Ms. Pink's Ponderings

2012-01-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

I got a letter in the mail last week from the US Dept of Education saying that I'd been selected randomly for a voluntary survey through the Census Bureau to help get a better picture of the state of education in America. It said that I'd receive the survey in a few days, and there would be a gift enclosed as a thanks for my participation.

There's apparently this Rule of Reciprocity that exists in the world. It says that if you receive something for free, you are likely to contribute, or repay the favor. It's why they give out samples at Costco. And most probably why I got $5 in the mail!

2012-01-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

This morning, I was praying on the way to work, as I do sometimes.

My prayer was this: God, be the puppeteer. Be my ventriloquist.

Graphic Design

2012-01-08T11:00:00.001-08:00

When I first applied to SCAD, I applied as a Graphic Design major. I switched to Film/Video with a minor in Acting and Stage Movement after discovering that I loved making videos with my video camera. Then, what I realized is that I really loved drawing the story boards for videos. I didn't feel compelled to learn how to use the camera. It was too intimidating. So, then I switched my major to Illustration.

Now, I'm a teacher. I'm a second grade classroom teacher at a Title I inner city public school.

I listened to my heart each time I changed my major. I felt pulled to make those choices. Even when I decided to go back to school to become a teacher. I felt propelled.

Teaching public school is quite different from illustrating. I'm figuring out how to listen to my creative voice. I'm recognizing that I don't do it often. I have to "shush" it sometimes so that I can be analytical, and tidy with my time, and to think on a time line. I feel drawn to create, and tell a story. To share something. I've been using my digital sketchbook on my iPad. It's sparking something.

Perhaps everything does happen for a reason. Everything is connected, and I've just got to trust that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be. And when I'm ready to start painting again, it'll happen.

Amazing Free Climbing French Woman from the 1980s in Africa

2011-07-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

My mom shared this video with me yesterday. Catherine Destivelle free climbed one of the most amazing rock faces in Africa. By herself. Without ropes. I'm amazed by her. She was 28 when she made this climb. And this happened in the 1980s! Why have I never heard of her before. I don't know how to post the video straight away, so I just made a screen capture. The link to the video is below. Prepare to be amazed!!!

Click here to see a very brave woman climb a mountain with her bare hands!!!

My New Classroom Home

2011-06-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

Big Girl Coloring Book

2010-10-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

"Sassy Face"

Colourlovers.com is like a coloring book for grown-ups; it's a great creative outlet. You can create new colors, color patterns, and you even get to name what you create (which is one of my favorite parts). All of your colors, palettes, and patterns save to your account (here's mine), and you can download them to your computer, or upload them to other sites. It's also educational. You can read about color trends in interior design, websites, and fashion.

I hadn't been to the site in a few months, and I found that they've added a fun new feature: you can now CREATE repeating patterns, not just color the ones that are provided.

"Favorite Things"

And, I also discovered a link to a site called Spoonflower. When you create a pattern, you can upload it right to Spoonflower, and they'll print it onto fabric for you. It starts at about 18 dollars a yard, but for special projects like throw pillows, quilts, dresses/skirts, aprons, baby blankets, tea towels, etc., it's a fantastic resource.

Thank You, Milk.

2010-10-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, while perusing the magazines at Barnes and Noble, I came across the most wonderful find: Milk magazine. I noticed the cover, even though it was near the back row. I pulled it from the recesses, and was immediately inspired. Every page is beautiful, and unexpected. Milk is a French children's fashion publication. All of the articles are, of course, in French. I took French in high school, can proudly say my name, and learned some inappropriate sayings from a close family friend, who happens to be French. Basically, I can recognize some words here and there: "les", "est", "de", "du photographe." But, for the most part, I just have to guess about the content of the article, or go to babelfish for an estimation.

Despite the fact that I can't really read the magazine, it's well worth the 12.99 price tag. It's art, sophisticated, and fresh. The ads are pretty. The fashion is, of course, incredible. The most fun articles feature "high fashion." I've learned that children's high fashion is cooler than adult high fashion. I think it's because it's innocent, and whimsical, and functional. It's "costumey", but appropriately so. Children are supposed to wear absurd medleys. It's not silly and ridiculous for children to wear silly and ridiculous ensembles. It's bona fide.

Milk makes me want to draw and paint. That's probably why I love it the most. At a time in my life when textbooks have taken precedence over sketchbooks, I've needed a creative motivator.

Thanks, Milk!

(I got a lil' paint on this one. Oops.)

