Obey the Zonkey

Death of MyCat

Well, the snow has given me a day to play... A student posted a work of my art on Facebook..  I'm pretty sure she stole it... Anyway, it reminded me of a project I have wanted to do for a while.. So with my student sent inspiration and the driven snow I'm putting it all together. 

This work (above in progress) is titled

Death of MyCat

As an Art History teacher, I've often thought of using my critters to recreate works of art. The piece my student stole was a cat so I thought I would start here. Death of Marat, by David, above.

I'm also working on Saturn Devours His Son. I've also almost got enough critters for a Last Supper.

stay tuned..

Project Flop: Good Lessons From A Bad Teacher

The only class I ever failed in college was ‘Intro To Art Education’. Ironic, as I am now the Arts Department Chair at Apex High School. So why a book about failures? Because I believe I can’t take credit for my successes unless I take credit for my failings. There are hundred’s of books about classroom successes. This is a book about failures

Kindle Edition on Amazon 
Paperback on Amazon

All project start off with the best intentions. Whether you create the lesson from scratch or borrow it from someone else, in your mind you envision success. You write your lesson trying to plan for every situation that may arise. The supplies are laid out, a presentation and a demo are reviewed and practiced, and everything should go off without a hitch.

Then, be it fate, a misalignment of the planets or perhaps the art gods are angry, the lesson falls apart. Regardless of your preparation the students don’t understand. As for your enthusiasm, the class simply doesn’t share your zeal for the project. You try to pull it all together but in the end, for lack of a better word, it fails. Worse off, you take it personally. You feel like you failed. You will be happy to know that you’re in good company.

Project Flop consists of stories from some of the biggest failures that Ian Sands ever taught at Apex High School. Some projects were domed from the start, others appeared successful till an unexpected twist occurred.

Kindle Edition on Amazon 
Paperback on Amazon

Here are some of the best failed projects!


Monalloon:
I wanted a project that would out do any project we had done before or probably would do again. I came up with the best idea in the world. A giant replica of the Mona Lisa created out of balloons. Click Here to see The Monalloon!

Interactive Chalk Mural:
I was standing in the courtyard watching the students snap photos of their friends inserted in the art. I leaned over and asked the creative writing teacher what she thought, expecting obvious praise. “I hate it,” she said. View the Interactive Chalk Murals!

Expressive Skittle Portraits:
The project created a class full of students weary of gluing rows of candy, angry moms tired of purchasing Skittles, and a hungry mob that circled the trailer waiting for any chance that the door might open. View the Skittle Portraits!

Broken Kites:
March comes in like a lion and after having been cooped up all winter in a musky auditorium, I thought it would be fun to take the Art History class outside and let them feel the wind in their hair. View the Kites Project!

Observational Drawing on iPad SketchBook Pro

Whenever I'm on vacation, I always enjoy creating observational drawings on location. I used to bring a sketchbook and sometimes a small set of watercolors. There was a balance I had to create between what I wanted to use and what I was willing to travel with. There was also always the issue of where to set up. i.e. it's kind of hard to set up and use a paint palette while sitting in a beach chair. 

This year I got smart. I packed all sorts of paints, brushes, pencils and even an airbrush with me on vacation.. Well, not really. I brought my iPad and used the app Sketchbook Pro. 

We went to Florida during Christmas break and a little beach combing resulted in a few interesting objects to draw. Above: a crab claw.. I'm not sure where the rest of the crab went. 

Just a random shell I picked up one morning. I started this but didn't finish but that's ok, I got most of it..

Feathers are difficult! I started but didn't finish it either.. didn't even come close.. Im' so lazy ;)

New Author Website!

Created a New Website with a focus on the writings of Ian Sands. The new site features excerpts, photos, illustrations and of course links to all the books on Amazon.

This site was specifically designed to provide extra info about all the projects gone bad in the book Project Flop: Good Lessons From a Bad Teacher.

Here you will find links to photos and other information about many of the failed projects described in the book. Even if you haven't gotten your copy of Project Flop, this is still a fun site to explore!

Click here for the New Site!

AOE Conference Winter 2014

On January 25, 2014, I'll be presenting at the AOE Winter Conference!

'Project Flop: Good Lessons From A Bad Teacher' - Ian Sands (AOE Team) 

All project start off with the best intentions. Whether you create the lesson from scratch or borrow it from someone else, in your mind you envision success. You write your lesson trying to plan for every situation that may arise. The supplies are laid out, a presentation and a demo are reviewed and practiced, and everything should go off without a hitch. Then, be it fate, a misalignment of the planets or perhaps the art gods are angry, the lesson falls apart. Regardless of your preparation the students don’t understand. As for your enthusiasm, the class simply doesn’t share your zeal for the project. You try to pull it all together but in the end, for lack of a better word, it fails. Worse off, you take it personally. You feel like you failed. You will be happy to know that you’re in good company.

If you haven't signed up, check it out online here!

It's going to be a great conference! See you there!

New Book About How Not to Teach Art!

Project Flop:
Good Lessons From A Bad Teacher

The only class I ever failed in college was ‘Intro To Art Education’. Ironic, as I am now the Arts Department Chair at Apex High School.  So why a book about failures? Because I believe I can’t take credit for my successes unless I take credit for my failings. There are hundred’s of books about classroom successes. This is a book about failures 

Kindle Edition on Amazon 
Paperback on Amazon

All project start off with the best intentions. Whether you create the lesson from scratch or borrow it from someone else, in your mind you envision success. You write your lesson trying to plan for every situation that may arise. The supplies are laid out, a presentation and a demo are reviewed and practiced, and everything should go off without a hitch. 

Then, be it fate, a misalignment of the planets or perhaps the art gods are angry, the lesson falls apart. Regardless of your preparation the students don’t understand. As for your enthusiasm, the class simply doesn’t share your zeal for the project. You try to pull it all together but in the end, for lack of a better word, it fails. Worse off, you take it personally. You feel like you failed. You will be happy to know that you’re in good company. 

Project Flop consists of stories from some of the biggest failures at Ian Sands ever taught at Apex High School. Some projects were domed from the start, others appeared successful till an unexpected twist occurred. View some of the failed projects here!

Kindle Edition on Amazon 
Paperback on Amazon