a major "thank you" to Ryan Belz...former R.B. Walter Elementary student

This past year, BMW drove an i8 supercar to R.B. Walter Elementary. One of our former students, Ryan Belz, now working for WENY as a Meteorologist and journalist, came to the school to do a story on that event. Somehow, I failed to post the video that Ryan produced that made its way onto our local nightly news.

A fine young man with loads of talent, Ryan has continued to bring his knowledge and skills back to R.B. by presenting super interesting demonstrations on science and weather in the classrooms. I know the demos are cool because my daughter has come home singing his praises. Kids will let you know how they really feel... Ryan is good!

Here is the video that he shot:

We are proud of you Ryan. Best of luck to you as your future is wide open and ready for big things. THANKS AGAIN!!!

Under Armour is Awesome! "Sneakers of the Future" project a homerun!

Two years ago, a major car company did nothing for my 4th graders as we sent in a Cars of the Future art project. I am not naming them because we can never be totally sure if it was the companies fault. Anyway, feeling a bit sorry for the lack of response that was given to my students from that company, I set out to find another way for the students to get some interaction with a major corporation. Sneakers of the Future was hopefully the answer.

I was a teen as Nike defined cool footwear and athletic marketing throughout the 80's. Their shoes were visually light years ahead of the others. Nike commercials, in my opinion, were often more exciting than the sporting events they advertised during. Under Armour has emerged as a possible new trendsetter in athletic marketing. Their logo is showing up EVERYWHERE. Students are wearing the gear, commercials all over and professional athletics have the logo showing up on jerseys across all sports.

So, last year, the 5th graders worked on a project that had them analyzing their own shoes and inventing concepts of how shoes could look and what innovations might show up on them in the future (I defined the future to be months from now up to 100 years from now). They worked mighty hard and they were sent down to Under Armour's corporate headquarters in Maryland. This shipment happened at the end the 2015-16 school year. 

Two examples:

About three months ago, I received call from Danielle Thompson, Assistant Production Line Manager - Youth Footwear, at Under Armour. A super nice young lady, Danielle said that Under Armour was very excited to see the student designs and that they wanted to do "something" to thank the students and their hard work. I, of course, was pumped. I told Danielle that my students would love "anything" that Under Armour would be willing to do. 

Most companies get some gifts in a box and send it off to us. Some get their design teams involved and we get a bit more thoughtful and interesting gifts. And only two, prior to Under Armour, have stepped outside the very cool and entered the awesome and those were BMW North America (check it out here) and Subaru (check it here).

(this next paragraph is slight speculation mixed in with many facts as I was not present with the folks at Under Armour as they went through this process) 

This year, the number of awesome responses from companies has jumped to three. Under Armour had their team of designers review the student artwork. They each picked their 5 favorite ideas presented by the students and then the top 5 of those were boiled down. The Under Armour team then decided that they would make a 3-D digital model of the finished shoe that combined those 5 elements. They then took that show and built a small commercial/thank you for the students. 

Put yourself in the shoes of my students and check out the video (really, no pun intended!!!! really!)... make it full screen....

The video brought the student work full circle. They could see their ideas in seeming real life. The students sketched, made a finished version of their ideas and Under Armour finished it off. The students were pumped.

The top five ideas were:

5. Color changing 

4. Self-fitting
3. Temperature Control

2. Storage Pouch
1. Fly/hover mode

Also, the designers at UA designed a 3D paper shoe (below) that the students could build. This probably took longer than the video to figure out! They sent some blank versions so the students could design variations of the Warrior 2055. So COOL!!!!

With some careful cutting and little bits of glue, you get a very cool paper Warrior.

I gauge awesome in this entire scenario by the response of the students. This was AWESOME! Under Armour should be proud of this team and their thoughtfulness. Creative people can change peoples lives with their time and their care.

my student's artwork gets them a visit from BMW North America

When I went into this job, I was quite the novice about things like discipline and even how difficult it was going to be to break down something as complicated as art into simple terms for kindergarten students. What I did know was that I like things that are considered different and wanted my space to be as different as the powers-that-be would allow and still be a successful teacher. The Art Room should be different. The Pennsylvania standards for the Art classroom are vague. Some are single words like: line, space, shape, form, color, etc. I have the honor of grinding those words down to their simplest forms and begin to build their comprehension up with the very young. So far, I can do it the way that I believe works best. I hope to never lose that! Having a great Principal is something I wish on all educators!!!!! Also, I would like to add that I am surrounded by professional, high quality classroom teachers, who deliver me the best students possible. Those faculty members are given my utmost respect! Thanks R.B. faculty!!!!