An Apple for the Teacher

2010-10-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

I recently completed my first student teaching assignment. It was amazing, to say the least. The school where I taught for 7 weeks is an ideal learning environment. The curriculum positively encourages creativity, individuality, collaboration, and exploration, and houses a goldmine of passionate and dedicated faculty. My cooperating teacher was a wonderful mentor; she shared with me her 16-year perspective on teaching, encouraged, and counseled me. The children were perfect little teachers for me, too. They taught me first-hand the concepts that I'd only read about in books. Example: multiple intelligences exist! I learned some great new teaching and management strategies, and learned how important parental involvement is to student success. The whole experience helped me to grow as an educator, and I am very grateful to have had such a positive learning adventure.

The class made a "Thank You" book for me that I received on my last day. It is filled with illustrated thank you notes from each child, all bound in a red construction paper cover. I will cherish it forever.

I painted a little thank you gift for my cooperating teacher: a class portrait.

Fig

2010-09-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Fig the Rhyming Pig (Sock Puppet)!

materials:

pink sock
pink felt (for nose, ears, and tail)
red felt (for tongue)
white felt (for eyes)
black sharpie (for eyes)
glue gun (to make it all come together)

Fig the Pig likes to introduce (and help out) during lessons about rhyming. Rhyming activities help to increase children's phonological awareness and reading fluency, and this increases reading comprehension (the whole point of reading).

I wasn't sure how the children would react when I introduced Fig before reading 'Jillian Jigs' to them this week. I thought that maybe they would roll their eyes at me, or say, "We know that's your hand in there, Miss Pinkerton!" But, they didn't do either of those things. They talked to Fig. They looked at the sock with felt eyes, and talked to it about the book we were about to read!

Happy Inside

2010-09-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

IKEA has a commercial (that I've only seen on youtube) that features cats exploring and finding comfort in one of their stores after hours. This is my favorite shot from this tiny-film. The entire piece is only 1 minute, just long enough to tell a perfect little story. Here's the link to the video: Happy Inside. And, here's a link to how they did it: how they did it.

Also, I think they chose the perfect song for the mini-soundtrack. (It sort of reminds me of that song in the Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon.) The artist's name is Mara Carlyle. I believe I'll be downloading some of her music this afternoon.

Distance from Chicago

2010-09-12T20:22:00.001-07:00

I was asked to paint a "Rock City" style barn for a daughter who is from Chattanooga, but is living in Chicago for college. Her mother felt it would be a fun reminder of home. I agree.

Ezra's First Birthday

2010-06-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

I helped my coworker and friend, Amber, with her little boy's first birthday party announcement. It was fun! She emailed this picture of him to me and told me that she had dinosaurs in mind for the theme. So, I put the two together and presto: a birthday announcement that may just be the catalyst for the start of a lifelong passion for the paleolithic era. Someday, this little guy just may be an archaelogist! Or, the curator of Vertebrate Paleongology at the Museum of Natural History! All because of this one card!

Silk Worms, a.k.a. Inch Worms

2010-05-02T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today, I visited with my parents on the West Brow of Lookout Mountain, GA. I took my cat, Grey, to the woods for some fresh air. He grew up there but moved downtown last year to live with me and be an inside cat.

Though the skies were gray and the wind gusty at times, it was a delicious temperature. We sat outside on the deck and watched Grey sniff around. We also watched silk worms dangle. The silk worms, a.k.a. inch worms, are very abundant this year. Not only are they abundant, they are diverse! I observed atleast four, maybe even five, different types. Of these types, some had 6 front legs and 4 back legs and some had 12 front legs and 8 back legs. Some were green like leaves. Some looked like they had cathedral style stained glass down their backs. One was very tiny with a black body and a red head. And one other one reminded me of a rhino. He was a dark grey color, extra strong, and the others were scared of him when he reared up on his haunches. Okay, so maybe he only scared me.

Can you spot the inch worms in each picture?

Hint: there are four in the above picture.

This picture also has four inchworms.

There are five in this picture.

Five here, too!

As a child, I would spend hours doing this sort of thing: collecting toads and terrapins, feeding ants, unearthing doodle bugs and moles. My parents must love me. They never even acted like it was strange that their 29 year old daughter was bouncing around, gathering inch worms to place on the table in front of them. "Look at this one . . . Oh! Look, he's got a red head! Wow! I bet some of these haven't even been discovered!" God love 'em and God love tiny creatures.

