The Earth's Treasures

See Mural Madness if you missed the introduction of this residency before you read on.

Here are the student illustrations for the mural, "Earth's Treasures" and their vision boards.  I think it is hilarious that the students were thinking the vision boards were going to be our mural.  They were proud of their drawings and trusted my vision, but were completely caught off guard when they saw how I interpreted their illustrations on 2'x4' wooden panels.  Pay close attention to the images you see and see if you recognize them in the mural!
               
                     

The painting studio ran rather smoothly thanks to Tia Breckenridge, the school counselor.  She is an organizing guru, had the room smelling all good, made sure the students had passes to come during their scheduled workshop time, lead two after school sessions without me, was an amazing support through the whole process, and is sure to become a lifelong friend.  I got attached to these students too, I hope to work with them again soon.  It was an exhilarating experience.  Enter Mrs. D's studio:





And now it's finished!  I have so many pictures to share, I don't even know where to start.  Please watch the making of "Earth's Treasures" and enjoy the final results.  I am so proud of the students at John Hanson Montessori.  They are creative, focused, and fun!  They made me feel like a part of their family.


                   


Drum roll please.............

 Panel 1:  Sea life, Beaches, Islands, and Cliffs.    

Panel 2: Family, Orchards, Plains, and Mountains

Panel 3:  Faith, Humanity, Parks, and Recreation

Panel 4:  Education, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, 

Panel 5: Self Discovery, Milestones, Bays, and Bridges

Panel 6: Rural and Urban, Wildlife, Waterways, and Commerce 

Panel 7:  Roots, History, Culture

Panel 8:  Seasons and Agriculture

I wish that you could see the whole panorama in person, that you could have been to the best culminating event EVER, and met the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING students that participated and captured my heart with their AWESOME attitudes.  But, I guess you had to be there.

Here are a few pics from the amazing culminating event that really brought the John Hanson Montessori community together!  So many parents and supporters showed up including John Ceschini, the Arts Integration Officer of Prince George's County Public Schools.  We sat together and chatted about this awesome residency, upcoming projects, and our passion for arts integration. There was a sit down dinner buffet style, center pieces, and performance!  It was a true Art Gala with giveaways and cake!  The food was delicious!  And when they opened up the curtain to reveal the mural, I couldn't have been more proud.........

                    

Thank you John Watson, Briana Wallace, Teja T. Tops, Tanesha A. Stovall, Serenity Smith,
Destiny Smith, Taylor Scott, Haaliyah Aneese Scott, Donovan Ross, Princess Robinson, Shayne Richmond, Brittaney-Nya Payton, Manuel Joseph Orallo, Jordan Newkirk, Mariah Nelson, Mariah Nelson, Alicia L. Nelson, Breanna Miller, Medgar Mack, Kai V. Lindsey, Kourtney Lewis, Victoria Lanier, Mya Johnson, Jovan Jackson, Thomas Hedgepeth, Jordan Goodman, Jasmin Golson, Kourtney Garrett, K. Galloway, Nico Edwards, Ayanna Earl, Jarai Dumas, Genesis Dorsey, Elijah Dorsey, Nike S. Diggs, Jalisa Davis, Deonte' Davis, Ajani Colymore, Dahria Clement, Jayla Bobo, Jamare Blagmon, and Aniya Bell for answering the call and creating an EPIC mural for your school! 

And a special thank you to the Tia Brekenridge, Principal Pinder,  and the PTA at John Hanson Montessori for hosting me, and making this such a wonderful experience, you guys rock!

I LOVE MAKING MURALS!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Keep planting seeds 

Mural Madness

Over a year since I've posted.  Man.  Don't dwell Danyett.  I've done so much since last August.  It's been a heck of a year.  Exhausted but motivated to share the beginnings of my first mural this school year!

The following are pics from day four's workshop at John Hanson Montessori .  We spent the first 3 days developing images and creating the layout and design.  Now it's time to paint!  Everybody was shaking in their boots!  Hahah!  Paint is so intimating but a worthy challenger.  

The theme of the mural is "Earth's Treasures".  I love creating murals with students.  I'm not just the instructor but an active participant.  Murals are one of the most authentic community arts projects.  And I get to do me, which is the little strawberry on top.

