Everybody has their heroes when they are growing up. Todd McFarlane was definitely mine. Actually, if it wasn’t for being obsessed with his artwork as a kid...I’m not sure I would be an artist today. So, when I sat down to write my very first letter it was extremely easy to figure out who I wanted to address it to. Todd is one of the most influential comic book artists/writers of all times, and as you can see in the video...he’s also a SUPER nice guy. <Confession: When I received this video last night, my inner 12 year old immediately began dancing around the living room.> #LettersToMrAllyn #ToddMcFarlane #HeroesDontAlwaysWearCapes
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A huge shout out to Brenda Priest and the Holly Springs Arts Council for providing generous grant money to upgrade the technology in my classroom. I'm so incredibly happy to work and be a part of such a great community!
When my principal asked me to design a t-shirt to celebrate the successes of the staff at our school...how could I resist? I'm so proud to work, and be the parent of a student at Holly Grove Middle School. #1 Middle School in Wake County
#3 Middle School in North Central Region of NC #21 out of 417 Middle Schools in NC ALL teachers met or exceeded growth Scrap Exchange and Art Guild Present Excellent Group Shows The Herald Sun – by Blue Greenberg "In downtown Durham the Art Guild is hosting its annual members’ show and the work is as diverse as Durham’s population. A members’ show is one of the perks of Guild membership and because the Arts Council building, where they are a big presence, is open seven days a week, each artist has an unbelievable stage.
Wow! My artwork that is now on display at the Durham Art Guild was one of five pieces that received an award in the 2016 Members Showcase...as well as the recipient of the People's Choice Award! I'm awestruck! There were 102 extremely talented artists represented, and I feel so honored! The work will be on display until June, and there will be a reception on May 20th. I'm bringin' pop art back. Yeah!
...and yes, that was a Justin Timberlake reference. Just about on a day-to-day basis, I get asked "What did you look like when you had hair?" I guess when you’re bald, this is your curse. So I figure this is as good of a forum as any, so here you go....Mr. Allyn before his follicle deficiency.
This past semester, students in my classes really loved a project we worked on revolving around the television series “Street Art Throwdown” from the Oxygen network. Students were so excited about the show that they were binge watching the series at home before we could finish it in class. Several students even asked for the series as Christmas presents! The other day I reached out to one of the artists from the show and after a conversation via social media about his newfound celebrity status among my students, what it was like being on TV, our perils with color blindness, and our own art...he sent me the video below. What a super-cool guy! I’m thankful for the generosity of the people in my community. I have been working a lot with reclaimed wood lately, and have been feverishly cutting up pallets or any wood I can get my hands on.
Today, I saw an ad for free wood on Craigslist that wasn’t too far the school, so I decided to head over after work to check it out. After I mentioned I was a teacher and that I was using the wood in my classes, he said he didn’t want me sifting through all the garbage wood, and took me into the warehouse and gave me all of these high quality left overs (wood used to make door frames). He told me I could come back any time I wanted, and get as much as I want. Faith in humanity restored! Thanks Mac-Vann Inc.! You guys are awesome!! I will be off campus on the following days: August 31 (1/2 day) September 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 October 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 November 20, 23, 24, 25 December 21, 22 January 19, 20 March 14, 15, 16, 17 April 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 May 10, 31 June 1, 2, 3 Make sure you Bring your sketchbook to class on these days!
All assignments will require your Sketchbook and these assignments will be graded!! At this time of the year, I feel that it is important to give back to the community and help those who are less fortunate. This is why we are collecting blankets for a community service project that benefits homeless Veterans. These gently used (or new) blankets will be donated to the Veteran's Hospital in Durham, and will be given to homeless men and women who have served our country. Hopefully, your donations can provide them with a little extra warmth this winter.
So why the the beard? Well...as you may know, this month is “No Shave November”. As an incentive for the kids to bring as many blankets as possible, we are offering a contest. The homeroom that brings in the most blankets between this week and December 15th gets to design Mr. Allyn’s beard! Between November 1st and then, I will not shave my beard. The class with the most blankets gets to choose from the beard styles pictured above. I will then wear the selected beard for one whole week! ***Update*** Mr. Capps our school's band director, has agreed to join me in efforts to gather more blankets. He will also wear whatever beard is chosen! Copyright © 2014 by Bryan L. Allyn This painting was auctioned off on Saturday night (February 22, 2014) to benefit the American Heart Association’s 2014 Heart Ball. The Heart Ball is one of the premier American Heart Association fundraising events both locally and across the nation.
I spent just about every day off, and over 60 hours of the last two months to complete this painting of Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. The successful bidder walked away with my painting, and the American Heart Association received all proceeds of the sale ($750). Currently, I am working on a series of paintings that focus on local urban landscapes throughout the Raleigh/Durham area. A unique element of this series of paintings is that I intend to use the grain of the homemade wooden panels I paint upon to accent my work (the sky beyond the buildings was untouched and is represented by the grain of the wood). |