blindfolded

Last year I was asked to work with Trenton's class on a drawing lesson. I am not a skilled draftsman by any stretch and was daunted by the task of teaching the students something I was not skilled at myself. So I opted to teach them to look at what they are drawing -- really look at the objects -- and NOT look at the paper. The sketches were really interesting and today I found a link to an old LIFE magazine blindfolded drawing test where they asked famous comic artists to sketch their most famous characters blindfolded...click HERE to check it out.

A Street in UglyTown

All I can say is "WOW." Trenton was inspired yesterday to pick up a pencil after looking at a book about Ugly Dolls. He created an entire street scene with loads of details and I love his typography. Lately he has preferred computer play to drawing and I have missed seeing him focus his energy on paper. Perhaps summertime is not the best time for drawing...perhaps when school starts next week and paper and pencil (and a new school-wide homework policy) are in front of him daily he will once again start creating his two-dimensional worlds and hopefully he will share some of them with me. (click the image below to see it larger)

Tropakillya -- 100% Suicide Drink

I picked up the new Wacky Packages compendium for Kyle for Fathers Day and Trenton was inspired to create something similar after seeing both the book and a cool gallery full of Japanese graphics when we were in San Francisco in July.

family portraits, August 2008

Here we are complete with our own power symbols. Tessa created these pictures Tuesday evening while Trenton worked on a note presumably from outer space to attach to a helium balloon that he released. Sadly the balloon got stuck in a neighbor's tree before it got very far...the idea is great though so we will try it again.

Self Portraits

For Kyle's birthday we went to the Playful Potter and I couldn't resist the opportunity to paint a tile... the table is a mosaic project I worked on last year complete with some of my Grandma June's china, and the final image is created with colored masking tape one afternoon at the children's museum in Bend.

fun with foam

Trenton, Tessa and I created some characters with foamies and I liked them so much they are now hanging in my office.

Tessa's first book report

This came home in Tessa's school bag this week. It is her first book report and it is the first time she has added her middle initial when signing her name.

an old sketchbook

Found more drawings of Trenton's in the red sketchbook Tessa used at the Roxy. I particularly like these two drawings.

farewell dinner at the Roxy

When Bob & Sue visited last month we had a farewell supper at the Roxy (a very nice restaurant in Reno) and we have learned when visiting such establishments you must be prepared to fill the long stretches of time between courses. In the past Tessa's favored item was her Leapster, but lately she has opted for a sketchbook just like her big brother, Trenton. Tessa worked hard this time to draw her dad, me, meema and poopa. Dessert was served when she was ready to start on Trenton, so that picture will have to wait for another day...

KYLE
CARRIE
SUE
BOB

memories of a spring day

The pictures are nice memories of a warm spring day and the resulting hour of gluing and chatting at our table. Tessa made the top two images and I made the bottom images. Trenton decided after collecting to make his rabbit out of pasta, but used some of the nature walk materials for the details on his picture. You can see that the pictures have spring blooms and young leaves as well as dried pods and pine needles. We collected a little bit of everything and when we spread it out on the art sheet found little critters came in with us and the kids enjoyed watching them as much as gluing!

a nature walk for art supplies

While working at the kitchen table Tessa and I decided to next make pictures with items collected from a nature walk. So we headed out into the front and back yards and collected a variety of materials. Trenton joined us and we brought everything back into the house and spread them out on the table and began to create.

pasta pictures

Tessa and I created a pasta, seed, nut and dried fruit BOBO -- complete with a happy, dried cranberry smile. Trenton joined us later and created a bunny out of pasta and used a pretty pink cherry blossom petal for his nose and pine needles for his whiskers. Tessa and I were inspired after reading my new book, The Creative Family, to make the pasta pictures.

an apology

Tessa had a scuttle on the playground that resulted in a friend crying last week so after a peace meeting her teacher asked all involved parties to make cards for said friend. Tessa worked on hers at the gymnastics studio while we waited for Trenton's class to finish up. She was genuinely sorry to hurt her friend (seen below drawn by Tess) and she worked hard on several cards. The bottom image shows Tessa's infamous Bobo character and a new triangle-shaped character named Fred. She ultimately painted a beautiful apology card and from what I hear all is forgiven. whew.

heaven, reality, hell

A cow's life is full of choices and obviously consequences. An old drawing by Trenton...

tabby cat

This is one more image from the old sketchbook -- a tabby cat long before Reggie and Roxy joined the fun at our home.