By the time my students reach 3rd grade, my hope is that they are forming a quality understanding of those single words that are truly complicated like line, shape, color, etc. It is about this time that my lessons start to really open up and allow for student-driven outcomes. CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING! The directions can't be as loose as high school or college projects, but I can start to have them push themselves to reach beyond the standard outcome and go after 3rd grade greatness! By 4th grade they should begin to expect that some freedom lies within most of my projects and that their individual ideas are essential. 


Cars of the Future is entering it's ninth or tenth year.  It was a way to have the students visually problem solve while having only their imagination to propel them forward. I created the project with a memory from my youth in mind. I will always remember writing to NIKE back in the mid-80's as their brand was beginning to explode. They would send me catalogs of shoes that were not even available in our area yet. It was an awesome experience! Ithas become a project that the whole school knows about. Kids ask me often about, "When do I get to design a car". This is a good sign. They feel like they are somewhere that only a select few get to experience. Cars of the Future attempts to put the students in a "special" situation. That was the goal. I am proud to say that car makers have responded generously on numerous occasions (sadly, not always). Every year, a different major auto manufacturer gets a package from R.B. Walter Elementary with 50-75 independent concepts conjured up by my 4th grade students. These car companies either react and celebrate a possible future car buyer....or they don't! Some companies sadly did nothing. Two years ago I wrote about how amazing Subaru was to R.B. in a previous post. 

This year I chose BMW and they responded in a major way...this story could take a while...

When I wrote to BMW (a letter in the box of student artwork pictured below), I explained that the students loved how the i8 looked when I clicked on it as we explored the website (pictured above). "Wows" were heard in all three 4th grade classrooms. The fine people at BMW took that little bit of information and thought it would be cool for the students to see one in person.

I found out that BMW loved the box and was pumped about getting some student designs. They told me that this was the first box they ever received from a school. That was good for us!!! Bring Your Child to Work Day was approaching and they used the designs to line the conference room (picture below) where the employees and their children would have lunch. The children entered the conference room and ran around choosing their favorite designs. Then, like all inspired kids, they asked for paper, pencils and crayons and wanted to design their own ideas for BMW Cars of the Future. That story sure had me beaming with pride. The timing for this package could not have been better.

I received a phone call from Kathryn Vallis, an Executive and Internal Communications Specialist, about the prospect of driving an i8 up from BMW USA's headquarters in New Jersey to visit the students of R.B. Walter. I couldn't say "YES!" fast enough. I had to get the "ok" from our new Principal first, but I was pumped for the students and what could be an amazing experience.

Kathryn Vallis and Rebecca Kiehne, a Product & Technology Spokesperson, planned on driving this hybrid supercar to R.B. early this school year along with some other BMW gear (some of the gear is pictured below) for the kids.

The two ladies and the i8 arrived on a beautiful late summer day. It was a striking machine.

I had called several media outlets and Kathryn and Rebecca had quite a bit of talking to do.

Even the rims looked fast.

The car was impressive from all angles. The students thought the doors were "sick". "Sick" is now a good thing.

Rebecca was very knowledgeable concerning the amazing features and cutting edge design found in the i8.

Kathryn and Rebecca talked briefly about BMW's look toward the future of car design and took many questions from our well behaved students.

Each class was given some time to interact with the car. They were very respectful and careful. A lot of "wow" and "oooh" and "aaah".

I had a large welcome sign set out for the ladies and we all posed for a picture to commemorate the day.

Each student will be getting a copy of the picture below as a bit of memorabilia. 

Big thanks go to BMW USA for allowing Rebecca and Kathryn to have the day and come to our school. Big thanks to Rebecca and Kathryn for making the long drive and being so kind to the students. Big thanks to our new Principal, Mrs. Wood, for allowing the day and helping to make it so awesome. Big thanks to Tyler Belz for coming and covering the event for WENY News. Big thanks to John Vogt from Wellsboro Home Page for covering the event and the excellent video that was produced (CHECK OUT THE VIDEO LINK ...it is very good!!!!!).

