Ema spends Wednesday afternoons with me at my studio. She is meticulous, creative, precise, funny, cheerful, interested, respectful and persistent. I enjoy her company immensely and I truly look forward to these afternoons. For the last few weeks, she has been working steadily on a mixed-media artwork. Ema started with some image transfers onto a canvas, then used water-soluble colored pencils and collage to complete her piece. I’m always impressed when a young person can sustain interest in a project over a period of days or weeks, and she certainly did on this piece. She finished this one yesterday. Let her know what you think in a comment. 🙂
Tag: fun
Girls Art Night was a Smash Hit
Smash. Smoosh. Squish. Mash. Moosh. Mush. Stuff … Oh, the things you can do with an old book! A handmade Smoosh Book can be kinda funky and alotta fun. When you first make the book, you can sort through the old book’s pages and keep the ones you like, recycling the rest. Try incorporating comic book pages, other special papers, translucent papers, seed packets, tiny bags, cellophane bags, glassine envelopes, ribbons, stickers, cards, and any other kind of envelopes or pockets. Check out this sweet do-it-yourself with instructions and lots of photos. And thanks to all the ladies who came to the Girls Art Night last month!
Wild Horses and our Naturally Wild Souls
We decided to gather for an evening of art making and camaraderie every month. Something artsy. Something to connect us. To each other. To our souls. To the Earth. Last night we made horses and gave some of them to Whitney, who is going to be giving birth any day now. Her little boy will be born in the Year of the Horse. He will have a herd wild horses to remind him of his naturally wild joy. With a mama like Whitney we know he’ll grow up snorting with laughter, jumping with glee and letting his wildness out into the world.
5 Fun Kid-Made Valentines
Learn how to make thumbprint hearts; roses/hearts with fruits and veggies; or cootie catchers (fortune tellers) with a love-note theme. It doesn’t take much time — or money — to make your own valentine’s with your kids. Use materials like printer paper, markers, celery, apples and brussels sprouts, a red stamp pad … stuff you probably have around your house. Try out these ideas but don’t limit yourself to just these ideas! Let your kids get creative with whatever supplies you have!
How to Recycle a Cereal Box into a Mask
I bought three of these wonderful Day of the Dead masks from Diane at our local farmers market. I try to buy something from her every time I go to the market. I love these! Anyway, I showed them to Ema and Adia and they immediately wanted to make their own. So they just used hers as a model and figured out how to make them. We used a cereal box and some sticks we had lying around. Try these — they’re really easy and fun to make.
Hollyhock Dolls: a throwback to simpler times
I can’t remember if my grandmother or my mom taught me to make these hollyhock dolls, or maybe just told me about them. Anyway, I didn’t need to look up how to make them. I remembered they were made the hollyhock blossoms, a needle and thread. Some folks make them with toothpicks or stiff pine needles. For an old-fashioned nature craft on a relaxed summer day, this is the perfect way to have fun with your kids while making and reliving memories. They’re so easy!
So Easy: DIY Marble Magnets
Insanely easy — these took literally a few minutes to make. What took longest was waiting for the glue to dry. DIY Marble Magnets You Will Need: glass half-marbles (from a craft store) strong magnets that will fit on the bottom of the glass marbles pretty paper, magazine photos, inkjet photos, whatever you want to… Continue reading So Easy: DIY Marble Magnets
Kid’s Art: Root Creatures
Have you ever wanted to make an imaginary creatures? Here’s a DIY tutorial. All you need is a few driftwood roots and some paint. You can make whatever you can imagine when you look at the sticks.