And here is a great photograph by Marilyn Harris of an inch worm doing what inch worms do:

Photo by Marilyn Harris
http://www.redbubble.com/people/blossom/art/769900-inch-worm

"We kids still dream about perfection..."

2010-04-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

Watch the video by clicking here--------> Andora Svitak: What adults can learn from kids

" . . . and that's a good thing. Because in order to make anything a reality, you have to dream about it first. Our audacity to imagine helps push the boundaries of possibility."

We can learn a lot from this young woman. She has the right idea.

Double Lucky

2010-03-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

It was a rainy Sunday after a long awaited and especially beautiful sunny Saturday. This past Winter had been an awfully drizzly and bleak one and after the incredible hint of warmer weather the day before, I was rather bummed about the gray canopy that had been settled over Chattanooga on this first day of Spring. After lounging and stewing and procrastinating on doing some much needed Statistics studying, the room began to grow a warm shade of gold. The sunshine was shining! And out the window to my right were two exquisite rainbows nestled into the Northern bank of the Tennessee river. It was surreal and I felt incredibly lucky to be so close to such a natural wonder. And before I knew it, they were gone.

"Be though the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray." ~Lord Byron

Pretty in Pink

2010-03-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

I've always loved pickled beets. Though, a week ago, if you'd handed me a raw beet and asked me to cook it up for you, I would probably have stared at you with my mouth open for a second or so.

However, several days ago I was at Earth Fare and decided to purchase a small bunch of these blood-red roots (with stem and leaves attached) to have a go at prepping them myself. I searched the internet for ways to cook beets, tips, tricks, etc. and found this recipe at epicurious.com. I am happy to say that I can now cook a beet. And a mighty delicious beet recipe at that.

I even learned that you can actually eat the stems and greens of a beetroot (as my Aussie friend Mina always called them). So, I chopped them up and tossed them in, too. I added some raw blanched almond slivers and substituted ditalina for tagliatelle and WALLAH!

Fuscia beet juice + bright white sour cream = one beautiful pasta dish . . . Pretty in Pink! Yum.

Beckoning Spring: Let's get this party started!

2010-03-10T12:10:00.001-08:00

As it was time to take down the Winter/Christmas Time wreath, I decided to go ahead and craft a more appropriate arrangement to adorn the entrance to the abode. I don't know about you, but I am ready for buds and blooms and green and sun and baby birds and all those other things that go along with Summer's Prelude. So, here's to you Spring!

“Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

-Robin Williams

St. Valentine

2010-03-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

I know it's March now. I'm absolutely late posting this little Valentine's offering that I made for my beau.

Old school style, I made a mixed c.d. It's actually a pretty tricky task. Being the perfectionist that I am, I think I spent forever trying to decide on the perfect songs and then arranging them into the perfect order. I even made a case complete with front, inside, and back cover art!

Then, I folded up an oragami heart (using paper with red velvet hearts) to accompany the album. (He thought it was a card and immediately started to unfold it. I had to swiftly halt him!)

It was fun. It was cheesy. "So sweet, you're gonna have a tooth ache."

Minatures

2010-02-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

(The above canvases measure 2 x 3".

Among the many things I adore, small and tiny things are but one (e.g., tiny creatures, little trinkets, miniature thingamabobs, doohickeys, and doodads, etc.,). I wonder, "Why?" Well, perhaps it is because infinitesimal objects call to be studied and so, they require one to "take a moment".

Maybe it's that I need moments to take moments:

"The next time it begins to rain...

lie down on your belly,

nestle your chin into the grass,

and get a frog's-eye view of how raindrops fall...

The sight of hundreds of blades of grass bowing down

and popping back up like piano keys

strikes me as one of the merriest sights in the world."

-- Malcolm Margolin

Helpfulness

2010-01-31T20:50:00.000-08:00

. . . an acrostic.

This Koala looks like my cat, Grey!

2010-01-31T19:39:00.001-08:00

Except that he has thumbs.

Feline Friends

2010-01-18T17:04:00.001-08:00

I got a new kitten for Christmas from my sweet beau! He came from one of the local shelters here in Chattanooga (mckameyanimalcenter.org/). I've named him Tom-Tom. He and my 8 year old cat, Grey, have become fast friends. Grey grooms him with all the love of a mother cat, tolerates his pouncing, and even lets him sleep with him. This fascinates me because Grey can be a crotchety old man of a cat.