Big thanks to the hard working 4th graders (now fifth graders) of R. B. Walter for being so creative, so gracious and so well-behaved on what was a great day for all involved.

vintage pull down U.S. map (40" x 48")

Rarely do I find things that command my attention. And once I do, they seem to sit in my brain and pop into my thoughts with regularity...even when they are not in sight. One such item is this map we had framed for our bedroom. It is one map from a pull down set you may remember from school. It is a vintage one from the 1950's/60's. I have given some of the other parts away and can't locate the date or find a similar one on the net. I kept this map and the North American section. The rest of the world has changed names so much that I didn't want my children learning some wrong answers for future questions.

The colors are a thousand times better than any other map I have ever seen. You mix the colors with this amazing typography (pictured below) and you get visual perfection. This former teaching tool is what I consider to be way more powerful an example of good design than a majority of the countless pieces of artwork that I have come in contact with in the last few decades.

The shadowed mountains (below) are mighty cool as well.

The greens and blues work so well together. Each small section of this map is just spectacular.

Love the different fonts used as well as how they kerned (spaced) the letters to create weight differences to the viewer.

The number are cool as well!

My favorite section of the map is this mountainous part of Mexico as it meets with the large font. The orange of the map is striking (orange is my favorite color by the way). Everything great about this design comes together hear. 

We had it framed by a kind and interesting man, Marwin Cummings, from the Lawrenceville area. I helped him mount it and it turned out way better than I had hoped for. It will be the focal point of our bedroom walls. Thanks, Mr. Cummings! Fantastic!!!!!

Why any map maker would avoid using such rich colors is puzzling. Enjoy!

large pencil rendering of wellsboro, pa - 3' x 9'

While attempting to locate a much smaller piece of artwork, I bumped into this rolled up drawing in the corner of the closet. It is a large pencil drawing of downtown Wellsboro. Wellsboro, Pa. has a beautiful downtown/business district. Traditional gas lights run the length of town in the median. If you are heading to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon any time soon, stop in town and walk the 4 or 5 blocks. Anyway, I was teaching one point perspective to my 5th grade classes about 4 years ago. To get the point across, and also to show what some hard work can produce, I chose the scenic downtown as my subject due to the interesting depth created by the many buildings and the trees. 

I walked (jaywalked) across the street, stood in the middle, snapped three side-by-side shots and continued on to the other side. After combining the images in Photoshop and tacking up some rolled paper on a large bulletin board, I set into the drawing. After about 30 hours spent on the work, I had achieved my point which was to inspire the youngsters into pushing hard on their own work. 

I do have a few regrets though. Mostly, I regret not using a quality piece of drawing paper so that the drawing may have some value (not monetary) to maybe a business in Wellsboro. I guess it would not have been as sketchy if I used good paper and would have doubled my hours just to reach this unfinished stage. I would definitely finish it if it were on better paper, for sure. The tape on the back doesn't bother me due to the lousy rolled paper used. Oh....drawing trees without leaves takes many more hours than some made up leaf formations. More building visible though!

Vanishing point had a red sticker placed on it (light spot back there where the street disappears) to help the passersby while it was under construction.

eric carle inspired man cave

I've been attempting to brainstorm ideas as much as possible as of late. My second graders have painted paper like the great Eric Carle (author and illustrator of children's books) and are now using it to create images of animals. The project is based around building images using simple shapes. I attempted to reinterpret the concept of a "man cave". A small place to chill out.

All I need is light brought in, a great book and a Sheetz coffee (a large one!).

the anatomy of the beg - an attempt to sell cookies to teachers that don't want to buy them

A few years ago I had a post that described my attempt to sell candy bars for my son due to his joining t-ball. You can check it out here. This time it is cookies for my daughter and Girl Scouts. The last thing teachers want is another sale from students clawing at the last few dollars. These sales are happening all the time and they come from all directions. So when I heard my daughter had to sell some cookies, I was very excited....NOT! We don't have lots of time after school to go door to door and hassle Joe and Jill Schmo up and down our street. Nor do I want to do that. A horrible thought. Anyway, I took it into my school. I had to come up with some angle to sell it that was different from the angle I used with the boy.