It's Rabbit Season! It's Duck Season!

Another drawing from the old sketchbook. This one is obviously inspired by the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs and Daffy argue who Elmer Fudd should be aiming his shotgun at...At the top is an unlucky cat, an angry hunter, and a little bird pointing at the action.

Vikings and Maps

Found these in a sketchbook that has resurfaced. Trenton still loves drawing elaborate maps -- this is an early version complete with all the funny island names. Click the image to see it larger. See the Land of Magical Boots, Forget Me Island, Bunny Fields, etc. I have always loved his imagination and attention to detail.

If We Weren't Here

Trenton painted this image while at the airport for the Art Angel exhibit. I will visit it this week and take some pictures. The image was inspired by a book Kyle is reading with similar imagery on the cover -- but Trenton's is more colorful and we like it a great deal.

Rosie Flo

I found this line of coloring books on one of the design blogs and I ordered a couple. Tessa is having a blast with hers; Trenton's is a boy-themed one but he is not as interested... Anyway, the book has printed clothes, etc. and you are to add heads, arms and legs -- what fun! I think I will order several more and then I will have them ready to pair with colored pencils & markers for birthday gifts.

love notes

I have always been a big believer in the power of little love notes and notes of encouragement. I love to give them and to receive them. I like to hide notes in Kyle's bags before he leaves town and I like to leave notes for the kids in their lunchboxes. Thankfully the kids and Kyle return the favor. This note was scotch taped in my office and is from Tessa.

KEITH HARING project

I met with Trenton's class earlier this month to discuss Keith Haring's iconic art. Then we headed outside and spent the afternoon drawing on the sidewalks with chalk; I documented the afternoon for the students portfolios. We were blessed to have a warm day with a nice breeze since the earlier part of the week had both fierce winds and snow! After the class the kids headed back to their room and wrote short essays about what they learned.

funky heart mobile project

Another project for Trenton's class for February. I had nice thick stock and loads of tissue paper squares I had prepped for my Elmer class at the NMA, punched circles from magazines for the poi fish project last year and glue sticks. I also brought in tree branches and string. The school had been enduring constant testing the month of February and the kids were exhausted. This exhaustion combined with a terrible bronchitis virus and pneumonia that struck over half of the school's populace led me to create a project where we could have a quiet afternoon playing with color and gluing. After our sheets were covered we turned them over and drew hears and cut them out. Later we worked with the branches to create a mobile and hung all the hearts with funky yarn I used to knit Tessa's poncho. Anyway, the kids thought it was fun (anything would be fun compared to tests!) but afterwards I looked at it and thought maybe this wasn't really a Montessori project -- it seemed more suited to the Reggio classroom. Regardless, the mobile still hangs in the classroom and is affectionately called the flycatcher.

Great Coral Reef mural project

Last December I worked with Trenton's class on creating a mural of the Great Coral Reef for the multicultural festival. I purchased a 3 foot by 6 foot canvas and we worked one evening on creating the background -- a few students came to the school in the evening and we painted out the entire canvas in various shades and blends of blues, greens and white. The next couple days I went to the class and in small groups the students came and worked on adding fish and plants to the mural. The students continued to work on the mural throughout the week and it hung during the festival and continues to hang in the classroom. The nice thing about the subject matter is that all types of colors and shapes and styles of painting are in place in the mural just as all types of shapes, styles and colors are in the coral reef. What a successful project.

sand sculptures

ever since we put in the sandbox in the yard I have enjoyed creating faces in the sand -- which the kids ceremoniously stomp down upon their completion. Last year I started to take pictures of them and over the summer I created huge sand faces on the beach. One is even complete with sand dollar teeth!

ABCs

We spent last summer traveling through Oklahoma, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon and I asked the kids to help me find the alphabet in the world around us during our adventure. Here is a complete alphabet made out of the many, many examples we found when we were out & about.

stuffed with love

I am trying to learn how to sew and in an effort to get practice (and in combination with both of my kids not wanting to part with beloved articles of clothing they have outgrown) I asked each of them to draw pictures of buddies and then I adapt them into 3-dimensional toys. They have been popular with the kids and now I am starting to create them for their friends. They are all hand-sewn and rough around the edges since I am still learning, but, one day I will figure out my sewing machine and then they'll be no stopping me!

Tessa's CATS

Tessa drew these large cats with chalk in my office. She often comes in and lays down on the floor and "works" while I tap away on my Mac.