So, today as I was working on some statistics homework, little Tom-Tom climbed onto the couch beside me and curled up. I started to play with his tiny paws and became curious about what his "toes" look like under all that fur. Do they resemble human falanges? So, like any gal living in this twenty-first century would do, I googled "cat skeleton." After perusing the obvious x-ray images and medical illustrations of the feline skeletal system, I came across this remarkably painted kitty. (http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_oct2006/SkeletonCat.htm)

Bravo. What a handsome costume.

Snow Girl

2009-12-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas and the whole holiday season. It's my most favorite frame of mind: the gathering, the sharing, the sweetness.

This year, I decided to undertake the project of "the holiday card". Never before have I mass produced hand-made holiday cards. It was quite the task but wholly enjoyable and well worth it!

The Snow Girl image on the front of the card is sort of a winterized self-portrait. I scanned her image and inserted her, keeping the hand-drawn integrity, into a brochure template in Mac's version of Word: Pages. Due to the nature of the brochure format, the card was a tri-fold style: image, quote, and greeting. I printed front and back, hand scored (with the help of my friend Emily) and folded each card using the back of a spoon. Then each little crown was painted with a bit of white glue and sprinkled with golden glitter. Ta da!!! A holiday card is born.

Edward (Scissorhands!, not that vampire guy that everyone's swooning over lately)

2009-12-18T09:24:00.000-08:00

Check out this super cool Edward Scissorhands figurine! (www.urban-collector.com) I just watched the movie, again. It is such a beautifully crafted film. I love the colors. I love the costumes. I love the photography. The story. The absurdity. It's so dark, yet so sweet. That's Tim Burton for ya.

Update: I finally watched Twilight . . . now I undertand all the hubbub about Edward. tssss.

Christmas Angel

2009-12-14T08:30:00.001-08:00

I needed an angel for the top of my Christmas tree. So, I closed my eyes and imagined what she might look like. I saw a gold glitter striped dress and wings made of tulle and a tiny crown. Then I opened my eyes and started scissoring and glueing. Her head is a Christmas ornament with a painted face and yellow ribbon hair. I didn't imagine arms at first but popsicle sticks worked just fine. I added red finger nails to her popsicle stick fingers because every gal needs a manicure. (In the second photograph, you can see her glaring at the cat who is trying to pull over the Christmas tree with his daggar claws. Grey, the cat, thinks this tree is his newest toy.)

Wild Things Bulletin Board

2009-10-27T18:33:00.000-07:00

EDUC 562 is a graduate level literacy instruction class. One of the great things that I have learned is that to help teach children new vocabulary, expose them to the words repeatedly. Creating a board like this is a great post-read activity for any book. Vocabulary words from the book are chosen and placed around the board to provide further exposure. When displayed inside the classroom (or in a school hallway) this board repeatedly exposes the students to the specified vocabulary words.

I worked with a partner from class to create this bulletin board model. After reading 'Where the Wild Things Are', the class can work together to create this board. However, for this assignment, I was responsible for creating the title banner, the "wild things", and "Max". I used brown packing paper and white paint for the banner. I sketched the characters, watercolored them, and then had them laminated. Ben, my classmate partner, created the background out of colorful felt. He hotglued the felt to the board and then the characters and banner were attached to the felt.

In a real classroom, the students would be able to cut the leaf, sky, and tree shapes from felt and then attach them to the board. The "wild thing" and "Max" shapes would be pre-cut and would just need to be colored. Allowing the children to actively participate in the production of this board will boost their confidenc and increase their interest in its content. A way to make this board more interactive is to put velcro onto the backs of the vocabulary words so that the students can place and move these words on the board.

A Kindergarten 3 Ring Circus Bulletin Board

2009-10-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

EDUC 562: I worked with four classmates to design and create an interactive bulletin board for kindergarteners. When completed, we displayed it in the education building on campus, Hunter Hall. We decided on a "Three Ring Circus" theme.

My role was to make the circus tent curtains and also to create the "book" for the "fill in the blank and illustrate the story activity." It was fun. I used a single twin flat sheet for the curtains and painted the stripes with red house paint. Because the paint would go straight through the sheet onto the floor, I had to suspend it off of the ground by taping it to some chairs. I have a feeling that I'm going to get carried away on my bulletin boards when I have my own classroom.

Poetry Book without a Name

2009-10-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to write some poetry and illustrate it, then make a book. This was a project for my EDUC 340 class. It was really fun. I haven't done anything like this in quite a while. It's energizing. I love to illustrate and draw and I haven't done it enough lately.

