Kathy Martin Studio

2011-05-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Kids Are Like Sponges

So it's teacher appreciation weekand I got a sponge. In my mailbox at work I find this poem with a sponge glued to it. It was odd to find a sponge in my mailbos, but to sum it up, it said something like: "Kids are sponges. They absorb so much so fast, and then when you squeeze them they give back."I take the page that has this sponge glued to it and tack it to my wall. My next class comes in and within seconds a kid raises her hand and in a very 'what the heck' kind of voice asks, "Why is there a sponge on the wall?" It would take too long to explain so I just said, "It's my sponge!" The look on the little girl's face was priceless. =) I might decorate it to look like Sponge Bob Square Pants next week to really confuse the kids. =)

P.S. For the record I will not be doing any kid squeezing. =)

2011-04-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Inspiring Minds Wanna Know!

So I was talking to a little second grade student of mine the other day and she says, "I want to play an instrument!" Of course I asked which one thinking I must have inspired her in some way. Through the year I've played piano, flute, recorder, and saxophone for my students. She said, "I want to play the saxophone!" I felt so proud knowing that I had planted a wonderful seed with this little girl by playing saxophone during one of her classes last December, and that she MUST want to be like me........WRONG! I said, "That's great!" She then pionted to the wall and said, "Yeah, I want to play saxophone because Snoopy plays it." and then she walked away.

Ok, so I was a little crushed that I had not inspired her with my mad sax skills, but I did paint this"Snoopy Playing The Sax" picture that hangs in the front of my music classroom. I guess after staring at it for eight months it grew on her!

2011-04-23T22:20:00.001-07:00

Peeps Are So Gross!

First off they are made out of marshmallows. Marshmallows used to be a real food. They were made from mallow roots which are found in marshes. Today many companies no longer make them this way. They are now basically little non-food "chemical puffs". They are made out of: sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, flavors, and dyes. Corn syrup is starting to be known as one of the worst foods on the planet for your health, and gelatin is made from by-products from the meat and leather industry, mainly pork skin, pork and cattle bones, and split cattle hide. Mmmm yummy! This chemical goop is squirted out into what looks like a dropping from a dog that has the runs. It is coated in sugar and sent out into the world. I think that these could outlast roaches. There are peep artists who use them in their work. I think that they are cute, but I'm not going to eat one of them! Yick!

2011-04-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Raw Colored Eggs!

When I was about five we used to go to my cousin's house for Easter. My mother and two aunts each would bring two or three cartons of colored eggs to have a huge egg hunt for my cousins and I. My aunts yard was very large, and it was just perfect for us.

I remember getting upset because after our egg hunt each year the adults would take a bunch of our eggs back to make potato salad and deviled eggs. I really hated having them taken away after I just worked so hard to find them!

One year I got even with those egg taking adults! I didn't do it on purpose though... My mother and I were decorating eggs for our big anual hunt. She would ask me to get this or that for her as we worked together. At one point she asked me to get the cartons of eggs out of the fridge, and I did. There were four cartons in the fridge....three were boiled and one was raw. Being five I'm pretty sure that I just grabbed three of them as quickly as I could because I wanted to get to the fun egg dye'n! We decorated the eggs and stored them for the big hunt.

The next day we headed to my aunt's house for our family party and egg hunt. The Easter Bunny (AKA the moms) quickly hid the eggs, and my cousins and I were let loose. After snatching eggs up as quickly as we could the dreaded time of the day finally came around...the adult egg snatch back. My mom and aunts went to each of us and picked through our baskets. I always used to try to talk my mother into only taking the ugly ones, but I think that she was picking through for the ones that had made it through the egg hunt without cracks. The adults took our eggs into the house, and that's when the fun began. They started making their anual potato salad and deviled eggs but were met with a gross surprise when they started cracking them opened.

RAW!

After all of the "Icckks!" and "Owwws" stopped they then figured out which sister had braught the carton of raw eggs and went on to figure out that I had handed the raw eggs to my mother to color! Being a five year old I thought, "That's what you get for taking eggs away from little kids! Mwwaahaha!"

2011-04-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day!

To celebrate Earth Day I'm going to work a little bit in my garden and see if I can't find a way to outsmart the cat that keeps eating my plants!

He sneaks into the garden at night and snacks on my plants. So far he's eaten two bell pepper plants, four squash plants, and eight snap peas.

Get out and do something "Earthy" today!

