Steampunk Artist Transforms Ocean Trash

  

 

  Artist Claudio Garzón found himself picking up plastic debris gathered from walks along the Los Angeles River and creating beautiful sculptures out of the debris. 

 

He began teaching art students how to make their own with the intention that they’d learn about ocean conservation at the same time.

 

The L.A. River stretches almost 50 miles from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. Claudio Garzón lives several blocks from the river, not far from the area where it meets the Pacific. A net there is supposed to catch ocean-bound debris, but small plastic particles still get through, Garzón said.

 

Garzón co-founded a nonprofit called Save Oceans and Seas, or SOS for short to bring attention to local debris accumulation. In addition, he’s collaborated with several ocean advocacy groups, including Heal the Bay in Santa Monica and the San Francisco-based organization Sea Stewards to support awareness campaigns.

 

“The awareness and attention these pieces have received has been overwhelming,” he said.

christmas calander for the kids.

Advent Calander 
 

what you'll need:

ordinary grocery-store matchboxes 

hot-glue            

wrapping paper      

number stamps

candy   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

1. hot-glue the tops of the matchboxes (empty) on to one another to form rows. ( nine boxes for the bas and decrease by two until you have a single box.)
2. cut wrapping paper to cover the matchboxes (so they look pretty )
3. secure with hot-glue
4. Next, hot-glue the rows in a pyramid shape
5. use number stamps the stamp the ends of the matchboxes. (1-25)
6. then fill the boxes with candy. (or whatever you'd like)

Macbeth Curse?

                  Apparently there is a curse on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. There are two superstition that float around Macbeth. The first is it's bad luck to even say "Macbeth" unless you're rehearsing or performing the play. Instead you should call it “the Scottish play” or “Mackers” or perhaps “the Scottish business” or “the Glamis comedy.” Some say that the rule only applies if you're in a theather, so that it makes it ok to say it in a classroom setting. The second superstition is that the play itself brings bad luck to the cast and crew. The supposed story for this curse is that because there are fake witches chanting in the play real witches got mad and set a curse on the play, condemning it for all time. If ledgends are true the bad fortune with the production of Macbeth have started from the very first production.

• On the first production, on August 7, 1606, the boy playing lady Macbeth got very sick and died backstage. The story is that Shakespeare himself had to take his spot.
• In 1672 in Amsterdam the actor playing Macbeth used a real dagger instead of a fake one and killed the actor playing Duncan right in front of the audience.
• In  1703 on opening day of London they were hit with one of the most violent storms in history.
•   In 1775, Sarah Siddons was nearly attacked by an angry audience. In 1926, Sybil Thorndike was almost strangled by a fellow actor. And in 1948, Diana Wynyard decided to play the sleepwalking scene with her eyes closed and sleepwalked right off the stage, falling 15 feet. After her fall she continued her performance.
• On April 9, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was reading a section of the play to his friends. A week later is when his assassination.
• A more recent performance gone wrong was in 2001, a production by the Cambridge Shakespeare Company, Macduff injured his back, Lady Macbeth bumped her head, Ross broke a toe, and two cedar trees from Birnam Wood topped over, destroying the set.

Do you think the curse is real or is it simply coincidence?






Source: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2267/whats-the-story-on-the-curse-of-em-macbeth-em

Calling All Artists!!

  At new york, in 2012 many people gathered together to creat a recreation of Van Gogh's Starry Night. "painting in mosaic and stained glass requiring nearly 2,000 cut bottle bottoms, and countless man hours to gather, cut, paint and assemble."

  now in 2013 they are doing it again. "We're looking for talented artists to submit original art work for selection to be recreated and displayed in a public location in Central New York." noted the main page for this project.

  Artists are invited to submit a drawing, ink rendering or painting for juried art selection by a panel of judges. all work most be approximately 8'x12' in recycled sheet aluminum.

Here are the rules:

1. This must be an original piece of art work from the artist submitting it.
2. Artist must donate this piece of artwork and surrender all licensing rights to CNY Arts Center.
3. Artist must sign a waiver of release for promotional consideration.
4. Original pieces may not contain violence, nuditiy or profanity of any kind.
5. Artists will be credited ("Original artwork created by...) on commemorative plaque mounted near the displayed mural.
6. Artist is invited and encouraged to help in the creation of the mural throughout the entire process.

Go here for more information - http://www.cnyartscenter.com/community-mural-project.html



source ( http://oswegocountytoday.com/?p=105084 )

would you consider baking an art?

you've seen the shows; cake boss, ultimate cake off, ace of cakes, and more!
do you know how much time and effort they put into these creations, so much that people consider it an art.

here are some cake art:
     

Shakespeare In Our Schools

Why is it important that we read shakespeare in school?

The study of Shakespeare connects a link to our culture, our history, our language and other factors. It's important that Shakespeare is taught because when teens read his plays they usually can feel a great connection to modern day. His writings provide essential context to our modern language and his influence is extrodinary.

Here are some common sayings that have devloped from Shakespeare:

All of a sudden

All's well that ends well

It's all Greek to me!

Eaten out of house and home

I will wear my heart upon my sleeve

Love is blind

We've seen better days

For goodness' sake

Haven't slept a wink


Have you heard any of these before?






Sources: http://shakespeare.about.com/b/2009/11/09/keep-shakespeare-in-our-schools.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-sayings-shakespeare.html

pop-up art gallery?

 
This gallery is hosted by an artist named Frank Kara of Bethel and Michael Seri of Danbury. This gallery is open through Jan. 6. And the admission is free.

  In this gallery you will see types of fantastic art such as, oil paintings, pottery, sculpture, ornaments, musical instruments, jewelry and furniture.

  Pop-up art is a way to shout at the audience, a way to catch their attention. "Its meant to cheer up buildings that have closed or downsized due to the challenging economy." commeneted Sandra Diamond Fox the author of "Pop-Up art gallery comes to Bethal"

  "Artists will utilize empty spaces in buildings and storefronts in an effort to bring art and culture back to an area that was affected by the recession," said Seri, 54, a mixed-media artist. The way it works is they see an empty building and call the owner of that building and try and rent it out for an art show in that space. In exchange for a minimal or no charge.

  most of these art galleries have had up to 300 visitors over a two month period.

  "Sculpture artist Eric Camiel of Danbury, whose work can also be found at the gallery, said he enjoys creating pieces that are left up to the imagination to interpret. While one of his creatures -- which is made from aluminum -- has dolphinlike characteristics, it actually isn't a dolphin. It's a creature that doesn't exist." noted Fox.

 
  "If you're too literal about a creature that is a dinosaur, for example, it becomes all about learning the names of the dinosaurs, instead of imagining what it was like to live in the time of the dinosaurs," Camiel said.


source: (http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Pop-up-art-gallery-comes-to-Bethel-4097570.php#photo-3792109)


 

Are Teens Reading?

 Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.Also, on average,  Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.Because Americans are reading less reading scores having been dropping. Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers. We need to start reading!






Source:
http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/trnr.html