New Girl

2009-07-13T06:08:00.001-07:00

Homemade Fried Chicken

2009-07-13T06:05:00.001-07:00

I painted a fried chicken leg for Paula Deen. She was at a women's fair in Chattanooga, TN this past weekend. There was no way to hand it to her personally but I was able to have it sent backstage to her room. I hope that she got it.

UPDATE: The Fried Chicken Leg was not left behind. The man who took it to her room wrote me an email to say that she took it with her! Paula Deen has the painting!

Sketchbook Girls: Watercolor

2009-07-05T20:23:00.000-07:00

A few girls from my sketchbook. I stayed on St. George island for a week and was inspired by the sunshine, fishing, sand, and surf. Watercolors are so much easier to travel with than acrylics.

Damsels

2009-07-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Margot,

Alice,

Louisa,

Carmen

and

Frida.

Chattanooga Artists Reserve Show

2009-06-29T19:28:00.001-07:00

It was the most fun.

New Little 2

2009-06-25T05:29:00.001-07:00

. . . in the morning light.

Photos by Mark Song.

New Little.

2009-06-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Baby Blue Second

2009-06-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

This little girl is close to complete.

Sweet . . . Elly. In her last appearance, her hair was invisible and so was her dress. But now she has goldie locks and summer stripes. (I was inspired by Edith Schiele's stripey dress.)

Baby Blue First

2009-06-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Elly.

I am almost tempted to not paint her little pigtails in . . . but I'm sure I'll do it anyway.

Rabbits and Their Folk

2009-06-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Bunny Roller Skates

and

Bunny Big Wheel

(2004)

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

-Lewis Carroll

I combined my favorite childhood cartoon and my favorite childhood toys: Bugs Bunny + Roller Skates + Big Wheel.

Kids in the Canefield

2009-06-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

A memory from my life on Maui.

(2004)

Little League

2009-06-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

A commission done to preserve the patron's childhood memories of little league baseball.

(2007)

Egon Schiele: Another artist whose paintings I admire.

2009-06-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

He painted in the early 1900's.
He painted this beautiful portrait of his wife, Edith.

I really love the rendering of the dress: that collar! And those stripes!

I loved those stripes so much, that they inspired this dress: http://nicolepinkerton.blogspot.com/2009/06/baby-blue-too.html.

Her hair is super fun.

His rendering of hands is so graphic.

I also love how her skin tone is the same as the negative space color.

I just love David Shannon's illustrations . . .

2009-06-15T20:36:00.001-07:00

I bought this book, A Bad Case of the Stripes, on Sunday, strictly because the illustrations are just beautiful. It wasn't until later that afternoon that I realized that the artist is David Shannon. I first became a fan of his illustrations upon reading No, David!

The Wind

2009-06-12T11:33:00.001-07:00

This is one of my all-time personal favorites. I was learning a lot about technique, and trusting myself, at the time I painted it. I think it was 2004, maybe even 2003.

Beatrice 2

2009-06-12T07:21:00.001-07:00

Now I know her name, she has eyes, and polka dots have been added to her sundress.

I Don't Know Her Name Yet. (Beatrice 1)

2009-06-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of a new lady. You can see how I etched into the underlayer of paint. I've just begun to add color.

I'm aware that she looks a bit eerie without eyes . . . I'm working on that.

Note: I'm using my webcam to take photographs. My next investment should be a digital camera.

Ruby

2009-06-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

Matilda

2009-06-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Though she started out as a blonde, I had a feeling that she would end up with locks of a different hue; the color has become blood orange.

Previously . . .

2009-06-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

Summer . . .

Larissa . . .

Japanese Lantern . . .

These are 3 paintings that I painted several years ago. Sometimes paintings come more easily than other times.

I can work on a single painting for weeks . . . and then paint over it because it still doesn't seem right. These are a few that were spared the sheath of gesso.

nicole pinkerton = n.pink

2009-06-07T19:59:00.001-07:00

So far, she's blonde.

2009-06-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

So far, Matilda is blonde. We will just have to see.

CAR

2009-06-06T00:07:00.000-07:00

Coming Soon - Chattanooga Artists Reserve Show . . . Saturday, June 27 at the Gannon Art Center: 3250 Brainerd Road. From Noon until 8pm

The Dancing Chicken . . .

2009-06-05T23:32:00.000-07:00

considered the Giraffes to be his most beloved friends. And they adored his jigs.

Eccentrically fashionable young ladies . . .

2009-06-05T23:17:00.000-07:00

are often . . .

completely approachable.