I decided on the "beg".

Clare was reluctant to pose, of course, and the picture is less than stellar. I had to brainstorm some sort of way to present this photo. I decided to point out how great the beg was and how passionate my daughter is about Girl Scouts. This lead me to the "anatomy of the beg" pictured below...

We sold a few boxes. Thanks to all those gracious teachers that caved in the face of such marketing.

forkzilla - another exercise in brainstorming

While on "lunch duty" at my teaching job (we walk between tables and make sure the students are behaving and all), a young 6th grade girl called me over with a terrific smile on her face. She had a look as though there was something awesome to tell me. The awesome news was her fork. Yes!, her fork. It was gigantic and super heavy as well. She thought it was so extraordinary, she had to let someone know about it and felt that my being the bizarre Art Teacher, I was the perfect recipient of this great find. We all laughed as we looked at this abnormally large fork. It was almost a serving fork. I asked a student on the other side of the table if we could see her fork. I took this regular sized fork and placed it next to the enormous one and WOW!!! It really was big. Anywho, we all laughed (not sure why) and I left my "duty" to go back and teach for the afternoon. It was most strange that I couldn't shake the large spoon and the general sillyness of the whole event. How did that spoon get into the school? Why did this young lady feel the need to show an adult? Why was it funny? Why can't I stop thinking about this odd silverware anomoly?

So...I used the event to show her class how I brainstorm and idea to relative completion. The result was FORKZILLA and the R.B. Lunch Disaster! I will use this as an example for an upcoming Comic Book Cover lesson I teach at that grade level.

angry strongo and the new look-a-like!!!!

I have been enjoying this new Cartoon Network show called Clarence. A very strange cartoon about an even stranger young kid named Clarence. He has all kinds of odd habits and hangs with the other bizarre students in his class. You really have to watch a few episodes to get the full picture. 

The more I watch it, the more I am reminded of my Angry Strongo design and the similarity to Clarence's friend Jeff (Clarence and Jeff are pictured above). Jeff's design is an over-sized block head with a sweep of hair across the forehead and a large semicircle down the sides. Angry has a slightly different sweep that resembles a large wave that follows his always scowling uni-brow.

Not that anyone that reads this blog gives a hoot about whether I copied off this cartoon or not, but the reason for this post is the sense that any one reader might think that is the case. I am also not saying that I believe that the creators of Clarence copied my design but there sure are some weird similarities. What we have here, more than likely, is a very close case of independent invention...I hope.

April 14, 2014 was the premiere date for the show. This has Angry Strongo being designed some 2 and a half years prior. I first started showing designs for my new "Angry" character in 2011. With the first post showing the current look of Angry Strongo appearing in October 31, 2011 (shown above). I had a version of Angry even earlier than this but the one below shows the first time I clothed him in the striped shirt that was later colored red to pay my respects to "Calvin" from Calvin and Hobbes.

As I researched the similarities further, I was struck by the layout of the room pictured below. Now I know many homes have large framed images on the wall and rounded doorways that were all the rage back in the day, but when you look at it all together, it just seems strange. 

My Angry Strongo layout pictured above was from January of 2013 (again, Clarence didn't air until April of 2014).

Anywho, I am not attempting to show any type of copying on the part of the creators of Clarence. I was just struck by the design similarities. I talk with my students about independent invention in my classroom. It happens quite often. When I give them a design problem to solve, a student sitting on the opposite side of the room often solves the problem in a remarkably similar way to someone else located far away. 

Check out this cartoon....it is very funny (my sense of humor is in line with this cartoon). Good day.

All the images used of Clarence and Jeff were copied and pasted off the net. My apologies and thanks to those who uploaded them.

new logo for the Northern Tioga School District

I was asked quite a while ago to redesign the logo for our school district. I tossed out multiple ideas and none were accepted. I sat on the project a while, as no deadline was given, until a concept popped into my mind a few months ago. I sat down at the computer and pushed it to its current state.

They decided that this was ready.

