Art Hop

February 5, 2026

Lisa and I went to knitting class again tonight. I feel like I'm definitely getting the hang of knitting, but purl was a little more wonky. I'm feeling a little bit better about it after working on it more in class this evening. Afterwards we went to Art Hop, where we toured Fresno Ideaworks and all of the equipment they have there for members to use, including pottery wheels, band saws, and welding equipment. Pretty cool. We are contemplating a membership.

Feelin' Crafty

January 31, 2026

Lisa and I signed up for a mosaic lamp class, although it was slightly intimidating to start, it was fun designing our lamps and putting together the pieces to make our own unique pieces. We were both pretty proud of how they turned out!

Immersed in Art

January 4, 2022 

While I was visiting Lisa at Thanksgiving, we decided to take in the Van Gogh immersive exhibit in L.A.  I had been seeing advertisements for it all over the place, and was really interesting in checking it out.  Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists, and IS Lisa's favorite.  It was a really cool and impressive exhibit.  It was mesmerizing.  I can't imagine the amount of work that went into creating all of those effects and seamless transitions.  

Since we both enjoyed it so much, I gave Lisa tickets to see the Monet immersive exhibit for Christmas.  We went last week.  Like the Van Gogh experience, there were some really beautiful elements.  That being said, as much as we liked it, the Monet experience was a little less...magical than the Van Gogh.  It didn't feel quite as finished, or quite as immersive.  Whereas Van Gogh's paintings and art blended across the screens, beautifully transitioning and melting from one scene to the next enhanced perfectly by the accompanying music, the Monet experience was more like a slide show for a great deal of the hour long show.  Still big, beautiful, and even breath-taking in parts, but separate and a little more fragmented. Despite the comparison, the Monet experience was still definitely worth the trip.  It's really a creative and engaging way to invite audiences into the art experience.  I really hope more of these types of exhibits will be available in the future.

Getting Ready for the Fair

September 14, 2015

Today the registration for the fair entries was due.  For the fourth (I think?) year in a row, Danielle and I are entering art and photography in the Big Fresno Fair.  Although I'm not quite as happy with my entries as I have been in the past years, I'm still really proud of this tradition D and I do together.  This year I've got 7 photography entries, and Danielle has 26 photographic and artistic endeavors she's showcasing.  I can't wait to see our work up on display again this year!

Dapper Dog

September 8, 2013

More evidence that Danielle rocks as an artist.  This dog started off just your ordinary dog, but then Danielle thought perhaps he was a little more sophisticated than that.

Summer Art Project

July 6, 2013

Danielle and I tried our hand at a little oil painting tonight.  Danielle has had a little experience in paints, since they had an opportunity to try out a few different mediums in her Advanced Art class this past year.  I, on the other hand, haven't done any painting. Although these represent an initial foray into this art form, she and I had a great time and will definitely break out the brushes a few more times this summer.

Danielle's pieces:

My pieces: 

Field of Flowers

 Storm at Sea

My Talented Daughter

June 10, 2013

I continue to be amazed by the talent Danielle has in art.  She was bored over the weekend, so she did a little 'doodling' to kill time. 

Danielle's Self-Portrait

January 16, 2013

I'm so impressed with Danielle's artistic ability.  For her 8th grade Advanced Art class, she had to take a small picture of herself and recreate it in pencil.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but her artwork is a 16 x 20 sized portrait. 

I Wish I Could Claim She Gets It From Me

December 2, 2012

Danielle's advanced art teacher handed out pictures of celebrities in class.  The assignment was to cut the photo in half, draw a grid, and then use that to help guide them in drawing the missing half of the face.  I think the grid assignment is a pretty standard one for novice artists; it helps the student break down the finer details as they are trying to match what they are trying to reproduce.  Danielle's celebrity was Kristen Stewart, and when she showed me her finished product, I have to say I was really impressed.  My own artistic abilities don't venture too far beyond the stick figure.  Danielle, on the other hand, definitely has a artist's eye.  I'm really hoping she continues to pursue her talent in this field.

Just a Little Doodle

September 21, 2012

As always, I'm really quite impressed with my daughter's artistic abilities.  How cool is this?

First Class Art Project of the Year

August 28, 2012

Danielle's first task in Advanced Art was to draw a cover sheet for her portfolio comprised of five items she liked or which held a special significance for her.  She chose a soccer ball to represent her interest in sports, a box of colored pencils for her artistic side, a cross to represent Christianity, an iPod to show her enjoyment of music, and a mustache, because it's a weird fashion statement right now that all the girls are into.  (Okay--that last bit was a little bit of my editorializing.  What is up with the mustaches?  Kids have 'em on their binders, on t-shirts, dangling from sunglasses....I don't get it.)

Anyway, I thought she did a great job.  I'd love to know where she got her artistic talent from.  It's highly unlikely that it came from either her dad or me!

Art Class for Danielle

February 8, 2011

Danielle had an opportunity to take an art class at school recently, where she learned quite a bit. They studied famous artists and different styles. These are her first forays into painting--she's looking forward to taking more classes to build on what she's learned so far.

Hungry?

January 24, 2011

Danielle likes to make art out of just about anything--including fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls. Pretty cute, huh? Tasty, too: )

Veterans' Day

November 11, 2010

This year, Danielle entered an art competition commemorating Veterans' Day. Local entries were all put up on display at the downtown Veterans' Memorial Building, and we took a trip down there to check out her work as well as all the other artwork submitted by both students and adults from the community. Here, Danielle sits next to her submission. (It's the one in the bottom corner.)

Happy Veterans' Day to family and friends who have served, as well as those we'll never get to thank in person, for sacrifices in the name of freedom.