Conferences, Workshops, and Frank Lloyd Wright

I went to my state conference this past weekend in Florence, Alabama. It was a great opportunity to make new aquaintances, share ideas, and recharge my energy for the stint between now and winter holidays.

I probably learned the most from my tour of the Rosenbaum House (a Frank Lloyd Wright house) built in the 1940's. Its the first of his designs I've toured and changed my perspective on a lot of ideas I originally had. Apparently most all of his designs have leaky roofs. He didn't design his houses to last forever either... being all the natural materials he used. I'm sure the people who paid to have him design and build his houses would have liked to have known that before jumping into one. There's far more I learned, but I'll pause on that for now.

Rosenbaum House, and Carport

Living area. Bookshelves run the length of the wall from door to study.

Dining area. There is a buzzer under the table to call the maid. Notice all the wood.. all over the whole house.

Back side of the house faces the trees. Lots of windows.

Also, had a fun time in workshops creating marbelized paper using oil paint watered down with turpintine and poured onto a tub of water.

Also, fun birds created from only 10 strips of construction paper and glue. Great project for the end of the year when I'm packing up all the supplies and just want something simple to do.

I love attending state conferences. They are good for an art teacher's soul. In times that get isolating, its nice to know there are more people out there in the same situation dealing with the same issues.

Hoping soon that my fifth graders will finish up their lastest Pop Art project that I can share. We are presently working with recycled materials to create sculptures.