I wanted to represent the 3 communities in which we have buildings.....avoid looking to industrial or too elementary school as well as still remain simple and easily understood. School is the foundation of a quality life and the teachers I work with do an amazing job at giving students an Opportunity to succeed. Well, this is it. (there is also an upward arrow lurking in the general layout)

alternative Heart of Darkness book cover

As a final project for the 2D Design class, I had my students redesign a book cover of their choice. Some research had to be done as to what covers already were in existence and a possible revisiting with the text if necessary. One of my favorite books of my youth was Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. There was one catch to the project....it had to be rendered on an existing book cover. I supplied old, large and plain canvas covers to which the students picked numbers between 1 and 100 for first choice. My examples for the students are pictured below. 

I did some preliminary sketches with marker and watercolor to find the right mix of design and color choices.

I stressed that they should keep it simple. I had them view some vintage book covers that successfully utilized simple and still looked amazing.

Each student had a front and a back to work with (giving them a test cover if needed). I attempted to solve the problem with just black paint on my red cover. I always seem to lean toward one color, usually black, from the start of all projects. The blood red river was the one element I was sure of. 

Pictured below is the final version. All the sketches and versions were shown to the students. I attempted to do all the projects to give the students a sense of time and commitment. I have a full time teaching job, two kids and a house to take care of. I got the projects done (including brainstorming and multiple sketches), yelled at my kids and did some laundry and dishes as the semester rolled on. Most of college is about time and time management. As a young man, this was an impossible task. I have been on a slow improvement plan as I have found my wife and started a family.

The complementary colors are reacting way better than the photograph may be showing. The red of the river glows in comparison to the upper version utilizing just black. I really like the duct tape side with the color coded stickers.

Summer is here!!!!!!!! Have fun folks!

intro to graphic design project

The project was based on the Pennsylvania German/Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Art known as Frakturs....Originating a few centuries ago, they were often family related and very personal pieces made by relatively untrained artists in a simple graphic style. I based mine on teaching at the University level for the first time. The transition was not easy. Sorry that the above image is blurry, but I did not really have the time to scan it in as two halves and try to piece them together. The below images were scanned in. As a Fraktur, the entire composition seems to work well but the intense design flourish within the squirrels was too much...way too much. I would definitely leave the squirrels grey if done again. I left the swirls in as a teachable moment for my students. I did not get around to redoing the project, but there didn't seem to be a point in taking that time. It began as a demonstration of how to handle the project and I guess it will stay that way. Showing students imperfections is just as important as showing them excellence (and NO, this is not just an excuse to go lazy on a possible redo). Students should be able to recognize the flaws in their own work with the same ease as they see it in others. I think if I was considering hanging a finished product in the house, the redo would have been produced with simplified squirrels.

I really liked the sweaters (they were supposed to represent my children) and the type. I regularly and affectionately refer to my children as "squirrel boy" and "squirrel girl".

I did some straight forward aging with watercolor and attempted to keep the spacing and the design simplified. I did not try and over-draw anything. The overlapping of objects was purposely minimized and the parts really remain as individual parts. 

art doesn't fall far from the tree

My son Matthew is a second grader who loves school, reading, Lego's, Star Wars and just about everything else except cheese. My wife and I, both art teachers, have never pushed him, or his sister Clare, toward the arts. We do the occasional art project together but we refrain from harsh criticism of their skills. We definitely don't push it! 

During music class they were given some Popsicle sticks to work out some music theories (which I don't understand well enough to explain here...second grade stuff). When finished, they had a few minutes to just create something with the sticks. Not sure where Matt picked up the 3-dimensional thinking, but he must be watching his parents work or just thinking through it on his own. I guess it is good to do ones work in front of them even if you would bet your right arm that they weren't paying any attention at all. 

my 4th grader's design projects made it into Subaru's Drive magazine

About 8 years ago I came up with an art lesson for my fourth grade students. I call it "Cars of the Future". Each year my students invent what vehicles might look like years from now and I choose a major auto manufacturer to send the artwork to. Many companies have sent some great "thank you" gifts for the students. Tee shirts, Frisbee's, pencils, etc. This year, Subaru was AWESOME! Each student received a red Subaru Tee, blue baseball hat, and a rally cowbell. Also, our "thank you" picture was featured in the Subaru Life section of their DRIVE magazine. 

If you click on the "view the artwork" link at the bottom of the page, you can see each individual piece that was sent. 

WAY TO GO R.B. WALTER 4TH GRADE!!!! (now 5th graders!) KEEP IT UP!