The Traveling Teacher

The weekend was a crazy new experience for myself. It took me to Atlanta where I got to spend 3 days writing and re-writing to get my topic for my dissertation approved.

At the end of it, you needed a 70 to pass or to be marked as "on tack and prepared to move forward." If you received an 80 or above, it was a huge compliment and meant you were so on track that you were to the point where they would want you to be if you were submitting your entire dissertation.

I finished with an 82. I was really proud of myself.

My dissertation in it's current form studies the relationship between completing a continues and complete visual arts curriculum and literacy.

Studies and my research show that kids that have visual arts are capable of more including being a literate reader as well as being able to answer and support higher-order thinking questions.

I'm very passionate about this because English literature and art are so intertwined and so often, that's forgotten. In many ways my own kids are an example of the place of art and creativity in a language arts classroom because they do well on tests.

In many ways I am an example of how a fluid education between both curriculum creates highly-able students. I would not be as good of a teacher as I am if I did not have my art background as well as the cultural background I have from my art degree. It exposed me to a million different things and in many ways because of those experiences have made me think differently and thus, teach differently.

As great as the weekend was, it has left me so incredibly tired. I am fighting hard to get through today and tomorrow before we're off for teacher's convention.It was also really cool to stay in the hotel that The Hunger Games movie used for scenes of The Capital. It was also nice to have someone clean my room everyday and fall asleep all by myself in a huge king bed. I did miss Phil and the animals though, it was even nicer getting to come home to all of them.

My next adventure will take me to Chicago, which is so exciting...I have never been, but I have always wanted to go.

Book Review: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Elizabeth Kostova was first published in 2005 with her best-selling historical vampire thriller, The Historian. Today, there are more than 1.5 million copies in print and a Sony film adaptation is in the works. Much like that novel, Kostova sets up The Swan of Thieves.

Here, Kostova creates a central, academic hero that becomes engrossed within a mystery. Each chapter ranges in time from past to present, encompassing the lives of painters Beatrice de Clerval and her uncle Olivier Vignot, whose lives are beautifully described and played out through their art and letters.

Juxtaposing the past with the present, Kostova creates her academic hero in Andrew Marlow, a trained psychiatrist who is bent on asking the tough, prying questions and unraveling the mystery that is key to the plot of the novel. The mystery being that one of Marlow's patients, renowned painter Robert Oliver, tried to slash a painting in the National Gallery. Marlow becomes increasingly obsessed with Oliver and his reasons for attempting to do what he did, when he uncovers Oliver's obsession with a stolen batch of letters written in French that he continually reads and obsesses over himself.

Fans of Kostova have waited with great anticipation for her next novel. Fans of The Historian will not be disappointed by The Swan Thieves, in fact, it is rather easy to see much of Kostova's budding writing style continue on into her latest novel.

The intrigue and ability to build a deep and entangled plot is clearly evident in Kostova's second novel. Accompanied with the lush world of Impressionism and 19th century life, Kostova delivers with The Swan Thieves: A Novel. Kostova has a great gift for writing. It will be a long wait to see what her third novel will bring to her already impressive quality of work.

Kostova was born New London, Connecticut and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee where she graduated from the Webb School of Knoxville. She went on to complete her undergraduate degree from Yale University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan.

According to a press release, in May 2007, the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation was created to help support Bulgarian creative writing, the translation of contemporary Bulgarian literature into English, and friendship between Bulgarian authors and American and British authors.

The Swan Thieves: A Novel by Elizabeth Kostova was published by Little, Brown and Company on January 12, 2010 with ISBN 0316065781.

Book Review: The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato

Steeped in the turmoil of the non-unified Italy of the 1400's, Marina Fiorato skillfully weaves a detailed and evasive mystery around one of Botticelli's more famous paintings, Primavera or Allegory of Spring. The painting is packed with meaning alone, but Fiorato takes the painting to an entirely new level in her book, The Botticelli Secret.