2010-07-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

The Little Plastic Man

I was on my way to the store yesterday to get some packing tape. While at the store I decided to glance at the toy isle while I walked to the spot where they kept the packing tape. This guy caught my eye as I was strolling along:

At first I thought he was The Terminator because of the black leather jacket. Then I went in for a closer look....umm.....black jacket, little black undies, black knee pads, and black high-top boots....umm.....I wasn't quite sure what to think. AND why is he holding his hands like that???

As I stood gazing at this odd little plastic man I couldn't help but laugh really loud. As I was looking at him and trying to figure him out I glanced next to him, and this is what I saw:

I wondered two things:

1. Why is he sitting next to a package of handcuffs?
2. Why is he staring at them like that??

Smiles,
Kathy

2008-09-04T01:01:00.000-07:00

Little Pimp
~

So I'm on vacation right now. I am the mentor to a new teacher at my school. I spent the past two days co-teaching with him to get him acclimated to the new position, school, and kids. I teach 3rd grade so I'm used to a certain age group of children, and he has mostly worked with teenagers. We were both amused by many of the little kindergartners and first graders.

We give the children lots of opportunities to be a leader in the classroom. I tell them that they are the teacher and expect them to teach as I do. They all love to do this, but only so many can earn or win the chance to be the teacher in the time frame that we have.

You have to realize that kindergartners and first graders have bladders about the size of a grape, AND if they hear the word "bathroom" they ALL MUST GO! hehe It's kind of crazy. =) Anyway a few of them started to do the pee-pee dance, and their new teacher walked them to the bathroom.

On the walk back to the classroom they had a funny conversation:

Little first grade boy: I never win anything like games or being the teacher, but I always win in shoes.

Teacher: Oh, those are nice shoes.

Little first grade boy: Yeah, my mom says she wants me to be a pimp.

Smiles,

Kathy

2008-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Crazy Candy Episode III
~
Barnyard Animals
~

So I still stop for a BIG tea at the gas station with the big dinosaur on it that is near my work whenever I go in. I'm on vacation for the next few weeks, but end up going into work every once in a while anyway. I kind of like my job so it's ok. =)

Anyway, on the candy rack next to the toilet candy I saw these two cute little guys. Actually there were three, but I didn't think that the sheep was as cute as the cow or the pig. So the sheep didn't make it onto the counter and into my work bag.....the poor little sheep.

Mmmmmmmm BarnYard Bubble Gum! Bubble gum straight from the barnyard sounds delish! =)

At first glace these little gum toting animals look really cute, but further investigation shows that the act of actually getting the gum is pretty gross!

The gum comes out of their butts!!

Butt gum yick!

I first opened the cow up, as I like green apple a little more than strawberry. I lifted his little butt flap and pulled the candy out...ick....It was as hard as a rock!

The taste was fine if you can get past the butt flap, the thought of bum gum, and crunch!

Smiles,

Kathy

2008-08-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

A New Painting

from

Kathy Martin Studio

This painting was created using 18 and 24 Karat gold leaf and then made to look antique. The branches were painted in copper leaf. A six step process was used to create this 3D painting. It is painted on a standard playing card as cards work best with the 3D painting process.

Dimensions: 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches (Standard ACEO size)

Both the Chinese and Japanese view butterflies as symbols of happiness and joy. The cherry blossom symbolizes feminine beauty in China and are believed to exemplify the transient nature of life, because of their short blooming times. Cherry Blossom (Sakura in Japanese) are omens of good fortune, emblems of love and affection, and represent spring time.

Click here for more details about this painting: Blue Zen Butterfly

Smiles,
Kathy

My Etsy Shop: http://www.kathymartinstudio.etsy.com/

2008-08-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've been featured on two blogs!

An article about me:
Dharm Designs
AND
an article that explains ACEOs:
Fancy Picnic

Smiles,
Kathy

2008-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

No Paper Airplanes!

So it's the end of the school year, and in my 3rd grade classroom we are doing lots of interesting science experiments. Today we worked on a project that entailed the engineering of an aerodynamic projectile (airplane) engineered out of official aerodynamic projectile construction material (paper).

I thought that I was soooo smart when I found this book full of awesome paper airplane designs and instructions! Oh man was I wrong! Out of four adults and thirty 9 year olds, not one of us could complete all of the steps involved in creating this airplane!! One kid came close, but quit at step 10 or so.

There was one little girl who is very smart. She is used to being able to do well at things that she attempts. She got so frustrated at this hair-brained idea I cooked up today that she started to cry out of sheer angry! She wouldn't talk or tell anyone what was the matter. I thought perhaps someone had said something mean to her. I tried to console her, but decided to let her be.