I gave the middle school students a poem for inspiration.  I googled earth's treasures and found this little treasure  A Lunar Lament by: Anne Pedtke.  After I read the poem to the class for inspiration, I asked them to imagine that they were the moon looking down upon the earth, marveling at it's treasures.  What treasure's would make you a jealous moon?

They came up with some great sketches, which I pieced together into our mural composition, all from the moon's perspective.

Here are six of eight panels.  I love taking their sketches and turning them into one picture. They are always so shocked to see how all the pieces fit together.  They thought their vision boards were the mural!  I'll post those pictures next time.  Imagine the looks on their faces when they saw these.....

They were so tickled to see their ideas and sketches imagined through my eyes.  

And here are my little community artists at work to bring our masterpiece to life!

Mrs. D runs a tight ship but I Ron Clarked it!

  

Dearest Ron, 

Since I got that first peek into your head, I've been chasing that feeling I had when I came to visit your amazing school in every interaction I have with a child or educator. 

Dearest Jay the Magnificent,

I remember my first time being exposed to your process.  I remember thinking....this man is a diabolical genius.  The imagery that came out of your workshops were otherworldly.   I got caught up in those panels, it was magnificent, hence why I call you Jay The Magnificent.  And now I get to create these collaged universes where anything is possible with a totally awesome group of students of my own.

I want to be like those two when I grow up!  

I hope these young people could feel that magical vibe in the air that this kind of project can bring.  So grateful to Young Audiences for blessing me with this opportunity to serve communities that feed me with inspiration and fuel my passions daily.  

Now if I can just get them to be fearless....we are gonna have one humdinger of a mural and they will be left with a cherished memory and an experience they will never forget! 

Continuum

Continuum-a continuous extent, series, or whole.

Continuous-being in immediate connection or spatial relationship

This may be the best first page of a new sketch book I've ever drawn on the fly.  

Spontaneous and Free.    

I call it, "Continuum" because I found a way to make every line that I made work together for the good of the whole.  Sketched in ink so as to promote confident lines, I just went for it.  The grey paper with the brown ink is making my heart quiver with glee, it's so delicious!  I like it a lot!  Yummy!  

I have a confession to make.  I am a sketchbook addict.  I saw the paper and had to have it.  I rarely fill up a sketch book.  I may have two completely full sketchbooks (and one is a thumbnail sketchbook so that doesn't count), but I have a lot of incomplete sketchbooks.  I know it's a problem, I'm working on it.  I don't know what it is but there's just something about a fresh blank book!  I collect them.  I labor for days on what to put on the first page, it's so ridiculous.  It's always that starting point that gets me.  The fear of messing up.  The pursuit of perfection produces a deadly combination when art and fear merge.  How could I ever expect a sketchbook to be perfect?  It's a freaking sketchbook!

I have to talk myself through my misgivings.  A sketchbook's imperfections are what makes it perfect.  It's the space for experimenting without restrictions and preconceptions.  It is inception.

Inception-beginning; start; commencement

Duuuuhhhhhhh....

Well, cheers to spontaneity, and doing what comes natural, and what makes you feel good!

I think I'm going to have to digitally paint this one because there is no way I can reproduce this drawing as a painting otherwise.  Ain't no way lightning is gonna strike twice in the same spot.  I like my first try!  Who am I fooling, I always like my first sketch best.  Don't we all?  It's always more loose and free and full of promise and potential.  No pressure....until the second draft which will not include the Edward scissor hand....I loath drawing hands.  I wish I could wave a magic wand to make them appear effortlessly.  But noooooo, hands have to be all confrontational and difficult, ol' suckas.  

The figure was initially intended to be laying on the drawing, melting into it.  Somehow, she ended up standing holding a tree up.  Then she somehow became the tree.  Sound familiar?  I always start off in prostrate, then somehow end up standing, carrying the load until it becomes second nature and an extension of myself.  We all have the tendency to do that without even thinking about it, some of us need more practice.  I might start off on my face but I find a way to make it to my knees and after that God lifts me to my feet then fills me with His grace.  And if you know me, you know....there are going to be some trees thrown in the mix!  

I just can't help myself.  I don't see dead people.  I see tree people.  LOL!

