Plum Island, Newburyport, MA

Home Sweet Home.

Dana Tanamachi

Check out this amazing artist! She's a graphic designer and chalk letterer, and her stuff is so cool! 

Here's a link of time-lapse videos that show her chalk lettering process:
http://www.danatanamachi.com/time-lapse/

Consuegra, Spain

June 2011

A Spanglish Thanksgiving

ON THE MENU:

Mashed Potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean dish, salad, butternut squash soup, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, brownies, apples w/ chocolate, turkey and lots of wine and beer!

Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of Thanksgiving, a photo from home:

Newburyport, Massachusetts - August 2011

I'm baking and cooking the Thanksgiving dinner for tomorrow night (yes, I know, tomorrow isn't Thanksgiving shhhh)...should be an adventure! I'll upload photos this weekend so you can bask with me in the glory of my success, or laugh (with me? at me? I'm not sure) at my failed attempt! Either way, you'll get a taste of my foreign Thanksgiving! Although not literally. Which might be better for you. I hope everyone has a great day! EAT TOO MUCH FOOD, american style :)

Faro, Portugal

I loved wandering the tiny streets...

And the lighthouse brought me right back to New England :)

June 2011

Unexpected Beauty

Sardinia, Spring 2011

Blue and Yellow - Lisbon In Color

January 2011

Lisbon, Portugal - B&W

Decked out for the holidays!

Belem Tower

Belem Tower

Seaside

Santa Justa Elevator

The Carmo Convent
(in the Carmo Archeological Museum)

St Jerome's Cathedral

January 2011

Palacio de Cristal

The beautiful glass palace in the Retiro park in Madrid:

Roadtrippin' - Car Window Photos

Car window shots from my MA to FL summer '11 roadtrip:

Canarian Sunset

Peaceful.

February, 2011

Dalí in...Florida??

Who knew that to see the world's biggest Dalí collection, I had to leave Spain? Here are some lomo photos from my trip to the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, FL (July 2011):

Lanzarote, Spain

May, 2011

Abstract Shapes - Nugget Art!

Today with the nuggets I did a Miró-esque style project. Because they're so used to drawing realistically, and have trouble with activities or projects that lack specific step-by-step instructions, I've decided to continue focusing on abstract art for right now. I want them to use their imagination and improve their ability to work on more open-ended projects that force them to decide what to do. 


I brought in four shapes - a circle, square, triangle and rectangle. All the nuggets received one of each. Here's what they got:

I explained that we were doing another abstract work of art and told them to arrange the four shapes on the page however they wanted. They were also given a blue piece of paper in order to cut out more shapes IF they wanted to. Lastly, they were allowed to color (using a black marker or crayon), but ONLY lines and dots. Nothing realistic. The four original shapes were the only requirement, but most kids branched off from there. I love how different they all turned out, despite the same original shapes. Here's some of their work!!

And then there's this...

Ok, granted, this kid technically didn't follow the instructions; he used letters. But hahahahaha! Here's a conversation he had with the spanish teacher (that she told me about later):

Fran: What grade am I going to get?

Teacher: I don't know, Megan's grading them.

Fran: Well what would you give me?

Teacher: A one, you didn't follow the directions. (out of 10)

Fran: But maybe Megan will give me a higher grade?

Teacher: Yeah, maybe.

Fran: Why?

Teacher: I don't know.

Fran: Probably because it makes her laugh...

Right you are, dear nugget. Right. You. Are.

Good art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us. // Roy Adzak

La Alhambra: Details

Both photos are of different ceilings in the Alhambra (Granada, Spain). I edited the photos to get the soft, jeweled tones and light. I'm interested in the abstract quality of detail shots - they allow for unique interpretation while still representing the place they are from. 


The detail in the Alhambra was absolutely amazing. Here's an example of the intricately carved walls:

Beautiful, right? If you're in Spain and you have the time, definitely go visit La Alhambra in Granada - you'll be amazed, I promise.