program and that we didn't offer a boring or cliche class like sculpture.

hilarious! i don't know what's funnier:

kenley throwing a cat and apples
her getting arrested
her name almost being KENLEY PENLEY
her claim that she gently tossed her cat

been sick for a week. barely getting over it.

erik rushed jay to the emergency room last night after cutting his finger pretty bad. didn't see them for 5 hours.

tomorrow is a big giant fancy dinner/event at the museum and i get to help people find their tables and smile.

i'm in trouble at work. i refused to administer a test to my first graders that was waaaay too hard for them. the annoying one i work with whined to the boss and now he wants to speak to me. not looking forward to going back to work next week.

more layoffs at the bee, plus everyone got demoted and/or a pay cut. erik says he sees his coworkers now wearing "visitor" badges. my old department which once had about 8 people doing various things is now down to two.

happy birfday mommy! mom, dad, liz, erik, and i had a lovely afternoon looking at the FAM exhibit, having slow-cooked pulled pork sammiches, and a cute wittle chocolate cake with stars.

the FAM was on KSEE 24!

what i love about my job:

coming home with paint in my fingernails
finding a lost crayon in my pocket
seeing ideas that go through a kid's mind drawn out on paper
getting drawings that say "to art teacher you are nice so nice"
giving kids cleaning up assignments
hearing them recite the elements of art that i taught them
making lesson plans for modern and relevant art projects
giving tours to kids who have never been to a museum before
teaching about animation and movies
mixing paint colors
unclogging glue bottles
counting scissors
trying out a project before the lesson is taught
hearing parents say how much they appreciate art classes being available to their kids
parents asking when the next class will be
awarding scholarships
giving out certificates
first graders
collaborating with other art instructors, tour guides, and kim
opening night for a new exhibit and talking to the artists
watching the curatorial department hang the art and title cards
looking down the hallway at the office and seeing GOOD art
seeing art come in from the community during auctions and local artist shows
leftover hors d'oevres after an event
announcing to a class that we'll be painting today
lunch in the sculpture garden
...i felt the need to focus on the positive, rather than who is giving me an ulcer

THE MUPPETS WILL BE ON DISPLAY IN FRESNO!!

there are several reasons why someone can't sub for a teacher. you have an important meeting, you are already teaching somewhere else, or maybe you are sick. i've heard some lame excuses, but this one tops them all: my hand is asleep. if you guessed a manager would never give such a lame excuse, you're wrong!

we have a new exhibition at the museum, and i have another artist to add to my list of favorites. kathryn kain spoke at the opening last night for a few minutes and did a little Q & A. after taking a beginning printmaking class, i really appreciate the time and skill that is involved in her process. she draws on the paper and adds layers of thin ink which gradually build up by making multiple passes through the press. she also adds found imagery and text which gives her prints a unique hand drawn collaged look.

there's another artist named aung aung taik who mixes computer parts with fish heads, and combines bones from different animals to create believable scientific samples of curious non-existent species.

robert ogata is showing in four of our galleries. three of them feature his large scale paintings and some ceramics, and in another gallery are his drawings based on his experience living in a relocation camp with his family during WWII. he's a very well-known local artist and is very generous and smart.

come to the fresno art museum and see it all!

who has two thumbs and hates baby showers? this girl.

it's just so awkward. games, presents, the food is ok, i guess. a few weeks ago i saw my friend who is expecting in a month or so. it was good seeing her, but man, if i have a kid, i will never do that to my friends or family. don't get me started on the baby registry thing, where everything in the store (i mean stores) is on the list, one in every color. some of that crap is the responsibility of the parent, you know? like bottles, pacifiers, diapers, strollers, etc. i thought baby shower gifts were supposed to be fun?

i'm a little worried about my dad. he says he's been having a few health issues, and was finally diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris, which is a disease that affects the immune system. it's unusual for us yadas to have scares like this, so i'm kind of in shock.

i suppose there is always the off chance that a person whom i write about will read my blog. like i've said in the past, if you don't like the way you're portrayed, then stop acting like an idiot.

our whole department just rolls our eyes and wonders what bullshit will happen next.

have you ever had a manager who expected things from his/her staff that he/she is unwilling to do?

yeah, me too. and when i tell her this, she gets defensive and yells. and people are quitting. and we're all irritated that obvious things have been overlooked. her feelings are hurt because when she was out sick, i helped some people in her absence and didn't tell her. she didn't train someone who quit (because of lack of training) and shrugged it off as "well, she just couldn't handle it." every person she calls for an interview is a no-show.

what's it called when a person is irrational and thinks he/she is always a victim? it has a name...

