ATC KIds Swap

3.15.2009

We recently signed up to do the ATC Kids Swap. You can read about it here. The girls each created 5 2.5" x 3.5" pieces of art and mailed them off and then received five pieces of art in return. This was such a great little project. Working at such a small scale seemed to really stir the girls creativity. The best part was getting the other kids cards in the mail.

We talked about how these could be a series and Annie created the series Elephants Adventures. Here are four of her pieces. I really wish we got to keep them. I am totally in love with these.



1. Elephants Adventures: New York, 2. Elephants Adventures: Savannah, 3. Elephants Adventures: India, 4. Elephants Adventures: Great Wall of China


Maddie worked quite hard on hers, sometimes thinking of a title and then painting and sometimes naming them after. Her development in painting and drawing has really grown the past few months. As much as I love the bubble head person and scribbles of the toddler drawing I am so excited to see a bit more representation in her art. The little glimpses I get of her imagination and creativity always warm my heart.



We used watercolor pencils for these and I think they are my new favorite art material. We use watercolors often around here and they are great but the pencils give the girls so much more control and lead to much less frustration.
Yesterday Annie asked what our next swap would be. I'm glad the girls are enjoying these little projects as much as I am.

Self-Portraits and a new challenge

5.03.2008

The kidmade self-portrait gallery is up and I have posted the May challenge. I was so excited to recieve all the submissions for the first challenge. As it got closer and closer to the end of the month I had that same feeling you get 5 minutes after a party starts and no one has shown up yet. You know that, oh, maybe no one is going to come feeling. Thank you all for playing along it was really very inspiring. I loved seeing the different ways all the kids expressed themselves.
I have to admit that our little self-portrait session did not go over so well. I waited until the last minute, bought canvases and asked the girls if they wanted to paint a self-portrait. Maddie just wanted to paint and Annie was much too overwhelmed and went into perfectionist mode. In the end they both were happy with their work and that's all that matters. I think we will start much earlier on this months challenge.

I also wanted to share a book I picked up recently at the library. Doing Art Together by Muriel Silberstein-Storfer. Well worth checking out. Lots of great info on how children develop through process based art and how to talk to your children about their art.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend. And the picture is just a bit of fun from the zoo a few weeks ago.

Finding the time.....

2.07.2008

I seem to be finding a bit of time for doing some of the things I really want to be doing.....



Painting with the girls











Reading Maeve Binchy - lovely for a bit of escapism



Watching Lost



Getting my weekly fill of cuteness in 2 hours at ballet class.







Having dinner most nights as a family. Dan was never home before 6:30 at his old job. Hooray for the 5 minute commute.



Why is it that I have found time for these little pursuits.....



Ummm, because I can turn a blind eye to a craft room that looks like this.....







and there has been no sewing going on around here because I'd have to clear this all out first. Tommorrow I swear tommorrow.....