Painted in 1482, the Primavera was created by Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. He was of the Florentine school and worked during the Early Renaissance or Qauttrocento. It is suggested that the allegory had been petitioned by the Medici family.

The work is largely accepted as an allegory of springtime; however, other themes and meanings have been explored, including the idea that the painting illustrates the ideal of Neoplatonic love. For Fiorato, the painting serves as the basis for her art history mystery in her novel.

Fiorato opens her novel with the introduction of her heroine- common whore by the name of Luciana Vetra. She is described as a classical beauty, with long flowing ringlets and a sharp tongue from the four years that she spent on the streets of Florence. She is aptly named for how she arrived in Florence. Her origins for much of the novel are unknown, but from the beginning Luciana speaks of her uncommon arrival in the city- as a baby washed-up on the shores of the city in a glass bottle.

The reader is quickly drawn to her, despite her abrasiveness and crassness that are abundant in the earlier part of the novel, but softens as she finds herself and finds love during the course of the story. Her flaws make Luciana realistic and easy to relate to, despite the over-the-top mystery and life that she eventually gets swept up in to.

Fiorato's story of Luciana, Primavera and the mystery that engulfs everything is skillfully rendered and so lush that the reader easily gets immersed in the world of what Italy was like during the early part of the Renaissance. Fiorato leaves nothing to the imagination and stays away from romanticizing the period, leaving the reader with a raw and detailed depiction of what life was like during the time that Botticelli lived and worked.

The Botticell Secret by Marina Fiorato was originally published in April of 2010. It is available for purchase through St. Martin's Griffin, New York with ISBN 978-0-312-60636-7.

Book Review: Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick

Art historian and professor, Sheramy Bundrick shines in her debut novel about the final years of Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

There is nothing easy about writing historical fiction. Once a writer adds art into the mix, the project becomes something entirely different as many artists, especially those like Vincent Van Gogh are not so easily defined. Furthermore, having the ability to blend factual art historical information with the fiction a writer creates, is difficult and can often produce novels that are more of a creation as opposed to a well-researched, factual backdrop with a fictional story also added for entertainment.

This, however, is not the case with Sheramy Bundrick's Sunflowers. As an art historian and professor, Bundrick brings to the table a strong set of skills and research that are more than evident in her fictional retelling of the final two years of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh's troubled life. She recounts with some liberty, the time that the struggling artist spent with a young woman named Rachel – the very same lady that would be presented with a fragment of his ear.

In reality, there is nearly nothing that has survived in history about the real Rachel, other then a document that lists her name, address, occupation and that she was the woman Van Gogh asked for at the brothel to present her with a piece of his ear. Other artists such as Bernard and Gauguin mention Rachel in their writings and letters only in passing, referring to her as the "cafe girl" or "a wretched girl" respectively.

Irregardless of the reality of the factual, historical relationship between Van Gogh and Rachel, Bundrick writes her story having imagined what it might have been like had there been a relationship between the two people while incorporating factual information regarding the time period and Van Gogh's work.

Moreover, Bundrick creates this mixture of fantasy and art historical fact seamlessly. She captivates her readers from the very first page and does not let them go until they reach the inevitable end of both the novel and of Vincent Van Gogh. Her intricate descriptions make her readers feel as though they are part of the dingy cafe where Vincent and Rachel meet to talk, part of the garden where he draws her and even part of the city and busyness of the city of Arles as a whole.

Overall, Sheramy Bundrick's work is captured best through Susan Vreeland, author of Life Studies, " [Bundrick] lays bare in rich, compelling scenes the mystery of the turbulent and misunderstood final two years in Van Gogh's life." Sunflowers is a gem of a first novel and makes for an interesting glimpse into the mental decline of one of the world's most famous artists.

Sunflowers – A Novel of Vincent Van Gogh by Sheramy Bundrick is available for purchase through Avon with ISBN 0061765279.

Book Review: The Sidewalk Artist by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk

When a struggling New York writer escapes to Paris, she finds herself falling for a charming yet secretive sidewalk artist.