...it starts with a p, ends with an o, and in the middle, there's a sych

not work safe!

rest in peace, lux interior. i was fortunate enough to finally see the cramps before this happened.

erik designed these awesome toys. my favorite is the monkey cult leader.

several art instructors at work are quitting. anyone want to work part time teaching art at schools on behalf of the museum?

the fresno bee announced today that there will be more layoffs plus, they are taking away company matching for 401(k)

i won't give too much info but i feel the need to mention what a crappy weekend we had. basically, erik and i came to the conclusion that we have different plans for our futures, and it breaks my heart more than i can say. i love him so much, it's extremely hard to imagine what i'd do without him. nothing has been decided; we've just been doing some talking. my trash can is full of used tissues and my pillow is stained with tears and mascara.

art camp was such a success, we were asked to teach it again! this time, more schools will be on break and will have the chance to participate, so everyone will be ready for the advanced class in the summertime.

there's so much buzz going on at work, it's really exciting. i'm fortunate enough to work with kim, who has a lot of the same ideas and goals for our education department as i do. we are both enthusiastic about getting more people to the museum and offering very modern and unique art classes. we were asked to come up with some saturday classes to teach in may, and i think we have a very strong lineup. we're going to do photography (sunprints), collage, comic book madness, papermaking, and mixed media. in the summer, we're going to offer printmaking (the kids will get to screen print their own Tshirts), advanced animation, and... we are still discussing the third camp. anyway, we are getting a lot of involvement in the community, and there are more and more people coming to the museum and realizing how important art is.

today i gave a tour to a group of homeschooled kids, and some of them were from our winter art camp. it was good to see them again, doing more activities and working together on art projects. they're so creative!

it just kills me that art and music are cut from public schools. it's so important, and yet it's always first on the chopping block. it's always test scores! test scores! fuck that, man. how many careers are based on art and how many careers are based on history or math? why make kids feel like failures?

want to see the student films from art camp? watch on the museum's website!

These are the students in our art camp.

[click to enlarge]

kim added music to the stop-motion animation we made to show our students what they will be making. this was done with stuff from around the house, but the kids will be making their own characters.

today was the first day of winter art camp, and it was a super crazy one, fer sure! but now that the parents and the kids know what to do and paperwork is finished, the rest of the week will probably go more smoothly. we have a great group of kids and i can't wait to see what they come up with for their final projects.

it seems like it was just halloween, so it's weird thinking the holidays are really over. but it actually ended just last night, i guess, because we went to visalia and there were two more gifts waiting for me. wooooo! who's the owner of a new espresso maker? who? who?

a few highlights of christmas have to be when erik dressed up like cousin eddie from christmas vacation and made everyone crack up. then i ended up with my face on the dinner table after only two drinks and had to be put to bed. my honey got me some awesome creepers that i've wanted for a long time (plus other stuff), and i really surprised him with an ipod touch!

new years was spent with new and old friends and some beer. good times!

cousin eddie

cousin eddie
Originally uploaded by joda36

"hey clark, the shitter's full!"

cousin eddie loves egg nogg

cousin eddie loves egg nogg
Originally uploaded by joda36

my honey is so hilarious! he recreated the cousin eddie outfit perfectly. and who doesn't melt seeing him slurp down egg nogg in an original moose mug? he also did the other cousin eddie scene...

the saturday after thanksgiving, liz and i made a trip to modesto to participate in the hand born craft bazaare. we had such a good time! she sold lots of things from her miss alphabet line, we met lots of other crafters, and i was a model in a fashion show. the procession for the fashion show started with skinny girls in white; then me in a blue and neon pink tutu, striped heels, a zebra print and pink top with bows on front and back, spinning a sparkley hula hoop; then a couple of young girls and some children. i guess i stood out a little.

some photos!

we're finally getting students enrolled in our animation winter camp! i'm working on some tests:







i'm still working on them. i think they're a tad too fast.

i got a free pass to a screening of the movie milk. i hadn't heard anything about it or seen the tailor before getting the pass. i absolutely loved it!

i suppose i've forgotten about you, blogger, because my days are usually filled with working on museum stuff. there's a level of stress at my new job, but i'll gladly take it. i'm working a lot at home as well, which i really don't mind doing. my next assignment is to teach a stop-motion animation class in a few weeks, so i'm preparing for that. so far i don't have anyone enrolled, which is a crappy shame. i'm looking for kids ages 8-15 and if you have any ideas for clips to show or ideas for animation, i'd love to hear suggestions.

i lost my voice about a week ago, which has been a challenge considering i give tours to groups of 30 or more and also teach at schools for 3 hours. i'm up to a bag of cough drops every two days, and have been downing cough syrup and mucus-reducer daily. i found some licorice root tea specially formulated for throat care, which i will swear by. after having a couple of cups, my voice came back. of course, i lost it again after needing to raise my voice to my class yesterday (man, they were so BAD), so i'm working on it all over again. i don't normally teach on mondays or tuesdays, so i'll have time to recover. once wednesday hits, it's back into the vicious cycle.

today's my sweetie-pie's birthday!

Check out the full photoshoot from Miss Alphabet!