Artsfest - Wood Burning

Today I met a new artist at Artsfest, the annual weekend Arts celebration at Annmarie Gardens in Solomons MD. This prestigious event draws artists from all over the country to showcase their work. We love walking through the shady sculpture park and visiting all the booths. Rebecca loved the blacksmith at his anvil. Natalie loved the fiber artist at her spinning wheel. We had such a good time that we are going back tomorrow to do it again. I usually walk with my arms crossed tightly to avoid reaching for my wallet, but I did relent and purchase something for the classroom. Next month's artist study is John James Audubon and I've been working on preparation. I was thrilled to find a Newbery honor biography called Audubon by Constance Rourke which I purchased and plan to read aloud...

AUDUBON - WITH 12 COLORED PLATES FROM ORIGINAL AUDUBON PRINTS

the bird logs for Nature walks...
Bird Log Kids: A Kid's Journal to Record Their Birding Experiences




and MaryAnn Kohl's project idea for Audubon (green Science main lesson books) in Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters



But I'm still looking for more ideas to help us explore this great Artist. Today at Artsfest I came across a booth which inspired me. The art is called "Pyrography" which means wood burning. The artist, Rose M. Beitzell, had wonderful work, especially accessible because she has made a lot of her wood burning available as prints or made into notecards. I purchased 14 different bird notecards for us to study and I plan to have us compare her bird portraits with Audubon's. I also asked the artist herself, who was there at the booth, if she would be willing to visit our school and talk about her art style. I'm hoping we can make that happen!

Check out the Studio R online gallery.