so...crickets....

and dust bunnies and cob webs around these parts.  There was the holiday, which was lovely, and then school prep, which was rushed, and then getting back to school.  I am teaching Drawing 1 and 3-D Design at RCTC this semester, and 2-D Design at Winona State University.  It feels like a lot of classes crammed into four days.  So far, so good, but it is only the second week.  I pulled out my million year old copy of Art Fundamentals as my textbook for 2-D...but I have to admit there is another book I am more excited about and wanted desperately to use as a textbook.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  When my husband and I were looking for Christmas gifts for my son and Barnes and Noble, we found it:  The School of Art, by Teal Triggs and illustrated by Daniel Frost.  It is a children's book, but it is brilliant.  There is a Professor of Ideas, of Form, of Senses, of Making and of the Planet.  There is a team on what basic elements we need to make art and one on what design principles help us make art.  The illustrations are whimsical, the book is full of activities, and it makes the academic business of art so much fun.  My husband got it for me.  If you are a maker, check it out, I think you will love it too.