We finally gave up on the crazy 57 step folding disaster, and I announced, "OK everyone just make the kind of plane that you already know how to make." All of the students got to work, scrapped the crazy plane directions, grabbed new paper, and did what they wanted to.

After they were finished we all went outside to have a contest. The very upset girl came outside with us, she was still crying, she looked mad, and she would still not speak to anyone. I mentioned that the two planes that flew the farthest would win a prize. Since we scrapped the whole pattern idea the only rule was to put your name on your plane.

I lined the students up and counted down to flight take off. "Ready, Set.............FLY!" was announced, and the official 3rd Grade Airplane Engineering Distance Competition was underway!

About thirty planes took off across the blacktop. Some planes flew short, some flew far, but the farthest "plane" was a wad of paper. It went several feet farther than any other projectile. "Who threw the paper wad???", I questioned. Several students pointed to the angry, crying girl. She made another angry face.

I walked over to her, knelt down, and told her the following:

You know that this contest was to make the airplane that could fly the farthest right? You could create any kind of design you wanted to as long as you put your name on it. The student who's plane goes the farthest wins a prize. You're paper wad plane went the farthest, and YOU are the winner!

Her angry face turned into a HUGE smile!

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Crazy Candy Episode II

The Toilet

~
So every morning on my way to work I stop at this the gas station on the corner that has the big dinosaur on it. I stop there to get a HUGE cup of iced tea that lasts me all day at work. They have this candy rack near the register that has a bunch of novelty candies in it. I saw these little, plastic toilets on the very bottom shelf almost near the floor.

I had to get a good look at these little toilets because I was thinking, "OK, candy in a little toilet. It's weird." Then I took a closer look. The little toilets each had two candy toilet plungers attached to the sides. I mean what's a toilet without a toilet plunger right?

The thought of eating out of the toilet is fairly gross. The thought of swishing a plunger around in a toilet and then licking it off is gets a little bit ickier, BUT the picture listed on the label of this candy is just plan sick! That little blond guy is on his knees, hugging the commode, stirring the water with a plunger, and wildly licking the toilet.

Smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

I just learned how to make a slide showshow of my paintings.

Enjoy!

To view all of my paintings visit:

http://www.kathymartinstudio.com/

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Things Not To Mail To Las Vegas

So I have never tried handmade soap before. I wanted to. I purchased some online.
Um...I live in Las Vegas. It was 109 degrees out today. My mail comes at 3:15 PM, and I got home at 4:00 PM. Let's just say that I checked my mail 45 minutes ago and my new soap is still all sorts of melty!

~
I didn't even think of the heat getting it!
~
I now need to add that to my ever growing list of things that I can not purchase through the mail when it's hotter than 90 degrees.
~
This is the start of my "Top 10 Things Not To Mail To Las Vegas" list:
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1. live ants
~
2. live tadpoles
~
3. bars of soap
~

4. chocolate

~
The critters arrive not so alive, and the soap arrives not so hard. =)
~
Oh, I'm a third grade teacher so that's why I purchased ants and tadpoles. I have a light-up, glow in the dark aunt farm and a tadpole habitat.
~
I purchased the soap because I take baths!
~
smiles,Kathy

2008-07-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

Crazy Candy Episode I

So lately I've been running across really crazy candy. I'm guessing the marketing idea is that the grosser the candy is the more kids will want to have it. I got this apple taffy at the atomic bomb testing museum here in Las Vegas. You can't see it, but on the wrapper it's called a "Sour Apple Chew Bar". I've never heard of a chew bar before! It sounds like something that you give a dog.

Anyway this chew bar is "Hazardously Sour" nuclear sludge straight from the toxic waste barrel and is said to be "Created deep in the Secret Laboratory of Prof. Sauernoggin!"...where ever that is. OH wait! The wrapper says that the Laboratory is in Carmel, IN.

Now for the taste test! Opening the wrapper.....biting into the green nuclear sludge chew bar.....hey, it's pretty good. I'll let you know if I start to glow or something now!

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

Feel The Chill!

So after work today I was a little sleepy feeling. I decided to stop at the mecca that is Starbucks to get a nice, cold Vinti Mocha Frappachino. They are really picky about how you order a drink at that place. Sometimes I just want to say, "May I please have a large, chocolate, Slurpee." I mean that's really what it is isn't it? Slurpees have been around for decades now! I want to just keep repeated that I want a large, chocolate Slurpee until they give in and give me the Vinti Mocha Frappachino without insisting that I play by their name game rules.