A blocked writer, unhappy with her life and relationship takes off for a Parisian vacation. It is there that Tulia Rose encounters beautiful chalk drawings of some of Raphael's most beautiful and famous creations of cherubs and light. The chalk drawings' artist Raffaello, intrigues Tulia. She quickly finds herself asking if she loves him? Or is he a stalker? Or could he even be the reincarnation of the Renaissance artist Raphael?

Tulia's story and eventual love-affair takes her across Europe to lush settings that are both dreamy and romantic. Readers are indulged in sensual Paris, dream-like Tuscany and beautiful Venice as Tulia navigates herself through her budding affair and eventual break-up with her New York boyfriend, Ethan.

The settings are beautifully described and detailed by an author with a keen eye for the intricacies that the romance of Europe offers its visitors. Buonaguro writes, "What truly moves Tulia is not the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame Cathedral or any of the wonderful sights. It is the little things.

A windowsill with a pot of geraniums and a glimpse of lace curtain, the way the sun glances off a puddle, the echo of her heels as she walks down a narrow cobblestone street, the taste of coffee at an outdoor cafe, the sound of children calling out to each other in French," making it easy for the reader to fall in love with Paris even if they haven't had a chance to make it there yet.

The downfall of The Sidewalk Artist, in my opinion was Raffaello - Buonaguro's hero. Instead of being the romantic artist that was meant to sweep readers off their feet as they read, I found Raffaello to be more creepy than to be someone with whom I would want to disappear into the European countryside with. I kept waiting for a plot twist wherein the entire story line became something sinister and it was with that thought that kept me from completely falling in love with the story though I did find the idea of the parallel plot and romance to be creative and intriguing.

The Sidewalk Artist by Gina Buonaguro and Janice Kirk is available for purchase through St. Martin's Griffin with ISBN 031237805X. It was released on April 1, 2008.

Adventures on the East Coast: The Rockefeller Estate and Union Church of Pocantico Hills

The Rockefeller family built much of New York City and the surrounding areas. If you have a free Saturday then you really need to head to two place: their estate, Kykuit and the Union Church of Pocantico Hills.

What is so neat about the Union Church of Pocantico Hills is that it is this super tiny, neighborhood church that you probably could pass anywhere in a small town and think nothing of it. However, inside there are some amazing stained glass windows that were commissioned by the Rockefeller family. They commissioned artists Chagall and Matisse in the 1960's to create these amazing windows that depict biblical verses and are dedicated to various members of the family.

You can't take pictures in the church, but you can view them on their website which I am giving to you HERE.

Now, Kykuit, the Rockefeller's fall and spring estate is also nearby and pretty amazing. Where else can you view this beautiful home and then get to go to the basement and view Picassos and Calders? Nowhere! All of my photos are below:

Adventures in Teaching: Hello Fourth Year!

It's my fourth year doing an art program for summer camp and my first time being a site director. Lots of responsibility, but I am loving it! My first project was to make small groups of children decorate their own fish and then I painted their hands and their hands are supposed to make the scales, but kids get creative and I kind of let them just go with it. My first bulletin board looks amazing though :0).

Book Review: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

Kostova's story is rich, layered and in so many ways its own literary painting. Plunged deep into the mystery of way famous painter, Robert Oliver, would attack a painting in the National Gallery, psychiatrist Robert Marlow quickly becomes obsessed with finding out why and unlocking the emotional and psychological torment that plagues his latest patient.

Fans of Kostova's first book, The Historian, will enjoy the long, languid way that she wrote her second book, filling it with detail and mystery taking the reader from the 20th century back to the 19th, from the United States to the coasts of Normandy through budding first love to last love while carefully and intricately weaving a web that interlaces past and present.

Overall, Kostova's second book is a heavy read with a lot of detail that at times can be too much to take in, but it is worth the read in the end.

Score: 4 out of 5
Book Information: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova was originally published in April 2010 through Little, Brown and Company. It is available for purchase with ISBN 1847442404.