for the love of violets......

I have 2 violets in our home and I guess they are loving their spot......

they surprise me and keep  blooming away....

they are on a table with a lace curtain as the back drop

which must filter the light in the perfect way...

I tried for years to help this little one....the stem has grown so weird and way to the side of the pot.... it just couldn't be fixed....I even propped it up with a paper towel pillow to help hold it upright....I was about to dump it and said let's just see!!! and look at this....even though a bit on the weird  side it keeps on blooming.....so HAPPY I kept her cause she really is a BEAUTY!

So Proud of our students.......

Last year our school got the information on a contest  Celebrating 11 years of the Mahatma Gandhi Art and Writing Contest "Making a difference one student at a time"

So a few teachers  worked with the students in both of these areas.

This is the 11th year and over  30,000 students have participated over the years.....

This year over 2,000 students entered from across New Jersey...And I am so HAPPY to say that 3 of Carl Sandburg Middle School Students were in the top 25...That is amazing!!!!

So today October 12th the 3 students their family and teachers were invited to the award presentation......It was  held in McDonnell Hall at Princeton University....

 

there was High School and Middle School Art and Writings and this is the wall where the art was displayed.  There was 3 honorable mentions, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place.......in each category.

 

we went to sit down and before you knew it the place was filled.......with a lot of important people too!

What a beautiful reception!

we were treated with traditional Indian Dance routines.....

 

then the awards were handed out and  Fredrick one of our 8th graders won

Honorable mention for the poem he wrote

I was lucky to be sitting right by Fred and his proud family.....

 

 

besides the award they also received cash prizes......

next was Nicole....who won Honorable Mention for her amazing art piece...I really thought she deserved higher....she worked so hard on her piece and it was filled with such details..her piece was really amazing......

next was Megan also an 8th grader and she won 2nd place for her beautiful colorful piece...

 Meet Carl Sandburg Middle School winners of the 2014 Mahatma Gandhi Art and Writing Contest "Making a difference one student at a time".

Fred

Nicole

and Megan

 Their teachers and I couldn't be prouder of all their hard work and determination.  They are a fine example of what great students truly are.

  

I was so Happy that the teachers and my husband and I  got to attend his special event

 celebrating Mahatma Gandhi's life on his one hundred and forty fifth birth anniversary.

Looking forward to having our students enter again next year.

A peek inside my messy little studio..........

Been busy painting most of the day today...getting ready for a next's months juried art show....

had some of the flowers from my garden  for some inspiration...

I just can't stay away from those vibrant colors....

when I am busy painting my area always looks like such a mess.....no matter how I try to stay neat and orderly....

a work in progress.....need to be done in another day or two.....don't want to stop painting...wish the weekend was another day longer.....

A trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art......................

We have never been to the Baltimore Museum of Art so we decided on our little get-a-way to make this our 1st stop.  I must say we were amazed at all the exhibits....they are still under renovations but there was still so much to see and enjoy...

 wanted to share some of our favorite pieces....

the mosaics were amazing and couldn't believe how so very long ago they were created.....

my students and I create paper mosaics so these I found very inspiring....

my family had horses for years so I am always interested in seeing Horse paintings.....

just can't believe that they raced horses in 1818....

this was amazing, the colors, the details.......

even the frame was a work of art....

I thought this was a handsome guy...

J

John checking him out.....

me thinking he is quite a BIG guy.....

this was the inside

of this.......

this was a huge painting by by Andy Warhol...

 ok! I may have to say this was a bit weird.......

fruit that has been sewn together.....

 

this was a curtain of beautiful colored teal and clear plastic beads....at first not sure if we were to walk thru or not.....but it was meant to  be touched..... when we walked thru the beaded curtain  into the room we  saw this hanging there....

not really my favorite.....

 then I spotted something interesting on the other side of the room.....

and I was so HAPPY that we walked thru those beads......

it was such a treat......all those tchotchkes .....vintage dollies, pot holders, all the stuff I love to collect...sewn onto a mannequin.....kind-a -like yarn bombing.....

it was like a chandelier with all of your grandma's tchotchkes attached with beads and pearls...a treat for the eyes.....

I was certainly amused by this one.....

we really enjoyed our trip to the

Baltimore Museum Of Art 

we are sure you would as well.

there was so much to be inspired by....