Ok, I'm getting off topic here.....back on track:

So I was ordering my nice cold drink to wake my sleep butt up, and the guy taking my order hands me my drink and says, "Enjoy the nice cool weather we are having today!"Um.......nice and cool? It was 101 degrees outside!!!! I guess that's nice and cool for Vegas in the summertime!

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Got Brains?

~
So I'm doing research on the human brain and its function for my Master's Thesis this summer, and I just discovered some interesting facts.
~
Did you know that males have 60 billion more brain cells than females? I had never heard this before. Did you also know that when put head to head on IQ tests that males and females have similar scores?
~
So this leads a girl to ask.....if men have more (billions more) brain cells than women, AND they do not score any higher on IQ tests then what the heck are they doing with those extra brain cells?
~
If a person has more brain cells that would lead one to believe that perhaps they would be smarter than another person with less brain cells. So men should be smarter than women right? ~
You guys have billions more brain cells, BUT the tests say it isn't so!
~
I think that you guys are holding out on us!! What the heck are you doing with those billions of extra brain cells? Tell us!!
~
Inquiring minds wanna know!
~

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Hot Enough To Fry An Egg

On The Ground?

So over the past few weeks it has been getting hot here in Las Vegas. The high thus far this summer has been 115 degrees. I have lived here for two years now and have often wondered if it is hot enough to cook an egg on the ground.

Will an egg cook outside on the ground? This thought has ran through my mind many crazy-hot day here in the desert. I thought for sure an egg would fry in a matter of minutes on black asphalt at high noon in the middle of the summer. It's a silly thing to do, but hey teachers are allowed to be silly!

This calls for an experiment!

We called it our EGGsperiment.

The Prep

A few weeks ago I decided to really test this out. The mad scientist in me came out with a wicked smile and a mad scientist laugh. I gathered together my supplies and typed up a prediction sheet for my third grade students.

The Procedure

We next set up our experiment. I cracked one egg directly onto black asphalt, one egg on a cookie sheet sitting on the black asphalt, and one egg was put into a Tupperware blow and closed tightly. They were all placed into direct sunlight, and the temperature soared at 115 degrees. The students were to make predictions for what they think that the fate of the helpless little eggs would be at 10 minute, 3 hour, and 6 hour time intervals.
~~

The Predictions

I thought for sure that the eggs would all cook!! I thought that the egg directly sitting on the hot black asphalt would fry fastest and best. I thought that the one on the cookie sheet would cook up well too. The expectation of the closed bowl was high also. I mean 115 degrees out sitting on a super-hot black surface I thought for sure that with the lid closed it would get HOT in that bowl! I was surprised by the outcome of this experiment.

The Conclusions

Oh my gosh they didn't cook!

I thought that an egg on the sidewalk in Las Vegas, Nevada for 6 hours in the middle of summer would cook for sure! The results of this experiment were as follows:
~
1. The egg directly sitting on the asphalt evaporated really quickly only leaving the yolk. Some of which cooked 1/2 way solid.
2. The egg sitting on the cookie sheet evaporated at a slower rate, but by six hours had evaporated totally also leaving the yolk a little less cooked than the first egg.
3. The egg in the bowl was almost totally raw. I tiny bit ( about 5%) of the egg white had turned white.
~
Two of the students made correct predictions, and we all had fun playing with raw eggs. =)
~
smiles,
Kathy

2008-07-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

So this student comes up to me the other day and starts talking about another teacher. The other teacher is male and everyday after lunch our two classes use the same bathroom. Sometimes we teachers actually have to pee. This concept is totally weird to children. They think we don't do it or something.

Anyway....sometimes Mr. I will go into the bathroom to make sure that the boys aren't doing anything crazy. Other times he will go into the bathroom and use it because, though he is a teacher, he pees too.

A student comes up to me the other day during bathroom break and the conversation goes like this:

Student: Mr. I goes in the bathroom with us.

Me: Yeah, he goes in there when you guys get too loud so he can ask you to be quiet.

Student: Nooo, Mr. I GOES in the bathroom with us.

Me: Yeah, he goes in there when you guys get too loud.

Student: NOOO, Mr. I GOOEESSS in the bathroom with us.

Me: Oh yeah, sometimes teachers use the bathroom too. We also eat and sleep.

Student: Yeah but he can make apple juice!!! I can hardly make lemonade, but he can make apple juice!! How does he do that?

Me: Um, no more juice questions.

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

Calling A Hit Man!

