It's a Topsy Turvy world!

I recently purchased two Topsy Turvy's at a flea market for $1.00. I was so excited! What a bargain! Everytime I saw a commercial on tv for Topsy Turvy's I wanted to buy them. Now I have them *joy*! Of course, I had no idea how to use them since it was just the containers that I bought. I found a great video online explaining step-by-step how to use them. So I bought two tomato plants, soil, and two shepherds hooks to hang them on. Here's what I have so far:

Look for updates on my tomato plants in future blogs!

So proud! So proud!

Tonight's the last night of our school's art show. I teach seventh grade and my colleague, Bill DePew teaches eighth grade.



Our curriculum is to have each student choose an artist. They have to research their artist and then design their own project that is inspired by their artist. We have gotten some outstanding results! Here are just a few examples:


7th grade papier-mache sculpture inspired by the pop artist Claes Oldenburg:

7th Grade pencil drawing inspired by the black and white photography of Linda McCartney:

7th Grade acrylic painting inspired by the pop artist Burton Morris:



















7th grade painted skateboard inspired by Jackson Pollock.

These are literally just a few examples. We have about 180 projects on display, all of this quality, some even better!

Dave McKean Inspired Project

One of my seventh grade students created this Dave McKean inspired project. He made this from newspaper, plaster, paint, then took photographs of it.

The First Blog!

Welcome to my very first blog here at Manda'N@! My cousin Sarah came up with this name, isn't it so Pittsburgh-ish? I didn't know what I should focus my blog on, so I finally decided to just make one and see where it goes. I might talk about my art or crafts. I might talk about tv shows or books I like. I might just put up pictures of my dog. Whatev! We'll see! Stay tuned yinz!