here is a lesson from school that i did with my second graders...it was so cool that i had to share it. they are learning about the cell in science so we looked at the indian art form of rangoli and talked about andy goldsworthy's nature based installations, impermanance.... art is everywhere... and here is our bird seed cell: nucleus, mitochondria, vacuoles, cytoplasm and cell membrane~ about 8ft across...
they loved it.
i don't know about the rest of the population, but if you ask me, one can't ever have enough fairies around. fortunately my children feel the same way so there is no shortage of magical creatures and homes for them in our woodland world.
the girls got one of these little fairy kits that is made by klutz for christmas....it is nice because everything you need is right there and the instructions are straightforward and there is no sewing involved unlike most of the wee felt folk fairies- (which i love, mind you) this is the first one that we did the other night...she is currently residing in my phaeleonopsis orchid but surely not for long.
valentine also gifted each of my children these little wet-felted treasure bags, with it's own fairy inhabitant....delicious.
inspired...i have a few in the making at this very moment. never enough fairies.
my daughter made the most adorable needlefelted puppy for her friend's birthday..it is too cute. her pal love love love dogs. i mean, since she ws a little pup herself...(they are only 9) but the girls share a love of the canine breed and have little dog things that they share~ you know, "dog talk"...she worked so quietly one day, and then she came out and had it all formed...wow! then she worked on details, every little bit...ATD like her mother. i like that in a girl.
we went out recently on an adventure to a local joint that lets you paint pieces of bisque pottery- i thought it would be a great gift for the grandparents for the holidays....it made me really miss the mud. naturally, the kids really enjoyed it and can't wait to go back!
any day now we will get that studio of mine finished and my kiln up and running. any day now.
just look at these beads. i made a really cute green glass necklace for a little girl in my daughter's class - also one of my students - whose favorite color is green, as is my daughters... could not resist these pretties. a little handmade felt wallet to give it in to make it extra special.... girls like sparkley things.
this morning i was working on my rubric for school and my daughter came out of her room with her hands behind her back... "i made you something" and she handed me this little wooden doll she had made. the hair is linen cording and she used all sorts of scraps of fabric, ribbon and trim. isn't she sweet? i love her.
my daughter, like myself, is happiest when she is making something...
my daughter is a talented artist. for an eight year old she has an incredible sense of light, color, line, texture, shape, form- all the elements as well as a good grasp of design and composition as well. it comes naturally for her. she gets it. she sees the way i do. i like that we have this small shared reality.
today she showed me this watercolor of a horse; it is just brilliant. she paints everyday. how i wish i would paint everyday- not that i could, but rather that i would.
i think its wild. i find it inspiring that she is moved to paint in this way and wish to find more than enough moments to sit with her and make pretty pictures and talk about what we see- how we see.
another creative adventure...inspired by my dear pal orpheus- who was kind enough to gift to us a tie dye kit (among many other treats) which i promptly swiped, i mean, received with much gratitude in anticipation of an inevitable rainy july afternoon. sure enough, we had the perfect day where the precipitation held off just long enough for us to go outside with our rubber bands (compliments of the usps), buckets and a pile of soon to be no more crispy white items. in addition to any white article of clothing we could gather, we actually scored some white cotton pillowcases at marshalls in clearance- one for each cousin - so that after we parted, at the days end they could all wish one another sweet dreams & goodnight. sigh. i love that.
the results were, well, in the example of these pillowcases which we accordian folded and then again in the other direction into a tiny little package- was, as i had hoped, a delightful grid, which was pleasantly reminiscent of jennifer bartlett's early work. that is part of my brain that i really like; the part that pulls those sort of references...
we had a blast and explored all of the techniques and made a spiral and long stripes, and one highly experimental young lady tied a plethora of rubberbands here and again to reveal a multitude of sea anemone like bursts....
tie dye makes people happy, big people, little people, everyday people.
the kids had oodles of creative adventures while on holiday. auntie loola too has an art studio and was happy to watch them make good use of it... supplies for the asking in every medium desireable... just leave a couple of paper sacks lying around and voila. 
a new generation of unknown comics . although i did love to watch the gong show ( you tube can help you relive these moments once again- amazing technology- i mean, who didn't like chuck barris???). these were actually more like large puppets. cray pas and glue and pom poms...check out the expressions-aren't they so cool? always up to something good. 
i like the bulging eyes and the fluttery lashes and happy smiles. one is a portrait of daddy-o.
good clean fun for the whole family, and recycling at its' best.
it is the most perfectly delicious overcast cool june day ever. aside from a little gardening and a little date with the vaccuum and maybe a swing by the thrift shoppe on our way through town....where i will not buy any fabric at all....today the children announced that they too would like to get in on the crafting and so we pulled out the wool felt stash and feltcraft book. then we whipped up a little mouse pattern that is stuffed with wool and catmint we dried from our garden. i like the aqua/brown contrast going on ....needs just a few more details.... they are determined to make a whole funky fleet of these cute little mice to give to all the cat lovers out there. i don't mind having these mice around...these are the kind i like.
eeeeeek.
