Milwaukee Art Museum

Disclaimer: I'm totally ripping off Mr. Leban's post about our family field trip to the Milwaukee art museum.  Want proof?  Visit his page at www.mrleban.com or the original post here.

Here's a collection of 12 photos Mr. Leban put together from the trip that he and I made to the Milwuakee Art Museum several weeks back. The architecture of the building is amazing. We even had the opportunity to see the building "open" while we were there. If you're ever up north, I suggest you stop in.


1. The lobby of the museum.

2. A pencil bag I bought at the gift shop.

3. Me on the bridge. The "sails" of the
building are open in the background.

4. A view of the courtyard from the bridge.









5. Chinese Contemporary Warriors
by artist Yue Minjun.
6. I'm scolding a Cy Twombly.

7. Andy Warhol

8. Roy Lichtenstein









9. "St. Dionysus" by Kehinde Wiley

10. Shadow box by Martha Glowacki

11. A cool sculpture but I forget the artist.

12. "Refrigerator Pies" by Wayne Thiebaud









We had a lot of fun on this trip.  We even took our dog with us!  He wasn't allowed into the museum, of course.  He had to hang out at the hotel.  I don't think he minded, though - he had an entire full sized bed to himself!

Have you been to any art museums lately?

Functional Glazed Mugs by Eighth Grade

In Eighth grade this year, we made mugs - functional mugs that can be used to actually drink out of here at school!  The idea is that students can use them in their Language Arts classes during SSR (sustained silent reading) in the library while they drink hot chocolate.  This is a tradition that's gone on in our school for several years now, but typically with styrofoam cups or store-bought mugs brought in from home.

I thought to myself, "How fun would it be to promote reading, visual arts, and being environmentally-friendly all in one project?!"  And the mug project was born.  This is our first glaze firing of the year, and my first glaze firing with students, EVER.  I used Teacher's Palette glazes from Amaco.  I think the final projects turned out really cute!

The theme of the mug design is your favorite book or book genre.  We built these mugs by hand, from slab construction.  We rolled a cylinder, gave it a bottom, and added a handle.  The decorating was entirely up to the students!

I used my Hipstamatic iPhone app to take these photos, which give them a bit of a vintage feel.  I started using my iPhone more frequently for photography since last weekend, when Mr. Leban and I went on a family vacation to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  But more about that soon...

FREE Mask-Making Workshop for students!

Mrs. Leban is looking for talented artists interested in creating decorative masks out of plaster after school. These masks will be donated to the District 205 Foundation and used as decorations for their Midnight Masquerade fundraiser on October 22nd.

The Sandburg art room has benefitted from several District Foundation grants – the most recent being this year’s new SMARTboard and set of 3 iPads! We’d like to thank the Foundation for their generosity by making as many masks as possible to help decorate at their event.

This opportunity is open to ALL Sandburg Middle School students, grades six through eight, regardless of whether you’ve had art this year or not.

You must be able to attend all of the dates listed below, in order to finish your mask on time for our deadline, which is October 19th. IT WILL GET MESSY, SO BE PREPARED!

Here’s when we’ll be meeting:

• · Wednesday, October 5th from 3:20 to 4:20 in the art room
• · Wednesday, October 12th from 3:20 to 4:20 in the art room
• · Friday, October 14th from 3:20 to 4:20 in the art room
• · Monday, October 17th from 3:20 to 4:20 in the art room (optional, if time is needed)

All you need to bring is yourself! A 4:20 bus is available to take home for $1 each day, if needed. Otherwise, you must plan for your own transportation home.

Any questions? Please email or talk to Mrs. Leban in the art room (room 027 in the basement).

Masterpiece Me!

Last week, I gave the art room iPads to a few eighth grade students who finished their work early.  One of the apps we had a ton of fun playing with is called "Masterpiece Me!" and you get to put your photo into a famous work of art!  Here's a little gallery of some of the photos that were made:

Can you spot Mr. Leban as the Mona Lisa in the photos above?

Fun with Manga

My brother's girlfriend drew a portrait of me Manga-style.  I think it makes me look much younger and prettier than in real life!  I wonder if I could convince the yearbook staff to make it my yearbook picture this year... ?!!! Ha ha!