So this one has mad layers too, which seems to be a reoccuring theme.  She's lays in prostrate and stands in strength, all at the same time.  It's duality, and I like it like that!  That's what laying in prostrate can do for you!  It can give you the strength you need to stand! So go throw yourself down on your face and pray for the strength you need to get back up!  Do not delay!  Do it now!  

This is about as abstract as I get, but I do love when recognizable images emerge from lines and shapes...now that's gangsta!  

Emergence=Evolution

   

The Rebirth of Venus

Remember this lonely little Venus that I started during my 100 days of art challenge?  On a solitary journey towards becoming, arriving to the wilderness?  Yeah, she's been sitting every since, waiting.... on me.

I am drawn to the famous painting, "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli.  It depicts the goddess Venus, having emerged from the sea as a fully grown woman.  Arriving to the sea shore upon a shell, aligned with the myth to explain her birth.  On her left, the wind god carries his bride towards the threshold, blowing the shell amongst a shower of roses, gently caressing her hair and the incoming waves that seamlessly break over the shore.  As Venus is about to step onto dry land, a hand maiden waits patiently for the goddess to come closer, reaching out to cover her shy naked body with a cloak. Venus' contrapposto stance depicts grace as she carefully leans on one hip, modestly covering her private parts, slightly revealing her sexuality.
 

It's been said that this painting "illustrates the birth of love and spiritual beauty as a driving force of life.  Once she lands ashore, the goddess of love will don the earthly garb of mortal sin", an act that could lead to the creation of a new life or the possibilities of an everlasting one.  Once draped in earthly garments does she become a personification of the church which offers a spiritual transport back to the pure love of eternal salvation?  In this case the shell upon which this image of Venus stands could be seen as a symbolic pilgrimage.  "The sea brings forth Venus just as the Virgin gives birth to the ultimate symbol of love, Christ."  Is Botticelli's Venus meant to represent the idea of divine love?

Rather than choosing one of the many interpretations offered for Botticelli's depiction of the Birth or Arrival of Venus, I think it's better to view it from a variety of perspectives.  This layered mythological, political, and religious composition was intended to portray the goddess as the epitome of beauty arousing humans to physical love at first sight, then inspiring intellectual love upon second glance.  After further investigation, one might be inspired to lift the mind towards the Creator.  Lets get lifted.

When I became a mother, I experienced The Rebirth of Venus.  I have my own ideas of what that means as I add my own layers to the many layers of this great classic.  I'll explain more about my motives as it progresses and as she emerges, but can I just say....I am so addicted to illustration as fine art.  It makes all the spit rush to my mouth....soul stirring artful storytelling at its' finest.  Food for my soul.

"The Rebirth of Venus"

WIP

And just in case you were wondering, my Venus arrives on a cowrie shell and my hand maiden, and my God who controls my wind, just so happen to be trees....anything less would be uncivilized.    

Hurricane Sandy Hits!

Sitting here in the middle of the biggest hurricane on record in a long time, a little bored, but praying that the power doesn't go out.  One of my student sends me a picture of a bowl of fruit that he's painting and asks for feedback.  I give him some pointers and the next thing I know he's sends me a better version.  I thought, "Wow, he's using his time wisely amidst the chaos of the perfect storm."  Then I scroll down and see the status of another student who has sketched a cute little monkey sitting, waiting for the storm to pass.  I couldn't help but to be inspired by my star students, spending their down time drawing, painting, and doodling while I'm watching news people put their lives in harms way, about to be blown away by hurricane winds just to prove that we should stay in.

Needless to say, I was inspired and decided to pick up my sketchbook.  Then I thought, but wait, I still have electricity.  I want to use it while I have it so I put my sketchbook down and went to my sketch n draw app on my phone and got busy with my finger instead of a pen.  Who knew a finger doodle could turn out so nice!  I'm getting better at using the sketch n draw app, it's relaxing, and a lot of fun.  I should use it more often.  Many thanks to my students and this storm for the inspiration and whoever created this fun app!  Despite the rain, the wind gusts, and the threat of losing power, I'm still managing to find creative ways to occupy my time.
 

 Hurricane Sandy Doodle by D.L. Tucker

So here's my little finger doodle inspired by the storm.  Thankfully, the electricity is still on so that I can blog about it.  Stay safe folks!  And stay creative!

