Meri's Musings

It's been a while since I worked in my "real" art journal, the one I collage and draw in after having painted the watercolor paper pages with liquid watercolors. Well. . .  painted is probably not an accurate depiction, since I usually saturate a wadded up paper towel  and smear the damp paint on, or maybe sponge it on. And then wait. And wait. Waiting for the page to dry. Then I begin to glue various things onto pages with Yes paste or acrylic gel medium. And wait again. It can sometimes take two or three days to find just the right things for the page, adhere them, and wait for the layer to dry so I can build in the next one. Meanwhile, the thickness of my art journal expands like an unruly waistline. Digital art journaling, on the other hand, is much tidier. And quicker. And just as layered and nuanced. I make these babies on Polyvore.com. If you're interested in learning how, email me (meriak@y...

Back in the good old days when I was a sweet young thing, I spent a short time teaching in an early childhood program in the Denver Public Schools. It was an innovative program, federally funded, in a largely working-class neighborhood. I was blessed to share the classroom with a full-time teaching assistant who was working as an assistant only because she was updating her teaching credentials after taking time out for mommy duty for several years. The two of us were responsible for teaching morning and afternoon classes of about fourteen children, mostly four-year-olds and some who had turned five too late to enroll in kindergarten. The children attended class Tuesday through Friday. Monday was reserved for home visits. The assistant and I would schedule about six visits each Monday, meaning that we managed to get around to each child's home about every five or six weeks. We'd bring books and learning games into homes that often didn't have money to spend on things t...