Creative Every Day

Art Making All Over the Place!

March 22nd, 2008

So, I showed you the before...and once again it was a treat to see what you guys saw!

I thought it looked like 2 cowgirl mermaids, a large crab and a heart. Hehe.

Today, I had my first private art lesson and it went so well! I was working with a mom and her two children (10 and 8). I was a bit nervous at first, but then I relaxed as we went along. They were all so sweet and I loved seeing the kids' imagination at work. We started out doing some quickie collages on old postcards. I brought a bunch of collage supplies and I showed them how to make the collages. And then, I brought some pre-made larger inkblots (on colorful letter sized paper) and let them choose their favorite. I showed them some of the little inkblots I'd done in my journal and how you look for shapes and creatures within the inkblot and then I let them use markers, pens and colored pencils to create what they were seeing in the inkblots. They did such a great job with those!  And then we used the mini collages we made earlier to do little paintings. I showed them how you can cover parts of the collage with paint, partly cover it so some of it shows through, and so on. I thought the inkblots would be a good transition from seeing things in odd shapes like an inkblot, to seeing forms in their collages. They did great with this too. I spent two hours with them and I've got another appointment set with them for in a few weeks. At the end the little girl brought me a picture of a rose with a little thank you note attached that said, "Thank you, Leah. I *heart* you!" All together now...awwww. So sweet. 

I was super prepared with stuff in folders and baggies and a plan in mind. And I'm so glad I did it that way. Of course, I had to be flexible and switch it up a little bit. And I thought we'd be doing all we did in two hours in one hour! My idea of timing was way off. So, it was a good learning experience in that way too.

I got home and found that my moo cards and stickers had arrived in the mail. This is my first moo card purchase and I have to say, they are so cute!! I'm bringing them with me to Artfest for trading. I'm not sure I'll bring other trades. The idea of making and bringing so many things overwhelms me a bit.

Through the Artfest mailing list, I was led to the blog of Karan who was showing what she will be bringing for trades. I looked around a little and read about a cool new art challenge called, creative Therapy.  Actually they call the challenges, catalysts, with the idea that each catalyst will inspire you to do some therapeutic art making, perhaps in an art journal or whatever medium you choose. There are a group of mixed-media artists and scrapbookers who are going to take turns leading the group and you can comment with a link to whatever you make.  This blog is brand new and the first challenge is up. Go check it out!

Now back to Karan for a second, I thought this was the coolest story of dreams coming true that I've heard in awhile. Goes to show that it's important to give voice to your dreams. You never know where it could lead you!

And with that I'll say toodalooo for now. Hope your weekend is a wonderfully creative one!!