Day 33: Mrs. D's Revenge

(Forgive me in advance for the rant, but I have to get a few things off of my chest and it ain't gonna be pretty!)

The stress of work must be really getting to me.  Yesterday on my way to work I came up with a brilliant and slightly twisted idea to create a comic featuring my students to hand out to everyone as a parting gift on Friday, my last day of work.  (insert happy dance here)  I wanna go out with a bang by showing the students who tried to learn something from me, my apprecation, as well as show the 5 students that gave me so much hell that I am seriously thinking about never teaching kids again, just what I feel about them and their shenanigans.

Well I didn't think I'd have time to pull it off by Friday but I was so driven to take this stance that I stayed up all night long, drew and inked a 5 paged comic with a cover!  The story is awesome and I will be getting the last word in a very "EPIC" way!  And now more than ever I am convinced that I can do anything that I put my my mind too.  I'd like to present, "The Flunky Five's Epic Fail".

The Flunky Five are the 5 students who will be failing my class because they don't do anything in class but cause problems.  That makes them flunkies, yeah I said it!  They have funky attitudes all the time and it stinks so I made sure to draw flies flying around them.  They are evil little monsters with horns and tornado bodies because they reek havoc everywhere they go.   They spread so much negativity around that they make everyone miserable.  They are selfish and don't care about anybody or anything, I am so sick of them!  And I'm not the only one!

In the story, my supportive and positive students develop a plan to maintain peace in the classroom so that we can have a healthy work environment.  By the end, we all realize that the world is a much brighter place without haters and trouble makers!

Although I am tired, making this comic was extremely therapeutic as art making should be.  I feel so much better and I can't wait to hand out copies to all the students so that I can put those little terrors on blast!  That's exactly what they get for making my life hell.  I've said it before and I will say it again, "Karma is a bitch with a pencil!"

Day 14: Fly Girlz Webcomic

So I've been wanting to create a web comic strip for a while now.  It's been on my "to do" list.  I was racking my brain trying to figure out exactly what I wanted it to be and while talking to my ace boom Jennifer on my birthday, she reminded me of a sketch I did of us a while back.  We are the "ride or die" kind of friends which I think is captured so well in this sketch.

I absolutely love this drawing.  It's us up and down and it's got so much sass!  We always refer to ourselves as Thelma & Louise.  I love that movie.  So I sketched this out for our personal pleasure to cheer us up once when we were pissed off.  It always makes me feel better to imagine us against the world, driving off that cliff, and surviving somehow.  So when she reminded me about it on my birthday, I dug the old sketches up and realized that I had the makings of a really great comic.

I prettied it up and it's exactly what I want my web comic to be.  Honest, empowering, and just plain out hilarious!

Fly Girlz is for mature audiences.  It features beautiful, talented, fly ass divas who juggle family, careers, friendship, and life's hurdles.  Once I add color, I will have a space designated for the comic on my website, and you will get to indulge in the adventures of the flyest girlz you've ever met!

So stay tuned and here's a sneak peek of the first installment!

Day 13: Paper Doll

My 1st paper doll!

                          

Day Four: Ahoy

In 2007 I finished the first draft of my soon to be published (fingers crossed and speaking it into existence) book.  Back then, the biggest project of my life was an extravagant book dummy that had to be finished before I graduated college.  I had three kids and was a full time student, trying to get that degree.  Life was in disarray, my load was heavy, and my knees were buckling.  I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I was just walking blindly by faith.  I drew this picture of my kids and dedicated the 1st draft of my book to my three babies, urging them to never give up and to believe in themselves.

I just ran across this picture yesterday and realized that since then my boat has gotten a lot bigger.  I have more kids to haul, the waters are rougher than they were back then, and what didn't kill me made me stronger.  I've got muscles like a mug from the many voyages that I have been on in this lifetime!  There are still no paddles, my hands are too full to hold any.

I'm just holding on for dear life to my crew, trying to keep us all safely inside the boat, as we ride the waves on this river of chaos!  God is my Captain.

The storm has been upgraded, so I had to upgrade my boat.  Ahoy matey! 

Thar she blows!  LOL!