So I'm a teacher and my students are supposed to read for a certain amount of time each evening. In order to monitor this I give them weekly reading logs to hold them accountable. They are TERRIBLE at filling it out, getting it signed, and remembering to bring it back. I started giving rewards for students who do so and have created consequences for those who do not.

Originally any student not turned their completed weekly reading log in would have recess detention. The kids didn't care about this too much, but they DO love eating lunch in the classroom on Fridays. We call it Friday lunch. Since the students have been soooooo bad at returning their reading logs last week I told them: "No reading log=No Friday lunch!".

One of the students raises his hand and in a very annoyed tone says:

"So first it was recess detention.

Now it is no Friday lunch!

What are you gonna do next hire a hit man?"

I couldn't help but laugh!

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

It's Gonna Explode! KABOOM!

So as I was driving home from work the other day and saw something that looked somewhat insane to me. Fifteen feet from a gas pump stood a fireworks stand. Does this seem crazy to anyone else? KABOOM is what comes to mind to me! Not only does it cost and arm and a leg, and now you might get blown up!

Over the past week I noticed this 15 by 5 foot little plywood stands going up on many corners in my town. I know that several state in the country allow such stands and others like it during the holidays in which fireworks are popular. My aunt owns a company that does this in Louisiana. She pulls down $100,000-200,000 during the one week in July and three weeks in December she has the stands out. She has to deal with tons of permits, laws, and rules. Her stands are all in vacant lots or in shopping center lots. They must be really far away from any structure. That seems sane to me.

Putting a little shack full of explosives anywhere near a gas pump seems insane to me! That is what I've seen set up on corners near several gas stations where I live in Las Vegas, NV. What the heck are these people thinking and why the heck is the city OK with it? KABOOM!

Beyond this being stupid I feel sorry for the people in these little plywood boxes. I mean that is exactly what they are (15' x 5'). The high for today was 115 degrees! When it was 105 degrees my students cooked eggs outside on the ground. It's crazy hot here! You sweat sitting in your car with the AC on full blast. The people in these boxes must be baked by now after hanging out in a plywood box in the middle of the desert during the heat of the summer.

Have a Happy and SAFE 4th of July!

smiles,

Kathy

2008-07-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

Fire! ~
So today I was going through some paperwork and needed to toss out a few papers. I don't want to be a dummy and toss things into the trash for anyone to acquire. I don't have one of those 'rip it up for you' machines. I decided that since I had 3 little papers to get rid of that I would just burn them up in my fireplace. They'd burn up in about 2 minutes and that would be that.

Sooooo...I tossed the papers in and came into my bedroom to work on the computer (Ok, ok play on the computer). All of a sudden my eyes started to burn. My house has filled with smoke because I had shut the fireplace out when it started getting hot.

I went into the living room and there is a roaring blaze going on!! Under the ashes was a little left over chunk of a log and pillar candle. After the wicks burn out, I toss them in the fireplace because they are great to start up a good fire!

My house is filled with smoke, and I can't breath. Did I mention that it's like 111 degrees outside today, and I have a toasty, warm fire blaze'n in my living room for the past half an hour? I can't put it out!!! UGG!

Anyone have some marshmallows?

smiles,

Kathy

2008-06-30T19:49:00.001-07:00

Field Trip ~ So today I went on a field trip the Atomic Bomb Testing Museum. I didn’t even know such a place existed and was even more surprised to learn that I’ve driven past it a good 50 times or more.
Now at museums you’re supposed to learn interesting new things. The most interesting thing that I learned at this bomb place was something straight out of left field. Heck I don’t even think that it was in the park. Did you know that there was once a man that had three legs and two "male parts"? Ask me how ended up learning this amongst all of the arms race and war history stuff? They have this "science amusement park" area mostly geared up for children. They can play with different little scientific magnet toys, spinning things, and such. Since it’s a carnival sort of them, along one wall they have this freak show display. One of the displays shows "The King of Freaks"! It’s a man with three legs. There’s a large painting of him and on the bottom it says, "and two P-----s!". Um….what kind of King of Freak are we talk’n here? I found it to be a rather odd display to put in a room meant for kids to explore. When one of the kids called me over and said, "Does that say what I think it says?" All I could say was, "Um….hmmmm…..yeah I think it does. Try to ignore it."

smiles,

Kathy

2008-06-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Hello! I suppose this is my first blog entry is supposed to be something good.....but.....all you get is: Hi! My name is Kathy! I like to laugh and smile often. I like to joke around. I'm a musician and artist. I play saxophone and piano. I paint and do mosaics. I love Halloween! Are there enough "I's" yet? If not here "I" am!

Smiles,

Kathy